The Right Wife

by Beverly Barton

  “I don’t think I’d like being married to a preacher,” the younger girl said thoughtfully. “You could never do anything fun. It’d all be a sin.”

  “Please don’t talk like that in front of Aunt Tilly,” Maggie told her talkative sister. “She sets great store by sin and salvation.”

  “I wish we didn’t have to live with Aunt Tilly. She sounds like such a sour old—”

  “Oh Jude, honey. We should be grateful that Uncle Chester and Aunt Tilly are offering us a home. We’ll just have to mind our P’s and Q’s, that’s all.”

  Maggie was willing to do almost anything to give her family a chance for a better life than a future struggling on a sharecropper farm in Tennessee. Pa’s death had left them with little money and no hope of improving their lot.

  “I promise I’ll try to be good, Maggie.”

  “I know you will, honey. And remember that I’ll always be there for you and Micah.”

  “And we’ll always be there for you.”

  “First thing I plan to do is talk to Aunt Tilly about your schooling. You can’t be a proper lady without book learning.”

  “But you can read and write. Why, you’re one of the smartest people I know.”

  “I’ve got common sense,” Maggie corrected. “I’m a good, honest, hardworking girl, but I’ll never be a real lady. It’s not in me, but it is in you, and I intend to see you get your chance.”

  “Oh, Maggie.”

  “My God, Aaron, what a little hellcat this Maggie of yours must be.” Thayer Coleman’s loud laughter filled his private railroad car. “I regret that you were unable to persuade her to join us.”

  “I don’t think she’s really a hellcat. She was just trying to protect her servant girl. I’d do the same thing for Phineas. And Maggie’s not your type, old friend,” Aaron told the other man as he glanced meaningfully at the voluptuous brunette lounging across the car.

  Thayer smiled as his dark eyes caressed the scantily clad woman. “Verda can be amusing, but no different from other creatures of her type. I think your little Maggie Campbell would prove to be quite a challenge for a man.”

  “I’m not interested in challenges anymore,” Aaron said. “I’m ready to settle down.”

  “How boring. Lord, the very thought of settling down with a woman scares the hell out of me.”

  “I’m six years older than you. I’ve also met a very suitable woman.”

  “Eunice Arnold will bore you to tears. I’ll wager that within six months of taking vows with that suitable lady, you’ll be looking for one of Loretta’s hot-blooded whores to warm your bed.” Thayer ran a hand over the coarse, black stubble covering his jaw. “I need a shave and another drink.”

  “Dammit, Thayer, you don’t need a wife like Eunice. I do. If I’m ever to gain a respectable place in society, I’ve got to make a good marriage. With the right wife, people won’t ask as many questions about my past.”

  Thayer poured himself another shot of whiskey from the imported crystal decanter. “Shall we drink to respectability?”

  “It’s a little early in the day for me,” Aaron said.

  “Is it really morning?” Thayer gulped down the burning liquid and laughed again. “Maybe I should get some sleep. When I wake up, it should feel like morning.”

  “Good idea. I’ll wake you when we stop in Huntsville. It should be lunchtime by then.” Aaron could almost taste the scrumptious fried chicken and mouthwatering peach pie in the box lunches that were sold at the depot there.

  “Make sure Verda is dressed by then,” Thayer said. “She’s disembarking in Huntsville. You want to visit your sister for a while, don’t you, sweet thing?”

  Verda shrugged, her huge breasts shaking from the slight movement. “Don’t make me no never mind. If I ain’t welcome at my sister’s, I got other friends there. Men friends who’d be more than glad to see Verda again.”

  “Good. Good. Then that’s settled.” Thayer rested his shot glass on the small oak bar. “You probably wouldn’t enjoy Tuscumbia anyway.”

  Aaron felt the sudden movement of the train and knew they were under way. He wondered what Miss Maggie Campbell thought of the passenger car. This was probably her first train ride. Was she excited? Afraid? Why the hell should he care? He had to put that beautiful little witch out of his mind. Proposing marriage to Eunice should be uppermost in his thoughts.

  “You going on to Tuscumbia with Thayer?” the luscious Verda asked as she placed her half-nude body beside a partially aroused Aaron.

  “I’ve got business to attend to.” He wanted Verda to leave him alone. Even though he and Thayer had shared a woman on more than one occasion, he had no intention of slaking his desire for a virginal redhead with this overripe whore. Last night he had enjoyed their flirtation, but he had momentarily lost his taste for soiled goods.

  “Why don’t you put off that business? I got friends in Huntsville. We sure could have us a good time.” Verda’s bare foot stroked Aaron’s ankle and gradually moved up the calf of his leg.

  He wondered if Maggie’s feet were pale and soft. How would it feel to have her toes tickling his skin?

  When the seductive hussy reached out to touch his chest, Aaron caught her slender wrist, stopping her abruptly. “I’m not interested.”

  Verda smiled, shrugged, and slowly removed her womanly body. Aaron looked out the window, completely ignoring her departure, wishing he were in the passenger coach with the Campbell clan.

  Why are the Campbells going to Tuscumbia? he wondered. Did they have relatives there? What if Maggie were going to meet a future husband? Aaron knew it shouldn’t matter to him. If he had suddenly become so enamored of the idea of bedding a virgin, there were more likely candidates available. He was so certain that Maggie was a virgin, he’d bet his last dollar on the fact. Virginity was something that even the prestigious Eunice Arnold couldn’t lay claim to. Of course, her lack of innocence was quite proper since she was a widow.

  Marrying Eunice would be a step in the right direction, just as buying the old White Orchard plantation had been. He pictured himself as a country gentleman with a genteel mate and several well-bred offspring. He hadn’t told Eunice anything about White Orchard. When he proposed, he wanted it to be an extra surprise. By the time they were lawfully wed, restoration of the manor house should be complete.

  Intrusive thoughts of shimmering gold eyes and glorious red hair filled Aaron’s mind. Mile after mile passed as he sat gazing out the window of Thayer Coleman’s private railroad car. All the while he fantasized about making love to an ill-bred, outspoken girl who could mean nothing to him but trouble.

  Having made this same trip on many previous occasions, he recognized the outskirts of Huntsville. He had been so engrossed in his own thoughts he had forgotten to make certain that his friend’s current mistress was dressed and ready to disembark.

  After standing slowly and taking a long, much-needed stretch, Aaron looked across the car and saw a fully clad Verda watching his movements.

  “Just looking, honey. Just looking.” Her voice had a soft, almost childlike quality to it. “It’s a pity we ain’t going to get to know each other better.”

  Aaron reached over and gently nudged Thayer. His friend grunted and turned over. Aaron tried again, more forcefully the second time.

  “What the—” Thayer grumbled sleepily.

  “We’ll be in Huntsville in about fifteen minutes.” Aaron grinned. At this precise moment, his young friend looked like a grouchy child needlessly awakened from a sound sleep.

  “Make sure Verda gets off,” Thayer mumbled.

  “He’s so charmin’ when he’s drunk,” Verda said. “Don’t worry none about me, honey. I’ll get myself off and get a boy to take care of my bags.”

  “Good,” both men said simultaneously.

  “I’m getting off for a walk,” Aaron said. “Think I’ll get a box lunch. Do you want me to get one for you, too?”

  “Hell if I know.” Thayer sat up and ran h
is fingers though his thick black hair. “My head is pounding and my stomach is churning.”

  “I’ll get two. You’ll be starving before we reach Tuscumbia.”

  Maggie was thankful that Judith had finally worn herself out and fallen asleep. Micah, still sulking, seemed to be absorbed in watching the quickly passing scenery outside the window.

  She wondered how long the train would be stopped in Huntsville. She had heard some of the other passengers talking about getting off for lunch. She supposed they’d just have to eat the cold biscuits she had wrapped and placed in her bag before leaving Grovesdale last night.

  She’d bet that Mr. Aaron Stone wouldn’t be eating any cold biscuits for his noonday meal. She wished that she could stop thinking about that damnable handsome rogue. Every time she closed her eyes, she could see his face, hard and strong, like something chiseled out of granite. Every time she gazed out the window, almond-shaped green eyes stared back at her. She could not let this unwanted attraction change any of her plans. Even nodding hello to him would mean trouble.

  Before the train had actually stopped, the hustle and bustle taking place on the loading platform outside alerted Maggie that they had arrived. The sudden jolt awoke Judith, who wiggled restlessly. The child opened her huge, blue-green eyes and smiled up at her sister, on whose lap her strawberry-blond head lay nestled.

  “Where are we?” a sleepy Judith asked. “We can’t be in Tuscumbia already, can we?”

  “No,” Maggie told the girl who sat up and looked outside. “We’re in—”

  “Huntsville!”

  “Lower your voice, heathen,” Micah said, giving his little sister a look of warning.

  “I’ve got biscuits in my bag if either of you are hungry,” Maggie told them. “And I’ve got a little jug of water too.”

  “Oh, look there,” Judith said, jumping to her feet and leaning across her sister in order to reach the window. “It’s Mr. Stone.”

  “What?” Without thought, Maggie looked outside, searching for the big, blond man. Her heart raced out of control. What is wrong with me? she wondered. What kind of a spell has that man cast on me?

  She could barely see the depot for the crowds of people swarming about, men and women, black and white. Dozens of wagons, buggies, and carriages were lined up at the far end of the one-story structure. When she lowered the window, the aroma of food flooded the railroad coach, as the sounds of the sellers’ voices carried through the air.

  “Hey there, Mr. Stone,” Judith yelled as loudly as she could. “Hey, it’s me. Over here.”

  “Jude, will you please hush up,” Maggie said nervously, wondering what she would say to Aaron Stone. What would he think of her, of her sister? Oh, Lord, don’t let him hear Jude, she prayed silently.

  “He heard me.” The child beamed with delight. “Look, he’s coming over here.”

  Maggie stole a glance, her eyes devouring every inch of the rugged giant making his way through the crowd. His lean, square face was clean-shaven. His mouth was big and wide, his lips thin and straight as they parted in a generous smile. His teeth were pearly white against his weather-darkened skin.

  Oh, those eyes, Maggie thought, those hypnotizing green eyes. Deep-set eyes that slanted upward were surrounded by the longest straw-brown lashes she’d ever seen on a man, and the thick brows were an even darker brown.

  Wavy, golden hair curled about the collar of his fancy white-linen shirt. Maggie had the irresistible urge to run her fingers through that tawny mane.

  He was a big man standing alone, but in a crowd, he towered over others like a giant oak tree in a forest of seedlings.

  Judith, leaning across her tense and aggravated sibling, stuck her fiery-gold head out the window. “What are you doing getting off in Huntsville? I thought you were going all the way to Tuscumbia with us.”

  Aaron had heard the pretty little girl’s shouts before he spotted her smiling face. He made his way through the crowd and stopped below the window out of which half the child’s petite body hung precariously.

  “I’m stretching my legs and buying a box lunch.” He noticed that Miss Maggie was deliberately looking the other way. “Would you care for a lunch, Miss Campbell?”

  Maggie did not want to face him. She jerked on Judith’s skirt, trying to pull the child back inside and avoid any further embarrassment. “Please sit down, Jude,” she whispered.

  Ignoring her sister’s plea, Judith continued to hang dangerously from the window. “What’s in a box lunch?”

  “The very best fried chicken.” Aaron could see the look of mouthwatering hunger on the girl’s face. “Please take mine. I can purchase another before the train pulls out,” he said, holding the food container.

  Just as Judith reached for the lunch, she lost her balance. With Maggie and Aaron both watching but neither able to prevent the disaster, Judith Campbell fell out the window. Instinctively Aaron dropped the meal and caught the child. She shrieked with fear and relief, then looked up into the face of her astonished rescuer.

  “My God, Miss Campbell,” Aaron said after his heart started beating again. “You do have a unique way of getting a man’s attention.”

  Frantically Maggie made her way outside the coach and stepped down from the train, holding up the skirt of her dress with one hand to better maneuver the steps. A glimpse of frayed cotton petticoat and scuffed black shoes disclosed her circumstances even though her dress was fashionable and well tailored.

  “Maggie’s going to kill me dead.” Judith laughed as she watched her sister approach, her blazing red hair flying about her shoulders.

  “Leave Miss Maggie to me,” Aaron said. “I’ve always had a way with the ladies.”

  “That’s what Micah said.” The child still lay cuddled in his huge arms when Maggie confronted them.

  “I assume Micah is your brother.” Aaron pretended to ignore the older girl. “And just what did he have to say about my success with the fair sex?”

  “Judith!” Maggie warned.

  “Micah said that he bet you had bedded as many willing females as possible,” the little girl quoted quite guilelessly.

  “Did he indeed.” Aaron hadn’t enjoyed himself so much in years. Sneaking a peek at Maggie, he could see the pink flush of shame covering the beautiful girl’s face. “And what made him think that?”

  “Because we figured you’re a—” Judith started to explain when Maggie’s hand covered her mouth. Judith twisted and turned, indicating to Aaron that she wanted down, all the while mumbling beneath the restricting hand.

  Once on her feet, Judith pulled away from her sister, obtaining revenge by finishing her comments. “We figured you’re a hard-drinking man who’s made a lot of easy money and uses it to get things done your own way.”

  Please Lord, Maggie prayed, let me die right now. Of all the stupid, childish things her sister had ever done, this had to be the worst. What would this man think of the Campbells? What could he think but that they were ignorant Tennessee trash?

  Amusement lit his ruggedly perfect face as laughter built deep within him, vibrating his chest and finally erupting into such loud guffaws that those around him stopped to stare.

  For the second time in one day, the Campbells had acquired a crowd of onlookers. With her head held high, Maggie grabbed Judith by the arm, paying no heed to Aaron Stone or the people being entertained by their actions.

  Not saying a word, she simply glared at her young sister, her yellow cat-eyes glowing with rage.

  “I’m coming. I promise.” Judith pulled free and reached down to retrieve the lunch that Aaron had dropped onto the wooden platform. “Thank you for saving my life, and thank you for the lunch.”

  Aaron’s amusement subsided enough for him to reply, “You’re quite welcome. It was not only my pleasure, but obviously the pleasure of this entire assembly.”

  “We will see you in Tuscumbia, won’t we?” Judith asked as she rejoined Maggie, who immediately ushered her onto the train.

&nbs
p; “Most certainly, Miss Campbell, most certainly.” Aaron looked directly at the younger girl first, then raised his eyes to the older, who had been able to refrain from taking one last glimpse in his direction.

  Maggie didn’t wait until they reached their seats before chastising an unrepentant Judith.

  “How could you? Of all the dumb fool things to do. What on earth will Aunt Tilly think if she hears about this?”

  “Fiddlesticks. Who’s to tell her?” Judith disregarded her sister’s concern as they moved hastily down the aisle, other passengers looking, laughing, smiling, and whispering at the quarreling girls.

  “Promise me that you won’t encourage friendship with that man.”

  “I like Mr. Stone. And I think he likes me.”

  “Oh Jude.”

  “He likes you, too. I can tell. He looks at you all funny-like.”

  “You mustn’t say such things. Men like Mr. Stone look at women all the time. It doesn’t mean a thing.”

  “She’s right, Maggie,” Micah said. “The way Mr. Stone looks at you means a great deal.”

  Flaming tresses swayed with the movement of her shaking head as Maggie denied her brother’s accusation. “I want both of you to hush up right now. And promise me that neither of you will have any more to do with that man. And for heaven’s sake, don’t breathe a word of this when we arrive in Tuscumbia. You know that Cousin Wesley has a very important reputation to uphold.”

  Neither sibling spoke. They exchanged knowing glances that infuriated their older sister.

  “If we’re to have any chance of a better life, then the two of you have to help me.” Maggie knew they were too young and unaware of how their actions could be misunderstood by truly genteel people. People not used to Tennessee hill folk.

  “We’re going to help. Just don’t expect us to change into different people overnight.” Micah’s voice was so deep, so richly baritone that most people took a second look when they heard him speak. Being such a tall, skinny fellow made others view him as a mere boy.