Lisa laughed. “You show me an obedient wife, and I’ll show you a woman who doesn’t know the meaning of the word ‘sass.’ What man would want a woman who doesn’t know how to sass?”
Maryanne frowned at Lisa. “Do you really think men want women who know how to sass for wives?”
“Well, if they don’t, they should. Sassy women make the world go ’round.”
“I do worry about you, Lisa. I’m not sure Wesley, the Mountie commander in the area, is going to be pleased to have a wife who thinks all women should be sassy.”
Lisa shrugged. “He’s too used to having people obey him. If it keeps up, he’ll want to be a dictator of the whole world. That wouldn’t be good. No, I’m sure that having a sassy wife will keep him in his place in a way that nothing else would. Someday all of Canada…no, the whole world will be thanking me because I was sassy and kept him humble.”
Maryanne blinked at Lisa for a moment before she dumped all of the carrots and potatoes into the pot for the stew. “You should have been a writer. You have a very vivid imagination!”
“What a great idea. Except I seem to be a Mountie’s wife now. Maybe I’ll just dream up stories and tell them to children.” At the moment, she wasn’t sure if she’d ever get her wish and have children, but she was happy to borrow any children she could find.
“Maybe we could tell stories to the Indian children.” Maryanne paused with a frown. “Do you know which Indian tribe we’re living among? I mean, I know that Jed is as white as we are, but there do seem to be a lot of Indians surrounding us. I hope they’re not dangerous.”
“Oh, I’m sure they’re not. Our husbands wouldn’t leave us here if they thought it was dangerous for us. Would they?” She was certain Wesley was more concerned with her safety than he was with his own. He wouldn’t dare leave her alone in a place where she could be in danger.
Maryanne shook her head. “No, of course not. I do hope they’re not the type of Indians who like to scalp people.”
“I’ll ask Wesley tonight which tribe they’re from. I’m sure he’ll know. Maybe he can give us tips on how to learn their language and get along with them.” She loved the fact that she had Maryanne with her all the time, but she wanted to become more involved with the indigenous people there. She knew that she had a lot to learn from them, but perhaps she could teach them a thing or two as well.
“Does Wesley mind answering your questions?”
Lisa shrugged. “So far, I think Wesley is just disappointed in me. I don’t think he likes the fact that I’m not exactly like other women.” It stung even more as she said it aloud, but she was sure her friend would understand what she meant.
Maryanne frowned. “Well, I think you’re awfully special just the way you are. Do I need to do something to make him realize that?”
“If he needs to be helped to that realization, then he’s not worthy of my time and attentions, now, is he?” Lisa sounded like she believed what she was saying. Maybe if she said them a few thousand times per day, she would convince herself.
“But you’re married to him. You have to find a way to find common ground, don’t you?”
“I don’t know that I do. As long as he has meals waiting for him when he gets home and a clean house and uniform, does he have the right to ask for more? I think not!” Lisa shook her head, unsure if she was trying to convince her friend or herself.
“You know you don’t mean that, Lisa. You want to get along with Wesley. You want to love him.” Maryanne had spent enough time with Lisa to know she wanted a love match like her friends had found.
“Love? What is love anyway? It’s just one of those words that everyone throws around all willy-nilly. I love that hat. I love chocolate. I love to read. I want the kind of bone-deep love that I saw in my parents—the kind of love that makes both of them always know that the other will be there forever. If Wesley doesn’t want to share that kind of love with me, then he can keep sleeping on the floor complaining that he might break me!” Lisa put her hand over her mouth, embarrassed that the words had escaped. “I didn’t even realize I was angry with him about that until I said it.”
Maryanne took Lisa’s hand in hers. “Just remember that you’re a beautiful, strong woman. You’ve been through so much to be ready to come out here. If he can’t respect that, then he’s not worthy of your time and attentions.”
Lisa felt a tear trickle down her cheek and wiped it away angrily. “I’ll do my best.”
When Wesley came in at the end of the day, Maryanne was back at her cabin. He looked around at how clean the place was, and he realized he’d underestimated his wife. “You’ve been busy.”
“I spent all day yesterday sitting around reading novels. I thought I’d do something constructive today.” She walked to the stove and carefully spooned stew into two bowls. “There’s fresh bread and butter if you’d like them.”
Wesley nodded. “I would enjoy that, if you don’t mind. Thank you for working so hard today.”
“Hard work is what being a Mountie’s wife is all about, isn’t it?” She did her best not to sound sarcastic, but she wasn’t sure how well she’d done.
“I suppose. Just don’t overdo it.”
Lisa saw that Sophie was nosing around under the bed where Clara was hidden. She shooed the dog away from her spot. “She’s going to need to go out right after supper, I think.” And she could feed Clara then. There had to be a way to make it all work out without him knowing there was a cougar sleeping under her bed.
Wesley nodded. “I don’t mind doing that. I like to take walks.”
“Is it safe to walk alone here at night?” Lisa asked, thinking about her conversation with Maryanne that afternoon.
He shrugged. “There are some wild animals, but most won’t come this close to the village.”
Lisa sat across from Wesley, bread on the table, and stew in front of each of them. After Wesley had prayed for them, she said, “I didn’t mean the animals. I was thinking of the Indians.”
He frowned. “We’re here because of those Indians. This is their home, not ours. We’re here to keep peace among them and to keep them from drinking their lives away. You’ll find that they’re warm, good people if you give them a chance.”
Lisa felt scolded, and she was immediately contrite. So many people judged her by what she could and couldn’t do—she had no right to be doing that to others. She’d been convinced earlier that she had things to offer them and they had much to offer her. She hadn’t sounded like it when she spoke to Wesley, though. “You’re right. I’ll get to know some of the women as soon as I can. Which tribe is this?”
“This is the Kaska tribe. They speak one of the many Athabascan languages. Each tribe will speak it a bit differently, so you might learn a language of the Kaska, but then you go to Han territory and the language rhythms will be the same, but you will only be able to pick up a word or two of their speech.”
“That’s interesting. I’m going to try to walk out among the people tomorrow. I did a little today, but I only went to see Miss Hazel. I need to meet everyone, not just stick to talking to the people I know.”
“I think you’d find some common ground if you went apple or pumpkin picking with them. There’s a wild pumpkin patch just north of town. I wouldn’t say no to pumpkin pie.”
Lisa didn’t want to leave little Clara alone for long. “How far from town?”
“About a twenty-minute walk, I’d say.”
She calculated in her head. If he said twenty minutes, it would be thirty for her. An hour round trip, and then she’d need to spend some time picking the pumpkins. She could ask Maryanne to sit with the animals, but she knew she’d feel safer with her friend accompanying her. No matter how many times she was told that the Indians were safe, she knew she’d always feel slightly nervous around them. “I will try to go with them tomorrow then.” If her leg was up to it. After she had fed Clara. She didn’t add her caveats aloud, not wanting him to realize that she had bad days when
she couldn’t walk well.
As soon as supper was over, Wesley took Sophie for a walk. “How long do you think you’ll be gone?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Probably not more than thirty minutes.”
“All right. Be good, Sophie!”
Wesley raised an eyebrow as he looked down at the dog, who was dancing merrily on her leash. “I think she’ll be fine.”
As soon as he’d shut the door, Lisa hurriedly got milk and a rag, pulling the cougar out from under the bed. She kept an eye on the time as Clara sucked ravenously at the rag. After twenty minutes were up, she put the rag down and put the cougar back in her crate underneath the bed. Surely, she’d make it through the night without needing to eat now.
Lisa washed the dishes as quickly as she could, thankful that Wesley took longer than he’d said he would. She didn’t want him to think she wasn’t up to doing the dishes. She was strong, no matter who told her differently.
She was sitting on her bed, wearing her nightgown, and reading a book when Wesley returned with Sophie. “She seemed to be having such a good time, I kept walking. I hope that’s all right,” Wesley told her.
“It’s fine. I’m glad she’s getting more exercise. She loves to move around.” Lisa leaned down and scratched Sophie, noting that the dog was sniffing under the bed. She wished there was a way to stop her from doing that, because she knew that Sophie could smell Clara. Wesley was bound to get suspicious if she kept it up.
Wesley sat down at the table, reaching over to scratch Sophie behind the ears. “I wasn’t sure what to think when I saw Sophie at the train station yesterday, but I really like her. I’m glad you brought her with you.”
Lisa was surprised to hear him say that. “I’m glad. She’s a good dog.” She wondered what he’d say when he found out about the cougar beneath the bed. For a moment, she considered telling him, but she knew better. He wasn’t going to be pleased to hear she had a wild animal living in their cabin.
“She really is,” he said. “I’m sorry that I immediately thought you should have left her in the city when I saw her. I’m still not sure what she’ll think of a Yukon winter, but honestly, I don’t know what you’ll think of it either.”
Lisa shrugged. “I’m a Canadian. I can handle cold winters.” She’d lived in Ottawa her entire life. Surely that meant she knew about cold.
Wesley laughed. “You’ve never seen a winter like we’ll have here.”
“Do you still work in the winter?”
He nodded. “There’s a lot to do in the winters. Many disputes over trap lines. While the Indians here used to be very self-sufficient, now they trade their furs to the white men. I hate that they’ve lost their old way of life.”
“What do the white men have that they want?”
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Mostly alcohol.”
“Oh?” She’d heard that Indians were particularly fond of alcohol, but she didn’t know if it was true or just a rumor.
“The traders are prohibited from trading alcohol to the Indians, because they tend to use it to cheat them out of their goods.”
“How so?” Lisa had heard that Indians had trouble with alcohol, but she’d never understood why.
“The white men who trade with the Indians will often deliberately get the native man drunk before they start negotiating. Then the trade will be decidedly in the white man’s favor. It’s not a fair business practice, but no one seems to care.”
“I see. That’s not right.” She wanted to right all the wrongs in the world. She had never been able to understand why people didn’t treat each other with kindness and respect.
“No, it’s not. And it’s part of my job as a Mountie to make sure it doesn’t happen to any of the people that I’m watching over.” He shrugged. “There are a lot of ways the white men have treated the native Canadian peoples unfairly, but there’s not always something we can do about it.”
“Can’t you just tell the Indians to stop drinking?”
He laughed, shaking his head. “How would you feel if I told you that you had to stop eating chocolate. Would you immediately do it, just because I asked?”
“Chocolate? You can’t take my chocolate away from me!” Lisa wished she was wearing a shoe so she could throw it at him. How dare he even suggest such a thing?
“What if I said that you will get sick if you keep eating chocolate. Then would you stop?”
Lisa frowned. “Why can’t we use turnips as an example? I hate turnips with the hate of a thousand suns.”
He grinned. “So you understand what I’m saying. Chocolate isn’t good for you, but at least it’s not a mind-altering substance like alcohol is.”
“You’re not going to take my chocolate from me, are you?” Lisa had put some chocolate into her bag when she’d left Ottawa. She was careful to eat only a tiny bit at a time, but she wasn’t giving it up. Not for anything.
He shook his head. “No, because if I took your chocolate, you’d likely take something from me that I love.”
“Like coffee?”
He frowned. “Don’t even think of messing with my coffee!”
Lisa laughed, walking over to sit at the table so she could be closer to her husband. This was a Wesley she could like. Last night, he’d only seemed to annoy her. “I won’t mess with your coffee if you don’t mess with my chocolate. And no one should give the Indians alcohol. I understand that.”
He smiled at her, surprised that she’d come over to sit so close. “What are your plans for tomorrow?”
“I’m think I’m going to go pumpkin picking, like you suggested, and I’m going to work on laundry.” She hated laundry, but Maryanne had suggested they do it together, which would make things easier for Lisa. When Maryanne offered to do things together, it was unspoken but understood that she would pick up the slack. As Lisa got used to doing the chores required of a wife, she hoped to not need to lean on her friend so much.
“Are you friends with Preston’s wife?” he asked, seemingly out of the blue.
“Maryanne? She was my favorite of the three girls who traveled out here with me. We spent some time together today, and we will again tomorrow.”
“Will you take her with you when you pick pumpkins?”
“I probably will. I won’t feel comfortable alone with the Indians at first.” She frowned. “Plus I don’t know how many pumpkins I’ll be able to carry.”
He shrugged. “Maybe two or three with your apron? I don’t know. I’ve never really carried pumpkins.” He looked at her closer. “Do I need to make you some sort of wagon to make carrying things easier? I wouldn’t mind.”
Lisa looked at him, wondering if he was again seeing only her deformities. “I can do things without.”
“I know you can. Could you do things easier with?”
“I probably could.”
“Then I’ll make one for you next weekend. I’ll be too busy this weekend. Getting married makes everything a bit different.”
“I would appreciate it.” Lisa reached out and took his hand in hers. “I’m glad I came all this way to be your wife.”
“I am too.” Wesley was surprised by how much he meant the words. All day he’d thought of nothing but her little dog and how she would be a burden on him. Now that he was here with her? He could think of nothing but how pretty she was, and how much he wanted to kiss her.
She smiled. “I’m glad. I wondered last night.”
“I needed a little time to get used to things.” He traced her cheek with one callused finger. “May I kiss you, Lisa?”
Lisa’s eyes met his, and she nodded. “I’d like that very much.” Maybe he didn’t see her as a burden after all!
He slowly lowered his head toward hers, kissing her softly. His lips moved against hers, and he put his free hand at the nape of her neck, holding her to him. “You’re a beautiful woman.”
She blushed, looking up at him. No man had ever kissed her before him, so she had nothing to compare his kisses t
o, but she had a feeling he was the best kisser in all the land! “Do you feel better about our marriage today?”
He nodded. “I do. I thought about it all day, as I said, and I really am glad you’re here. Last night, I was afraid I’d never be able to touch you for fear that I’d break you. I still think that you should have some time, before we…you know. But I don’t think it needs to be a lifelong thing.”
“You won’t break me, Wesley. I’m a lot stronger than you think I am.” She’d had to be strong, whether anyone believed it or not. She needed to not have people trying to protect her all the time.
“I’ll take your word for it. I do think you deserve to have some time to get to know the man you married before we consummate our marriage though, don’t you?”
She nodded. “I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about not waiting, but I don’t want you to wait because you think you’ll break me. I’ve had to be stronger than anyone you know.”
He smiled, stroking her cheek. “Not anymore. Now you can lean on me.”
Lisa frowned. She wasn’t sure she wanted to have to lean on anyone anymore. It was her time to get stronger.
Chapter Five
As soon as Wesley left the next morning, Lisa pulled Clara out from under her bed. The cougar had cried a few times during the night, but Wesley was a sound enough sleeper that he hadn’t heard her. She fed the animal, holding her as she would a baby, cradled in one arm against her body.
When the door opened while she was still feeding her, she jumped, but breathed a sigh of relief when it was only Maryanne. “She cried during the night, but Wesley never heard her, thankfully. I was really worried he’d make me set her free. She’s not ready for that yet.”
Maryanne checked the bandage they’d put on the cougar’s leg while Clara was distracted by her feeding. “It still looks good.”
“I’m glad!” Lisa nuzzled her face against the cougar. “She’s such a sweet baby.”
“She is!” Maryanne hurried over and washed the breakfast dishes.
“You don’t have to do everything for me, Maryanne! I really appreciate it, but I’m having a good day. I can handle it.”
RNWMP: Bride for Wesley (Mail Order Mounties Book 5) Page 4
