Marna by Norah Hess Read Free Book Online Page A

Matt."
    "Dammit," he whispered hoarsely, "you know how I
feel about gettin' married. And especially to one so
ug-" His tongue faltered, and he looked down in embarrassed confusion.
    "As ugly as Marna, Matt? Was that what you were
gonna say?"
    When Matt nodded dumbly, she patted his hand and
remarked, "There's more to bein' a wife than havin' a
pretty face. A pretty face don't keep a man's cabin
clean, his food cooked, and his buckskins mended. It's
willin', able hands that make a wife."
    She took her pipe from the small table and packed
tobacco into it. Fumbling for her flint, she observed,
"Marryin' my little girl has other benefits, too. A wife
would come in mighty handy to keep those other
women off your neck. You know, those who are always
wantin' to get married. And there's another thing.
Marna knows medicine almost as good as I do. That
would come in mighty handy in a trapper's camp."
    Hoping to induce him further, she added, "Marna
knows how to read and write, too."
    Matt looked up in surprise. "She knows that?"
    "That's right. I also taught her how to speak proper.
Hertha clamped the pipe stem between her teeth then and drew on it in little anxious jerks. She had brought
out every good reason she could think of. She prayed
the hunter would recognize all those good points.

    Matt lay back on the pillows and stared up at the
smoke-stained rafters. The old woman sure gave a good
argument. A wife would keep those scheming women
off his back. And the men were always brawling, either
among themselves or in some tavern. The girl would
come in handy to treat and bandage their knife wounds.
He'd seen many a man die from lack of knowledgeable
care.
    His eyes narrowed tenaciously. If he married the girl,
there was one thing he wanted to get straight from the
beginning. She was to make no demands on his time.
He would come and go as he pleased, and he would
also sleep with squaws when he pleased. He would
never be able to bed the old lady's granddaughter. It
would be like laying with some wild creature.
    He brought his gaze back to Hertha's waiting eyes.
"If I should marry the girl, is it understood that I'll not
change my way of living in any manner? That I'm only
marryin' her to give her protection?"
    Hertha nodded eagerly, her breath held tightly.
    Matt sighed heavily. "It's against my better judgment, but I'll do it."
    Hertha grabbed both his hands and squeezed them
hard. "Thank you, Matt Barton. You'll never regret it
My Marna will bring you happiness and contentment,
you'll see."
    Matt opened his mouth to say he didn't see how in
the world that unattractive girl could bring him anything, then didn't have the heart in the face of the old
woman's happiness.
    She scooted her chair closer to him and whispered,
"As soon as the old devil passes out, I'll go fetch the
preacher. By tomorrow mornin' the swellin' will be out
of your leg, and you and Marna can leave."

    She started to leave, then sat back down. After a
moment she asked quietly, "Will you treat her kindly?"
    Matt's eyes rested on the old, worried face. He
reached over and patted her knee. "You can rest easy
on that score, Grandma. I promise you, I'll never lay a
hand on her."
    Tears ran down the leathery cheeks. "God bless you,
Matt."
    In her room Marna stood with an ear to a crack in
the door. Her future was being planned out there, and a
mixture of emotions ran through her. The big, handsome hunter was going to marry her, but his heart
wasn't in it. She had clearly heard him say he wouldn't
sleep with her. She had flinched at his words and pulled
back. Her clenched fists came down on her knee. She
was as pretty as the next woman. She had discovered
that much early this summer.
    Finding herself alone in the cabin one day, curiosity
had been stronger than her grandmother's wishes. She
had filled a pan with warm water and dropped a bar of
Hertha's specially prepared soap into it. Standing in
front of the scrap of