River Lady (James River Trilogy 3)

“Regularly?” Leah gasped in disbelief. “The woman must be ill.” When she reached the hall, Kim was lying on the bench, Wesley kneeling beside her, holding and kissing her fingers.

“I’m such a burden to you, my darling Wesley,” she said softly. “You are so good to put up with me, and especially since we’ll never…I can never be…”

“Hush, love,” Wesley whispered. “It’s all going to work, you’ll see.” He turned, saw Leah, and his voice changed. “You took long enough. Here, love,” he said, lifting Kim and holding a snifter of brandy to her lips.

Kimberly drained it all in a gulp.

“Not so fast! You’ll choke!” Wes cautioned.

“Oh my. I’m just so upset I don’t know what I’m doing. What did you mean when you said we’d work things out?” She glanced up at Leah, who was silently watching the scene.

Gently, Wes smoothed back a curl from Kim’s temple. “The four of us, you, me, Steven and…Leah will leave for Kentucky and once we’re there my marriage, such that it is, will be dissolved, then we can be married.”

For a moment, Kim didn’t say a word. “How will we travel?”

“Leah will be my cousin and you my intended.”

Kim gave another glance to Leah. “Couldn’t the marriage be dissolved just as well here in Virginia?”

A very slight frown crossed Wesley’s brow. “I’m sure it could, but legally Leah is my wife and I have a responsibility toward her. If I left her here the gossips would kill her.”

“Of course, Wesley dear,” Kim said tiredly, fluttering her lashes. “Can you ever forgive me for being so insensitive? Oh dear! I seem to be suddenly quite chilled. Would you please get me a shawl? I do hate to be a bother.”

“You could never be a bother,” Wes said before leaving them.

When they heard his footsteps on the stairs, Kim opened her eyes, sat up, and gave Leah a wide-eyed look. “Are you really, truly going to give up Wesley?”

“Are you all right?” Leah asked, still shocked at Kim’s fainting.

“Oh yes, perfectly. I would love some more brandy though. Brandy makes me feel so good. I always feel brandy is my reward for pleasing Wesley. He so loves for me to faint. Leah, I just knew you were going to be a kin

d person. I knew it when you agreed to let me travel with you to Kentucky. I’ve heard how you used to run that dreadful farm of yours and I know you’ll be so handy on this trip. I can’t cook or lift heavy things and horses terrify me. I just know you’ll be wonderful to have around and we’ll become great friends. Uh-oh, here comes Wes.” She hurriedly put the empty glass on the tray, slid down on the bench, and resumed her helpless look.

“Here you are, dear,” Wes said tenderly, wrapping the shawl about Kim.

Bewildered, Leah stepped back and watched as Kim allowed Wes to treat her as a helpless invalid. No one noticed when Leah left to return the tray to the kitchen. Leah wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry at the situation. Kim’s “Wesley so loves for me to faint” made her want to laugh, but the idea of any woman playacting to attract a man disgusted her, and Leah vowed she’d never allow herself to faint, no matter how much it pleased a man.

Leah managed to avoid Wesley for the next few days, although she caught glimpses of him now and then through a window or from around a building. She dressed carefully each morning until she realized that she wanted him to notice her. The night of his arrival she put on her prettiest nightgown—just in case—but her husband stayed away from her. He was distantly polite when he saw her but nothing more. And as Leah went about her work of preparing for the journey ahead, her pride began to take over. She refused to allow Wesley’s rejection to hurt her.

The day they were to leave dawned clear. The wagon was loaded high and Travis had tied a piece of canvas across the top. Wesley already sat on the seat, reins in hand. A cage of chickens was fastened to the back; a milk cow on a lead rope trailed behind.

“We’ll miss you,” Regan said, hugging Leah. “Tell Wesley what you want to say and he’ll write it for you, but don’t lose contact with us.” She leaned forward to whisper. “I’m going to have a baby in the fall.”

“Congratulations!” Leah laughed, hugging her again. “I hope it’s a little boy just like Travis. Good-bye, Jennifer,” she called, hugged Travis once again, and then was lifted onto the seat beside Wesley.

As Leah turned and waved, Wesley clucked to the horses and they started the journey.

As soon as she was alone with Wesley, Leah felt uncomfortable. She began studying her fingernails, but quit, tucked her hands under her, and sat on them. “We’re to meet the Shaws at their place?” she asked, but when Wesley merely nodded she said no more.

They drove past the tavern where Bess worked and Leah wished she could stop and say good-bye to her sister, but one glance at the tautness in Wesley’s profile and she knew she wouldn’t ask him for a thing. She straightened her back and looked ahead.

The sun was barely up when they reached the plantation where Steven and Kimberly were staying. It was a tiny place compared to Clay’s, and some of the outbuildings looked as if they needed repair. But what caught and held Leah’s attention was the utter chaos surrounding a half-packed wagon. From out of the jumble of voices, boxes and animals, Kim came running toward Wes.

“Oh, Wesley, dearest,” she called, “you have to help us. Steven is refusing to take all of my clothes and all of the beautiful things I have for our house. Please, you must talk to him.”

Wesley jumped from the wagon, gave Kim a quick, reassuring caress with the back of his hand, then went toward the wagon. Leah was left to help herself down. When she reached the wagon it was easy to see what was wrong, yet even as she circled the mess she couldn’t believe her eyes. None of the goods loaded on the wagon had been packed with any sense of order. A small, fragile hatbox was crushed under two fifty-pound bags of seed. A steel-bound trunk teetered atop the arms of a gilded chair.

“You can see there’s no more room,” came a man’s voice from the opposite side.