The only way to escape him was to flee Omaha. But if I left either Judith or Rebekah behind, surely our uncle would marry one of them off to him—or someone just like him—instead.
Accepting the offer made in that advertisement had been my last desperate attempt to save myself and my sisters. I understood, too well, that a man with two sons to raise didn’t need additional mouths to feed, but we’d been desperate, so desperate, to get away.
Because of this, I would keep Judith and Rebekah a secret until after I was wed tomorrow. Only then could my new husband not send all three of us home. I’d gone mad, surely, but our uncle had finally pushed me too far. I took a deep breath, let it out. I could do this. I could do anything as long as I wasn’t in Omaha. My husband might reject my sisters, but if I married, they could remain in Hayes as respectable women with the hopes of finding employment, or even husbands of their own.
If my new husband refused to help us? Well, the little money I had saved would keep us reputable for a few months. Hopefully, that would be long enough to see them properly wed. After that, I didn’t much care what happened to me. I would survive, as I always had. As long as I was away from the pious Mr. Partridge.
In a rush to be free of the cramped quarters, we stepped down and landed in the middle of a group of men who were busy loading sacks of flour, tins of food and other supplies into the back of a wagon. They paused and looked our way, each and every man tipping his hat in our direction.
The group was large, at least ten men. Judith and Rebekah froze in place at the sight of them all, for they were quite large and very formidable. They exuded an aura of… power. It appeared that they were traveling, just passing through town to purchase supplies. I tried to imagine all of them housed under one roof at a hotel or boardinghouse, but rejected the idea. There was something wild and untamed about these men. Fearless and bold, like I imagined a great grizzly bear would be, ambling through the forest. I suspected men such as these slept beneath the stars with loaded guns at their sides.
“There isn’t much to this town, Lizzie.” Rebekah picked up her cream-colored skirts and looked around with a frown, clearly not as intrigued by the men as I. The top half of her dress was cut of a dark, velvet brown that brought out the gold streaks in her hair.
“I told you two the town was small.” I tried to keep my voice low as I studied the men’s laden saddlebags and filled wagon. While we were at our final destination, these men seemed to have a long way to go.
Pity. One or two of them might have made fine husbands for my sisters.
“It’s nothing like Omaha, that’s the truth.” Judith stood next to her sister, her blue traveling dress stained around the hem, but the dress’ color a vibrant match for the cornflower blue of her eyes. “I hope your Jenkins is worth it, Lizzie. I’m going to miss having tea at Mrs. Dodd’s house. Do they even have a hotel?”
My sisters didn’t know of my uncle’s arrangement with Mr. Partridge. They’d only fret or offer themselves up in my stead. As I wanted none of us yoked with that man, here we stood.
“Of course.” I had asked the stage driver three towns back. If not, I’d planned on leaving my sisters at the last stop, in a reputable hotel, until I was a married woman and could safely retrieve them. Having them in Hayes was better. I wanted them close. Safe.
“Hotel’s just up the street, ladies.” All the air was sucked from my lungs at the deep, silky voice that slid over my skin like a caress. I recognized the accent from a trip to New York. If I wasn’t mistaken, he was British, and these men were a long, long way from home.
“Thank you.” I smiled because I couldn’t help myself as
I studied the two men standing side by side, one with a sack of flour over his shoulder. The other, the man who had spoken, was busy winding up a length of rope in large, rough-looking hands. My attention was drawn to the smooth glide of the rope under his hardened knuckles and I imagined the rough drag of those strong hands over my sensitive skin. Both men were both dark-haired and tall with closely trimmed black beards creating an air of danger and mystery that made me shiver. They were handsome. Intense, almost brooding… and looking directly at me.
They looked me over—me, not my sisters—taking in every inch of my body, their gazes tracking every curve of the simple yellow fabric that covered my ample breasts and wide hips. I flushed, remembering how bedraggled and filthy I must look. I’d never been at the receiving end of such blatant stares. How long had they been on the trail? Too long, if they found me more appealing than either of my younger, fairer sisters.
Judith and Rebekah were beautiful with their pale hair and creamy skin. They were just over a year apart in age and were often mistaken for twins, except Judith’s eyes were a pale blue and Rebekah’s green as spring grass. I looked more like a complete stranger than their sister. While they took after our mother in size and coloring, I had the darker looks of my father, who I had been told was my mother’s biggest mistake.
As golden as my sisters’ hair was, mine was black and straight. My skin was warmly brown year round and tanned at the lightest kiss of the sun. My sisters were petite and classically beautiful while I looked like a giantess standing a half head taller, my shoulders wider, my breasts and hips full. If my sisters were lovely reeds swaying in the river’s wind, I was the large, sturdy cottonwood lining its banks. We were as different as night and day. We shared a last name because our father had adopted me when he married my mother. We were the Lewis sisters, but I was the bastard. The black sheep.
The daughter of a tainted woman, inheritor of both her wicked tongue and wanton blood. Neither made me acceptable company in our small, God-fearing community. If our father hadn’t been the minister, I’m sure I would have been stoned to death by age fourteen.
Still, the two men near the wagon looked at me and I saw desire darken their eyes. They looked at me now the way the two men I’d seen the night before looked at the naked beauty between them, with want. Lust. Need. The memories of what I’d witnessed were what made today’s stage journey tolerable. I couldn’t think of much else. What maiden could? Instead of being horrified, as I should, I was envious. I tried to clear the image from my mind, but it was too late. All I could think about was being shared by them, just as naked, wanton and wild as the woman I’d seen.
My heart leapt into my throat as they continued to eye me and I fought for breath. The man tossed the sack into the back of a wagon with an ease that showcased his strength and the breadth of his shoulders. The other continued to coil the length of rope, watching me, slow and patient as a cat stalking a mouse. Every long inch of them screamed rugged cowboy and I made fists of my hands so I would not reach out to touch what did not now, and never would, belong to me.
I lowered my eyes and turned my attention to the tattered tips of my shoes, ashamed. I was ogling men who were not my intended husband. My wicked blood was going to ruin this chance for us if I didn’t get myself back under control. What would Mr. Jenkins say if he knew the naughty thoughts filling my head to overflowing? And still…
Hope flared in my chest. If this was the caliber of man to be had in the Montana Territory, I couldn’t wait to meet my new husband. Perhaps he, too, would be ruggedly handsome. Strong. Perhaps he would make my heart skip a beat and my nipples peak beneath my dress like these two did.
Perhaps one of these men was Mr. Jenkins himself?
Surely not. It couldn’t be possible, could it? At our last stop, I’d sent a message ahead to Mr. Jenkins telling him we would arrive in three days’ time. I felt a small twinge of guilt for lying to my betrothed, as it had been only two since I sent the message. Mr. Jenkins was not expecting us today, and I was eager to hurry along, to have Judith and Rebekah safely settled in our hotel room, hidden from sight, until after the wedding was over. With only a few stagecoach runs to Hayes, worry took root in my chest. What if he were as anxious as I? What if he came a day early to look for me?
Taking a deep breath, I relaxed my tense shoulders. No. Fate would not be so cruel to me, not after she had taken me this far. I could believe nothing else.
That meant that none of the handsome men before us were Mr. Jenkins. As confirmation of that, none of the men, while they enjoyed looking at the three of us, stepped forward to claim me. I had been sure to send Mr. Jenkins a recent photograph, so he had my likeness, but none of these men had two small sons in tow either. Disappointment was bitter on my tongue as I pasted a smile onto my lips and lifted my chin high. Mr. Jenkins would be wonderful. He simply must be. I was sure of it.
The driver dropped our bags at our feet with the disinterest of a man who had ten more miles to ride before bed. I afforded him a small smile of thanks, then picked up the bag that held my meager belongings. The summer day was warm, but a slight breeze reminded me that fall was on the way. I was thankful for my thin coat, but knew we would need my husband to purchase heavier winter things for us before the ice and snow took hold.
“Let’s find our hotel,” I said to my sisters, offering them a small smile.
The cruelty of our uncle may have pushed me to agree to marry a man and be mother to his children through a newspaper advertisement as a means of escape, but I wanted to at least freshen myself and have a good night’s sleep before I faced my future. Tomorrow, I would be strong again. Tomorrow, I would meet my new family for the first time and allow myself to fall in love with my new sons. Tonight, I would close my eyes, put my feet up and enjoy my last day of freedom.