Bonds of Matrimony

by Carrigan Fox

  Again, Lady Colchester sipped her tea in silence, studying her face. Chase sipped her own tea and stared out at the high grass and open fields. America looked endless as it flew by the window.

  “Chastity, I’m going to recommend that you think very hard about something. You are heading into extremely dangerous waters with Mr. Webb. Extremely,” she emphasized. “Innocent kisses are never as innocent as they seem. And they cannot lead to anything good, particularly if you are as opposed to marriage as you seem to be. Your brother is a businessman in Slaughter. Your reputation will reflect on him. And America or England, your reputation will be destroyed if you continue this affair with Mr. Webb. Surely, he is aware of this. But he is a man; and he is your brother’s competitor. He only stands to gain by continuing this relationship. Think of that the next time he coerces you into sharing some innocent kisses.”

  “I never took you for a prude, Grandmother,” she whispered angrily.

  Lady Colchester tipped her head at her granddaughter and then smiled. “Chastity, I’ve known passion in my life. The kind of passion that weakens your knees and turns your insides to pudding. The kind that brings a warm flush to your cheeks first, followed by the rest of your body, waking every square inch of your body bit-by-bit until you feel your very soul is on fire. It is delicious. It is tantalizing. I can sympathize with your passion. But it is not always a blessing. Your grandfather was a controlling man, and there were days when I cursed him and prayed he would suffer a fatal fall from his horse. My life with him was not easy, nor was it ideal. But I was happy more often than not. I was headed down this same road you’re on now, before my own father arranged for me to be married to your grandfather. My parents knew nothing of it. But I consider myself fortunate for their timing. I was this close,” she held her thumb and index finger an inch apart, “to giving my body to another. And it would have destroyed my life, as well as my family’s. America is different than England, I am certain of that. But don’t be so naïve to think that society doesn’t have rules here. And don’t you dare think that you are above those rules and the consequences for breaking them. You must be strong and resist the feelings you have for Mr. Webb. Focus your energies on more productive things, like helping around the ranch.”

  Her grandmother had had her own Colton Webb? Chase could hardly believe it. And yet, her urgency was convincing. Yes, she knew what her granddaughter was doing. She was right; she was no fool. And yet, Chase could not imagine denying herself the pleasure of Webb’s company…or his kisses.

  She nodded and took a sip of tea, more an effort to hide her thoughts. She would have to think about what she’d said. She was not convinced that America wasn’t freer than England. But she wasn’t prepared to jeopardize Marcus’s business, either. She decided she would have to find out for herself.

  ***

  In some ways, it seemed like a lifetime since they had said goodbye to James in Liverpool. In other ways, it had seemed like yesterday. When the train came to a stop in Slaughter, Texas, Chastity Fairfax could hardly believe that the moment had already arrived. They were home. They had been in America for a couple of days already, but for the first time, she felt the excitement and the thrill. This, after all, was their corner of America.

  Marcus was the first off the train, followed by his grandmother. He held her elbow sturdily to assist her descent to the platform. Reese and Chase climbed down after her, and Colton hopped down to help his cousin. Webb paused and looked around himself with appreciation. Chase wasn’t sure how long he’d been away from home, but he certainly looked happy to be back. Elisabeth looked slightly less happy. She looked almost disgusted.

  The train station was a small wooden building with some benches outside where passengers could await their trains. The station appeared to be in the town of Slaughter. Chase paused to count the buildings in town. There were eight, including the train station, four on either side of the road.

  “Tom!” Marcus shouted from beside his sister. He waved to a man who was sitting on a bench beside the station. He stood and strolled over to greet them, not seeming to be in a big hurry. He wasn’t very tall, hardly taller than Chase. But his frame was solid and muscular. He wore a hat low over his dark eyes, and his trousers and shirt were covered in dust. He looked as though he had had a harder journey than the others had.

  “Tom, these are my sisters, Chastity and Rosalie. And this is my grandmother, Evelyn. Ladies, this is Tom Lawson, the foreman on the ranch.”

  “Ladies,” he greeted. His voice was deep and appealing. Chase wanted him to talk some more so that she could enjoy the sound of him. But he appeared to be a man of few words. Regardless, the one word he spoke revealed a drawl very similar to that of Colton Webb.

  He must have spotted Webb behind them because he suddenly frowned and nodded in that direction.

  “Yes,” Marcus answered the unspoken question. “He’s been with us since I picked them up in New York. He was on the ship with them. That’s his cousin, Elisabeth.”

  “Mr. Webb was kind enough to travel all the way to England to ensure that his cousin arrived safely in America,” Chase explained, suddenly feeling the need to defend him.

  Marcus took offense. “I would have gladly come to England to escort you back if I’d had enough time. But by the time I received Grandmother’s letter, you were already on your way. As it was, I barely met the ship on time.”

  Chastity put a hand on her brother’s arm and smiled. “I didn’t mean it like that, Marcus. I was just explaining about Elisabeth.”

  He looked over her shoulder at Webb and matched Tom’s frown. She hadn’t made a decision about her plans for Colton Webb, but she certainly didn’t like the animosity that her brother and his partner felt for him.

  “Lawson,” Colton greeted Tom. His tone was frigid, and he stepped in front of his cousin protectively. She peered around his shoulder and smiled shyly at my brother’s foreman.

  He nodded politely and then turned his attention back to Marcus. “The shaft of the wagon broke. We’ll have to take the horses instead.”

  Marcus cursed softly. “Can it be repaired?”

  “It doesn’t look like it,” Tom answered.

  Chase found herself again imagining riding with Webb, seated securely between his thighs with his arms around her and his breath on her ear.

  “Cochrane,” a soft drawl whispered over her shoulder, questioning.

  She snapped out of her reverie and glanced over her shoulder at Webb and Elisabeth. “I’m fine.” But suddenly, she wasn’t feeling fine. For days, the adrenaline of their journey, their danger, and Mr. Colton Webb had kept her functioning well enough. But she suddenly felt exhausted; and she wanted to cry. “What’s this about horses?” she asked Marcus, forcing herself to focus on the conversation at hand.

  “We’re going to have to take horses home. Grandmother, are you feeling up to it? It’s a two-mile ride. It will take nearly an hour,” Marcus warned her.

  “I’ll be fine,” she promised. Already, a line of moisture beaded above her fair eyebrows and small mouth. Ordinarily, she would be fine. But the heat was uncomfortable, to say the least.

  Webb interrupted. “I’ll ask Wainwright to drive her home. He promised to drive Elisabeth and me, anyway.”

  George Wainwright, he explained, owned the printing press across from the train station, and he owned an automobile.

  Chase had hoped that Webb would invite her as well, but he didn’t. She thought about the hour ahead of them on horseback with the heat, and the thought of riding in the automobile for a few minutes instead was very appealing. Add Colton Webb to the mix, and there was no contest. But her grandmother was still keeping an eye on her, so she said nothing.

  Once they had left their grandmother with Elisabeth and Colton, they hurried to gather the horses. They had been tied to a post outside of the blacksmith’s building. He was an aging bachelor who lived above his shop, next door to George Wainwright’s printing press.

  Reese balk
ed when she saw the horses. Chase, on the other hand, almost cheered aloud. It wasn’t that Reese had never ridden before. She rode often enough for a woman in her father’s household. But she had always ridden side-saddle. Clearly, that was not an option for her today.

  Chase watched Tom Lawson mount his horse with no trouble. Marcus immediately tended to Reese.

  “Just swing your leg over the saddle,” Marcus instructed impatiently. “It’s not as difficult as you’d like to make it out.”

  Reese was still standing with both feet planted firmly on the ground. Even Chastity could see her dilemma. “It’s the skirts, Marcus. It is impossible to straddle a horse in these blasted skirts,” she told him.

  He glanced at Reese’s skirt and then Chase’s. “Well Wainwright can’t fit you all in his automobile,” he argued.

  Chastity nodded in agreement. “We’ll need trousers,” she told him.

  “You can’t be serious,” Marcus protested.

  Tom Lawson almost smiled from atop his horse.

  “I am serious. Is there somewhere where we can purchase a couple of pairs? We left ours on the ship in case the inspector found them and began asking questions.”

  Marcus shook his head in irritation and hurried down the street, pausing only long enough to gesture at his sisters to follow him. Tom Lawson stayed behind, sitting astride his horse. Marcus led the women to the third building on the same side of the street as the train station. A bell over the door tinkled, announcing their entrance. A large, burly man stood behind the counter.

  “Afternoon, Fairfax,” the man greeted, with obvious curiosity about the two young ladies attending the young rancher.

  “Armstrong, I’m needing two pairs of trousers. Are you carrying those ready-to-wear clothes from the big department stores?” he asked.

  “Just for the men, I’m afraid.”

  “That’s fine. I need two pairs of trousers for my sisters.”

  “Sisters?” the giant asked with surprised pleasure.

  “Rosalie and Chastity, this is Henry Armstrong. He owns the general store here. These are my younger sisters.”

  “From England?” Henry asked.

  “Yes.”

  “And they need trousers?” he asked, snorting.

  “Well we can’t very well ride our horses home in these damned things,” Chase pointed out, tugging on the side of her skirt.

  Whether it was her word choice, her accent, or her message, something amused Henry Armstrong. He laughed a low, rumbling belly laugh and led them to the back corner of the store. On a top shelf, he had a few pairs of trousers and shirts. He pointed to his back room, a closet where the women could change their clothes in privacy.

  Once suited more comfortably, Marcus paid Henry Armstrong, and the Fairfaxes made their way back across the street to meet with Tom Lawson. The corner of his mouth twitched when he saw Chase and Reese in trousers, and it twitched a few more times as he observed Marcus trying to help Reese onto a horse. He only scowled at Chase when she effortlessly mounted her horse.

  After assuring himself that everyone was safely mounted, Marcus set the agonizingly slow pace out of town. Reese shifted uncomfortably in her saddle and glared at her sister.

  “You’re loving this, aren’t you?” she accused.

  Her sister rolled her eyes at her. “I’d be loving it more if we were riding a little faster. I feel like we’re walking backwards, we’re going so damned slowly.”

  Marcus turned in his saddle. “You’re not the Cochrane brothers on the Mauretania, anymore, ladies. Clean up your language.”

  Chastity met his dark eyes boldly. “If we’d wanted men ordering us about, Marcus, we would have stayed in England. Mind your horse,” she snapped.

  He eyed his sister angrily and then kicked the ribs of his horse. Clearly, he meant to punish her by increasing the pace. She followed his lead, and Reese groaned as she trotted beside them. Marcus scowled at her and nudged his horse again, increasing the speed a bit more. Chase grinned at him spitefully and nudged her own horse. Marcus looked over his shoulder and seemed surprised that they were galloping on his heels. His eyes were on fire as he kicked his horse again.

  “No more, you two!” Reese cried out.

  Tom leaned over to catch the reins of her horse as Chase kicked her own. She pulled ahead of her sister and her brother’s foreman as they slowed to a walk.

  Marcus and Chase raced fearlessly down the dirt road, then veered off to cut across a field of tall prairie grass. She felt the grass slapping her feet and wondered if it hurt the horse. She leaned down close to her and rubbed a hand down her neck but still urged her on. They were gaining on Marcus.

  “Have you forgotten that you’re a lady, Chastity?!” he hollered angrily.

  “I haven’t forgotten, Marcus. It’s just that unlike you, I don’t ride like a lady,” she taunted, pulling up beside him for a moment.

  They raced that way for the entire two-mile journey to his ranch. They left a trail of dust behind us that clouded any sight they might have had of Reese and Tom Lawson. They sprinted under a sign that read Westwind Ranch. The long driveway ended in a circle in front of the modest ranch house. A black automobile was parked in front of the house. Of course, even racing horses were unable to beat Mr. Wainwright’s automobile. Besides, they had gotten a head start while Chase and Reese had been purchasing trousers.

  Marcus and Chastity both hugged the necks of their horses as they raced up the driveway. She dug her heels into the horse’s ribs, feeling a bit sorry for her. She felt like they were going to edge past Marcus, but then his horse lengthened its stride and pulled past us. Finally giving up, she pulled lightly on the reins and slowed her horse in the approach to the house. Marcus did the same a bit ahead of his sister. She admired the simple comfort of the home before her. Elisa apparently had some of her father’s talents with flowers. They blossomed everywhere in a beautiful array of colors.

  Elisa was standing beside Lady Colchester and Elisabeth on the front porch that ran the length of the house. Webb and another man were standing beside the car. All five pairs of eyes were on Marcus and Chase as they dismounted and stood grinning at each other.

  “You ride well,” he gasped, breathless from the race.

  “I learned from the best,” she responded, nodding at him.

  He acknowledged the compliment with a grin and then turned to greet his wife. She waddled down the steps of the porch and flung herself into his arms. He kissed her softly on the mouth and pulled back to pat her enormous belly. She turned shyly to Chastity and smiled.

  “Welcome home, Chastity,” she said simply.

  She reached out and hugged her sister-in-law. “Thank you,” she laughed, a bit embarrassed about her entrance.

  “Where’s Rosalie?” their grandmother asked.

  Chase turned to look down the driveway. A dust cloud still hovered along the trail she and Marcus had traveled. She smiled sheepishly. “She’s with Mr. Lawson. They should be here in a little while.”

  “Did you ride that hard the whole way from town?” Mr. Wainwright asked.

  “George, this is my sister, Chastity,” Marcus answered, not daring to admit to riding his horses too hard in this heat.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Miss Fairfax. You’re quite a rider,” he admitted.

  “Thank you,” she laughed, still breathless. She glanced over at Colton, and his eyes sparked. The corner of his mouth was turned up, reminding her of Tom Lawson. She wondered what he was thinking but turned her attention from him for her grandmother’s sake.

  ***

  Good Lord, she was amazing. When he realized she was on that horse, racing toward them, he was speechless. At first, he was afraid for her. Then he realized she had full control of that animal. He wanted to pull her into his arms when she dismounted. He had a whole new respect for her. She looked like a goddess on that horse, dark curls trailing behind her. The flush to her cheeks and light in her eyes agreed with her. She was so alive. He wanted t
o take her right then and there.

  Then he noticed her grandmother watching him. She frowned at him and then turned back to her granddaughter.

  He felt properly scolded, but he couldn’t keep from thinking that Chase Fairfax riding that horse was the most beautiful site he’d ever seen.

  CHAPTER 10

  Chastity cringed at the droplet of sweat that ran between her breasts and down her flat stomach. Her head throbbed painfully, and her squinting against the sun didn’t help at all. The muscles in her arms and legs twitched with the spasms of long-unused muscles. But the worst of it was the stinging of her hands, raw with blisters ripped open and blistered over again.

  It was the most exquisitely wonderful feeling in the world.

  “So this is what working the land is all about?” she asked, grinning up at her brother and Tom Lawson.

  Marcus smiled at her and shook his head. “You look like a tomato, Chase. Your sunburn is probably going to blister.” He touched a finger to his nose, the same place where his sister’s skin was beginning to feel tight and a bit itchy.

  She shrugged. “I feel so…so…” she grinned, unable think of the words.

  “Tell me again after your muscles get so tight that you can hardly move tonight,” he joked. “Make sure you take a hot bath. That will loosen the muscles up a bit.”

  “And put some fresh cucumbers on your nose and cheeks. Elisa has some in the garden,” Tom mumbled.

  She knew that she must look bad to be getting sympathy from the silent, stoic foreman. She followed the other two into the barn to help clean out the stables and feed the horses. Then it would be time for dinner. She had never worked so hard in her life.

  “Why don’t you do this one,” Marcus suggested, tapping on the door of the fourth stall on the right. “Then you can head inside and get cleaned up for dinner.”