Adams, Eve - Patience is Their Virtue [Brides of Bachelor Bay 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (10 page)

Patience peeked her head out and looked up and down the hall before stepping out of her room and into the long, narrow hallway. Doors lined both walls and seemed to go on forever before meeting the giant window at the end of the hall. Her feet sank into the expensive red carpet lining the center of the hall, with shining hardwood floors flanking it.

Careful to keep her slippers from making any noise, she crept down the winding staircase and halted, her heart thumping wildly in her chest as the front door opened.

Adam walked in, followed by Raven. They both stared at her, and she stared back. She fumbled at the ties on the wrap she found in the wardrobe in her room.

“Good morning,” she said in a whisper.

Adam studied her with scrutiny. “Isn’t it a bit late to be walking around in your nightclothes?”

Heat slapped her cheeks. He spoke to her with such disregard and without a single hint of the desire that had thickened his voice last night. “I was just on my way to the study to retrieve my clothing.”

“Don’t you have any other dresses?”

The shame grew, and her entire face caught fire. “I do not.”

“Raven, see to it that Mrs. Steele has a new dress before the sun sets.” Adam walked past her without looking at her again. “I can’t have my wife parading around in rags. Patience, you will go to the mercantile and find material for a new wardrobe. I have an account there. Mr. Bartlett will be more than happy to fill it with your purchases. I’ll be in my office.”

Patience watched him go, disappointment attacking her in waves, crashing into her with every step of Adam’s boot as he walked away from her and slid the door to his office closed behind him.

“Is he always like that?” she asked Raven as she turned to him.

“Mr. Steele is in a mood today. It’s best if we do as he says and stay out of his way today.”

“Was it something I did?”

He shook his head. “You’ve done nothing wrong, Mrs. Steele.”

She looked at Raven. Even he seemed distant. He barely made eye contact with her., Instead he stared straight ahead.

“I’ve asked you to call me Patti.”

“That would not be appropriate,” he answered, his voice clipped, professional. “Mr. Steele is my employer. You are his wife.”

“Raven?” This was killing her. Why were they acting like this?

He finally looked at her and offered her a hint of a smile. “Would you like me to bring you breakfast?”

“Of course not. I can find my way around a kitchen. I don’t expect you to wait on me.”

Raven cleared his throat and stood even straighter. “It is my job to serve you.” His eyes then twinkled at the meaning behind that statement. “As Mr. Steele’s manservant, I am also yours. I’ve already talked with the staff and informed them that Mr. Steele has taken a wife, and that they are all to treat you as such.”

Comprehension sank in and melted the anxiety tightening around her like a vise. They had to keep their proper images in front of others. It didn’t explain Adam’s actions, but it did Raven’s.

“Breakfast sounds wonderful.”

“I’ll leave you to change. Will you be needing an escort to town?”

“No. I can find my way. Thank you.” Patience hurried into the study and quickly changed into the clothes she’d arrived in. She then hurried back up the stairs to replace the wrap in the wardrobe. She studied her reflection in the looking glass. She twisted her red waves into a chignon before focusing on her eyes. Her usually gray eyes had turned a cool shade of blue, which they always did whenever she was upset.

And then she glanced down at her attire. Embarrassment heated her cheeks. Adam was right. As the wife of the mayor, she couldn’t very well parade around in rags. But, since she didn’t have anything else, she lifted her head and let out a breath. This was as good as it got.

She walked down the stairs and into the dining room. The smell of coffee invaded her senses and made her mouth water. Eggs, ham, potatoes, bread, and, of course, coffee all decorated the large table.

Raven stood behind the table and gave her a curt nod. “Your breakfast, Mrs. Steele.”

Mrs. Steele. That sounded so foreign to her. She took a seat and inhaled deeply. “This looks absolutely delightful, Raven. Did you make all of this?”

He laughed gently. The sound drilled through her senses and settled into her heart, warming it. “Unlike me, Mrs. Chang is a wonderful cook. You may thank her for this meal.”

“You don’t cook?”

“That is one skill I’ve never mastered.”

She picked up a piece of bread and generously slathered butter on it. “I should think, as a manservant, you would need to know how to cook.”

“Mrs. Steele, I have many talents, but alas, cooking isn’t one of them.” That gleam in his eye, triggered by the hunger behind his words, had her feeling the heat.

They fell silent as Patience consumed the rest of her meal. Now full, she thanked Raven for the food and went to the foyer to slip her boots on. A mix of excitement and careful hesitation coursed through her. The thought of new material had her hurrying to leave, but leaving the house, facing the rest of the town now that she’d married the mayor—under duress—kept her movements deliberate and thoughtful.

Should she tell Raven that she’d never learned to sew? Would he help her? Would he care? How hard could it be? She knew how to handle a needle and thread, as the several patches on her skirts demonstrated. But making an entire dress? The thought had her nervous and on the verge of a breakdown.

“Do hurry back. I plan to introduce you to the town council this afternoon when we meet.” Adam’s voice caught her off guard, and she nearly fell back. Straightening up, she then faced him. “I’ll need Raven here with me. We have to go over a few things before the meeting. Will you be all right on your own, or should I have you accompanied?”

“I’ll make do,” she answered.

He nodded, and the impersonal look on his handsome face tore into her heart. This was not the same man who’d made love to her last night, who’d pulled climax after climax from her. This was the man who’d left her side last night after he’d had his fill of her body, the man who left her to wake up alone and hurt and scared.

“I’ll expect you back in time for lunch. We will dine together before the meeting. There are a few things I’ll need to go over with you before you are presented to the council as the wife of the mayor.” He gave her appearance a slow and steady glance. “Please find something suitable for the meeting. I can’t have you introduced in that.”

With that, he left her standing there, once again bruised by his dismissal. Wiping at her nose to ward off the burning in her eyes, she turned and grabbed her heavy cover. The rain had once again settled across the land and chilled the air.

Then again, that chill could very well be from her husband’s obvious disapproval of her.

By the time she made it to the mercantile, she didn’t have a dry inch on her. She stepped inside the store and hung her cover on one of the hooks next to the door.

“You’re dripping on my floor.”

Patience whipped around and slammed her hand to her chest. A giant of a man with hazy blue eyes and a handsome face stood before her. “You gave me a fright.”

The man frowned and glanced at his floor. “I own the store as well as the floor you’re now leaving a puddle on. And mud.”

As if she didn’t feel bad enough about her appearance, the burden of Mr. Bartlett’s look of obvious condemnation weighed on her. “The streets are swimming in mud due to this incessant rain.”

“That is not my concern.” He walked around to the other side of the counter and lifted his brow. “What can I do for you, Mrs. Steele?”

She stilled. “You know who I am?”

“The entire town knows.”

The entire town. Wonderful.
She shook off the desire to run back out of the store and keep running until she found the largest rock to hide under. “I came to purchase material for a new dress.”

Mr. Bartlett’s cool gaze assessed her. “Clearly.”

How unkind. The man’s aloofness made her feel about as welcome as a dog in a house full of cats. “You are Mr. Bartlett, are you not?”

“I am.”

This was the man Amelia’s sister, Olivia, married? He seemed nothing short of barbaric in his demeanor. “Mr. Steele tells me he has an account with you.”

“That he does.”

His cruelty hit her with every word. What had she done to warrant such a brutal attack from him? “May I see the material you carry?”

“No, you may not.”

She froze and blinked at him, her heart in her throat. “Excuse me?”

“Mr. Steele has an account, but you do not. I will not serve the likes of your kind.”

“My kind? What, exactly, is my kind?”

“You think I’m a fool, Mrs. Steele? Adam may be a ruthless bastard, but he does not deserve to have a woman like you attack his accounts.”

Tears smarted her eyes as emotions swelled inside her. She swallowed thickly and held his cruel gaze. Sobs of humility threatened to rob her of her control, but still she thrust out her chin and refused to back down.

“You are mistaken, Mr. Bartlett. I did not marry Mr. Steele for his money.”

“Didn’t you?”

“Is that how you see it?”

“That is how everyone sees it.”

“You’re wrong,” she whispered, mortification burning into her cheeks and weakening her resolve. The brave façade she’d managed to present crumbled, and with it, her dignity. “You’re all wrong.”

“Are we? We see a woman who misrepresented herself to the good, honest men who paid to bring you to Port Steele. When the Gallaghers discovered your deceit, you found the man with the largest means and married him, all to pay off your debt. You are a disgraceful woman, Mrs. Steele, and I, for one, refuse to associate with the likes of you.”

She closed her eyes as tears streamed down her face. “That isn’t what happened.”

“Am I to take your word for it?”

“No,” a man’s voice sounded from behind her. Patience turned and shook her head as Logan Gallagher stood there, his gaze full of compassion as he studied her. “You may take my word for it.”

Her chin quivered as her eyes flooded. As if marrying her off to Adam Steele wasn’t enough, Logan had returned to make her suffer further. She couldn’t stand it. Pushing past him, she grabbed her cover and ran back out into the rain and down the street, uncaring that mud caked her hem and weighed her down.

Torment blinded her, but she refused to shed another tear. No man had the right to treat her so unkindly, and she didn’t deserve it. Obviously the gossips had made their own minds up about her nuptials to Adam Steele, and whatever details they didn’t know, they’d simply made up.

By the time she’d reached the house, the humiliation was too much to hold back, and she broke down as she threw her cover to the floor. Damn this town. Damn her decision to sneak onto that ship and make the journey to this godforsaken land.

The first of her sobs tore through her, hard, angry, and relentless. She covered her mouth in the hopes that no one heard her, but the doors to the office opened, and Raven stepped out.

As soon as he saw her state, he raced to her side and placed his hands on her shoulders. She wanted to curl into him, but they were out in the open, and, as Raven was her husband’s manservant, that would have been highly improper.