Alistair chuckled and slung an arm over Warren’s shoulder to tug him toward the main house. “Come. We must celebrate.”
“I have a pair of horses that need tending.”
Bears appeared from the tack room at those words to assist them, and Alistair nodded, moving outside to help Warren unhitch the horses. They worked in companionable silence as they curried the horses and placed them in a stall. They pulled the sleigh into a large area to the side of the barn and threw a tarp over it to keep it clear of hay dust.
Bears watched Warren with curious brown-black eyes. “You are unafraid of the mother?”
Warren’s jaw firmed with anger. “That woman has tried to wreak havoc too many times in my relationship with Helen. I refuse to allow her to affect it again so soon after we married.” He frowned as he saw Bears and Alistair exchange a long look.
“Who married ye?” Alistair asked.
“Frederick. Common law marriages are legal.” His brow furrowed as the two men he considered friends shifted uncomfortably.
“That may be, but already some whisper in town that you don’t esteem Helen enough to make her your proper wife.” Bears met Warren’s astounded stare with a shrug.
“I’ll kill her,” Warren murmured.
“It’s not just the mother. It’s her brother and cousin too,” Alistair said. “Rumors are that the cousin will still be gracious enough to take her when ye have tired of her.” He met Warren’s rage-filled gaze. “Jessamine keeps us informed of all important gossip.”
“And the pastor,” Bears said, earning shocked stares from both men. He shrugged again, his long black hair rippling down his back. “People talk around me as though I don’t exist. Some men will never accept their perceived loss of importance, and the pastor was upset not to be summoned to the ranch.”
“The damn storm was brewing,” Warren muttered, rubbing his forehead in frustration.
“More than one,” Bears murmured.
Warren let out a growl and paced inside the barn. After he had calmed, he asked, “What should I do?”
“Fetch the pastor. Marry Helen now, with the MacKinnons and the Tompkinses as witnesses. Ye may not legally need it but ’twould help settle any doubts in town,” Alistair said.
“Your wife has already ruffled too many feathers. You must calm the rumors before they grow,” Bears said.
Warren nodded. “Fine. Alistair, will you meet me in Cail’s parlor in an hour?” He paused, halfway down the livery corridor. “You too, Bears. I want you as a witness.”
Their second wedding ceremony, put into effect with even less planning than the first and solemnized by the pastor, took place an hour later. As their friends looked on, Warren waited with poorly veiled impatience for the suddenly loquacious pastor to intone, “You may kiss the bride.” Warren bent forward, caressed her cheek and kissed her, his kiss filled with the promise of more caresses to come. He leaned back to smile into her eyes.
“You kept your promise,” she whispered in wonder.
“Of course,” he murmured. He winged out an elbow for her and led her down the aisle to await the congratulations of their friends. He pulled her into an embrace to give them a few moments alone. “You must know that I would have married you with the pastor in a few weeks. However, rumors were already starting, and I refused to allow you to suffer from them.” His embrace tightened as he felt her shudder.
“Thank you,” she whispered into his ear and then kissed him on his neck.
He released her as Cailean cleared his throat. The three MacKinnon brothers thumped him on the back, with Cailean pulling him into a bear hug.
“Congratulations,” Cailean said.
“I’m so happy for ye, Warren,” Sorcha said, hugging him fiercely. “I can see she’s made ye happy.”
“She does.” His eyes gleamed with joy as he glanced at Helen, who stood biting her lip and watching him with Sorcha.
Sorcha released Warren and embraced Helen. “Treat him well, or ye’ll have all of us to answer to.” She squeezed Helen’s arm. “Ye deserve happiness and hope, Helen. I’m very happy for ye.”
Annabelle smiled at both of them, baby Skye in her arms. “Harold and Irene were disappointed to miss both ceremonies, but they were unable to close the café with such short notice.” She squeezed Helen’s hand and moved into the kitchen.
Leticia gripped Warren’s arm and nodded at Helen. “I hope you will be as happy as I am with Alistair.” She met Helen’s gaze. “And I hope you agree it all turned out as it was meant to be.” She smiled fully as Helen nodded her agreement.
Jessamine approached and gave Warren a hug. “I’ll enjoy giving you marital advice.” She smiled at Helen as she frowned with confusion. “When I first arrived, he visited frequently to reprimand me about my choice of articles.”
Helen flushed as she remembered the number of articles that Jessamine had written about her. “I hope you have little reason to write about us in the future.”
Jessamine’s smile faltered for a moment. “As do I,” she murmured before moving into the kitchen.
Bears nodded at Warren and then at Helen. “I hope the mistakes of the past do not continue to form the path of your future.” He smiled at Helen and then entered the kitchen area, stilling when he saw Fidelia in the corner by the stove.
Warren whispered in his ear, “What’s the matter, Bears? Did she take the spot you wanted to hide away in, watching us but not participating?”
Bears stared blankly back before sitting at the table next to Hortence, who leaned against his side and began to chatter at him.
Soon they were all gathered in the MacKinnon kitchen, where a small celebration was to be held. Sorcha had cooked a large beef stew, and Leticia had brought over a loaf of fresh bread and a leftover white cake from the bakery. Although the Tompkinses could not attend, they had sent over fried chicken and mashed potatoes for the celebration.
“Come. See how my daughter, Skye, is growing,” Cailean said. He placed a hand on Annabelle’s shoulder. She sat on a chair with Skye while most remained standing.
Annabelle handed Skye to Cailean, and he held her for Warren and Helen to see. Light-brown eyes squinted at them while her head was covered in soft downy hair turning light brown too.
“She’s precious,” Helen whispered, gently squeezing Skye’s feet.
“Congratulations,” Warren said, looking from Cailean to Annabelle. “She’s beautiful.”
Annabelle beamed. “She is, although she has a healthy set of lungs when she’s hungry.”
“Aye,” Cailean said with a laugh. “But even that makes us proud.” He kissed his daughter’s head and held her close against his chest. “We couldn’t be more blessed.”
After a moment he handed Skye to Annabelle, and everyone, including Fidelia, sat around the cramped dining room table. Although he had seemed disappointed to miss out on the impromptu celebration, the pastor had left to return to his wife, who had declined to witness the ceremony.
Hortence was seated next to Annabelle and the baby, her excessive energy corralled with watching the baby sleep in Annabelle’s arms. Bears remained seated next to Hortence with Ewan and his wife, Jessamine, beside him. Her fiery red hair was tied back in a bun, while her curious gaze continued to flit between Warren and Helen.
Helen smiled at all those seated at the table. “Thank you all for this wonderful celebration and for witnessing our second wedding ceremony.” She blushed as Warren whispered in her ear.
“Although our first was legal, we wanted to dispel any rumors,” Warren said. He saw Jessamine nod, then frowned.
Annabelle smiled. “I imagine you have little food in your larder after being out of town for so many days. Eat up, and take the leftovers home.”
“An’ there isna much at the Merc after that storm,” Sorcha said. “The train hasna been through in four days. Hopefully it will arrive tomorrow.” She looked at Helen. “Although I wouldna go to the Merc alone. Tobias will try to gouge ye, as he wi
llna care ye’re a married woman.”
Helen raised her chin. “He must accustom himself to the truth.”
Sorcha laughed. “Aye, but we should go together. I enjoy sparring with the man.”
Helen stilled, recognizing the offering for what it was. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I would enjoy an outing.”
When they began to eat, Annabelle held the baby while Cailean ate and then swapped roles when he finished eating. “What’s the latest gossip, J.P.?” Annabelle asked.
J.P. took a deep breath. “It seems there is a new arrival in town.”
Helen stilled, and Warren covered her hand with his as he noted the tension in the room. “My guess is that Helen’s cousin has arrived. From what I was told, he was one of the people spreading rumors. Is that correct?”
The MacKinnon brothers nodded. “Aye,” Ewan said.
“He’s too much like my brother, Walter,” Helen whispered. “Let’s hope he’s mostly bark with little bite.”
Fidelia snorted and rolled her eyes at Helen before focusing on her plate again.
“I fear he’s no tamer than your brother,” Bears said. “He was none pleased to see me at the livery.”
“Why should you know Bertrand?” Helen asked as the MacKinnons gaped at Bears.
“The promise of riches is a powerful lure, miss,” Bears said with a cryptic smile.
Ewan cleared his throat. “The point is, we are yer friends, Warren.” His gaze roved to Helen to include her in the statement. “We will help ye in any way we can.”
Warren looked from Ewan to Jessamine. “J.P., what is going on?”
She flushed. “You know I will never be pressured into publishing articles I don’t want to write. However, there is mounting pressure to publish scandalous … accusations.”
“Ye’ve been a good friend to us, Warren. We wouldna have ye face this alone,” Ewan said.
Warren looked from one to the other and then to J.P. “You’ve known—we’ve all known—about Helen, her foray to the Boudoir and her time with me for months. And yet you’ve never once published an article about us. It would have made good copy and sold quite a few newspapers. Why would you feel forced to publish something now?”
J.P. clenched her jaw and flushed. “I refuse to pander to the brainless half-wits who would be interested in such articles.” She met the startled gazes of all those present except Ewan. “I know, when I first arrived, that I wanted to publish the most salacious stories I could find. However, I’ve learned the personal cost behind such stories, and I no longer find them profitable in any way that matters.” She looked at Helen and Warren. “I knew that, if I asked around, I’d discover much more than either of you ever wanted known. I also knew that it was none of my business. Even if I am a journalist. Some things are meant to be private and personal.”
Ewan beamed at his wife and ran a hand over her shoulder, eliciting a subtle shudder. “She met me and somehow found her scruples.”
Sorcha snorted incredulously. “’Tis backward, if ye ask me. Would have thought she’d lose her scruples upon the knowin’ of ye.”
All the siblings laughed at her statement, and the tension lifted momentarily. However, Warren felt Helen’s anxiety mount. “J.P., even if you aren’t to print the story, and we are grateful for that, please advise us what you’re refusing to print.”
J.P. set down her fork and met Warren’s gaze. “Since Bertrand March arrived in town, he has been claiming that you are in breach of contract as you stole his bride from him. He wants monetary compensation for what has been lost.”
“Oh, Lord,” Helen whispered.
A mixture of confusion and admiration filled J.P.’s gaze as she studied Helen’s resolute form next to Warren. “He’s been marching up and down the boardwalk, bellowing to all who will listen about how he has been wronged by the town lawyer. He’s calling into doubt your credentials as a lawyer. Says there is a history of believing people have more credentials than they truly do in this town.”
Leticia flinched, and Alistair stroked a hand down her back. “There will always be those who resurrect my history to serve their needs.”
“How dare he?” Warren hissed. “How dare he continue to torment Leticia? How dare he doubt my word? I graduated top of my class from the University of Pennsylvania. I have the diploma to prove it!”
“Well, I’d write your college or wire them tomorrow. Many here doubt that a man with such a high pedigree would deign to live in such a place. And now there are those in town forming a committee to prevent you from practicing here until it has been determined that you are who you say you are. I doubt you’ll have many clients until this affair is straightened out.” J.P. watched him with mournful eyes. “And your old banker friend, Finlay, is only too eager to lead it.”
“This town and its committees,” Leticia muttered.
“It’s slander,” Warren stated. “They can’t accuse me of such malfeasance.”
“Don’t go spoutin’ big lawyerly words,” Alistair said with a chuckle.
Warren took a deep breath. “I am who I say I am. I’m Warren Clark from Philadelphia. Lawyer. Husband to Helen Clark.” He ran a hand over his face. “I suppose they are saying that the diploma is fabricated? That I’m no better than a two-bit charlatan who excels at spouting ten-dollar words?”
Cailean nodded. “Aye. And it doesn’t help that your wife has just revealed herself as one of the town’s new healers. The new doc is up in arms at ‘another amateur attempting to swindle the good people of Bear Grass Springs out of their hard-earned money.’” He mimicked the doctor’s speech, earning a snicker from Alistair
“Someone should look into his credentials,” Helen muttered. “He seems to do more harm than good.” She shared a long look with J.P.
Fidelia grunted her agreement. “If he was run out of town, few would miss him. And the lives of some of the Beauties might be saved.” Fidelia shivered as though recalling her struggle to overcome her dependence on laudanum the previous fall. “I never would have suffered as I did if that man hadn’t come to town.”
“How do you prove that something is true when everyone is proclaiming falsehoods?” Sorcha wondered out loud. For once, her fiery temper had not surfaced, and she had watched her family interact with a calm levelheadedness.
Bears nodded, his eyes serious. “Fools believe lies far more easily than any truth.”
“By provin’ that those makin’ the accusations are liars,” Ewan said. “We all ken the type of people tryin’ to destroy ye, Warren. They are no’ happy ye found a way to Helen, and they are eager to try to control ye.”
Warren’s eyes lit with fire. “I refuse to allow them to ruin me. If we must leave this town, we will. We can begin again.”
Helen sat next to him, in stiff agony. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I fear you all would have been better off had you never met me.” She rose and ran from the room.
Warren swore as he looked at his friends. “Give us a minute,” he muttered before following her. He found her, kneeling on the floor of the parlor as she cried. “Helen, love, there’s no need for tears,” he rasped as he pulled her close. “We will come through this. Don’t worry.”
“You heard what they said. All of this is because of me. If you weren’t with me, none of this would be occurring. No one would doubt your good name or your credentials as a lawyer. I sully everything.” Her words emerged in staccato bursts as she cried against his shoulder.
“That’s nonsense. Your mother would have tried something at some point against me. She’s hated me for years.” He kissed her head. “Remember what I said in the wagon?” He waited for her to calm in his arms. “I love you. I trust you. I believe in you. Nothing else matters except those truths.”
Her hands wrapped around his waist, and she pulled herself closer into his embrace. “Why won’t you try for an annulment? You could easily free yourself from me.”
He pushed her back, his eyes blazing with fury. “Do you not unde
rstand me, Nell?” He waited until she met his indignant, hurt gaze. “I love you. You and no other. I have for years. Now that we are finally together, I will not be so foolish as to free myself from you.” He ran a hand over her disheveled hair. “I would never abandon you to face your mother, brother and cousin alone. That isn’t love. That isn’t honor. That isn’t the man you married. Twice.”
He sighed as he pulled her to him. “One day you will come to trust in me too.” He realized he continued to repeat this sentiment, but he hoped, if he said it enough times, she would believe him. The more he said it, the more he reassured himself.
“I’m afraid,” she whispered. “Now that I finally have a chance for happiness, now that I know what a life with you could be like, I fear.” She shuddered. “I thought I knew what fear was when I walked down those stairs at the Boudoir. And I was afraid. But now, now I know what I would lose if I lost you.” She pulled back and arched up, kissing him. “Thank you for your patience and your faith in us.”
He kissed her swiftly before breaking the kiss. “These concerns can wait until tomorrow. We have the journalist and at least two powerful town families on our side. That’s more than most have when they go into battle.”
He rose and reached a hand down for her. She stood with reluctance.
“Come. Let’s finish supper with our friends, celebrate our marriage with them and then go home.” Warren swiped away loose tendrils of hair as his eyes glowed with love and joy as he looked at her.
“Home,” she whispered as she met his luminous gaze. “I want a home with you.”
Helen lay next to her husband that night, curled on her side. She sensed that sleep eluded him as much as it did her. She sighed, fighting the urge to punch at her pillow. She suspected nothing she did would make the pillow more comfortable or ease her into sleep. “Are you awake?” she whispered.
“Of course,” he mumbled, rolling to his side and spooning into her back. He tugged until she was flush against him. He sighed with contentment. “What has you worried and unable to sleep, Nell?”
“Will we have to move to Philadelphia?” She calmed under the slow strokes of his hand down her arm and back up again.
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