The Debutante's Gamble: Western Historical Romance (Debutante's of Durango Book 5)

by Sylvia McDaniel

  "I want to catch a fish," Todd pouted.

  "Keep your hook in the water and wait for a bite," Fannie said.

  "But how will I see him?"

  "You won't, silly," she told Todd. "The fish will bite your worm beneath the water."

  Walter hurried over to Timothy who struggled to take the perch off the line. "Grip it by its head and slide the hook out."

  Timothy glanced up at him and concentrated on what he said. The hook came out and the boy held his prize catch in his hand. "My first fish."

  "Now run the string through his mouth, so he can't swim away," he instructed Timothy, pride filling him at the way Timothy was learning. How both of his sons were changing.

  "We've caught one, and we need at least four for a fish fry," she said, turning back to Todd. "Put your line in, if you want to catch one."

  "Yes, ma'am," his son said and Walter wished he felt at ease with the boys as she obviously did. In fact, who did he have in life close to him besides Fannie and his boys? No one.

  Oh, sure, his secretary and he worked together, but there were times the man hated him. And he couldn't blame him. So many nights they stayed late, and he thought of his secretary's wife and children.

  A scream came from Todd as he dropped his pole to the ground. "I got a bite."

  "Well, pick up your line. If you aren't holding your pole, you can't catch a fish."

  Going over to where Todd yanked on his line, Walter watched him land the perch on the bank, where the fish flipped and flopped. The little boy stared at him with his mother's brown eyes.

  Natalie would always live through her sons.

  "Is it hurt?"

  "No," Walter said, helping his son remove the fish. "Put him on the stringer."

  Todd gazed up at his father, his eyes questioning. "Papa, do you love Fannie."

  Whirling around she glanced between the two of them, and he didn't know how to respond. If he said he loved her, he would be lying, but if he said he didn't, that would be hurtful.

  How did he get out of this one? Reaching out, he ruffled the boy’s hair. "She's your new mother and I'm married to her, aren't I?"

  Todd frowned. "Do you love us? Fannie tells us every night when she tucks us in, but you never tell us."

  A quick glance at Fannie confirmed she stared at him, her sapphire eyes twinkling with amusement at his discomfort. "Of course, I love you. From the moment you were born, I've loved you."

  The child stared at them. "Why don't you sleep in the same room? Hubert's parents sleep in the same bed."

  Hubert was a friend. When had his boys become so observant? When had his babies started to notice things in life?

  "Your father snores," Fannie replied, coming to his rescue, her eyes laughing with merriment. "Besides, he comes down the hall to tell me good morning and kiss me goodnight."

  He did neither of these things, and yet, here she was standing up for him, so he wouldn't appear bad in front of his own child. On a whim, he took her in his arms. "Yes, I kiss my lovely new wife, every morning and night."

  She raised her brows at him and gave him a look that said you're lying. "There are so many mysteries between us. We're still learning so much about each other."

  "Yes," Walter said, and he kissed her on the tip of her nose and on her lips.

  "Ewww, they're kissing," Timothy said. "I'm going back to fishing. It's not as scary."

  Fannie whispered soft enough only he could hear. "You have to tell me why we can't."

  Confusion gripped him as he stared into her sapphire eyes. "What are you talking about?"

  "The other night when you left my room, you said, we can't. Why can't we? Is something broke?”

  “Everything is fine,” he said shocked she would even mention what he said. And to think she thought something was wrong, well that wasn’t right.

  “Glad you feel that way. I’m a little confused right now.”

  A nervous tremor spiraled up his spine. After he fled the room to check on his son, he forgot all about saying those two words. Now here he was fishing with his sons and wife and realizing he couldn't answer that question without fearing she would walk away.

  "Tonight,” she said, “after the boys are in bed, we're having a real conversation."

  He nodded knowing that discussion would never happen, unless she pinned him down, and even then, he would dodge the answer. This evening the twins would be exhausted and go down early. Somehow he needed to save himself from her scrutiny.

  That night when they got home, he took ill from the sunshine, leaving her to get the boys ready for bed. By the time she finished, he was tossing and turning in his bed, wanting his wife, wishing he would put his convictions aside and sleep with her.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Walter had to stay away from his home or be lost to his convictions. Spending time with Fannie became nearly impossible as he walked around with a constant hard on. The woman seemed to deliberately drive him crazy with her touching or coming up behind him and pressing her body into his.

  Tonight he needed a break and came to the gambling hall, determined to spend time away from his wife.

  "Everyone in," the dealer asked.

  He threw in his ante and waited for the cards to be dealt. Lifting his glass to his lips, he took a sip of whiskey and almost blew the alcohol across the table at the sight of his beautiful wife walking in the door.

  "What the hell," he said out loud and the card dealer glanced over to see Fannie.

  "Good evening, Miss Trippe," he said.

  She smiled and sat down at the table. "Good evening, it's Mrs. Hersey now. Please deal me in."

  Stunned, the man looked at Walter as he finished dealing the first round.

  "What are you doing here?"

  "Gambling," she replied.

  "Who is watching the children?"

  "They're sound asleep in bed and cook said she would listen for them."

  Cook would never help him and told him she would quit if he asked her to watch them again.

  "You're not playing," he said.

  She raised her brows at him. "What is going to stop me?"

  "Your husband," he responded as he glanced at the dealer. "We're leaving."

  The man handed him the cash for him and Fannie.

  "Hey," she said. "That is my money."

  The man shrugged and gazed at Walter for guidance, who walked around the table and took her by the arm.

  "We're going home," he said. "Don't say a word until we are in the buggy."

  Her body stiffened and he knew he would be dealing with an angry wife, but so was he. No wife of his would be found betting in a gambling hall. Yet, he enjoyed meeting Fannie playing cards. Though, he didn't want her reputation ruined, which would affect his sons and her. Most of all Fannie.

  When they married, he promised her she could gamble and now he took that privilege away.

  As soon as the door closed behind them, he turned to her. "Don't you ever go in there again."

  "Why not? You promised me I could gamble when we married."

  "Because you're my wife and I changed my mind," he said, his voice raising as he hurried her toward his waiting buggy. "Where is your horse?"

  "I walked," she said irritated. "Am I your wife? Are you sure we're man and wife? I feel more like your babysitter and housekeeper."

  A twinge of fear spiraled through Walter. His wife wasn't dumb by any means, and she was beginning to figure out why he married her. "Of course, we're married."

  When they reached the buggy, they stopped.

  "Walter, I swear, I am bored out of my mind. All I do is make sure your house runs smoothly and babysit the twins. I never see you, you don't kiss me, you don't talk to me, and most of all you don't sleep with me. Am I so ugly, you can't stand to be with me?"

  "Of course not," he replied. "Work has been busy."

  This was coming to a head and somehow he needed just a little longer. Surely no one would believe they had not slept together and a
gree to annul the marriage. And it was slow torture not to sleep with his wife.

  "When did you take up gambling as your occupation? This isn't coming home to your family. This is going out and not getting home until after your wife is in bed. Don't think I don't know when you come home."

  So angry, she was shaking, and he couldn't blame her in many ways. Before he married her, he should have been honest with her. But he'd been desperate. That also didn't make him think highly about himself.

  Attracted to his wife, he wanted to bed her in the worst way, but tried to protect her.

  "If I had known this was how our marriage would be, I would have chosen the convent. Because there is not much difference in my life. Neither place am I experiencing marital relations. Why did you marry me? You knew I liked to gamble, to drink, and have fun. Did you just want to end my wild ways?"

  What could he say? If she learned the reason why he married her, she would leave, and yet he did enjoy being with Fannie. He admired her spunk, her vitality, the way she let you know her feelings, though at the moment, he wished she would focus on something besides himself.

  "Fannie," he said, wiping his hand across his face. Could he use the same old excuse, work. "Running a mine takes a lot of time. Occasionally, I sneak away to the gambling hall and tonight was such a night."

  "So I'm right, you'd rather spend time with men than come home to your wife who spends the entire day watching your sons. The boys need their father more than me and you're not giving them your time and attention. And your wife receives nothing from you."

  "I've given them more since we've been married. I'm trying, Fannie, I am."

  It was clear, she was about to give up on their marriage. Somehow he would need to spend time with his wife to save this union and yet not bed her. Was that even possible?

  "Walter, it's not too late. Let's annul this marriage," she said softly. "You don't want me, so let's end this farce now."

  Oh, if she only realized how much he wanted her and that his actions were the result of him trying to stay away from her.

  In the buggy, he reached out and pulled her to him. His lips covered hers in a way that expressed all the pent-up emotions, he tried to keep from her.

  All the hunger exploded inside him and if they had been anywhere but on Main Street, he would have taken her right there in the buggy. Right there he would have claimed her virginity and sealed her fate as his wife.

  Finally, she pushed back. "Then you kiss me like that and the circle of doubt continues. Sometimes I think you want me and the next moment, you push me away. Whatever game you're playing, needs to end soon, because I can't continue this way. Now, take me home."

  In the darkness, tears lay on her cheeks and a sense of anguish filled him. Was he doing the right thing? Or was he being selfish? What did he do now, because he feared Fannie would tire of his shenanigans and pack her bags and leave?

  And he didn't want her to go. But he didn't want to harm her either.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  The next evening, Fannie took the boys to have supper with their father. Once again, Walter stayed at the office, working late. Even after their discussion the night before, he had not given up trying to leave her alone.

  Whatever love had been brewing between them since their marriage, the emotion seemed to be dying on the vine. Even last night when she confronted him, he didn't seem to care she was lonely.

  Before dinner, he took the boys outside to see the latest equipment that had just arrived for the mine. Not wanting to go with them, she moved about his office. His secretary, Mr. Sanford, disappeared into the back, and she walked over to his desk and peered at his calendar. Curious.

  With a quick glance she looked at Walter's work schedule. Maybe she was being nosy, but she didn't care. Was he really that busy a man or was this just an excuse to avoid his wife and children?

  On Tuesday, tomorrow night, a notation showed for Mrs. Savanah Jones. Could she be the same woman he introduced her to in the bar?

  "What are you doing?" Mr. Sanford said, walking back into the room.

  "I'm looking at my husband's calendar," she said like nothing was wrong. "Who is Mrs. Savanah Jones."

  The man tensed and his eyes narrowed. "Nothing in there is your business. If you want to know, ask your husband, not me."

  Fannie was at the end of her rope and tired of being told anything to do with Walter was none of her business. No one gave her the proper respect a wife deserved, including her husband. But this man was an employee and at this moment, she was the wife.

  "Look, Sanford," she said, leaning up close to him, "you tell me who she is and what he's doing with her or I'm going to bring the twins over here and leave them. Then I'm getting on the first train out of town and you will be forced to deal with them for days on end."

  His eyes grew large and all the color drained from his face. He glanced around the office. "When he learns I told you, he'll fire me."

  "If you don't tell me, you get the twins," she said. "It will be our secret."

  Shaking his head, he sighed. "She's a lady he sees to manage manly things. He used to see her once a month, but this is the first time since he married you."

  A cold rush of anger filled her. "Like a mistress or a prostitute? Tell me the truth or I promise, you will be seeing the boys every day, all day."

  As he glanced down the hall, he whispered. "She runs the most elegant, whorehouse in town. Her girls are high priced and only the richest men can afford them. She herself only takes a very few wealthy clients."

  Rage unlike anything she'd ever felt consumed her. Somehow she needed to keep this to herself. Somehow Fannie had to hide her hurt and fury and save that for tomorrow, when much to her husband's surprise, his high-classed whore would not be seeing him.

  "Thank you, Mr. Sanford. No matter what, if my plans change, I'll find someone to watch the boys besides yourself," she said, turning from the man trying to conceal the tears that threatened to fall. Hurt and anguish raged through her like a spring storm racing across the plains.

  Walter Hersey had no idea what was about to befall him.

  The twins and Walter came back from outside, and she swiped her cheeks free of the painful evidence and hurried out of his secretary's office back into the dining area.

  "Fannie, there is a huge iron pot where they cook the silver. It's bigger than any cooking pot," Timothy said so excited.

  "Yeah, and Papa is going to take us to the mine next week and show us how it works," Todd said. "I can't wait."

  How could she act like nothing was wrong? Yet she must. "That sounds like a lot of fun."

  "Come with us," Todd said.

  Reaching out she ruffled the boy’s hair. "No, this is father and son time. You will have a great trip with your father."

  When she turned to Walter, she saw him watching her and part of her wanted to scream at him. But instead, she let her rage and hurt build like a smoldering flame. This could be the end of their short marriage.

  As much as she didn't want to marry Walter, she was beginning to fall in love with him, but wondered what held him back. Did he still love his wife? But she had been dead for five, going on six, years.

  Standing in the doorway he stared at her, and she gazed at him, feeling like a wall separated them. "Are you ready to eat."

  "Yes," he said. "Tomorrow night I'm meeting a business colleague for dinner."

  It took everything she had to keep from retorting something hateful, but her plans must remain a secret. "Of course. Who are you meeting?"

  "The director of the mining department in the territory," he said.

  The urge to pick up the nearest object and beam him was strong. A prostitute was the wrong kind of miner for a married man.

  With a forced smile, she said, "I'm sure you'll have an enjoyable dinner talking prospecting and digging for silver."

  Tomorrow night would be one he would never forget.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Early the next ev
ening, Fannie took the boys to her mother's to spend the night.

  "Thank you, Mother," she told her.

  Her mother eyed her strangely. "Are you all right."

  If her mother understood her grit and determination right now, she wouldn't be asking that question. "I'm great."

  "Usually, when you say something that way, trouble is on the horizon."

  "Well, at least this time the trouble is not directed at you," Fannie said.

  "Oh dear," her mother said.

  The boys stood there listening to the grownups conversation. She knelt beside them. "Be good for my mother and father, and tomorrow, we will do whatever you want. If you misbehave, you will spend the day locked in your room with no toys. Do you understand?"

  "But I don't want to stay in my room," Timothy said frowning.

  "Then don't misbehave," Fannie said, giving him a hug and Todd one as well. Standing, she hugged her mother. "I'll come by early tomorrow and pick them up."

  "Fannie, everything is all right between you and Walter," her mother asked.

  What could she tell her? That she was about to confront her husband's mistress? That her husband had not slept with her? That their marriage wasn't consummated?

  Later, they would talk, but not with the children around. They didn't need to know their father was a cheater. "Everything is peachy, Mother."

  Turning, she hurried down the steps and climbed into the wagon. Waving goodbye to the boys and her mother, she turned and headed back to town. Next stop, Mrs. Savanah Jones house of ill repute.

  In less than an hour, she'd taken the wagon home, dropped it off and walked to where Mrs. Jones ran her business. As she neared the door, a stylish man hurried out and tipped his hat at her. "Evening, ma'am."

  She nodded, trying not to draw attention to herself.

  Standing on the doorstep, she longed to back out, but rapidly knocked before she lost her courage. Walter would not get away with cheating.

  A servant came to the door. "Yes, may I help you?"

  "I need to speak with Mrs. Jones."