He sighed. He wasn't a normally patient man, but he would try for Mary's sake.
"I'm sorry, Mary, but a San Francisco honeymoon is out of the question." Lee focused his gaze on the tips of his dusty boots, trying to figure out how to say what he needed to say. He cleared his throat and ran his index finger under the collar of his white shirt before he spoke in a low, husky whisper. "In fact, I've been thinking that maybe we should wait a while be
fore we, uh"—he swallowed hard— "actually become husband and wife."
Mary gasped. "But we're married!"
"Legally"—he sucked in a breath then slowly released it—"but not actually. I mean, right now, what we have is marriage on paper only. And I'm saying, maybe, we ought to keep it that way for a while."
"Oh." The rejections Mary had endured on this, her wedding day, were enough to send a weaker woman running to her mother for comfort, but she was made of stronger stuff. Mary straightened to her full height, tilted her chin a bit higher, and ignored the sting of disappointment. Pelham hadn't trusted her enough to marry her and although Lee had married her, he didn't care to share her bed. "I see." Her ironic tone concealed the mixture of emotions she felt and the quavering note in her voice.
Lee glanced at Mary's profile. Her lovely face was full of strength, shining with a steadfast determination to endure and to make the best of her situation. He admired her strength, her courage. "It doesn't have to be forever," he told her.
"Only until death us do part," Mary said softly.
"I meant the 'paper only' part," Lee said. "The other can wait until we get to know one another better."
Mary took a deep breath, then met Lee's solemn gray-eyed gaze. "Up until you walked into the church an hour ago, I was planning my life with the man of my choice." Hoping to salvage what she could of her pride, Mary pulled the shreds of her dignity around her and flashed him a look of disdain. "I married you because you offered me a way out of an embarrassing dilemma, but don't think for one second that gives you any rights. As far as I'm concerned, the other can wait forever."
"I'm your husband," Lee reminded her, as the need to assert his masculine claim on her suddenly resurfaced.
Mary gave him a look of wide-eyed innocence. "Not in the way it counts," she countered. "Only on paper and only until death us do part." She saw his eyes narrow as her barb found its mark. She wet her dry lips with a tip of her tongue, then slipped her hand into the crook of Lee's elbow, and pasted a wide, adoring smile on her face. "Smile," Mary hissed at her husband, nudging him in the ribs for good measure. "Our wedding guests are here to congratulate us."
Lee blinked at her quick change.
"Please?" she added when Lee failed to respond. "I don't want my family embarrassed any more than they already have been. As far as everyone else is concerned"—she thought for a moment—"we met and fell in love last year in Peaceable while I was visiting David." She worried her bottom lip with her teeth. "It shouldn't be too hard to convince them. Most of these people were guests at David and Tessa's wedding. They saw us together."
"How do you account for my four-month absence?" Lee asked.
"You left for Chicago on business. I was told you'd been killed in an accident. Later, I met Pelham. Our story is a romantic tale of love lost and found."
"The official story." Lee smiled then, more impressed than he would like to admit. Her expressions and thoughts weren't quite as transparent as he'd thought. He grinned in admiration. She had depths he hadn't even imagined. And if he didn't watch out, William Pinkerton would be trying to recruit her to work for the Agency. Mary Alexander Kincaid gave as good as she got, and she did it with such style and grace. He nodded his head. All in all, he was quite satisfied with his choice.
All in all, it had been quite a wedding day. For both of them.
* * *
Chapter Seven
"I'm glad you could make it for the wedding, Liam." Tessa Alexander bit her lip to keep from smiling as she held her hand out to him.
Lee stared at Tessa's hand but didn't offer to shake it. He raised an eyebrow. "As I turned out to be the groom, I'll just bet you are," he told her. "What would you have done if I hadn't shown up?"
Tessa looked around and spotted Mary standing across the room with a couple of the wedding guests. "I might have had to stand up and object to the ceremony myself."
"You had your opportunity," Lee pointed out.
"I waited for you," Tessa replied. "And although you cut it close, you finally made it. The real question is what would you have done if you had gotten here a few minutes later?"
"I would have turned around and gone on my merry way without a backward glance."
"Ha!" Tessa scoffed. "Why didn't you? You had your opportunity."
"I should have taken it," Lee told her. "Then I wouldn't have to endure your smug attitude."
Tessa bit her lip even harder. "You couldn't stand by and let Mary marry Pelham Cosgrove or any other man," she told him. "You don't have it in you."
Lee shook his head. "How did you know I'd come running in response to your telegrams?"