Shot Gun Grooms. Maureen Child

education.

      “I’d like to meet them,” she told Lucas.

      “I’ll bring them by later.” He rose. “Thank you for supper.”

      “Don’t thank me. You’re the one who brought the food.”

      “Yes, but you provided the company.”

      With that he was gone and Emily was left to stare after him. She didn’t begin to understand her handsome husband. Not his words, his actions or how he made her feel just by being in the same room. But she liked him. He made her laugh. He seemed to enjoy teasing her and she enjoyed his attentions.

      She thought about the “incident” and wondered if it was on his mind as well. As he’d been leaving, she’d half hoped he would do that again. He hadn’t. Just as well, she told herself. She was not the kind of woman to dally with a man…although if she found herself in need of a dalliance, Lucas MacIntyre would be the man she chose.

      * * *

      Lucas returned shortly after nine. Trailing behind him were two overly slender girls in worn cloaks. Their eyes were large, their skin pale and Emily read the fear in their expressions.

      “Alice and Mary, meet Emily MacIntyre.”

      The older of the two tried to smile. “Ma’am.”

      Like her younger sister, Alice had bright red hair and green eyes. The two girls held hands, clinging to each other as if they had no one else in the world.

      Emily moved around the desk and approached the girls. “How old are you?” she asked.

      Alice spoke for them both. “I’m fifteen. Mary is thirteen. We’re hard workers, ma’am,” she added. “We’re both stronger than we look. I can scrub and clean. Mary’s real patient when it comes to ironing and she knows some cooking.”

      “Good.” Emily glanced at her husband. “Have they eaten recently?”

      “About an hour ago.”

      She returned her attention to the girls. “I think we should talk about work in the morning. Right now you two need some sleep.”

      She showed them to a small room next to her own. She’d made it up quickly after dinner. The fresh mattress had been delivered just that afternoon. Emily had added a pretty pink coverlet and drapes, along with a pansy-covered basin.

      Alice and Mary stared at the small room, then Alice shook her head. “Ma’am, this is too nice for us.”

      Emily took in the plain walls, the stains she’d been unable to scrub out on the floor and the skinny dresser. She’d been hesitant about renting out the room because it was so small and the window didn’t offer a view of anything nicer than the building across the street.

      Emily touched Alice’s thin shoulder. “I was about to apologize because it wasn’t nice enough. You and Mary are safe here. Get ready for bed. We’ll talk in the morning.”

      With that, she left the sisters alone and shut the door behind herself.

      She found Lucas waiting by the reception desk. “Where did you find them?”

      The anger she’d noticed before returned to his eyes. “Their father tried to sell them to Cherry earlier in the week. She took the girls in because it was obvious he was going to get rid of them one way or the other. She’s been trying to find a place for them ever since.”

      Emily didn’t know what to say. She’d never heard of such a thing. Did fathers really sell their daughters into service to men? Was it possible?

      “That can’t be legal,” she insisted.

      He shrugged. “But it happens. Cherry thought they might be able to clean at her place, but Alice is too pretty to go unnoticed and Cherry was afraid someone would get drunk and hurt the girl. She mentioned the problem to me and I thought you might be willing to help.”

      Emily wanted to know what Lucas had been doing talking to that woman. Had he been at her place of business, and if so, why? She reminded herself that theirs was simply a marriage of convenience and she shouldn’t care if her husband took his person elsewhere. But the words didn’t ease the ache she felt in her stomach or the way her throat started to hurt.

      “I’m sure the girls and I can come to some kind of agreement about employment,” she said stiffly. “I need assistance here and I think they’ll enjoy the work. I’ll pay them a fair wage. If they save, they can leave Defiance and start over elsewhere in time.”

      He stepped closer to her. “You surprise me,” he told her.

      “Why?”

      “I thought you might be shocked and insulted to have those girls here.”

      “You forget I rented a room to Dixie. Mary and Alice are hardly more shocking than that.”

      “I know. When I heard what you’d done for Dixie, I figured I might have misjudged you.” His dark eyes seemed to stare into her soul. “You’re not at all what I imagined.”

      “You mean I’m not a prim schoolteacher who uses dollar words when two-bit ones will do?”

      “Oh, you’re all that, but you’re also growing on me.” He looked thoughtful. “Who would have thought.” Then he leaned close and brushed his lips against her cheek. “You’re not a bad kisser, either, Mrs. MacIntyre. One of these days we’ll have to do it again.”