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Timothy Wentworth’s eyebrow rose up in surprise at what seemed to me to be a reasonable suggestion. He licked his thin lips, and I thought for sure he’d be making an excuse to leave soon, which would please me very much. Instead he responded, "Yes, that’s a good idea."
We got Patsy saddled and boosted Mr. Wentworth onto her, then Keane and I mounted up as well. We weren’t going to let this stranger have free rein around Bridgewater or give him the chance to abscond with Patsy. I wondered if I ought to remind him of the penalty for horse thieves.
As we moved away from the stables and
into the open pastures, we watched Timothy closely. Was he really that bad a rider? It appeared so. Keane and I got as close to him as seemed safe just to make sure nothing happened. An inexperienced rider was a danger to themselves and more importantly in this case, the horse.
I kept staring at Mr. Wentworth and racking my brain. I felt certain I’d seen him before, though I had no reason for why that would be true. We hardly moved in the same circles. However, he was from Butte, so maybe I’d had business with him there.
"Have we met before?" I asked, riding up next to him.
He startled and then shook his head. "No, I am sure we haven’t."
"What is your business in Butte? I certainly feel as though I have seen you before today. Perhaps we ran into each other on one of my visits months ago?"
"I work for a private businessman, so I doubt if we would have crossed paths." He gave Patsy a push with his heels, and surged forward, away from me and my questions.
We were getting farther and farther from the ranch, and by now Mr. Wentworth ought to have enough information to decide if he wanted to buy Patsy or not. I whistled for her, and she turned in my direction. "Patsy," I called out, "let’s go home."
"No!" Mr. Wentworth yanked on her reins. The motion of him pulling one way and Patsy trotting another threw him from the mare. Patsy, ever obedient, which was more than I could say for Mr. Wentworth, rushed back to the stables. I was tempted to follow along, but we had a duty to see to Mr. Wentworth and at least get him back to the stable so he could leave right away and return to Butte. However, it was too late in the day for that trip. He’d probably need to stay in a hotel nearby.
Hotel! Suddenly I remembered where I’d seen him. He’d been skulking around Lily’s room at the Hotel Imperial when I’d gone searching for a witness for our wedding. He’d given me a bad feeling then, and it was even worse right now.
Mr. Wentworth managed to get to his feet before Keane and I reached him, and he appeared uninjured.
"Now I remember where I saw you," I said, without even asking after his welfare. Because I didn’t care.
"Is that so?" he asked, seeming a bit more confident than he had before.
"You were at the Hotel Imperial about two weeks ago. Hanging around the empty room where our bride was staying." I grabbed him by the front of his coat and lifted him into the air. "What are you doing here? You’re no horse buyer."
LILY
* * *
"These are delicious!" I nibbled on a biscuit. It was light as air.
"Now that we’ve done it together, I’m sure you’ll be able to make perfect biscuits every time." Olivia spread jam on one of the golden discs.
"I don’t know if I could ever make biscuits this good." It melted on my tongue like a buttery snowflake.
"Of course you can. Remember not to mix it too much. Leave the lard in little pea-sized balls so it melts while baking and makes light layers. You can do it."
Olivia wrapped a few biscuits in a napkin and set it on the counter. "You can take these home with you for supper tonight."
I glanced out the window and noticed the sun was getting lower and lower on the horizon. How long did it take for a man to decide whether to buy a horse or not? I sighed. "I hadn’t planned to be away all afternoon," I said, wondering what I’d feed my husbands.
Olivia seemed to read my mind. "Help me peel some more potatoes and carrots to add to the meat I’m cooking, and we’ll have enough for all our husbands."
"That’s five hungry men," I said with a laugh.
"Well, we’d better hurry up," she replied. Being with Olivia was so easy. If I hadn’t noticed the sun getting lower, I never would have realized how long we’d been together.
She got out the vegetables and a couple of paring knives, and we set to work.
"Does it usually take this long for someone to buy a horse?" I asked.
Olivia shrugged. "I don’t know. That’s managed by Keane and Rye. Simon only got involved because the buyer knocked on our door. It was the oddest thing. We hardly ever have unexpected visitors. They take security very seriously around here."
