A Convenient Christmas Wedding

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. Bagley will be here shortly,” he reported as he came to a stop beside Simon and Levi and paused to adjust the starched collar of his dress shirt. “He seemed a little surprised you were in such a hurry. I told him why you needed to get to Olympia.”

“If we don’t make the sailing of the Merry Maid,” Simon replied, “there may not be another ship for a week or more. I don’t want to wait. That’s why I didn’t tell Ma or the others.”

Levi wrinkled his nose. “You’ll have to pay for that.”

“I’ll survive,” Simon predicted.

John, always the peacemaker, held up his hands. “We’ll help you explain the situation to her. She’ll have to admit your intentions were good.”

Simon had confided his and Nora’s unusual bargain to his two youngest brothers. John in particular had put up a fight at first, but Simon had convinced him of the necessity. He wasn’t sure his mother and sister would be so easily swayed. He was only glad Nora would remain in Seattle and not have to face them.

The main door to the church opened then, and sunlight pierced the shaded vestibule. A vision of loveliness floated in on the light, bountiful curves outlined in a green as bright as spring. Simon blinked, bemused.

The door closed, shutting off the light. Standing beside him was the woman who’d asked him to marry her. Nora’s thick hair was carefully bound in a coil at the nape of her neck, and a cloth hat of lavender silk sat on her head, a white feather pinned on it with a green glass broach. Gone was the embroidered dress from yesterday. Today’s creation boasted a sleeveless green overcoat embroidered with darker green leaves and scalloped along all the edges over a white wool bodice fitted to her form. It was as impractical as it was beautiful. Simon found himself staring.

“Everything ready?” she asked, setting a carpetbag on the floor by the door and draping a gray wool cloak over it.

He managed a nod. “Yes. The minister will be here shortly, and the ship arrived right on schedule.”

Beside him, John cleared his throat, then nudged Levi aside to take Nora’s hand. “Let me be the first to wish you happy. I’ll soon be your brother John.”

“Nora Underhill,” she said with a curtsy that made her skirts poof out around her. “We’ve met before. I attended the weddings when Miss Stanway married your oldest brother, when Miss Fosgrave married your brother James and when my friend Maddie married Michael Haggerty. You were all there.”

“Funny,” John said with a charming smile. “I thought I’d danced with every pretty girl at the receptions.”

“You did,” Levi said, earning him an elbow to the gut from John.

Nora’s cheeks brightened in a blush, and Simon fought the urge to scold his brother. The youngest boy in the family, at eighteen, Levi had been spoiled by their doting mother and was only starting to realize he needed to take responsibility for his words and actions.

“I didn’t mean anything by that,” he muttered now, rubbing his ribs. He nodded to Nora. “I’m Levi. Thank you for marrying Simon. Somebody should.”

Simon shook his head, but her blush deepened. “Your brother is doing me a favor,” she murmured.

Simon was just glad to see Mr. Bagley hurrying through the door at the back of the church. A slight man with a head of bushy hair and an equally bushy beard over his chin, he nonetheless managed to exude a certain sense of propriety as he stopped before the altar and motioned them forward.

“Mr. Wallin, Miss Underhill,” he greeted with a look over his spectacles. “I know you are both of age. Are there any legal impediments to this marriage?”

“None,” Simon said with a look to Nora, who shook her head.

Mr. Bagley nodded. “And are you both in agreement to wed?” His look shot to Nora too.

Simon held himself still. If she had any reservations, now would be the time to state them. “Yes, Mr. Bagley,” she murmured, her face paling.

The minister nodded again. “And are you certain you must marry now? I believe I heard your brother and his wife will be arriving soon. Surely you’d prefer that he give you away.”

He made it sound as if Simon was dragging her to the altar. She positively squirmed; Simon could see her finery quivering. He was going to lose her, and while that might not have seemed such a bad thing when she had first made her bold proposal, now he was determined to win his family those acres.

He took her cold hand in his. “Nora has agreed to be my wife, Mr. Bagley. I don’t care who gives her away or who attends this wedding.”

The minister positively glowered over the top of his spectacles. “This is highly irregular, Mr. Wallin. I see your own mother and sister declined to attend. Is there some reason this wedding must be so rushed?”

Nora flamed, pulling her hand from Simon’s. “No, no reason. Really. I...” She glanced at Simon, her eyes pools of misery.

Simon had too much experience with people arguing with him to quail before the minister’s annoyance. He drew himself up to his full height, dwarfing everyone else in the room. “You have the information for our marriage certificate, Mr. Bagley. We are both of age and willing to wed. If that’s not enough for you, I’ll go to the justice of the peace. Assuming Doc Maynard is still in the law’s good graces, he can marry us.”

Nora gasped, John took a step back and Levi grinned as if applauding Simon’s boldness at challenging the renowned minister.

Mr. Bagley tugged on the bottom of his plain blue waistcoat. “See here, sir. I will not have the members of my congregation married by that charlatan. Besides, you should know that it will do you no good to claim land in Olympia for your wife if the state does not consider you legally wed.”

“So,” Simon returned, “marry us.”

For a moment, the minister met his gaze, his eyes narrowed as if he would see inside Simon. He could look all he liked. Ma always said Simon had been born with an iron rod for a spine. He did not bow, and he did not bend. If the minister thought he could cow him, he had better think again.

Mr. Bagley shook his head as he lowered his gaze to his book of prayer. “Very well. But this is highly irregular.” He shook out his arms and began reading the ceremony. Her hands still visibly trembling, Nora bowed her head and clasped her fingers together.

Simon only half listened. He was too relieved to have won. His mind immediately began working out crop yields, considering directions to draw the furrows, determining which crops to plant depending on when he cleared the acreage. Once he dealt with Nora’s brother, there would be no impediments to his work, except the cold winter weather and Christmas.

“Simon Wallin.” His name as well as the tone of Mr. Bagley’s voice made Simon meet the clergyman’s gaze. The minister’s eyes could have been arrows over the silver of his spectacles.

“Wilt thou have this woman to be thy wedded wife,” he demanded, “to live together under God’s ordinance in the Holy Estate of Matrimony? Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, keep thee only unto her as long as you both shall live?”

Love and comfort her? Live together, forever? That wasn’t what Simon had intended. He wasn’t offering Nora a home or a place in his life.

“Mr. Wallin?” Mr. Bagley prompted sternly.

Nora dropped her gaze, shrinking in on herself as if she’d been struck. She must be wondering why he didn’t speak. She’d just heard him declare he’d be married or else. She’d laid out the terms of their bargain. She wasn’t expecting undying devotion. He wasn’t offering anything more than to protect her from her brother. And he gained the land his family needed.

“I will,” he said. But the twist in his gut belied the confident words.

* * *

Nora nearly collapsed in relief. For a moment there, she’d feared it was all a horrid joke. He’d turn and shout, April Fools’! even though it was early December. Her life had been like that.

But this marriage would put an end to that life. No more must she please her brother and Meredith. She drew in a deep breath as the minister asked her the same question, then she firmly said, “I will.”

Mr. Bagley took both their hands and held them together. She could feel Simon’s calluses rubbing against her skin. Could he feel the nicks and scratches from her sewing? Did he care?

The minister gave them more vows to say, all about plighting and giving troth. She wasn’t entirely sure what troth was. Then Mr. Bagley released them to hold out his hand, gaze on Simon.

Simon frowned at him.

“The ring?” he prompted.

Nora glanced at Simon. Her groom shook his head. “No ring. That isn’t required for a legal marriage.”

Mr. Bagley’s mouth thinned a moment before he drew back his hand and continued with the ceremony. She supposed if she had been terribly in love she might have minded that she would carry no ring on her finger. But as it was, she just wanted to get this over with.

Finally Mr. Bagley came to the end.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” he declared, his voice ringing in the nearly empty church. Nora sucked in a breath. It was done. She was married. Charles had lost his hold on her. Forever. She was her own person at last.

Then she noticed Simon’s brothers waiting, watching.

Had she forgotten something?

“Is there more?” she asked the minister.

Mr. Bagley glanced between them. “I believe it is customary for the husband to offer his wife a kiss.”

Nora swallowed, her stomach fluttering. She’d never been kissed, but all the girls in the boardinghouse floated in with bemused smiles after saying good-night to their chosen beaus. Still, Simon wasn’t a suitor. She hardly knew him. Did she want him to kiss her?

Those firm lips looked rather unforgiving at the moment. He gazed down at her, unmoving, as if he were studying her face. It was the same face she’d worn when she’d asked him to marry her. She wasn’t sure why it was so important to him now. He wasn’t in love with her. And physical intimacy, of any kind, was not part of their bargain.

But then he bent closer, and she found herself closing her eyes, pursing her lips, her heart thundering once more as she drew in the cool, clean scent of him.

She felt a gentle pressure on her cheek, the faintest brush of skin. Then she opened her eyes to find him pulling back, his face still solemn. That was it? Somehow she’d thought a kiss would be more momentous.

“Congratulations, Mrs. Wallin,” Mr. Bagley said.

“Welcome to the family, Nora,” said Simon’s brother John.

Simon put a hand to her back, the touch so proprietary, a shiver ran through her. “We should be going.”

“Yes, of course,” she agreed, chiding herself for her reaction. He wasn’t Charles. He wasn’t ordering her about. He was merely being practical. They had a ship to catch, after all.

She preceded him down the aisle, paused only long enough to pick up the carpetbag of her overnight things and slip on her cloak, then started with him and his brothers down the hill for the pier, where Puget Sound glistened gray.

Simon reached out his hand. Nora frowned at it a moment, then realized he was offering to carry her bag. Blinking in surprise, she gave it to him.

How nice to have someone else do some of the carrying.

He had stamina too. His long legs ate up the muddy ground. He moved with such purpose, such determination. Charles would like him. He always said there was nothing worse than an aimless fellow.

Nora shuddered, scurrying to keep up. No, no. She didn’t want Charles to like Simon. She wanted Charles to respect him, fear him and leave her alone. She was looking forward to the day when Simon and Charles locked horns. She was fairly certain who would win.

She wasn’t sure what ship Simon had found to take them on the journey, but she couldn’t help smiling at the long, lean lumber schooner that lay at anchor near Yesler’s pier. It wasn’t nearly as large as the Continental, which had carried her away from New York, but she would always have a special place in her heart for this ship. The Merry Maid had rescued her and some of the others in San Francisco and brought them the rest of the way to Seattle.

“You’re just in time,” the burly mate told Simon as they reached the ship. “Get aboard and stow your things.” He glanced toward Nora. Eyes widening, he tugged off his cap in respect. “Miss Underhill, an honor to be traveling with you again.”

“Good to see you, Mr. Chorizon,” she said. “I noticed the jib sail is holding up.”

He grinned at her. “Those stitches you took were just the thing, ma’am. The sailmaker in San Francisco claimed he couldn’t have done better. Captain Collings says you’re welcome to travel with us anytime.” He nodded to Simon. “No charge for you, seeing as you’re friends with Miss Underhill.”

“Mrs. Wallin,” John corrected him with a look to his brother.

Mr. Chorizon grabbed Simon’s hand and shook it. “Good for you, Mr. Wallin. She’s a fine lady. I wish you both happy.”

Simon inclined his head, but he retrieved his hand and reached for Nora’s to help her up the gangplank and onto the ship.

“What did he mean?” Levi asked as they settled themselves along the bulwark, where they’d be out of the crew’s way.

“The Merry Maid brought us up from San Francisco,” Nora explained. “They had a little trouble with that front sail there.” She nodded toward the triangular canvas at the front of the schooner. “I was able to patch it up.”

“She’s a sailmaker?” Levi demanded with an accusatory look to Simon as if annoyed he hadn’t been told his new sister-in-law had skills few men boasted.

“I’m a seamstress,” she told him.

“And she’s obviously a good one, if she could fix a sail,” Simon added with a look that made his brother move down the rail a little ways. With an apologetic nod, John went to join him.

“Thank you,” Nora murmured, leaning against the polished rail.

Simon frowned. “For what? It was only the truth. My mother sews quilts and made most of our clothes when we were younger. I know how hard she worked. She would never have attempted something as detailed as what you’re wearing, and I doubt it would have dawned on her to use her skills to fix a sail.”

Her cheeks were warming again, despite the chill winter breeze that blew across Puget Sound, tugging at the canvas above them. “Thank you nonetheless. I’m not used to people defending me.”

He put a hand over hers on the rail. “I’m your husband. It’s my duty to defend you. That was the bargain.”

The bargain. Of course. He was only doing his part. She should not read more into the matter.

The crew cast off a short time later, maneuvering the schooner out of Elliott Bay and sending her south along the shores of Puget Sound. She skimmed the choppy gray waters as gracefully as a gull, spray rising to dampen Nora’s cheeks. One hand holding her hat to her head, she breathed deep of the cool salty air, eyeing the clouds that crowded out any view of the mountains on either side of the water.

“The captain said we could wait in his cabin,” Simon offered, turning up his collar.

Nora waved to the vistas. “And miss all this? No, thank you. But if you want to go inside, please don’t mind me.”

He didn’t move.

Nora drew in another breath. She wasn’t sure why he stayed. Was he too marveling that his life had changed?

“Do you feel different?” she asked.

He frowned as if considering the idea. “No,” he said with a shake of his head that sent the breeze fingering through his light brown hair. “You?”

She wiggled a little, trying to sense any change in her bones, her muscles. “No. But I never thought to marry. Well, there was a young man from church who showed interest, a Mr. Winnower. He used to talk to me after services, and once he even walked me home. My brother, Charles, took him aside to discuss his intentions. He only ever looked at me from across the room after that. If I approached him, he’d dash out the door. I always wondered whether Charles might have told him I had some dread disease that would infect him.”

“I’m going to enjoy talking with your brother,” Simon said with such a dark tone that Nora could only smile.

“And perhaps my sister-in-law?” she suggested. “Meredith always claimed I was destined to die an old maid. If she could have picked a husband for me, I’m certain it would have been some elderly widower who needed comfort in his final hours and wasn’t overly particular in his bride. I’m having the most delightful time imagining the look on her face when I walk in on your arm.” She couldn’t help the giggle that bubbled up.

“Her as well,” Simon agreed.

Nora smiled. “Oh, and perhaps a few of the ladies in town? There has been a distressing rumor that I’m destined to be the last Mercer Belle to wed.”

He shifted away from her. “I’ll win your freedom from your family, Nora, as I promised. But don’t expect to parade me all over Seattle like one of your fancy gowns. I have work to do, and the sooner I get to it, the better.”

She almost acquiesced. It was on the tip of her tongue to say, “Yes, of course.” To bow her head contritely for impinging on his precious time. To crawl back into her corner and lick her wounds.

Not again. Not with him. Not ever.

She raised her head and met his gaze. “I understand you have work ahead of you, Mr. Wallin. But know one thing—I may owe my brother a debt for taking me in after my parents died, but you and I have a bargain. You are getting one hundred and sixty acres from our marriage. I am getting a husband who helps and supports me. If you cannot abide by that agreement, then I will take the first ship back to Seattle, and you can argue with the registrar over whether you have earned those acres.”

Chapter Three

Who was this woman he’d married?

Nora had quaked at stern words from Mr. Bagley. She claimed she could not stand up against her brother. Now her face was set, her fists planted on her ample hips. He felt as if a tabby had turned into a mountain lion right before his eyes.

But he’d never run from a mountain lion, and he didn’t intend to now.

“I’ll honor our bargain,” he told her. “You’ll be free to live as you like. All I ask is the right to do the same.”

She relaxed with a brisk nod. “Very well. You can go and wait in the captain’s quarters. I’ll be fine. I’m used to being alone.” She turned her gaze once more to the water.

He could not find his equilibrium with her. Feeling as if he’d been dismissed, he went to join John and Levi farther down the rail.

“I like her,” Levi said. “She seems nice.”

Simon was no longer so sure. Where had that surge of confidence come from? Had she overstated her fears about her brother? Did something more lay behind her proposal to wed?

He kept his distance the rest of the trip.

They arrived in Olympia late in the afternoon. Unlike Seattle, the territorial capital afforded several docks, and more than one ship crowded the harbor at the base of Budd Inlet, the terminus of Puget Sound. The entire town was built on a spit of land, with water on three sides and mountains on two. Simon much preferred the more solid footing of Wallin Landing, with the hill at his back and the lake in front.

But as he walked down the pier toward the town proper, Nora’s case in his hand, he couldn’t help noticing that they were causing a stir. Sailors glanced at Nora as she passed; longshoremen paused in their work to watch. Even here, where the territorial legislature met, women were rare. Though Nora seemed unaware of the interest, Simon put his other hand to her back and stayed close. She favored him with a frown but did not resist him.

“Busy place,” John commented behind them as they made their way south along the boardwalk past all manner of businesses.

“I like it here,” Levi declared, glancing at a hall where banners proclaimed the upcoming performance of a dance troupe. “A fellow could find a lot more to do than farm and log.”

“There’s the land office,” Simon said, nodding to a whitewashed building ahead. He strode to it, shifted Nora’s case under one arm and held the door open for her, then followed her inside with his brothers in his wake.

The long, narrow office was bisected by a counter. Chairs against the white-paneled walls told of lengthy waits, but today the only person in the room was a slender man behind the counter. He was shrugging into a coat as if getting ready to close up for the day.

Handing Nora’s case to John, Simon hurried forward. “I need to file a claim.”

The fellow paused, eyed him and then glanced at Nora, who came to stand beside Simon. The clerk smoothed down his lank brown hair and stepped up to the counter. “Do you have the necessary application and fee?”

Simon drew out the ten-dollar fee, then pulled the papers from his coat and laid them on the counter. The clerk took his time reading them, glancing now and then at Nora, who bowed her head as if looking at the shoes peeping out from under her scalloped hem.

“And this is your wife?” he asked at last.

Simon nodded. “I brought witnesses to the fact, as required.”

John and Levi stepped closer. The clerk’s gaze returned to Nora. “Are you Mrs. Wallin?”

She glanced at Simon as if wondering the same thing, and for a moment he thought they were all doomed. Had she decided he wasn’t the man she’d thought him? Had he married for nothing?

Nora turned and held out her hand to the clerk. “Yes, I’m Mrs. Simon Wallin. No need to wish me happy, for I find I have happiness to spare.”

The clerk’s smile appeared, brightening his lean face. “Mr. Wallin is one fortunate fellow.” He turned to pull a heavy, leather-bound book from his desk, thumped it down on the counter and opened it to a page to begin recording the claim.

Simon knew he ought to feel blessed indeed as he accepted the receipt from the clerk. He had just earned his family the farmland they so badly needed. The acreage would serve the Wallins for years to come and support the town that had been his father’s dream. Yet something nagged at him, warned him that he had miscalculated.

He never miscalculated.

“What now?” Nora asked him as they left the land office.

“The tide’s against us,” Simon told her, pushing away his troublesome emotions. “We won’t be able to return north until early tomorrow morning.”

“I expected as much,” she replied, taking her case from John. “Where should we wait?”

John cleared his throat. “I’m sure you and your bride would like some privacy. Levi and I can make our own way.”

Nora glanced between him and Simon. “There’s no need.”

“None at all,” Simon agreed.

John and Levi exchanged glances. “But you just married,” John pointed out.

“I know this is you, Simon,” Levi added, “but Drew and Catherine and James and Rina were pretty lovey-dovey when they married.”

Nora flamed. “I never intended— That is I never supposed— I mean, really, I—” She appeared to run out of steam like a poorly tended engine.

Simon pulled a coin from his pocket and tossed it to John. “McClendon’s, on Main. Request three rooms. We’ll join you shortly.”

With a nod toward Nora, his brothers took off up the street.