With Autumn's Return (Westward Winds Book #3): A Novel

by Amanda Cabot

  “Don’t you?”

  Dinner seemed interminable. Though normally he would have enjoyed the numerous courses of delicious food, today Jason had only one thought: escape. Short of being rude and creating a scene that would cause Nelson more pain, there was no way to stop Tabitha from monopolizing him. Those coy looks and the way she leaned toward him, moving so that he’d have to be blind not to notice her décolletage, were invitations to a game Jason had no desire to play.

  Keeping his eyes fixed on his plate, as if the succulent beef were the most fascinating thing he’d ever seen, he tried to ignore the way Tabitha pressed her leg against his. She was beautiful. There was no doubt of that. But so was Elizabeth Harding. The difference was, Elizabeth’s beauty was softer, and she made no aggressive moves. It was almost as if she were unaware of her beauty. Jason thought that unlikely. Women were always aware of their effect on others. If they lacked beauty, they found other ways to be noticed. And yet, Elizabeth seemed different. Tonight had shown him that.

  She was more opinionated than any other woman he’d ever met, and she might slice a man’s skin with her sharp tongue if she disagreed with him, but Jason doubted she’d ever be petty, and he knew to the very marrow of his bones that if she were married, she would give her husband the love, honor, and fidelity he deserved. Elizabeth Harding was unusual and intriguing, and he wanted to learn more about her. Much more.

  They’d gotten off to a rough start, but that didn’t mean they had to remain adversaries. “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” Jason could hear the reverend reciting that verse along with the rest of the Beatitudes. Jason wasn’t naturally a peacemaker. He knew that. But he had been speaking the truth when he told Elizabeth he wanted them to have a new beginning. There was no reason to wait.

  Though Tabitha was in the middle of a sentence, Jason turned to his right and faced Elizabeth. “May I have the pleasure of escorting you home this evening?”

  5

  Elizabeth wasn’t certain why she’d agreed. The truth was, she had been surprised by Jason’s suggestion. It was also true that she’d been impressed by his apology earlier in the evening and had found herself looking forward to sharing dinner conversation with him. It had been disappointing—decidedly disappointing—that Tabitha had dominated the table talk and kept Elizabeth from learning more about Jason, but that didn’t explain why she had accepted his invitation so quickly. Whatever the reason, she had, and here she was, sitting next to him in his comfortable carriage.

  The sun had set, but the June air was still warm enough that she was in no hurry to return home. Jason, it appeared, felt the same, for instead of continuing down 18th Street to Ferguson, following the most direct route from the Taggerts’ mansion to Elizabeth’s modest apartment, he had turned north on Warren Avenue, apparently heading for City Park.

  “Did you enjoy the party?”

  Elizabeth nodded. “For the most part.” She wouldn’t mention her discussion with Purple and Yellow and their reaction. There was no reason for him to know that the two busybodies did not trust him, especially since it was unlikely they’d seek his professional services. “The evening was pleasant, but I doubt it accomplished Miriam’s objective.”

  Jason slowed the horse and turned to look at Elizabeth. “What did she hope to accomplish other than introducing you to half the population of Cheyenne?”

  His exaggeration made Elizabeth smile. She was still smiling as she said, “Miriam thought that if people met me, they’d be convinced I was a good doctor.”

  Jason’s chuckle made Elizabeth bristle. Though she’d thought they had begun to forge a friendship, she was obviously mistaken, for here he was, laughing at the thought that she was a competent physician.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, his voice sounding contrite. “I wasn’t laughing at you. Not at all. I simply found it amusing that Miriam used the same tactic on you that Richard did on me. I’m not a great partygoer, but Richard convinced me it was important that I attend this one because it would get me back into the public eye and show people I’m not a monster, even if I did defend Adam Bennett.”

  Elizabeth’s eyes widened. “You didn’t want to come, either?”

  As the carriage moved slowly up Warren, Jason shook his head. “I know gatherings like Richard and Miriam’s are important—one of my professors claimed they were essential for attracting new clients—but I don’t enjoy them. Somehow, it seems almost dishonest, trying to charm people so they’ll hire me as their attorney.”

  This time it was Elizabeth who chuckled. “I felt the same way until I convinced myself it was no worse than putting an announcement in the paper.” She was silent for a moment, gazing at the stars sprinkled across the sky. Though Cheyenne had streetlights, there were far fewer than in New York, so the sky appeared darker, the stars brighter than in her former home.

  “Does it work?” she asked. “Do parties like this bring in clients or, in my case, patients?”

  Jason shrugged. “It’s not always that easy. I certainly didn’t have clients lining the street waiting to consult me the first month I opened my practice.” He let out a self-deprecating laugh. “I still don’t, although I have enough to pay my rent. There are a number of very wealthy men in Cheyenne, but I’m not one of them.”

  The honesty of his admission touched Elizabeth’s heart, for she suspected that most men would have exaggerated their financial situation.

  “I never expected to become wealthy,” she told Jason. If there was one lesson her parents had taught, it was that money did not bring happiness. Her sisters’ lives had proven that. Charlotte’s first husband had made decisions with tragic consequences, all because he wanted riches, while Barrett, her second husband, claimed that he’d found true love and happiness only after he’d lost his fortune. And though Abigail’s husband had given up a vast inheritance, believing a distant cousin deserved it more than he, Elizabeth doubted anyone could be happier than Abigail and Ethan.

  “You’re a wise woman not to expect riches.” Jason tugged the reins, slowing the horse again. “It took me about three months to become established here. If you’re fortunate and the women of Cheyenne accept you, I’d say that by the time autumn returns, you should have a good number of patients.”

  Autumn. Jason was the second person to suggest it would take that long. “I hate the thought of waiting.”

  “I know.” Coming from another man, the words might have been nothing more than a platitude, but Elizabeth sensed Jason’s sincerity. “It’s difficult to be patient when you’ve spent so much time preparing, but there’s no easy answer.”

  “I know.” She repeated his words. “I wish you were wrong, but I know you’re not. Everyone warned me this would not be easy.”

  As Jason shifted on the seat, the scent of his soap teased Elizabeth’s nostrils.

  “If you knew it would be difficult, why did you decide to become a physician?”

  Elizabeth took a deep breath, almost as startled by the question as she had been by Jason’s invitation to drive her home. Unlike her classmates, who had scoffed as they demanded why she thought she had the ability to become a doctor, he had asked what had driven her to her decision. That was a far different question. No one outside her family knew the story, but Elizabeth found herself wanting to share her reasons with Jason.

  “It probably sounds silly, but it started when I found a wounded bird. One of our neighbors’ cats caught it and ripped the poor thing’s wing.” Though she kept her voice even, Elizabeth had never forgotten the anguish she’d felt that day, and even now, she could feel her heart contract as she remembered the bird’s distress. “I scared the cat away, but then I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t bear watching the bird try to flap its wing, even though it couldn’t fly.”

  “Did you heal it?”

  Elizabeth shook her head. “I tried, but all I accomplished was frightening it even more. It died in my hands.” And no matter how many tears she had s
hed or how many prayers she had lifted to heaven, nothing had brought the sparrow back to life.

  “How old were you?”

  Once again, Jason sounded as though he really cared. This was the first time a man had taken a genuine interest in her calling. Not even Ethan and Barrett, her brothers-in-law, had made more than polite inquiries about her classes.

  “I was seven.”

  “Ouch.” Starlight provided enough illumination for Elizabeth to see Jason’s wince. “Even a small hurt is magnified at that age.”

  It was odd. No one had ever said that, and yet it was true. She’d been young enough to grieve but not old enough to know that she’d done the best she could. “I had better luck as I grew older. I was ten when the local doctor showed me how to splint my dog’s broken leg. When he was able to walk without a limp, I knew that healing wounds was what I wanted to do with my life.” And here she was, fourteen years later, a diploma in her hand. “What about you? What made you decide to be an attorney?”

  “My father’s housekeeper.” They had reached the four-block expanse of City Park. Slowing the horse even more, Jason began to guide the carriage around the perimeter. At this time of night, there were no pedestrians, but a few coaches had entered the curving paths of the park itself. “Mrs. Moran was always ordering me around,” he said, his voice sharp with remembered anger. “If I protested or asked why, she’d say it was the law. Eventually I decided to find out what the law really said. Before I knew it, I was hooked.”

  How different Jason’s upbringing had been from hers. Though her parents had always been in control, Elizabeth could not recall them issuing orders without explaining why they were needed. Sensing that the housekeeper’s dictatorial ways still bothered him, Elizabeth sought a way to make Jason laugh. “Hooked?” she asked. “Like a trout?”

  “Exactly.”

  “So the law is a worm?”

  Jason’s chuckle became a full-fledged laugh. “I should have known you’d have a memorable retort. Is that what they taught you in medical school, how to make people laugh?”

  “Hardly.” There had been precious little laughter in her classes. “That’s from having two older sisters. They were always bigger than me, so I tried to outwit them.”

  “Did it work?”

  “Not very often,” Elizabeth admitted. “They were, after all, still older than me, so they had a lot of ways to outsmart me. I tried, though.”

  “I had no chance with Mrs. Moran. My father made it clear that when he wasn’t around, she was in charge, and she never let me forget it.”

  As the sliver of a moon skirted beneath a passing cloud, Elizabeth considered Jason’s statement. It sounded as though his childhood had been lonely. Though she suspected she knew the answer, she felt compelled to ask, “Do you have any siblings?”

  The evening was dark, but not so dark that Elizabeth could not see Jason’s expression. His lips curved into a grimace. “My mother died when I was born, and my father never remarried. When I was old enough to understand, he told me that Mrs. Moran had set her cap for him, but he wouldn’t dishonor my mother’s memory by marrying someone he didn’t love.”

  And Mrs. Moran had taken out her frustration on Jason. Elizabeth closed her eyes, searching for something amusing to say to lift his spirits, but try though she might, she could find nothing.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “Everyone deserves to be loved.”

  “You don’t need to pity me. My father loved me in his own way, and the experience taught me a lesson. No matter what I have to do, my children will not be raised by a housekeeper. They’ll have a mother with them every hour of the day and night. They’ll never be left alone.”

  Though he said nothing more, Elizabeth’s imagination conjured the image of a small boy in the throes of a nightmare, waking and having no one to comfort him. Poor Jason.

  “Have you been to the park before?” Jason asked as he turned the carriage toward the center. The message was clear: there would be no further discussion of his childhood tonight.

  “Not at night.” Though the park was beautiful during the day, moonlight gave it a special allure. The curving roads seemed mysterious, and were she so inclined, Elizabeth would have called them romantic. But tonight was not a night for romance. Tonight was business, a night for developing relationships with potential patients.

  She settled back on the seat, trying to relax while her mind whirled at the realization that the evening hadn’t turned out the way she had expected. She might not have gained any patients, might instead have alienated several, but she had accomplished at least one thing. Not only had she and Jason forged a truce, but she was beginning to believe she’d been mistaken about him. In the time they’d been together, she had seen his arrogance disappear, falling away like a butterfly’s chrysalis, revealing a man with surprising vulnerabilities as well as fundamental strengths. Though she knew her sister would crow with triumph were Elizabeth to admit it, Charlotte had been right. Jason was charming.

  Count to ten. Nelson Chadwick clenched his fists, knowing that counting to ten or even to ten thousand would not dissipate the anger that surged through him. What he wanted was to wipe the smirk off his wife’s face. He’d said nothing while they were at the Taggerts’, for he had no intention of creating a scene that would be reported to every busybody in Cheyenne. He’d kept his lips pressed firmly together as they’d driven home, but now that they were inside the house that Tabitha had made over to suit her, he could no longer remain silent.

  “How could you behave like that?” he demanded, anger coloring his words and turning his voice harsh as he closed the door to the small parlor behind them. Though he doubted the servants had any illusions about the state of his marriage, there was no point in exposing them to the sordid details, even though the generous salaries he paid would ensure their silence. His staff was loyal; his wife was not.

  “Like what?” The smile that accompanied Tabitha’s seemingly innocent question was the sweet one that had fooled him at the beginning. It fooled him no longer.

  “Like a slut.” He spat the words. “You’re my wife, Tabitha. I expect you to remember that and act accordingly.”

  Her eyes narrowed slightly, and her smile faded. “I danced the first dance with you. What more did you want? You were out of breath by the end of it. I did you a favor by letting you sit down.”

  As she turned, Nelson grabbed her arm. “The only reason you danced with me was because Jason had the sense to refuse you. Give him credit. He’s not simply my attorney; he’s a wise man.”

  Ironically, it had been Jason, the man she had tried to seduce this evening, who had cautioned him when he’d begun courting Tabitha. “She’s so much younger,” Jason had said, his voice as calm as if he were discussing nothing more important than the weather. “Are you certain she’s the right one for you?” But Nelson had refused to listen. It had seemed like a miracle that beautiful, young Tabitha Barclay loved him. Who was he to question miracles? Now he knew the truth. It had been no miracle, simply cunning on her part.

  “Jason’s handsome too.” The smirk had returned to Tabitha’s face.

  Nelson tightened his grip on her arm. Though he’d never hit a woman, he felt an almost irresistible urge to slap her smirk away. “This has got to stop right now. I will not tolerate any more of your flirting. I’ve given you everything you wanted, and even though the only part of our wedding vows that you heard was the part about ‘for richer,’ you owe me something in return.”

  Wincing as she tried to pull her arm away, Tabitha glared at him. “What did you have in mind?”

  “Respect!” He wouldn’t ask for love, for he knew that was impossible. Tabitha did not love him; she never had. After observing her for the five years of their marriage, Nelson wasn’t certain she was capable of loving anyone other than herself. Respect was different. She owed him that much.

  He glared at the face he’d once thought so beautiful. “When you’re in public, you will conduct yourself
in a manner becoming to your position as my wife. You will not flirt with Jason Nordling or anyone else. You will not humiliate me.”

  Tabitha’s eyes filled with fury. “Or what? Will you kill me like Adam Bennett did his wife?”

  The urge to wrap his hands around her throat grew stronger. “Don’t tempt me, Tabitha, and don’t forget that without my money, you’d be nothing more than a common shopgirl.”

  “I wish I’d never married you.” Her lips curved with scorn as she jerked her arm from his grip.

  Nelson nodded. “For once we agree on something.”

  If it hadn’t been completely out of character for her friend, Elizabeth would have said that normally cheerful Gwen was sulking. She’d burned the eggs, and the toast was barely warmed. More alarming, she’d snapped at Rose, leaving the child with a bewildered expression. Though Elizabeth had wakened filled with pleasant memories of the previous evening, it appeared that Gwen had not.

  By the time Elizabeth returned, Gwen had been in her room with the light extinguished, giving Elizabeth no opportunity to ask about her friend’s experience. This morning Gwen had deflected each of Elizabeth’s questions about the party, leaving little doubt that it was the cause of her ill humor.

  Elizabeth waited until breakfast was over and Rose was playing with her doll before she broached the subject again. “What’s wrong, Gwen? And don’t pretend that nothing’s bothering you.”

  Pursed lips were the only response.

  “C’mon, Gwen. Why are you so unhappy?”

  Gwen poured herself another cup of coffee, making a production out of reaching for the sugar bowl. When she spoke, her words were little more than a mumble. “I shouldn’t have gone to the party.”

  “Why not?” To the best of Elizabeth’s knowledge, no one had snubbed her, and other than the time he’d spoken to a few men, Harrison had not left her side. “I thought you enjoyed it. Almost every time I looked at you, you were smiling.”