The Marriage Bargain. Angel Moore

He was determined to do his part to squelch the rumors. Going in the back way would only feed the gossipers.

      Lily was kneeling in front of an open crate rummaging through its contents and didn’t hear the door when he opened it.

      “Think I’ll have to stop by Doc Willis’s office and let him know how you’re taking it easy.”

      Startled, Lily jerked up straight. “I’m perfectly fine.”

      He watched her frustration as the coughing overtook her again. “As long as—” she coughed “—no one tries to scare the breath out of me.”

      He closed the door. “Have you rested at all?” Everywhere he turned he saw evidence that she’d been busy.

      “I stopped working and visited with Daisy. She came by to check on me.”

      Did he dare bring up the subject that he’d heard being discussed everywhere he’d gone in the two hours since he’d left her? “I saw her when I was leaving the lumber mill.”

      “Were you able to get the lumber ordered?” She didn’t seem the least bit curious about anything other than the progress of the repairs.

      “I did. Will Thomas said he’ll have the order ready for me after I haul off the debris behind the shop.”

      She stood and brushed her hands together. “Let me help you load it.”

      “It’s done.” Knowing she’d be stubborn, he hadn’t let her know he had returned until after he loaded the rubble into the wagon.

      “I told you I would help.”

      “Doc Willis said you need to rest. I only came inside to see if you have anything else that needs to go.”

      “No.” She rubbed her hands down the front of her skirt to smooth it. “At least let me go with you to unload it.” She stepped toward the workroom. “Where are you taking it?”

      “I’ve got a small burn pit behind my shop. What can’t be salvaged, I’ll burn later.”

      She came back into the front of the shop tugging on work gloves. “Are you ready?”

      “Miss Warren, you can’t come with me.”

      “Why ever not? The sooner you unload, the sooner you can get the lumber order and start on the repairs.”

      He cast a glance out the front window. “Have you been anywhere today? Besides the doctor’s office?”

      Her brow furrowed. She was cute with her face scrunched in confusion. “No. There’s been too much to do here to go visiting.”

      Was it possible she had no clue? “Did your sister go anywhere before she came to see you?”

      “No. She stopped by on her way into town.” She looked at him. “Why?”

      He didn’t know the best way to tell her, so he just said it straight out. “We seem to be the topic of conversation all over town today.”

      “We? You mean about the fire?”

      “No,” he said. Her face had relaxed, and he didn’t think she understood what he was trying to tell her. “I mean you and me.”

      Her shoulders lifted, and she gave a small snort. “That’s silly.” With one hand she gestured between the two of them. “There is no ‘we.’”

      “I know that.” He paused. “But...”

      She rose up a bit taller now and drew in a slow breath. “But what?” She angled her head away from him as if it would prevent the full onslaught of something she didn’t want to hear.

      “It seems that Mrs. Croft’s assumptions from last evening have captured the fancy of some of the townsfolk.”

      Her eyes closed, and she drew her pretty lips inward. He watched her sigh as the implications sank in.

      “Everywhere I went, someone brought it up.”

      Lily dropped onto a crate and wrung her hands together. “Oh, my. I hoped it would be forgotten in the light of day. No one knows me here. Why would they think I’d be so bold as to entertain a man in my home—unchaperoned—late at night?” Her gaze snapped to his. “Unless...what kind of reputation do you have, Mr. Stone?”

      How dare she imply that his name in town was without respect! “Me?”

      “Yes, you! In East River no one would ever suspect me of any behavior other than that of a Christian lady.”

      “I had hoped because you’re Daisy’s sister these rumors would not take hold.” He shrugged his shoulders. “But they have.”

      The front door opened, and Daisy entered the shop. “Oh, Lily! I’ve just come from the general store.” She put a hand on Lily’s arm. “Why didn’t you tell me what happened?”

      Lily must not have expected it to be a problem, or surely she would have told her sister what had been said the night before.

      Edward could see the panic filling her eyes when she answered. “Nothing happened! Except a fire!” She lowered her voice and asked, “What are they saying?”

      Daisy hesitated. “I’m embarrassed to say.” She glanced at Edward, then took Lily by the hand. “Mrs. Croft has given details about you being held in Mr. Stone’s arms.” She seemed to choose her words with great care. “In your dressing gown.”

      He needed Daisy to understand the truth. “I pulled her from a burning building. Her hair caught in my suspenders. There was no embrace. I carried her outside because she was overcome by the smoke.”

      Daisy shook her head. “That’s not how Mrs. Croft portrayed it.” She looked at Lily. “And because so many people were coming to see what was happening, they witnessed just enough to lend a hint of truth to her tale.”

      Lily stiffened her arms at her side and clinched her fists. “Truth? We’ll tell them the truth! You tell them, Daisy. They’ll believe you.”

      Daisy’s husband, Tucker Barlow, came into the shop. Edward knew from his expression that this situation was not going to fade away.

      Tucker removed his hat. “I see the news has made its way to all of you.”

      Lily almost begged for an answer from them. “What am I going to do?”

      Edward didn’t know what she was going to do. All he knew for sure was that his situation had become more desperate after he’d left Lily just before noon. He’d stopped in at the post office, and there was still no word from his sister, Jane.

      He’d gone by the telegraph office and discovered the query he’d sent to the sheriff in Santa Fe had been answered. An outbreak of influenza had hit the community where Jane and Wesley lived, and they’d become gravely ill. The local doctor had sent them to a hospital in another community. No word on the name of the community or their condition.

      If Jane and Wesley had passed, he was Ellen’s only living relative. He’d do anything necessary to take care of her. He wouldn’t risk losing this building. Talking of opening a bakery here would be one of the last things Ellen had shared with her mother. He’d keep the shop for Ellen to have when she was grown. A legacy in Jane’s memory.

      He cringed when the answer entered his mind, but he knew it was for the best. “What are we going to do?” He had to protect Ellen from the gossip that would surely swirl around the shop—and Lily if they didn’t act quickly.

      “We?” Lily countered.

      They were standing in the workroom. The ravages of the fire all around them.

      Edward pointed to a small frame Lily had hung on the wall over the workbench. “Are these the verses you live by?” The edges of the frame were scorched, but the intricate needlepoint was intact.

      Lily followed his gaze. “Yes.