Melissa walked over to them and smiled at him.
Melissa looked much better with Clark than Adrienne did. Not only was Melissa taller but she went better with the farm too.
“I should get started on the lunch,” Adrienne said.
“I hope you’ll save a dance for me,” Clark told her.
Trevor frowned. He shouldn’t be ignoring Melissa like that.
“Oh, I suppose everyone will have a chance to dance with each other,” Adrienne replied.
“Let me walk you back to the house,” Clark said.
Trevor gritted his teeth as Adrienne accepted his offer. She can’t be seriously considering him! He glanced at Melissa who looked forlorn. This won’t do at all. Just because Adrienne intends to fix me up with Melissa, it doesn’t give her free reign to pursue Clark. Didn’t her kiss with him the previous night mean anything to her?
“Come with me, Melissa,” Trevor softly said. Turning to Hank and Tristan, he called out, “We’ll take your horses to the barn.” They were too busy talking to Bonnie and Trudy to care. At least that part of the plan was a success.
As he and Melissa walked to the barn, he noted that Adrienne was watching them. Is she happy about this? It was hard to tell from the distance between them. He had trouble reading people unless he was close to them.
“Clark prefers Adrienne,” Melissa remarked.
“That’s just because he doesn’t know what he’s giving up,” he sourly stated. “You’re much better for him than she is. What can a city girl offer a farm boy?”
“Well, you grew up on the farm. You’re also in love with her.”
“But I’m heading to New York to write plays. I’m going to be a city boy soon enough, and it’s best for me to have a city girl.”
She sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m not pretty enough.”
He looked at her. She was a tomboy. As they put the horses in the stalls, he turned to her in interest. “You need to get into a dress and fix up your hair. Then he’ll notice you’re a woman.”
She touched her ponytail self-consciously. “Do you think this is why no man has come by to court me?”
“Well, my oldest sister was thirty-three when she got married. She didn’t wear pants all the time but she wore her hair up in a bun and never fixed herself up nice. Once she got married, she looked like a whole new person. I hardly recognized her. I wonder if Bonnie and Trudy would be willing to help the cause now that they have men interested in them.”
“The cause.” She chuckled. “It sounds funny when you put it that way.”
He grinned. “You have a great sense of humor. Clark’s got to see that once he spends some time with you. Let’s go have a quick talk with Bonnie and Trudy.”
Clark was sitting close to Adrienne on the porch swing when they returned to the house. She looks uncomfortable, doesn’t she? He couldn’t tell for sure. His jealousy was getting in the way of his usual clarity in reading people.
Bonnie and Trudy were still talking to Hank and Tristan.
It’s like being on Noah’s ark, except two couples are mixed up.
“Bonnie, Trudy, can I talk to you for a moment?” he asked the sisters.
They seemed reluctant to leave the men.
“I won’t keep you long,” he added.
They nodded and walked a couple meters from the porch so no one would hear them while they talked to him and Melissa. “Alright. I’m going to be honest with you two, but I need your promise to keep quiet about this plan of mine or it will blow up in all of our faces. Got it?”
Bonnie looked confused but nodded.
“How would you two like to have Melissa here for a sister-in-law?” he asked.
“It would be fine,” Trudy said.
“She would be better out here on the farm than Adrienne would,” Bonnie agreed. “Adrienne is nice and all but I don’t think she could survive out here.”
“Those are my thoughts on it too.” He was relieved they thought that. “Melissa and I were talking and we think if Clark were to see her dressed up, then he would see what a prize he’s overlooking.”
“A makeover? How exciting!” Trudy exclaimed.
“You are the same height and size as us,” Bonnie told Melissa. “You have such a lovely face. Yes, Clark would definitely notice you if you fixed up your hair and wore a dress.”
“It would be fun to include Hank and Tristan in this, don’t you think?” Trudy asked her sister.
“Have them focus on Adrienne so Clark has to spend time with Melissa?”
“You read my mind.”
Trevor was impressed with their quick thinking. This would be perfect in a play. After they had a chance to talk to Hank and Tristan, who reluctantly agreed to the plan after Bonnie and Trudy promised to reserve a kiss for each of them, he joined Adrienne and Clark on the porch. Love is in the air. All they needed was Valentine’s Day and the afternoon would be complete. He snapped his fingers. He would title his play Valentine Follies.
While Bonnie and Trudy took Melissa into their bedroom to make her a new woman, Tristan and Hank fought Clark for Adrienne’s attention. She looked baffled by their attention.
“I must start making lunch,” she finally said as she stood up from the porch swing.
“Let me help you, Adrienne,” Tristan offered. “Delicate hands like yours shouldn’t have to lift those heavy pots. I’ll do that for you.”
“I can reach for things that are high up on the shelf,” Hank added.
“We don’t want you to push yourself too hard in there.”
“You’re much too precious and sweet for that.”
“What about Bonnie and Trudy?” she anxiously asked.
“Where are they anyway?” Clark, who looked irritated, demanded.
“Who cares?” Hank shrugged. “We only came out here to be with Adrienne.”
“No. That’s not supposed to happen,” she protested.
“But we can’t help how we feel about you.”
“She’s going to be mine, so back off, Hank,” Tristan said.
“No, she’ll be mine.”
“I’ll be cooking. I’m sure Mrs. Howard can help me.” She quickly ran into the house and shut the door behind her.
Trevor chuckled.
“You both need to back off,” Clark snapped. “She was warming up to me until you two butted in. Why aren’t you with my sisters?”
“And they would be where?” Hank looked around.
Clark shook his head. “Fine. Hey, Trevor, why don’t you show Hank and Tristan the farm? They might be interested to know what they can expect if they marry my sisters.”
Trevor waved to them to follow him. He waited until they were out of Clark’s hearing before speaking. “You’re doing a great job. I almost believe you actually want her.”
“As long as Bonnie and Trudy understand it’s all an act, we can keep it up,” Hank said. “But I am hoping I can dance with Bonnie today.”
“I’ll see what I can do about arranging something.”
They mounted their horses and he gave them a tour of the farm. It took a good half hour and by the time they returned to the barn, he saw Clark talking to Adrienne by the bull pen. How did Clark get her outside? Clark leaned over and whispered something in her ear. She laughed.
He gritted his teeth. This wasn’t something he figured would happen.
“Uh oh. Looks like he’s going to steal her away,” Tristan noted as his horse stood next to his.
Trevor shook his head. “She’ll be my wife by this time tomorrow.” An idea came to him. “Anybody got a slingshot?”
Hank grinned. “I sure do. It keeps unsavory animals away from our sheep at home. I even have a few pebbles. What are you going to do? Hit Clark in the head?” He handed him the slingshot and pebbles.
“I’m going to do better than that. Adrienne’s never been dirty a day in her life, and I’m going to get her away from Clark and get you two to spend some time with your women all in the same shot.”
“Now this, I have to see,” Hank told Tristan.
They watched as Trevor took the slingshot and aimed the pebble at the bull’s rear end. “Here we go.”
He released the pebble, and it flew through the air and landed right on the bull’s behind. The bull snorted and raced to the fence. Adrienne was safe on the other side but she wouldn’t realize the bull couldn’t harm her until it was too late. Sure enough, as soon as she saw the bull charging at her, she backed up, tripped over the tree branch behind her feet and fell into the muddy puddle the rainstorm from the night before had left. The three men laughed as Clark struggled to help her stand up. She was covered in mud.
She looked up and Trevor sobered. Uh oh.
“You did this on purpose!” she yelled at him.
He shrugged.
“Just when I thought you were a decent man, you go and pull this stunt! I hate you!” She ignored Clark’s hand as she stormed back to the house.
“We should’ve hid,” Hank reflected.
“I hope we didn’t just ruin your chances,” Tristan added.
“Nah. She’ll still marry me. I got my plan in place. She might be sore with me, but she’ll be more than happy to marry me in order to avoid being hounded by a gazillion suitors. You saw how anxious she was to get rid of you two. She’ll have more men to fend off before the day is over.” It had cost him a week’s wages but he had paid a couple of men to stop by the inn later that day to talk to Adrienne.
“You seem awfully sure of yourself.”
“I am. It’s the only way the play can go if it’s to keep its romantic appeal.”
The two men looked at each other and shrugged.
As he handed Tristan the slingshot back, he thanked him and returned his horse to the stall. Adrienne, you’ll thank me for all of this when you’re holding little Trevor or Adrienne in your arms.
Chapter Sixteen
Adrienne was furious with Trevor for irritating the bull so that it nearly ran into her. She took a bath and cleaned off the mud as best as she could. Afterwards, Bonnie offered to let her borrow one of her dresses but the dress was too tight in the bosom and so long it reached past her ankles.
“I’m sorry, Adrienne,” Bonnie said when she saw her. “I can see that the buttons in the bust line are ready to pop. Would you like to wear a sweater over the dress?”
“Yes.” Though it was too hot for a sweater, she accepted the green sweater and threw it over to the orange dress. She felt frumpy.
When she went into the kitchen to serve lunch, the men all stared at her. She rolled her eyes. She knew she looked hideous.
“Sit next to me,” Hank offered.
“No, sit next to me,” Tristan argued.
She decided to sit between the Howard boys. At least Alex and Max were safe. Trevor sat across from her and smiled, but she refused to look at him. It was his fault that she looked so horrible. Clark finally had his attention on Melissa who looked stunning now that she was dressed as a woman instead of a farmhand. So much for Melissa showing Trevor what romance is. Melissa shouldn’t be with Clark, but it’s nice to have him leave me alone. She shook her head. What did she care if Trevor missed his chance at love? He arranged it so that she fell in the mud.
After lunch, she sat on the couch next to Max and Alex while Clark, Bonnie and Trudy performed for them. They sounded good together as Clark played his fiddle, Bonnie played her flute and Trudy sang. Adrienne had to admit that they were talented.
Hank and Tristan asked her to dance but she refused. “I’ll trip all over the place in this dress.” They insisted on sitting at her feet and looked at her once in awhile and smiled adoringly at her.
This is ridiculous! When will all these men leave me alone? Surprisingly, only Trevor left her alone. She rolled her eyes. Why did she care? Hank and Tristan obviously weren’t interested in the Howard sisters. I shouldn’t care if Trevor wants one of them. She was mad at him anyway. He had no right to make her fall in the mud. She hadn’t done anything to deserve such foul treatment.
Finally, Clark told Bonnie and Trudy to dance so he could continue playing the fiddle. They ran over to Trevor who said he didn’t like dancing but finally gave in and took turns dancing with them. Tristan and Hank pulled away from Adrienne long enough for a dance with the sisters, only to quickly return to her when the song was over.
It shouldn’t bother me that Trevor is ignoring me. I have no romantic interest in him at all. We’ve only been romantic because I’m trying to teach him what romance is.
She was relieved when it was time to leave. She didn’t think she could take Tristan and Hank’s constant attention much longer. Hank and Tristan offered to take her home on their horses. Clark was too busy talking to Melissa to notice that she was leaving, which was the only good thing that had happened that day.
“Trevor promised to take me back,” she told them as she walked out the door, holding the long dress up so she wouldn’t trip on it again.
“But you can go with one of us,” Hank argued.
“Yeah. We won’t bite,” Tristan urged.
She shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other while Trevor rode his horse toward them. “I promised him I’d go back with him.”
“Even after he made you land in the mud?”
“Well, we are staying at the inn. It’s just easier this way.”
Bonnie and Trudy came running up to Trevor and tugged at his pants until he slipped off the horse. Adrienne scowled at the scene.
“We were hoping we’d see you before you left,” Trudy gushed. “I made this bag of candy especially for you.”
“And I wrote a poem you might want to use for inspiration for a play,” Bonnie said.
They shoved their gifts at him.
Was Trevor pleased by their attention? Why do I care?
“I’ll take you home, Adrienne,” he said when he noticed her looking at him. “Sorry, ladies. But we got to go back.”
Adrienne rushed over to him. I’m just glad to be going to the inn. I’m not happy to be with him.
“We can’t wait to see you tomorrow after church,” Bonnie cooed.
“Yes,” Trudy agreed. “We plan to spend the entire day with you.”
“Well, I was hoping to work on my play,” he replied.
“We can help!”
“We would love to see more of your work,” Bonnie added.
“Oh...” He glanced at Adrienne. “We might as well tell them, sweetheart.”
Her eyes grew wide. What was he talking about?
“Tell us what?” Bonnie asked, glancing from Trevor to Adrienne.
“Adrienne and I just worked things out. We’re courting again.”
“What? When did you work things out? We thought she hated you after the mud incident.”
Trudy nodded. “And she told us that you were free to court one of us last time she was here.”
Trevor shrugged. “Well, we talked it over and decided it would be romantic to court.”
“I had no idea.” Bonnie sadly sighed. She gave Adrienne a dirty look. “Some honesty in the future would be greatly appreciated.”
“Don’t lead us to believe a lie,” Trudy hissed at her.
Adrienne gasped, appalled that they would act that way toward her.
The two sisters took back their gifts and stomped back to the house.
“We’d better comfort them,” Hank told Tristan. He turned to Adrienne. “Really, if you had your eyes set on Trevor, why didn’t you just tell us? We would have left you alone.”
She watched, dumbfounded as they followed the Howard sisters into the house.
Trevor breathed an audible sigh of relief. “Thank goodness that is over.”
Adrienne glared at him and crossed her arms.
“Whoa! There’s no need to look like you’re going to kill me. I just wanted those hounds off my back. I’ll never get any work done with them stopping by the inn. As it is, I hardly get any farming done during the week.”
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br /> “You had no right to say all of that. We’re not courting.” She refused to acknowledge that she was pleased he really wasn’t interested in Bonnie or Trudy after all.
He studied her. “How many single men have been talking to you since you got here?”
Startled by his sudden question, she thought it over. “More than I care to admit.”
“The same is happening with me and the women. Look, I haven’t been able to write much since I got here because every time I sit down in the room, there’s someone coming by for a visit, so I spend a lot of time in the parlor. I need to finish this play before I meet Mr. Adams. It took me a month to write the one that got ruined. I can’t afford to lose any more time. So, do you want men to keep coming around to see you or would you really like to be left alone?”
“You know the answer to that. I want to be left alone.”
“Then I have a deal for you. We both agree that we don’t want to marry any of the people here. Let’s pretend we’re courting.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.” And I’m not as excited by the prospect as I seem.
“It makes perfect sense. With the two of us together, the others will leave us alone.”
She recalled all the men who made it clear that they would be willing to court her. If she went with Trevor’s crazy scheme, she could survive the next month or two in peace, and it wouldn’t be that bad to be with him. “Alright. You got yourself a deal.”
“Good. I was really getting tired of fending those women off.” He got up on the horse. “I’ll take you home.”
She accepted his hand and let him help pull her up. She got in front him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “I thought you were interested in Melissa,” she said as he urged the horse forward. Her grip tightened. “Why are you pretending to court me instead of her?”
“To be honest, I think Clark will be better for Melissa. I’m heading for New York, and she wouldn’t be happy there. It’s best that they’re together.”
“You’re probably right.” She was secretly relieved he felt that way. “But is it right to lie to people about courting?”
Romancing Adrienne Page 11
