Lone Pine Bride (The Brides of Lone Pine #1)(56)

She was just beginning to climb over some rocks at the entrance of the gully when he caught her up, her horse tied to a tree. And it was her horse, he thought rather irrelevantly. His house was her house. Everything he had was hers. He was hers.

Under her arm was the wood with the text on it which made her climbing a bit awkward. She didn’t even want him to have that, he thought, and Seth certainly wasn’t having it. He leapt off his horse, ran towards the rocks and lifted her down.

“Are you insane?” He didn’t quite realise how loudly he shouted in his frustration. “You could have been killed if any of those boulders fell. At the very least you could have broken a limb or hurt your head. Come away and if you want to go tonight I’ll take you in the cart.”

“I must go tonight because it’s not fair on them,” Hannah’s expression was weary. “And we can’t keep living a lie. It’s wrong.”

“Yes. Come away from the boulders and let’s sit on that rock over there.”

They sat and his expression was equally as weary. “If they still want to marry us we’ll marry tonight,” he continued. “We’ll stop at Seth’s place and then go on to the Reverend’s house. Rachel is bound to be staying with them.” He looked at the text. “I thought you were making that for me.”

“I was going to finish it and bring it back.” Hannah looked at Seth with a little frown creasing her forehead. Rachel and for some reason he had not mentioned her name before. For every reason she had not asked. Rachel, and she knew all the names of the ladies who had travelled with her and none of them had that name.

“Rachel?” she asked.

“Rachel,” he replied “Rachel Barwell.”

“Rachel Barwell,” Hannah repeated. She looked at him and suddenly the weariness had disappeared. “You never told me your surname.”

“It’s Seth....”

“Grant,” she finished for him.

“Yes.”

His expression was intense. “Is it wrong to marry a person if you’re not in love with her?”

“You mean you’re not in love with Rachel?”

“I’m in love with you. I fell in love with you the first time you bossed me around.”

“I did not boss you around.” Her tone was indignant.

“Yes, you did. More than once actually. But I have to marry Rachel because she came here specially to marry me. Her parents died three years ago.” He paused. “How do you know my surname is Grant if I haven’t told you it?”

“Would you like me to tell you my full name?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“Hannah Rachel Barwell.”

“Hannah Rachel....” He paused as what she said slowly sank in, smiled widely and the weariness had gone from him also. He stood, punched his fists in the air and couldn’t stop smiling. “Hannah Rachel. My Rachel?” He paused again. “My petite, orphaned Rachel who can cook, play the piano, do needlepoint and who will knit me a cardigan? My Rachel for whom I bought a piano which nobody will ever play? My Rachel who is the most adorable liar out.”

“The very same.” Her smile was just as wide. “My Seth who has plenty of money, employed people to build his house, can cook, sew and who is a dignitary in his community? I can learn to play the piano.”

Seth screwed his nose. “Yes, and you don’t have to.” He reached out to touch her cheek for an instant. “You did realise that I would notice the difference in your appearance when I saw you, didn’t you?”

“You did realise that I would cotton onto the fact that you weren’t what you said you were?”

“I do love you so much.” He stood, knelt in front of her and took the ring from his pocket. “Hannah Rachel Barwell, will you please marry me? I’m hoping you’ll learn to love me in time.”

“I’m a quick learner,” she replied. “I loved you from the minute you moaned about your borrowed carriage being damaged.”

“I did not....” He paused. “You do?” His expression was eager as he took her left hand and slipped the ring back on.

“With all my heart.”

“We really have been stupid, haven’t we?”

“We?”

He grinned. She put her hands on either side of his face, kissed him and drew back abruptly. That was being far too forward and what would he think? He put his arms round her.

“They won’t be asleep yet,” he said.

“Pardon?” She looked bemused.

“The Reverend. We can go on the horses. It won’t take long.”

“Over the rocks?”

“Round the other road.”

“Alright,” she said.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. Can we just go home so I can change my dress? I’ve got an ivory one.”

“The ivory one you said you wanted which I bought for a petite bride to be?”

She screwed her nose. “Yes. I could wear that one.”

“We’ll give it to Monica when we tell her how deceitful you were. She’s shorter than you.”

“How deceitful I was!” Her tone was indignant. He grinned again and held her tighter.

“Why did you say your name was Rachel?”