Chapter Three
C arter could hardly believe how lovely his wife was. He hadn’t identified himself to her when she first exited the train because he was certain she couldn’t be the one he was waiting for. But when no other unaccompanied females exited the train, he had approached her, assuming that either his wife had been delayed somewhere along the way or this was, indeed, her.
And her it was. He couldn’t believe his good fortune. She seemed reasonably good humored, at least passably intelligent, and was the prettiest little thing he’d laid his eyes on in the past several years. Maybe ever, but he couldn’t really recall. Of course, there was that little incident of her fainting. He truly hoped she wasn’t a sickly sort, as she wouldn’t hold up very well out on their spread. Not that they were so very far from civilization, but he was counting on a wife who could do at least a little bit more than just look pretty.
As they left the town behind, Carter was able to allow his mind to wander, since the horses could practically drive themselves over the familiar road. He was glad the woman, his new wife, he reminded himself, wasn’t a chatterbox. The more he thought about what a pretty picture she was, the happier he became with her arrival. Especially if one contrasted her with the wife poor Jacob Crocker got, Carter realized he had gotten the luck of the draw. Really, she was so lovely, it wouldn’t matter so much if she wasn’t of much use on the spread. In all reality, Carter had the resources; if he needed to hire more help, he could. He was just happy to have a companion. And he really liked that she seemed to be cheerful despite the little awkwardness at the beginning when she had fainted. Her robust appetite certainly must prove she wasn’t the sickly sort. It must’ve been the heat, like she said, added to her hunger. The more he thought about it, the harder his heart began to pound. I’m going to love this woman, he thought as a giddy feeling welled in his chest.
But as he sat there cataloguing her virtues while she merely gazed about taking in the scenery, he started to become a little suspicious. Why would such a paragon accept an arrangement such as they had made? What wasn’t she telling him? Was she perhaps out to swindle him in some way?
Carter’s mouth went dry at the thought that he might have saddled himself with a criminal or some sort of ne’er-do-well. His brother had warned him. He should have bestirred himself and gone back East to find himself his own bride. But Carter hadn’t wanted to go to the bother. And for that he might pay dearly. His brother had also suggested Carter ought to at least send for her without marrying her in advance, but he didn’t want to take the risk of her coming all this way and changing her mind like had happened to Sammy Smith last year. Those mail order brides weren’t always trustworthy, either. He figured if the woman was willing to say her vows, she was fully committed to sharing his life. But now he was beginning to wonder how this beautiful woman could have possibly had circumstances that made their arrangement the best option for her.
He really ought to ask her some questions. He had gotten used to the silence of living alone and so had to think rather harder than he should have needed to in order to come up with appropriate and acceptable questions.
He cleared his throat before speaking, which caused Ella’s direct, green gaze to collide with his. This caused him to stall on her appearance once more. She had unusual coloring. Dark hair with green eyes. He would have thought her eyes would match more with red hair. His focus centered on her head for a pace while he wondered if she had colored her hair. He didn’t know how anyone could achieve that color and have it look so real, but he supposed it was possible. What did he know about the wiles of women?
She was still looking at him expectantly, so Carter finally launched into his question after clearing his throat again. “So, were you always the adventurous sort?”
She answered him with a trill of laughter, kind of like the sound a lively bird might make, he thought fancifully. “I would rather describe myself as the least adventurous soul you might meet, to be frank.”
“I find that hard to believe,” he remarked. He regretted his words when he saw how flustered it made her. She flushed up to the roots of her dark hair and looked away from him, as though she wanted to ignore his presence.
Carter cleared his throat again. “I meant you no insult, ma’am, I merely meant that getting on a westbound train, alone, to meet your new husband after you’ve said your vows seems to require a certain sense of adventure.”
She trilled a laugh again, although this time it seemed a little less spirited. At least it didn’t seem that she held a grudge toward him for his thoughtless words. “I guess I can see why you would think so, but I have to say, this is the first adventure I’ve taken.”
“Are you going to be seeking out more adventures after this?”
“I suppose that remains to be seen, sir. I haven’t yet seen how this one has turned out.”
She sounded to him as though she were still deciding if he passed muster. Carter wasn’t sure how he was feeling in that moment. Her being so pretty had thrown him completely. Not that he was being shallow. He had just been expecting a woman who was more desperate and therefore would be appreciative of what he had to offer. This beautiful woman must have had her choice of options. What if he couldn’t keep her satisfied on his spread and she decided to leave him? Being legally bound to her would complicate both of their lives if he couldn’t make her stay.
Carter vowed to do his best. But that still didn’t mean he could trust her. And he definitely had no intention of giving her his heart just yet. He simply needed help and a companion. And eventually children would be nice.
Clearing his throat again, Carter ventured to address that sticky issue. “So, since we have just met, you are probably a little bit uncomfortable about us being alone together, am I right?”
He was surprised by the sunny smile she offered him at this question. “You are absolutely correct, but I hadn’t wanted to bring it up.”
He chuckled. He could feel his own face heating, but he persisted with his train of thought. “Well, I was thinking that we ought to give ourselves a little bit of time before we venture into an intimate relationship. Do you think we should set a time period, or just wait until we feel the timing is right?”
Carter watched in fascination as she seemed to take a large gulp at the question, but she kept a smile stretching her lips. He wondered if her smiles and laughter were actually a mask for her true feelings.
“I think a time period might be appropriate. If we left it until we feel it’s right, we might never agree on that.” The giggle that accompanied her words had an air of nervousness attached to it, but Carter couldn’t help smiling along with her words.
“Do you think three months might be appropriate?” he asked, solicitous of her thoughts.
She blinked and her smile dimmed, but she didn’t reveal her feelings. “Yes, that would probably be appropriate,” she answered.
Carter was filled with relief. He was glad she seemed so amenable. Setting a limit on their celibacy would make it bearable and give him time to decide if he trusted her or not. Really, how could you be intimate with someone you didn’t trust?
While he had become quite used to not having conversation going on around himself, he tried to exert himself to entertain her as they made the long drive home by pointing out various sights to her along the way. She seemed to be in awe of the scenery, which moved him to ask: “Have you never been outside of Boston before?”
“Not even once.” Her reply was cheerful. “Although we would go to the beach on occasion, but it was practically within the city.”
“Were you not nervous of leaving the city behind?”
“Not at all.” The smile that accompanied this declaration appeared genuine and true. He wondered if she would elaborate. He waited a while to see if she would. Finally she spoke again. “While it will be an adjustment to get used to living far from conveniences like shops, I am looking forward to the challenge. And so far, everything I’ve seen has been beautiful. I
look forward to learning everything I need to know.”
This brought him to another concern.
“What do you know so far?”
He was intrigued by the expression that crossed her face. It seemed to be a mixture of uncertainty, embarrassment, and chagrin. But it was wiped away almost immediately by a wide grin, and she cheerfully pronounced, “Pretty much nothing of use, I’m afraid. I was raised to be a socialite. I can run a household of staff but have not done a single minute of manual labor in my entire life.” She paused while that same expression shimmied across her face. She replaced her grin and continued, her tone full of determination. “But one thing I most certainly am not is stupid. I can be a hard worker, and I can learn.”
Carter gulped. He should have written a few more requirements in his request to his friend Fred when he was asking him to arrange a wife for him.
“Well, we have a bit more of a drive. Is there anything you’d like to ask me?”
His pretty bride blinked at him and looked to be momentarily at a loss for words. Again a wide smile split her face. “I don’t even know where to start!” She paused in thought before blurting her first question. “What’s a spread?”
Carter wrinkled his brow in a frown, wondering what she was asking, but then his own face split in a grin. “My spread!” He laughed. “That’s what we call a large piece of land upon which a man farms or raises cattle. In my case, I’m a rancher and we have quite a large spread for our cattle to roam around. In certain ways it’s easier than farming. We only need to raise enough crops to feed ourselves and some for the animals through the winter in case it’s a hard one.”
“Are there different kinds of winters?” She seemed puzzled by his statement.
“Some years there’s more snow than others, or the temperatures are lower than usual. When that happens, it’s harder for the animals to look after themselves. And of course, we keep a few cows and chickens for our own milk and eggs, as well as meat, so they, being much more domesticated, need to be fed year round.”
Her forehead creased in concentration. Carter thought it was adorable. He bit the inside of his cheek to stem his reaction. “You look confused.”
She cocked her head. “So, do you mean some people raise a lot more crops than you do but fewer animals? And that’s why you’re a rancher instead of a farmer?”
“That’s right.” He nodded, pleased to see that despite her lack of knowledge, she wasn’t a dimwit.
“Do you suppose one is less work than the other?” she asked, her forehead still creased in contemplation.
“I much prefer being able to roam freely over my land, not being tied quite so tightly to working the land. Of course, like I said, some has to be done for our own use, but that isn’t the source of my income.”
“So there’s profit in farming and in ranching?”
“Most definitely, otherwise, why do it?”
She offered him half a smile and half a shrug, as though she hadn’t even understood her own question. “I guess I figured it was just a means of survival.”
“It is that, of course, and many just stop at that, but I don’t aim to just be satisfied with mere survival. If my children don’t want to follow in my footsteps, I want to be in a position to help them out with whatever they want to do. And if my wife wants new whatever, I want to be able to provide it. I want more.”
He felt his face heat in response to her obvious embarrassment over his mention of buying his wife things. But he had no intention of withdrawing his words. If she stuck around and proved to be a halfway decent partner, he had every intention of treating her as well as he possibly could. He never wanted a woman of his to have to work herself to the bone like his mother had. He was going to make sure she had nice things and was satisfied with the bargain they had struck.
“Do you intend to live on your spread for the rest of your life?”
He was taken aback by her next tentative question.
“Are you pining for Boston already?”
“Not even a little bit.” Her answer was quick and sounded sincere.
“Then why are you asking?”
She offered him another half shrug. “Your determination to turn a profit with your ranching reminds me of gentlemen in the city. So I thought you might be aspiring to return to prove a point of some sort.”
Carter felt his respect for her grow, even as his suspicions mounted. She was far from dimwitted.
“I love life out here. I loved it when I first arrived, and it was as wild as can be. Now with the trains coming through, civilization is quickly trying to catch up to us. I love that civilization is within reach, but that I can stay far away from it if I wish. My land is extensive, as I mentioned, so I don’t have to be concerned about being crowded out. But I don’t see myself ever returning to live in Boston or anywhere else, for that matter.” He stopped talking and glanced at her, wondering how she was receiving his words. He was surprised to see that she was merely nodding and listening with an attentive face. He added, “Of course, I might be willing to visit at some point.”
This caused worry to spread across her face. “Won’t that be a problem for the animals?”
“I have hands that can stay behind and look after things.”
She wrinkled her nose and stared pointedly at his gloved hands that were holding the reins. Carter burst into laughter.
“Not my literal hands. A ranch hand is a hired helper who works on the land along with me.”
“Oh!” she exclaimed then joined him in laughter. “I guess I have a lot to learn. Are you going to be terribly impatient with explaining everything to me?”
“I don’t expect so.” He answered as honestly as he could. “We’ve managed this long without you. We should be able to manage while you figure things out.”
“Will you be able to spare the time to teach me whatever I need to know?”
“I had expected having a wife would require a certain amount of my time and attention, so I’ve accounted for it. The timing of your arrival is fortuitous, to be honest. Since it’s almost fall, most of the harvest has already been done. The only truly pressing thing that needs to be finished before winter is to ride out and examine the entire fence line to ensure none of the animals will be going astray through the winter. And, ideally, to bring them in closer before winter closes in. We can’t say for certain how hard or long the winter will be. It’s better if the cattle are within easy range so we can check on them from time to time and make sure if they need to be provided any help or extra food.”
“How many animals do you have?”
“A couple thousand. I don’t know the exact number. We’ve had a number of births lately.”
“A couple thousand?” She sounded incredulous. “That must be an awful lot of work to look after them all.”
“Like I said, they’re easier than raising crops for sale,” he answered with a shrug.
“But what do you do with them? Sell them? Who would buy them? And especially at that volume? Doesn’t everyone around here have cows of their own?”
Carter grinned. It was an intelligent question. And he was proud to be able to provide the answer. “With the train coming through regular like, we can actually sell to buyers from anywhere. Our hides are particularly wanted, especially by factories in the East.”
He wasn’t quite sure why she shuddered, but she kept a smile on her face throughout his explanation. So she couldn’t be too uncomfortable with his words. Perhaps she was getting cold. Carter glanced at the sky. They had plenty of daylight left and the temperature hadn’t dipped. Perhaps she was still unwell from her faint earlier.
Chapter Four
I f she hadn’t accepted Fred’s offer of marrying Carter McLain by proxy, Ella could have found herself working with his hides in a workhouse. The establishment she had toured back in Boston, was, from what she could tell, one of the least awful of the workhouses in the industrial part of the city. But it was a workhouse none the less.
She struggled to control her reaction to Carter’s words and just barely managed not to gasp over his description of his business.
“You must be very industrious to have so many animals at this point. You don’t look to be too terribly old.” Ella felt her face flame over her words. Was it a terribly rude thing to say?
The deep chuckle of the handsome man at her side made her innards clench. She wasn’t sure if it was a pleasant sensation. In fact, she rather thought it wasn’t. She didn’t want to feel attracted to him. She couldn’t relax until she knew more about him. Yes, she had agreed to be his wife, but that didn’t mean she had to let her feelings get wrapped up into the situation. That would just turn it into a fine mess, to be sure. She had to keep her wits about her. But she could be grateful that she would be seeing his animals while they were alive, rather than working with their hides in a factory as he had called it.
“No, I’m not terribly old. I just turned thirty.”
“How did you get so much land and so many animals? Did you inherit the land from someone?”
“Nope. I worked for it. I’ve been out in these parts for more than twelve years. I grew up in Boston but couldn’t bear to go into trade with my father, which is why I’m sensitive to the fact that my sons might not want to follow in my footsteps.”
Ella was surprised that he was telling her so much. Over lunch, he had barely said five words to her, merely watching her in fascination as she ate her food. It had made her so uncomfortable. She felt like a specimen he was observing. She had been mortified. At least he didn’t seem to have taken a disgust of her as he was suddenly much more talkative. Perhaps he was just uncomfortable in the town since, as he said, he’s been out here in the wilderness for twelve years. He could just be unused to more people.
The drive was passing quickly and Ella was enjoying the scenery. It was more picturesque than some of what she had passed through while traveling on the train. Even though she had never been outside of Boston before, she was finding she quite liked the wildness of the place. She hoped, as he had said, that civilization didn’t encroach too much on this beautiful, wild place.
A Bride For Carter (The Proxy Brides Book 6) Page 3
