Seth (Prairie Grooms, Book Three) (10 page)

“
I know what an Englishman would say,” said Eloise.

“
What?” asked Constance.

“Bugger. Off.”
Eloise said in a flat tone.

Penelope gasped. “Eloise! Mind your manners!”

Constance giggled. “Why
, sister! I’ve never heard you say such a thing!”

“
As long as it has the two of them talking, it’s fine by me,” said Sadie.

“Really
,” said Belle in exasperation. She returned to her sewing, and smoothed out the section of dress she’d been working on. “Now, let’s see how this looks.” She stood. “Eloise, are you ready to try this on?”

“
Try it on? Here?” she asked.

“
Well, of course,” said Belle, “Unless you’d like to try it on at the saloon?”

Eloise quickly shook her head. She then looked at the dress. Her eyes widened. “Oh, ladies, we’ve out done ourselves.” The other women stared at the dress as well. It was quite beautiful, and had much more intricate stitching than either Constance or Penelope’s had.

“Come with me,” said Belle. “You can try it on upstairs in my old room.”

Eloise got up
and followed Belle through the curtained doorway behind the mercantile counter. Upstairs in the Dunnigans’ living quarters, Mrs. Dunnigan was just taking something out of the oven. “Is it done?” she asked.

“Yes, Auntie,”
said Belle. “We’ll let you see it just as soon as she has it on.”

“
I’m sure it’ll look fine. We’re gonna have ourselves some picnic this year!”

“
Everyone keeps saying that,” said Eloise.

“
Well, it’s true,” said Belle. “We’ve never had a wedding during the picnic before.”

“
I hope this dress looks as good on me as it does by itself,” said Eloise. “Do you think Seth will like it?”

“
Of course he’s going to like it,” said Belle. “It’s the most beautiful wedding dress we’ve done to date.”

A shiver of excitement went up Eloise’s spine.
About time, too
, she thought. She was beginning to worry if she really wanted to
get married. Still, she did have her reservations. There was something about Seth, something that just didn’t quite fit well with her. Sure he was handsome, level-headed, smart to a degree, and forthright. But something felt … off. If only she could figure out what it was.

“It’s beautiful,” said Belle as she took in the sight of Eloise wearing the dress for the first time. “Turn around and I’ll button it up,” she said.

“Do you have a mirror? I
want to see,” said Eloise.

“There’s one in my aunt’s room. A
s soon as I get these buttons done, we’ll go take a look.”

Eloise clapped her hands together with excitement. But was it for the dress, or for her wedding? A pretty dress was one thing, the wedding something else. Why couldn’t she be as excited about her wedding day as Constance and Penelope had been about theirs?

“A
ll done,” said Belle. “Let’s go have a look, shall we?”

Belle
led Eloise from the bedroom, down the hall, and into her aunt and uncle’s room. Eloise stared at the full-length mirror in one corner of the room, and hesitated. Now why on earth would she be afraid to look at her reflection? Was it because she’d been hit up-side the head with the fact that she’d be married in a few days?
Oh, Eloise, get over it …

“
What’s the matter?” asked Bell.

Eloise glanced
at her, but said nothing. She then looked at the mirror, stepped in front of it, and gasped. “Oh, my!”

“
Indeed,” said Belle. “You’re absolutely beautiful. Seth is going to love it!”

“
Makes me want to get married just so I can wear it,” said Eloise.

Belle gave her a quizzical look. “You sound as if you don’t want to get married.” Eloise turned from the mirror. “Belle, what if I told you a part of me doesn’t?”

“What are you saying?”

Eloise wrung her hands together a few times. “I
do
want to get married. It’s just that a part of me … doesn’t.”

Belle pulled Eloise
from the mirror, led her to the bed, and sat. “I can understand having reservations before getting married. A lot of mail-order brides do. After all, you don’t know Seth very well, and haven’t had much time to court. If you like, we can always postpone the wedding and give the two of you more time to get acquainted.”

“
I don’t know if Seth will agree to that. He really wants to get married.

“
Eloise, he’ll understand if you need to wait.”

“
Will he?”

“Of course he will
. Sure, folks get married quickly around here. Colin and I courted just a couple of weeks before we were married, and I wasn’t even a mail-order bride. The important thing is that you know you’re doing the
right
thing. I had no reservations when I married Colin, none whatsoever. Are you having second thoughts about getting married? Or marrying Seth?”

Eloise bit her lower lip before speaking. Tears formed at the back of her eyes and something in her gut twisted. “Maybe it’s just me,” she said. “Seth is a fine man, anyone can see that. But, there’s something about him, Belle, and I don’t know what it is. Please tell me I’m doing the right thing by marrying him.”

“
I can’t tell you if it’s right or wrong, Eloise. I’ve known Seth for a couple of years now, and I can honestly say he
is
a good man. None of us have ever seen him or his brother act out of turn, be unkind, or not lend a helping hand when one was needed. But if you’re having some sort of reservation about marrying him, then you need to wait. But you also need to tell him.”

“
I don’t know how. I’m not even sure if what I’m feeling is valid.”

“
A lot has happened since you and your sisters arrived in town. First Penelope is attacked, then Constance and Ryder. But until the sheriff returns, I guess we’re going to be left in the dark for a time. But none of that should matter when it comes to your wedding. What does is what’s in your heart. Is it or isn’t it, the right thing to do?”

Eloise blinked back the first of her tears. “I want to get married, really I do, b
ut … I’m going to have to talk with Seth first, and ask him something.”

“
What?”

Eloise wiped away a tear. “I have
to ask him who he is.”

Eight

The next day, Mrs. Dunnigan, Mrs. Mulligan, and Fanny Fig came to the Triple C to help with the picnic preparations. Excitement was high when they arrived, as it wasn’t only the picnic they were to plan, but the wedding, too. Sadie and Belle bristled with excitement as they answered the front door. “Good morning” said Sadie. “I can’t wait to get started. Refreshments are in the dining room. We’ll work in there.”

The three ladies followed Sadie, and seated themselves at the dining room table. “I’ve made up a list of who is to bring what,” announced Mrs. Dunnigan.

Sadie looked confused. “Are you referring to the food?”

“
Of course,” said Mrs. Dunnigan. “What else?”

“
But I thought I was taking care of the food this year,” said Sadie.

“
Yes, but I’m helping out. I’ve done this a lot longer than you have.”

Sadie smiled and did her best to suppress a giggle. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it,” barked Mrs. Dunnigan.

Eloise came into the dining room. “Morning; how is everyone?”

“We’re
just dandy,” said Mrs. Mulligan. “And how are you? Are you excited about your upcoming wedding?”

Eloise smiled as a blush crept into her cheeks. “I suppose so, but there’s a lot of work to be done, considering that we have to plan the picnic as well.”

“There most certainly is!” exclaimed Fanny
. “I, for one, think we ought to get started right away. Now, what games shall we play?”

“
Fanny,” said Mrs. Mulligan “It’s
your
job to figure it out what they are. Have you decided?”

“I
haven’t decided anything yet, you silly goose! That’s why I’m here; so you can help me!”

Mrs. Dunnigan rolled her eyes. “Let’s just play the same games we played last year. It worked out fine, and everybody had fun.”

“
I don’t rightly recall what games we played last year,” confessed Fanny.

Mrs. Mulligan groaned. “You’ve got to be joking.”

“Well
it
has
been a whole year!” fussed Fanny. “How’s a person to remember every detail after such a long time?”

“
Ladies, please,” said Sadie. “We must get this figured out. We only have three days left.”

“
Should we decorate for the wedding?” asked Belle.

“Oh, that would be lovely,” s
aid Eloise. “But what will we use for decorations?”

“
That’s easy,” said Belle. “We pick flowers; what else?”

“
Flowers?” asked Eloise.

“Flowers would be beautiful,”
agreed Fanny.

“W
e could get Mabel Turner’s children to weave garlands for us,” said Sadie.

Eloise thought for a moment, then said, “I can picture that; yes, how pretty! Thank you for suggesting it.”

“
Now that that’s settled,” huffed Mrs. Dunnigan, “let’s get down to business. Sadie, here’s the list of who’s to bring what dish. All you have to do is tell them.”

Sadie took the list from Mrs. Dunnigan’s hand, and looked it over. “That’s easy enough. I’ll get started on it right away.”

“Is there anyone around
who doesn’t know about the picnic this Saturday?” asked Mrs. Mulligan.

“Everyone must know
by now,” said Sadie. “Your husband has been telling everyone who comes into the saloon.”

“O
f course,” said Mrs. Mulligan. “But some folks only come into town once a week, and unless they go into the saloon or Irene and Wilfred’s place, they might not find out about it until the day of.”

S
adie was about to comment when Harrison stepped into the room, a concerned look on his face. “What’s the matter?” she asked.

“
Logan just came from town. The sheriff is back. I’m going to ride in to see what he found out.”

“Did they… catch the outlaws?” a
sked Eloise.

“N
o, I’m afraid not. They came back empty-handed,” said Harrison.

Eloise’s shoulders slumped as disappointment assailed her. “They didn’t find them?”

“
I guess not, but I still want to see what they did find, if anything.” said Harrison. He turned and left the room.

“
Don’t worry,” said Belle as she put a hand on Eloise’s shoulder. “I’m sure they found something.”

Eloise stared at the table
. “I hope so,” she said. “Otherwise, who knows how long I’ll have to go without Constance speaking to me.”

“O
h, don’t be silly.” said Belle. “She’ll speak to you the next time she sees you.”

Eloise sighed.
“I hope so.” She looked at Sadie and Belle. “Would you mind if I went into town with Harrison? I want to speak with the sheriff.”

Sadie and Belle exchanged a quick look. “I don’t’ see why not,” said Sadie. “But you’d better hurry; Harrison’s planning on riding to town. If you go along, he’ll have to hitch up the wagon.”

Eloise got up from her chair and hurried from the room. She ran down the hall, through the kitchen and out the back door. There was no sign of Harrison anywhere. She ran to the barn and found him saddling his horse. “Can I go with you?” she asked, out of breath.

Harrison glanced
at her, noted the concerned look on her face, and nodded. “Fine, but give me a few moments to get the wagon ready.”

Eloise smiled in
relief. “While you’re doing that, I’ll check to see if Sadie or Belle needs anything from town. Is that all right?”

“
Sure.”

Eloise hurried from the barn back to the house, praying that the sheriff had found something,
anything
, that would help solve this mystery. She spoke with Sadie and Belle, waited for Sadie to scribble down a list of things she needed, and then went back to the barn. By the time she got there, Harrison had hitched up the wagon. He helped her up, sat beside her, and off they went. “I’m going to need to get right back, Cousin,” he said. “I’ll speak to the sheriff while you run down to the mercantile and have Wilfred fill Sadie’s order.”

“
But I wanted to speak to the sheriff as well.”