His Remarkable Bride (12 page)

“Yes, ma’am,” they answered, then began to herd the kids out of the restaurant.

The kids didn’t go without protest, though.

“I’m scared,” Geneva confessed.

“Me too,” Millicent echoed.

“I’ll make them regret ever taking us,” Hubert vowed.

“No.” Athos held out his hand and shook his head. “Children, you have to behave while you’re at the Bonneville ranch.”

“What?” Vernon and Lael protested.

“That’s no fun.” Ivy exchanged a wicked glance with her twin.

“Trust me.” Athos shuffled into the lobby, Elspeth following, as the thugs pushed the children on. “I think Mr. Gunn and Mr. Templesmith, Elspeth and I are about to hatch a plan to bring you home.”

“Yay!” The younger children shouted.

“Quiet!” Mrs. Lyon snapped. She made sure the children were pushed to the back hall where they’d had their scene the day before.

It was near torture for Athos to let them go. Heart aching, he turned back to Gunn and Solomon. He reached for Elspeth’s hand, and once he held it tight, he asked, “What do we do?”

Throughout the entire, chaotic scene in the restaurant, Elspeth stood by Athos’s side. It didn’t take a genius to see that there was so much more to the conflict in front of them than children’s behavior or the kind of father Athos was. The Bonneville family was a stunning example of how clean dresses and perfect posture meant nothing if what was inside the package was rotten. The only Bonneville that Elspeth didn’t find completely repugnant was Honoria, but even an outsider could see that the shy young woman didn’t stand a chance against her ill-mannered, vindictive sisters.

“The Bonnevilles are crafty,” Solomon said in answer to Athos’s question. He gestured for Athos and her to follow him to a quieter corner of the lobby as Mr. Gunn fretfully gathered his staff to clean up the mess that had been made of his restaurant. “So we have to be craftier.”

“How?” The tell-tale signs that the entire catastrophe was taking its toll could be seen in the tension bunching Athos’s shoulders and the desperation lining his face.

Solomon extended a hand to a small sofa in the lobby’s corner, inviting Elspeth and Athos to sit. He took a seat kitty-corner to them in a chair. “We’re already off to a good start. I don’t think the Bonnevilles expected to be saddled with the children.”

“They certainly didn’t,” Elspeth said, bringing to mind the shock and horror on the sisters’ faces.

Athos reached for her hand and squeezed it. He’d been holding her hand a lot in the last day, just like Thomas had when his siblings were all at school and he hadn’t quite known what to do with himself.

“They’ll get a taste of what it’s like to parent eight children, that’s for sure,” Solomon went on. “But we must also find a way to get word to them that they must behave like perfect angels while they’re out there on the ranch.”

“What?” Elspeth and Athos asked at the same time. They exchanged a look of surprised that they’d answered in chorus, then gave their attention back to Solomon.

“Hear me out.” Solomon raised his hands. “The complaint that was taken to the court in Cheyenne alleges that the children are out-of-control as well as being neglected and mismanaged.”

“They’re not,” Athos insisted. “They’re just lively, interested children.”

“I know that,” Solomon went on, “but if the appeals judge had witnessed the scene we just saw, what conclusions do you think he would draw?”

Elspeth’s shoulder sagged with delayed embarrassment over the food fight. “I can see why having them behave in front of the judge would be helpful,” she said, “but how does good behavior while at the Bonneville ranch benefit us?” She would have thought that the case to return the children to Athos as quickly as possible would have been better made if they drove the Bonneville sisters to the brink of insanity.

One peep at Athos told her he thought the same thing. “I doubt they’re displaying church manners right now.”

“Then you need to figure out a way to go out to the ranch and tell them,” Solomon said. “If the children are clever enough to change the Bonneville sisters’ minds, make them think that they’re the sweetest bunch of angels that ever graced the earth, then they might retract their complaint before the judge even gets here.”

“But what about that Lyon woman?” Athos asked. “She seems like a real shrew, and not particularly likely to give up now that she’s got the bit between her teeth.”

“Ah, but she’s not the one who brought the case before the courts,” Solomon explained. “She was merely sent to fulfill the judge’s order. Once the appeals judge makes a ruling, she will have to abide by it.”

“Then you’re right.” Elspeth sat straighter. “All we need to do is convince this appeals judge that the case is frivolous and was brought about out of revenge for imagined wrongs, and he’ll side with Athos and the children will be returned.”

“Exactly.” Solomon smiled, studying Elspeth. “I heard a rumor that Charlie, Virginia, and Josephine had picked out a remarkable bride for Athos, but I see now that the rumors didn’t come close to the truth.”

Elspeth blushed and looked down. “I’ve hardly been here long enough to be the subject of rumors.”

Solomon smirked. “This is Haskell.” That seemed to be explanation enough. “At this rate, I should get them to send for a bride for me.”

“You’re thinking of marrying?” Athos asked.

Solomon shrugged. “The nights can get quiet.”

“Tell me about it.” Athos heaved a sigh. “So other than making sure the children know to behave while they’re with Bonneville, what else can we do?”

“Whatever it takes to make the judge see that you’re an excellent father.”

“Make the judge
believe
I’m an excellent father, you mean.”

Solomon gave Athos a curious look. “That’s what I said. Tidy up your house, plant a few flowers in the garden, and make sure everyone is ready to present a good case once Judge Moss arrives on Friday.”

“Tidy the house,” Elspeth repeated. The piles of laundry, stacks of dirty dishes, and mountains of toys loomed in her mind. And she hadn’t really had time to investigate the children’s rooms.

“That’s it.” Solomon slapped his knees and stood. Athos and Elspeth stood with him. “You two take care of your end, and I’ll build an eloquent case from my end.”

“Thank you, Solomon.” Athos reached out to shake his hand. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”

Solomon shook hands, then thumped Athos on the back. “There are a lot of people in this town who will rush to help you, Athos. You’ll see.” He let go of Athos’s hand and turned to Elspeth. “Mrs. Strong.” With a nod, he started off, striding through the lobby with so much confidence that he bolstered Elspeth’s spirits.

“I hope he’s right,” Athos murmured.

Elspeth turned to him, heart aching. “I’m sure he is. Now, let’s go home and get started on the tidying. I think it might take until Friday to get the house looking its best.”

She intended her words to be a joke, but a middle-aged woman passing through the lobby who had overheard snorted. Elspeth frowned at the woman.

Seeing she’d been caught eavesdropping, the woman threw up her hands. “The day Athos Strong keeps a handle on his children is the day pigs fly.”

Elspeth’s jaw dropped. “Excuse me, ma’am, but I don’t believe you have an informed opinion on the matter.”

The woman stopped in her tracks and planted her hands on her hips. “An informed opinion? I live across the way from that lot of heathens. I hear the kind of racket they make and see the mess they leave everywhere they go.”

“It’s not as bad as all that, Mrs. Plover,” Athos assured her.

“It is so,” Mrs. Plover replied. “And frankly, it’s about time someone stepped in. Those Bonnevilles have the right idea, if you ask me.” She ended with a humph, then marched on to the restaurant.

Stunned, Elspeth moved with Athos as he shook his head and walked away, out of the hotel and into the street. They were halfway home before he said, “Mrs. Plover is probably right.”

“She is not,” Elspeth snapped.

Athos popped his head up from where it was bowed in thought. A tired smile spread across his face. “Thanks for saying that. It means a lot.” He didn’t say it, but Elspeth felt “but she’s still right,” was just behind those words.

They continued on without saying much more. The house wasn’t in any better order now than it had been when they left. Elspeth tried to look at it with new eyes, with the eyes of Judge Moss. It did look a little cluttered and overwhelmed.

“All we have to do is put all of the toys and clothes and things away, then scrub it from top to bottom,” she speculated as they walked up onto the porch. “I can do that while you’re at work.”

“Work,” Athos sighed as though just remembering it. “I have to work while all of this is going on.” He shoved a hand through his hair then rubbed his face. “And now I have to try to get through everything at work without Hubert. I doubt that Lyon woman will let him help after school like he has been doing.”

“Well, we’ll worry about that problem when we come to it.” Elspeth took a deep breath, willing herself to be confident. They knew what they had to do, after all. She headed down the hall. “Let’s start cleaning with the kitchen.”

“I should really go back to the train station,” Athos said, following her anyhow.

“What time is today’s train scheduled to arrive?”

“Eleven forty-five.”

She smiled over her shoulder at him. “Then you have a little bit of time to help me get started. Sheriff Knighton is keeping an eye out, after all, and I believe you could use a bit of time to sort out your thoughts.”

They crossed into the kitchen. Some of Elspeth’s certainty wavered as she glanced around at the jumble of dirty dishes interspersed with toys and books that waited for them.

“You’re right.” Athos sighed, then chuckled. “What is it about women that makes them always right about things?”

Elspeth laughed. “Maybe it’s our feminine wiles.” She made up her mind to start washing dishes first and headed to the sink.

Athos started his work by clearing the kitchen table and sorting the toys from the books from a few inexplicable items of clothing that had found their way into the mess. “Or maybe it’s something that wives pick up as soon as they say their vows,” he went on. “Natalie always used to be able to tell when something was bothering me, even if we hadn’t had time to speak to each other in days.”

Elspeth’s hand fumbled on the pump. “You didn’t speak to your wife for days?” She hid the itchy feeling that she’d trod on someone’s grave by working the pump to fill the sink.

“Not on purpose,” Athos went on, moving around the kitchen to put things away. “I was so busy and she was so busy that sometimes our paths didn’t cross for a day or two.”

“That’s…that’s awful.”

“I suppose so.” Athos paused, and Elspeth caught him frowning, eyes unfocused. “I’m not sure Natalie would have married me if she had the choice.”

Elspeth’s brow flew up. “Why ever not?”

He shrugged and went back to work. “She was in love with someone else back home, a friend of mine, Robert. Robert took a fancy to another girl, though, and it broke Natalie’s heart. I felt bad about the whole thing because I saw it coming, so I did what any friend would do and gave her a shoulder to cry on. Only, somehow that turned into a little more than a shoulder.”

Another pause followed. Elspeth glanced up from the soapy water in the sink to find that Athos’s face had gone bright red. He caught her staring at him in question and went on with, “We were married and Hubert came along six months after the wedding.”

It was Elspeth’s turn to blush. “I see.” She plunged her hands into the sink again, scrubbing away. It wasn’t right for her to be shocked that Athos would get a girl in trouble, not with her past being what it was, but it was unexpected. What wasn’t unexpected was that he’d done the right thing and married her.

“I was nineteen at the time,” Athos went on, stacking a few clean dishes that had ended up on the table on the shelf to one side of the room. “Natalie was a few weeks shy of her eighteenth birthday.”

“You were so young,” Elspeth exclaimed.

Athos chuckled. “I’m only thirty-five now. How else would someone my age have eight children, the oldest of which is sixteen?”

“Good point.”

“And anyhow, I think Natalie was happy with the way things turned out.” He finished stacking the dishes, then filled his arms with toys. “I was already working for the railroad by that point, and as soon as I was offered a job out West, she encouraged me to take it. I think she wanted to get away from Hartford.”

“Why? That was your home.”

“A home where she would have had to live every day with her neighbors knowing that she’d…slipped,” he pointed out. “And where Robert and his wife would always be living down the street. I actually think she wanted to get away from that more than the shame of what we’d done. I think she still…”

He shook his head, then left the room with his arms full of toys. Elspeth listened to his footfalls as he carried them upstairs, presumably to put them in the proper child’s bedroom. A seed of anger had sprouted in her gut, and she scrubbed a few pots with extra vigor. She’d never met Natalie and couldn’t now, but she wondered if she would have liked the woman. By Athos’s account, she hadn’t appreciated what she’d had. Elspeth was certain Athos was worth a hundred Roberts, a hundred anyones. At least she had appreciated him enough to give him eight wonderful children.

Children who were being carted out to the Bonneville ranch—wherever that was—right that minute. Children who were potentially frightened and definitely angry. Children who she had let down before she had had the chance to really get to know them.

She sighed, stepping to the side for a moment to dry and put away the dishes she’d washed, making room for the rest that were still dirty. It wasn’t right to fault Natalie for her imagined shortcomings when she hadn’t been able to protect the woman’s children. Natalie must have done something right, because underneath their energy and mischievousness, the Strong children truly were exceptional.