The Inconvenient Bride Series 1-3

by Sharon Ihle

  Turning back to R. T., Libby listened in as the Savage men bantered about what positions Donovan would and would not be qualified to handle. At last, R. T. made a suggestion which made the most sense to her.

  "What would you say to joining the staff as an advertising solicitor, Son?"

  Libby exchanged a fast glance with Donovan, who was already looking her way with an approving and rather conspiratorial expression. With a triumphant smile, she said, "That's exactly what I suggested for him this morning. It takes an inordinate amount of charm, something Donovan is not lacking, in order to sling the kind of bull necessary to attract new advertisers."

  Beside her, Francis dissolved into muffled laughter. To her right, Donovan just sat there grinning at her, looking like his usual amused self. But R. T., she couldn't help but notice, did not seem to be as tickled by her blunt, if accurate, account of what a job in advertising entailed. She blushed, cursing her impulsive tongue, and hoped that she hadn't put herself in too bad a light.

  Raising one eyebrow, R. T. continued the conversation with his son. "As your friend so candidly and succinctly put it, I think you could do an excellent job of "slinging the bull." Would you like to start in the advertising department tomorrow?"

  He shrugged. "I suppose selling advertising space is as good a way as any to learn this business. I'll be here first thing in the morning."

  "Good, then. It's done." R. T. settled back against his chair and eyed Libby. "I imagine your business in San Francisco must be about concluded by now. Do you expect to return to Laramie soon?"

  Libby made sure she gave herself plenty of time to formulate her answer without making a fool of herself or jeopardizing Donovan's newfound happiness. Until sitting here watching him interact with his father and brother, she hadn't realized how much becoming a part of this family actually meant to him. Still, she wasn't planning to be so considerate of his feelings as to concede the fight for editorial rights without at least launching one more plea for the cause.

  "Actually, sir," she began, her voice carefully modulated to show respect, "most of my business here in San Francisco is concluded, but I simply can't leave without a little more discussion about my editorials. Since both you and Francis have expressed rigid opinions about my so much as mentioning women's rights, I was hoping you might at least tell me why. Maybe we have nothing more than a small misunderstanding."

  R. T. didn't answer her at first, but silently studied her from across his elaborate desk instead. She tried not to flinch under his scrutiny, and yet she thought she detected a certain malignancy in his gaze she'd never seen before. Stealing a fast glance at Donovan to determine if he'd noticed the rancor in his father's expression, she realized that he was watching her too, apparently unaware anything was amiss. Libby immediately turned to Francis, hoping to find some confirmation from him, but he was tossing back the rest of his brandy, as oblivious as his brother to the tension radiating across the vast desk.

  At last, R. T. broke the strained silence. "All right, Miss Justice, if whys are what you want, then you shall have them. Before you hear what I have to say, I'll apologize in advance, should I inadvertently offend you in any way. That is certainly not my purpose."

  "Oh, don't worry, sir." At least he was willing to talk. "I promise not to take offense at your remarks."

  "Hey, wait a minute here." Donovan leaned forward in his chair. "You two sound like you're choosing weapons. Can't this editorial problem be settled without what sounds like the beginnings of a big argument?"

  R. T. laughed pleasantly. "Now, Son, I don't plan to lynch your friend. She gave me the impression that she wanted the cold, hard facts."

  "And I do." Libby turned to Donovan, placing her hand on his forearm. "I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I cannot leave this town without knowing why the newspaper my family has worked for all these years refuses to give me so much as an inch of the freedom I'm begging for. My mother wouldn't have backed away from this situation, and for that matter, neither would've my father. I can do no less."

  Her eyes met his and held for what seemed like several minutes, then Donovan finally shook his head and turned away. "If this is what you feel you have to do, then have at it."

  "Thanks." Libby met R. T.'s hard-eyed stare. "You were saying?"

  "That I really have no intention of offending you, and I sincerely hope that I won't. And by the way, Donovan—I'd like for you to pay close attention to what I'm about to say, as well. This is an area of the newspaper business we haven't discussed yet, but you should understand our position a little better."

  Pulling his chair as far forward as it would go, R. T. propped his elbows on the desk and favored Libby with a warm smile. "A friend of mine likens the woman's movement to his cable railway business, so I think I'll explain our position in those terms. The drive for equal rights, especially in regard to the vote, is kind of like asking the men of this nation to board a cable car with a new brakeman at the controls—a female. She doesn't know the stops, hasn't the foggiest notion of how steep the hills in these parts can be, and her tiny little hands are too small to fit around the brake. If all that isn't dangerous enough, she's not even physically strong enough to wrestle the car's brake to a stop in the event of trouble. Are you following me here?"

  Libby was appalled. Didn't the man hear his own words? "Oh, but Mr. Savage, I don't see what your cable railway system has to do with—"

  "Allow me to finish my story, then let me know if you fail to see my point. But please, dear, do keep in mind that there's absolutely nothing personal in anything I'm saying here. All right?"

  The things he was saying and the way he was saying them were very personal, indeed, but as far as Libby could tell, she was the only one who noticed. Left with no choice, she settled back in her chair. "Please," she muttered, "do go on."

  "Thank you. Most female suffragists would have us change the way this country is run from management to maintenance, even though we've managed to do a very nice job of running it so far." He looked to his sons now, avoiding Libby's gaze entirely. "Now I ask you two—do you see any reason to support a movement which threatens to derail our nation by putting female superintendents in charge and a posse of giddy girls at the brakes?"

  Staring down at her own hands, her cheeks aflame, Libby waited for Donovan to reply. He didn't utter a word. To her right, Francis fidgeted in his chair, but like his brother, kept his thoughts to himself. And from across the desk, she could swear she almost heard snickering.

  "I thought not," R. T. said, obviously pleased that no one had challenged his stand. "If we at Savage Publishing were to condone this silliness for even one editorial, we'd be opening the door to more of this tripe being splashed across our country's newspapers, until finally, all our fine cable cars were destroyed or driven into the Bay."

  At the moment, Libby couldn't think of a better place for R. T. than at the bottom of the Bay. But, as before, she avoided speaking to or looking at him, even though she suspected he was waiting for some kind of comment from her.

  After a few more silent moments went by, he asked rather brusquely, "Have I finally made the stand Savage Publishing must take on this issue clear to you, young lady?"

  Libby stood up as proudly and determinedly as possible, under the conditions. She was shaking from head to toe, both hot and cold, and so mad that she was sorely tempted to find out if she had the strength to throw R. T. Savage into San Francisco Bay from his own impressive window. But she kept her dignity intact as she smiled at him and said, "Yes, sir. I would say that now I know precisely where you stand on the issue." She removed her spectacles and poked them inside her bag. "If you gentlemen will excuse me, I think I'll be on my way."

  Donovan, so politely quiet up to this point, leaped out of his chair and claimed her elbow. "I suppose it is time we were on our way."

  Libby backed away from him, still maintaining her decorum, but gravely in doubt as to how long she could hold onto it. She favored Donovan with the swee
test smile she could manage and said, "Please don't trouble yourself with me. Stay and visit with your father. I have some personal errands to attend to on the way home, and as you already know, I'm quite capable of finding my way around town on my own."

  Reclaiming her arm, she turned to head for the door, but bumped into Francis, who was standing on the other side of her. Libby hadn't even heard him get out of his chair. "Oh, excuse me," she said. "I didn't see you there." She shook his hand. "Thanks again for the lovely tour of the newspaper offices. Next time you're anywhere near Laramie, do stop by and pay us a visit."

  "Oh, but must you leave so soon?" He shot a furtive glance in his father's direction. "I was hoping we might get together a little later. Over supper, perhaps?"

  This was rich. Francis Savage apparently flirting with her, as his thick-skulled father looked on, scowling. If she hadn't been so damned mad, Libby might have burst out laughing. She didn't, but she wasn't so enraged as to miss what she saw as an opportunity to rattle the old goat a little. "That sounds perfectly lovely, Francis. May I let you know a little later?"

  "There's no need to bother," said Donovan, reclaiming her elbow. "I've planned a kind of surprise supper for us tonight. Maybe she can join you some other time, Francis."

  Able to smile at the thought of both Savage sons fighting over her in the presence of their scornful father, Libby fluttered her eyelashes at Donovan. "That's the first I've heard that I was having supper with you tonight."

  "Of course it is. That's why I called it a surprise supper."

  "Oh, I see."

  She supposed she could have kept the little game up for several more minutes, but all Libby wanted at that point was out of the suddenly suffocating office. Peeling Donovan's fingers off her arm, she said, "I'll have to get back to you later, too. I'm not sure I'm up to any more surprises today, and I have a lot to accomplish yet. Now I really do have to go."

  Looking beyond Donovan to where R. T. sat, Libby had hoped to see that smug grin wiped off the man's face, but he still wore a rather satisfied smile. Forcing herself to be polite, she murmured, "Good day, Mr. Savage. Thanks for the tour of your offices."

  Rising from his chair in the fashion of a gentleman, but not, Libby was sure, as one who felt she deserved the courtesy, R. T. said, "The pleasure was all mine, Miss Justice, all mine."

  And that, as far as Libby could remember, was the first statement the man had made all day with which she could agree.

  * * *

  To Libby's amazement, Donovan's biggest surprise was not this supposed supper he'd planned for them, but the dogged determination he'd shown in following after her. She'd stormed out of R. T.'s office, wanting nothing more than a little time and privacy in which to plan her next move. Sticking close by like a hired bodyguard, he'd accompanied her all over town, from the railroad station, where she'd collected a new schedule for east-bound trains and wired her brother to expect her home soon, and on to Market Street, where she'd bought a little wooden replica of a cable car for Jeremy. Donovan had done this in spite of the fact that throughout the waning afternoon, Libby had refused to talk with him except over the most trivial of matters, insisting that she needed time to think, to plan a new life for herself—a distinct possibility, considering the enormity of what R. T. had told her at Savage Publishing.

  Of course her reasons for ignoring Donovan weren't quite that simple. For one thing, she was still too angry with the father to have a decent, lucid conversation with the son. How could she, when Donovan was so obviously happy with this newfound family of his? Although she wasn't terribly pleased that he hadn't at least tried to back her up in R. T.'s office, she could hardly blame him for keeping quiet. He was trying to become a Savage, not alienate them.

  Still, Libby suspected that he felt a little guilty about abandoning her, as it were. He'd insisted on taking her over to O'Farrell Street for a luscious and leisurely supper of succulent lobster at Delmonico's—the very meal he'd promised her the day she'd arrived in San Francisco. Although she appreciated the gesture, and even understood the awkward position he was in regarding his father, by the time they blew in through the front door of Donovan's house that night, Libby was still in a mood, questioning her blind devotion to the cause, her feelings for Donovan, and even the principles for which her own mother and father had stood. She was not in any way prepared for his sudden defense of himself.

  "I'm sure you expected me to help you a little more today," he muttered, kicking the door shut behind him, "but Savage Publishing belongs to my father, not me. It's his business to run as he sees fit. I don't know the first thing about how a newspaper should be operated."

  "I'm not questioning the way he runs the Tribune, or you for taking his side," she snapped. "Now if you don't mind, I'd rather not talk about this."

  Libby wandered into the living room, leaving Donovan to light the lamp in the foyer. Inside the house, it was nearly dark—a perfect match for her mood. Strolling over to the bay window, she stared out at the dusky, fog-shrouded landscape and wrapped her arms firmly around her middle, fighting off the chill from the damp night air. She heard Donovan walk into the room and approach her, but Libby didn't turn to face him. God, don't let him start that topic again, she thought, eyes glancing up at the ceiling. She didn't know why she no longer wanted to fight "the good fight." She just knew that she didn't.

  "Look," Donovan murmured, sounding close behind and very apologetic, "I'll admit that I didn't like some of the things R. T. said today either. But how can any of us be sure what's best for this country? For all we know, my father could be right about his stand on equal rights."

  And that's when it all came together for Libby, when things began to make sense to her again. Before she'd fallen in love with Donovan, those words would have been fighting words. She'd have turned on him like a wildcat, scratching and clawing for equal rights, making damn good and sure he knew how terribly, terribly wrong both he and his father were. But now she had a pretty good idea that the equal rights movement and her love for Donovan were mutually exclusive. Would she have to give up one for the other? How? One choice would tear out her heart, the other, her soul. She was depressed just thinking about it.

  Turning to Donovan, she smiled and said what she thought he wanted to hear. "You may have a point about your father. I didn't mean to suggest that he was not a fair man."

  His relief was immediately visible. "I'm glad to hear you say that, Libby. I've gotten to know R. T. pretty well lately, and he really is an intelligent, thoughtful man. I'm sure he appreciates that about you, too."

  "Thank you for saying so, but it really doesn't matter how he feels about me now. The way I see it, my business with him is concluded." That much, as heartbreaking as it may be, seemed to be true.

  "Just like that?" He looked positively flabbergasted.

  "Just like that." Libby touched the edge of his jaw, then turned back toward the window so he couldn't see the despair behind those words.

  "You're really something," Donovan whispered against the back of her ear. "Do you know that?"

  The relief in his voice went a long way in assuaging Libby's sudden feelings of guilt—or maybe it was shame. For the first time in her life, she was happy that her mother wasn't around to see what her daughter was up to. This way she would never have to know that instead of accepting the challenge as a woman and a reporter, she'd bowed to Savage's superior male power, and kept her mouth shut when she should have climbed up on that fancy leather chair and demanded her rights as an editor. What would she do next in the name of love? Completely turn her back on her mother and the promise she'd made to her as she lay dying?

  "Libby, are you all right?" Donovan's lips were still nuzzling the back of her neck, making it easier and easier to forget all else. "You're trembling."

  "What do you expect from the way you're fondling me?"

  His hands circled her waist, then slid along the rough buckskin hugging her soft little tummy as he whispered, "So what you have is a p
hysical problem?"

  "Ummm, yes, I would say that it is." His hands moved even lower along her abdomen, whisking away all thoughts of self-recrimination. Soon Libby was smoldering inside as Donovan stroked her, caressing her through layers of fabric both rough and silky, until Libby thought she would go mad with need.

  Her head fell back against his chest and she drew in a ragged, gasp of a breath before she could say, "Oh, Donovan. Whatever you do, don't stop."

  But he did. He had to, in order to indulge himself with a real taste of her, to make certain he'd been mistaken about the hopelessness he'd thought he heard in her voice. Turning Libby in his arms, Donovan glanced into her velvety brown eyes, pleased to see they'd taken on the same lusty glow he felt raging throughout his entire body. Nowhere in her expression could he detect despair or regret. He held her close, so close she could have no doubts about his dire physical condition, then brushed her mouth with his as he whispered, "Give me Liberty... or give me death. And you'd better give me one of them pretty damn soon."

  Her response was a deep and throaty laugh, which had him needing her all the more. Capturing that beautiful mouth with his, swallowing her laughter and taking it deep inside as if he thought he might preserve it there, Donovan kissed her again. He plumbed her roughly, deeply enough for Libby to gain full knowledge of his exact intentions. By the time he finally ended the kiss, her hands were grasping his buttocks beneath his jacket and one of her legs was hooked around his knee. She was his once again, and still on his terms.