The Devil's Daughter Read Free Page B

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    Jed fought the panic creeping through his veins. He’d spent two long days thinking the whole thing through so carefully, making detailed mental lists of what he needed – and didn’t need – in a wife and how much he could afford to bid at the auction.
    And then he’d spent the next two days talking himself out of that plan and trying to come up with a way to simply hire a woman to help out for a while.
    Despite all his forethought, he’d just paid two and a half dollars more than he’d originally planned and given his name to a woman who was the exact opposite of anyone he’d ever considered wifelike.
    Sure, she was a looker with all that long black glossy hair and bright green eyes. But the fancy dress she wore, with its low cut bodice and cinched waist, was about as impractical as could be, and as for those satin slippers on her feet. . .
    This was a disaster waiting to happen. Even the way she spoke was wrong; gentle women didn’t dare think the suggestive things that came out of Lucy’s mouth. God knew Maggie had never uttered words like that! And if Lucy spoke so freely about these things, how much of that came from actual experience?
    Yup, Jed had definitely lost his mind when he’d agreed to marry Lucy. But his word was his vow, so now he’d have to find a way to make it work.
    Several more dollars later, he’d outfitted her with two simple day dresses, a pair of sturdy boots, a cotton bonnet she refused to touch, and a pair of work gloves.
    The dresses were designed for work, not looks, made with plain, stitched cotton and not so much as a breath of lace. The black leather boots would no doubt hurt something awful until she broke them in, and the bonnet was, without question, unsightly, but it would keep the sun off her head, and that was more important than anything else.
    She’d turned up her nose at all of it and flatly refused to so much as try the gloves on.
    Jed rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. It had been the condition of Lucy’s hands that pushed him into this marriage. She might look all silky and fancy, but those hands told a different story; one she hadn’t wanted him – or anyone else - to know about.
    “Just so you know,” Lucy said with a sniff. “There’s a considerable difference between dresses with no frills and ones that are down-right ugly.”
    “They’re not ugly; they’re sensible.” Jed sighed as he collected the package and led her away from the mercantile toward his waiting wagon. “And besides, I think we both know you couldn’t be ugly if you tried.”
    That seemed to appease her long enough for Jed to double check the rest of the supplies roped down in the back of the wagon, and then help his new wife up onto the blanket-covered seat. She pulled a second blanket from behind the bench and wrapped it around her shoulders, sending a waft of her unusual, exotic scent to tickle Jed’s nose.
    “When we get home, you’d best wash off your perfume,” he sighed, swallowing back his regret. “It attracts mosquitoes.”
    She laughed lightly. “I’m not wearing perfume. Besides, mosquitoes don’t like me – I have bad blood.”
    The horses whinnied and tossed their heads nervously. What was that all about? Jed took a second to scratch their noses, which seemed to calm them a little.
    He climbed up beside Lucy, released the brake, and clicked the horses forward. Why was she moving closer to him? There was plenty of room on her side of the bench.
    “It’s a bit of a ride.” He cleared his throat to try to ease the tight knot that threatened to block his words and his breathing. “You should put that bonnet on.”
    Lucy slid closer until their legs pressed against each other through layers of silk and wool. “I told you, I’m not wearing that revolting thing – especially not through the middle of town where someone might see me.”
    “The heat’ll make you sick,” he said. “You need to cover your head.”
    “This isn’t heat,” she answered