Savage storm (41 page)

"You may invite anyone you choose; just hurry up about it," Jason replied with a teasing chuckle. "Go out and speak with him while Gay and I bring the buggy around to the front."

Gabrielle glanced over at Erica and, seeing her shy smile, walked quickly to the door. "We'll be ready as soon as you gentlemen are."

"We'll hurry." Jason called over his shoulder, and after giving Clayton a hearty slap on the back, he started toward the back of the house intent upon completing his errand rapidly.

Michael had been leaning back against his buggy, deep in thought. He was hoping to devise some compelling argument to influence Gabrielle in his favor when he heard her call his name. He stood up abruptly and smiled as she walked toward him. Seeing she was not alone, he included Erica in his greeting. "Good afternoon, Miss Nelson, Gabrielle."

Gabrielle gave the young man a warm hug and followed it with a light kiss upon his cheek when he began to blush. '"MichaeU I have a favor to ask. Jason and I are going to the church now to be married. Since all of us won't fit comfortably in one buggy, may Erica ride with you? I do so want you to be there. You will come with us, won't you?"

It was not as though he hadn't been warned, but Michael was dumfounded all the same. ''It seems I badly underestimated Mr. Royal's desire to become a family man," he finally managed to mumble. ''Of course I want to attend your wedding and I'd be honored to escort you. Miss Nelson."

"Why thank you, Mr. Jenkins." Erica had a bewitching smile and she used it to her best advantage now as she took Michael's hand and stepped up into his buggy. She thought him quite handsome and was sorry she had not paid more attention to him. If Gabrielle considered him charming, then she was certain she would as well. When he climbed up beside her, she slipped her arm through his as though they were the best of friends, then she gave Gabrielle a knowing wink to show her how pleased she was to have such a nice escort. She vowed to herself right then that by the end of the evening Michael Jenkins would have forgotten he'd ever met Gabrielle MacLaren.

Jason used the few minutes they had alone on the ride to the church to tell Gabrielle how delighted he was with her decision. He hugged her shoulders warmly and drew her close to his side. "I am certain we will be the happiest of couples, Gabrielle. We need no more than the chance to be by ourselves for a change instead of trying to elude a crowd."

Gabrielle smiled sweetly, trying not to grin as widely as he since to do so might be unseemly. She had no desire to appear as pleased as he obviously was. She was the bride and should not look as though she was bursting with pride for having caught so handsome a husband. She tried to strike the proper balance between the demure young lady she was supposed to be and the vixen she knew she truly was, but she was not certain

she had succeeded.

*'You seem enormously pleased with yourself, Jason." To my delight, she thought.

Jason laughed at her teasing. 'That I am, but I have good reason to be.'' He kept urging the mare Clayton had hitched to the buggy to greater speed, not wanting to waste a moment of the afternoon in travel. "Clay went on ahead to see if the preacher has returned to the church. He usually receives at least one dinner invitation on Sunday, but I don't want to have to wait for him to come home."

"I will not change my mind, Jason. Will you?" Gabrielle asked playfully. "If he does not come home until supper time I will still be happy to become your wife."

"Let's hope we do not have to wait that long." Jason moaned in mock sorrow. "Were we Indians, I would have to do no more than announce my intention to make you my wife and then take you home. That is all there would be to it."

Gabrielle considered his words thoughtfully for a moment and then asked, "You mean we would already be husband and wife if we were Indians? All that is lacking is an announcement, for we have already done what an Indian brave and his bride would do when they reached his home, haven't we?"

"I'll thank you to keep that bit of information to yourself, my dear," Jason whispered softly, but he knew her comment was quite right and could not suppress a deep chuckle.

Since he was in so agreeable a mood, Gabrielle persisted in her questioning. "If the Indians consider a man and woman who live together married, then why did you say Lewis wasn't married to his mistress? Her people considered them married, didn't they?"

Jason's expression grew solemn as he turned to give Gabrielle a long glance, but seeing that her query was a serious one, he replied calmly, not angered by her inquisitiveness. "Yes, but a white man does not consider himself married as easily as an Indian brave does. It is a convenient way to think I'll grant you, certainly all in the man's favor rather than the

Indian woman's. I told you the truth. Vd not hegin such an alliance since the advantage would all he mine and the arrangement a very poor one for the Indian maiden.**

"To say nothing of the children/* Gahrielle whispered softly, her gaze suddenly a very pensive one.

Jason grew silent too, not wanting to mention the subject of children to Gahrielle when it had always precipitated an argument between them. He hoped they would have a child and soon, but he*d not press her to discuss the issue until she brought it up herself. He gave her another affectionate squeeze as the church came into view. "It is a shame you did not attend the service this morning; then you would have met the preacher at least once.**

"Do you know the man well?** Gabrielle inquired politely, thinking it unlikely that he did.

"No,** Jason admitted. "But he*ll do this favor for me, Vm certain of it.**

Clayton had arrived first, having ridden on horseback, and since he was to be the best man he*d informed the minister of the reason for their call and then returned to the front of the church to greet Jason and Gabrielle when they arrived. "Reverend Murdock would like to speak with you both in his study,** he warned them, frowning. "It seems our enterprise has caused considerable gossip, and he wants to be certain you two are serious about your desire to marry.**

When Jason appeared ready to explode in anger at that unexpected announcement, Gabrielle reached out to take his hand. "It is not surprising that the man doesn*t want to begin performing twenty-one marriage ceremonies when we*ve been here less than a week. Fm sure we can prove to him our situation is a different one since we have had half a year in which to become acquainted rather than only a few days.**

Hoping she was correct in her assumption, Jason tried to smile. "1*11 do my best not to insult the man. Let*s hope we can be as persuasive as you seem to think we can.** He escorted her around to the side of the neatly kept frame building to the

entrance which led directly to the minister's study. With a ready smile, he introduced Gabrielle and hoped the man would be favorably impressed despite what he knew must appear to be an unreasonable haste to marry.

Patrick Murdock was a young man, thin and slightly balding. He'd been in Oregon City for less than one year and had no desire to outrage any members of his congregation by turning the church for which he was responsible into a wedding chapel. Not wishing to offend Jason Royal either, he welcomed the man and his lovely fiancee warmly. "I am pleased to make your acquaintance. Miss MacLaren, and to see you again, Mr. Royal." He had met Jason soon after coming to the town but could not recall ever seeing him at a Sunday morning service. He removed his gold-rimmed spectacles and began to polish them on his handkerchief as he attempted to explain his hesitation to perform a wedding ceremony on such short notice. "This is Oregon City as you are undoubtedly aware, Mr. Royal, not Gretna Green. Usually couples present themselves to me several weeks before they plan to marry. I know you and Mr. Home have contracted to provide brides for respectable bachelors in our community, but I hope they will not all wish to be married on such short notice as this." He replaced his glasses then, adjusting them for a comfortable fit upon the bridge of his nose. But he found his alternatives no more clear now that the lenses were clean. "Why don't we sit down and discuss your request for a moment?"

Jason first showed Gabrielle to a chair and, when Reverend Murdock had taken his, sat down opposite him. "Perhaps Clayton and I should have discussed this question with you before we left for Missouri last spring, but it did not occur to either of us that you would hesitate to perform wedding ceremonies for adults in good standing in the community."

Gesturing nervously, Patrick tried to explain. "I am not hesitating, Mr. Royal, not at all. I am merely surprised that you would appear at my door this afternoon with such an urgent request. Can you honestly swear that you and Miss MacLaren

have given this most serious step the proper consideration it rightly deserves?" A bachelor himself, the minister hoped he did not sound too pompous since marital bliss was not a state he enjoyed. ^

"Yes," Jason replied promptly, not bothering to let Gabrielle respond for herself. "I have never given any question the consideration marriage has received. We might have married some weeks ago had I not been the wagon master and therefore too busy with my duties escorting a wagon train to Oregon to give Gabrielle the attention a new bride deserves. I have not had the advantage the other bachelors have had of being here all summer. We need to marry now so that we can have our farm properly prepared for the winter. As this is the optimum time for us to begin our lives together, I do not want to have to suffer any delay if it can be avoided."

As Jason explained the compelling reasons for them to be married that very afternoon Gabrielle again marveled at his detachment. He seemed to think the need to lay in provisions before the rains began the best reason he could possibly give. She waited in vain for some word of regard for her, but he spoke nothing of that in his effort to convince the young minister of his sincerity. When Reverend Murdock at last turned to her, she smiled as though she,agreed with all Jason had said, though she would have preferred to have risen from her chair and given her handsome bridegroom a swift kick in the shins. "All the bachelors will have a similar concern, sir. They have already waited many months for us to arrive. I know I can speak for the brides when I say we all gave the matter of marriage very serious thought before we first spoke with Mr. Home about coming to Oregon. None of this is as hasty as it seems. It is the result of many months of effort to bring together men and women who wish to share in the responsibilities of marriage. There are none among us who will not live up to our wedding vows. Your church is such a pretty one, I am certain you perform a beautiful wedding ceremony. Is there any need for you to delay ours any longer?"

Patrick Murdock shook his head, fascinated by the mellow tones of the lovely Miss MacLaren's voice as well as by her astonishing beauty. He thought her arguments not only intelligent but compelling and rose to his feet to see she was kept waiting no longer. "Have you brought a witness? 1 will be happy to begin the ceremony as soon as everyone is assembled.''

'Thank you." Jason leaped to his feet, delighted that the man had agreed with their request. He gave Gabrielle his hand to help her rise, then dropped his arm to encircle her waist as they followed the minister into the church where they found their friends waiting. He winked slyly at Clayton, too happy that they had overcome Murdock's objections to hide his elation. "Our guests are all here. Where would you like us to stand?**

Patrick gave his directions quickly, placing Gabrielle on Jason's left with Erica by her side while Clayton stood at Jason's right. "I am sorry our organist is not here. Had I known there was to be a wedding I would have asked her to remain in town."

"Music is not necessary to make the marriage legal," Jason pointed out swiftly, wanting only to get the ceremony over with as rapidly as possible. He smiled at Gabrielle, hoping she would not object to the simple ceremony. To his delight she seemed not to mind and gave his hand a warm squeeze. Apparently she was as eager as he for the ceremony to begin.

"You have the ring?" Patrick asked Jason softly. "Give it to Mr. Home to hold."

Jason had not even remembered a ring would be required. He turned to give Clayton a stricken glance before replying. "I'm sorry, I've had no opportunity to buy one for Gabrielle."

While the young minister tried to recall what to do in such a situation, Gabrielle fixed Jason with a steady stare. Had he truly been planning to marry her all along, he would most certainly have remembered so important a detail as purchasing a ring. She was deeply hurt, angry as well, to realize this was

further proof that he'd been lying to her when he'd proposed. She'd not challenge him with that fact now though, for it would only embarrass everyone present. Furthermore, she knew if he'd not tell her the truth when they were alone he'd not be Hkely to do it in front of witnesses. Despite the convincing presentations they'd given the minister, she knew their marriage was every bit as hasty as it had first appeared to be. She just prayed it was not ill advised as well.

Clayton had a small gold ring which he wore on his little finger. His initials were engraved upon it in graceful swirls, but he thought it would do for the time being and quickly removed it. '*Use this one for now and buy your bride a ring in the morning. Now is there anything else you've forgotten?"

"I certainly hope not." Jason glanced down at Gabrielle, and by the proud set of her chin, he knew exactly what she was thinking. She was furious with him, but he could not blame her. They hardly appeared to be a couple who'd given marriage the careful consideration they'd described to Patrick Murdock when he'd not even bothered to buy a ring. Damn! Had it not been Sunday he would have left immediately to attend to that errand. Now he had no choice but to use Clayton's ring and thank him for it. He held his breath, hoping the minister would have the presence of mind to begin before Gabrielle ran screaming from the church. He had only himself to blame for disappointing her so badly, that he knew full well. Having finally made the decision to marry her that morning, he'd considered nothing else worthy of contemplation. The details of the ceremony had slipped his mind completely, but he'd not ask for a delay when he'd insisted upon an immediate wedding. The church was very warm, and he hoped the stagnant air would not cause Gabrielle to faint for he feared by the time they revived her she would have changed her mind about the wisdom of marrying him. He gripped her hand more tightly, hoping she'd stand by his side for just a few minutes longer.