Rebellious Bride (14 page)

Lil sighed and turned her head into the pillow, rubbing the soft cotton against her cheek. Was she searching for him?

He sat beside her on the bed and slowly ran his finger down the side of her face. She rubbed against it like a purring kitten, pleased and contented.

He leaned over and lightly brushed his lips across hers. She instantly responded, and he swept his lips across hers seeking her mouth again. She wasn’t satisfied with a faint taste.

Rolfe spread her lips. His tongue entered and matched her eagerness.

Rolfe’s hands itched to touch her, to feel every intimate part of her. Instead he eased away from her, his kisses less demanding, less responsive. She did the same until finally she lay quiet once again.

Rolfe left her side immediately, not trusting himself. He paced his room, the connecting door solidly closed. This was quite ridiculous. He was her husband. He desired her. She obviously desired him. What was the point in waiting to consummate their marriage? Why, making love would probably make their union stronger, bond them together.

And he damned well wanted to bond with her. So much for good intentions, he thought.

His decision was hasty and final. They would wait no longer. He would plan an intimate interlude for the consummation of their marriage.

“I have never napped in the afternoon in my entire life,” Lil said with a laugh, having found the evening meal and its accompanying conversation with her husband most enjoyable.

“You were tired and needed sleep,” Jonathan said before Rolfe could respond. “Did you enjoy the roast beef? Would you care for more?”

Lil clasped her hands together. “The beef was scrumptious, but it was the green beans I enjoyed the most, and I would love to taste more. The flavor is different. What did you do to them?”

“That is a family secret. The first Lady Sherborn loved them too, but...” Jonathan realized his mistake. He scooped up the empty bowl off the table and, after bowing to Lord Sherborn apologetically, left the room.

Lil looked at Rolfe. His posture was tense. ‘‘I assume he wasn’t referring to your mother.”

His answer was curt. “Correct.”

“That means you had a wife before me.”

“Correct again.”

Many people remarried. She found nothing wrong in his being previously married, except that he hadn’t told her. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Our marriage, as you well know, was celebrated in haste. There was no time.”

“True,” she conceded. “Tell me about your first marriage now, unless you prefer not to.”

Her leaving him a choice in the matter surprised Rolfe. He had assumed she would plague him with questions, yet apparently she considered his feelings and left the decision to him. She was an insightful woman. “Bea was all of eighteen when I married her. She was a shy, delicate young lady.”

Not at all willful and determined like me, Lil thought, watching how Rolfe stared at his plate as though lost in his memories.

“She became pregnant shortly after our wedding. Her confinement proved difficult, and the birth...”

Lil felt his deep hurt and grief. A sharp knife to her heart would have proven less painful.

He mentally relived the awful night. “I could do nothing for her. She lost so much blood. Her screams were so loud at first and then... Her strength deteriorated. She could fight no more. She and the baby died as a new morning dawned.”

Lil understood now that it wasn’t obedience Rolfe sought from his wife. He simply needed to protect her from harm. Like many husbands who lost their wives in childbirth, he blamed himself for Bea’s death. She reached out and covered his hand.

He grabbed hers and squeezed it. “You will not work yourself so hard. You will obey me on this, Lillian.”

Lil smiled, realizing at the moment he needed reassurance. “Yes, Rolfe.”

“I like the way that sounds. Please repeat it,” he teased.

Relieved he was once again relaxed, she complied. “Yes, Rolfe.”

His brow furrowed. “You submit too easily.”

“Like a challenge, do you?”

“Challenge?” He choked on his laughter.

Lil played the weak female, pouting petulantly. “You don’t like a challenge?”

Rolfe laughed again, amused by her playfulness. “Women don’t challenge.”

“Western women do,” she said, pride evident in her declaration. “We’re a breed apart from others. We’re special.”

“I’ll admit western women have an unusual endurance.”

Lil clapped her hands in delight. “We’re making progress. We agree on something.”

Rolfe leaned closer and tapped the tip of her slim nose. “Yes, I agree that you, dear wife, surpass the unusual.”

Lil smiled broadly, held her head high, and puffed her chest out. “Thank you, darling, for such a distinctive compliment.”

“Enough! I surrender,” Rolfe said, throwing his hands up.

“I love to win.” Lil stabbed a fat green bean with her fork in satisfaction.

Rolfe grabbed her wrist, preventing the food from reaching her mouth. “I allow you this victory, Lillian, but you will obey me and not work so hard.”

“Yes, Rolfe.”

He nodded, pleased but doubtful.

~~~

The voices were hushed yet frantic. They drifted through Rolfe’s sleep, rousing him.

“Hurry! Hurry!”

He sat up, listening in the dark.

“Hurry! She needs you.”

“I’m hurrying, now be quiet or you’ll wake him.”

That voice he knew. He jumped out of bed, grabbed his pants, pulled them on, and flew to the door, yanking it open.

Lil and Maggie froze in place, their eyes fixed on his naked chest and partially open denims. The dark curly hair, inches below his navel, caught their attention, and their glance followed the well-defined line down until...

“Ladies!”

Their eyes shot up to meet his blazing blue ones.

“Going somewhere?”

Maggie grabbed Lil’s wrist and pulled, sending Lil stumbling to right herself. “She’s needed at the saloon.”

Rolfe grabbed Lil’s other wrist and yanked her back. “She’s not going anywhere. Get Doc Talbert.”

“Can’t,” Maggie protested, her voice trembling. “Doc’s out at the Williams place. Won’t be back until tomorrow.”

Lil pulled free of Maggie and covered her husband’s hand, wrapped so protectively around her wrist. “I must go.”

His eyes, intense in their color, glared down at her. He didn’t trust himself to speak, his anger was too near to erupting. It was the dead of night and his wife was sneaking off to a saloon. He had had enough. “You’re not going!”

Maggie moaned. “She has to, Julie’s been stabbed.”

Rolfe heard the anguish in the young girl’s voice and looked to see tears rush from her eyes.

“She’ll die if Lil don’t see to her.”

Rolfe looked back at his wife.

“I won’t let her die.” Lil’s words were issued softly, but with determination.

Rolfe shook his head, released her wrist, and quickly fastened his denims. “You’re not going alone.”

“I have a buckboard,” Maggie said.

“Go wait by it, both of you. I’ll be right along,” Rolfe ordered and rushed into his room to finish dressing.

The ride was fast and short. Maggie hurried Lil into the saloon and up the stairs. Rolfe followed close on their heels.

Chaos filled the sickroom as Lil entered. Several girls were crying, huddled in a corner. Susie leaned over Julie, attempting to stop the flow of blood. Lil couldn’t be certain where the girl had been stabbed. Arm? Stomach? Shoulder? There were too many blood-soaked cloths covering her to tell.

Lil took immediate charge. “Get them out of here,” she ordered, nodding her head toward the crying girls. “Then get me hot water, clean cloths, and fresh bedding.” Lil rolled up her sleeves and turned to Rolfe. “Wait downstairs.”

“No!” His definite answer left no room for negotiation.

“Then stay out of my way,” she warned and turned her attention to Julie.

Rolfe obliged, finding himself a corner to nest in. He crossed his arms over his chest and watched his wife work. Her speed, gentleness, and skill astounded him. In no time she had the girl cleaned up, her blood-soaked bedding changed, and her wounds stitched. She was now dressing the less serious abrasions.

“Lil’s good,” Susie whispered, coming to stand next to Rolfe. “Know why?”

The answer was obvious. “She cares.”

Susie kept her voice low. “Sometimes too much. She wears herself out.”

“Her pace is about to change.”

Susie grinned. “You sound like a concerned husband.”

Rolfe ignored her remark and asked, “Will the girl survive?”

“Lil says her wounds aren’t as bad as they look. She should be fine and have only a few scars.”

“What happened?”

“The only thing I could get from Julie was that the stranger who bought her services for the evening enjoyed his sex in a sick way. Then he pulled the knife, and Julie screamed. No one paid any attention until her second scream.” Susie shivered and rubbed her arms. “It sounded god-awful.”

“Did the stranger get away?”

“I think so. The sheriff and some men took off after him, but I haven’t heard anything yet.”

Rolfe eased away from the wall, his eyes intent on his wife and the way she braced her hands on her hips and stretched her shoulders, obviously attempting to relieve the muscle aches in her back.

“Is she almost finished?” Rolfe asked.

“A few minutes more and she should be all done, though she might not want to leave just yet.”

Rolfe shot Susie an angry look, his brows knitting together and his eyes narrowing.

“Hold it there,” Susie said, raising her hand as if to ward off his intimidating glare. “It’s no fault of mine if she insists on staying. The girls and I can take care of Julie from here.”

Rolfe’s expression relaxed. “Glad to hear that.”

Susie gave a short nod. “Too many people in this town take advantage of her good nature. It’s about time someone looked out for her.”

Lil summoned Susie, interrupting their conversation. “I’ve left instructions with Maggie on Julie’s care. She should sleep the rest of the night. There’s no need for me to stay. She’s in no danger. I’ll check on her in the morning.”

Rolfe waited at the door for her after hearing of her intention to leave.

She approached him with a weary smile.”I sometimes wonder if I will ever get a full night’s sleep.”

“You will.”

The strength of his response surprised Lil. “You speak as though you can guarantee it.”

“I can.” He took her by the arm, escorted her from the saloon to the buggy, and delivered her in haste and silence to her bedroom door.

“Are you sure?” Lil asked before Rolfe could walk away.

His brow rose in question. “Sure about what?”

“That you guarantee me a full night’s sleep.”

Rolfe traced a wavy path along her jaw, gently circling her chin before lifting it with his middle finger. He kissed her then, unhurriedly. He savored her lips, paid homage to them, and Lil melted against him.

“The guarantee is for an uninterrupted night in bed,” he whispered after easing away from her mouth. “You can collect on it whenever you wish.”

He left her standing at her bedroom door once again, unsure of which room to enter.

“He’s really something, Lil, ain’t he?” Billy grinned, his attention fixed on Lord Sherborn across the street talking with Henry Smith.

“Isn’t he,” Lil corrected.

‘‘I knew you’d agree, but then, you married him, so you must think he’s something. Right?” Billy turned his inquisitive face up at her.

“He’s something all right.” What that something was eluded her. One minute he appeared the English aristocrat, dressed in his finery, carrying his walking stick, and talking with an air of superiority. Other times he dressed in denims and chaps, blending right into his surroundings. And to her dismay she discovered she liked both sides of him.

“Never thought they’d be a lord in Little,” Billy said.

“Or a lady,” he added quickly, remembering her title. “You like being a lady? I mean an English lady, not a lady-lady. You’re already a lady.”

Lil laughed. “You’re running your tongue in circles. I’m just plain Lil.”

Billy shook his head. “Gosh, Lil, you ain’t never been plain. You’re too pretty.” Billy’s cheeks rushed to full color, and the rest of his face soon followed. “I gotta go,” he said and hightailed it away from Lil and his embarrassment.

Lil took stock of her husband across the street. An appreciative smile lighted the face of every woman who passed by him, while he cast them his usual smile, sexy as it was, sending them into giggles. Lil was certain that he set their hearts to fluttering.

She knew from experience the effect of Rolfe’s smile. Her heart, not to mention elsewhere, fluttered often when she looked at him. She wondered if he found her as appealing as she obviously found him. She had never thought much about her looks, but Billy’s reminder brought thoughts of how her husband viewed her. Did he find her pretty? Did he enjoy kissing her? Did he wish her to share his bed out of husbandly duty or attraction?

Lil’s cheeks burned bright, and without looking at her husband, she hurried off down the street. She was mortified by her musings. They tormented her too much of late, as did Rolfe himself.

She picked up her pace, attempting to chase away her thoughts. Instead they hurried after her. She hadn’t thought of Rolfe as a man solid in strength and certainly not a master of seduction. Yet with each day her misconceptions of him were proven wrong. He was more than his noble title and stylish clothes implied. Much more. And Lil was beginning to fancy this peer from England... to her complete surprise.

“Lil, where are you off to in such an all-fired hurry?” Doc called out, halting her steps and thoughts. She hesitated a moment, having forgotten her destination. “Holly’s,” she finally blurted out.

“Are you sure?” Doc teased with a laugh. “You seem a might confused.”

“My head might be cluttered, but my feet sure know my intentions,” Lil said, feeling her old self-assurance return.

Doc grinned and took a cigar from his breast pocket. “Can’t say I blame you. Holly’s cooking is mighty good.”