by Rebel Carter
Mr. Rutherford beamed at her mother and then winked at Mary. “Enjoy yourself, young lady.”
“Yes, sir.” She smiled at him; this time it was genuine for his intervention allowed her the luxury of extra time. Perhaps, having a man in her mother’s sights would not be an altogether unpleasant thing.
“Have a merry time!” Mary waved at the couple. She kept her warm smile in place until they had turned and gone on their way. She stood still for a moment making sure they had well and truly disappeared into the crowd of merrymakers before she turned to rush towards the chapel. She was practically running as she broke through the crowd and she came to a stumbling stop at the foot of the steps.
And there, just as promised, stood Alex.
“What is it?” Alex asked, giving Mary a curious look. “You’ve been staring at me like you think I might up and fly away for the past ten minutes.”
Mary flushed and dropped her eyes. “I didn’t think you were going to be here. I mean because I was late to arrive and all.”
Alex lifted her shoulder in a shrug. “I told you I would wait for you, and I am a woman of my word. Follow me, we can talk inside where your mama can’t see.”
“Oh, yes, clever thinking.” Mary managed to return her smile though she was acutely aware that she hadn’t been thinking of her mother or the danger that would come were Sarah James to see her with Alex. The woman was as breathtaking as she had been that afternoon, perhaps even more so with the dark of night around them, her features awash in the warm light of the lit lanterns, two on either side of her illuminating the stairs of the chapel. A ribbon garland snapped in the wind behind Alex, the pastels and lace of the decoration softening the woman’s sharp profile.
Alex looked just as Mary had always imagined a knight in shining armor might appear. Reassuring looks, stoic profile, and her strong frame was enough to make a woman swoon like any respectable maiden fair. But if Alex were the knight and she the damsel fair, then what did that make her mother? Not a witch, but most assuredly the dragon. Mary’s lips turned up in a smile and she came forward when Alex jerked a thumb over her shoulder towards the chapel doors.
“This way, Minnie.” The couple entered the chapel easy as you please with not even the doors to the building being locked.
When Mary looked surprised Alex said, “No need to lock much up here. Not in this town. The people all know each other, though,” she paused moving to the door as Mary walked in and passed her. “I expect that will change in the future with all the new arrivals, but for now the town remains as it is. How it changes can only remain to be seen.”
Mary twisted her fingers in her skirts. “My mama and I are part of those new arrivals you think will change the town, aren’t we?”
“Not you. Your mother, maybe but that’s just the way of things.” She shut the door and walked towards Mary with a wave of her hands. “Now then, we have important things to discuss don’t we?”
Mary blinked at the sudden change of conversation, but Alex was right. There were far more important things to talk of instead of Mary’s worry that she was once more a problem. If there was a way to make a life and home for herself in a new place, she wanted it, and if that place happened to be Gold Sky she wanted to make it the best place she could.
“Yes, that’s right. What, ah, what were you going to tell me? I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I’ve been trying to puzzle it out for hours now. Please tell me.”
“Have a seat, Minnie.” Alex swept a hand to a nearby pew and settled herself down. “I feel like this conversation might require you to be sitting.”
“And why would that be? Is it because it is a salacious conversation?” Mary asked earnestly, taking a seat beside Alex.
Alex chuckled and crossed her arms. “Could be that you lose the ability to stand once the worries of your present situation are lifted from your shoulders. It’s hard to remember how to stand when you aren’t carrying such a heavy burden. Might think you’ll float away.”
“If only that were possible. I’d have floated away a long time ago.”
“That I believe, but you might find you do once I tell you that I have figured out a solution to your situation.”
Mary was practically bouncing in her seat with anticipation, but she forced herself to remain still and patient. She managed it, but only just.
“When I told you that marriage in Gold Sky did not require a man I meant that you would be free to find a woman that suited your taste. That you need not resign yourself to a lie for the rest of your life.”
“What do you mean, I would be able to marry a woman? Such a thing is not possible. It’s difficult to even remain unattached and in the company of a woman that does strike one’s fancy. How would I manage a marriage?”
“What do you know of Gold Sky?” Alex asked.
Mary considered the question for a moment and thought about what her Mother had told her about the town. There had been a considerable amount of information Sarah James had drilled into her head but most of it had surrounded Julian Baptiste’s whereabouts and preferences. She frowned when she realized she did not know much else than what she had gleaned from her brief outings to the mercantile or church.
“Well, I know that the town is growing and rapidly so. The new railroad depot Julian Baptiste is bringing to Gold Sky has put it on the map as a destination for investors.”
Alex nodded approvingly at her. “That is right. We are quite busy as of late and we have Mr. Baptiste to thank for it. He’s a fair man interested in the town’s well-being on account of his new wife and his sister’s roots in the town. What else do you know?”
“Ah, well his sister is the teacher?” Mary tried when she could think of nothing else.
“Yes, that’s right. Do you know anything about her marriage?”
Mary shook her head slowly. “No but what does that have to do with a solution to my problem?”
“The woman has two husbands.’
Mary’s mouth dropped open. “Two?”
“Yes, and they are the law men in town. Respected members of the community, all three of them, and yet they live as they please.”
“How is that possible?” Mary felt a bloom of hope in her chest. If a woman was allowed to marry two men, then surely her right to take one wife was understandable.
“On account of Gold Sky not being your normal town, not even on the frontier.” Alexi placed a hand on the pew in front of them and turned to face Mary fully. “This place is near magic in its ability to accept and encourage people to love and be themselves. I have never met a kinder group of individuals. All of us came here running, like I told you and it is here that we all found a reason to stop running.”
Mary’s eyes watered and she ducked her head, surprised at the sudden appearance of tears. “That sounds like a lovely thing to find,” she husked out, wiping at the corner of her eyes.
“It can be yours as well, Minnie. You don’t have to keep running.” Alex reached out and placed a hand on hers.
“Even if I were able to marry a woman, what would that do for me? I am still without prospects for such a life and my mother is not of the same mind as Gold Sky. She would never allow it.”
Alex patted her hand reassuringly. “That is where I come in. You already know me.”
Mary’s eyes widened in surprise. “But that means--”
“That you would marry me.”
Chapter 5
“Marry...you?”
“Yes, me.” Alex pressed a hand to her chest and smiled at her. “You already know me, so there will be no need to find a new prospect.”
“But we, ah, we don’t know one another,” Mary whispered. She swallowed hard and continued on, “How are we to marry when we have only just met?”
“It would not be a true match. Not a marriage of love, but of one of necessity.” Mary’s heart sank at the clarification. Even if she had protested Alex’s mention of a marriage to her it did not mean that the idea was wholly unappealing.
/> She gave Alex a tight smile. “Yes, of course. One of convenience but...what exactly is that convenience?”
“Getting you room to breathe, to be able to be yourself. I expect that you have been under your mother’s heel for far too long now, hmm?” Alex looked at her with eyes that saw far too much and gave Mary an understanding smile.
“Yes, that’s right. It hasn’t been easy since papa passed away,” she confessed and not for the first time since they had met took comfort in Alex's touch. She turned her hand so that they were able to interlace their fingers.
“But why would you marry me? If you do so then I get away from my mother, but what does that give you? Why would you tie yourself to someone you do not know for such a-a permanent arrangement such as marriage?”
“Marriage need only be as permanent as we see fit,” Alex told her. “Remember what I said about the town. If we marry and separate, then they will allow it as surely as they will our nuptials.”
“But why would you marry me, even if it can be undone?” Mary gave herself a pat on the back that her voice did not waver. It was not for her to feel rejection or a sense of disappointment that Alex, a woman offering to be her ally, a woman that she felt an attraction to and admitted she felt the same for Mary, would only be with her for a time. She shouldn’t be fearful to lose Alex so quickly when they had only met that day, but already Mary felt a kinship to the woman she was reluctant to turn her back on.
“Someone once gave me a chance. A helping hand if you will.” She squeezed Mary’s hand and drew back. Mary had to dig her nails into her palm to stop herself from chasing the other woman’s touch. “And I vowed to myself that I would give the same help I received if and when I was able to return the favor.”
“And marrying me falls into that category?”
“Indeed it does,” Alex told her. “Marrying me won’t be so bad. I’ve got a good-sized house outside of town, you won’t want for anything while you plan your future, you are welcome to stay and never go as well. It would be safe.” She paused, and then added in a quieter voice, “You will not be a burden to me. Nor will the baby. I want you both to be safe and happy, Minnie.”
Mary bit her lip. “Well and truly?”
“Yes, of course. If you were of a mind to stay in Gold Sky, then you would have a place with me for as long as you liked.”
“I like the sound of that, but what do we do about my mother? She would never allow the marriage to take place. She doesn’t-she doesn’t understand any of this. She chooses to live in the world of her own creation and that does not allow for me marrying a woman. No matter how much I wish to.”
Alex held up a finger and gave her an excited smile. “I have that all worked out! Just a minute and I’ll show you.” She rushed up from her seat and hurried towards the front of the church where she rummaged at a table. It was only when she held a newspaper in her hand and lifted it above her head with a whoop of triumph that she turned back towards Mary.
“I found it!”
“Found what?” Mary asked. She had to fight against the laugh that nearly escaped her when Alex whooped again and came forward waving the newspaper.
“I saw it here today and hid it to make sure that no one filched it for their own reasons. Pastor Bruce’s sister has been on a rip about matchmaking and has taken every last advert for her own use.”
“What advert?”
“This one!” Alex thrust the paper into Mary’s hands early. “It is perfect for our scheme.”
Mary looked the paper over, eyes moving over the small print to see that it was a page full of hopefuls advertising for spouses. The small neat script varied in its offerings, some looking for those good in the kitchen and inclined to have a family, others still searching for partners with loyal and warm dispositions, thrifty minded spenders, experienced horse workers, efficient farm hands, and more still seeking incomparable beauty, but each one thing above all: a wife.
“The mail order adverts?” Mary asked, looking up from the paper to see Alex watching her expectantly.
“Yes, my plan is simple. I post an advert in tomorrow’s paper, one that is sure to interest your mother. You will respond, and our marriage will be set into motion immediately.”
“But there’s one thing I don’t understand.”
“What’s that?”
Mary gestured to the paper with one hand and a tight smile. “All of these postings are by men looking for wives. How are we, ah, to disguise that you are a woman? My mother will no doubt ask after you in town and do her due diligence before she marries me off, even if it appears to be a godsend.”
Alex grinned at her. “Now that you leave to me, Minnie. I’ll put the word out in town that I am to be referred to solely by my name. Your mother need never know I am a woman. She’ll be none the wiser until we are well and truly married but that will require you to do one important thing.”
“What is it? I’ll do anything.” Mary leaned forward, fingers crumpling the periodical she clutched.
“Absolutely anything?” Alex asked. She came forward to stand in front of Mary and kneeled down in front of her so that the two of them were eye-to-eye. Mary’s heart sped up at the close contact. It was nearly impossible not to notice the way the light hit Alex’s brown eyes, they were a good deal more hazel than she had realized with flecks of green and amber mixed in with the rich brown color.
Mary’s eyes moved over Alex’s face, over and across the aquiline nose, the high cheekbones, along her sharp jawline and lush lips. Would they kiss on their wedding day? Or was such a thing unnecessary in a marriage such as theirs? In a marriage of convenience rather than passion. Even if they felt the inkling of a spark, the draw of attraction was not what put them together.
Kindness. Necessity.
Those were the things that would bind them together in matrimony, and it would all be done under the hand of deception to keep her mother from stopping it all and keeping Mary as she was---currently unsure of her own future, trapped in a cage of her own making, and all because she had not been strong enough to resist her mother’s demands.
Alex did not know her, but she was helping her from a place of goodness. That kind of good did not come by often, and it had been extended to Mary fewer times than she could remember. She would not squander it. She would do her part to help their plan succeed.
“Yes, anything, I swear it.” She reached forward and caught Alex’s hand. “I will not fail in what you ask of me, Alex.”
Alex nodded at her. “I know you won’t,” she clasped Mary’s hand with her own and smiled at her. “I know you will succeed, Minnie. Our plan hinges on one thing, and one thing only, and that is your ability to sneak out and marry me. We will have planned it carefully enough that your mother will know you have been married, and by the time she is aware I am a woman it will be too late. The town will accept us and she will not be able to force you back with her. She will have to leave you in peace, with me.”
With me.
It made her stomach flutter with the stirrings of wanting, but Mary merely smiled and ignored the feelings. She had felt this sort of infatuation before, and she would not allow it to cloud her mind when it came to this. Not when Alex was doing her this sort of kindness. She would repay it with unfailing loyalty.
She had little to offer Alex, but she could be loyal, kind, and true.
Mary squeezed Alex’s hand gently. “I will do it. I swear it.”
When Mary left her meeting with Alex it was with a lightness in her heart that she hadn’t felt in quite some time. She practically bounded down the chapel steps in search of her mother and Mr. Rutherford. It had been the unknowing, the vagueness of her future, that had caused her such worry and anxiety but knowing precisely what she was tasked with gave her the kind of purpose and direction she craved to create a sense of security.
She hadn’t even realized how much she needed structure and certainty until Alex had blessed her with it tonight. Mary breathed a sigh of relief, a hand to her c
hest, and relished the feeling of being able to breath. She smiled and glanced around, surveying the festivities. Everyone seemed to be in high spirits, laughing and talking, dancing and eating their fill of treats. It was a beautiful night out just on the cusp of autumn, and Mary supposed there was no finer night for a fair. She was still smiling when Sarah James emerged from the crowd, Mr. Rutherford in tow and waved her down.
“Over here, dear!” Sarah James waved a hand cheerily. “Did you have a lovely time at the fair? We certainly did, didn’t we, Bryan?”
Bryan?
Mary nearly raised an eyebrow at her mother’s use of the man’s first name, but she kept her features schooled into a picture of calmness.
“I did. It was quite good to spend the evening in the fresh air. I had an enjoyable evening, but I am finding I am quite tired now.”
The sooner she was able to return to her room, the sooner she could go to sleep and get to the next morning’s newspaper. The paper would contain Alex’s advert and the first step of their plan to getting her out from under her mother’s thumb. And so she smiled and nodded along as the couple told her of their night and asked of hers. She answered politely and calmly, playing the role of the dutiful and attentive daughter she knew was expected of her, and for once it did not feel forced, because finally there was an end in sight to it all.
That night Mary slept sounder than she had in months.
Chapter 6
Mary awoke the next morning before any in the boarding house did. There wasn’t a soul stirring as she dressed in the dark. She took care in choosing her outfit, a yellow day dress she hadn’t worn in quite some time but adored. It was plainer than her usual attire but was looser and easier on her body.
She sighed and put a hand to her stomach. If her mother had it her way her corset would be cinched impossibly tight and she never missed an opportunity to pull it as tight as she was able when she helped Mary dress. Waking before anyone else meant Mary would not have to suffer such attentions and her heart gladdened at that.
