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CHAPTER 24
Mary had been spending all her day in the kitchen, with Polly’s help, she had been able to cook some pottage for her husband and she had even learned how to smoke a fish on the fire.
Catherine had added more to her chores when she could not stop Polly from helping Mary with her cooking. Mary was to feed the horses and milk the cow, a chore she most loathed. The cow nearly upturned her one fine morning, but for Jared’s timely presence. He had collected the milking bucket from her without a word.
He milked the cow, finished it up, and had taken over the chore for her every morning. He bluntly refused to teach her how.
She had busied herself in the kitchen, with every intention to feed her husband a lovely food when he returned, then she would question him on their marriage. He wasn’t the type to open up easily, maybe some good food would help her.
She moved the food to the dining area gently, her mother in law, who was sitting in the livin
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As she approached the makeshift slab where the Stone cut up their meat, the purging smell of blood made Mary cover her nose, the smell was unconducive, she restrained the urge to puke at the choking smell, she half-ran back but the need to talk to Jared kept her going. Passing by the barn, she came across Allan and Jared skinning two big antelopes, their hands working effectively, Jared was kneeling holding the knife, deriving the animal of its skin. She walked closer tentatively, scared of his reaction. It was Allan that first saw her, He gave her a startled wave, surprised to see her“Sister in law,” He said smiling at her nervously, his merry eyes dancing like they hid a delicious secretJared stopped what he was doing, he looked at Allan questionably, raising his eyebrow, he guessed their disguise had worked then, he picked up the deer’s head and began cutting it in two, not giving an indication that he was aware she was behind him.Mary gasp
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Mary grimaced at the sight of her husband’s bloodiest chest, it was a mess. He had cuts all over. She would not let him know she did not believe his claim of it being the deer’s, the cuts were from weapons and not from any animal. She cleaned it up without a word.He neither showed it hurts, it was Mary who kept on groaning on his behalf, as she saw how deep some of the cuts were. She bandaged him up nicely, she began cleaning the rest of his body with a wet cloth.Jared caught her hands in his “Are you really going to bath me?”Mary coloured up” What do you take me for? I am only cleaning the blood off” she answered softly, she wondered how many people knew he was not so“Do you know how to do that, have you done something like this before?” Jared asked curiously“There is always room for practice...” she muttered slowly, smiling to herself“Practice?” Jared asked s
THE RELUCTANT GROOM CHAPTER 27
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Mary was still dreaming of the words Jared had said to her the night before. The way he had loved her body, his gentle caress, he had never been that gentle with her before.She was cuddled up in the embrace of the bed covers, breathing in her husband’s scent. Reminiscing on the way he had kissed her nonstop, she had thought she would die from his ministrations of her body, he could be a gentle lover. She had forced him to stop because of his wounds, of which she was glad, he woke up a more refreshed person.She giggled into the fluffy pillow at the memory of what he had started with her before he left for work.A knock on the room door broke through her daydreaming, she stopped her rattling, more heavy knocks pounded on the door, she hurriedly gathered the bedsheets to cover her body as the door was flung open by her mother-in-law.Mary sat up slowly with the sheets, her gaze never wandering from her mother-in-law's distasteful expression.C
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Screeching and wailing was hopeless, Mary decided as she struggled uselessly against the rope that bind her hands and legs, the only liberty awarded her was her ability to see and talk. She had been kept in a dark room where ability to see proved unusable, though she knew she was the only one in the room. The dark room only had a tiny window so high up near the ceiling for ventilation, the room was bare of any furniture.The sudden onslaught of light made Mary start up as the door opened abruptly, adjusting her eyes to the onslaught, she paused shocked as Evangeline and her children were pushed into the room crudely, she was clutching them tightly to her body. The children were wailing, highly irritated as they were plunged into the darkness.Mary could hear the frightened and shattering shivering of Evangeline, she was as pale as though she had seen a ghost. She held her children tightly to her as the door closed shut with a bang.Mary searched for words to say
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Trudging down the lane in a rapid speed, the horses were running in full speed, the driver hitting the horses again at Nicholas’s sharp command. “Ride faster, we have to get to the Stone mansion now, damn these turnoff roads, there are so many bumps and ditches, they really are a death sentence” The carriage suddenly lodged into a ditch, the horses neighing loudly “Damn these roads” Nicholas cursed under his breath, He stepped out of the carriage to observe the wreck to the carriage, squeezing his face up in a twist, just one of the horses remained standing, the others lay dead, blood splashing out from their body. Nicholas was bewildered, it was just a small ditch, the horses should at least have been injured not dead. What was going on? Allan was also nowhere to be found. He noticed as he looked about bewilderedly “What joke was this? What game was that boy playing?” Nicholas mused, alarmed at the situation. He freed the
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