River Lady Read online

  As Leah turned and waved, Wesley clucked to the horses and they started the journey.

  As soon as she was alone with Wesley, Leah felt uncomfortable. She began studying her fingernails, but quit, tucked her hands under her, and sat on them. “We’re to meet the Shaws at their place?” she asked, but when Wesley merely nodded she said no more.

  They drove past the tavern where Bess worked and Leah wished she could stop and say good-bye to her sister, but one glance at the tautness in Wesley’s profile and she knew she wouldn’t ask him for a thing. She straightened her back and looked ahead.

  The sun was barely up when they reached the plantation where Steven and Kimberly were staying. It was a tiny place compared to Clay’s, and some of the outbuildings looked as if they needed repair. But what caught and held Leah’s attention was the utter chaos surrounding a half-packed wagon. From out of the jumble of voices, boxes and animals, Kim came running toward Wes.

  “Oh, Wesley, dearest,” she called, “you have to help us. Steven is refusing to take all of my clothes and all of the beautiful things I have for our house. Please, you must talk to him.”

  Wesley jumped from the wagon, gave Kim a quick, reassuring caress with the back of his hand, then went toward the wagon. Leah was left to help herself down. When she reached the wagon it was easy to see what was wrong, yet even as she circled the mess she couldn’t believe her eyes. None of the goods loaded on the wagon had been packed with any sense of order. A small, fragile hatbox was crushed under two fifty-pound bags of seed. A steel-bound trunk teetered atop the arms of a gilded chair.

  “You can see there’s no more room,” came a man’s voice from the opposite side.

  Leah bent her knees and peeked through the arms of the chair to get her first glimpse of Steven Shaw. He was as lovely as Kimberly—blond, blue-eyed, cleft chin—perfect.

  “Wesley, dear,” Kim was saying, “you must find a way. I can’t possibly leave anything behind. You wouldn’t want me to be unhappy, would you?”

  Heaven forbid that catastrophe, Leah thought as she began untying the ropes across the goods in the wagon. If it was repacked from the floor up, they’d probably be able to get everything on.

  When Wesley walked to the side where Leah was untying the ropes he gave her a look of surprise; then there was just a hint of disgust. He looked away. “Can you climb to the top of this mess and hand me that trunk?”

  “Of course,” Leah said, smiling to herself. Maybe he did realize his precious Kimberly was little more than an ornament.

  “Somehow I was sure you could,” Wesley said under his breath in a way that puzzled Leah.

  Leah and Wesley worked well together, unloading then repacking the wagon, while Steven and Kim squabbled. Kim cried over her crushed hat while Steven complained about Kim’s lack of help.

  A couple of times Leah felt Steven watching her, but he looked away just as she turned.

  When they finished Leah looked to Wesley, in truth expecting some sort of thanks, but all he did was grunt. “You can ride with Steven,” he said as he tied the last rope.

  Stunned, Leah watched him walk away. “With pleasure,” she called after him and fought down the urge to throw a rock at the back of his head. Maybe she should set fire to the fringe on his buckskins.

  A hand touched her arm and she looked up into Steven Shaw’s dancing blue eyes. “May I?” he asked, nodding toward the wagon seat.

  Instantly, Leah didn’t trust him. When she was a girl her two older brothers used to bring men home and sometimes they had looks in their eyes such as the one Steven now had. Of course, she told herself, she was wrong.

  Wesley and Kim pulled out onto the road first. No one came from the house to say good-bye and suddenly Leah felt very alone—among strangers, traveling to more strangers.

  “Will you miss your friends?” she asked Steven, but all she got was a sidelong look from him that made her stop talking.

  They traveled west for hours, and Leah didn’t try again to talk to Steven. They stopped for an hour to eat sandwiches Regan had sent, and Wesley hovered over Kim, who cooled herself with a sequined fan and unbuttoned the top buttons of her pale blue silk dress. Wesley was appreciative and Kim rolled her eyes in modesty.

  “That Wesley’s a lover,” Steven said to Leah. “Only he can’t have both of you.” He gave Leah a look from head to toe.

  Frowning, she moved away from him.

  In the afternoon as they neared a cluster of houses four men rode toward them. Wesley shouted and Steven halted the wagon.

  “Send Leah up here!” Wesley bellowed back.

  Leah froze in place. She had no intention of obeying this man who ignored her all day yet ordered her about when it was convenient for him.

  Steven gave one look at her face and chuckled. “She wants none of you, Stanford,” Steven shouted. “Better leave her here with me.”

  With a curse Wesley bounded from the wagon. “They’re coming to greet the newlyweds,” he said tightly, looking up at her. “Unless you want all of Virginia to find out about us, you’d better come to the wagon with me.”

  “What do I care about Virginia? It’s your name that needs saving.”

  “Damn you!” Wesley gasped as he grabbed her arm and pulled.

  Leah wasn’t expecting violence and so was unprepared for his strength. With a gasp she went flying into Wesley’s arms just as the four riders reached them.

  “Can’t keep your hands off of her, can you, Wes?” said one man, laughing.

  “Just lookin’ at you, ma’am, I can see why Wes grabbed you off the church steps.”

  “Put me down!” Leah hissed at Wes, who was holding her as if she weighed nothing at all.

  “We planned a little goin’ away party and you’re the guest of honor. We’d be pleased if you’d honor us with some of your time.”

  The fourth man was gawking at Leah. “Who’d think that one of those Simmonses would clean up to look like that?”

  One of the men glared at him. “Excuse him, ma’am. Vern never did have no manners. We got everythin’ waitin’ at the inn. Bess Simmons is there.”

  “Sure, of course we’ll be there,” Wesley said.

  “See you then!” they called as they turned to ride away.

  “Now will you put me down?” Leah demanded.

  Wesley turned back to his wife in his arms and for the first time he seemed to look at her—but the glance was broken after only seconds.

  “Oh Wesley,” Kim began to cry. “That was so humiliating to me. I should have been in your arms. They should be giving us this party.”

  Wes nearly dropped Leah as he ran to comfort Kim. As Leah steadied herself against the wagon Steven, above her on the seat, laughed nastily. “Haven’t you learned how to fight with tears? My sister’s an expert at it.”

  Leah ignored him as she walked to the back of the wagon to check on the animals. It was there that Wes found her.

  “I think you better ride with me,” he said tightly.

  She glared at him. “If you’re trying to save my reputation, you needn’t bother. I’m sure your friends will be prepared for anything when a Simmons is involved.”

  She turned away toward the cow, but Wesley grabbed her arm and pulled her to face him. “I don’t give a damn if you don’t care for your own reputation but I’ll not have it said that Kimberly has broken us up. She’s innocent in all this and I’ll not have her name dirtied further.”

  She jerked away from his grasp. “I should have known that you were concerned only for your dearest Kimberly. So for your Kimberly I’m to play your wife for the night? The idea repulses me!”

  He gave her a hard look as his voice lowered. “I will tell you this only once: Don’t you ever again say anything against Kimberly. She has suffered a great deal because of you and if our spending one evening together will help keep her name clean you’ll do it if I have to break some of your little bones. Tonight we’ll be a loving couple, do you understand that?”

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