Free Boxed Set: Innocent Immigrant by Jax Lusty Page B

skittish foals. Remarkably, each settled to his hand as he scratched the place where their tails met their rumps, making their heads rise and their lips curl in pleasure.
    As the morning passed, watching him with the livestock, his careful touch shifting or soothing the animals, made me yearn for his hand myself. What would it be like to have such knowledgeable hands on my body, calming me or bringing me to delight?
    It was indeed astounding the way my body had already been brought to life in such a short space of time.

Book 2, Part 2
    GRIFF
    Elder Kant, Pastor Mackay’s right-hand man, was at the doorway of the main community building when I arrived at the Mission of Perpetual Divinity.
    “Good day to you, Mr. Tucker,” he said.
    It was a greeting that lacked any sincerity.
    “A very good morning to you too, Elder Kant,” I replied.
    He stepped to the top of the porch steps as if barricading the building’s entrance. “What can I do for you?”
    “Nothing at all, Elder. It is Pastor Mackay I’m here to see.”
    “Unfortunately your visit is a waste of time. Pastor Mackay is away in Coromandel, so you will have to be satisfied with me.”
    Nobody would be satisfied with Elder Kant. He was an odious creature, and I felt sorry for the women in his care at the community. The only thing that favoured him over many of the other men in the Kotuku Valley was that as far as I was aware, he wasn’t a drunk.
    I considered coming back once Pastor Mackay had returned from Coromandel, but our issue with Katie carried a degree of urgency.
    “I’m here to register my intention to marry.”
    The man looked surprised, as well he might. I could see him working through in his head the names of the few single women in the town, and I know he would have made a short list.
    “Marry? And who might you be marrying, Mr. Tucker?”
    “Miss Katie Masefield.” He didn’t require any more information than her name.
    Elder Kant certainly looked puzzled now because the name was very likely familiar to him. Then a knowing grin opened his face. “She’s the woman who came out to be Sid Watson’s wife, isn’t she?”
    I nodded. “That she is, Elder,” I said, “and given that the death of Sid Watson means any rights to Miss Masefield were forfeited, she is now under the protection of Ari Raukura and me.” I bluffed, As far as I was aware there was no law of forfeiture, but I was certain Katie was not bonded to Pastor Mackay’s community, or to the Watson family.
    “I think Pastor Mackay might have something to say about that. Miss Masefield should be under the protection of the Mission if her previous arrangements haven’t worked out. That is the guarantee we give to the institutions in England from where we...shall we say, source , the girls.”
    “She does not have any need for the Mission’s protection, Elder.” The idea of Elder Kant getting his hands on Katie turned my stomach. There was no way Ari or I would allow that man to touch her. “Katie is with us now, and she has agreed to marry me. All I need is for my intention to marry to be registered, and I’ll be on my way.”
    “I’m not prepared to do that, Mr. Tucker. Pastor Mackay would have to make the registration for you under these unusual circumstances.”
    The man was as infuriating as he was ugly. “Come now, I see nothing unusual about the circumstances. Surely it’s just some paperwork. Unless of course you’re incapable of doing that,” I added.
    Elder Kant bristled and pulled himself an inch taller. “As you know, Mr. Watson’s cousin had permission for access to Miss Masefield. I think his claim for the young woman would be valid. Perhaps we should meet with him and get his authorisation.”
    “I will not have Miss Masefield’s future placed in the hands of an abusive fool like Herbert Watson; we both know how he treats women. He’s banned from every house of pleasure from Waikato to Cape Reinga. Tell me when Pastor Mackay is expected to return,