the mail order bride (again)

[icu1978]

Steping off the crowded stage behind a large woman that was complaining about the heat in rather bold language Cassandra looked around her. the town was small and dusty. it was swealtering in the sun and only mildly cooler in the shade. she could feel the sweat running between her shoulder blades. she felt dirty and crumpled. and worst of all was the fear eating at the pit of her stomache. she had no idea what the man looked like she was supposed to meet. other than telling her that he wore a black cowboy hat her father could not discribe him for her.

so she sat in the shade by the coach station trying as best as she could not to fall to the ground every time the over large woman next to her moved over. if cassandra where not such a gentle lady with a kind heart she would almost concider that the woman was trying to knock her off the bench on purpose. but no, no one would be so rude as to do that. a sharp elbow in her side made her change her mind as she stood holding her side.

she waited silently watching the face of each man that passed her. ooh how she wished her papa had been able to tell her more about the man he had so heartlessly gave her too. her heart still ached for what her parents had done. feeling as if they had sold her to the highest bidder for her hand. and what was worse is she was sure her papa had told him how she was no great beuty like her sisters. with a sigh she held her hands in place and waited with her few belongings.

 

[Finadien]

Logan slowly steered his mare through the windblown streets of Greenrock, holding the gelding he had brought with him by the reigns. Greenrock had been named so because of the coppermine they had founded here several years ago but soon the mine had dryed out and only the farms had remaind. Fortunatly the fields around here where very fertile and so live was not to unpleasant for a farmer in Greenrock.

His parents had come here before he was born and had started the farm he now owned together with his brother and his sister in law. Since he couldn't find an agreeable woman in Greenrock (the only really interesting one was Lana Miller and she was already married to Bill "The Bull" Miller, which made pursuing her rather dangerous), his brother had decided to order one for him. He didn't like the idea very much but now it was to late since his brother had only informed him this morning about his new "wife to be."

Logan had decided to fetch her on horseback, rather then taking the wagon because she should become accustomed to riding. He couldn't use some pampered city flower as a wife out here in the wild. Since he didn't want to make it too hard on her he had brought his tamest gelding, which had a dull brown color, looked like he was nearly asleep every time but was rock steady and did follow each and every command to the letter.

Finally he came into view of the carriage station and nearly stopped breathing as the first women he saw was enormous. It wasn't the fact that she was fat, no she was nearly as tall as he ... rather ... big. Fortunately he immediately saw that this was not his bride to be. On the bench, half hidden behind the mountain of woman sat a petite lady which got up just as he came nearer. She had this kind hidden beauty he liked so much and he wondered if he brother had seen her before he had ordered her.

He steeled his resolve to not like her (who could like a woman who was in fact sold to someone else) and approached her. With a flourish he took of his wide brimmed back hat and greeted her.

"Hello, I'm Logan Cranes," he nearly said "your groom" but bit the words down. Then he pointed to the gelding. "I hope you can ride."

Without waiting for an answer he brushed back his light blond hair and reset his hat on his head. Then he let out a whistle to catch the attention of the nearby stable boy.

"Hey, Pete, take good care of the luggage from this lady here and make sure it is delivered to our farm with the load of horseshoes your father wanted to bring."

Then he dropped the reigns of the gelding and looked at her expectingly.

 

[icu1978]

cassandra looked at logan for a moment. he wasn't anything like she had expected, he was young and looked to be in fine health. she couldn't help but wonder why he would feel the need to order a bride from so far away. he was certainly handsome enough to have his pick of just about any lady he wanted.. and he probably had. with a smile she introduced herself.
" hello logan, i'm cassandra."

the large woman she had been sitting beside was paying close attention to their conversation so cassandra chose to say no more than that. as logan asked a young man to attend to her bags. she steped a little closer. as the young man approached to gather her belongings cassandra handed him the two bags she had brought with her. " that's all their is." after he had knodded and went on his way cassandra turned back to logan. he was looking at her as if he expected her to faint on the spot. but she was made of stronger stuff than that.

oh she felt as if her heart where in her throat but she wasn't going to give this man the saticfaction of seeing how scared she really was. steping up she lifted her foot into the stir up of the saddle and lifted herself up. thankfull that her father had insisted upon her learning to ride.

after she was seated in the saddle she smiled not so much at logan but to herself. proud that she had gotten up on the guilding on her own. she was a bit uncomftorble being astride the animal but she was managing well enough. raising her eyes she looked to logan.

 

[Finadien]

Logan's eyes followed Cassandra as she swung herself into the saddle. His scowl softened a bit as he saw that she apparently was used being on horseback. He looked at her and tried to look at little bit more friendly, it wasn't entirely her fault that she was here after all.

"I see you know how to ride." he said and then the turned around his mare, "just follow me, it isn't to far." without looking back he steered his horse back along the dusty road, past the saloon.

He could her the gelding trotting beside him, a sure sign that she was holding her self quite well.

"So how come a cute girl like yourself is being ..." he wanted to say 'sold off' but refrained from doing so. It would make him sound like a slaver (or at least his brother) and that most certainly wasn't the case. "... shuffled off to some stranger?"

 

[icu1978]

cassandra's back stiffened and she turned her head to look at logan. " what a polite way of putting it...my father could not find a suitable husband for me in england." falling silent she stared ahead of her.

she tryed her hardest not to feel like some piece of what not that has been bought and sold. looking to him she bit her lip contimplating her next words.
" why did you send for me?" it was simple and a little to blunt but at least it was an honest question.

 

[Finadien]

"Why did you send for me?" she asked and he turned around for the first time since they started. She was very bold for a woman, perhaps she really could live out here in the west. Some pampered doll wouldn't last that long in the harsh conditions that sometimes seemed to arise.

He tried to put up a smile but it resulted more in a cringe. "Actually, I didn't send for you." he waited a few seconds to see how she would reacted and then continued.

"My brother and his wife thought I finally needed a wife and since every eligible women here is not to my liking they simply 'ordered' one for me, of course without my consent."

"I don't know what exactly went on between him and your father but I hope we can make this work somehow."

 

[icu1978]

cassandra felt her shoulders slump.. thinking to herself.. this would never work. she did not want to marry a man she did not know or love and he did not want a wife at all.

straitening cassandra looked away from him." looks as if we are both being forced to do what we do not want to do.....what a shame."

she could feel the rolling gait of the horse beneath her and turned her mind to staying in her saddle. she was so travel weary she felt as if she would fall to pieces at any moment. she tryed to take notice of the town as they traveled through but it really held no interest to her at all so she had a hard to focusing on anything they where passing. the one thing she seemed to be able to take note of at all was the one thing she desperately wanted to ignore. the man infront of her seemed to capture her attention more than she would like.

 

[Finadien]

Could this work? A wife that was in fact bought for him? Up until he had met Cassandra he was sure that it could not work. But somehow he was intrigued by her. She didn't seemed to be the fragile flower that he had expected but she also had this hidden beauty he liked so very much. He wondered if his brother had seen a photograph of her before "ordering".

Silently he lead the way through Greenrock and out the other side. The Cranes farm was a little outside and fortunatly alongside the creek that came out of the mountains so they not only had very good crops but also some very lush meadows for the cows to graze. Another boon the creek provided was the small lake under the willows besides the main house. He had grown up with this lake and so he sometimes wondered how people could live without going for a bath for weeks. In winter he usually started to understand those people, but only reluctantly.

The left the main north-south junction that ran through Greenrock and their horses climbed a short rise and then he stoped his mare and waited for her to catch up. From here you had a nice view over the main house, the barn, the lake and some of the meadows.

He looked over at her and tried to put a smile on his face, this time he had the impression that it worked a little bit better.

"This is your home now, I guess."

 

[icu1978]

cassandra took in the veiw at the top of the rise. she had heard him say that this place was her home now but that wasn't true. she would never feel that this place no matter how buetiful it was would be her home.

looking down over the farm she knew that it was easily the most beutiful place she had ever seen. but she would not call this home. turning in her saddle she looked at him. she smiled slightly. " your home is buetiful logan."

she had made it a point to call it his home. as they began to move down the small rise her thoughts began to wonder back to her home with her parents and her sisters, she missed her sisters already. with a sigh she looked towards the house that they where aproaching. there appeared to be people about in the yard and even on the porch of the house. with a sigh she straitend her back and prepared for the encounter with her new family.

 

[Finadien]

Logan still lead the way down to the house and cringed inwardly. His brother Joseph apparently had made sure that the whole farm knew about the arrival and so everyone seemed to have some excuse to be around the main yard. He did love his brother dearly but there where times he could kill him.

Logan looked back at Cassandra and tried to put up an apologizing face as if to say "this reception is not my fault". He still felt a little uncomfortable but somehow they both had to adapt. Joseph had paid for Cassandra and even though their farm was one of the better ones around Greenrock they didn't have that much money.

They finally reached the porch where Joseph and Marie where waiting and Logan jump down from his horse and had the presence of mind to offer Cassandra his hand to help her down from the gelding.

He introduced first Maria and then Joseph and out of the corner of his eye watch the rest of the people slowly disperse again. Joseph just smiled and then excused himself, saying that he had work to do.

Maria smiled at Cassandra with her warm smile and said: "I guess you are tired and dirty from the trip so I have prepared a bath for you." she looked at Logan. "Why don't you show Cassandra to your rooms?"

 

[icu1978]

cassandra looked at maria and offered a small smile. " yes a bath sounds lovely." slipping from her horse' back she held on to the saddle for a moment when she felt like her legs where going to give out beneath her. when she felt stable enough she turned to maria and took a step toward the young woman.

waiting silently for the young woman to finish talking with logan. when maria turned and smiling lead cassandra through the living room and kitchen to a small room off of the large kitchen where the bathing tub was already waiting with steaming water half way filling it.

looking to maria cassandra smiled brightly for the first time. " thank you very much. you have no idea how badly i need to soak in that hot water." maria laughed and turning from cassandra walked to the door she looked back at cassandra " i imagine that anyone having going through what you are would feel the need for a nice hot bath and long rest no matter who they where." with that she shut the door and left cassandra alone in the small room.


cassandra quickly unbuttoned her dust covered dress and pulled her under clothing off. standing nude next to the large tub she reached down and lifted one of the large buckets filled with steaming water and dumped it into the tub. steping into the steaming water slowly cassandra could already feel her body begin to relax. sitting down in the large tub the water rising to just bellow her full breast. leaning back she let her head slip under the water. keeping her eyes closed she stayed under the water for as long as her lungs would allow her to. feeling weightless in the water cassandra slowly lifted her head above the water and took a deep breath.

still she kept her eyes closed. thinking that as long as she did not open her eyes it almost felt as if she was safe and sound at home in her parents home bathing in their big bathing room with the lavender cented soaps and she soft warmed towels. layingher head back on the tub she ran her hands over her body greatfull for the chance to let her muscles unknot and the tension drain from her slinder shoulders.

 

[Finadien]

Logan waited until Maria had led Cassandra to the bathing tub in the small room behind the kitchen. What was he supposed to do now? His brother had made clear that he was not to work today because he had other duty's, at least up until Cassandra felt at home.

He walked into the kitchen just as Maria came out of the bathroom. She had a smile on her lips and told him that she would go and help his brother and that all the helpers where ordered not to disturb him and his new bride for today.

Then her face got stern and she looked him deep in the eyes. Tread her good or I will make sure that you curse the day you where born.

The smile returned but Logan understood perfectly that she had not been joking. He watched her leave the kitchen and could hear her close the front door some seconds later.

What to do now? He didn't know how long Cassandra would need with the bath and wanted to ask her what she wished to do afterwards but after the first know without an answer he was afraid something had happened and so he went in without a second knock (besides, it was his house after all).

She was under water, her eyes closed but the water was clear enough that he could see that his brother had chosen well. Cassandras body looked in good shape and he liked what he saw... so much that it began to show in his pants.

 

[icu1978]

lifting her head cassandra opened her eyes and the first thing she seen was the face of logan standing above her. sitting up abrubtly water splashed over the sides of the tub some of it splashing onto logans pants and boots. lifting her hands to cover her breasts and pulling her legs up to best protect her from veiw she glared up at logan the look of shock having gone to be replaced by pure anger.

"what is wrong with you. don't people knock on the doors before entering out here in the country?" she watched him carefully slowly her eyes moved over his body still standing over her. when she seen the evidence of his manhood she blushed bright red and lowerd her head. " oh my" her emberassment was complete now and she did not know what to say or do.

the water was warm but the cool air in the room was making her flesh rise with little goose bumps and she had began to shiver slightly.

 

[Finadien]

Logan just stood there and watched the beautiful women sitting in the bathtub. For some seconds he thought about apologizing but why should he? This was his house after all and she better get used to him anyway if she wanted to stay here.

He just raised an eyebrow and said, "actually I did knock but you didn't answer."

With some interest he watched as her skin began to show signs that she was getting cold and he wondered how her nipples would react. Somehow the sight of her naked body turned his mind in directions he hadn't thought of in quite some time. He took a step towards the chair with the large towel and grabbed it.

"Are you finished? Then you better come out before you freeze." His mind started to tell him that he didn't behave very gentleman like but somehow he didn't mind that at all. If she was shy it was better to get that clear right away.

 

[icu1978]

"actually I did knock but you didn't answer."

cassandra looked up at him as what he said sunk in. the emberassment she was feeling was complete now.

as he held a towel out to her she reached up to take it. when she had it in her hand she deftly stood and wraped it around her as fast as she could. trying hard not to show how ashamed she felt. looking at him she pointed to the door. " i think i can get dressed by myself.. could you please wait some where else for me?"

she waited for a moment but when he showed no signs of leaving she turned her back and reached into her small bag pulling out a slightly crumpled skirt and white blouse. she let the towel drop to the floor as she sliped on her clothing. keeping her face turned away from him. her body still had beads of water on it. but she did not hesitate to pull her clothing on,knowing that if she took the time to dry off it would provide him with a much better veiw of her body than what he was already getting.

 

[Finadien]

He was a little bit disappointed that she turned around to dress but even her back provided him with a very nice view and the short glimpse he got of her well rounded butt and her still wet body made the bulge in his pants jerk again.

This morning he had cursed his brother for ordering a "bride" for him but now the whole idea didn't sound that bad. The only thing that had to change was her shyness. He most certainly wouldn't force himself on her if she didn't wanted to and he still was willing to let her go if she really wanted to but he already was dreading this moment. He didn't want her to leave, he wanted to know her better...in many ways.

He waited for her to get dressed and noted that she didn't put on any underwear, perhaps she wasn't that shy after all. Then she turned around, her face a bit flushed and looked at him half ashamed and half defiant.

He just raised an eyebrow and asked her, "what do you want to do now? Do you need rest or are you up for a short walk around the farm?"

 

[icu1978]

feeling a little more than tired she knew that was what he expected though. and figureing it would be best to keep this man on his toes she smiled sweetly at him " a walk sounds lovely, just let put my things in my room."

picking up her clothing she turned to follow him and could not deny that she seen the bulgde in his pants anymore. as he turned to show her to the room she was unable to keep her eyes from his back side. blushing hse finally forced herself to look between his shoulders. what on earth was wrong with her she wondered. she had never been so brasin before.

as they made their way down the hall they came across marie and cassandra smiled at the woman as they passed.

 

[Finadien]

Logan nodded to Marie as they passed her in the hall and told her that he would show Cassandra the farm and the surrounding area. His sister-in-law looked at him a bit scolding, as if to say how he could do such a thing when Cassandra surly was tired but he just shrugged his shoulders and guided Cassandra through the door.

He offered her his arm in a gentleman like gesture, somehow trying to make up for his rude behavior in the bathroom.

"So, what do you want to see?" he asked her, but already started in the direction of the barn. Since she managed the ride out here very well he guess that she at least had a passing interest in horses.