very room. Lewt guessed her family would want a big wedding that would take weeks to plan, but he’d insist he couldn’t wait and he was sure she’d go along. When the train headed back to Austin next Saturday, one of these ladies would be his wife before anyone had time to look into his past.
Lewt laughed to himself. If dreams were gold, he was getting richer by the minute.
If he were married, his bride and he would stay at a nice, respectable hotel, or maybe with her uncle, the judge, until he found a suitable house. Then he’d . . .
“Mr. Paterson, would you like a slice of cake?”
Lewt stared at Rose for a moment. He’d been so lost in his plan, he’d forgotten about the others. “Yes, thank you, Miss McMurray.”
“Please,” Rose said loud enough for everyone at the table to hear. “We’ll get very confused if you spend the entire week calling all three of us by Miss McMurray. Don’t you think it would be all right to go by our first names?”
“I don’t know about that,” Mrs. Watson said, playing her part as chaperone, but the others agreed that as long as the Miss remained, it would be proper to switch to first names. They were already introducing themselves all over again before Mrs. Watson could get in another objection.
Davis’s mother, Mrs. Allender, giggled and declared, “Now we have a party. Much better than a formal dinner.”
Rose smiled down at Lewt as she handed him a slice of cake. “I’m Miss Rose,” she said just to him. “Just plain Rose.”
“Lewton, but friends call me Lewt, and there is nothing about you, sweet Miss Rose, that is plain.” She was the one, he decided as he watched her move on to the next guest. She’d be everything he’d want in a wife.
Beth leaned across the table and offered her hand. “Please, Lewt, call me Beth.”
Lewt took her small hand in his. The view from her not-so-modest neckline when she leaned over was just low enough to be interesting. “I will,” he said, thinking he might as well say I do right now. He had no idea what love was, but this was probably as close as he’d ever get to it. Her skin was creamy smooth and her eyes the color of summer green. Miss Beth was the one.
Then shy Emily took his hand. She was polite and charming, but not overly friendly. She’d make him earn her love, and he liked a challenge. She was the kind of woman a man would never want to raise his voice around. She’d be a treasure to have at his side.
Hell, he thought, I might as well become Mormon and marry all three of them. The problem wasn’t going to be figuring out which one he wanted. The problem was trying to determine which one to leave behind. It crossed his mind that maybe all women outside saloons were like this. No wonder their fathers and brothers and even cousins watched them so carefully.
Lewt sat back and tried to enjoy the cake but found himself jealous whenever Boyd or Davis even looked at any of the Misses McMurray. By the time the men went up the stairs to their three rooms and the women circled through the kitchen to a staircase leading to the new wing of the house, Lewt decided he’d go mad this week. The only two women he didn’t want tonight were Mrs. Watson, the drunken chaperone who sported a mustache thicker than most men could manage, and Mrs. Allender, who was so wide it would take two men to get their arms around the lady.
Reverend Watson said that everyone could sleep in tomorrow morning because of the late night, but anyone interested could find coffee in the kitchen if they rose early, and he added that there would be a prayer service served with the biscuits. The old preacher seemed to think his role was head of the household, but none of the McMurrays appeared to feel that way. Lewt had an idea that these women were used to having their own way. The thought crossed his mind that if Walter Freeport the Fourth had slapped any one of them, he’d be shot dead before he could lower his hand.
Boyd Sinclair, since he hadn’t slept the night before, planned to take the preacher’s advice and sleep the clock around. Davis commented that he wanted his mother to rest, so he planned to spend the morning