Something Borrowed (Borrowed Brides 3)

"Yes."

"Well, I dropped it and a pair of your drawers fell out. I stuck them in the pocket of my duster, then watched as you tripped over your skirt a half a dozen times on the way to the house because you had taken off all your underth

ings to keep Maddy from being embarrassed about wetting hers and going without."

"You knew all along?"

"Yeah," he confessed. "And I spent the hours on the train from here to Washington wondering how you looked and felt without them. I ordered those"—he nodded toward the lingerie she held in her hand—"from a French modiste in Washington. She said they were all the rage in the more wicked places in Paris."

"I can't believe you knew about that day and didn't let on."

"I should have," he said. "Because I almost went crazy just thinking about prim and oh-so-proper schoolteacher, Mary Alexander, walking through the streets of Utopia for all to see in broad daylight with nothing on beneath her skirts."

"The streets of Utopia were deserted," she reminded him. "Nobody saw and nobody knew."

"I knew." Lee raised an eyebrow at her. "And I did everything I could think of to try to catch a glimpse of your long luscious legs after that." He leered at her. "By the way, Two-shot, did you know those prim white ruffled nightgowns of yours are practically transparent?"

Mary thought of the times Lee had seen her in her ruffled gown—how he had placed her in front of the lamp last night. "You didn't!"

"Every chance I got."

Mary reached over, placed her palms against his chest and shoved him back onto the bed.

"You can't do that! I just gave you a birthday present," Lee reminded her.

"And because it's my birthday, I can do anything I want," she answered, loftily.

Lee stretched out on the bed, then rolled to his side, and propped up on one elbow. "Well, do you think you might want to try on those fancy underthings I bought you? Do you think you might like to show them to your husband and maybe get his approval?"

She did, and Lee approved. And the two of them were very late for breakfast.

She received a present from Lee every day for a week following her birthday. He said it was to make up for the honeymoon he'd missed, but Mary suspected he showered her with gifts to keep from having to say what he felt. She loved the gifts, but more than anything, she wanted the words.

But except for the fact that the words didn't come, she and Lee lived the life of newlyweds who are hopelessly in love.

Mary told him of her plans for the school and Lee eagerly pitched in to help with the preparations. He papered and painted, arranged furniture, and carted the cast-offs up to the attic. He unloaded the desks and supplies, the books and slates, and even gave his opinion on the style of the school uniforms.

Mary helped Nan and Birdie get the house back in order. She helped Louisa to cook and Syl to sew the uniforms. She admitted to Lee that Syl was, in fact, a madam and that three of the upstairs girls from the Silver Bear would be starting school come summer term. They also discussed the state of affairs in town—that unless the mine reopened, Utopia was dead.

Lee understood that they couldn't let that happen. He set out to find a way to make the mine productive once again.

Their only disagreement came late one afternoon when Lee, Mary, Judah, and Maddy sat on the edge of a small pond. Lee and Judah had spent the afternoon fishing.

Actually, Judah spent the afternoon fishing. Lee spent most of his time patiently baiting Judah's hook, unsnarling the line, and removing the catch. Mary sat on a blanket nearby keeping a close eye on Barker and Maddy, who occasionally ran to Lee and fished for a while before returning to the blanket and the pretend tea party she, Barker, Mama, and Mary were having.

"Have you ordered everything you need for the school?" Lee asked, baiting yet another one of Judah's hooks and carefully casting the line into the pond before he handed the pole back to Judah. Maddy stood watching, Barker at her heels.

"I think so."

"And have you paid for everything?" came his casual question.

"Why do you ask?"

"I just wondered where the money was coming from."

"If you must know," Mary said. "I wired Reese and asked him to send me the money."

"That's what I thought."