Page 13 of The Enchanted Land

“Then I give you my word that I will not at any time force my attention on you. Does that satisfy you?”

She sighed. “Yes.”

For Seth, the high mood of the day was broken. But for Morgan, it seemed an even brighter day. She was relieved. It seemed there would be no more fights between them.

Seth’s gruff voice broke the silence. “Let’s go back.” He started toward the tethered horses.

“Seth, wait!”

He stopped, an impatient expression on his face.

“Seth—” She put her hand on his forearm. “I didn’t mean to make you angry. I was trying to say that I want to be your friend. I don’t want to fight. Somehow, I seem to have made everything worse.”

His anger left him and he smiled. “You’re right, little wife. I do have a quick temper. I apologize for my rudeness.” He removed his hat and made a bow.

Morgan laughed. “I forgive you, sir.”

“And to show my repentance, I shall ask Cook to prepare a picnic basket tomorrow, and we will go to my cabin—a pretty little place much farther upstream. Does that please you, my lady?”

“Well, good sir, it does, except for one part.”

A slight frown replaced Seth’s smile. “What part is that?”

Morgan’s smile was winning. “That you allow me to prepare the picnic basket.”

“You! You can cook?”

“I’ll let you judge that tomorrow.”

Seth returned Morgan’s smile. “It seems I got more than I bargained for. A wife who can cook! I hope Lupita doesn’t get jealous.”

“Lupita?”

“She’s my cook at the ranch in New Mexico.”

“Tomorrow I want you to tell me about your ranch. I like being with animals.”

They smiled at one another, returned to their horses, and rode back to the big house in a companionable silence.

Just before dinner, Morgan heard the voices of her sisters-in-law.

“Morgan, come look!” Jennifer’s plump face had broken into a very large smile. She pushed Morgan toward a table heaped with fabrics and trimmings. In spite of what Nora had told her daughters, all the fabrics were creams, pink, and pale blues. Nora was examining the things.

“But, girls, I told you to get bright, clear colors. Morgan is too fair to wear these.”

The three young women looked dismayed. Eleanor said timidly, “But, Mother, they are such beautiful colors.”

Morgan felt the thin silks and satins. They would be totally unsuitable for New Mexico.

“Well, I can see my little sisters have chosen well for a grueling trip to the New Mexico mountains.”

Everyone turned to Seth. Jennifer tilted her head toward him. “Just because a lady has to travel to a forsaken land doesn’t mean she has to stop being a lady.”

“Jennifer’s right,” Austine added. “When a lady wears silk, then she always remembers she is a lady.”

“If a woman is a lady, then she is a lady no matter what she wears, including men’s trousers.”

“Trousers!” Eleanor’s voice reflected disbelief. Deep down, she wasn’t sure her own plump legs would fit properly into a pair of men’s pants. The idea was appalling.

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