“Who are your brothers-in-law?”
“Sheriff Connolly and his deputy, Mason Murphy.”
Landon’s eyes widened. Of all the people, she had named two of the most respected and most powerful men in town. They might not have been captains of industry, but they could easily throw him in a jail cell if they decided he’d taken liberties with their sister-in-law.
“Goodness,” he said with a chuckle. “I had not expected that.”
She tilted her head to the side, her eyes narrowing in skepticism. “You heard me use my name in the bank. You do not know of the Reeds? Or Reed Ranch? I had assumed that nearly everyone in town knew of us and our situation.”
“Perhaps I would if I had been in town over the last year, but alas. Business has taken me to Chicago and St. Louis, then out to New York. I have only returned this past week.”
“Oh, I see.” She tapped her fingers against the table, still anxious. “Why did you ask me to come here with you? What is it you think we can do for each other?”
“I do appreciate frankness.” He smiled, hoping to encourage her to relax and warm up to him. He’d need her to be relaxed and open to suggestion if he was to make this work.
He questioned whether his impulse had been the right one, whether he made a mistake asking her to join him. While his heart had gone out to her in the bank—truly, they had behaved abominably toward her—he’d seen opportunity the instant she’d stormed out.
She needed money. Money was something he had in abundance.
Now, seated across from her, he asked himself whether he’d lost his mind. Simply a temporary lapse in judgment, brought about by lack of sleep and constant strain in the week since his return from a long journey.
It was the strangest and most ill-advised idea he’d ever come across, which was saying something based upon the ideas he’d had in the past. He was known as a man willing to take chances, and that combined with sharp instincts had built his fortune.
Were his instincts correct about her, however? Pouring his money into a business in which he saw potential was not the same as wagering on a person. People were far less predictable than businesses.
He supposed there was nothing to lose by presenting her with a wild notion which had crossed his mind the instant before he ran from the bank to catch up to her.
He asked the waiter to bring them a pot of tea and a pot of coffee before clearing his throat and folding his hands atop the table. This was a business proposition, nothing more. He had presented propositions to men worth millions of dollars. He could certainly speak to this young woman.
“You say you need money. Why, exactly? How do you plan to use it?”
Her chest puffed out. “I intend to open a theater in Carson City. There is a woeful lack of culture here, to the point where I am surprised others consider this a civilized place at all. Surely, sir, in your travels, you have come to know the difference between Chicago and St. Louis and Carson City.”
This was surprising. A theater. He expected her to speak of a dressmaker’s shop or some such feminine enterprise. But a theater? “Are you a member of the theatrical profession?” he asked, doubtful.
“I intend to be.”
So that was it. He bit back a smile for her sake. This was a young woman of great pride, pride which had already been wounded deeply. “You intend to be the main attraction, then,” he surmised.
“Were it not for the fact that I was called upon to come to Carson City and spend a year here, I would already be a member of a theatrical troupe which had passed through Baltimore on its way north to Philadelphia. I had intended to leave with them, not knowing at the time that my father would pass away out here, and I would be called upon to claim my inheritance. The terms of his will state that my sisters and I need to live here for a solid year, or else all five of us forfeit ownership of the ranch.”
He remembered Richard Reed. Things were beginning to make sense. Only a man as coarse and miserly as Richard Reed would think to keep his daughters in Carson City for a year before they inherited what was rightfully theirs.
“I see. To be honest, I agree with you. There is a lack of culture here. I would enjoy the opportunity to attend a play or an evening of music. I’m sure the women’s group here in town would appreciate a venue for their dramatic readings and whatever little things they put together.” He hoped he did not sound dismissive.
Her eyes lit up, and she leaned forward slightly. He got the sense that it was rare for her to find someone who agreed with her.
“Precisely. Which is why I believe such a building is needed here. It will benefit everyone, not merely myself or other actors, but the entire city. That terrible man at the bank would not even listen to reason.”
“Worse than that. In order to listen to reason, he would have needed to take you seriously. Which he certainly did not do.”
She sank back in her chair, more miserable than ever. “I know,” she murmured. “I’m accustomed to this. Goodness knows my family has never taken my dreams seriously. This was my last hope.”
He did feel sorry for her. Though her problems were not his problems, and his problems had been keeping him awake throughout the night for an entire week.
She wanted a theater. He had the money. He was more than gladly give to her if she would help relieve the strain.
The coffee and tea arrived, and he allowed her time to add milk and sugar to hers before speaking again. “As I said outside, I believe we can help each other.”
She lifted the teacup to her lips, arching one eyebrow. “Oh? I did not get off the train this morning, Mr. Jenkins. I’m well aware of what strange men who offer young women great amounts of money have in mind.”
It was a good thing he had not yet taken a sip of his coffee, for he would have spat it out across the table before laughing at her insinuation. She was a clever one; he had to give her that much. And courageous considering her willingness to march into a bank where she knew no one, where it was all but an inevitability that she would be turned down.
She had done it nonetheless and maintain her composure throughout.
“I’m afraid you have misunderstood me. I have nothing unsavory in mind.”
“How do you intend to help me, then? And what would I have to do in exchange?”
“You see, I have found myself in quite a predicament.” And it only occurred to him then that she might be scandalized by what he was about to say. She gave him every impression of being a well-bred woman, and she had spoken of living in Baltimore and was the heiress to a ranch. This was no low, common girl who might be more understanding of his regrettable folly.
She waited, brows lifted.
He swallowed and suddenly wished his collar was not so tight. Perhaps it was embarrassment making him so uncomfortable. He had every reason to be embarrassed, for he had behaved abominably. “As I said earlier, I have been away from Carson City for nearly a year while attending to business. Before I left, I was in the process of courting a young woman who lived just outside of town. We enjoyed each other’s company very much, though I made it clear to her that I would be away for a year and did not expect her to maintain any unfortunate emotional ties to me.” Oh, this was even more uncomfortable than he had ever imagined.
Mainly because the girl refused to take her eyes from him once he had begun his story. If only she would not look at him the way she did, studying him and forming unspoken opinions behind those clear, startling eyes of hers.
When she did not say anything, he continued. “Upon my return last week, she paid me a visit.” Perhaps he should have ordered something a bit more soothing than coffee, for his hands trembled tellingly. “With her was a baby. Two months of age.”
He stared at her, waiting for her to understand.
It was clear when she did, as her eyes went perfectly round and she drew a deep breath. “Your baby?” she whispered.
He merely nodded.
“Yes, mine. She knew not where to reach me when she discovered
she was…” He grimaced, unwilling to speak the word, but the girl understood. “Naturally, I would have done the right thing by her if I had known. In fact, upon her arrival and her announcement, I was willing to make things right. I had never intended to settle down into marriage, but I am not a man who runs from his obligations.”
“I suppose you expect me to find that admirable,” she murmured.
“It is immaterial to me whether you find it admirable or not, but I did feel you ought to know my intentions. As I was saying, I was prepared to do the right thing by her, but she refused.”
Cate’s eyes opened even wider than before. “Refused? What is she thinking?”
“Your guess is as good as mine, as she left town. I invited her to spend the night in a spare room in my home, as she arrived rather late and it was quite cold, and neither she nor the child were dressed appropriately considering the weather. I thought we could settle things in the morning, make plans. When I awoke, she was gone. But the baby remained. I learned from the stationmaster that a woman matching her description took the train that very morning.”
“Goodness gracious,” Cate whispered, shaking her head with a hand pressed to her heart. “She must have been quite desperate to do anything of the sort.”
He should have known she would take the girl’s side, as any woman would. Truthfully, he would have felt the same sympathy for Ida were he not utterly exhausted and at his wit’s end after receiving his father’s telegram that very morning.
“Now, I have a child to care for. One without a mother.”
She clicked her tongue. “I feel sorry for the little one. What is her name?”
“Violet,” he said. He detested the name and had already considered changing it. But that was far from the worst of his concerns. “I have business to tend to, an office I must visit every day. I have a housekeeper and cook, but she is far too old to address an infant’s needs. Several women have come in and out over the last week to care for her while I work, but it is not a good long-term solution. However, that is not what I asked you here.”
“I had assumed you wanted a more permanent caretaker for your child,” she admitted.
“No, I’m sure I could manage somehow. The real problem arose this morning with a telegram from my father. He’s a… Senator from Massachusetts, where I was born and raised. I doubt you would be aware of him, but he is quite a powerful and well-respected man. And he announced to me this morning that he and my mother plan to visit in a week, after a series of conferences and meetings in California are finished.”
“Oh.”
He waited for her to say more, but she remained silent.
“I assume you understand the awkwardness of my position. I certainly cannot present my child without a mother to go along with her, nor can I admit the circumstances of her birth. It might even cause a scandal for my father, which I’m afraid to say he would find unforgivable. I’m trusting you with this information, and I hope you keep it between the two of us.”
“Of course. I understand how devastating this could be for all of you. I have yet to understand what it has to do with me, however.”
He leaned forward, elbows on the table, whispering. This was where his entire ill-formed idea would either solidify or fall to pieces. “I need a wife. Only for a short time, only as long as my parents will be in town. I need to present the image of happy home for their sake—along with concern for my father’s reputation. Not to mention, my mother has been quite ill over the last few years. If anything, knowing her son finally settled down and started a nice family would be a comfort for her.”
Once again, understanding dawned on her lovely face, but this time, outrage soon followed. “You expect me—”
He held up a hand, knowing she was about to blurt the whole thing out rather loudly, for anyone to hear. “Please, let us be discreet.”
She pursed her lips, furious, then whispered, “You expect me to pretend to be your wife? You intend to give me the money for the theater for that? You can’t be serious!”
He was afraid her eyes might fall from her head.
“That sounds to me suspiciously similar to the reaction those men had in the bank,” he pointed out. “You judge my idea unthinkable before you have given it time and consideration. Please entertain the notion before declaring it impossible.”
That gave her pause. She blushed, lowering her eyes, twisting a delicately embroidered handkerchief between her equally delicate hands. “I still find it hard to believe you would support my plans in exchange for something which should only last…”
“No more than a few days,” he assured her. “My father is a busy man, and he is continuing on to Washington after our visit. He and my mother are unable to be present here during the Christmas holidays, so this is their way of at least spending a bit of time with me my father’s schedule demands he move on. There is absolutely no chance of them extending their visit, so you need not worry about this taking longer than it needs to.”
Then, he added what he knew well might be the final nail in the coffin. The point at which she would run away.
“We would need to be married by the Justice of the Peace. I cannot merely pretend to be married, in case someone were to find out this is a lie and report back to my father or—even worse—his political rivals. It might kill my mother, knowing I’d brought a woman in to live with me without the benefit of marriage. The entire thing can be annulled later, naturally. I will hold you to nothing and will gladly provide all the backing you require for your theater.”
She blinked, her mouth hanging open. Not a word came out.
In fact, he asked himself whether she was breathing. Had he shocked her that badly?
Perhaps her nerve only extended so far. Perhaps going to the bank that day had been the end of it.
“Well?” he asked. “Will you become my wife for the sake of your dreams?”
4
Cate knew not where to begin.
She sputtered, completely at a loss. It was rare that her quick mind could not arrive at an understanding of any problem, no matter how enormous that problem happened to be.
This? This was nothing she’d ever encountered.
He looked at her, expectant. Wanting her to give an answer right away. How was she to give an answer to such an outlandish request? Was she to have no time to think it over? Not even time to consider the many, many ways in which this could go terribly wrong?
“Let me make certain I understand you,” she managed to say after a moment of sheer panic. “You expect me to live and act as your wife—”
“Oh, goodness no. No! I expect nothing of the sort.” To his credit, he managed to appear embarrassed. “You need only stay with me at my house while my parents are visiting. There will be no other, eh, you know. Duties.”
That was a relief, at any rate.
Her cheeks flushed, her skin crawling with shame, nonetheless. Marital duties. At least she would not be required to perform them.
“All right, then. But I will be required to sign my name to a marriage license, I would imagine. We will legally be husband and wife.”
“Yes, yes, but as I said—”
She held up a hand, and he went silent. “Do not speak over me right now. I am trying to make sense of this. If you truly require my assistance, you will allow me to make sense of it without interrupting. Do you understand?”
It occurred to her only once she’d finished that she might have offended him.
Instead of becoming indignant or, worse, causing a scene by walking out and leaving her there alone, he nodded. He was a businessman, after all, and could clearly understand when it was time to allow his potential partner to make a decision.
Only what decision would she make?
On one hand, it seemed the easiest thing in the world. Simply a matter of being married for a few days, taking care of a darling baby. She had always loved babies, after all, and could only imagine this one was a darling little thing. A few days of work and she wou
ld have the money she needed to make her dreams come true.
He did not expect anything of her, outside of her willingness to pretend. Well, to pretend and legally marry him, but he did promise an annulment when all was said and done.
Truly, when she looked at it this way, it seemed too easy for words. In fact, she considered herself foolish to even take the time to think it over. Why think it over? She would never get the money otherwise.
On the other hand…
Molly would kill her. Pure and simple, she would kill her. Such a sudden marriage would bring scandal down upon the family, setting tongues wagging throughout the town. Phoebe was married to the sheriff, Rachel to the deputy, and all of them would be the subject of scrutiny thanks to gossiping old biddies who made their point to know everyone’s business.
How could she possibly hope to keep this a secret? That would be the only way to avoid utter ruination, if she could keep this quiet. It would mean a great deal of planning in advance, but they had no time.
If she were to go through with it, she would need to jump in feet first and hope to manage as best she could as they went along.
Was she actually considering this? Such a wild proposition. Marrying a perfect stranger for the sake of appearances. Saving his father’s reputation and his mother’s health.
Think of the money, think of the money. Think of the theater. Think of your dreams.
When she considered the countless hours she spent imagining herself on stage, in front of an adoring audience… Those dreams would die, would wither and shrivel and fall to the ground to be trodden underfoot without the money required to create her theater.
And since Holly and the others had reminded her that she would be creating a business, the idea had lodged itself in her mind, unwilling to let go. She would be a businesswoman, not merely an actress. She would oversee everything, would reap the rewards once she made a success of things.
She knew she could do it. She only needed the opportunity.
The opportunity was before her, in the form of a handsome, wealthy young man in trouble.
A Bargain For A Bride (Westward Hearts Book 8) Page 3
