Intrigued by Her True Colors (Preview)

Chapter One

Columbia, Missouri

1873

Silas Cartwright watched from the upstairs gallery at the back of his modest ranch house. His only daughter, Louisa, rode out at a gallop and made a big U at the front of the three cattle who’d strayed from the herd. Silas could tell it was his daughter at this distance only because of the thick blond braid that fell down the back of her red work shirt. She was dressed as the other ranch hands were, and was every bit as skilled. He was exceedingly proud of both of his children, but it was this one, the younger female, who never ceased to amaze him.

Louisa, or Lou as they’d always called her, could do anything on the ranch that any of the men could do. It was the way Silas had raised her after her mama, his dear Hattie, had died birthing her. His daughter had made an apt and willing pupil.

He chuckled as he watched her bring one hand to her lips and send out a shrill whistle then yell to the other hand who was helping to capture the runaways. Within minutes they’d gotten the cattle back to the rest of the herd and rode off toward another area.

“Howdy, Pa.”

Silas spun around. “John! I didn’t hear you come out here, son.”

“Well, you were, as usual, enchanted with my sister’s prowess as a ranch hand.” John laughed and took a seat on the gallery. Silas joined him.

“She holds her own out there, I’ll tell you that much. Where’ve you been, John?”

“Oh, I left work early because I needed to go into the post in town. Lou said they could spare me. I’ve been waiting on a, um, a specific letter.”

“Ah! From Chicago. Any news?”

“Yes. I have a letter from Annie. Uh, Miss Spencer. Things, I have a feeling, will be changing very much in the coming weeks.”

Silas grinned. “Oh do you, now? I reckon you’ve popped the question, then. And did you read Miss Spencer’s letter? Does she agree to come to Missouri?”

Though his eyes glowed with happiness, John sighed and seemed to grow serious. “She does, Pa. Miss Annie Spencer has agree to become Mrs. John Cartwright.”

“But why so serious? That’s a good thing, isn’t it? I mean wasn’t that the reason for writing to the young lady in the first place? To eventually get her to marry you, right? You young people with your mail-order this and that. Never did I think I’d see the day when you could write a letter to a young lady and lo and behold, she’d go anywhere in the United States and beyond to marry him. I’m fit to be tied when I think about it.”

“Well, the man finances the journey, Pa. And the lady travels to the man because his business, whatever it may be, is where he is. So you know it was my intention to find a wife, Pa. My seriousness, I guess, belies my delight. It’s just that, well…it’s about Lou, Pa.”

“Lou? What about her? What does she have to do with it?”

“A lot, actually. To begin with she’s not going to like the changes that Miss Spencer’s arrival will precede. I mean Lou won’t be able to stay here. You and I have discussed this in the past. Don’t you think it’s time she found a husband?”

“A husband? Lou?” Silas laughed a big belly laugh. “Now, why would you ever ask something like that? Your sister is just fine in her life. She works a job she loves and makes her own money. She’s a better ranch hand than you, truth be told. You know how independent your sister is. I don’t think she wants anything to do with a husband.” Silas chuckled low in his belly.

“But Pa! She’s 18 years old. She runs around out there on the ranch like a young cowherd. It was cute when she was 14, 15, she was just a kid. But Lou is a young lady now.”

Silas nodded and looked thoughtful. “Yes, she is a young lady. She’s also a cowherd, John. And a right fine one, I might add.”

“I know that, and I know how proud you are that you raised her up with no womanly constraints to stop her from going after what she loves. But, Pa, Lou can’t even bake a loaf of bread. I mean, all these years you’ve hired cooks and housekeepers to take care of us so Lou could work on the ranch. But, she’s going to have to grow up sometime. Sooner or later she’s going to have to come to terms with what’s expected of her. Marriage and children. She’s going to have to give up working on the ranch with the boys and men.”

Silas narrowed his eyes and studied his son. It hadn’t always been easy for John, he knew. All the ranch hands, over the years, had  pitted him against his sister. And oftentimes she’d done better than he had. But that wasn’t John’s fault. Lou was just a natural-born rancher at heart. John was good at what he did, but Lou was better. She excelled at ranching because she loved it. And because she was female it was even more noted that she was a natural. There had never been a time she couldn’t hold herself up against any of the men on the ranch. Silas included.

“Who says Lou’s going to have to give up working? She loves working on the ranch. You might as well cut off one of her hands if you’re going to make her stop working.”

“That’s not necessarily what I’m saying. She can work anywhere. Just not here.”

“What are you getting at, son?”

“I hope I’m going to be married soon, Pa. I believe it to be just a matter of a short time until Miss Spencer leaves Chicago and comes to Columbia to be my wife.”

“Yes, and you’ll forgive me if my Congratulations are less than rhapsodic, my boy. Your tone has me a bit confused. I didn’t know your lady would be coming here as soon as all that. It’s good news but you seem subdued about it. Lou will be thrilled for you, but as far as that goes, why does she need to find a husband because you’ve found a wife?”

“Because my wife is going to live here with me. And you. But the house is just not big enough for all of us. The two bedrooms on the second floor, they’re really a set, you know. I mean I realize one was the bedroom and the other the sitting room or the dressing room. But today, the modern way is for husbands and wives to have separate bedrooms, which means that when MIss Spencer becomes Mrs. Cartwright, she will need a bedroom.”

“And that would be your sister’s room?”

“Yes. If Mama had lived, we would have had to build on. But as it is, you’ve slept downstairs. in what used to be the back parlor for years.”

“That’s true. But I tell you what, it’s a large room. Why don’t you and your new wife have that?”

“Like I said, Pa, the modern way is separate bedrooms.”

“We’ll put in a partition.”

“Pa…you know your room, while it’s large, it’s not big enough to be divided into two.”

“Hmm. Then, I suppose we’ll have to build on.”

“Pa! Of course we need to build on. But doing so now, no. That won’t do. Can’t you understand that my wife is going to want to make this house into a home? Of course she will take care of you, but I don’t think it’s fair that she should have to take care of Lou as well. She’s coming to Columbia to be my wife, not the housekeeper for our family.”

“Hmm.” Silas had to admit to himself that his son had a point. “Well, you know I never wanted to put female chores on your sister. I didn’t think it was fair for her to not have the same opportunities as you. Or any other man for that matter.”

“I understand that, but she has absolutely no womanly skills. None!! Every housekeeper we’ve had over the years has tried to influence her. She’s of marriageable age. It’s time she starts to wear her hair up. Not down in a braid like a young girl. You know I adore my sister, Pa, but it’s almost embarrassing.”

“You know I don’t like to hear you talk that way about her. I suppose she doesn’t need to wear her hair down. I’ll talk to her about wrapping her braid around her head. I’m sure she’ll find that a suitable compromise. And hereI thought I was doing her a favor all these years by allowing her to be free and to choose her own way in life.”

“In many ways you have. But it’s time to move on to other things, now. Lou is an adult, but she won’t admit it. Her future is up to us, Pa. We need to find a husband for her, and the sooner the better.”

“Ok, son. You might be right. But the fact remains that she’s not going to take kindly to it. Are you going to tell her that she needs to get married? Because I’m not! As you know, your sister has an abundance of strong will and temper to go along with her ranching skills.” Silas burst out laughing. “We both know that suggestions to your sister about how to live her life don’t go over well. How do you think she’s going to react when we broach the topic of marriage. I mean, why you broach the topic of marriage.

“I’ll tell her, but I thought we could have a family talk to approach it. Kind of like a meeting. You’ve said she’s not going to be happy about it, and I know that’s true. But something has to be done about the way she’s currently living. I’m the oldest, Pa. I’m to inherit this place someday. I want my sister to be happily settled down and with a family of her own. She can’t very well go off and work on somebody else’s ranch, the men wouldn’t accept her regardless of her fine reputation as a cowherd. You know that, Pa. She’ll end up an old maid, all alone.”

“It would be my hope, son, that you wouldn’t let something like that happen to your sister. If she were to remain unmarried, or become widowed perhaps, as her brother you would be responsible for her.”

“Pa, I didn’t mean that I wouldn’t take care of Lou in her old age if she needs it. She’s my sister and I love her. As much as I’m thinking about Miss Spencer’s comfort and happiness, I’m also thinking of Lou’s. I don’t want her to be a misfit, Pa. I want her to have a happy life. I started seeing that Lou’s tomboyish ways would cause trouble for her about two years ago.”

“What happened?”

“It was one Sunday after church. The girls were all chatting the way girls will do. They were looking at the boys and giggling.”

“So? That sounds typical of thirteen-year-old girls.”

“Yes, it does. Only my sister wasn’t involved in any of it. She was over in the paddock with the boys going over her roping technique.  Of course, the boys were interested in the roping style but as soon as they’d seen it, they were all off to talk to the girls. Lou was left alone with her lariat.

“That was five years ago, though. She has a happy life. You of all people know how independent she is, John. And how strong-willed she is. Are you sure you just don’t want your future wife to struggle with sharing her new home with a formidable sister?

“No, it’s nothing like that, Pa. But do you think it’s fair for Miss Spencer to become our live-in housekeeper while Lou continues living the way she always has? I have concern for both of them. But I’ll tell you it’s not fair to my fiance.”

“Ok, I’ll keep the maid we have and we’ll build on to the house, then. Look, we can extend right onto the gallery over here. I mean, you and Miss Spencer plan to have children don’t you? We’ll have to build on anyway.”

“I suppose we will. But I know my sister. My fear is if she doesn’t start changing some of her ways now then it might become too late.. She might not be like other girls, but she’s got a heart of gold. She’s actually quite attractive for all her trying to cover it up.  There’s still time for her to find someone. Or for us to find someone for her. Lou is still young enough and she’s very beautiful. Of course, I think she’d kick any man that told her so.” John laughed and Silas joined in.

“The point is, in a few years she might not have the opportunity to marry. I’m concerned that she’ll be so ingrained in her tomboy ways that she won’t be able to censor them. She honestly doesn’t know how women her own age live. She’s unaware of certain refinements.

“Don’t get me wrong, Pa. Lou is refreshingly honest and to the point about everything. She’s a lovely young woman who would make a wonderful wife…to the right man. Already her options are limited, though.

“Hmm.” Silas looked out across the expanse behind the house. “Where would we go about finding a husband for her, John? Most of the men in these parts know her,” he raised his eyebrows, “or they know who she is. I raised her up to believe she could be whatever it is she wants to be. Now I have to tell her that I made a mistake?” He shook his head.

“I don’t think you made a mistake, Pa.” John’s forehead presented a frown. “You did what you thought was the best. You allowed Lou to flourish as who she is, as who she wants to be. However, she’s your daughter. I don’t know how many men would allow the same of their wives.”

Silas turned back to his son, sighing. “So, how are we going to do this without making Lou feel as if we’re somehow turning on her?”

Chapter 2

“Ok, boys. See you in the morning.”

“Good night, Lou.”

“Bye, Lou.”

The men were unsaddling their mounts and then heading up to the bunkhouse kitchen for supper. Lou always ate up at the house with John and her father. It was where her father drew the line at her being a ranch hand. Her father had always let her run free and wild, but he didn’t want her relaxing with the men at the end of the day and drinking whiskey. She was still a girl and, as such, there were some things that were just off-limits regardless of her prowess on a horse.

She took her filly, Nanny, and led her into the barn.

“I’ll take care of Nanny, Miss Lou,” Micky, the 14-year-old stableboy reached for the horse’s reins. Mickey Walsh was one of the wayward souls that Silas Cartwright brought home after a trip to check on his investments. Silas went to Kansas City four or five times a year and often returned with someone he would put to work on the ranch. Micky, as it turned out, came from a horse breeding family in Cork. He knew just about everything there was to know about the creatures and Lou thought often that he’d been a Godsend. She loved horses and often spent free time talking and learning about them from Mickey.

“Much obliged, Mickey. I’m exhausted, It’s been a long day.”

“Ok, Miss Lou. Good night.”

She hated being called Miss Lou and Mickey was the only one she allowed to call her such. She’d tried to get him to stop and call her just plain Lou. Whenever that happened, he would nod his head up and down voraciously, agreeing with her and by the following day, the boy would go back to calling and referring to her as Miss Lou. She liked the kid so much she didn’t have the heart to enforce her rule and found she had to patiently accept it or forever be resentful.

As she walked up the hill toward the house, Lou smiled to herself. It had been a good day out on the plains, but she was tired. She knew she’d sleep well that night.

Glancing up, she saw her brother and father on the back upstairs gallery and raised her arm to wave at them. Her father waved back and she quickened her step.

Lou was very close to her father and brother. As far back as she’d always known, it had been the three of them and the three of them only. When she was a little girl, a succession of housekeepers had come and gone from the house as well as a series of tutors. The only divergence in her childhood from that of her brother had been the two years when John had been in New York at school. It was the first time they’d ever been separated and Lou had sworn that when he came home, things would never change again. They would go on as they always had, working on the ranch.

Of course, she loved ranching like a fish loves water and in the 24 months of her brother’s absence, her prowess and skill as a horsewoman and cowherd had been honed to the point that she was one of the top five cowherds in all of Boone County, one spot ahead of her brother. What she lacked  in physical stature or strength, she more than made up for with a sharp mind and a cunning instinct for the work.

She was, by no means, a petite woman. While not big-boned, she was tall and rangy with long legs and long-fingered hands. Her clear green eyes were identical to her brother’s, and her skin was tan from hours in the saddle. Loose blond curls were forever escaping the braid she tried to keep them contained in and as she walked she untied her tresses and they fell about her shoulders in a delightfully wild mass.

“Hello, Mrs. Lennox.” Lou smiled at the kindly housekeeper.

“Hello, dear. Your father is wanting to see you upstairs in the gallery, Louisa.”

Lou turned away and rolled her eyes. Would the people who worked for her father never call her by her preferred name of Lou? “Ok, thank you, Mrs. Lennox.” She shouldn’t be too hard on the lady. If not for her, it might be Lou standing at the stove preparing the evening meal.

In the hall outside of the kitchen, Lou turned onto the narrow back stairs and ran up to the second floor. She looped around to her right and strode out onto the balcony. “Hi, Pa. Hi, John, How was it in town?” She smiled and plopped down on the sofa that had been brought from the upstairs hall out onto the porch. A pitcher of sweet tea sat on the little table and she poured a glass then sat back and slung her booted feet up on the banister.

“Well, this tea sure looks good. What are y’all talking about? You both look so serious!.” Lou laughed and gulped down the glass of tea. “Mm. Delicious.”

“Your brother has good news he’d like to share, Lou.”

She turned her head sharply to look at her brother. “From Chicago? John, did Miss Spencer agree to your proposal?”

“I haven’t put it out there overtly yet. It’s clear we have an understanding. She knows I’m going to ask and I know she’s going to accept. However, there are some things we need to discuss. You and Pa and me.”

Lou poured another glass of sweet tea and sat back. “Ok. So what’s going on? Does Miss Spencer think we’re heathens or some such? Do we have to prove to her that we’re civilised? I mean, this is Missouri. We’ve been a state for 50 years.”

John looked at Silas and the two men said nothing.

“Well?” Lou was getting a little impatient. She was tired and not in the mood for mind games. “What do we need to talk about?”

“What your brother is trying to say, sugar is, well, things are going to change somewhat around here. It’s only right that you should have as much forewarning as possible.”

“Forewarning? Pa!” She nearly jumped forward. “Will you not talk in riddles and just tell me what’s going on? What, does Miss Spencer have some sort of secret life she’s escaping? Is she a wayward woman?” Lou pulled her feet off the banister and leaned toward her brother and father, still standing near the sofa she sat on. “Oh, tell me, y’all. Is it a scandal?”

“Louisa! Remember yourself!” John straightened up, shaking his head.

She sat back again, her feelings a bit miffed that her brother would speak so harshly to her. They’d been practically inseparable for their entire childhood until John went away to school. They’d never shared a cross word and Lou couldn’t figure out why they were at this time.

“John, there’s no need to get testy,” Silas remonstrated.

John sighed. “Yes, Pa. You’re right. Lou, I’m sorry, honey. It’s just that, well first of all, there’s no scandal. However when Miss Spencer gets here there are going to be changes. Big changes. And they’re going to start before she actually gets here.”

“I would say marriage is a big change, John. I know that. Do you think I know absolutely nothing about the world? I’m aware of the changes that a marriage in the family brings. I have eyes, you know.” She rolled her eyes. This was not the way her brother usually was. He seemed so nervous and Lou couldn’t figure out what it was that caused it.

John sat down on the sofa next to her and Silas took the wooden chair to the side. It was silent for a moment. All of a sudden it dawned on Lou that some very important information was about to be shared with her. What could it be. If John, when John married, of course there would be changes. And the house would be a little crowded, but other than that… It just didn’t make sense that John seemed so tense. He was so serious she amused herself thinking that he acted as if she, herself, would be adversely affected by what he was about to say.

“Ok? What is it? What’s so serious?” Lou looked from her brother to her father and back. “Well?”

John sighed again. “You see, Lou, I know that you’ll be happy for me. No matter what it is, I know you want what’s best for me. So you’ll be happy when I tell you what I’m about to. I just know you’ll be, won’t you? I could never bear it if you were to turn your back on me.”

He looked so sincerely concerned that Lou’s heart jumped to her throat. For all her rough and tumble ways, she was a sensitive girl always there with a kind word or an ear to listen to the few people who inhabited her ordered world.

“John? What are you going on about? What’s this talk about me turning my back on you? I declare, you’re talking like a madman. Pa? What is he doing?” Lou frowned.

Silas threw his hands out to the sides. “John. Stop being so cryptic. Go on. Tell your sister what you told me.”

Lou looked from her father to her brother. “John?” Suddenly she felt a vague anxious feeling in her stomach. What could he possibly be going to tell her?

“Well, Lou, you’re right in that I’ve been corresponding with a lady in Chicago.”

“Yes. Miss Spencer, isn’t that right? Your prospective mail-order-bride.” Her eyes widened and she gasped. “John! Did you propose to her? Oh, that’s exciting news to be sure. When is she getting here? I’m so looking forward to having a sister!”

And she was truly excited about the prospect of a young woman, close to her own age, who she could talk to and spend time with. She loved riding around the ranch with Nanny as her sole companion, but sometimes it would be nice to have a human companion. A human female.

Lou had always been able to hold her own with the ranch hands and workers on her father’s ranch. Sometimes it got a little lonely.

“As I said, I haven’t actually popped the question. Not yet. We have what I guess you’d call an understanding. We’ve been sole correspondents to each other for over two months.”

“So y’all are going to get married, just not yet? This conversation is going around in circles. You realize that, don’t you, John?”

“Yes. That’s about right. I do realize that I need to get to the point. Lou, this isn’t going to be easy.”

“You mean it’s not going to be easy for me to hear? It seems like the trouble comes with the telling..” Lou sat back with yet another glass of tea. Again, she slung her legs up and rested her booted feet on the porch banister.

“Your brother thinks it’s time that you start thinking about finding yourself a husband, Lou.” Silas poured himself some tea and took a flask from his vest to top it with some whiskey.

“A husband? For me? You’ve got to be joking. I’m perfectly happy with my life. Just because you want to get married, John, why should I think about a husband? I don’t want a husband.”

“But you’re going to need one, Lou.”

“I’m never going to need a husband.”

“What your brother is trying to say, Lou…”

“It sounds like my brother is telling me how I should be living my life, Pa.”

Silas sighed and looked at John who, by now, had his head in his hands, shaking it side to side.

Lou’s mind jumped from what her brother said and didn’t say, and to what her father was saying. If she didn’t know better she was getting the very distinct impression that somehow her brother’s future plans didn’t include her. At least not in this house. It was becoming clear that John wanted her to leave. That’s why he wanted her to have a husband. He was going to ask her, or tell her, to leave the only home she’d ever known so he could bring his wife here.

The realization must have shown on her face.

“You can find someone from Columbia, Lou.”

Tears filled her eyes. She was right. She was being sent from her home. “Pa! How can you let him do this? Where will I go? What will I do?”

“We have a little time to decide on what to do. Don’t we, John?”

John still sat with his head in his hands. He said nothing. Lou wanted to slap him. She’d never expected that her own brother would betray her the way he was.

“I said, we have some time to figure out what we’re going to do for your sister, isn’t that right, John? What I mean is, you won’t be bringing Miss Spencer out here to Columbia, or at least to live in this house until we’ve taken care of Lou. Isn’t that right?”

“Uh, yessum’ that’s right, Pa.”

Lou was beside herself. She couldn’t hold back the tears. “Pa, I’ve never been away from the ranch. I love it here. Why do I have to leave? John, why can’t you and your bride buy a new house? Or better yet, build one? I mean money isn’t the issue, is it?”

Silas shook his head. “No. Money isn’t the issue. I guess I’ve been too distracted these last five years or so, what with the businesses in Kansas City and hiring Jim a year ago. I’ve barely thought about the ranch.”

“Well, now’s as good a time as any. Isn’t it? John, you can’t just turn me out.”

He finally looked at her and locked eyes with her. “That is not going to happen, Lou. But, this is my home, by rights, I’m to inherit it. That was what the three of us decided. I would buy you out when the time comes and the house and ranch would be mine.”

“And I was to have the option of living here. But now I see the truth of the situation. If Pa was dead, you’d be putting me out. You and Miss, Miss Spencer. Why, it makes me shudder to think how y’all would have me out before she’s even arrived in town.”

“No one is putting you out, Lou.” Silas winced and Lou almost felt sorry for him, but this was her future, her life they were talking about, and they were changing everything about it. They were laying out the coming days, weeks and years, without her knowledge.

She stood and faced both men. “Is that so, Pa? No one is putting me out? No? Maybe not before Miss Spencer gets here, but the result is the same. My brother and I have been raised in an identical manner, except when it comes to me inheriting the ranch. I have to sell my half to John. Because I am the girl in the family.”

“You know that decision was based on the idea that a man provides for his wife, Lou. As it is, you’ll go into a marriage with a lot more than many women have. You have your savings from the last three years of working and you’ll have the cash value of half of the ranch. That’s not a bad way to start married life. Besides, if you were a boy, the ranch would go to John as he’s the oldest. It’s just the way things are done.”

“Pa! I’m surprised at you. This is 1873! Primogeniture? Are you out of your mind? There’s no one around here with more than one son who has or will indulge in such an old-fashioned practice. They split their land up between all the boys. Well, I was raised like a boy. Now, my brother is to marry so that means I must as well?

“But I don’t want to get married, I never did, Pa. You know that. The idea was I would be bought out but still be able to live here by working on the ranch with half pay.”

“There’s not enough room in the house for you to stay here, Lou. And I’m not going to ask my future wife to act as our maid around.” John’s voice was angry.

“I see. Ok. I see y’all have made up your minds. I’ll be having supper in my room. If you don’t mind telling Mrs. Lennox.” Lou stood and dashed inside without another word. She slammed her bedroom door as hard as she could and ran to the bed, throwing herself on it. How dare they! Her father and her brother, her only family. And they would both turn their backs on her for a mail-order-bride. A woman neither one of them had ever met in person.

The tears came. What would she do? Where would she go? There was no one in the Columbia area who would want to marry her, even with a guaranteed dowry. That was why Lou was to get money and John the land. That way the ranch would never be taken from the family.

At this point, Lou couldn’t care less about the security of the ranch. What about her security? It was obvious to her that she would have to go outside of Boone County to find a husband and she barely knew anyone off the ranch.

She cried and cried until, exhausted, she fell into a deep and dreamless sleep. When Mrs. Lennox knocked at the door with her supper, Lou heard nothing.

Chapter 3

Out on the gallery John looked at Silas and shook his head. “I knew she wouldn’t like it, but didn’t think she was going to get that upset.”

“I don’t know, John. Maybe we should think about adding on to the house now. We can put up a whole new wing for you and your wife. You know, there’s nothing to stop us from just building another place, either.”

“I want Miss Spencer to come here as soon as possible, Pa. I don’t want to miss out. If I wait too long she might take up with someone else. She wants to leave Chicago soon.”

“I thought you said you had an understanding? Just tell her it will be only a few more months.”

“We do have an understanding, but I’m not going to ask her to wait another six months, at least. You know, yourself, that if we were to start any kind of building, we’re looking at a minimum of three months. A minimum, Pa. This was all figured out way in advance. Lou was happy with the arrangement.”

“In all fairness, John, the arrangement included her living here, in the house.”

“It’s in writing what should happen if either of us was to marry, Pa. Lou agreed. She signed it. Maybe I should have realized at the time that she had no intentions of honoring it.”

“That’s not true and you know it. I should have put a time constraint in my will. My lawyer warned me that what’s going on could happen. I didn’t think it would. I thought, in time, we’d build onto the house, then one or both of y’all would marry. The problem is that I thought with just the two of y’all things would move slower.

“I should have made the house bigger long ago. But for the last five years or so, we’ve basically only slept here and eaten here. Why you’ve slept out here on the gallery as much as you’ve slept in your room.”

“It’s cooler in the summer, but things are going to be different, Pa. I have an idea to broaden the doors between the two upstairs rooms and the gallery.”

“I realize that, but things could move more slowly, at first, than you intend them to. Miss Spencer is not going to find someone else if you need time to make the house more comfortable for her.”

“That’s just it, Pa. I don’t need time to make things more comfortable. You’re not doing anything wrong, Pa. Neither am I. If Lou would just play along according to our plans…”

“If your sister would play along? So she makes it easier for you? We’re asking a lot of your sister, John. I don’t want you to forget that.” Silas turned on his heel and walked into the house.

John leaned into the sofa back and glanced over at the pitcher of sweet tea with disgust. What he wanted was a whiskey, but unlike his father, he didn’t carry a flask.

He felt resentful. Everything had been taken care of in his father’s will, or so he’d thought. Now he had Lou’s misgivings and misunderstandings to contend with. He was upset that he was being made to look like some ogre because he wanted to move on with his life. He was 20 years old. He wanted marriage. He wanted to make a life with someone. He wanted to have a family with someone. He wanted to do those things with Miss Spencer. And he wanted to do them sooner than later.

Silas and Lou knew that John had been writing to Miss Spencer, and they knew why. So it was confusing to him that now he seemed like some villain because events were taking their natural course.

And he feared for his sister. While he’d enjoyed working with her on the ranch and adored her as a brother adores his baby sister, John worried about her. He sincerely wanted her to find someone special as he’d found in Miss Spencer.

*********

Silas was riddled with guilt. He realized that while he’d tried to raise his children as equals, to allow them free rein, so to speak, he’d created a gap between Lou and every other woman she met.

He’d seen how John had watched her on the gallery earlier. It was almost as if John was embarrassed by his sister’s boyish ways. Silas didn’t even know if his daughter owned another dress but the one she wore to church every Sunday.

He sighed. What could he do? It was too late to do anything differently. The only thing he reckoned he could do would be to find someone for Lou to marry. A man who liked a woman who was sure of herself. A woman who was independent and adventurous as well as kind and giving.

But where? He had half a mind to ride into Columbia and pick up the latest Matrimonial Gazette and look through it himself. How was he going to find someone who his daughter would feel comfortable writing to? The man must love horses and ranching. There was no doubt about it. That was the only life that Lou knew. She’d never known her mother and the succession of women Silas had hired over the years to take care of the house and family never understood the wild little girl who ran around in her brother’s hand-me-down clothes and rode horses at breakneck speed across the plains. His daughter was not one for the faint-of-heart.

Still, that didn’t matter. Silas knew that the women who came and applied to work as housekeeper at the ranch were more interested in marriage than anything else. Even at the age of 42, women still gave him the eye. His business acquaintances in Kansas City teased him. They said his unavailability made him as attractive to young widows and unmarried women as his bank account and his substantial good looks which his son had inherited.

Lou, on the other hand, was the image of her mother. It was extraordinary and uncanny how much the girl embodied every trait of his dear wife, her mother. All except one. While physically strong and a hard worker which her daughter had been born with, Hattie Cartwright had been the epitome of a lady. Silas swallowed hard when he imagined what Hattie would say about how he’d raised Lou up to be a tomboy.

He’d thought somehow it would make the little girl she’d been not so lonely. She could be with him and her brother all the time. She wouldn’t have to stay at home with someone who was practically a stranger. Lou had never accepted another woman appearing to tell her how to dress and act. The housekeepers, once accepting that Silas was not interested in remarrying and wanting nothing to do with his somewhat spoiled daughter, would leave. One after the other.

Lou had always professed not to care. What use did she have for cooking or baking she would say? Scrubbing floors and cleaning was not to her liking and sewing or any kind of needlework didn’t appeal to her. She could sew as much as her brother could…for necessity and that was it.

His daughter was just so strong-willed. It was a trait she’d gotten from her mother, but it manifested in the girl in such a different way than it had shown itself in Hattie. What was he going to do?

As his mind spun in circles around and around his thoughts, Silas packed a travel bag for his trip to Kansas City in the morning. He wondered if he should ask Lou if she wanted to go with him. The idea of leaving her and John alone in the house after their spat was an uncomfortable one. He knew her, though. She would be suspicious. Also she needed to work out her emotions about the news she’d gotten by working hard the following day. He would do better to tell John that he was going to Kansas City as well. Silas would not take no for an answer.

He went back upstairs and out onto the gallery. John still sat there, looking out over the land, his lips in a tight line.

“I’m going to Kansas City tomorrow, son. And you’re coming with me.”

“I can’t go with you Pa. There’s too much work. We’re going down to San Antone and buying a herd ready to drive up to Sedalia. I was going to go this week, but since you’re going to be away we’ll have to wait.

“Hmm. Right, I forgot about that. Well, it won’t interfere with business. I’m not only going to talk to my partners, I’ll be on the hunt for a husband for your sister.”

“What do you mean? She can look at The Matrimonial Gazette. That’s the newspaper I put my advertisement in. It’s a little more, ah, upscale. The page space costs more than the other papers and it’s more expensive as well . I can write to Miss Spencer and get more information about the ladies’ experiences with it.”

“John. I don’t care if Lou would be the only young lady reading it. She’s not going to. We need to handle this with a little more finesse. When I’m in Kansas City, I’m going to buy some dresses for Lou. I asked Mrs. Lennox for advice on what a young lady needs in her wardrobe and she was kind enough to make a list for me. She also told me her views on what size Lou would wear. I have no idea what Lou does for clothing. Is she still taking your old duds?”

“No. She buys boys’ clothes and boots at the general store in Columbia. She’s lucky she’s tall and somewhat thin. That makes it easier for her to find clothing that fits. Although, I happen to know that Mrs. Lennox has altered or tailored some things for her.”

“Ok. Well, I’m buying her everything she’ll need. I mean she’s been wearing that same one to church every week for two years or more. She refused to get a new one and Mrs. Lennox had to beg her to allow it to be turned.”

“Sounds like Lou.” Silas sighed again.

“Don’t you see, John? If it’s that hard to get her to wear even a turned dress, then imagine how she’ll respond to the new ones. More importantly, do you actually think she’s going to read The Matrimonial Gazette?”

“What do you want me to do, Pa. Do you think I should give up my future happiness so Lou can get her own way? You know, you think you brought Lou and me up equally because you allowed her to wear boys’ clothes and learn how to be a ranch hand. Yet the fact of the matter is, Pa, you only spoiled her.

“Don’t get me wrong. I understand why you did what you thought you were doing. Lou holds her own next to some of the old timers. She’s a fine cowboy and works harder than anyone else. But allowing it only fueled her to become a bit selfish. Do you know Mrs. Lennox cleans Lou’s room?”

“Mrs. Lennox doesn’t clean your room?”

“She mops weekly and changes the sheets every week. I make my bed every morning, and sweep. I clean out the heating stove every month and carry coal up for Lou and myself. Lou doesn’t do anything around the house, Pa. Nothing. I told you, I’m not going to ask Miss Spencer to come 800 miles away from the only home she’s ever known to live here and be my sister’s maid.

“I knew this conversation was on the horizon. For at least a year I’ve been trying to reckon how to approach it because I knew Lou would be not only stubborn about it, I knew she wouldn’t see the logic in it. And that’s because she was never taught to see logic involving any opinion but her own. Lou will be 19 in November. That’s just six months away.”

“John, I have to admit you have a point. But, I’m not going to force her to marry the first man who comes along.”

“I’m not suggesting that. But we, you and I should have had this conversation a year ago. I told you I was looking for a wife. I told you I was going to advertise in The Matrimonial Gazette. I thought it was self-explanatory.”

“It was, John. This is all my fault. I didn’t see the truth, much to the chagrin of some of our former housekeepers and the wives of some of my friends. I suppose I was avoiding the inevitable.

“What I should have done was build a larger house ten years ago.”

“Pa, there wasn’t enough money to build a new house ten years ago. It is what it is. Lou has to do her part. She has to grow up a little.”

“Hmm.” Silas rubbed his chin.

---

“Intrigued by Her True Colors” is an Amazon Best-Selling novel, check it out here!

After the crushing loss of her mother, Louisa’s upbringing has been completely different than any other girl’s. Yet she’s come to love working at her family’s ranch and wearing men’s clothes. Her carefree life is about to change forever, though, when her family forces her to marry. While doing everything in her power to sabotage this wedding, she becomes surprisingly smitten with her husband-to-be, and eventually gets hurt by his plans to cancel their union. However, something deep inside her tells her to stay in town and try to build a brand new life for herself. After a peculiar turn of events, Lou will realize that Everett may not be the person she had in mind… Will she find it in her heart to move past his rejection and forgive him?

Everett is devastated to discover that his fiancée has decided to marry someone else. To help him recover from the heartache, his mother sets up an arranged marriage with a seemingly lovely girl, Louisa. Everett’s heart rises with the notion that his wish of a wife and family is almost within reach, but that is until she shows up looking nothing like her picture…Shocked at her poor manners and boyish ways, Everett feels tricked and is disappointed by love once again. To his surprise, though, he soon becomes aware of her unique beauty and brave self and can’t help but wonder if he made a mistake rejecting her… Is his chance to win her heart forever lost?

Just a few times of running into each other will be enough for them to develop powerful, yet unexpected feelings. As if by fate, Lou and Everett will soon find themselves drawn to one another in spite of their differences. When they finally realize their hearts shiver for each other, will they be able to climb the wall they’ve built between them or will they be forever doomed to regret their less than perfect first meeting?

“Intrigued by Her True Colors” is a historical western romance novel of approximately 80,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

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