ToLoveaLady by Cynthia Sterling Page A

her head. Her hands, though work-roughened, were small, her movements graceful as she prepared the tea. She was a different sort of woman than anyone Cecily had ever met, but definitely a woman.
    “Do you operate this ranch all by yourself?” Cecily asked when the tea was served.
    “I have Banjo and a couple of hands to help me.” At the sound of his name, the dog thumped his tail.
    Cecily tried to imagine living in this little cabin, with only a dog for company, and hundreds of acres to oversee. “I must say, I’m astonished you’re able to do it.”
    “I can’t see why anyone would want to do it.” Alice looked around the cabin, her nose wrinkled.
    “I think it’d be great fun,” Nick said.  
    Alice scowled at him. “No one asked you, did they?”
    “I’ve lived here all my life.” Abbie followed Alice’s gaze around the room, but instead of distaste, her expression was one of love. “I always knew one day the ranch would be mine, and I was brought up learning how to look after things.”
    “Why do you dress like a man?” Alice blurted.
    Abbie blushed again and looked down at her hands in her lap. “The kind of work I do, these clothes are more practical.”
    Cecily could see the point in that. “I’d love to learn about ranching.” She leaned toward Abbie. “Can you teach me?”
    Abbie looked doubtful. “It’s not exactly a job for a lady.”
    “But I truly want to learn.”
    Abbie tilted her head and studied her a long moment. Cecily wondered if Abbie thought she was as peculiar as Cecily found Abbie. After all, how many English ladies did one find on the prairies of Texas? “Why do you want to learn?” Abbie asked after a moment.
    Cecily straightened and smoothed her skirts. “So that I can help my fiancé, Charles, when I become his wife.”
    “That’d be Charlie Worthington, right?” Abbie smiled. “But you don’t need to help him with the ranch. He’s got a bunch of top hands working for him already.”
    But ‘hands’ were not the same as a wife, a helpmate to work by a man’s side, to understand his troubles. Cecily stared into her tea cup. “I want to know enough so that when he comes in in the evenings and talks about his work, I’ll understand what he’s saying. If he’s concerned or troubled about something, I’ll know why.”
    Abbie considered this for a moment, then nodded. “I never thought about it that way, but I guess you’re right. I’d be happy to show you a few things.”
    They finished their tea and returned to the horses to ride out to the land Abbie had for sale. She led the way on a small bay gelding.  
    “Why do you wish to sell the land?” Madame asked as Nick drove the buggy along a faintly marked trail.
    “It’s too rocky to be of much use for cattle.” Abbie half-turned in the saddle to look down on Madame. “I was able to buy a piece from Mason Allen that’s better suited for my purposes. This parcel I’m selling is too near the main road to town, too. Makes it too easy for cattle thieves to make off with the herd and be gone before I can find out about it.”
    Madame smiled. “I believe a location near a main road would suit my purposes admirably.”
    “Do people steal cattle very often?” Cecily asked.
    Abbie shrugged. “I wouldn’t say often. But it’s been happening more lately. Usually only one or two come up missing at a time, which means it’s probably a small operator, maybe even someone local. Nobody’s been able to catch the thief.”
    They reached the parcel in question after half an hour’s ride. A single oak atop a rock-strewn slope commanded a view of the twin tracks of the road below.
    Madame got out of the buggy and walked around the area, stopping from time to time to contemplate the view. Alice waited in the buggy with Gordon and Nick, while Abbie and Cecily strolled in the opposite direction. “You do know why Madame LeFleur wants to buy your land, don’t you?” Cecily asked.
    Abbie nodded. “I have a