“No, thank you.”
“You make sure nothing happens to her,” Buc said to Trinity as they walked back to the bunkhouse later that evening. “I can’t make her believe it’s dangerous for her to be riding around in those mountains.”
“She’s working too hard on that survey to get into trouble.”
“I don’t know why she insists on doing it. I can’t make her see it’s not the kind of thing a lady ought to do.”
“She’s bored. She’s an intelligent, active woman. She needs to be doing something.”
“Don’t you go putting notions into her head,” Buc said, spinning around to face Trinity. “She ought to stay home. My mother did. So did every other woman in the town where I grew up. It’s not normal for a woman to run about the way she does.”
“There’s nothing normal about Victoria’s life. How many women in your neighborhood had been convicted of murder? Or lived on a remote ranch with absolutely nothing to do from dawn until dusk? How many were completely cut off from other women? How many had given up hope of having a husband and a family?”
“Victoria will have a family,” Buc stated, the light of triumph in his eyes. “She’s going to marry me.”
Trinity fell instant victim to two emotions: Jealousy at the thought of Victoria becoming any man’s wife, and scorn that Buc would expect Victoria to marry him without his showing the slightest concern for her thoughts and emotions, or anything that didn’t have to do with the physical requirements of being a wife, mother, and manager of a household.
He would have bet his horse Victoria had no intention of marrying Buc. A woman didn’t turn her back on the man she loved. Or completely forget his presence. Or treat him like a brother and talk to him like a child with limited understanding. Hell, since he’d arrived, she’d reacted more to him than she had to Buc.
“Have you talked with her about it?” Trinity asked, trying to sound offhand.
“Of course not. Not after the terrible time she had with Jeb Blazer. I talked to her uncle.”
Just like a man of Buc’s stamp to decide Victoria was going to marry, him even though he’d never broached the subject with her. Did he think he owned her just because he saved her life?
Trinity felt something inside him knot.
“I think you’d better talk to her. She may have some different ideas.”
“What do you know about Victoria’s ideas?” Buc asked, his stance belligerent. “You spend one day following her over the mountainside and think you know more about her than I do after five years of living with her day to day.”
“I didn’t say a thing about knowing her better than you “Trinity said, hoping to neutralize some of Buc’s anger. He didn’t like the man, but he didn’t see any point in unsettling him needlessly. “I just think you ought to talk to her. When a woman has as much time on her hands as Victoria, you never know what kind of things she’ll get to thinking about.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Buc said, with an abrupt about-face. “There’s no end to the number of excuses she can come up with for not staying inside the house. Not to mention going about on her own, no matter what I say to the contrary. At least when we’re married, I can tell her to stay home.”
And you think Victoria will do it, just because you say so?”
“It’s a woman’s duty to obey her husband.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Victoria has a slightly different idea of duty.”
“It don’t matter what you think,” Buc responded irritably. “Shell do what I tell her. And while I’m dunking of it, you stop calling her Victoria just like you been knowing her since the two of you were babies.”
“She asked me to.”
“She asks everybody to, but they all call her Miss Victoria. Only Mr. Davidge and I call her by her Christian name.”
“And what am I supposed to do when she jumps all over me? She’s already forbidden me to call her ‘ma’am.’”
“Just
“You make sure nothing happens to her,” Buc said to Trinity as they walked back to the bunkhouse later that evening. “I can’t make her believe it’s dangerous for her to be riding around in those mountains.”
“She’s working too hard on that survey to get into trouble.”
“I don’t know why she insists on doing it. I can’t make her see it’s not the kind of thing a lady ought to do.”
“She’s bored. She’s an intelligent, active woman. She needs to be doing something.”
“Don’t you go putting notions into her head,” Buc said, spinning around to face Trinity. “She ought to stay home. My mother did. So did every other woman in the town where I grew up. It’s not normal for a woman to run about the way she does.”
“There’s nothing normal about Victoria’s life. How many women in your neighborhood had been convicted of murder? Or lived on a remote ranch with absolutely nothing to do from dawn until dusk? How many were completely cut off from other women? How many had given up hope of having a husband and a family?”
“Victoria will have a family,” Buc stated, the light of triumph in his eyes. “She’s going to marry me.”
Trinity fell instant victim to two emotions: Jealousy at the thought of Victoria becoming any man’s wife, and scorn that Buc would expect Victoria to marry him without his showing the slightest concern for her thoughts and emotions, or anything that didn’t have to do with the physical requirements of being a wife, mother, and manager of a household.
He would have bet his horse Victoria had no intention of marrying Buc. A woman didn’t turn her back on the man she loved. Or completely forget his presence. Or treat him like a brother and talk to him like a child with limited understanding. Hell, since he’d arrived, she’d reacted more to him than she had to Buc.
“Have you talked with her about it?” Trinity asked, trying to sound offhand.
“Of course not. Not after the terrible time she had with Jeb Blazer. I talked to her uncle.”
Just like a man of Buc’s stamp to decide Victoria was going to marry, him even though he’d never broached the subject with her. Did he think he owned her just because he saved her life?
Trinity felt something inside him knot.
“I think you’d better talk to her. She may have some different ideas.”
“What do you know about Victoria’s ideas?” Buc asked, his stance belligerent. “You spend one day following her over the mountainside and think you know more about her than I do after five years of living with her day to day.”
“I didn’t say a thing about knowing her better than you “Trinity said, hoping to neutralize some of Buc’s anger. He didn’t like the man, but he didn’t see any point in unsettling him needlessly. “I just think you ought to talk to her. When a woman has as much time on her hands as Victoria, you never know what kind of things she’ll get to thinking about.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Buc said, with an abrupt about-face. “There’s no end to the number of excuses she can come up with for not staying inside the house. Not to mention going about on her own, no matter what I say to the contrary. At least when we’re married, I can tell her to stay home.”
And you think Victoria will do it, just because you say so?”
“It’s a woman’s duty to obey her husband.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Victoria has a slightly different idea of duty.”
“It don’t matter what you think,” Buc responded irritably. “Shell do what I tell her. And while I’m dunking of it, you stop calling her Victoria just like you been knowing her since the two of you were babies.”
“She asked me to.”
“She asks everybody to, but they all call her Miss Victoria. Only Mr. Davidge and I call her by her Christian name.”
“And what am I supposed to do when she jumps all over me? She’s already forbidden me to call her ‘ma’am.’”
“Just
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