Chapter 16
The Lady Is Not Amused
Juliet was not amused. She was not amused at all. She had been waiting for Adam for two hours now. She knew that on the long way from the Ponderosa to Virgina City there could be some delay. But surely not a two hours’ delay. No, obviously Adam was abandoning her, and he’d better have a very good reason for this! While she had been sitting on the front porch swing, straightening her riding costume over and over again, checking the picnic hamper repeatedly and trying to adjust her trademark untidy bun from time to time, she had grown increasingly impatient and finally gotten angry. She hated to be kept waiting. She hated to be stood up. She hated to be left in the dark. She hated the whole situation. She felt humiliated to the core. And she wouldn’t take this lying down. Oh, no! Now her inner ranting had gotten to the point of making a decision. Her jaw set, her eyes narrowed and her shoulders squared, she mounted her horse. A sharp stab with the heel of her boot put Niobe into a swift canter. While she directed the horse to the road leading out of town, Juliet heard Mrs. Hawkins’ anxious voice calling after her, “Lady Juliet, where do you think you’re going to? And you forgot the hamper!”
There wasn’t anything Juliet cared about less than the blasted hamper. Yes, Miss Westlake,‘blasted.’ Bear with it! She didn’t need the hamper anymore. There wouldn’t be a cosy little lunch break with Adam Cartwright today. Oh, no, no lunch for Adam. Once she reached the Ponderosa ranch she would tell him in not-too-unexplicit words what she thought about letting a lady down like this, what a poor kind of light it cast on his character, and how a gentleman was supposed to behave. After that she would ride home and write a harsh article about—well, whatever, but it would be a very harsh article.
Juliet was only happy that there was this broad road through the Ponderosa land leading to the ranch house. She knew it wasn’t the shortest way to get there, but it was a safe way, easy to follow and easy to ride—even with an inexperienced horse like Niobe and an unstable rider like herself. Nonetheless she didn’t feel too self-confident and this only added to her anger. This was all Adam’s fault. And if she had an accident or was thrown by her horse and got hurt, it would be his fault, too. And she would make him pay for that. Oh, yes. The last few miles on the way to the ranch house Juliet entertained herself with imagining the various methods of punishing Adam. She started rather tamely with an extensive shouting, went to forms of corporal torments and ended with different styles of execution. Miss Westlake would have been terrified by the sheer violence of her imagery, but somehow to have such designs simmered Juliet down significantly and made her more ready to accept an apology.
Her newfound leniency only lasted until Niobe stumbled in a pit, though. Suddenly Juliet was airborne, and while she still was in midair, she had only one thought. “Your fault, Adam Cartwright, this is all your fault!” She landed on the ground rather gracelessly but unharmed. Her puzzled horse was waiting only a few steps away, and Juliet brushed herself off and remounted in no time. But, of course, this episode did nothing to dampen her temper; quite the contrary, and by the time she reached the ranch yard she was literally fuming.
Hoss was on the the way to the barn, carrying wooden shingles for the repair. Juliet spotted him immediately, and before she even stopped her horse, she demanded by way of greeting, “Where is that treacherous brother of yours?”
She sounded furious, and in order not to rile her up even more, Hoss decided not to play dumb and ask which of his brothers she was looking for. “Adam? Why, ain’t he with ya, ma’am?”
“Well, he’s obviously not with me, or I wouldn’t be asking for him, would I?” Her voice held that touch of impatience that indicated that she would have loved to add a “you idiot” to her answer, if that hadn’t been highly inappropriate for a lady. But Hoss had other things to worry about than her imperiousness. If Adam wasn’t with Miss Juliet—where was he?
“He left this morning to ride to Virginia City, Miss Juliet,” Hoss explained. “If he didn’t come to you, he must been held up on the way.”
“But I didn’t meet him when I rode up here.”
“Adam don’t take the road, ma’am, he always take the shortcut through the rocks.”
“But then he should have arrived in town hours ago, Hoss.” Her voice had changed from angered to concerned. “What could possibly hold him up?”
“I don’t rightly know, Miss Juliet. Nothin’ good, though, that’s fer sure!” Hoss let the shingles slide to the ground and headed to the stable. “But whatever it is, I’m gonna sort it out!”
“Do you think you’ll find him?” she asked. “It’s a big territory to search for a man.”
Hoss was already saddling his horse. “Ma’am, the ground is still soft, he’ll leave tracks. I’m gonna follow those until I find ‘im.”
“Well, this sounds rather promising. Let’s go and see if we can find the lost son.” Miss Juliet all but rubbed her hands. She was all business now. Any traces of anger, concern or fear had left her. Her face spoke of an eagerness to act, an expression that Hoss knew very well from his elder brother. Adam had the same look when he decided to act before his feelings could get out in the open and might interfere with his practical logic. People tended to misinterpret this as coldness, but Hoss knew better. Was it the same with Miss Juliet? She surely couldn’t think—
“Ma’am, ya can’t come with me, I’m gonna ride through the mountains. Yar not up to—”
“You go ahead, Hoss, and I shall follow you,” she said sternly. “I can very well judge what I’m up to or not up to. And I am very much up to having a little conversation with Adam once we’ve found him.”
“You mean big brother’s in trouble?”
“Beautifully put, Hoss.” Miss Juliet’s smile was lopsided and didn’t quite reach her eyes. She raised an eyebrow. “Big brother is in big trouble, I’m afraid.”
I just love so much that you developed a friendship between Adam and Juliet in this series before developing a romance (though of course there were sparks from the start). ? I just always feel like friendship is so important for a couple …
Enjoyable, as your writing always is. So glad there’s more to go. Thx for writing! (And hope all is well w you …)
Oh, oh, I’m so happy you are starting to read the series!
I agree, friendship is important for a couple. And I really wanted to explore why they would fall for each other rather than making it love at first sight. Even though I suspect ghat at the end of the day it was love at first sight, only they did not recognise it for what it was.
I hope you’ll enjoy the otherbstories, too.
(And yes, all is well. Just keep my fingers crossed it stays so.)
I would pay to give Adam a bath!!!? Like the way this is headed.
Well, yes, who wouldn’t? 🙂
Thanks a lot, Neano, for reading this and for letting me know you liked it. It’s very much appreciated!