work so I'm good at it."

"I'm waiting," Wes said stubbornly.

"Hunting!" she said, pleased with herself. "I went hunting with my brother once and I got so scared he

brought me home. We heard a bear at night and it frightened me. Now there! That's something I can't do."

"Anything else?"

"You are impossible. There's mud in my ears even! Please let me up. Oh, all right. I can't read, I can't write, guns frighten me, being away from people scares me. I hate men who care only that I'm a Simmons." She said the last with a great deal of venom.

"Guns, huh?" Wes said, seeming to ignore her last statement. Tightening his grip on her, he began to roll

again.

"Wesley!" she exclaimed.

"Guns and hunting!" He laughed, turning over and over in the mud.

Leah could only cling to him and try to keep from drowning.

"Well lookee here!" came Sadie's voice over them. "If it ain't a couple of pigs wallowin' in the mud!"

Leah was sure her face was red under its coating of mud, but Wesley was grinning.

"I heard you ladies think mud is a beauty cream. I just thought I'd try it and Leah consented to show me

how it's done. That's right, isn't it, Leah?"

"Release me, you oaf!" she hissed at him.

"Wesley!" came Kim's voice. "Whatever are you and Leah doing in the mud together? Did you fall?"

"I think I have," Wes said softly, to Leah alone, looking at her in wonder. He rolled off her to look up at

Kim. "Leah fell and I jumped in after her." There was a tone to his voice that was almost a challenge.

"Oh," Kim said, blinking. "I don't guess a person can swim in mud."

Leah did not laugh. That was to her credit.

Wes slowly began to stand. "I guess we better get cleaned up." He held out his hand to Leah.

She wasn't sure whether to trust him again, but this time there was no laughter in his eyes, and she

accepted his offered hand. He swept her into his arms and Leah didn't protest.

"Wesley," Kim began.

"I have to take Leah to the river," he said blandly, walking past her.

There was something in Wesley's look that made Leah keep quiet. Behind them Sadie said, "Come with

me, Kimberly, and I'll make you something nice to drink."

At the river Wesley left her alone, and when he walked back to camp he was frowning.

Kimberly brought Leah a towel and clean clothes.

"Leah," she said, puzzled, "I don't think a lady should get into a mud puddle with a man. I really don't

think it's the proper thing to do."

"Kim," Leah said, "I certainly didn't do it on purpose. I fell."

"And Wesley was saving you?" Kim seemed to want reassurance.

Leah merely nodded.

"Wesley isn't as nice to me as he used to be," Kim continued. "Last night he was very rude to me and

today he hardly spoke to me at all."

Leah paused in dressing. "What did you say just before he was rude to you?"

"I was talking about when we get married and I said I was looking forward to it and that I was glad I could wear white. I mean, with his first marriage, you couldn't." She stopped at Leah's look. "I didn't mean anything about you, Leah. You can wear white when you marry Justin. No one in Kentucky will know the truth and I'm sure neither Wesley nor I will tell anyone."

Leah kept her back straight as she started back to the wagons. She completely forgot to ask what rude thing Wesley had replied to Kim's declarations of her virginity.

Chapter 12.

Within the next few weeks they began to approach the new land of Kentucky. Instead of feeling excitement, Leah began to worry about how these new people would react to a divorced woman. When she was in Virginia, she'd wanted to leave behind a decent memory of at least one of the Simmonses. She didn't want people saying that a gentleman had married her but he'd had sense enough to get rid of her. The new land had seemed far away then.

But now she wished she'd gotten the divorce in Virginia. If she had, she could enter Kentucky as a free woman. Now she'd have to start her life here with an ugliness that would stain her as badly as her family had in Virginia.

As she rode beside Justin, she was silent. He still wanted to marry her even though he knew about her family. But would any man want her after they knew she'd been married and miscarried a child? Kim knew how important her virginity was and she hung onto it at all costs.

Regan and Nicole had said Leah was a lady, but Leah couldn't believe them. Kim was a lady. Everyone was polite to her. The man who loved her waited on her hand and foot. He treated her with respect, and even after this long trip she still retained her virginity. But with Leah, men were always lusting after her. Kim was right: no lady would roll in the mud with a man. Or throw herself at him and end up pregnant.

"What are you thinking, Leah?" Justin asked from beside her.

"Not thoughts one can share," she answered.

"I'd hoped you were thinking about your answer to my proposal."

"I was, in a way. There are some things you need to know about me."

"I'm not easily shocked. Leah, something is troubling you. Even if you don't return the love I have for you, I'm still your friend. You can tell me anything."

She was silent for a moment, wishing she could believe him. But if she told him now he'd never want to see or speak to her again. And she wanted these last few days of pretending that a handsome man wanted to marry her before he learned the truth and came to hate her.

"It isn't Wesley, is it?" he asked with some hostility in his voice.

She laughed at that. "Wesley Stanford is the last man on earth who might be interested in me. He's in love with Lady Kimberly and doesn't know anyone else exists."

"I wish I were as sure of that as you are."

Leah didn't answer him. She felt only her dread of meeting new people and being branded as a brazen woman. She'd seen the way men in Virginia, who knew of her family, treated her. She wondered if she could bear it in Kentucky. Perhaps she should get the divorce from Wesley in his town of Sweetbriar, then leave there as soon as she was free. She just prayed that her reputation wouldn't follow her.

That night in camp everyone seemed to be subdued. Wesley kept his eyes on his plate of food, and Kim's eyes were red and swollen. Justin watched Leah while she mechanically went about her chores.

"I'd think you'd all be glad to be near home," Sadie said with a sigh, "but I've been to more cheerful funerals."

The next day Wesley paid a young man to ride ahead to his farm in Sweetbriar and tell the people that they would be arriving soon. Leah wanted to cry in frustration. Soon he'd have to tell people of their marriage and start divorce proceedings. Leah wondered if Kim would invite her to the wedding so Leah could see Kim's pure, white, flawless gown.

The wagons rolled closer to the border of Kentucky each day and everyone's mood seemed to grow more glum. Once, Justin angrily accused Leah of not accepting his proposal because she wanted all the men in the state pursuing her. Leah put her face in her hands and began to cry. Justin didn't make any more accusations after that.

Twice, Leah heard Wesley tell Kim he was too busy to get her whatever she wanted. Kim retreated to the wagon to sleep. By the time they reached Kentucky she was sleeping twelve hours a night and taking a three-hour nap every afternoon.

And Wesley didn't speak to anyone. He did his chores, but retreated into himself, seemingly unaware that anyone else was near him.

"That young man is considerin' somethin' powerful hard," Sadie said as she and Hank took their leave. "I'm hopin' he's decidin' which woman he wants."

Leah just looked at her. "You're too much of a romantic, Sadie. Wesley has been in love with Kim for years. He's probably trying to force himself to wait until the wedding." She couldn't add that it'd be a long time before their wedding because of the inconvenience of Leah and Wes's marriage.

Leah hugged all the family good-bye and she was very glad that they'd never know the truth about her. They'd never learn of how she'd flaunted herself at Wes and he'd discarded her.

It was a silent group that trudged ahead toward Sweetbriar, Kentucky.

On the fourth day after Sadie, Hank, and their children had left, two men came galloping toward them. One was Oliver Stark, Justin's nineteen-year-old brother who worked for Wesley. The other was John Hammond, a tall, handsome man in his thirties with prematurely gray hair.

"The farm's doin' just fine," Oliver said, grinning at Wesley and his brother. "It sure took you a long time gettin' here."

"I didn't expect to see you here, John," Wesley said, extending his hand.

"The man you sent ahead said you had two of the prettiest women he'd ever seen with you. It looks like he was right," he said, looking Leah and Kim over.

Kim looked down at the ground. As usual, her eyes were red from crying.

"I'd like to introduce the ladies," Wes said, but Kim put her hand on his arm, her eyes pleading.

"Let me speak to Leah, please," Kim half whispered.

Wesley's jaw flexed, but he nodded and looked back at the men and began to ask questions about his farm.

Puzzled, Leah followed Kim to the back of the wagon. Something was upsetting her greatly. "Are you all

right, Kim?" she asked, concerned.

"Wesley is being beastly," she spat out. "Once he makes up his mind to something, nothing will change it."

Leah couldn't believe she was being asked to comfort the woman who was to marry her husband. "I

would think you'd be glad of that. He decided to marry you and nothing will change his mind, not even his marriage to someone else."

Kim gave her a hard look. "Sometimes he changes his mind. It takes him awhile to decide to do it but when he does, nothing will make him change."

"What in the world are you talking about? Oh!" Leah gasped as she slipped and nearly fell. The wagons were stopped on a narrow road on the side of a steep hill. Below them ran a stream with no trees in between.

"Watch out!" Kim said. "You nearly fell!"

Leah smiled. "It's not steep enough to be a danger. Unless the wagon fell on top of me, I guess."