How Miss West Was Won Read Free Page B

sure that Mr. Bannister and I do not spent much time with just the two of us. I will need Mrs. Dunlap, or even Stuart, to keep me on the straight and narrow.
    This is not something that will make its way into my article for Mr. Tuttle, but it is something I am going to have to deal with on my own.
    * * *
    Cordelia closed the journal and sighed heavily. Keeping the matter of her non-marriage a secret was going to be easy. She had a feeling Eli Bannister spent most of his time working on his land, either with his cattle or his crops. Talking with Mrs. Dunlap would be easy, and it would not be hard to pretend she did not know much about her ‘husband.’
    But she would have to learn to control the feelings Mr. Bannister produced in her. She had first noticed them when he had helped her alight from the wagon that afternoon. He had put his hands on her, tight enough so he could lift her down. He should have let her get down on her own, offering his hand for support. But he had not done that, and the touch of his strong grip on her waist had reminded her of William. That was not a good thing.
    Another problem that crossed her mind was Mr. Bannister’s insistence that she would be in Colorado for at least a year. She did not expect to be here that long. In her mind, Mr. Bannister’s supposed fiancée from England would arrive within a month, she would find him already married and would leave in a huff. To Cordelia’s way of thinking, that would mean she would be back in New York in two months time, three at the most.
    This was a topic they would have to discuss at some point, and tonight would be best. But she could not do it at the dinner table. She would have to wait until they were in private. Maybe she could get him alone in the library, or after they dined she might propose a walk. If those things did not work, she would have to do it in the privacy of her room, which meant opening the door that connected her space with his. It was a pattern she did not want to set. It would be better if Mr. Bannister knew this was her private space, she should not be invaded.
    After she put her journal under her pillow, Cordelia patted her hair and looked at her image in the looking glass. She looked very nice. After she had rested, she’d changed into a blue dress that had needed very little pressing. The others would have to be tended to before they could be worn, and she was sure Mrs. Dunlap would insist on doing that chore.
    She opened the door and stepped into the hallway. Total silence greeted her. There were four doors on this upper level. Something told her the space she now inhabited had once belonged to Mr. Bannister’s mother, and Cordelia’s ‘husband’ lived in his father’s quarters. That would be the only reason for a connecting room, in Cordelia’s opinion. Or perhaps it was a bedroom and a nursery.
    Finding out the history of the home was not high on her agenda, though. She made her way down the stairs, and let her nose guide her to the kitchen. Mrs. Dunlap was at the table, peeling carrots. “It smells delicious in here,” Cordelia said.
    “Thank you, Mrs. Bannister,” the older woman responded, a big smile on her face. “I’m making cottage pie. It’s Eli’s favorite, and I thought he would appreciate me making it for your first night here.”
    “That’s very kind of you, Mrs. Dunlap.”
    The older woman blushed and waved her hand as if to say it was nothing at all, but something told Cordelia it was. She knew enough about the dish to know they used leftover meat, but from the looks of the peeled vegetables around Mrs. Dunlap, it had taken a while to prepare the other ingredients.
    “Tell me about yourself, Mrs. Bannister,” the housekeeper said. “I’m anxious to learn all about you.”
    “Only if you will call me Cordelia.” She indicated an empty chair. “May I?”
    “Of course,” Mrs. Dunlap said. “Can I fix you some tea? Eli brought me a fresh supply from Denver today. Or perhaps something