An Earl's Wager: Regency Romance (Gentlemen and Brides)

by Joyce Alec

  She hadn’t seen it all very well in the dark.

  They walked in silence, and as they did, she studied his frame.

  He was obviously a hard worker, with his tight muscles in his back showing through his thin linen shirt. His boots were well worn and broken in. He walked with ease over the ground, apparently knowing where each stone and dip was by heart.

  The house was cool as they stepped through a back door. They were in a kitchen, which had to be three times the size of Frank’s. It was bright and airy, and the farmer had the windows thrown open, allowing the breeze to come in. It was immaculately clean, as well.

  “Good morning, Mrs. Adams,” the farmer said, as a middle-aged woman came bustling into the kitchen with a feather duster in her hand.

  “Oh, good morning, Perry,” she said, beaming at him. She started to run the duster over the mantle on the fireplace, but she stopped when her eyes fell on Anne.

  “My, my, who is this?”

  The farmer, who was apparently called Perry, glanced over his shoulder at her, and Anne realized that she didn’t even come up to his shoulders.

  “I found this young woman sleeping in my barn, believe it or not,” he said. “Decided it was best to give the poor thing some breakfast.”

  “Yes, yes, take a seat,” Mrs. Adams said, pulling a chair out and gesturing for Anne to sit.

  Anne looked apprehensively up at Perry, who nodded.

  She slowly lowered herself into the seat.

  “Oh, my heavens,” Mrs. Adams said, pinching her nose and waving her hand in front of her face. “I will draw you a bath as well, dear. You smell as rotten as a horse.”

  Anne ducked her head shyly.

  She heard the rustle of pots and looked up to see Perry pulling a cast iron skillet off a shelf and lowering it onto the stove.

  “So…” Perry began, giving her a small smile, as he cracked open a few eggs, tossing them onto the now hissing skillet. “Why don’t you tell me your name.”

  Anne blushed. “Anne,” she said quietly. “Anne Welsh.”

  “Well, Anne,” Perry said. “It is a pleasure to meet you. As I am sure you heard Mrs. Adams say, my name is Perry Arnold.”

  “Nice to meet you,” she said shyly.

  The smell of frying eggs filled the room, and Anne’s mouth watered as he tossed in a few wild onions and sprigs of rosemary.

  Anne swallowed tightly.

  “Anne Welsh…” he started again. “May I ask you why you decided to sleep in my barn last night?”

  Anne looked down at the table, frowning. The memory of the night before came flooding back, along with the anger and guilt.

  She reached up and gingerly touched her cheek where Frank had struck her and realized with horror that it was slightly swollen and her cheekbone was tender to the touch.

  “I…ran away,” she said quietly.

  “Ran away?” he asked, flipping the eggs. “What made you run away?”

  “The man who was supposed to be my husband,” Anne said darkly. “He is an awful, wretched man. I was a fool for ever coming down here to Texas to meet him.”

  She saw Perry freeze out of the corner of her eye, and she looked up as he picked up a plate from the table, pouring the contents of the skillet onto it, and then placing it down in front of her.

  It was steaming tantalizingly.

  “Please, go ahead,” Perry said, sliding into the chair across from her.

  Anne only hesitated for a moment before diving in.

  It was delicious, and for a few moments, she had to force herself to eat slowly, properly. She didn’t want to look like a child in front of him.

  “Well, someone was hungry,” he said, and she noticed a hint of sadness—or reservation—in his tone.

  Anne took a sip of water from the glass he had set down in front of her and looked up to see that his eyes were watching her closely.

  “Can I ask you an uncomfortable question?” Perry asked softly.

  Anne’s heart skipped a beat.

  “Did this man you were supposed to marry…did he hurt you?”

  Before Anne could stop herself, she burst into tears right there at the kitchen table and recounted the whole story to him, from receiving his letter in Pennsylvania, to ignoring her sister and her new friend Tessa, to how he had treated her for the last few weeks without any way of telling anyone.

  She told him how she had felt trapped, afraid, and lost.

  “I made a terrible mistake,” she said. “And I don’t ever want to see his face again.”

  She dissolved into tears once more.

  Perry had listened intently all the way through.

  “Well, I can tell you for certain that you will not have to go back to that wretched man,” Perry said. “However, you are all alone down here in Texas, aren’t you?”

  Anne frowned and sighed heavily.

  “Yes, I am,” she replied.

  Perry sat back in his chair and considered for a moment, crossing his arms. “I have a proposition for you then, Miss Welsh. I am a considerate man and would feel excruciatingly guilty if I were to turn you out with nowhere to go. However, while I believe you, I don’t know you well, so I will agree to let you sleep in that barn that I found you in this morning, as long as you are willing to work for it…until you can get your feet underneath you to decide what you will do next.”

  Anne stared at him, dumbfounded.

  “You…you mean it?” she asked.

  He nodded. “Of course, I do. I will help get you settled and put a bed in the barn for you to help make it more comfortable. I will also make sure you are fed well.”

  She was elated. “Oh, Mr. Arnold. Thank you so very much.”

  “Please, call me Perry,” he said. “And you are welcome. I couldn’t stand to think of you, let alone anyone, being in that sort of situation.”

  Anne wiped her face of her tears.

  “I’ll get started on the setting up the barn right away,” he said. “And while I am doing that, you let Mrs. Adams take care of you. And finish your meal…the way you were eating, it was as if this monster didn’t feed you either.”

  “He didn’t do very much to help me,” she said.

  He shook his head. “Well, if you would be willing to take over some of the cleaning, and maybe the cooking,” he looked at her pointedly, “for both yourself and for the workers on my farm, too, in exchange for staying in my barn?”

  “I can do that,” she said brightly. “Those are things that I have learned to do well.”

  “And there will be no pressure on you if things fall behind,” he said. “Obviously, I want you to work hard to pay for your stay, but I will not punish you if something were to happen to you.”

  “Thank you…” she said.

  Perry stood from the table. “I will go see Mrs. Adams and let her know about the arrangement we have made.”

  Anne nodded her head.

  “And Anne?” he said, peeking his head back into the room.

  “Yes?” she asked.

  “You are safe as long as you are here,” he said. “I promise I won’t let that man harm you again.”

  Gratitude surged through her.

  He smiled, and then he was gone.

  Anne was in shock. This man—whose barn she had slept in without asking—had decided to take her in.

  She was unworthy of his kindness, and yet here he was, freely offering it to her. He was willing to take her in, a complete stranger, and take care of her while she figured out what to do.

  And she knew that one of the first things she needed to do was contact her sister and let her know that she was all right.

  After she finished her meal, Mrs. Adams came into the kitchen.

  “Perry told me all about it, dear,” she said. “You poor thing, having to suffer through something like that.” Her kind, wrinkled face became very curt. “Someone should teach that awful man a lesson. If I were ever to see him—”

  She took a great breath, exhaling slowl
y.

  “I’m sorry, dear. Well, you are safe now, yes? Perry said he is going to offer you shelter for the time being.”

  “He did, yes,” Anne said.

  “And that you are going to help me take over some of the chores?” she asked.

  Anne nodded.

  “Wonderful. See, I am only here once a week. My husband has been working with Perry since he got his ranch, and I come with him occasionally to help Perry keep up with his house. But having someone here more consistently, at least for now, will be good for him, I think.”

  She smiled at Anne.

  “But don’t worry about all of that now,” she said. “You need to wash up. A nice, warm soak will help you to wash away the troubles of the last few weeks. I promise you.”

  She led Anne to a tiled room on the second floor that held a large, clawfoot tub with steaming water in it.

  “I’ll leave you to it,” Mrs. Adams said. “Take as long as you need, all right? If you need anything, just holler out the door. I’ll be down preparing dinner. You are free to join me when you are finished.”

  And with that, she was gone.

  Anne stared at the tub for some time, noticing that there were bottles on a shelf that contained oils and salts for the bath. A few sprigs of dried lavender were ready to be tossed in as well.

  The water already smelled as if Mrs. Adams had doctored it somehow, like freshly brewed tea and basil leaves. She gently touched the water and knew that her muscles would thank her as she sank into it.

  However, she felt strange. She had never been in such a nice tub before. Not once.

  She discarded her clothes, ensured the door was locked, and she lowered herself into the hot water, wincing slightly as she did.

  How strange had her life become, and in less than one day? The afternoon before, she never could have imagined ending up in a situation quite like this one.

  She was relieved though. All the great fear she had been living with, like a shroud of shadows, was gone.

  She was out from under Frank’s thumb, and Anne was proud that she had been strong enough to leave on her own.

  She imagined that he was angry when he finally woke up from his drunken stupor. She imagined he walked through that small cabin, yelling for her, only to find the kitchen in shambles with the charred remains of all the food and the carcass of the roast, hopefully with flies buzzing around it.

  She smiled in a twisted sort of way.

  He deserved any sort of discomfort he experienced in her absence.

  She sighed heavily, the warmth of the water and the scent of the sweet oils helping to ease some of her exhaustion.

  Instead, she took to thinking about Perry and his handsome features. Why couldn’t a man like him have sent her a letter in response to her advertisement?

  It was unlikely that Perry was unmarried, though Mrs. Adams had said nothing about a wife, and neither had he.

  Perhaps he was engaged then.

  Surely a man as good looking and compassionate as he was had not gone unnoticed by local women.

  Surely.

  4

  After Anne was washed and clean, she walked out into the bright sunlight once more, looking for Perry. Mrs. Adams was in the kitchen, and she told Anne that Perry had been looking for her.

  “Apparently, he wanted to show you something,” she said.

  Anne wandered around the house, but there was no sign of him.

  “Anne!” she heard, and she looked around, finding Perry down at the bottom of the hill, having come from the barns. “Come down here, there’s something I’d like to show you.”

  She wandered down, carefully so as to not fall, and he walked with her towards the barns.

  “You clean up well,” he said, grinning. “Bet that bath felt nice, didn’t it?”

  But then he frowned, coming to a stop in front of her.

  She stopped too, looking up into his face.

  “I see that the monster left his mark…” he said, gingerly grazing his thumb over her cheek.

  It was tender, but she didn’t shy from his touch. In fact, she welcomed it. He was gentle and obviously cared quite deeply.

  Wrinkles formed on his forehead, as he furrowed his brows and stared at her with sad eyes.

  “I’m sorry,” he said softly.

  She shook her head. “You have nothing to be sorry about.”

  A moment of awkward silence passed before he scratched his chin. “Well, all right, why don’t you come see what I have done for you.”

  They stepped into the barn, and Anne gasped. It was like a completely different space.

  All the hay had been swept away, leaving the hardwood of the barn’s floor exposed beneath, and he had stacked her belongings, namely her bag and the oil lamp, along one side of the wall.

  Along the other wall was a bed with a straw mattress, and it was piled high with quilts and pillows.

  The room itself was rather cozy, and Anne blushed.

  “This…” she started. “I…I don’t know what to say.”

  “Well, it certainly isn’t much,” he said. “But it will give you your own space.”

  “And I won’t be in the way,” she said.

  He shook his head. “No, that wasn’t what I was trying to convey at all,” he sighed. “I just…am not sure what to do in this sort of situation. I’ve never experienced anything like this before.”

  “Neither have I,” Anne replied.

  “Well…Mrs. Adams told me that she was going to leave you a list of things you could do to pass the time. In the meantime, you are welcome to eat your meals in the house with me and lunch with myself and the workers. It is entirely up to you though. You are free to do as you choose.”

  “Thank you,” she replied.

  “I shall…leave you be then,” he said. “You should take the rest of the day to rest. Feel free to join me for dinner this evening, if you wish to.”

  “I will,” she said. “Thank you again.”

  He smiled, and then he started to leave.

  “Oh, Mr. Arnold?” she asked.

  He gave her a coy smile.

  “Perry, I mean…” she said, bowing her head. “If you could please do one more thing for me?”

  “Of course.”

  “Could you please take that lamp for me? You are welcome to it, but it was…his. I do not wish to lay my eyes on it any longer.”

  Without a word, he swept across the space and picked up the lamp.

  “I shall bring you one to replace it, one without such awful memories,” he said.

  And with that, he was gone.

  Anne sank down onto the bed, surprised at how comfortable it was.

  He had worked tirelessly to create a private space for her. It was charity that she did not deserve, but she would earn it. She would work hard until she discovered a different path to take.

  The first thing that she did was set about writing some letters; one to her sister Katherine, and another to Tessa.

  In her letter to Katherine, she told her everything. Page after page she wrote, finding herself with more tears as she did, and eventually, she came to the part where she had met Perry…and how her life had completely changed.

  She went on to ask a number of questions, wondering what she should do next. Should she return home to Pennsylvania? Would they be able to take her in once more? But…what would she do when she was there? Her life would go back to the way it was, and she did not want to be a burden upon them.

  She decided that she would take some weeks and try to find another avenue for herself, perhaps write to some distant family members, or look for a job in the nearest city. Perhaps she would find a life for herself in Texas.

  The next letter was for Tessa, informing her that her words filled her heart when she was at the lowest of low points, when she was frightened and alone. Her words helped her to her feet and helped her decide that enough was enough. She was grateful for Tessa’s friendship, and for her advice. She hoped that they could see
each other again.

  She told Tessa about her plans and asked that if her brother, or anyone he knew, had any available jobs open for a housekeeper, or a farm hand. She needed a job, hopefully one that also offered a place to live.

  I have to create a new life for myself, she wrote. What I thought my life was going to be is gone, but now it is a blank page before me, open to endless possibilities.

  She did not have endless amounts of time to make up her mind, she knew. But at least she was safe and dry, and she would be able to perform some honest work.

  And so began her life on the ranch.

  Every morning she would rise and dress and make her way to the farmhouse, where she would inevitably find Perry after his early morning chores. They would sit and have breakfast together, and when he returned to the fields, she would begin to clean the house. She found the physical labor cleared her mind of any of the nightmares she had lived through and gave her a means of working through her aggression toward Frank.

  For lunch, she spent the first few days in her own room, nibbling on bread and cheese, but soon she took her lunch in the farmhouse with Perry and the other men, all of whom were charming and hardworking.

  Mr. Adams especially took a liking to her, and she found him rather jolly and kind.

  The afternoons were much of the same until she began to prepare the evening meals. Perry was able to provide a wide selection of ingredients, so she enjoyed putting together different meals with varying spices.

  It was fun, and Perry was always a willing recipient of whatever she made.

  She wasn’t sure if he was just being polite, but he seemed to enjoy everything she put in front of him.

  She would collapse into bed after sharing a hot pot of tea with him, and sleep the whole night through, at peace knowing that she was safe.

  And she genuinely felt it.

  She had been there for nearly two weeks when Perry appeared in the middle of the afternoon.

  She was in the middle of brushing the ashes from the fireplace in the sitting room when she looked over her shoulder, nearly jumping out of her skin.

  “Perry,” she said breathlessly, clutching at her bosom. “You frightened me.”