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have not, Miss Gillian," he said, his eyes full of good humor. "You introduced yourself as Gill Mason, and I told you that you were far too pretty to use a man's name." "You are a sweet man, Doctor. Thank you," I smiled at him, thinking he could have played the part of Doc on Gunsmoke. "And, you are in time to celebrate with us. Robert and I were married a short while ago," I announced.
    "You can't marry him when you are already my wife!" "I am not, nor have I ever been, your wife." I wanted to smack the man.
    Doctor Strand looked at the man, his stare hard and assessing. "You say that you were married to this young woman?"
    "Yes!" the aggravating man answered immediately. "For over three years! This here is Shirley's sister, and she can swear to it!" He gave Robert a gloating look and I was shocked by the look of anger in Robert's dark eyes.
    "I see. Well, excuse me, ladies, for the indelicacy of this question, but do you have an injury, young man?"
    "An injury?"
    "Yes; to your manhood?" Doctor Strand was blunt and my sister-in-law gasped in shocked embarrassment.
    "Well, of course not!" The cocky little man wasn't about to admit to any such thing, and I knew where Doc was going with the conversation, and I was smiling… in spite of my own embarrassment.
    "Then you weren't married to this girl, mister. She's a virgin. When Robert and Nellie called on me to treat her injury I had to make sure she wasn't assaulted, and she is as innocent as can be. There is no way this girl was married before today."
    "You fool!" Miss Griffin declared angrily. She picked up her skirts and headed for the door.
    "Just a minute. If this lady ain't Shirley Smith, then suppose you tell me just where she is?" the sheriff demanded.
    "My guess is that these two talked her into moving west and then disposed of her on the way here. If you check with the wagon train they're registered with I'm sure you'll discover that these two are signed on as Mr. and Mrs. Smith. The only reason they are looking for someone to play the part of Shirley is to claim an inheritance that was left to her by her father."
    "Shirley always did ruin everything. Conner was interested in me until he saw her!" the bitter woman remarked. "Her Pa was supposed to be dead, and now that she's gone, he turns up, wealthy as can be. It just ain't fair."
    "Neither is trying to use another human being to commit fraud," I stated. 
    "Sheriff, please get them out of this house. We are celebrating our wedding," Robert said, draping his arm around my shoulders and giving me a squeeze.
    "Congratulations, Mr. Standhope. There sure are gonna be a lot of sad ladies around these parts," he teased on his way out the doors.
    "I think I am ready for some wedding cake," I said with a smile, more thankful than Robert would ever know for his protection. Now, if only he could learn to love me some day.
     
     
     

Chapter Five
     
     
    I continued to use the guest room for the next several months. Robert and I did not argue often, and when we did, he had a sure-fire way of settling things in a way that left me reluctant to sit down to eat my meals. I hated the fact that Robert felt he had the right to spank me, but it was better than fighting and being angry with each other for days on end like the wives of some of my husband's friends. Helene Lambert caught me rubbing my posterior one day, and teased me about the cause. I found her crying a few minutes later and she told me she was jealous of me. She said the only reason a man spanked his wife was because he loved her, and she wished that her Matthew would take his hand to her… at least once. I gave her a hug, but her words stayed with me.
    It was approaching my birthday, and while I'd mentioned the date to Nellie right after I married Robert, I saw no reason to bring it up again. I missed Gail, Jason, and the two kids so much, and I knew that Robert couldn't give me what I wanted most, some way to let them know I was fine. The desk in the picture that