Something Borrowed (Borrowed Brides 3)

Louisa took a deep breath, then smiled at Mary. "I'm originally from the Carolinas, myself," she said. "And I daresay there's probably more than a dash of Cherokee blood in my family tree. I certainly won't be holding your bloodlines against you."

Mary relaxed. "Thank you."

Louisa wiped her hands on apron. "If I'm gonna be working here with you, we might as well come to an understanding. I won't hold your Indian blood against you as long as you don't hold my backwoods upbringing against me."

"It's a deal," Mary agreed. "By the way," she said to Lee, "Louisa is going to be working here."

Lee turned his roguish smile on Mary. "Then I guess she ought to know why we don't have any children of our own." He put his arm around Mary's shoulders and squeezed affectionately. "Yet," he added.

Mary gasped.

"My wife and I are newlyweds," Lee said. "In fact, Mary and I are still on our honeymoon."

Louisa glanced from Mary to Lee and back again. "In that case," she said to Mary, "you shouldn't be slaving in the kitchen. Not on your honeymoon. Get out of that apron. I'll finish up here."

"But my pie…"

"Go on now. Don't worry about your pie. I'll make it. You go spend some time with your husband," Louisa shooed them out of the kitchen. "Check out that bedroom upstairs with the big brass bed. Get a start on those children you're wanting."

Mary blushed.

But Louisa replied matter-of-factly, "It's what I'd be doing if my man were at home. Run along. I'll call you when supper's ready."

"Now what do we do?" Mary asked as soon as she and Lee left the kitchen.

Lee glanced over his shoulder to see if Louisa Shockley was watching them. She waved at him, then walked to the doorway and motioned him toward the stairs. "Since she's standing in the doorway watching, I guess we go upstairs." He rested his hand at the small of Mary's back and guided her through the hall way to the central staircase. "Where in the hel… devil… did you find such a nosy, talkative woman?" he asked, once they were out of Louisa's hearing.

"I didn't find her," Mary told him, whispering furiously as they climbed the stairs side by side. "She found me. She worked for Tabitha and she dropped by this afternoon to make sure she still had a job. It seems she's been expecting us—expecting me. Your partner"—Mary stressed the word—"told Louisa that her brother and his wife"—she emphasized that word as well—"would be arriving in Utopia within thirty days to take over the house and to take care of Maddy."

"What?"

"You heard me," Mary said. "Louisa is our new cook."

"Damn it all to hell," Lee muttered beneath his breath. He didn't think there would be any way to keep anything secret from Louisa Shockley—especially his and Mary's sleeping arrangement. "Does she live in?"

"No."

"Thank God!"

"But that's not all," Mary continued. "Nan and Birdie help clean the house and Katrina comes every Monday to do the washing and ironing."

Lee breathed a heartfelt sigh of relief as they reached the landing at the top of the stairs. "This morning you said you needed help with the house," he reminded Mary. "Now you've got it."

"We've got more than help with the house, Lee. We've got major problems." Mary hurried down the hall and opened the door to Lee's bedroom.

He followed her inside, closed the door behind him, and leaned against it. "I'm sure it's nothing we can't handle." He was already trying to figure out a way to appear to be a loving couple without really being a loving couple. Lee sighed. The idea hadn't worked the last time he'd tried it—with Tabitha—and Lee was afraid it didn't have a snowball's chance in hell with Mary, either. Especially since he and Mary were, in fact, a legally married couple. Lee raked his fingers through his hair, then stroked the corner of his mustache. Hell, he'd think of something. He had to.

"Are you listening to me?" Mary asked.

"Huh?" Lee made an effort to follow Mary's conversation.

"Lee, how are we going to afford this house and all these people?" Mary asked.

"We'll manage, Mary." Lee tried to set her mind at rest.

"How?" She demanded. "I know what Pinkerton operatives earn."

"Two-shot, I assure you I make enough money to support a family, a cook, two housecleaners, and a weekly laundress."