Karen Kirst - Wed By Necessity

A testament to God’s artistic perfection, the Smoky Mountains were wild and beautiful but not without hidden dangers. Somewhere nearby, someone lurked, possibly watching her.

Her hands clammy, she removed the black pouch from her pocket. She picked up her skirts and, picking her way across the rocks, laid it on the remains of a tree stump. Like every time before, she questioned if what she was doing was right. Should she confront her father? They’d never had a close relationship. Questioning his integrity would wound his pride and drive him farther away. But how long could this continue? Her funds weren’t unlimited.

The blackmailer had working knowledge of the Turner factories in Charleston. He knew that despite her father’s semi-retirement, he still had control of operations. He also knew Caroline had access to her inheritance. In January, she’d received the first note threatening to expose her father’s unsavory business practices. If valid, the claims in the documents had the potential to crumble the Turner empire. Over the years, her father had cultivated a reputation of providing the very best in skin care.

Their products—ranging from soaps and emollient creams to perfumes and bath oils—had become synonymous with opulence and self-indulgence. Only the wealthy could afford them. The exorbitant prices were justified by their exotic, hard-to-obtain ingredients. Caroline’s blackmailer maintained that, while Albert had initially adhered to such practices, he’d recently taken to forgoing the expense of locating and transporting said ingredients and substituting them with common chemicals. Until Caroline could find a way to substantiate these claims, she would meet his demands.

She was halfway across the stream when a rustling sound to her right made her stumble. Her boot sank into the cold water. Sucking in a sharp breath, she completed a jerky revolution, searching the woods below and rocky outcrops above. Had he decided to expose his identity? Would he do her physical harm?

But the source of her fright turned out to be a bandit-faced raccoon scouting for a meal. Caroline rushed to the other bank and clumsily mounted Rain, ready to be gone from there. Half an hour later, once again in the safety of her home, she was too distracted to give her mother’s disparaging comments about her muddy boots and bedraggled hem much thought. Caroline absentmindedly changed into a lavender outfit that would please Louise’s sense of style.

On a whim, she eased the bulging satchel from beneath her bed and ran her fingers along the supple, caramel-hued leather, stirring the dust on its surface and causing her to sneeze. Inside, there were a couple of outfits, grooming accessories and a wad of money. While the satchel had never been used, it wasn’t new. She’d purchased it three years ago as a sort of promise to herself that, if her life became intolerable, she’d leave this town for good and never look back.

So far, she hadn’t worked up the courage to use it. Or maybe she hadn’t reached her breaking point yet.

Movement in the hallway startled her. Shoving it back under the bedframe, she intercepted their housekeeper in the hallway. Shy and skittish as a mouse, the young woman was dependable and hardworking. Louise fretted at times that she didn’t pay attention to details, however.

“I’m going to freshen up your room, Miss Caroline.” She indicated the mound of clean bedding in her arms.

“All right, Sylvia.”

See? She did know her employees. Duncan McKenna was wrong about her. He had to be, because the picture he painted of her was most unflattering.

On the landing, she cupped the cone-shaped knob on the handrail. “Thank you, Sylvia.”

The housekeeper’s slim face registered surprise. She tucked a tendril of dark hair beneath her mobcap. “Oh, miss, there’s no need to thank me. It’s my job.”

Caroline spent the remainder of the day making out menus and reassigning guest rooms for their arrivals the following week. They may have left Charleston years ago, but their ties to that city remained intact. Business associates and friends visited throughout the year, so much so that her home sometimes felt like a hotel. The news that Isaiah Marsh and his son, Theo, had been added to the guest list wasn’t exactly welcome. Isaiah was boisterous and tended to make crude jokes. Theo wasn’t anything like him. The thirty-year-old heir to a fortune was suave, handsome and smart as a whip. A definite catch. It was the calculating aspect of his personality that gave Caroline pause. He was one of a carousel of suitable bachelors her mother had attempted to pair her with. In Louise’s opinion, any single man between the ages of twenty and forty with the right pedigree and desired amount in their bank account was suitable husband material. Thankfully, Theo was as uninterested in wedding her as she was him.

Marriage didn’t strike her as an institution she wanted any part of. As far back as she could remember, her parents’ strained relationship had been marked with indifference on her father’s part and nagging reprimands on her mother’s. They didn’t esteem each other. There’d been few displays of affection. She hadn’t realized there was anything amiss until her adolescent years, when she’d noticed her friends’ parents’ behavior differed from her own. The situation had only worsened with the move to Tennessee, but her mother’s complaints to Albert had fallen on deaf ears. So she’d determined to become the social queen of Gatlinburg, and Caroline was expected to play her part as reigning princess.

Her nerves were frayed by the time dinner rolled around. Her father had extended an invitation to the banker and his wife, Claude and Merilee Jenkins, as well as the reverend and his wife. As they gathered around the sumptuously laid table, the silver candleholders polished to a high shine and candlelight reflected in the mirrors on the walls, Caroline prayed that Claude wouldn’t mention her frequent visits to the bank.

She had gone to the kitchen to ensure the soup was ready to serve when Duncan McKenna slipped inside the rear hallway. She stopped short to avoid a collision with the Goliath. He put out a hand to steady her. The feel of his rough skin against hers evoked a strange fluttering sensation in her middle.

Caroline jerked out of his grip. “You picked a bad time to speak with my father. He’s entertaining guests.”

The scent of Ivory soap clung to him. The waning sunlight entering the hallway set his hair and beard aflame. The effect of it all, combined with those startlingly blue eyes, made him more striking than any other man she’d encountered, even with the beard.

He didn’t make his apologies and exit as expected. He remained exactly where he was, his potent gaze sweeping her person before lifting once more to her face, giving her the impression he saw much more than was on the surface.

“I’m not sure I agree with your mathair.”

“Excuse me?”

“The color of your dress,” he stated. “I liked the one you had on this morning better. The dark blue matched your eyes and brought a bloom to your cheeks.”

Other men had paid her compliments. Theirs hadn’t filled her with a giddy contentment and longing to hear more.

It’s the accent, she told herself.

“You’re being familiar again, Mr. McKenna. We are about to have dinner. You’ll have to come back in the morning. After breakfast.”

His nostrils flared. Hands on his hips, he bent closer, his sculpted mouth filling her vision. “Tell me something, Caroline. What is it about me that offends you so? Is it because I, a lowly working man, dared to ask you for a dance?”

Her father’s voice dispelled the tart response forming on her lips.

“Ah, there you are, Duncan. There are some people I’d like you to meet.”