concept of a brother harming a sister was so far from his reality that he could only stare at her.
“He doesn’t strike me, if that’s what you’re thinking,” she hurried to assure him. “He merely feels strongly that I should be sheltered from the world. And he has the law on his side. You see, my father’s will names my brother, Charles, my guardian until I turn five and twenty, which is nearly a year away. I believe Washington territorial law will allow me to wed without his permission.”
“So you’re running away,” he said, not sure why the thought disappointed him.
“I prefer to think of it as a strategic retreat,” she told him. Her little chin jutted out as if to prove she had some spirit. “Please believe me when I say that only a man of character and conviction can fend off my brother.” She glanced up at him. “You might say I’m buying courage for those one hundred and sixty acres.”
“And at the price of your future,” Simon pointed out, his mind still trying to grapple with the concept. “Even here, divorces aren’t easy to come by. They have to be approved by the territorial legislature. If you marry me, Miss Underhill, you’ll most likely be stuck with me. What if you find another fellow you truly love?”
She rubbed at the fancy embroidery on her cuff. “That’s not likely to happen,” she murmured. “I don’t seem the sort men fall in love with.”
And why not? She had a certain intelligence—she’d certainly thought through her surprising plan. She was industrious—look at her work as a seamstress. She might not be the prettiest member of the Mercer Expedition, but there was something sweet about that round face, those wide gray eyes. Surely any number of loggers and miners would cherish such a wife.
Of course, they didn’t need one hundred and sixty acres.
And soon. By his calculation, if his family was careful, they would just scrape through this winter with enough food for themselves and the animals. By next winter, Catherine and likely Rina would each have a baby. The members of their extended family would only increase from there. He needed time to clear the land and prepare it for spring planting. Winter was coming, and with it the Christmas celebrations. Every day counted. He’d been racking his brain trying to find a way to secure the claim.
Here was Nora, offering it to him. All he had to do was fend off her brother. If the man was half as controlling as she claimed, Simon looked forward to the confrontation. Any brother who denied his sister love deserved to be put in his place.
Still, marriage? Out here, a man took a wife to continue his line and raise children to help in taming the wilderness. It certainly seemed to him that’s what his father had done. But it didn’t fall to Simon to continue the Wallin name. He had four brothers to take care of that.
And it wasn’t exactly convenient to marry in Seattle. Even with Asa Mercer bringing his brides, there were still too many lonesome bachelors for every lady. He’d watched Drew fret over courting Catherine, seen James turn himself inside out to please his bride. But Simon wasn’t a man who changed easily. Just ask his family. They’d called him proud, stubborn and downright fussy on occasion.
She must have sensed his vacillation, for she laid a hand on his arm. “Please, Mr. Wallin? I don’t think I could be so bold as to ask a stranger. I know I can trust you. Maddie speaks so highly of all your family.”
Did she? Certainly he admired the feisty redhead who had achieved her dream of opening a bakery. But surely even she would not condone this marriage of convenience.
“Did you ask her about this?” he replied.
She shook her head, eyes solemn. “No. Never. She’d try to talk me out of it.”
He should do the same. Nora trusted in him on the thinnest of connections. And how was he to know she wouldn’t abuse his trust? She wouldn’t be the first to disappoint him.
But she may be the first to truly understand you.
Where had that thought come from? He’d yet to find anyone who shared his views on life. His was the lone voice of reason some days at Wallin Landing. Therefore, he should evaluate this proposal on logic, not emotion.
She was offering one hundred and sixty acres he badly needed and could get no other way. He was offering protection from an overbearing brother. They didn’t have to live together, make a family. He had enough problems with the family he had.
It was all strictly platonic. They both achieved their goals with relatively little effort. What was wrong with that?
Glancing up, he saw that nearly everyone else was busy eating. Not a one realized that two more lives were about to change forever, if Simon could bring himself to agree.
His oldest brother laughed then, his deep voice like the toll of a bell. It had been a long time since Drew had laughed so freely. He’d sacrificed years of his life to raise his brothers and sister. Could Simon do less for his family?
“Very well, Miss Underhill,” he said. “I’ll make the arrangements for us to wed. A lumber schooner is scheduled to arrive in Seattle on Tuesday. Meet me at the Brown Church that morning at ten, and we can travel to Olympia after the ceremony to file the claim.”
She offered him her hand. “To our bargain.”
Simon took it, felt the tremor in her fingers. She wasn’t any more sure of this marriage of convenience than he was.
Had he just agreed to something they’d both live to regret?
“Are you sure about this?” Levi demanded Tuesday morning. “From where I sit, girls are nothing but trouble.”
Simon glanced at his youngest brother, whom he’d brought to stand as one of the witnesses to his wedding and then the land claim. Levi’s curly blond hair framed a face that could look remarkably innocent when Simon was sure his brother was plotting mischief. Now his dark blue eyes were narrowed, his hands shoved deep in the pockets of his gray wool trousers.
“I’m sure,” Simon said, shifting on his feet as they stood in the vestibule of the church. John, his closest brother, had gone to fetch the minister while they waited for Nora to arrive. “We need the land. She needs a protector.”
“If she won’t stand up to her own brother, she can’t have much spunk,” Levi declared. “Maybe that’s good. We had enough trouble with Ma and Beth, even before we added Catherine and Rina to the family.”
Until the last year, his mother and younger sister had been the only females at the northern end of Lake Union, where his family had staked their claims. If Simon brought Nora home, the number of women and men would at last be even. That is, until Catherine gave birth.
Still, Simon couldn’t deny that Nora’s confidence seemed to lag where her brother was concerned. Once again he looked forward to putting the fellow in his place. That was his side of their bargain, after all. He knew from experience that his height and angular features could serve to intimidate.
A door to one side of the altar opened to admit John. His red hair flashed in the dim light as he loped down the dark box pews under the arches soaring overhead.
“Mr.
