Seth (Prairie Grooms, Book Three) (6 page)

She gave him a shy smile, and looked away. “Of course I would want anything you picked out for me, but why? I have a perfectly good ring we can use, and then you wouldn’t have to worry about money.”

He sighed. “Money. Well, don’t you fret none about that. I’ve got some.”

“I dare say, did I look worried when I said it?”

He put his hands on his hips. “Blast it woman, you sure know how to make a fella feel like … well, like he’s done something wrong.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Here I was wanting to kiss ya, then you … ohhhh, daggnabbit anyway!” He took her by the shoulders, pulled her against his chest, and kissed her.

She squeaked at the sudden contact of his lips pressed against hers, then le
aned into him, and let the kiss deepen. Seth’s eyes sprang open at the action, and he figured he’d better stop before they made a spectacle of themselves in public. Unfortunately …

“About time!” yelled Wilfred from across the street. “I thought you’d never get around to it!”

Seth lifted his face from Eloise’s, and stared open-mouthed at Wilfred and Mr. Mulligan. They sat outside the sheriff’s office to play a lunchtime game of checkers, both wearing a huge grin. Seth let out a heavy sigh. “Why does Sadie Cooke even worry about chaperones? The whole town is a chaperone!”

Eloise giggled as she blushed a deep red. “Let’s away before they see us do anything else!”

Seth did a double take at his future bride. She didn’t seem at all flustered by his boldness, and instead, appeared quite amused. “C’mon,” he said as he again took her hand and began to lead her toward the church. They reached the end of the street, passed the hotel, and continued on. The church sat a hundred yards from the town, a bright, white, beacon of friendliness. He liked the church in Clear Creek, and liked Preacher Jo even better. The man had a past, just like Seth and Ryder, and understood what it was like to want to start life over.

He walked to the back of the church where a small house had bee
n built as a parsonage for Preacher Jo and his wife, Annie. He and Ryder had helped with the raising of it, and remembered how Annie had cried with joy as the men of Clear Creek built their little home within a few short weeks. Seth knocked on the door.

Annie opened it
. “Well, if it isn’t Seth Jones.” She smiled as she opened the door wide. “Come in. I can only guess why you’re here.”

Eloise blushed as she prec
eded Seth into the parlor. There wasn’t even a front hall. A set of stairs was at the far end of the room, the entrance to the kitchen underneath them. Preacher Jo sat at a table, a napkin stuffed in his shirtfront, eating his lunch. He got up, wiped his mouth, and came into the parlor. “Hello, Seth, Miss Sayer. To what do we owe the pleasure? Other than the obvious, of course.”

“We need to set a date and time,” Seth told him. “You know it won’t take the women long to finish Eloise’s dress.”

Annie looked at them both, a wide smile on her face. “So, you two are on a first name basis now?”

“We might as well be,” Seth told her. “We
are
getting married.”

“I know,
I guess I just can’t get used to this mail-order bride business. Women coming out here and getting married within days after they’ve arrived don’t seem right to me.”

“It is if the two people
really want to marry,” said Seth. “Isn’t that right?” he asked Eloise.

She started at the question. “Oh, yes, indeed.”

He eyed her, and for the first time since her arrival, questioned whether or not she
wanted
to get married. The better question; did she want to get married to
him
. One minute she was gushing with anticipation, the next acting like she’d been dipped in doubt. The few times he spent with her before Ryder got hurt were fun-filled and happy. He enjoyed her company and knew she enjoyed his. But since her sister came into town with his brother half-dead, she’d changed. What could have happened?

“Sit down, tell us your plans,” said Preacher Jo. “Annie, bring us some coffee, will you
, please?”

“Of course, right away. But don’t say anything good until I come back!”

Preacher Jo chuckled as he watched her hurry into the kitchen. “Might I be the first to offer congratulations on your upcoming nuptials?”

“You may,” said Eloise as she sat. “And may I be the first to say
that your little house is quite charming.”

“You may,” said Preacher Jo.

“And may I be the first to say, we’d like to get married as soon as possible,” added Seth. He watched as Eloise visibly stiffened. Dagnabbit, if she wasn’t doing it again! What was bothering her? He sighed. He needed to handle this here and now. “Eloise,” he said, his voice firm.

Her eyes widened at his tone. “Ye … yes?”

“Do you want to marry me?”

“Isn’t it a
little late to be asking?” asked Preacher Jo.

“No, I’m serious. August asked your sister, he told me so. He was worried
that she had reservations. So now I’m asking you, do you really
want
to marry me?”

Eloise sat
, her back rigid, and said the first thing that popped into her head. “No.”

Five

Good heavens!
Eloise thought to herself. Why on earth did she say that? “I mean, I … that is …”

Seth stood. “I heard you the first time. Loud and clear.”

“No … what I meant was …”

“There ain’t any word clearer than ‘no’
, Miss Sayer.”

She hated the look he gave her. Not anger, disappointment. It broke her heart. But she couldn’t bring herself to say anything further. Everything had caught up to her, and in that single moment, she felt like a volcano ready to erupt. Their long journey from England, the death of Mr. Thompson, their gambling escort, the attempt on Penelope’s life—her assailant still at large, mind you. And, of course, Constance and Ryder’s own brush with death. The Sayer curse had followed them.

Eloise was pulled out of her thoughts as Seth headed for the door. She sat, her mind a whir
l, and stared at him. “No …”

“You said that already.” With that, he left.

“Miss Sayer?” Annie said. “Are you all right?”

Eloise shook her head. “No. I’m
not feeling well. I … I have to tell him…”

“I’ll tell him,” said Preacher Jo as he got up an
d headed out the door.

As soon as he was gone, it hit. Eloise
crumbled like a sandcastle kicked apart by a child. She put her face in her hands, and wept. “Oh, bother!” she said through her tears. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me! What have I done?”

Annie put an
arm around her. “There, there, it’s all right. Your family has been through a lot since you arrived here. You need time to think, that’s all.”

“What is
there to think about? Wherever we are, no matter where we go, or what we do, it follows us!”

“What follows you?”

“The Sayer curse!”

“Sayer curse? What are you talking about?”

Eloise wiped her eyes and tried to look at her. “It started in London years ago; Charles was the first.”

“Charles, who is Charles?”

“Our brother, he would have been the next in line to inherit the old duke’s title and estate after our father and uncle died.”

Annie stared at her in shock. “Are you saying someone
killed
your brother?”

Eloise nodded. “Him
, and we think the others.”

“Others?”
Annie said her eyes round as saucers.

Eloise let loose a little
hiccup
as she tried to calm down. “All the men in our family have been struck down by some horrible tragedy, including our own father! Mother said he was sick, terribly so. But we know it was more than that …
hiccup
… we know he had to have been poisoned!

Annie’s hands flew to her mouth in horror. “You poor dear! I can’t imagine what you and your sisters have been through all these years!”

Eloise nodded. “Penelope will be terribly upset with me for telling you this. But … the more I think of it, the more I see something happening to … to Seth. He’s not like August or Ryder; I’m not sure he could …”

“What do you mean he’s not like August or Ryder?” Annie said, cutting her off.

Eloise stared at her through her tears. “He … he seems … more civilized and … genteel.”

“Seth Jones? Genteel?” Annie asked in shock.

Eloise nodded.

Annie sat back and let out a long sigh. “Miss Sayer, you have a lot to learn about the men out here.”

“What …
hiccup …
do you mean?”

“What I mean is
that they aren’t always what they appear to be. Josiah and I know Ryder and Seth, and I strongly suggest you take the time to get to know them, too.” She sat up, took Eloise by the hand and smiled. “Seth might appear ‘genteel’ as you say, but trust me, I wouldn’t want to be on the opposing side if I were in a fight with either Seth or his brother.”

Eloise’s heart sank to the pit of her stomach. “What have I done? I do want to get married
; I … I don’t know what came over me.”

“You’re not sure yet, that’s all. And you’re scared, aren’t you?”

She’d hit the nail on the head. Eloise shuddered as another wave of tears erupted out of her. Yes, she was scared! Who wouldn’t be when someone was trying to kill them?

She put a fist to her mouth to still her sobbing before it became uncontrollable. That was it! Yes!
Someone
was trying to kill them! Not some silly curse! The question was, why? Their cousin, Duncan, now had the title and estate, so why would anyone want to see her, her sisters and their new husbands dead?

“Miss Sayer?” Annie prompted. “What is it?”

“I … I think I need to speak with the sheriff.”

“Yes, of course
; I can take you to him right now, if you like.”

Eloise looked at Annie, her eyes pleading. “Please don’t tell any of this to Seth. I do want to marry, but
… until we find out who’s behind this, I’m afraid anyone that comes near me … will meet with a terrible end. He’d be the next target, I’m sure. I can’t marry him.”

Annie stood. “We’ll get to the bottom of this, but one thing at a time.” She paced the room. “First,
I’m afraid we can’t go to the sheriff.”

“Why not?”

“Because he’s not here. I forgot that he rode out this morning with the posse. But that’s a good thing, as they’re tracking the men who tried to kill Ryder. If they catch them, you and your sisters should have some light shed on your predicament.”

Eloise also stood. “Yes, you’re quite right. I must speak with Penelope and Constance. We can’t hide from this anymore.
Every time something happens, we tend to brush it under the carpet, as they say, and hope it goes away. But it’s not going to, that’s quite obvious. We must stop it once and for all.”

“You’re right. But
I think it would be much easier if Seth knew.”

“Oh, I couldn’t
; he’ll never want to marry me if he finds out.”

“Miss Sayer … Eloise … he’s going to find out if the sheriff and the posse bring back those men. Besides, don’t you think he’ll want to protect you? It wasn’t August someone tried to kill, it was your sister.”

Eloise wiped away her tears and straightened. “Which makes this so confusing. First Penelope, then Ryder. Who will be next?”

“I don’t wish to frighten you, but …”

Eloise’s eyes widened. “Me?”

Annie nodded. “We have to tell Seth. He must know.”

Eloise pressed her lips together to keep from crying again. Was she willing to take the risk? She just told him she didn’t want to marry him, but for good reason. Once she gave him that reason, would
he
still want to marry
her
? Or would he turn away, for fear of his life?
That
, she realized, was what she was really afraid of.

* * *

Seth got as far as the edge of town and stopped. Preacher Jo followed, barely able to keep up. “Wait,” he cried as he caught Seth by the arm. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Seth turn
ed to him. “Isn’t it obvious? Why should I stay? She doesn’t want to marry me!”

“I
don’t think that was it at all. She's obviously confused about something. You need to go back in there and talk to her.”

“Preacher Jo,
something’s bothered her all day and this has to be it. What else am I supposed to do?”

“
Talk
to her! There’s nothing wrong with talking.”

Seth let out a weary sigh. “I know
I’m just … well, I don’t want to use the word scared, but maybe I should.”