A Sensible Arrangement by Tracie Peterson Page A

“And your maid is his daughter?”
    â€œYes, and I like her very much. She was injured in the robbery that claimed her father’s life. She has a scar that runs the length of her face. When you meet her, try not to be . . . surprised.”
    Jake smiled. “No worries. I’ve probably seen worse. And by the way, Mr. and Mrs. Morgan have invited us to their Valentine’s ball next month and would like us to arrive by six in order to receive the guests with them.”
    Marty looked at her husband for a moment. “Is this to be a regular occurrence?”
    He seemed confused. “Valentine’s parties?”
    â€œNo, being summoned by the Morgans,” she replied and took a bite of her toast.
    Jake shrugged but gave her a grin. “It does seem to be the pattern. You’ll get used to it. Mr. Morgan has a way of seeing to it that folks do what he wants. I’m really not sure why he’s taken such a likin’ to me, but I have to say he’s generous to a fault where it’s concerned us. Just look at all he’s done on our account, and always with the requirement that I not give him credit for his generosity. He’s a humble man.”
    â€œI can see that you’re right about that,” Marty said. “I suppose I’m still stunned by my new life here.” With Mrs. Landry, Kate, and Alice busy transforming the front sitting room into a fitting area for the expected dressmaker, Marty leaned forward in hopes of not being overheard.
    â€œI know that he believes us to be a love match, but . . . well . . . do the servants know about our . . . situation?”
    â€œYou mean do they know our sensible arrangement? This marriage of convenience?”
    â€œYes.”
    He shook his head. “No. I think Mrs. Landry might suspect, but I haven’t told her outright.” He put down his fork. “See, when they promoted me to bank manager and started in on my need for a wife, I lied and told them I had a fiancée in Texas.”
    â€œAnd that’s why you placed the advertisement.”
    â€œExactly.” This time he leaned in to speak in a hushed tone. “You have no idea what Morgan and his cronies had planned for me. There were entire parties full of eligible young ladies for me to court.”
    â€œSounds like torture,” Marty said, smiling.
    Jake grinned and relaxed in his chair. “I thought so. Anyhow, I made this big fuss about how I was promised and I couldn’t be unfaithful. I told them we planned to marry inanother year, but that didn’t sit well with them. They started in on insisting I move the wedding date up. They said it worried the board to have a single man in a position of such great responsibility—even a widowed man.”
    â€œI suppose there is some merit to that. Married men do present themselves as more stable and respectable in their activities.”
    â€œSome married men do,” Jake countered. “But certainly not all. There’s scandal aplenty in this town, and marriage doesn’t seem a sturdy boundary marker for many.”
    â€œI’m sure you’re right. Just the same, I wanted to know what you’d told folks. I don’t want to cause problems by not getting the story straight.”
    â€œI appreciate that. I don’t want to outright lie if I don’t have to—I’ve already done that in telling them we were engaged. But if you can abide it, I’d appreciate it if we’d say as little as possible.”
    â€œIt’s been my experience, however,” Marty said, pushing her eggs around on the plate, “that sometimes details help to keep stories from unraveling. I suggest we agree to certain things, such as when we first met and how. Women are always asking after that kind of thing.”
    Jake nodded. “Well, we both lived in Texas . . . Dallas area, to be exact. That helps a great deal. We