How Miss West Was Won Read Free Page A

laughed.
    Eli picked up the reins and got the horses moving again. She knew they were getting very close, and she was ready for the journey to be over. What she really wanted right now was a hot bath, a cup of tea and a bed where she could lay down and sleep for a while.
    “I hope there is nothing planned for the evening,” she said.
    “Mrs. Dunlap will have dinner ready around six,” Eli said. “That’s usually what time I get back from working in the fields.”
    Cordelia made a mental note of that time for future reference. Of course, if things went well, she would be working in the kitchen with the housekeeper to get her ‘husband’s’ meal on the table when he got home from work. She glanced up at the sky, wondering what time it was now. As if he could read her mind, Eli told her it was almost two.
    “After I get you settled, I’m going to go check on things. I’ll be back in time for dinner.”
    “All right,” she said. She was ready for some alone time, where she could allow herself to examine her surroundings after she napped. Hopefully she’d have time to write in her journal, too. She was determined to keep accurate notes so that she would have a great basis for her article. But she needed to make sure they sounded authentic, in case someone got hold of the book and read it. It wouldn’t be good for their secret to be exposed in that manner.
    Keeping the fact that they weren’t really married a secret was going to be harder than she’d thought it would be, but if she was careful, Cordelia was sure she could pull it off.
    They rounded a corner and a house came into view, a large, two-story white clapboard house with a huge porch around the front. It was much bigger than what she’d expected, especially since Eli didn’t have any family.
    But he’d had family at one point, she reminded herself, parents and three brothers. And they were gone now. As the wagon neared the house, a small woman burst out the front door. She wore a gingham dress and there was an apron tied around her waist.
    Mrs. Dunlap, Cordelia thought to herself. This would probably be the one person who would be hardest to fool. Cordelia would have to put on quite an act for this woman.
    And it was show time.

Chapter 2
From the journal of Cordelia West
First day in Colorado:
     
    I am married, or so these people think. It is a hard to tell lies to people, even if I do not know them. I have tried, several times, to tell myself I am doing this because it will help me survive. The funds I receive from this story will help me survive, and will give me a rainy day fund, as my mother would say.
    The man I am supposedly married to has been nothing but kind to me. After my rest, I explored my new surroundings for a while. The house is spotless, kept that way by Mrs. Dunlap, the housekeeper. I have not had a chance to have a lengthy conversation with her, but she seems to be a very sweet, loving person who cares a great deal about Mr. Bannister.
    Mrs. Dunlap set up quarters for me in a room that connects with Mr. Bannister’s. I wanted to ask for a key, but that would not seem proper to her. Besides, I’m not sure if the key would be to keep him out, or keep me from sneaking into his room at night.
    I admit to being a virgin. I am not ashamed that William and I managed to keep from doing things an unmarried couple should not. But it was hard. Our hands found places on each other’s bodies that created sensations that I should not have enjoyed, but did. After we explored one another a few times, I started to crave his touch, and if it had been up to me, I would not be a virgin right now. It was William who said we had to wait for marriage.
    Now, being so close to Mr. Bannister, who creates naughty feelings deep inside me, I worry that I would not be able to hold back if things should turn physical between my supposed husband and myself. It is a situation I did not expect to find myself in, but it is there nonetheless.
    I will have to make