The First Bride Read online

  “It’s a natural reaction to being bitten.” Lucy squeezed Mary’s arm. “Besides, Gareth was due to come down with something.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. He’s been looking a little peaked lately. But he’s a strong young man, Mary. He’ll pull through.” She smiled gently. “Because of you.”

  Mary hoped so. She didn’t want to watch her husband die in front of her. The past few hours had been bad enough without watching him slip away. The thought was terrifying.

  “You’re fond of him, aren’t you?” Lucy said quietly.

  Mary didn’t know how to answer that without embarrassing herself. She knew her feelings. They had crept up on her quicker than she expected. She loved him. No doubt about it. But Mary wanted to tell Gareth first before she mentioned it to anyone else. She nodded.

  “I am.”

  “Good.” Lucy looked down at her son. “It’s nice to see Gareth opening up again. He needs a good woman with him.”

  “What I am astonished by is why he hasn’t married before.” Mary sipped her drink. “Then again, he isn’t very confident talking to women, is he?”

  “He was as a young man.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. Even more so than Ben. Gareth was one of those people who would talk and talk and talk.” Lucy chuckled. “There were times when we just wanted to hit him over the head. And then Danielle came along.”

  That had Mary sitting up. Gareth had never mentioned anyone called Danielle to her. Not in his letters, not since they started traveling, never. What else was he hiding from her? It was like he was ashamed of it.

  “Who’s Danielle?”

  “Gareth’s never spoken about her?”

  “No... he never mentioned her.”

  Lucy’s smile had faded when she mentioned another woman’s name. She sighed.

  “I didn’t think he would. That was a part of his life Gareth didn’t want to remember again.”

  “Who was she?”

  “She was a neighbor. A girl Gareth had grown up with. They played together every day as children and as they got older, Paul and I were sure Gareth was going to marry her. He even proposed and Danielle said yes.” Lucy sniffed and wiped at her eyes. She looked moments away from crying. “We thought Danielle was going to become Mrs. Stanier. She was practically one of the family already. But then Danielle suddenly turned around the day before they were due to be married and said she was getting married to someone else. A lawyer who had recently come to town. There was no warning, no nothing. That... well, she crushed Gareth badly.”

  Mary could understand his hurt. She was shocked that anyone could even consider turning Gareth down. He was handsome, sweet and kind. She couldn’t think of a better man.

  But it did give her a better understanding of why Gareth had been so nervous about talking to her at times. He was scared of being rejected again. Mary couldn’t even imagine the thought of rejecting Gareth crossing her mind.

  “It’s been ten years since he was practically left at the altar,” Lucy said. “And in the last few weeks, he’s talked to you more than anyone else. That’s saying something.”

  “I suppose,” Mary murmured.

  Danielle had a lot to answer for. Mary hoped they would never meet the woman; she would have a few things to say to her for what she did.

  “Mary.” Lucy covered Mary’s hand with hers. “He’s going to be fine. Knowing you’re going to be here when he wakes up will help. Gareth will want to see you when he opens his eyes.”

  “I hope so.” Mary squeezed her mother-in-law’s fingers. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  That was true; right now, wild horses couldn’t drag her away from her man.

  7

  Gareth felt like he had been dunked in very hot water. He could feel the cool air on his face, sweat trickling down his forehead. His head was throbbing but it wasn’t spinning anymore. He felt like he could even open his eyes without feeling sick.

  And he did. Cracking his eyes open a little, he saw the top of the wagon. The nausea never came and he opened them a tiny bit more. A gentle breeze pushed against the curtains at the back. He was lying on his pallet, a blanket bunched down around his waist with his shirt undone so his chest was on display.

  Mary was lying on the pallet beside him, curled up under her blanket. Her hair was a mess and she had a mark on her cheek that looked like she had been sleeping on an edge but she still looked as beautiful as ever. It was the most welcoming sight Gareth had ever seen.

  He managed to roll onto his side and tugged Mary gently to him, kissing her nose.

  “Mary. You awake?”

  Mary stirred. Then she opened her eyes, blinking up at Gareth. Her expression cleared and she heaved a sigh of relief.

  “Gareth.” She hugged him. “Thank the Lord. I was beginning to worry.”

  “I’m fine.” Gareth winced and eased his head back down. “I do feel like I’ve been hit over the head, though.”

  “I’m not surprised.” Mary cupped his bristled jaw in her hand. “You’ve been unconscious for three days.”

  “Three days?” Gareth groaned. “I thought it was just a day. No wonder I feel fuzzy. I bet Father is going to make sure I know about it once I get out.”

  “I’m sure he will. We haven’t moved camp.”

  “What?”

  “We didn’t want you getting any worse.” Mary smiled. “We just wanted to make sure you were well enough to travel.”

  Now Gareth was feeling bad. But that was wiped out by the fact he was holding his wife in his arms. He tugged Mary to him, tucking her into his side. Mary put her arms around his waist, her head resting on his shoulder. They had never done this before and yet it felt like the most natural thing in the world. Gareth didn’t think he had felt this content before ever.

  “What happened?”

  “Don’t you remember?”

  “I remember getting bitten but that’s about it.” Gareth could feel the dull throbbing in his leg. It was like the fangs were still in there. “Did you kill the snake?”

  “Yes, I did.” Mary lifted her head and stared at him. “I also got the poison out. When you didn’t come around, I was scared I hadn’t got it all out.”

  “You… you got the poison out?”

  Gareth hadn’t expected that. He was expecting his father or brother to suck the poison out of his leg. Not Mary. Mary nodded.

  “I did.” She prodded him in the side. “I wasn’t going to let my husband die on me before the year was out, was I?”

  Gareth groaned and hugged the laughing woman to him. She really did have a nice laugh.

  “And how’s Carly? Is she all right?”

  “From what your mother said, she’s fine. The poor thing’s been clinging to her father, though.” Mary smiled. “She’s very grateful that Uncle Gareth saved her. Lucy told me.”

  Gareth grunted.

  “I’m hardly a hero.”

  “You are to her.” Mary leaned over and kissed him softly. “And to me.”

  Gareth forgot what he had been about to say. Mary’s kiss had completely distracted him. As he ran his fingers through her hair and deepened the kiss, Mary sank into his arms. He had been missing a lot of things. This kiss should have happened a long time ago.

  Gareth pulled back long enough to survey his wife.

  “The snake didn’t get you as well, did it?”

  “No, I’m fine. It didn’t get a chance to touch me.” Mary touched his face with her fingers. “We were very worried about you.”

  “Well, I’m tougher than that.” Gareth took her hand and kissed her fingers. “When are we heading out?”

  “Paul said as soon as you woke up we would make tracks as soon as we were sure you could cope.” Mary began to sit up. “I’ll go and let him know.”

  “No, I’ll do it.” Gareth tried to ease himself up, using Mary to lever himself to a sitting position. “Let me get more presentable first.”

  “Not a chance, Gareth
.” Mary put a hand on his chest and stopped him. “Paul said he wasn’t leaving until you were conscious but you are not to be on your feet yet, just stay in the wagon. No arguments on that.”

  “Not to be on my feet?” Gareth groaned. “Mary…”

  “You were bitten in the leg and it’s still quite swollen. No way will you be able to get your foot in a boot.”

  That was when Gareth saw his foot as Mary took the blanket off his leg. His trousers were rolled up to his knee. And Gareth winced. Mary was right. From halfway down his calf to his ankle, his leg was swelled up to twice the normal size and right around the bite marks was an angry purple and yellow bruise. Then he looked lower and could see his foot was clearly bigger than his boot.

  He grunted a sigh and flopped back.

  “Fine. I’ll stay here. But that doesn’t mean I won’t pull my weight.”

  Mary laughed.

  “Yes, it does. You are an invalid. Just rest.”

  “That’s not me.”

  Mary leaned over him and kissed him.

  “You won’t get a chance to rest when we get to San Francisco. Make the most of it.” She kissed his forehead. “I’ll let Paul know you’re awake.”

  Then she was gone. Gareth wanted to follow her but now his leg was throbbing too much and he didn’t think it would take his weight. It was quite ugly to see. Huffing, he tossed the blanket back over his leg and then tugged it up over his head.

  In the dark he thought about that kiss and how this had brought them together. The Lord works in mysterious ways. A big smile came across his face as he couldn’t wait to see Mary again.

  8

  “If I don’t see a pallet again, I’ll be happy,” Gareth grumbled, rolling out the pallets for him and Mary by the fire. His mother laughed from across the fire as she made the beds for her and Paul.

  “Don’t whine so much. You’re like a child now.”

  “You get bored of sleeping practically on the ground, Mother.”

  “Well, we’re in San Francisco now. Unless you want to deal with fitting up the bed tonight and not get any sleep, you’re sleeping on a pallet.”

  Gareth huffed. They had arrived in San Francisco earlier that day and found the small array of buildings at the edge of town that was going to be the mission station. It was perfect for all of them but it was sparse. They would have to build everything from scratch, including their beds. Gareth wanted to sleep in a bed. After nearly two months of traveling, he preferred a lumpy mattress rather than a pallet. But he was too tired to deal with getting a bed made tonight.

  “Fine. I’ll leave it until the morning.” He stood and stretched. “I don’t think I can move much right now.”

  “You’re going to have to.” Lucy picked up a slim branch and nudged the logs in the fire. “Dinner’s nearly ready and you need to find everyone else.”

  “Ben and Carolyn are getting Carly settled in her bedroom.”

  “That doesn’t help me. They’re not here eating.” Lucy frowned. “And I haven’t seen Mary for a while now.”

  Gareth hadn’t, either. Mary had been a little quiet in the last week and a half since they had started off again on their travels. She was affectionate as before but she seemed to have withdrawn a little at the same time.

  Gareth wasn’t entirely sure what to make of it. Mary wouldn’t talk to him at all beyond small talk. He missed the side of her that would talk about anything and everything.

  He missed the old Mary. This new Mary wasn’t his wife. Gareth wished he knew what he could do to get her to go back to her old self. That was the woman he wanted. It was who he had fallen in love with.

  Even though they weren’t in the wilderness anymore, it wasn’t safe for Mary to be out there on her own.

  “I’ll go and find her.”

  And he did. After retrieving his father from the kitchens and his brother and sister-in-law from their daughter’s room, where Carly was sound asleep, Gareth started to hunt around for Mary. It wasn’t easy. The buildings were sprawling and there was a lot of ground to cover. Mary could have been anywhere.

  Finally, Gareth came upon her, sitting just outside the entrance to the mission. She was leaning against a tree looking down at the sprawling tattered buildings below. She was so lost in her own thoughts that she barely noticed him approaching her, despite the noise he was making.

  “Mary?”

  Mary looked up. She looked slightly far away in the eyes. That expression cleared and she sat up.

  “Gareth. What is it?”

  “Ma’s made dinner and we hadn’t seen you in a while.” Gareth brushed his hand over her head. “I was getting worried.”

  “I’m fine. I just…” Mary bit her lip. She blushed in the darkening light and looked away. “I needed some time alone.”

  “Do you want to be left alone now?”

  If he was honest, Gareth didn’t want to leave. He just wanted to hold his wife, to kiss her like they had that night he woke up.

  Mary gave him a small smile before looking away.

  “You can sit with me, if you like.”

  Gareth wasn’t about to pass up on that. He settled down beside her, stretching out his legs. The leg that had been bitten was throbbing still but it was better than it had been before. The swelling had gone and even though he was still walking with a bit of a limp it was much better. At least now, Gareth didn’t feel like his leg was on fire.

  Mary sighed and settled back against the tree. Gareth wished she would lean on him but, if anything, she was leaning away. That worried him. Had he done something wrong?

  He gently nudged her.

  “Penny for your thoughts?”

  For a moment, he thought Mary hadn’t heard him. She was still staring out over the buildings below. But then she sighed.

  “I don’t know. There’s a lot going on up here.” She touched her temple and tapped her head. “I’m excited, frightened, tired, unsure… practically the only thing I’m not is content.”

  That surprised Gareth. He sat up and turned to her. He really had done something wrong if Mary was feeling like this. It had to be his fault.

  “Why are you feeling like this? Have I done something?”

  “No, it’s not you. It’s just me.” Mary slumped. “It’s been going on like that since I married you. You have a family. A loving one. A bit pushy at times.” She smiled. “But they’re good people. You’re lucky, Gareth. The only family I’ve got is my father and he treats me worse than a slave.” She tucked her legs up against her chest, wrapping her arms around her knees. “I’m glad I’m not there anymore.”

  Gareth was glad about that as well. But that didn’t really explain Mary’s mood. He shifted around to face her.

  “Then why are you feeling unsure?”

  “Because I still feel like an outsider. All I’ve ever wanted was to be accepted, loved, and yet I still feel like I’m on the outside looking in.”

  Gareth snorted. He put an arm around her and hugged her close.

  “Don’t be daft. You’re more than accepted into this family. Ma and Pa wouldn’t have approved of you if they thought you weren’t suitable. And Ma, she really likes you... we all do.”

  “I feel otherwise,” Mary mumbled.

  She really had withdrawn into herself. Gareth put his fingers under her chin and lifted her head. Mary’s eyes were shining. She was almost ready to cry. That cracked Gareth’s heart. He kissed each of her eyelids and then her mouth.

  “You daft woman. It’s something new and you don’t know how to process it. It’s a bit like me and my shyness with women.”

  “You mean with Danielle?”

  Gareth started.

  “I never spoke to you about Danielle.”

  “Your mother did. She told me everything.”

  “I had a feeling she would.” Gareth grunted. “She ruined me by betraying me as she did. After that, I was too scared to approach a woman for fear that it would happen again. But with you, the nerves started to dis
appear. Almost immediately, I felt better about myself. Things felt lighter and I wasn’t as nervous as I had been. You felt like a comfort blanket.”

  “A comfort blanket!” Mary didn’t look impressed with that. “Thank you for the comparison, Gareth.”

  Gareth winced. That was awful.

  “It’s a bit difficult to explain…” He tried to backtrack but Mary put her fingers over his mouth.

  “I do know what you mean. You went into something new and it made you feel better. I went into something new and I was so scared of the change that I withdrew.”

  “I could tell.” Gareth kissed her fingers and lowered her hand, linking their fingers together. “From what Ma always says, it’s completely natural to put up a defense to protect yourself. You just need to relax. We all love you, Mary. You don’t have anything to prove to us.”

  “I suppose…” Mary’s voice faded away. She sat up, staring at him in confusion. “Hang on, what did you say?”

  “Which bit?”

  “The ‘we all love you’ bit. Does that…” Mary gulped. “Does that include you as well?”

  “Of course it includes me, silly.” Gareth kissed her; and pulling back, he smiled at her startled expression. “I had a huge amount of affection for you when we wrote to each other. I wouldn’t have done it, otherwise. And now? I admire you, respect you and, yes, I do love you.”

  The reaction Mary gave made Gareth want to say it again. She flung herself at him, hugging him tightly before kissing him hard enough to knock them both back onto the ground. Mary pulled back quickly.

  “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be.” Gareth tugged her back, kissing her forehead. “Keep doing that. It makes me feel wanted.”

  “Oh, you.” Mary slapped his chest. She sighed. “That was partly why I was so sad.”

  “Because you thought I didn’t love you?”

  “That you didn’t love me back.”

  That was when the realization dawned. She loved him too. Gareth kissed her again before hugging her close to his chest. He was aware of being in the dirt with a stone digging into his back but he didn’t care.