Though much less so in trouble than his unfortunate friend or his child had suffered. The poor girl had fled under the weight of shame and scrutiny.
Men would never understand what it meant for a young woman to be in such a condition. Cate’s sympathetic heart went out to the girl, imagining the strain she’d been under as she tried to locate the man to whom she had surrendered her virtue.
Cate had never been in the presence of someone who’d fathered a child out of wedlock. Rather, she was never aware of having been in the presence of such a man. He did not seem a bad sort, and she did believe he would have done the right thing if allowed to do so. If the girl had not left, none of this would be a problem for him.
Then again if the girl had not left, Cate would not be on the verge of getting everything she ever wished for.
There was something else to consider, as well. The baby. Poor little thing, passed around from one caregiver to another. That was no way for a child to grow up, even though the little thing was too young to understand. The thought of caring for her, even for a short while, warmed Cate’s heart and made the prospect of marrying this man seem much more agreeable. Fake marrying, she reminded herself.
In the back of her mind, she knew she would become attached to the wee little thing just as Holly had become attached to Edward before marrying Roan. It was simply something she would have to endure.
“Well?” Landon prompted. “Do you have any further questions? Is there something I can clarify for you? Or shall we move ahead?”
She laughed, a bit breathless. “You do march forward, sir. I feel a bit breathless, as if on a train which suddenly began speeding headlong, without a way to stop it. I would hate to make the wrong choice.”
“The only wrong choice in this situation would be if you were to say no. Please, hear me out,” he added, noting her scowl. “I dislike putting it to you this way, but there is no way you would ever obtain the money to open a theater without my assistance. While he might have exercised better judgment in delivering disappointment, the man at the bank was correct. The law states you need a husband to sign papers for you if you are to obtain the loan. Even if you were married to some young man, he would need to have the means or the property required to put up as collateral against such a large sum.”
“I have a ranch. Or, I will have it soon enough.”
“But the ranch is not completely yours. The bank cannot possess merely a fraction of the ranch. How many sisters do you have?”
“Four,” she reported, her heart sinking.
“The bank will not accept one-fifth of a ranch as collateral. You would need to put up the entire property.”
“That will never happen.”
“I had suspected as much, and I don’t blame you. Even if you were set on doing so, I would advise against it. That is a great gamble.”
She sniffed, unimpressed. “I suppose you are rather proud of yourself, putting me in a corner this way. You know I have no choice but to accept, though I do not in any way understand how we will make this work. I know nothing about you, and you know nearly nothing about me. We will need to make it look as though we’ve been married at least long enough to have created child together.”
He nodded, pensive. “I understand. I have a few days in which to work it out. I have no doubt that I will be able to think of something. I know my father, and my mother. I know what they’ll want to know, I know what they will ask. I believe I can predict their questions and come up with answers. Of course, all of this is predicated upon the ability to sleep, which I have not been able to do for a week.”
She grimaced. “The baby keeps you up at night?”
“Does she ever. Even with the help of some understanding friends of my housekeeper, there is still little to be done about a crying baby who refuses to sleep through the night. I have done what I can to assist, to make things easier, but she seems determined to keep us all awake.”
“Babies will do that I suppose,” she replied, feeling no small amount of sympathy. He might have behaved indiscreetly and gotten a young woman in trouble, but she’d left before he found a way to make things right. The fact that he had not turned the baby over to an orphanage or found some other way to rid himself of it spoke to his character.
He fixed her with an intense gaze, his square jaw hardening as he grew serious. “I need to know. Every minute we sit here is another minute in which we might be learning more about each other and finding ways to make our marriage appear legitimate. I will write up a quick contract, if you desire. We can both sign it. In it, I will detail what is expected of you and what I will give you once the deed is done. There is little more I can say, other than to urge you to make up your mind. We might even be able to get to the justice of the peace before he closes his office for the day.”
She blinked rapidly, unable to keep up with the pace of his thoughts. “Today? This afternoon?”
“Of course. Why not?”
“I—I don’t know. This is all happening so quickly.”
He nodded, yet appeared unmoved. “You cannot tell me anything I don’t already know. Yes, this is happening quickly, but everything has happened quickly in the past week. I arrived home from a long trip, utterly exhausted from travel and looking forward to nothing so much as soaking in my own tub and sleeping in my own bed. Instead, I was introduced to my daughter that very evening. My entire life has changed. I know all too well what it means to have that happen. But your life need not change so much, not for such a very long time. I will be a father for the rest of the child’s life, which will extend past my own, God willing. You merely need be my wife for a week.”
A week. Just a week.
She could keep this from Molly and the other girls for a week, couldn’t she? She was clever. She had imagination.
And when they asked her where the money came from, she might tell them…
After the annulment had been decreed, of course. There would be nothing left to lose by then.
“Might I ask one favor?” she asked before finishing her tea.
“What is it?”
She was already in the act of putting on her gloves. “I would like to see your house. And your baby.”
5
Landon could not pretend to understand why this was so important to her, but he opened the front door to his home and ushered her inside.
He was not certain what to expect from her in terms of a reaction, considering the fact that she lived on a sprawling ranch. He suspected his home, while large and quite comfortable, was nothing in comparison to hers.
“It’s quite lovely,” she said, looking around. “It could use a woman’s touch, but I suppose that’s to be expected. I also suspect your mother would instantly note the lack of it.”
His palms began to sweat. “What do you mean?”
She lifted her shoulders, her head moving back and forth as she looked in one room after another. The parlor, his study. A library. The dining room, even the kitchen. The entire first floor was empty at the moment, which made him suspect Mrs. Davis was upstairs with Violet.
Perhaps she was sleeping, which would be a blessing. He had already heard her crying throughout the night and was not sure he could stand it during the day, as well.
Cate returned to the parlor and stepped inside this time. “For instance,” she began, running her fingers over the top of a small table, “there is a noticeable layer of dust here. I suspect your housekeeper has been overwhelmed and unable to perform her duties as she ought to. Or perhaps, she never was, to begin with, and you simply did not notice because you are always so busy with your work. There are no embroideries anywhere, not figurines or flowers or any sort of ornamentation that a woman would want in her home. If we were to have been married long enough for me to be the mother of your child, and for the child to have been… conceived while in wedlock,” she managed to choke out, turning her back to presumably hide the embarrassment on her face, “I would have established a presence in this home. It feels v
ery male, very masculine.”
“See? I never would’ve known it. I am so glad to have chosen you, as you can help me make this more believable.”
She turned to him now, in the act of rolling her eyes as she did. “Please, do not insult my intelligence by pretending you chose me carefully. I was simply in the right place at the right time, and you happened to overhear my distressing situation. Nothing more than that.”
He nodded. “Fair enough.”
She returned to her assessment of his home. “I suppose I might be able to add a few things here and there, and while I am here to take care of the baby, your housekeeper will be able to perform her work more thoroughly. We ought to be able to bring this place up to snuff by week’s end.”
“We? Do you mean to say you accept my proposal?”
“I would like to see the baby.” She removed her gloves, then her hat, placing both on a table by the front door before beginning her climb upstairs. “I assume she is up here.”
She moved so quickly, it was a struggle to keep up.
He bounded upstairs behind her. “Mine is the front bedroom, with a door which connects it to the next room. That is the room in which the child has been sleeping.”
Cate nodded before opening the door, as confident as one would be while moving about their own home. The fact that she had already made herself so comfortable gave him hope.
Just as he had suspected, both the baby and Mrs. Davis were asleep in the big bed, with the old woman snoring as she dreamed. This was intended to be the separate bedroom of a wife, though he had none to speak of.
But he did believe in being prepared, and a such had seen to its furnishing upon moving in.
Cate shook her head as she crossed to the big, four-poster bed. “I have no experience with such small babies,” she whispered, “but it seems to me the child needs a crib, or something similar. Do you mean to tell me she sleeps in the bed with her caregiver? It is a wonder she hasn’t been smothered!”
She did not wait for him to offer a reply before picking Violet up from the bed. He had to stop himself from lunging forward to stop her. After all, she was finally asleep, and he did so miss being able to hear himself think while in his home.
But Violet did not stir. She slept peacefully, content and warm.
Cate looked down at her, running a gentle hand over soft, blonde curls. “My goodness,” she whispered.
There was a softness in her voice now that he had not heard before. She had taken to the baby just as he’d known she would. It almost seemed unfair, as if he used his child against her when he did not.
At least, it had not been his intention.
Now? He knew she wanted to accept.
She cast a doleful look to the bed, on which Mrs. Davis continued to snore unaware of their presence, then motioned for him to join her in the hall. She continued to hold Violet, either refusing to let her go for fear of being in danger of the sleeping woman, or simply because she longed to hold her.
“I can see this child is in dire need of help,” she whispered. “It’s nothing less than scandalous, the fact that no one thought to provide this child’s needs. Goodness gracious.”
He couldn’t help but bristle at her imperious tone. “I thought you said you were not an expert.”
“I’m not. Which makes my ability to see how little thought has been put into her care even more surprising. I’d think an old woman such as your sleeping housekeeper would know this little girl needs a great many things. They do not have to be fine things or fancy things, but she needs a crib. She needs clothing and smaller blankets and my goodness, what have you been feeding her?”
At least he knew the answer to this question. “She gets milk in a glass bottle with a rubber… device.” He could not bring himself to use the word “nipple” in front of her.
She nodded, frowning. “Yes, I suppose in the absence of a wet nurse that would be the only alternative. And if you were to bring in a wet nurse, that would be one more person who knows a child born out of wedlock lives here. You don’t want that. All right, so long as everything is perfectly clean while in use, she should be all right.”
“How do you know so much about this?”
She rolled her eyes, shaking her head as if she suddenly found herself speaking to the most ignorant person alive. “I might be the youngest of my family, but I recall many afternoons in which my mother sat with her friends around the card table. They spoke of all manner of things, and while I was not supposed to be listening, I could never help myself.”
“Because you wanted to learn how to care for a child when your time came?” He found something charming in the notion of a young girl wanting to prepare herself for her vocation.
She snickered, shattering his illusions. “No. Because I wanted to know everything there was to know about motherhood, in case I was ever called upon to play the role of a mother.”
He stared at her, unable to determine whether she was telling a joke or not.
She scowled. “It’s true.”
He managed to keep from laughing out of sheer desperation. She was quite an odd one, but he had little choice. Time was running out. “Well, no matter the reason, I’m glad you know what you know. As you can see, I spent the last week trying to keep things afloat. I’ve been so overwhelmed that I have not had a chance to plan.”
She looked down at the baby again, stroking the fine, soft curls on the top of her head. Her hair was still quite short and sparse, naturally, but he’d already stroked it and knew from experience just how soft it was.
“I do know what it feels like to be overwhelmed,” she admitted, never taking her eyes from the child.
“If we are to do this, we need to do it today. We must move forward. As you can see, there is a tremendous amount of work that needs to be done before my parents arrive if we are to put on a good show of it.”
She chewed her lip, her brow wrinkling as she thought it over one last time. He was ready to burst with frustration. If only she would not keep him hanging on tenterhooks.
Either she would do it or she would not, and she’d already given him the distinct impression that she intended to go through with their arrangement. He merely needed her consent.
With a sigh, she nodded. “All right. So long as we can keep this secret from my family. I’m entirely uncertain of how I will, but I’m sure I can think of something once I put my mind to it. I see no reason why we cannot be successful.”
He had never known such relief. “Thank you, thank you so much.”
“Yes, well, I will be getting something out of the arrangement, too.” She nodded toward the bedroom. “I suggest you wake your housekeeper and tell her we’ll be going out for a bit. I truly would rather she not sleep next to the baby that way. I once heard a story of a woman who accidentally smothered her child while sharing a bed, and it has never left my memory. I would so hate to see something like that happened to this little one, especially when you have the means to provide something safer.”
“I’ll see to it.”
Anything she said, anything at all. She’d agreed to help him, and that was all that mattered.
Twenty minutes later, they stood in front of the Justice of the Peace. This woman who was a stranger to him, who he only knew as Cate Reed—originally of Baltimore, Maryland and now of Carson City, Nevada—was about to become his wife.
He did not even have a ring for her, though he supposed that was for the best for now. He might be able to purchase something before his parents arrived, but it would not do for her to be seen around town wearing a wedding band.
The thought of the sheriff and his deputy arriving at his front door with their weapons in hand was never far from the forefront of Landon’s thoughts.
For her part, Cate looked calm, serene. He suspected she imagined herself on stage, performing some grand role, prepared to bring her audience to tears.
She held his hand as the vows were read aloud, with not one but two perfect strangers who worked in
the office to witness their nuptials.
“I do,” she whispered. There was no mistaking the catch in her throat. Here she was, marrying a man she had not known the existence of until two hours earlier. He suspected she must want her theater very badly if she was willing to take such a large step.
“You may kiss your bride,” the judge said, smiling at Landon as if the two men shared a happy secret. As if Landon even knew this woman.
But the judge was not aware of this, and so there was no choice but to turn to his new bride with what he hoped was a loving smile.
He found her eyes filling with tears, and for the briefest moment, he truly felt for her. She’d more than likely imagined her wedding many times over, especially with married sisters of her own. He suspected this was nothing like the weddings she had witnessed, nothing like the dreams she’d had.
Had she ever been kissed? He might be the first to kiss her, and under such dubious circumstances.
With that in mind, he was gentle and respectful as could be, barely pecking her lips.
She deserved much more than this, and he felt like a cad. Even more so than he had when Ida arrived with Violet in tow.
“Thank you, Mrs. Jenkins,” he whispered with a smile.
She tried to smile back, but it was shaky and weak.
There was no going back now.
6
What had she done?
She was married. And a stepmother, technically.
Meanwhile, Phoebe and Rachel were waiting for her back at the house and expected her to eat supper with them.
What had she done? What was she going to tell them?
She pulled up short just as they were about to leave the judge’s office, the enormity of what she had just embarked upon hitting her all at once. “Well, my goodness,” she whispered, her eyes darting around as she searched for somewhere to sit.
She needed to sit.
She needed to breathe.
She needed something to drink.
“Do you think you could fetch me a glass of water?” she whispered as she sank onto a leather chair positioned by the door.
A Bargain For A Bride (Westward Hearts Book 8) Page 4
