The young man turned and ran out the front doors as the clerk quickly guided Simms up the stairs to a room at the back of the hotel where he assured Simms it would be quiet and would allow the lady to recover.
Simms entered the opened door and laid Aunt Hortense on the bed just as Blake rushed up to the doorway.
“How is she?” Blake asked.
“She’ll be all right in a few moments,” Simms assured Blake as he held a small vial he had removed from his pocket under Aunt Hortense’s nose.
Aunt Hortense coughed and sputtered and slapped Simms’s hand away. “That’s enough, Simms. Are you trying to kill me?”
Simms smiled at Blake. “I told you she’d be all right. Stressful situations cause her to faint.”
“Then why on earth did you allow her to travel all this way. Why didn’t you stop her?” Blake barked.
“I am merely her employee, Sir. There is no way to stop Missus Montgomery when she has her mind set on anything.”
Blake nodded and remembered his aunt could be quite stubborn.
“Blake,” Aunt Hortense said. “There you are.”
Blake approached the bed and said, “I’m here, Aunt Hortense. Please relax, and you’ll be all right.”
“Of course, I will be. Where am I? This can’t possibly be your ranch. This room is less than desirable,” Aunt Hortense insisted.
Before Blake could answer, the doctor arrived and shooed everyone from the room. Waiting in the hall, Blake and Simms could hear murmurs in a male voice and Aunt Hortense’s grating voice insisting she was not ill and demanding to get out of bed.
When the doctor opened the door, he was shaking his head. “She should rest in bed for a day if you can convince her. Fainting spells are not something to be ignored. I left a tonic for her to take. It should help her regain some strength. I believe eating more would also benefit her. She should put a little meat on her bones. I’ll send you my bill, Blake.”
“Thank you, doctor,” Blake called out after the man as he hurried away from the room toward the stairs.
Aunt Hortense glanced around the room. “Where’s Constance?”
“I left her with Eliza and her friends,” Blake explained.
“Go find her immediately, Simms,” ordered Aunt Hortense. The man rushed from the room without answering.
Aunt Hortense sat up and looked directly into Blake’s eyes. “I brought Constance here to marry you. You could have told me you already married.”
“I didn’t have time. We married recently,” Blake defended.
“We can have that taken care of. Constance and I will stay at your ranch, and you will see the mistake you made. I will leave Simms in town to take care of any business that might arise. Now, help me up so we can leave.”
Blake shook his head. “The doctor ordered you to rest. I’ll find Simms and then Constance. Tomorrow I’ll bring the buggy for you and Constance, and one of my hands will retrieve your luggage.”
Aunt Hortense glared at Blake as he backed out of the room, wondering how he was going to convince not only his aunt and Constance that he was happily married but also convince Eliza to play the happily married wife.
The young blonde woman who had ridden in the stage with Eliza stood staring across the road. She held a lace-edged handkerchief to her nose and sniffled while mumbling, “What shall I do now without Miss Hortense.”
Eliza approached her and said, “We were on the stage together. Perhaps I could be of some assistance. My name is Eliza. We didn’t have a chance to meet during the trip from Cheyenne.”
“No, I prefer to read while riding anywhere,” the young woman answered. “My name is Constance Olivia Beatrice Glavens-Bradshaw, and I do not wish to speak to the harlot who stole my husband.” She promptly turned her back on Eliza.
A stunned and embarrassed Eliza rushed back to Amalie and Faith. “What did she mean I stole her husband. I have never been called a harlot. What is going on? I thought I was helping Blake from a difficult situation. I never dreamed he was married. That isn’t legal here, is it? I certainly hope not because I refuse to stay married to someone who is already married,” Eliza managed to say in one long breath. She drew in a deep breath when she finished, and Amalie spoke before she could say more.
“No, Blake is only married to you. His great-aunt wants him to move back East and came out here with Miss Constance Olivia Beatrice Glavens-Bradshaw to try and force him to marry her. With her as his wife, she would make his life miserable until he moved back East the way his great-aunt wishes.”
“I see,” mumbled Eliza. “What am I supposed to do now?”
Amalie linked arms with Eliza and said, “Have some tea and lunch with Faith and me at the cafe while Blake sees to his aunt.”
“What about Miss Constance Olivia, whatever the rest of her name is?” Eliza inquired.
“Look,” Faith said. “She’s walking toward the hotel. They have a dining room. She’ll be all right. I’m sure Aunt Hortense would rather see her than any of us. Let’s go eat something and talk about old times and our futures.”
Chapter 4
As Blake pushed through the hotel’s doorway, he saw Simms meet Constance at the edge of the road. Knowing Simms would take care of her and escort her to his aunt’s room, Blake spun on his heels and headed for the café.
Blake glanced into the window of the café and saw Eliza sitting and laughing with Amalie and Faith. He had absolutely no idea how he was going to deal with his aunt and a marriage of convenience at the same time.
Blake drew in a deep breath, pulled the door open with a smile on his face, and walked up to the table where the young ladies were enjoying tea and a slice of apple pie.
Amalie looked up from her plate and said,
