One Day, My Prince, page 25
Joe wanted to argue with all her rash suppositions. The only problem with that was … she was right, in a way. He had used her, and the kids, too. He had decided to stay after seeing Butler on the street, falling into the role of husband and father Joe Shorter much too easily. Okay, so he’d liked it. He’d liked it a lot. That didn’t mean he was Joe Shorter.
Hell, Joe Shorter didn’t exist. He never had.
The hour was late, but Sarah’s father waited on the front porch of the Shorter house, pacing as he watched the road. Maybe the man was a jerk, but he obviously loved and cared about Sarah. Of course he did; she was his daughter, his only child. Joe felt like a genuine ass. What had ever made him think he knew better what was right for her?
He dismounted first, and then helped Sarah down. As soon as her feet touched solid ground, she was quick to step away from him and turn to her father.
“Where were you? We were getting worried,” Prince said, her father’s worry evident despite his demand.
“I’m fine,” Sarah said, her voice making it clear she was anything but. She sounded, in fact, an awful lot like the woman he’d first met here; in control, distant, condescending.
Once they were inside the house, they were bombarded with questions by the Princes and Hugh. The girls were in bed, long asleep, he hoped. The questions were fired faster than he and Sarah could answer. After a few minutes of total chaos, Sarah raised her hand to silence the room.
“I think I can settle this quickly,” she said. “I’m very tired, and the rest of your questions will have to wait until morning.” She looked at him for the first time since they’d left Jacob’s Crossing. In that instant, when their eyes met, he knew she wasn’t as tough as she appeared to be, as she tried so hard to be. “This is Deputy U.S. Marshal Joe White,” she said calmly “He’s been chasing some nefarious characters, and this … this ruse was his cover. Now that the outlaws have been captured or killed, I imagine he’ll move on.”
“Oh, thank God,” Katherine Prince said, fanning herself with her hand. “You’re not really married to this … this…” she glared at him. “This deputy U.S. marshal.”
“No,” Sarah said primly.
James Prince’s only response was a wide smile.
Towerson, however, did not smile at all. “I believe I heard one of the girls mention a wedding,” he said softly.
“Well, yes,” Sarah explained sensibly. “But since Deputy White used the name Shorter rather than his real name, the marriage isn’t valid.” Towerson remained ominously quiet. “How can it be when there is no Joe Shorter!”
“Were you aware of this deception when the wedding took place?” Towerson asked Sarah icily.
“Yes,” Sarah said softly
“Then we can’t claim fraud,” he said, shooting a sharp glance Joe’s way. “And even if we could, the two of you cohabitated after the marriage. You lived together as man and wife.”
Well, Joe couldn’t argue with that one.
“What are you saying?” Sarah asked calmly.
“I’m saying,” Towerson snapped, “that like it or not, you two are legally married.”
“We are not!” Sarah snapped.
“I don’t think so,” Joe muttered at the same time.
She spun around and did her best to stare him down. God, the look in her eyes cut to the bone. Poor, prim Sarah was horrified and angry at the prospect of really being his wife. She’d been playing all along, just as he had, all for a damned adventure, knowing all along that their time together would be short and unbinding. She had played at wanting him to stay; she had never really expected or desired the real thing.
“While I would dearly love to blame you for this, too,” she asserted, proving his fears correct, “I know it is your greatest wish not to be married. As it is mine.”
Well, if she was trying to pay him pack by hurting him, she was doing a damned fine job. “You got that right, Miss Priss,” he said softly.
“So what do we do now, Stumpy?” she snapped.
“Ask your friend the lawyer,” he suggested. “I’m sure he has a plan.”
Together, they faced Towerson and waited.
“It won’t be simple,” Towerson said, his voice calm and professional. “But I believe I can still arrange for a divorce, given the circumstances. You two will have to separate immediately.”
“Fine,” Sarah whispered.
“Works for me,” Joe said beneath his breath.
“As soon as the divorce is finalized—which might take months, I warn you—then, I will marry Sarah and we’ll return to New York.”
There followed a moment of dead silence.
Finally, Sarah whispered, “I can’t leave the girls.”
Towerson gave her a tight smile. “Then we’ll take them to New York with us, if it’s important to you. They’ll receive a much better education there, and when it comes time for them to marry we’ll be able to arrange suitable matches for them all.”
“They could take dancing and music lessons,” Mrs. Prince said, almost energetically.
“That oldest young lady seems to be very intelligent,” Mr. Prince said softly. “She needs to be attending a better school than you’ll find out here in the middle of nowhere.”
Still, Sarah said nothing.
“Alice,” Mrs. Prince whispered to her husband. “The oldest girl’s name is Alice.”
Joe knew they were right. If he had the best interest of the Shorter sisters at heart he’d jump into this conversation and tell them it was a grand idea. Shoot, Alice might even go to college, and he knew Faith and Glory would love dancing lessons. Becky could ride fine horses to her heart’s content, and Clara would never have to cook another meal, unless the notion suited her. Dory might become a real actress and shock them all, and Evie could sleep in a big feather bed all her own.
But he didn’t say a word.
“I don’t know…. “Sarah whispered.
“It’s a perfectly sensible solution,” Mr. Prince said soundly, as if it were a done deal.
“There are a lot of things to consider—” Joe began.
“You have nothing to say about this,” Towerson interrupted. “You’re not even their real father, are you?”
“No, I’m not,” Joe snapped. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t have any say in this.”
A low sniffle drew his attention to the parlor doorway. The door to his room, the room he and Sarah had shared for a while, was open, and Faith and Glory stood side by side in their white nightdresses. They stared at him with wide, accusing eyes.
“He said you’re not our real father,” Glory said softly. “Tell him you are our real father. Tell him, Poppy.”
Dammit, not like this. He’d known all along he was going to have to tell them the truth sooner or later. Later had always seemed better.
Sarah reacted before he could, going to the girls, kneeling down before them. “You know Joe cares about you very much,” she whispered. “He’s always wanted only what’s best for you.”
Glory’s lower lip trembled. “But … but Clara said…” Her soft voice faded away as she lifted her head and stared up at him, confused and reproachful as only a five-year-old beauty can be.
Faith looked up at him, too, with accusing eyes. “You’re not our father, are you?”
Joe joined Sarah, kneeling before the girls. “I love you as much as if you really were mine. All seven of you. For the rest of my life I’ll carry a little piece of each one of you in my heart.” He swallowed hard. Damn, this was tough. “Maybe I’m not your real father, but I’ll always be your Poppy.”
Glory sniffled. “You’re leaving, aren’t you? Becky was right. I heard her one time whispering that to Alice. She said you wouldn’t stay, no matter what.”
Joe looked at Sarah, waiting for her to jump in and save him. She comforted the girls and ignored him completely.
“Yes,” he said quietly. “I’m going to have to leave.”
“He has important work to do,” Sarah said, and Joe was sure only he could hear the hint of sarcasm in her voice.
Faith looked at Sarah, her eyes wide and scared. “Are you going to leave, too?”
Sarah smiled at the girls, put her arms around them, and gave them a big hug. “I will never leave you,” she whispered. “We’re a family now, and families stick together.”
“How would you girls like to come to New York?” Mrs. Prince asked, her voice falsely cheery.
“No!” Faith and Glory said in unison.
“Off to bed with you,” Sarah said, turning the girls about and giving them a gentle shove toward the bedroom. “We’ll discuss all this in the morning.”
They took a couple of short steps, then did a quick turnabout and came back to Joe. “Goodbye, Poppy,” Glory said as she looked up at him.
“Yeah, ‘bye,” Faith added.
They both had forlorn expressions on their angelic faces. Tears in their eyes.
As they turned away, Faith looked at her sister and whispered loudly, “I wish I was important.”
Glory put an arm around her sister, comforting Faith with a hug of her chubby short arm. “Don’t cry. Sarah thinks we’re important.”
When the door was closed, Joe turned to the waiting ambush in the parlor. He was angry—because Sarah hadn’t trusted him, because he didn’t want to feel guilty…. “I think New York sounds like a fine place for the girls.” He grinned at Towerson. Funny, but a smile had never hurt before. “You have my blessing.”
“So I should proceed with the divorce?” Towerson asked, a touch of hope in his voice.
“Yes,” Joe and Sarah said at the same time.
The light of dawn lit the room, and still Sarah stared dry-eyed at the ceiling. With Faith sleeping soundly to her left, and Glory deep asleep on her right, she was warm and snug in this bed. And yet she felt so alone, so lost.
How was it possible for her life to change so drastically in one single day? Joe was gone, riding off last night to join Marshal Webb. They were probably already gone from Jacob’s Crossing, with their prisoner in tow, and Sarah was quite sure he wasn’t mooning over her at the moment. He wouldn’t lose a moment’s sleep over his deception.
But she’d been so sure she’d seen … something in his eyes. Maybe it hadn’t been the love she’d wanted, but the affection she’d seen couldn’t have been entirely false. Could it have been?
Everything was going to be all right. She didn’t know exactly how, yet, but yes … everything would be fine.
A soft knock on the door startled her so that her heart skipped a beat. Her first thought was Joe, but it was a fanciful idea she quickly dismissed.
As she sat up, the door opened slowly and quietly. Katherine Prince stuck a surprisingly unkempt head through the opening.
“You are awake,” she whispered. “I thought you might be.”
Sarah scooted, gingerly so as not to disturb the girls, to the end of the bed. Something must be very wrong to drag her mother out of her room in her wrapper, her hair undressed. “What is it?”
Sarah watched as her mother very gently closed the door behind her and walked to the window to stare out at the new morning. The view from this window was vast and plain. There was beauty there, but you had to look for it, Sarah had discovered.
“I’m worried about you,” her mother whispered as Sarah joined her at the window.
“I’m fine,” Sarah began, her voice low as well.
Her mother stopped her with a cutting glance. “You are most certainly not fine,” she said. Something in her face softened. “I didn’t tell you at the time, of course, but you appeared to be quite fine when we arrived. Happy, smiling, a bloom in your cheeks.” She smiled softly. “You have grown into a lovely young woman, but I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you quite as attractive as you were when we arrived. Your attire was entirely inappropriate,” she added, as if it were required, “and there was hay in your hair, but … but you were stunningly beautiful.”
“I have never been stunningly beautiful, Mother,” Sarah said. “I look too much like Grandmother Prince, remember?” Hadn’t she been reminded of that fact often enough in her lifetime?
Katherine Prince smiled again. “Ah, yes, your Grandmother Prince. You have more than her hair and her chin, Sarah. You have her adventuresome spirit. I must admit, I tried to squelch it. I wanted your life to be easy. Quiet.” Her smile faded. “Safe. I wanted you to be safe, always. Your grandmother was never satisfied with what society or her husband had to offer. She was always getting herself into trouble. And the men! You were much too young to remember, but after your grandfather died, your father practically had to beat them off with a stick!”
“I’ve seen her portrait,” Sarah said. “She was not a beautiful woman.”
“Some women can’t be captured properly on canvas, and your grandmother was one of those women. There was a light in her, a spirit, and when she smiled … when she smiled the world lay at her feet.”
Sarah almost flinched when her mother placed an arm around her shoulder. “I saw that spirit in you, when we first arrived. But, last night…”
“Mother, I really don’t want to talk about last night.”
Katherine stared out at the land before her, and she did not drop her arm. “Do you want to return to New York with us?”
Sarah stiffened. “Well, it would be a wonderful opportunity for the girls.”
“I’m not asking about those girls. I’m asking about you.” She sighed, as if this were a difficult conversation. “What do you want, Sarah.”
Sarah took a deep breath. “I will do whatever is best for the girls. New York will offer wonderful opportunities they could never have here.” She lifted her chin, trying to be strong. “It’s really quite generous of Hugh to offer to take them on.” The very idea of being married to Hugh made her skin crawl, still. He wasn’t a bad person, he wasn’t a monster … but she didn’t love him and never would.
She wondered, not for the first time, why Hugh had remained so persistent when he knew about her relationship with Joe.
“Generous?” Katherine asked, her voice less than gentle. “Generous is not the word that comes to mind.”
Sarah stared at Katherine’s profile. At forty-five she was still a stunning woman, but there were a few lines around her eyes, a new wrinkle on her throat. They’d never talked this way before, open and honest, dressed in their night-clothes and watching the sun come up.
For the first time, she felt like she could open her heart to her mother. “I don’t think I can do this alone,” she whispered. “I don’t think I can raise seven little girls all by myself. I thought I could, at first, but … it’s harder than I ever imagined.”
“I don’t think you’ll have to raise them alone.”
“I know Hugh will be a great help to me,” Sarah said stoically.
“Hugh is a ninny, and so is your father—on occasion. They think they know everything, that they can manipulate the world to accommodate their wishes.”
Sarah shook her head. “I don’t understand.” She held her breath as her mother faced her and placed two warm hands on her cheeks.
“I haven’t always been a good mother to you,” she whispered. “I tried, but … but you’re so different from me, so hard-headed and bright and curious. I wanted you to be like me, to be quiet and demure and easily satisfied. It would’ve made your life so much … simpler. That’s another matter. You are who you are, I suppose. Yes, you were often a difficult child, but you’ve grown into a lovely woman.” Her fingers caressed Sarah’s cheeks. “I’ve gotten entirely off the subject. Sarah, your Aunt Mabel left you an inheritance.”
That’s very sweet,” Sarah muttered.
Katherine shook her head. “No, you don’t understand. She left you everything. You’re rich. Your father and Hugh were afraid that if you knew that, you’d never return to New York and marry. They decided to wait a while to share this bit of news. A long while,” she added.
“Everything?” Sarah asked, stunned.
“Everything. If you don’t want to return to New York, don’t. If you’re afraid raising seven children alone will be too difficult, hire an army of governesses.” She sighed, deeply. “If you must be like your grandmother Prince and search out adventure, do it in style.”
Sarah threw her arms around her mother and held on tight. “Thank you for telling me,” she whispered. “This changes everything.”
Her mother tried her own hug, gentle and a little awkward.
Oh, no wonder Hugh had been so determined to marry her! He wanted her money.
When Sarah backed away, she only had one other question. “Why did you tell me? Last night you seemed as determined as Father and Hugh to get me back to New York.”
Katherine pushed back a strand of hair that had fallen into Sarah’s face. “I couldn’t sleep. I kept seeing you the way you were when we arrived, and then again as you were last night. Last night you looked … much as you did the night before your planned wedding to Hugh. The night before you ran away. Scared. Uncertain. Unhappy. I haven’t been a particularly good mother,” she confessed, “but you are my daughter and I want what’s best for you. If you want to come back to New York with us, seven children in tow, then come. I will help you all I can. But if you want to stay here on your own … well, you should have all the pertinent information before you make that decision.”
“Thank you,” Sarah whispered. “I love you, Mother.”
“I love you, too. Very much.”
A small voice from the bed whispered. “I love you, Sarah. I love you, too. Granny.”
Katherine Prince, regal once again, strode to the bed and stared down at Glory. “Did you call me Granny?”
Glory answered with a sleepy giggle.
“That’s Grandmother, young lady, not Granny.” She shuddered. “Can you imagine? Granny.” And then, after only a moment’s hesitation, she bent down carefully to give Glory a quick kiss on the cheek.
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Chapter Twenty-six
