An Unwilling Husband Read online

  She’d explored the land in her youth, but it was something more with Lenny, who pointed out rock formations jutting from the craggy earth, creatures that were invisible to the untrained eye, and followed indiscernible trails.

  Behind Lenny, she ducked branches and sidestepped rocky terrain and when her escort pushed her to take Buck up a steep embankment, squeaked in fear. As terrifying as it had been, upon reaching the top and experiencing the view, oh, what a feeling of accomplishment. She could see for miles. A view like this didn’t exist in the city. Clusters of bright green trees dotted the landscape and a river wound through the land like some great serpent.

  By the time they dismounted in front of the house, her muscles ached from the combination of riding the day before and the long ride around the ranch. Lenny laughed as Maggie strode tenderly into the house. She must look every bit the bowlegged cowboy. If one ignored the fancy dress, of course.

  Lenny packed up a lunch of leftover biscuits, cheese, dried beef and an apple for each of them, careful to show her where everything was, then took a couple of long-barreled rifles off the sturdy hooks that held them. One lesson on how to hold the gun safely wasn’t nearly enough, but the Indian girl headed out the front door, leaving her to follow clumsily behind.

  Lesson or not, she held her weapon like it was a snake. The rifle looked even more dangerous in her soft, unpracticed hands, and when the barrel of the gun snagged one of her perfectly pinned curls and threatened never to let go, Lenny stepped in and put an end to her frantic flailing. Kindly, her experienced teacher only rolled her eyes once.

  They plodded around the side of the house and headed in the direction of Roy’s place, and the thought of him had her sinking in despair. He should’ve been here to show her how to shoot, encouraging her with his kindness and dry sense of humor. By the time they stopped at a lane where a wooden table had been set up, she was close to misery.

  Lenny took the gun from her, set it upright against the rickety, weather-worn table, then holding Maggie’s hand, led her to a giant cottonwood. In the shade of the sprawling branches, she sat with Lenny and ate lunch.

  In the wake of the rifle trying its best to maim her curls, her hair had fallen from its pins and likely resembled the nest of some deranged buzzard. Perhaps Lenny worried she’d be privy to another such incident; the girl sat behind her and deftly weaved her thick auburn hair into a single braid much like hers.

  With the most admirable calmness and efficiency, Lenny showed her how to load one of the guns, stand, and aim. She placed sticks in divots carved into the table and when she motioned, Maggie aimed at the first one.

  How hard could this be?

  Crack! went the gun, and would have made her jump if the stock slamming into her shoulder hadn’t beaten the noise to it. She stumbled backward, crying out.

  Eyes screwed up and shoulders shaking, Lenny appeared like she tried not to laugh.

  “Bollocks, that hurt!” Shocked, she rubbed her throbbing shoulder. There had been no warning for the gun’s kick. Both the blasted rifle and her new friend had betrayed her.

  Lenny hurried to her and made her hold up the gun again, and pressed the rifle’s butt tightly into her shoulder. That hurt. She held it more loosely, and the Indian girl put it firmly back.

  “Tightly? Won’t that make it hurt more?”

  A shake of the head from her tutor only renewed her skepticism. “Fine and dandy. Since you are the professional gunslinger, I suppose I shall have to trust you.”

  At the thought of enduring such pain willingly a second time, her heartbeat hammered but she pulled the sight to the sticks once again. Fear caused her to jerk the trigger. The shot went wide and high, missing the target.

  Lenny breathed slowly, once, twice, and holding her breath on the third inhalation, mimed pulling the trigger gently. Then standing behind her, showed her how to caress the trigger while she stilled her breathing.

  It took exactly seventeen shots to hit the target, but oh, the feeling of that final success! She’d weathered the pain of each shot, braved every pull of the trigger, knowing the gun would ram into her injured shoulder. All of that, well worth the feeling of empowerment when the bullet finally splintered the wooden target. “Ha!” she yelled.

  Out in the uncertain wilderness where men lived by their guns, it was a great feat. Lenny even let her celebrate for a few moments. Then eyebrow arched, the girl handed her another bullet. Never before had Maggie shaken from happiness, but there, in that moment, she was brave and no one could take it away from her. And without Aunt Margaret or Garret around, no one tried.

  For the rest of the lesson, she fought through the pain and by the end had become a fair shot at this short distance. After they unloaded the last of the ammunition, she and Lenny headed back to start on the chores around the ranch.

  Working a ranch was different from what she remembered. The boundless energy that fills young children had fled her in the years of pampered living. Barely able to lift the saddle from Buck, she exhausted her arms trying then shook with fatigue as Lenny showed her how to muck out the horses’ stalls.

  But she would earn her place, so hefted pitchforks of dirty, heavy hay out of the stalls until her back wouldn’t let her bend anymore. Perspiration soaked her dress through, strands of moist hair were plastered to her forehead, and her once smooth nails were lined with filth.

  When the stalls had been spread with fresh hay, she stumbled after Lenny and hauled buckets of feed to the animals in the barn. Then she loaded small bales of hay with the Indian girl into a wagon and rode with her on the seat out to the bellowing herd of breeding cattle that had been left behind.

  Back again to the barn. The two giant and fully intimidating brown milk cows seemed completely unimpressed with her withered grip as she stabbed her non-working fingers at their full udders.

  “Muaaah!” then a clunk was her reward as the second uncooperative beast—perhaps having got the idea from the first through bovine telepathy—kicked over the bucket with a piddling amount of milk in the bottom.

  With a sigh, Lenny nodded toward the bustling chicken coop. A generous-hearted girl indeed, to take pity on her.

  Collecting the eggs, she dropped three. She simply couldn’t find the strength in her attractively clawed hands to get the eggs safely from the nest boxes to the woven basket hanging from her arm.

  Feeding the chickens was her favorite chore. That feeling when dumping the grain onto the floor, and then when she left... Oh, blessed victory. From the sheer volume of the animals’ grouching, it was apparent she’d need to help with these chores earlier in the day from then on.

  In the house, she kicked off her high button leather shoes, which now lacked polish and smelled suspiciously of whatever came from the south end of a northbound horse, and slumped into the chair closest to the fireplace with a loud groan. Every muscle and bone ached, from her swelling ankles to her pounding head.

  She had never worked so hard in her life. The blisters on her hands had long since broken and now weeped, her south end was sore from the saddle, and her shoulder, likely seven shades of purple from shooting that day.

  She glared balefully at the barren stove. Desperate for the day to be at an end, she ate a carrot and a stale piece of bread then escaped to the restful sanctuary of her room. When her head finally hit the pillow, she was already well on her way to sleep.

  * * * *

  Lenny woke her early the next day, no doubt trying to train Maggie’s internal clock to recognize dawn as its new waking hour. Good luck with that. She valued sleep in the mornings and on this one, more than any other, her body ached for more. Every muscle hurt and her hands throbbed where numerous blisters had emptied themselves in the night.

  Lenny made a mystery salve that soothed them a little, but the pain returned with the slightest motion. Until the simplest task had become excruciating, she’d never truly appreciated how much one used their hands.

  Stiffly, she stoked the fire and laid a healthy
portion of bacon into an iron skillet. When the fragrant strips of meat were steaming on a pair of dented metal plates, she cooked shredded potatoes and beans in the grease and admired the two small mountains of food she’d made. Maybe she could fend for herself after all.

  The more she moved, the better her aching muscles felt. The minute she stopped for a rest, however, they constricted and begged to remain perfectly still. Like a snake on a cold day, growing slower with the bite of the chill.

  Her motivation was Garret. And when she forgot him for even a moment, Lenny only had to sign “bull” and anger flared, enticing her to work harder, and for longer. She’d show him how wrong he was about her.

  Remembering the ingredients to the new breakfast she’d made that morning proved confusing. She ripped three pieces of paper from her beloved journal and, in great detail, wrote instructions for the meals. In hopes that Garret would never find them, she hid them in the bottom of a kitchen drawer. That ghastly man didn’t need any more ammunition against her.

  While she’d been writing, Lenny had studied her with an amused expression. If only she could explain to the Indian girl that she would learn to help with the ranch to the best of her ability, but she’d do it on her terms. She wasn’t about to change the fundamentals of what made her Maggie for anyone, man or woman.

  With a feverish appetite, she devoured the hot meal and after cleaning up and wrestling her thick hair into a bun, set out to do chores. When the animals had been fed, Lenny pointed to the saddles and brought the horses in from the corral. It took three painful heaves to sling the saddle over Buck’s burly back, but at least she remembered about tightening the cinch this time.

  Another imaginary trail through the wilderness, following Lenny on her paint Indian pony. The establishment of a routine was a welcome one. This ride led in a wide loop around the northernmost parcel of Shaw land and ended in front of the house.

  With the horses tied contentedly to a post out front, she lifted her skirts and hefted a rifle more comfortably than the day before. Riddled with potholes, the hike to the crude gun range proved dangerous to her heeled, leather encased ankles but Lenny seemed patient enough, and waited as she picked her way through the rugged terrain.

  Vigorous hand motions and much pointing. Her teacher had decreed she must work on firing the rifle from a greater distance.

  After she was comfortable with the weapon and a pretty decent shot, the dark headed girl instructed her with a longer, heavier rifle, which required better aim and a steadier arm to hit the targets. It would take time, but given enough practice, she might be a decent markswoman. What would she ever need the skill for, though?

  Lenny took her rabbit hunting. The Indian girl’s buckskin pants and dark cotton shirt, her belt loosely keeping the waist tapered, and her soft moccasins quieted her footsteps when stalking their quarry. Drat the blasted things, her full skirts were not in any way stealthy or quiet, and rustled and swished like the rapids of some angry river.

  Another rabbit raced away. The second one today, scared far too soon to shoot from a reasonable distance. Lenny gave her an exasperated glare, and Maggie smiled in apology and hiked her skirts up, revealing leather shoes with a small heel. Shaking her head, Lenny sighed dramatically.

  Maggie stifled a laugh. “These will never do, will they?”

  Lenny motioned for her to stay put and stalked into the brush. After sitting against a large tree for what seemed like an hour, a shot rang out, and her companion arrived shortly with one plump and very deceased rabbit dangling from her hand. Disgusting. What was she supposed to do with it? She attempted to school her expression so as not to look horrified, but likely failed miserably. Eyes narrowed, Lenny studied her then tossed the rabbit at her feet, took a knife from her belt and handed it, hilt first, to her.

  “No, Lenny. I don’t think I’m ready for this. It’s just a little bunny. Nope. Hmm-mm.” She shook her head vigorously. Her task master waited, arms crossed.

  Apparently the girl had a stubborn streak that rivaled even Garret Shaw’s, because it wasn’t long before Lenny showed her how to gut a bunny. While plodding back to the house, a much lighter bunny in her blood covered hands, something inside her shifted. It was as if she had sloughed off a layer of reserve. Like a sliver of weakness had been left in the pile of bunny innards. When she lived in the city, she never would have imagined in her wildest dreams having the courage or stomach to do something so base.

  But she did. No longer was she the frightened woman who couldn’t do much more than dress herself. As she tried not to let the self-satisfaction show too terribly much on her face, Lenny smiled sunnily at her.

  The triumphant feeling lasted only until they arrived in the kitchen, when Lenny goaded her into skinning the poor creature. Cutting the meat under her mentor’s direction, she started a rabbit and vegetable stew that simmered for the rest of the day. Though the rabbit stew was satisfying at the end of the long day of toil, having experienced the bloody work that had gone into making it, eating it was hard.

  She would get used to it though. She hoped.

  * * * *

  Though I am not long for my bed, Maggie wrote the night of the fourth day, yawning with tiredness, exhilaration compels me to document my thoughts. Pride is a sin, Aunt Margaret always told me. No matter, I cannot help but find my accomplishments of the past few days thrilling. Is it a sin to take pride in the work of one’s hands? I think not.

  From the housemaid who lays the fires in the morning to the butler who oversees serving dinner, Aunt Margaret’s servants performed their duties with quiet efficiency. Certainly they do not have a shining-eyed Indian girl making horns above her head to goad them on in their labors, but Lenny and I now work the same way. Still she does not speak, yet a wealth of conversation in her eyes and expressions guides me through her instruction. Her smiles of praise and silent companionship gladden my heart.

  Today I earned her approval when, not once but three times, I knocked the twig from the table at the longest distance yet with the biggest rifle. So far away were we, it was difficult to tell where the table ended and my target began. Take that, Garret Shaw!

  That insufferable man penetrates my thoughts. He is not here, yet I cannot get away from him. Indeed, thoughts of those eyes of his watching me only spur me on to greatness.

  In the privacy of my journal, I can say this. His presence would be welcome. Despite the man’s chilly nature, I am almost ashamed to admit, sparring with him fires my blood. Most unladylike—I can hear Aunt Margaret now—but he makes me feel alive.

  Thank heavens he will not see my dimwitted failures. A blatant misuse of the damper this morning, the house filled with smoke. Lenny and I running for the yard, coughing up soot. Yesterday, a loaf of bread so unfortunate, it looked like a lava rock displayed by the Boston Society of Natural History. Perhaps by the time Garret returns, the stink of smoke will have dissipated and he will never suspect. One can only hope.

  But, I now can recognize the look in Bossie’s eye when she’s about to knock over the milk pail, rude beast. And know not to trifle with the biggest hen in the coop, whom I have named Red Meg, after Aunt Margaret. Evil of me perhaps, but maybe I’ll feel kinder when the scar on my hand from her furious pecking is gone. I have learned to watch the kettle, on to boil for the laundry. A difficult lesson to be sure, as the green silk dress now sports a large singed patch near the hem. And, that the kitchen knives deserve respect for a reason. Another petticoat is in tatters, gone to make bandages for the knife’s revenge on my hand.

  That I now have the knowledge is the important thing. No one will carry me in this life here. If I need something, I will have to make it or suffer without. I can pull my weight, and will prove my mettle. Four days, and I am finally starting to find my rhythm.

  Chapter 5

  Maggie sucked air through her teeth, laid down the knife she’d used to cut the pie, and gave her bleeding hands a rest again. If only they’d heal so she could get a break from the pa
in. As usual, Lenny had dutifully slathered her palms with salve this morning, but there had been too much work to be done around the ranch to let her hands rest for long.

  Lenny must have taken pity on her and decided to wait on shooting lessons today. After breakfast she’d wrapped Maggie’s hands and set to teaching her how to make a pie with peach preserves.

  She’d managed not to kill them with her other meals, and sitting there with its steaming golden crust, the finished pie looked decent. Smiling at Lenny across the table, she took a bite.

  Baking then, had proved to be her Achilles heel. This tasted like absolute rubbish. Incredibly frustrating. Would she ever be able to make something tasty?

  From the sour face Lenny made after tasting a bite, she didn’t appreciate the bitter qualities of the pastry either. Perhaps she’d used too much salt.

  Faint hoofbeats against dry ground in the distance brought her chewing to a halt to better hear. Garret wasn’t due back yet. Was she wishfully imagining the sound?

  Lenny gave her a frightened glance, rushed to the window, moved the thin curtains aside, peeked out and froze. By the time Maggie had glided to the window to see what had frightened her friend, Lenny was loading the shorter rifle and pistols. Maggie leaned against the wall and pulled the curtain aside with the barest brush of her fingertips. A stranger approached, wearing leather leggings tucked into fine boots. His button-up cotton shirt accented the imposing breadth of his shoulders.

  Her mouth went dry. What did he want and why was he calling while the men were in town? And what in bloody hell had Lenny—immovable brave Lenny—so frightened?

  Lenny shoved the rifle into her hands. The weapon felt good in her grasp, and her familiarity with it sparked a flicker of pride. Lenny put the pistols down, and with desperate speed unwrapped her bandaged hands. Well, that couldn’t be good.

  The man was close, and Lenny signed and whispered in her language. What in God’s name was the girl trying to say? Her fingers were flying through the gestures. She must have realized it, and slowing down, pointed to herself, put her finger to her lips. She picked up the pistols and motioned for them sneak out the back door and around the house.