Bonds of Matrimony (26 page)

“So, Chastity, is America
everything you’d hoped for?” her grandmother asked, breaking the silence and
giving her a welcome distraction.

Chase smiled at her and took
her hand in her own.
 
“I had never
imagined anything like this.
 
Hasn’t it been a beautiful day?”

She smiled sadly.
  
“Only one thing could have made
it more perfect.”

“A big piece of chocolate
cake?” she joked.

She smiled broadly.
 
“That sounds heavenly.
 
But that wasn’t what I was referring
to.
 
It would have been an even
more perfect day if you had gotten your dance with Mr. Webb.”

Chase smiled sheepishly at
her and shrugged.
 
“It isn’t
important,” she lied.

“When I talked to you of him
that day on the train, there was something important that I forgot to mention.”

“It really isn’t anything,
Grandmother.
 
There’s no need
to—”

“I forgot to mention love,”
she interrupted.
 
“I know that you
claim it is nothing but a little attraction and innocent kisses.
 
And if that is true, then my warnings
stand.
 
But if you’ve fallen in
love with the man, then you need to fight for him.”
 
The fire in her eyes reflected her youthful resolve.

“I’m not in love with him,
Grandmother,” she assured her softly.

“Then let him go, Chastity,”
she advised simply.

But for Chase, it wasn’t
nearly that simple.
 
She couldn’t
get him out of her mind.
 
Her body
ached for him.
 
And after talking
to Elisa that afternoon, she had already made her decision.
 
Granted, his refusal to dance with her
was a minor setback.
 
But she was
confident that given time and some privacy, both Colton Webb and she would get
what they wanted.

The song had ended, and
Elisa was returning to their blanket with Henry Armstrong and another older man
with thinning white hair and brilliant blue eyes.
 
She introduced this man as James O’Flaherty, an Irish farmer
from Greenwood, only a couple miles south of her own ranch.
 
As a new song started up, Lady
Colchester was whisked onto her feet by the Irishman, while Marcus asked
Elisabeth to join him.
 
Will Hadley
approached and asked Reese to dance, leaving Chase sitting on the blanket
beside Elisa while Webb stood beside them grinning at the noisy crowd.
 
He tapped his foot unconsciously, and
his fingers kept the rhythm against his thigh.
 
She forced her eyes away from the sight of his large rough
hands moving against his muscled leg.

“Leave the pregnant woman in
peace for a bit, won’t you?” Elisa finally blurted out.
 
“Take this lady for a dance, Colton.”

His jaw muscle twitched in
anger or at least irritation when he glanced down at Elisa.
 
Then he reluctantly held a hand out to Chase.
 
She considered batting the hand
away.
 
He acted as though she was a
huge burden; the recluse that he danced with only as a favor to her
sister-in-law.
 
But she had been
longing to feel his hands on her all day.
 
Even her pride wouldn’t let her turn him down.

His hand was warm as it
circled her fingers.
 
When they
reached the other dancers, he seemed to hesitate before putting his free hand
on her hip.
 
She placed her hand on
his bicep, pausing a moment to appreciate the strength of his arm.
 
She was surprised when they began
moving.
 
He was as graceful as the
most polished gentlemen of England’s Season as he moved her in circles.
 
The skin beneath her hand was burning,
and she glanced up at his mouth, remembering how he tasted.

He was refusing to look at her.
 
Instead, he stared over her head,
looking almost bored as he led the dance effortlessly.

“How awful for you to be forced
to dance with me like this,” she muttered proudly.

He looked down at her for a
moment and then lifted an eyebrow, though not in argument.

“What has you so angry?” she
demanded to know.
 
“You’ve barely
spoken to me all day, and you seem to have made a very special effort to ask
everyone to dance but me.”

“You did not seem to be
short on dance partners, Cochrane.
 
What is it you’re complaining about?” he answered gruffly.

She smirked up at his
anger-darkened eyes.
 
“You were
jealous?
 
That’s why you have
practically avoided me all day?”

“I wasn’t jealous.
 
You wanted to play games.
 
I was simply playing along.”

“Games?” she hissed.
 
“I agreed to dance with the others
because nobody else was asking.
 
I
wasn’t deliberately trying to provoke you.”
           
“Provoke
me?
 
You’re entitled to dance with
any man you choose, m’lady,” he mocked.
 

“Yes, I am,” she
agreed.
 
“Just as you are entitled
to bed any woman you choose.”
 
She
didn’t have to close her eyes to see him following one of Chantal’s girls
upstairs again.

“Not
any
woman,” he answered huskily.
 

Caught off guard, she didn’t
know how to respond to that.
 
“Don’t use me as an excuse to carry on with Chantal’s trollops.
 
You’re a grown man capable of making
your own decisions,” she sputtered.

“I didn’t bed Virginia that
night,” he fired.
 
“I was too
worked up over you.”

She was shocked and more
pleased than she dared admit by this admission.
 
They danced in silence for the remainder of the song.
 
As the final note played, she
whispered, “If it’s any consolation, I was worked up over you, too.”

He shook his head and tucked
her hand into his arm to lead her back to her family.
 
Behind them, the band began packing up their instruments,
putting an end to any hope she might have had of sharing another dance with
him.
 

“I think it’s best if we
avoid each other for a while, Cochrane,” he suggested quietly.

“You think that’s
necessary?” she asked.

“Things aren’t getting any
easier like this.”

“I don’t think avoiding each
other will make things easier, either,” she argued softly.

“What do you suggest we do?”
he asked with exasperation.

“I suggest you convince me.”

His muscles tightened
beneath her hand.
 
“Convince you of
what?” he asked slowly, probably not daring to believe she was suggesting what she
was.

“Convince me that we would
both be better off if we simply…” she trailed off, blushing furiously, judging
by the warmth in her cheeks.
 

“Get it out of our systems?”
he asked.

She wasn’t certain that
giving her body to Webb would get him out of her system.
 
But as Elisa had pointed out, for her
it was not an issue of ruining her possibilities for marriage.
 
She glanced up at him and saw his
Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed thickly.

“Do you have any idea what
you’re doing?” he asked gently.

“Aside from destroying any
hopes my grandmother has of marrying me off?” she joked half-heartedly.

“It’s not a joking matter,
Chase.”

They were too close to her
family to risk continuing the conversation.
 
“I know,” she answered.
 
Then more loudly, she said, “Thank you for the dance, Mr. Webb.”

He met her eyes and held her
gaze for a couple of seconds before turning abruptly in search of his
cousin.
 
“Elisabeth,” he called as
she approached them, “shall we be heading home?
 
You must be exhausted by now.”

“What a delightful evening!”
she exclaimed excitedly.
 
“It was
so exciting!”

Chase smiled at her and
exchanged another glance with Webb.
 
Exciting?
 
Indeed.

***

That evening, Chase moved
distractedly through the house.
 
She
considered heading to Chantal’s in an effort to find Webb, but she knew better
than to be seen meeting him in public.
 
She had made a decision about what she wanted, but she wasn’t going to
dismiss discretion.

           
She
tossed and turned in bed that night for hours before finally falling asleep and
dreaming of more innocent days in England.

           
She
busied herself the following day with chores around the ranch.
 
One of the cows who had recently
delivered seemed to have an infection of some kind.
 
Marcus wouldn’t give her the details.
 
He only cursed the fact that the local
vet who typically would come to treat the infection was in Chicago visiting his
brother.

           
“I’ll
have to go into the city tomorrow to pick up the treatment for her,” he
complained.

           
“I
can go for you,” Tom suggested.

           
“That’s
all right.
 
I’ll go.
 
There’s something I need to pick up for
Elisa anyway.”
 
He looked over at his
sister and then asked, “Do you want to come with me?”

           
It
seemed a clear way for her to get away from the ranch and, therefore, farther
away from Colton Webb.
 
If anything
would distract her, a visit to Midland would probably do it.
 
“Of course,” she answered quickly.

           
Shortly
before lunch, Marcus suggested that Chase go clean up and give Elisa a hand in
the house.
 
She put a saddle on
Artemis and rode her hard to Colton Webb’s pond.
 
She was more than a little disappointed to find that he
wasn’t there waiting for her.
 
She
dismounted to splash the cool water up her arms and on her face.
 
She rested for a couple of minutes
before finally giving up and riding Artemis back to the ranch.

           
She
could hardly sit still that afternoon.
 
She bustled around the house finishing Elisa’s chores before she even
thought to ask for help.
 
Even
Reese noticed that something was amiss.
 

           
“Have
you got a bug up your apron?” she asked with a small smile.
 
Her liquid eyes held concern, in spite
of her light tone.
 
“What’s on your
mind today, Chastity?”

           
“I’m
doing perfectly well.
 
And I don’t
have anything special on my mind.
 
Just chores, Reese.
 
I
simply feel like we’ve fallen behind since we spent the entire afternoon in
Cloverdale yesterday,” she explained.

           
Even
after all of the exertion throughout the day, Chase still found herself
restless near bedtime.
 
Reese sat
at the dressing table brushing her rapidly growing wavy hair, and Chase hastily
dragged a brush through her own.
 

           
“Aren’t
you going to change into your nightgown?” Reese asked.

           
Chase
caught her reflection in the mirror behind her, noting the flush in her cheeks
and the work clothes she still wore.
 

           
“I
suppose,” she answered quietly.

           
“What
is the matter with you?
 
You seem
to be in your own little world.”

           
“I’m
just distracted.
 
It’s nothing.”

           
“Was
it your dance with Colton Webb last night?” she guessed accurately.

           
Chase
couldn’t keep from smiling.
 
“When
did you become so observant?” she asked.
 
“It’s actually something Grandmother said to me…about Mr. Webb,” she
added.

           
“Perhaps
a warm bath would help relax you,” she suggested.
 
“I’ll help you draw one.
 
And perhaps we could add some of your scented bath oil.
 
It seems like as good a night as any to
feel feminine again.”