Their Treasured Bride (10 page)

"I was sold to Kane and Ian in an auction at a brothel."

My eyes lifted to meet Emma's, shocked. She nodded at me as she
bounced Ellie on her knee.

"I ran away from my father and an arranged marriage only to
almost die in a blizzard. Brody and Mason rescued me from the snow,"
Laurel shared.

"My uncle shares a wife with a friend of his, but I did not know
of this arrangement until my wedding night, when he married me to not
one man, not two men, but three for my protection from a deranged
ex-suitor," Olivia said.

"Andrew and Robert saved me from a cruel father. Unlike the
others—and you—I knew I would marry both of them, but not what
that really meant, that both of them would be so attentive and
dominant," Ann added. "Then, I didn't care as long as they
upheld their vow to never beat me."

"I...I had no idea you all had such...complicated lives as well.
You all seem so happy," I said, my spoon forgotten.

"We are happy," Laurel said, her hand stroking over her
swollen belly. The other three women nodded their agreement. "And
in a month or so, I won't be quite so bursting with happiness."

I couldn't help but laugh with them.

"I'm just...just questioning everything they do," I
admitted.

Emma rolled her eyes. "Good. Give them a hard time. They won't
make it easy on you, for you have two men to please and there's only
one of you."

"You may question their prowess and interest in your body, but
you do not need to question their honor or their allegiance to you.
You are the center of their world now, do not doubt it," Ann
added.

There was a knock at the door and Emma stood, putting Ellie on her
hip to answer it.

"They are...very eager." It wasn't the most accurate of
words for how I considered Connor and Dash to be.

"Overwhelming?" Emma asked.

"Embarrassing?" Ann added.

"Enthusiastic." "Insatiable." "Doting."
"Intense." "Dominant."

The ladies took turns listing additional words and they did fit for
my men.

"My men are very
eager
to
meet this baby we made,
" Laurel commented.

"They've been hovering over her and the other men dragged them
off so she could have a few hours of peace," Ann shared, lifting
her son from the high chair and letting him down. He toddled off
toward some pots and a wooden spoon on the floor, sat down and
started banging.

"A month is a far ways off, especially since I can barely move."
She shifted in her chair. "I don't want them gone too long
though, for I am as eager for them as I have ever been. I swear I
have the needs like a lusty man and only they can satisfy them."

"Look who's joined us!" Emma said, coming back into the
room. Behind her was a woman I recognized from the boarding house.
"Rebecca, perhaps you've met Allison Travers? She works at the
boarding house where you stayed."

Allison was very short with very curly dark hair pulled back into a
loose bun. Her smile was warm and friendly and she seemed to be
comfortable with the others, so I assumed she knew them reasonably
well. Church, perhaps? Her dress was a forest green and her black
coat hung over one arm. I had only seen her in passing at the
boarding house, and had not been formally introduced.

"Yes, hello again," I replied.

"I've brought you your other trunk," she told me. "I
apologize that it will have to sit out in the snow until one of them
men can lift it from the wagon."

"Quinn can help with that," Emma told her.

I saw Allison's eyes widen and her cheeks flush at the mention of his
name. "I did not see him, for I came directly here. As for your
trunk—" She turned to me. "—I believe you've brought
bricks all the way from England."

"Yes, it is quite heavy, but no bricks. Do not worry; the trunk
is of no concern. It has seen much in the distance from London."
I stood and came around to her. "You traveled from town by
yourself in this weather? Surely Mr. Arnold wouldn't have allowed
that."

I was speaking like an English lady, not a woman of the Montana
Territory.

"True, but it was not snowing when I left and the way is
familiar. Mr. Arnold could not bring it today himself and I offered."

"Coffee?" Emma asked. At Allison's nod, Emma handed me
Ellie to tend to the task. The baby was heavier than I expected, yet
warm and plump and smelled so sweet. Her pale eyes, just like her
mother's, looked up at me and she grinned. Could we have made a baby
the day before? Would I have a little girl with fair hair like Dash
or would it be dark like Connor’s?

"Thank you." Allison placed her coat over the back of one
of the kitchen chairs. She moved to sit on the floor beside
Christopher and clapped her hands at his drumming. "I will
admit, I had an ulterior motive for coming."

Emma turned from the stove and brought her the mug. "Oh? I can
only imagine," she jested. "A certain gentleman, perhaps?"

Allison's cheeks reddened and she looked down at the wood floor. "I
was full of gumption when I left the boarding house, but as I rode
closer, my daringness fled. I'm actually quite glad the men are not
here, for I fear I would make a fool of myself."

"That is something I understand," I replied, more to myself
than the room at large. I had made so many mistakes with Connor and
Dash since I arrived yesterday.

"Oh! I'm so sorry—I forgot the good news. Word has spread in
town that you wed Connor MacDonald yesterday. It is all anyone—at
least the ladies—can talk about."

I nodded my head and smiled. "Yes, I did." The townspeople
knew of my marriage to Connor, but not of my proxy wedding to Dash.

"You must tell me how you met, for I've heard of love at first
sight, but even this was too fast!" She seemed eager for the
details.

I glanced at the other women, who all seemed so relaxed and
unconcerned about the unusual marriages at Bridgewater. Surely they'd
been told about our trip into town and the hasty marriage in the
church. Did Allison know of the men's custom? If she did, she did not
seem bothered by it. If she didn't, however, I did not plan to be the
one to tell her. For if news of my wedding to Connor spread, I could
only imagine so would the news about the women of Bridgewater
claiming several of the men as theirs.

"My brother was in the Army with him, with many of the men here
at Bridgewater, in fact. We were coming here to live on the ranch
when he died."

Emma came and took Ellie from me.

The eagerness to hear of my love match slipped from Allison's face.
"I'm very sorry."

"Thank you." I hadn't even met my Cecil before he appeared
in London and stole me away, so I mourned the relationship that we
could have had. Now was not the time to dwell upon it, and a
Montgomery never complained.

"Which of the men has caught your eye? Porter?"

Allison smoothed down her skirt. "He is quite fetching, but it
is...Mr. McPherson. Not your Mr. McPherson, Olivia, the
other
one."

My heart stuttered at the mention of Dash's name.

The other women paused briefly and Emma was the one who responded
first. "Dash is...very nice."

"I didn't realize you'd made his acquaintance," Ann added.
"I think the cake is done," she said to Emma as she went to
the stove and opened the door to peer inside. The scent of sweets
baking filled the air.

"I haven't. Only at church on the occasions he's there. I admit,
the men of Bridgewater are
all
quite handsome. There is
something about Mr. McPherson though, that makes me catch my breath."

I could understand that, for he did that to me as well. Even clothed.
When he'd opened his pants and pulled out his cock without one lick
of modesty, he not only made my breath catch, he made me...wet. His
intensity and focus on me was heady and when I was with him I felt as
if I was the only thing on his mind. I could not share this,
especially not now, so I folded my hands in my lap, straightened my
shoulders impossibly more and settled a smile upon my face. For once,
Mrs. Dithers' instruction was helpful.

Allison continued to talk at Ann and Laurel's urging, although while
they tried to redirect her away from Dash and onto the handsomeness
of Quinn or Porter, presumably both bachelors, she turned her
comments back toward my husband.

I had no reason to feel hurt by Allison's words; she meant no harm.
If she'd known I was married to Dash as well, she was a very kind
woman and would not have spoken of him as she did now.

My hurt came from thoughts of Dash. Did he feel the same about
Allison? Had he seen her at church or in passing in town and found
her comely? He'd had no choice in marrying me; I’d become his
several weeks before I even arrived at Bridgewater.

Connor had been given a choice to marry me. While it was not a love
match, I had not forced his hand. Had I taken away Dash's chances to
make a life with Allison? Did he see her face, her petite figure when
he touched me? Was he thinking of her as he sank into my body?

I added a benign comment here and there into the conversation, but
the other women did an excellent job of keeping the conversation
moving. It was clear that Allison had been a guest before and was
quite comfortable chatting with the women. The chatter was
interrupted by a knock on the back door, and then Quinn stuck his
head in.

"Come out of the cold," Emma told him.

He removed his hat and stomped his boots on the porch before stepping
inside and closing the door behind him. Snow dusted the shoulders of
his coat.

"Hello, Miss Travers," he said, nodding at Allison as she
stood.

She smiled and I saw her cheeks flush at the man's voice. Was she shy
with all men or did she blush solely for those she had an interest
in?

"Mr. Quinn."

"The snow is still falling, but I feel it is still safe to
travel to town. While you came here on your own, I insist that I take
you back."

She eyed the man and most likely saw that he would not be swayed.
"Very well. Thank you."

He turned to me. "I’ll deliver your trunk for you and then
take Miss Travers into town. Two of the men are at the stables, so if
you need them while I'm gone, you know to fire two shots, three if
there is an emergency."

I was not aware of that, but the other ladies told him they would do
just that.

I nodded my thanks to the man who would deliver the remainder of my
clothes, but also for taking Allison back to town. I had no idea
where she would have stayed. It would have been unseemly for her to
stay with Quinn or any of the other bachelor men. I supposed either
Kane or Ian could have stayed at another house for the night to give
the illusion of a different kind of marriage than they had, but I was
sure they'd all planned for that kind of eventuality. I didn't wish
to see Allison fawn over Dash upon his return. Even more so, I did
not wish to see how Dash looked at Allison. While he'd given me the
assurances of his honor, I did not think I could live with the
knowledge of his marrying me
solely
for honor.

"As soon as you are ready, we will go," Quinn said to
Allison, then went back outside.

CHAPTER SEVEN

DASH

We'd wrangled most of the cattle to the nearer pastures; it had taken
all of us to do so, but we would only have to venture out again at
first light to find the stragglers. The weather hadna relented, only
became worse. The snow covered the ground to my ankles and there was
nay end in sight to it coming down. With the wind, it was like a
blizzard. Any leaves that remained on the cottonwoods by the creek
were halfway to Canada by now. The sun had gone down an hour ago and
we stomped out boots and entered Kane and Ian's house in one tired,
long line of men. The scent of stew filled the air and the heat from
the stove felt good.

The women came to collect coats and gloves to hang them to dry on
pegs behind the potbellied stove. My eyes caught and held Rebecca's,
and the small smile she gave me warmed me deep inside. She wasn't as
open about her affections as Olivia was with her men—they tugged
her easily enough into the kitchen pantry and shut the door behind
them—or the eagerness of Mason and Brody to ensure Laurel was well
and that the baby was still safely inside her.

In fact, Rebecca's smile seemed somewhat reserved, but I knew
Rebecca
was reserved. It was the knowledge that we had a wife waiting for
us after a long day of work and this beautiful woman, regardless of
how prickly, was ours. I took the smile as something to be treasured,
for no matter how small it was, it was freely given.

After hanging up Connor's things, then mine, I gave her the kiss I'd
been longing for all day.

She offered her mouth readily enough, then squealed and stepped back.
"Dash, your nose is freezing!" Her hand came up to cover
her cheek where I'd nuzzled.

I grinned. That was the first good reason for nae kissing me she'd
had so far. "Verra well, but I'm going to want double the kisses
later once I've thawed out," I warned. Instead of her cheeks
turning pink as I expected, her lips pursed and she glanced away.
Connor met my eyes over her head and he offered a small shrug. Good,
he'd seen that something wasna right as well.

"Rhys!" Olivia cried out, her voice muffled by the pantry
door.

"Is she...is she all right?" Rebecca asked both of us.

Connor grinned. "Tis nae a beating she's receiving, lass."

A V formed in her smooth brow just before her eyes widened. "
Here?
Now?"

Leaning in close, I murmured, "She needed tending and her men
are seeing to it."

She stepped back from me as if I'd burned her. I'd done something to
upset her, but I didna know what it might be, for I hadna even seen
her all day. I could understand her reserve if it was directed at
both Connor and me, but it seemed I had been singled out.