The Bargain Read Free Page B

Elizabeth's first road. He couldn't let it be the last.  
    With each footstep, he tried to discern his growing anger. Was it possible to vanish all the hard work and sacrifices to make a go of this place? That couldn't happen. Why couldn't Precious see Port Elizabeth as the reason he had to leave her?  
    Maybe Eliza told her of his inadequacies. With virile charismatic men like Mzwamadoda around, why should she want Gareth? Was it Gareth in Precious's mind when she kissed him or her brazen rescuer?  
    Gareth's fingers clenched as he shoved a fist into his pocket. The thought of Precious and Mzwamadoda burned a hole in his gut.  
    She should be grateful to Gareth. He always respected her regardless of the trouble her deep passions drove her to.  
    She should admire the enormity of the task at hand and support him without complaint.
    She should ask him to spend time with her for her sake, not another woman.  
    She should want his kisses as much as he enjoyed offering them.
    She should love him!
    Love?
    He stopped short and nearly tripped again. Did that word just flash before his eyes? Was Mrs. Narvel right?  
    Gareth swallowed hard at the implications. He tried to blink away the notion. The fury of jealousy over Mzwamadoda dripped away as his palms dampened. Could his unconscious mind have settled into loving her?
    Now wasn't the time to figure it out, particularly since she didn't want him. She'd refused his offer and blamed it on Eliza. Long since gone, how could Eliza's hold be stronger than any thing the feisty governess felt for him?  
    Unwilling to measure the depths of his feelings or admit defeat, he stomped the rest of the way to the blacksmith, kicking an occasional rock that dared lie in his path.
    Dennis leaned against the doorframe with his arms folded across his dark leather vest. "Whoa there, Welling. What has you chewing dirt?"
    Gareth didn't need homespun wisdom or some assertion about God solving all his problems from the colony's makeshift pastor. He looked at the ground. "Nothing of consequence."
    "I saw you tearing up that road for at least a half of a mile back. Something's eating at you."  
    "I need sturdy shoes on my horse. I've some hard riding to do to locate some of the Dutch settlements."
    The old man didn't move. He forced Gareth to look in his face. "I can't dawdle."
    "Seems an odd time to take off. That will take you three days round trip. With Narvel's widows about to pop, and the Xhosa problem, I'd reckon you should stay."  
    "This expedition might just stop the hostilities. As for the former, she will keep and my boy's governess will take care of things until I return."
    Dennis shook his head, still not moving from his position. "You trying to convince me or yourself? Nothing ever quite follows man's timing. At some point, a fellow needs to think beyond his own notions."
    "I'm sacrificing for Port Elizabeth. It's bigger than Narvel's widow or a feisty governess."
    "Speaking of her." Dennis pivoted and went into his shop.
    Gareth should've headed straight for the stable around back, but curiosity over what the man was going to say about Precious made him follow.
    Dennis swung his blackened tongs from a hook and plunged it into the water. "This shoe is about done."
    The thick char on the tool showed its age, the passing down of the implement through the generations. Oh, how Gareth wanted this place and his leadership to be something Jonas and Precious could hold onto with pride.
    "You've been sweet on the negress. I hear talk of her being more than just the help."
    Unprepared for the interrogation, Gareth folded his arms. "What does my household arrangements have to do with anything?"
    "Proximity can make things seem right. Close quarters have led to all types of hasty decisions, unchristian behavior. Miss Jewell's from the Carolina's right? The slave trade is very big there." Dennis popped out the shoe and felt the edges. "Yes, this will do. "
    Gall flooded Gareth. "I'm not one of