A Bride For Carter (The Proxy Brides Book 6) Page 11

  It had been almost two weeks since he had taken the folded marriage license from his wife’s trembling hand. He was well aware of the fact that she was wondering whether or not he had recognized her name. He could tell from the way she watched him from the corner of her eye while she stood at the stove or the way she tried to be nonchalant as she asked him if he ever read the newspapers. She had tried to be subtle about it, asking if it was hard to come by the news in these parts. He had kept his face straight as he answered her that while the papers were out-dated when they arrived, they did get to keep up on the goings on of the world.

  Carter watched the cattle grazing, but his mind was back at his house. He felt a surge of guilt when he thought about how he had left her hanging for so long. He couldn’t fault her for not telling him her history if he hadn’t been willing to tell her that he now knew her history. He ought to have set her mind at ease, assuring her that he knew and that it wasn’t a problem for him. Because, really, how could it be? They were legally bound to one another anyway. And one couldn’t choose one’s relatives. Look at his. He would have rather had a warm, loving family instead of the harsh, demanding father he had grown up with. In Carter’s opinion, it was what you did with yourself once you were no longer under the control of your family that was the important thing. And all he could see about his wife was how beautifully she was adjusting to life on the frontier.

  She was a wonderful cook. Not terribly imaginative as she was repeating the same things over and over, but that was probably due to her lack of experience. What she did know how to cook was delicious. Perhaps he ought to send away for a cookbook for her. Of course, she might find that insulting. Or perhaps not. From what he had learned about her so far, she wasn’t actually one to take offense easily. Her easy-going nature was one of the things he found most attractive about her.

  While it was true, if you only looked at her you could get distracted by her outward beauty, and he certainly had been when she first arrived. And he realized that three weeks wasn’t a terribly long acquaintance. But now that he had gotten used to looking at her, he had been able to see beneath the surface.

  He enjoyed watching her concentrate while she cooked. It always made him want to laugh a little bit, but he admired the effort she was putting in. She had probably never had responsibility for a meal before.

  He appreciated her questions about his land and why he had moved to the frontier. She had a keen mind and was making an effort to settle in rather than wallowing in the tragedies she had endured. From the beginning he had wondered if her constant smile was genuine or a front. He had finally concluded that it was a little of both. Most of the time he was quite certain her smiles were genuine, but there were times that he was sure she was smiling in an effort to convince herself, rather than him, so he didn’t consider it to be a form of dishonesty.

  He remembered almost fondly the incident of the coffee. The coffee had been dreadful. But that’s when he knew he was falling for her and he didn’t care about who her father had been. Up until three days ago, he had been the one making the coffee before each meal. It had become a routine for them. He enjoyed being in the kitchen with her. The little frown of concentration she couldn’t quite hide made him want to put his arms around her. It was becoming harder and harder to resist.

  But he had been held up in the barn with some sort of chore. He couldn’t remember what it had been. Whatever it was, he was delayed arriving in the house and she had finished her preparations and so had tried to make the coffee. There she was frowning over the pot when he arrived. Carter was shocked how disappointed he was that their little ritual was to be disturbed that day. And then they had sipped the brew. Ella had run to the sink and spit it out, but he had made a valiant effort to swallow it down. He hadn’t even realized at first that she was crying. When he glanced over to where she was standing in the kitchen, giant tears were flowing silently down her cheeks and she looked as though her world had collapsed.

  Without thought, Carter was across the room with her in his arms. She had sobbed pitifully for several moments, mumbling almost incoherently into his dampening shirt.

  “I thought I could do it. You always make it look so easy. And Cook said it wasn’t hard. But I just can’t do it. Maybe I’ll never succeed. I’m the worst wife in history.”

  Rubbing circles on her back, Carter had assured her that she was far from the worst wife and while she would surely learn how to make coffee, he didn’t mind making it himself.

  “But I’m the cook here,” she had insisted. “I should be able to do it.”

  “You’ll learn,” he had assured her once more. “But I promise, I like doing it.”

  That finally got through to her and her tears slowed. Once the violence of her storm of tears was easing, Carter had become aware of how perfectly she fit in his arms. Her head came to just below his chin while she was huddled into him so he could comfortably rest his chin on her bent head. She was slight but he could tell she was perfectly rounded in all the right places. He had been well aware that she was a beautiful woman but hadn’t really thought about the practicalities of having her in his arms. He quite liked it. He had to fight the urge to tighten his arms further around her. Carter reminded himself sharply that he was trying to comfort, not seduce, her. There were still two months to go for that.

  But that was when he had realized he had already given her his heart. Even though he knew her background, he also knew that it did not define her. She was the most intelligent woman he had ever come across. And for all the trials she had faced, this was the first time he had seen her express a negative emotion. He marveled at her sunny disposition.

  Carter sighed. He was mooning around about the woman like a love struck teen-aged boy. He needed to figure out a way to tell her that he knew who she was and explain why he had waited to say anything. And he had to accept that he needed to take her back to Boston. He didn’t think she would be happy about it. While she seemed to be a little sad or lonely from time to time, he didn’t have the impression she was pining for the city. But what she had faced didn’t sit right with him. He needed to help her regain her position. His father would be thrilled to have him back. It made Carter’s stomach turn, but there was nothing to do but face it.

  With another deep, heartfelt sigh Carter allowed his gaze to finally focus, and he looked around. He had ridden up here to this hill for the beauty and solitude to soothe him as he firmed up his decision. He could see some of his men in the distance. They would be able to keep watch over the herd. He wasn’t needed here. He squeezed his legs to get his horse moving again. It was time to head to the house and talk with his wife.

  ~~~

  Ella stared sightlessly out the window, her mind churning with restless thoughts. It had been two weeks since she had handed the marriage license to Carter. Two weeks of wondering if her maiden name meant anything to him. Wondering if or when he would realize who she had been.

  Her heavy sigh sounded despondent even to her own ears. She ought to try to talk to him about it even though the thought of discussing her background made her stomach clench with nerves. The man said he read the papers, he couldn’t have possibly missed the biggest scandal to have hit Boston in years. It had been front page news for weeks up to and including her parents’ deaths. The very worst headline Ella had seen felt seared into her mind: Crooked Shipping Magnate Slaughters Wife and Self. She shivered as she remembered it. There was no doubt she shouldn’t have read the article, but she hadn’t been able to help herself. It was a far more salacious headline than the facts of the matter had proven to be. It had been a carriage accident. Her father had certainly not slaughtered her mother. But even to Ella’s inexperienced mind, she had to think it would take some effort to make the horses drive off a cliff. From what she was learning about the large animals here on the frontier, they were far more intelligent than she had ever realized. And they were quite capable of seeing in the dark. But they were also obedient. So she could see how the inves
tigators might think the accident had been deliberate.

  Of course, the fact that her parents had taken luggage with them lead Ella to think they were perhaps merely trying to run away from their problems, even temporarily, rather than trying to take their own lives. But there was no way she could convince the papers to print a retraction. Even if they had agreed to do so, it certainly wouldn’t have been on the front page. And the lawyer she had consulted had been unwilling to even consider a defamation suit against the paper. He had said there weren’t enough facts supporting her version of things and even though the word choices in the headline were inflammatory, he didn’t think they could be proven to be slanderous. Ella was pretty sure the man just thought she didn’t deserve any restitution. The investigators probably would’ve claimed any monies she might have gained as part of her parents’ estate anyway.

  Ella tore her gaze from the window to look around the room. She had gotten lucky in the end anyway. She was far from Boston and had a comfortable roof over her head. She just wished she could feel secure in her setting. Her uncertainty was starting to drive her batty.

  Ella glanced back at the window. More specifically, the window dressings she had created. She knew pride was considered a sin, but she couldn’t help how very proud of herself she was over the silly things. It was the brightest highlight of the past two tiresome weeks. As a properly bred young woman of Society, she had been trained since she was old enough to hold a needle and thread to do needlework. She was relieved to note that she had been able to take that skill and apply it to something more practical than embroidering her initials on a handkerchief. She had been hard-pressed not to preen when Carter had noticed the new curtains. It was a lovely memory.

  Carter had been sitting enjoying his first cup of coffee while she had been finishing off toasting the bread when he suddenly spoke. Ella had managed not to burn herself as she quickly retrieved the bread she had dropped onto the stovetop.

  “You’ve finished the curtains,” he had exclaimed. “When did you hang them? I didn’t even notice.”

  Ella had felt shy as she turned and grinned at him. “I hung those yesterday afternoon.”

  “So I sat through supper and didn’t notice?” He was incredulous. “I didn’t think I was that unobservant.”

  Ella laughed. “With the days getting shorter, it wasn’t very bright in here when you came in.”

  “Still, I should’ve noticed. You did a great job.”

  Embarrassed, Ella tried to deflect his praise. “Don’t look too closely or you’ll see that I didn’t.”

  “Well, they look great to me. Thank you for doing that. You were right, that was the something missing from this room.”

  Ella’s face began to hurt from how wide her grin was. She couldn’t restrain her delight over his compliment.

  It had been a short interlude, probably meaning very little to Carter, but the memory warmed Ella whenever she thought of it, which was every time she walked through the room. She still had the windows on the second floor to finish, but she was very happy with how this floor had turned out.

  Ella returned to the kitchen, thinking about Carter as she went. She had a hankering for a cup of coffee but felt that was firmly still his task to perform. She remembered fondly the comfort he had offered her over the incident when she had tried to make the brew. What a disaster! But despite how mortified she was, it was the most relaxed she had felt in the weeks since she’d lived there. Crying had released some of her pent up anxieties. It had been so kind of him to offer her comfort despite her mishap in the kitchen.

  Prior to that, she had always wondered what would happen if he found out what a fraud she was. She was just like her father, just on a different scale. Ella was feeling worse and worse each day. She should have told him the full story when she met him. Now she feared losing him if he were ever to find out. The anxiety of it all was going to eat a hole in her stomach.

  Carter was such a kind, honest person, she thought. He had been quite open with her about his family background. When he had told her about his childhood poverty but then his father’s sudden wealth, it helped her to better understand why he was so determined to make a success of his spread out here in Iowa. And also why he wanted to succeed on his own terms, not his father’s. He had told her those things, but she had never told him about her family. And she dreaded the moment if he ever found out. Surely he would want to disown her then. It was all the more reason why she had to make herself invaluable to him. If she made his home more comfortable than it had ever been, surely he would be reluctant to cast her off.

  Chapter Fourteen

  T here was a knock at the door, startling Ella just as she was opening the oven. A slight frown marred her forehead as she pulled the cookies out before hurrying to the door. She hadn’t heard a knock on the door since she’d lived there. Only she or Carter ever came to the house. The men who worked for her husband seemed to always seek him out while he was out of doors. She could hear a dog barking in the distance, perhaps in response to the knocking. As Ella rushed toward the second rap on the door, it crossed her mind that it was rather strange that the ranch hands never came to the house. Then fear seized her. A knock at the door had heralded terrible news for her in the past. Her steps slowed. But the third knock, this time even more vigorous, pushed her feet closer to the door. With a deep breath, she pulled it open.

  It took her a moment to recover. And then surprise and trepidation in equal measures spread through her.

  “Mrs. Crocker, what a surprise.”

  “Mrs. McLain,” the other woman acknowledged with barely a smile.

  “Won’t you come in?” Ella had to ask for politeness’ sake. Just as the words were done falling from her lips, Carter rounded the corner of the house.

  “The dogs let me know we had company,” he said. To Ella it seemed that his smile was tighter than usual. But that might be because she had been on tenterhooks around him for more than a week. She was finally to the point that she didn’t trust herself to judge his expressions.

  “I was just about to put the kettle on for some tea, and the cookies just came out of the oven, why don’t you join us ladies?”

  “Very well. Thank you.”

  Ella’s stomach was clenched tight. She would much rather be working on the window dressings than drinking tea with Phoebe Crocker, but she stifled her sigh. There was nothing else she could have done with the woman standing on their front porch. Surprisingly, the woman’s sour expression transformed as soon as Carter had arrived on the scene, although she still hadn’t said anything. That all changed though as soon as they stepped inside. Ella stepped to the kitchen to boil the water for tea, and Carter steered their guest to the chairs in the sitting area.

  “It’s so kind of you to take time away from your busy schedule to say hello, Carter.” The woman’s breathy voice made Ella grit her teeth. If she wasn’t certain the woman knew Carter was married, Ella would think she was flirting with her husband.

  “It’s not every day we get visitors. No one should be so busy they can’t take a few minutes to share a cup of tea with a neighbor.”

  The woman let out a trill of laughter that grated on Ella’s nerves. She almost dropped the pot she was arranging as she glanced over in time to see Mrs. Crocker’s hand tightly gripped on Carter’s forearm. The only comfort she took was in the fact that Carter didn’t look terribly pleased with the turn of events. His gaze rose to meet hers.

  “Do you need a hand in there, Ella?”

  “Don’t be silly, Carter, kitchen work is for women. You just sit down here comfortably with me and tell me how you’ve been keeping. You haven’t come by for a visit in ages.”

  Ella couldn’t believe the other woman’s behavior. She was prevented from stomping over there and wrenching the dreadful woman away from Carter by the fact that he looked so uncomfortable. He clearly wasn’t encouraging the terrible behavior.

  As quickly as she could, Ella plated the cookies and assembled th
e tea, loading everything on a tray she had found in the larder. Before too much time had passed, she joined the other two in the sitting area.

  “How do you take your tea, Mrs. Crocker?” she asked as solicitously as she could manage.

  “With milk and sugar,” came the cool response.

  Ella barely blinked over the difference in how the woman was reacting to her in comparison to how she was treating Carter. But she did wonder if the woman was of sound mind. This prompted some sympathy from her. If the poor dear was senile, one must make allowances.

  “Cookie?” she asked with a smile.

  “I doubt you would know how to bake properly,” Mrs. Crocker answered without bothering to look at her. Ella was shocked. Even in Boston, all the bad things said about her had been behind her back. She had never had someone be quite that rude to her very face.

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “You needn’t beg my pardon, it’s your husband’s you ought to be begging. Does he even know what a dreadful bargain he struck in marrying you?”

  Ella was stuck silent by the woman’s words and sank shakily into the chair she was nearest to. Before she had gathered her wits, Carter was speaking.

  “I think you ought to explain yourself, Mrs. Crocker. It is only my long time friendship with your husband that is preventing me from throwing you out of the house without an explanation. This is my wife’s home, and I will not allow anyone to speak to her in such a disrespectful manner.”

  “Oh Carter, you are so kind and gracious. I only spoke thusly because I am so very angry at how you have been taken in by this terrible girl. If only you had waited for my sister to arrive for a visit. You would have seen what a lovely wife she would make you.”

  Ella’s worst fears were coming to fruition right before her eyes. She should have told Carter everything the moment she had stepped off the train. Or at the very least, on the drive from Council Bluffs to their home. Now it was all going to be revealed in the worst possible way by this shrew. Ella couldn’t imagine how the dreadful person even knew about her, let alone what business she thought it was of hers to inform Carter about it. Then she remembered. Of course, she had wanted Carter to marry her sister. So she was predisposed against Ella. All it had taken was a fast moving letter home or even a telegram if she was in that much of a hurry, and she would have been able to find out everything. Ella just prayed she didn’t shed a tear in front of Mrs. Crocker. She didn’t want to give her the satisfaction. While she wanted to run screaming from the room, Ella lifted her chin and stared at the woman, affronted that she would so viciously speak of her right in front of her but without speaking to her. She shifted her gaze to her husband to try and gauge his reaction