Their Tempting Bride by Lacey Davis
18
Late the next morning, Georgia was busy cleaning the kitchen when she heard a knock on the door. Hoping it was the ladies from Bridgewater coming for a visit, she ran to the door. Martin was out working the cattle and Daniel had gone into Butte to his office.
She was alone, but she wasn’t afraid because all she had to do was sound the signal and the men from town would come running.
As she opened, the door, shock ricocheted through her. Her father stood there with his hat in his hand.
“Papa, what are you doing?”
“I had to come check on you. May I come in?”
“Are you alone,” she asked, wondering where her mother was.
“Yes, I didn’t tell your mother I was coming out here.”
What could it hurt to let her father in? “Of course.”
As he walked through the door, he looked around at the house. “This is really nice. And you have land as well?”
“Yes, in fact, Martin is working the cattle this morning,” she said. “Have a seat,” she said with a nod.
Her father sank down on the horsehair couch, twirling his hat in his hands nervously. She could see he didn’t know what to say.
“Are you all right,” he finally asked.
“Yes, Papa, I’m happy,” she said.
“But this isn’t a good way to live. You should not be married to more than one man. And sleeping with the two of them,” he said, his eyes flashing with anger.
“Stop,” she said, holding up her hand. “I refuse to listen to anyone who doesn’t understand our life say anything negative. My husbands take good care of me.”
The man frowned and bit his lip. “It’s not natural.”
“And trying to marry me off to Mr. Bartlett was? That man is disgusting and why would he want to marry a young woman like myself?”
Her father looked away. “You don’t understand. I had no choice. He’s my boss and now he’s threatening to fire me. Your mother has made our life nonviable. Never before have we ever separated, but I’m thinking of leaving.”
“Why? Because of Mr. Bartlett?”
“No, because she lied to you and led you away from the man who I thought would take care of you. And now, here you are living in this depraved, sinful place. Mr. Bartlett is willing to overlook everything and take you back.”
How in the world did he not understand that she was never going to live or be with Mr. Bartlett? “I’m happy. I’m falling in love with my husbands. Why would you ever want me to be with Mr. Bartlett?”
“Did you know that your mother convinced Daniel, your legal husband, to pay my gambling debts?”
Stunned, Georgia tried to hide her shock. They had agreed to no secrets between them, and yet Daniel had done this?
“You gambled? I don’t believe you,” she said.
“Then come home and speak to your mother. She can tell you the truth.”
“Why did you have gambling debts? And why would he pay them for you?”
“To purchase you,” her father said, gazing at her in a way that made her skin suddenly start to crawl. Could this be true? Would Daniel buy her?
A part of her kept repeating it wasn’t true. No, Daniel would not do that. Yet, his father was about to arrive in town and he needed a wife to end his father's pressure to return to Philadelphia.
They had revealed their secrets the other night and he never mentioned that he paid her father’s gambling debts as a trade-off for marrying her.
“Was Mr. Bartlett going to pay your debts?”
Her father ran his hand through his hair. “Yes.”
“Is that why you wanted me to marry him?”
The man licked his lips. “I had no choice. He would not give me a loan and said all he wanted was you. To have my lovely daughter as his wife.”
A sickening feeling rose in her throat. Her father had basically sold her to Mr. Bartlett in order to get the debts paid until Daniel swooped in.
“Why did Daniel pay the debts?”
“Because your mother convinced him too. I think she wants me dead. Bartlett is not happy that he didn’t get you.”
Daniel had a lot to answer for. Anger charged through her at his deception. It wasn’t that she was angry that he paid the debts, though that didn’t make her happy, it was that he had a chance to tell her the truth and he hadn’t.
“Is Bartlett threatening to fire you?”
An unsettling look crossed his face and she knew he was going to lie to her. “No, he just wants you back.”
“He never had me. But he did come out here and threaten Daniel and Martin. The entire town is now on watch for him. They will not let him take me.”
Her father licked his lips nervously. “The three of us need to sit down as a family and work this out. You and your mother need to tell me why you did this. Why you went behind my back.”
This didn’t make any sense.
He continued. “It’s the only way we can ever be a family again. The only way my marriage to your mother will be saved is if you come home and we all talked this out. Because of you, our family is destroyed and we need to piece it back together.”
Because of her? Didn’t he have some responsibility because of his gambling and his arranging a marriage she had no intention of ever going through with?
Though, she did have some questions she would love to ask her mother. Why she thought Daniel and Martin would be good for her. But yet, she understood. The thought of her mother and father separating or even divorcing would be devastating. It would be hard for them to ever get over this if she didn’t help them.
“When do you want to meet and talk?”
“Right now,” he said. “You can ride with me back to town in the buggy. Afterward, I’ll bring you back.”
She really wished Martin were here to discuss this with him. They would be angry if she left without telling them.
“Why can’t this wait until tomorrow?”
“Because by tomorrow, your mother and I will be separated.”
“Can’t you wait one more day?”
“No, it has to be today,” he said staring at her. “It’s just to talk and then I’ll bring you back to your sordid marriage.”
“All right, on one condition. You will take me to Daniel when we’re done. He’s in town at his office. But I must leave a note for Martin.”
Her father smiled. “Good girl. Now let’s go.”
Quickly she wrote a message to Martin and then grabbed her reticule. A nervous tremor spiraled through her as she walked out the door. She hoped she was doing right. She hoped she had not destroyed her family. She hoped her men would understand.
