“This Cornell sounds like a scoundrel,” Mick growled.
“He is,” Iris replied.
“He is not!” Violet cried. “He’s our closest relative and our guardian. I refuse to listen to anyone saying a bad word against him.”
“You tell her, Chuck,” Iris called across the buggy. “You’re the only one who can talk sense into her.”
“But didn’t you mention,” Chuck replied. “That this mail-order marriage was your idea? It sounds like you’re going along with Iris on this.”
“It was her idea,” Iris told him. “When I told her how the ranch was suffering from lack of cowboys, she came up with the plan that we should marry some. You would all gain a share in the operation through marriage to the three of us.”
“It sounds like a pretty good deal to me,” Mick replied.
“Of course it wasn’t all about business, you understand,” Iris went on. “Just about anyone we married would be enticed by a share of the ranch. So we might as well marry cowboys who could help us manage it properly, if you see what I mean.”
“Oh, I understand your point,” Mick replied. “I think it makes good sense. And I’m happy to be on board. If we do decide to give this Cornell rascal the boot, I’ll be right there to lend a hand.”
“No one is giving Cornell the boot!” Violet yelled. “And that’s final!”
“You have to admit, it might come to that,” Chuck put in.
“Over my dead body!” Violet snapped. “He’s already distraught about us getting mail-order husbands—and cowboys, too. He wanted us to marry up, you know, into wealthy families with prosperous, educated sons. We’ve dashed all his hopes to the ground by getting you men out here. The least we can do is smooth the way for him by leaving him comfortably situated in the Bird House until he dies—which won’t be too much longer, I imagine.”
“He could make things very difficult for us in the meantime,” Iris pointed out. “He’ll make a point of sticking his nose into everything, meddling in all our affairs, and arguing with us over every business decision, even when the business no longer concerns him. You know perfectly well he will, Violet. You’re only defending him because you feel guilty about flouting his wishes. You’ve never done it before, and you feel bad for doing it now.”
Violet crossed her arms over her chest. “I do not!”
“But that still leaves the question,” Chuck added. “Where are we all going to live?”
“Mick and I will take the Fort House,” Iris declared. “I’ve already told Violet and Rose this, and I’m putting my foot down on it. If Violet absolutely refuses to send Cornell packing, then you and Rose can wrestle over the main house. I don’t care. I’ve told you what I think we should do. If you won’t do it, I’m not going to put myself out to accommodate Cornell.”
“Good for you, Iris,” Mick exclaimed. “That’s my kind of thinking.”
Violet snuck a glance over her shoulder and saw Rose and Jake still staring at each other in silence. Neither made any move to join the conversation. If anyone but Rose sat in that back seat, Violet would have invited her into the discussion on Cornell and the Bird House. After all, hadn’t Rose mentioned the Bird House on the way to town? Come to think of it, Rose was the first one to mention getting rid of Cornell so she and Jake could live in the Bird House.
Violet jerked around again and directed her eyes toward the road ahead of them. In the distance, the sign over the entrance gate to Rocking Horse Ranch peeked up between two hummocks of land. It gave her the perfect opportunity to change the subject. “There it is. Rocking Horse Ranch. You can just see the front gate from here.”
The two riders gazed out over the range stretching toward the far horizon. “Nice piece of country you have here,” Mick remarked. “How much land do you have?”
“We have fifteen thousand acres of our own,” Iris told him. “Plus we have the use of another ten thousand acres of unclaimed land adjacent to our southern boundary.”
Mick whistled through his teeth. “That’s a good parcel. And how much stock?”
“Five thousand head,” Iris replied. “About a third of that should go to the sale yards at the end of the summer. We haven’t had a decent cattle drive in a few years, what with being so short-handed. We should cut our numbers and build up again next year with higher quality stock.”
Mick squinted at her out of the corner of his eye. “You really know your stuff, don’t you? I never heard that kinda talk comin’ outta the mouth of a woman before.”
Violet laughed. “That’s our Iris. She gets into everything that doesn’t concern her. Do you know, Mick, she even orders the cowboys around? Pete Kershaw and Wade Jackson—they’re our ranch hands—they take all their orders from Iris.”
“Well, someone has to take charge of the place,” Iris exclaimed. “If I didn’t go out and tell them what to do, Pete and Wade would have left us long since. You order Rita around in the house, Violet. This is no different.”
“Except you’re a woman telling two men what to do,” Violet shot back. “And both of those men are old enough to be your father. And it’s cattle ranching, too! That’s men’s business.”
“Anything having to do with my inheritance is my business,” Iris declared. “And when there are no men around to run the ranch the way it should be run, I have no choice but to step in and run it.” She glanced sidelong at Mick. “Once you men take over and we’re married, if you don’t want me getting mixed up in ranch business anymore, I won’t.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Mick replied. “As long as there’s work to do, I’m sure we’ll be happy for another pair of willing hands to do it. But just wait a little while. Once we’re married, you might decide you don’t want to run the ranch anymore. You might decide you like it better in the house doing women’s things.”
“Not likely!” Violet scoffed.
But when she saw Iris’s embarrassment, Violet regretted joking at her expense. Iris bore the sole credit for keeping the ranch alive this long. She should apologize for her tactless remarks, especially in front of Iris’s future husband, but she never got the chance. The buggy rolled under the sign at the front gate and purred up the road toward the house.
“There’s the house.” Iris pointed out the main house. “We’ll drive you over to the Fort House and drop you off. What time is it, Violet?”
Violet fished around in her hand bag for a watch, but before she found it, Jake Hamilton’s smooth voice answered from the back seat. “It’s quarter to five.”
Violet jumped in her seat and looked over her shoulder just in time to see Jake tucking a gold pocket watch into the breast pocket of his waist coat. He didn’t acknowledge her, but went back to looking at Rose.
“Then we have a little time left,” Iris replied. “Once you get settled in, why don’t the three of you come on down to the main house for a little supper. We can have a meal together and get a little bit better acquainted.”
“Sounds like a great idea,” Chuck answered. “I’m starving.”
“Me, too,” Mick agreed. “And will Cornell be joining us?”
“I doubt it,” Iris replied. “He usually has supper with us, but I think he’ll make himself scarce tonight.”
“Good for him,” Mick muttered.
Chapter 11