Chase (Prairie Grooms, Book Four) (14 page)

“
You know nothing of the sort!” she argued. “You weren't there! You think things here are rough! You should have been in India at the time of the rebellion!”

“P
erhaps I should have,” said Lena. “But as I recall, you weren't there either.”

“
No, but your cousin Anthony Sayer was, both he and his wife, Isabel. And both of them risked their lives for the freedom of others!”

“
What has this have t to do with burnt bread?”

“
Everything!” cried Imogene as she raised a hand in the air for emphasis. “Your cousin, the old Duke Anthony Sayer, had to suffer all kinds of trials to rescue his Isabel from the evil clutches of…”

“Egad
! You don't have to be so dramatic about it!”

Imogene
lowered her hand and straightened. “I'll be as dramatic as I want. I'm my own person and no one tells me what to do!”

“
If you had a husband, I'm sure
he'd
tell you what to do! quipped Lena.

Imogene
shook her head in annoyance. “Why do I bother? You’re far too young to understand any of it. Go on then, go back to burning your bread and cookies. Don't listen to me or anything I have to say that will keep your marriage intact!”

Lena knew Imogene could fall off the edge of reason on
occasion, it was part of her charm, that is, until she did it around either Lena or one of her sisters. Then she wasn’t so fun. Yet, Lena couldn’t help but ask, “What is that supposed to mean?”

“
Only that it takes more than good cooking to keep a man.”

“
How would you know?” asked Lena. “You've never been married.”

“No, I haven't, b
ecause I've chosen not to be. And that's because of what I've seen happen to people who marry when they're not in love.” With that she spun on her heel, and left the kitchen.

Le
na was left to stand in shock, her mouth half open. She snapped it shut when a fly flew past, lest it fly right in. She waved it away, then looked at her handiwork. That of the burnt bread. Was Imogene right? The same cold that plagued her stomach yesterday and the day before, returned. Would Chase Adams seek an annulment if he found her lacking as a wife? What would she do if she were a man who had to marry her?

Lena walked to the kitchen table and sat. What attributes did she have? She began to tally up a mental list. Let's see, she knew she wasn’t hard on the eyes. She’d learned that from more than one man back in London. The men in Clear Creek must think so too, if the looks they gave her were an indicator. So, she was attractive. But was that as far as it went? She drummed her fingers on the table in thought. If she were to add to that, excellent cooking skills and the ability to expedite her chores in a timely manner, (how long could laundry and cleaning take, after all?) and of course, excelled at all the other menial tasks of running a prairie household, how could a man argue? Surely he'd have no reason to want to annul their marriage! Add to that the marriage bed, (Egad, she hadn't thought about that until now) then only an idiot would wish to discard her and annul the marriage contract between them.

So the better question to ask, was of course, was whether or not Chase Adams was an idiot? She sighed at the thought, got up from the table, and went to join her sisters in the task of learning to do laundry.

* * *

Lena stopped up short and stared at the scene before her. Sadie was busy hanging laundry on a rope stretched between two posts. She hummed a merry tune and ignored the two prone bodies behind her. A wash tub and scrub board sat on the ground between Fina and Apple, who looked as if they'd passed out from their labors. “Good heavens!” Lena began. “What happened to the two of you?”

Apple opened her eyes and ever so slightly raised her head at the sound of her sister’s voice. “I say,” she said. “But this particular chore was much harder than we thought.” Her head hit the ground with a small thud.

Lena put her hands on her hips. “Oh come now, how hard could it have been?”

Fina, with no small amount of effort, propped herself up on her elbows and glared at her sister. “You weren't here to do it with us, so until you've done the task, don't ask how hard it is. You can see the results for yourself, can't you?”

I see Sadie hanging the laundry, not you two.”

Sadie looked over her shoulder and grinned. “They did do a fine job,” she said. “But I'm afraid they're not used to this type of work yet.” She bent to grab a sheet from the laundry basket and started to pin it to the line. “But don't worry, as with everything else, you'll get better at it.”

Apple moaned from where she lay, her eyes closed. Lena shook her head, hands still on hips, and leaned forward to study her. Fina watched. “What ever are you staring at?” she asked Lena.

“
Oh my,” said Lena. “Apple, do me a favor will you?”

Apple moaned in response.

“Lie
there and don't move a muscle,” instructed Lena as she slowly approached her sister’s prone form.

“
I don't think I could move if I wanted to,” said Apple. Her eyes suddenly popped open. “However, I must ask, why you don't want me to move?”

“
Oh, it's nothing really,” said Lena as she slowed her approach and peered at Apple's legs. Sadie turned and gasped. Apple's breath hitched. “Don't
move
! instructed Lena.

Fina pushed herself
up to a sitting position and immediately put both hands over her mouth. “Look at the size of it!” she mumbled through her fingers.

Apple sa
t up, alarmed. “Lena!”

Lena picked up a small stick near her feet, and began to prod the huge spider that had perched itself atop her sister’s skirt covered leg. “Don’t move, just let me take care of him.” She prodded the insect very gently, but without the result she hoped for. It gathered its legs beneath it as if to jump.

“Just flick
it off of her!” called Sadie from the clothes line.

“
I don't want to hurt it.  What if he lands wrong?”

“What if he bites me?” squeaked Apple. “Get it off!”

“
Oh hush you big baby, he's not going to bite you.” scolded Lena. She bent at the waist, and blew on the little monster. But several legs tightened closer to its body. Now Apple brought her own hands to her mouth, and looked and chewed on her knuckles.

“
For heaven sakes, Lena!” Fina barked. “Get it off!”

“
Don't rush me, I don't want to hurt the little creature.”

Sadie searched the ground,
found a bigger stick than Lenas, and began to head towards them. “I'll take care of this.”

“
No!” cried Lena. “Let me! I've done this dozens of times.”

“
I didn't realize spiders got that big in England,” said Sadie.

“
They don't,” said Fina. But Lena can’t stand to kill
anything
. It's not poisonous, is it?”

“
No,” said Sadie. “But it might give poor Apple a nasty bite. At least none of you have fainted.

  “Faint?” asked Fina.

At that, Lena got the stick under the little beast, and flicked it about a foot from Apple, who immediately rolled as far away from it as she could, and almost tripped Lena in the process. “Watch what you're doing!” Lena scolded. She then went to the spider and blew on its back. “That's it, get along now, go on back to your little house wherever it is.”

“
Look at that thing!” exclaimed Sadie. “He's huge!”

Fina and Apple were on their feet at this point and stood a safe distance away, as Lena continued to urge the spider from the yard. Sadie watched the three and began to laugh. “If Harrison or Collin were here, they'd kill it! And yes, all three of your cousins had a run in with a similar, if not the same, spider, and each one fainted!”

Lena straightened and gasped.
“They never did appreciate nature the way we do. And you tell Colin and Harrison that they'll do no such thing! That poor, innocent little creature has done nothing wrong!”

“
It would have been wrong of him to bite me!” Apple pointed out. “I dare say sister, it's one thing to coax a little beatle off of one of us, but
that
! She shuddered and pointed at the retreating bug. “That is something else, indeed.”

Lena again put her hands on her hips. “I got him off of you, didn't I? And without injury I might add, to either you, or him!”

“
How do you know it’s a him?” asked Fina. “What if it's a girl and she has babies?
Lots
of babies?”

“
Oh stop it, all three of you,” scolded Sadie. “We have work to do remember? Fina and Apple, might I suggest you not lie on the ground while you're working? You’ll avoid any further contact with that thing or any of its relatives.”

Fina and Apple looked at each other and shrugged. They then nodded their agreement and went back to work.

Le
na let out a heavy sigh as she watched the little beast crawl off. “He has his purpose, just as everything does in nature. Killing him might have upset the natural order of things.”

“Killing it might keep him
from crawling onto one of us again in the future,” said Sadie. “What are you going to do if a coyote wanders into your barnyard?”

Lena could only stare at her. What
would
she do if such a beast wandered into her midst? Especially if she were alone? “Are… Are they dangerous?”

“
They can be,” said Sadie. “It depends on what they’re after and how hungry they are.”

Lena swallowed hard. At Collin’s suggestion form the day before, she decided to allow herself the freedom to be true to her heart. Part of that was her love of nature and all living things, which meant killing the spider would have made her feel guilty for days, even if it was an ugly little beast.

“
Is something burning?” asked Apple.

Lena's shoulders slumped. ‘That would be my bread,” she told her.

“
Oh dear,” said Fina. “Dare I asked how it turned out?”

“You need not ask,” Lena informed her.
“It's quite obvious by the smell, isn't it?”

“
You mean we did better at laundry, than you did it bread baking?” asked Apple.

“
Quite,” was all Lena offered.

Apple giggled. “Perhaps your little eight legged friend could have helped you in the kitchen.”

“
Apple,” said Fina. “That's not being fair.”

“
I'm only teasing,” she said. “Lena is learning just as we are. We can't help it if we’re better at scrubbing laundry than she is it baking bread.”

“Tomorrow I’ll
do laundry and you can burn something,” said Lena with a huff.

“
Ladies, stop it!” demanded Sadie. “You are all learning and you will
all
make mistakes.”

“
But Lena is getting married within a week.” pointed out Apple. “How is she going to learn everything she needs to know before then?”

“
All I'm able to do is teach you a few basics,” said Sadie. “The rest you’re just going to have to learn after you're married.”

Lena gasped. ‘Oh my goodness, I hadn't thought of that. What if I can't even master the basics before then?”

“
Then you'll just have to muddle through,” Sadie told her.

“
What if Mr. Adams doesn't have everything she needs to do the basics?” asked Apple. “How does he do his laundry?”

“
And does he have a decent cook stove?” asked Lena.

“
Constance told us that Ryder didn't even have a decent bed!” added Apple.

“
Ladies, please!” Sadie said, exasperated.

“Lena stared at her
with a look of horror. “Cousin Imogene is right…”

“Right
about what?” asked Apple.

Lena's eyes wandered to the ground in search of the spider, but saw no sign of him. “I'm not equipped to be a wife.”

Sadie's sighed, tossed the clothes pins she held in one hand into the laundry basket, then  threw the stick she held in the other, over her shoulder. “There are lots of brides that are unskilled when they first marry,” she explained.

Le
na looked at her. “Not skilled is one thing. Totally inept, another.”

“Too bad Lena
couldn't practice at Mr. Adams house,” said Apple. “Then she'd at least know what she had to work with.”

Fina's eyes lit up. “That's an excellent idea, sister!”

“What are you talking about?” a
sked Sadie.

“
Why can't Lena practice her baking, cooking, and sewing at Mr. Adams house?” asked Fina. “She is going to live there, after all.”