Free A Bride Most Begrudging by Deeanne Gist

thing wrong with Grandma’s cooking, but Mary’s? Saints above, Drew had never tasted mush this good before.
    “So,” Grandma began, “are you going to tell me where Constance came from?”
    Drew and Josh exchanged a glance. Here it comes. He’d managed to avoid Grandma thus far, but that brief respite was over. He wiped his mouth with the napkin tied around his neck. “I won her.”
    Grandma whipped her head around. “Won?”
    He grimaced. She was so sensitive about playing cards. He pushed his mush back and forth within the confines of his trencher. Josh was going to be of no help. He and Mary, who together shared a trencher, ate with an unwarranted amount of concentration. Sally, sharing her trencher with
    Grandma, was oblivious. Constance had not yet returned from the creek.
    “Yes,” he admitted.
    “Won, how?” she asked.
    Focusing on his trencher, he took a bite of mush, chewed, and swallowed. “Playing one-and-thirty.”
    Grandma set her spoon down with meticulous care. “I hope you are jesting.”
    He slowly shook his head from left to right. Grandma never wasted a moment of daylight. That she would stop eating in the midst of a meal did not bode well. Even Sally began to show an interest in the conversation.
    Grandma dabbed at her mouth with her cloth. “What do you plan on doing with her?”
    “I know not. She claims the captain kidnapped her.” He took a deep swallow of cider from his wooden noggin. “Says she’s the daughter of an earl.”
    Grandma stilled. “What earl?”
    “Greyhame or some such nonsense.” She lifted her brows. “And?”
    “And, I told her I’d send a missive to her father. So I’m bound by my word to keep her for the time being.”
    “For the time being? England is in the midst of a civil war. Have you any notion how long it could take for a missive to catch up with the earl? He’ll be moving from one confrontation to another. Why, the girl could be here for a year or more.”
    “What would you have me do, Grandma?”
    “What skills has she?”
    Slipping a finger inside the neck of his shirt, he adjusted his collar.
    “That remains to be seen.”
    “She has no skills?”
    He stiffened. “She stitches.”
    “Every female stitches. What skills has she?”
    Propping an elbow on the table, he rubbed his eyes. “She claims to have a talent for numbers.”
    After a strained moment, he felt his ears and neck burn.
    Grandma nodded. “You are being punished for dallying with the devil’s books.”
    “Grandma,” he said with a sigh, “they are playing cards, not the devil’s books, and simply a form of amusement for me.”
    She glowered at him. “Pray tell me, are you amused now?” He looked away. Constance walked in the door.
    “Good morrow, everyone,” she exclaimed. “Isn’t it a glorious day? Your weather here is quite quaint.” She smiled as she hung her wet cloths on a peg.
    Grandma untied her napkin. “I’m going to Nellie’s.”
    Drew and Josh looked sharply at Grandma. “For a visit?” Drew asked.
    “You’re going to Nellie’s for a visit?”
    “Where’s a wooden plate for me?” Constance asked, searching the shelves.
    Grandma scooted off the bench. “I’m going to Nellie’s to stay.”
    Pulling off his napkin, Drew stood. “You cannot. Who will train Mary? Who will watch Constance?”
    “ ‘The Lord is known by the judgment He executes; the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands.’ ”
    “Card playing is not wicked!” Drew insisted.
    “Psalm 9:16,” she responded.
    “I know which psalm it is. David was talking about battles and victories and enemies, not card playing.”
    “ ‘Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight.’ ”
    “By my faith, Grandma, you are testing me sorely. Now, sit down and stop this foolishness.”
    Grandma took two steps forward. “You will watch your tongue, young man. I agreed to train Mary, not some useless woman you acquired by wicked means.”
    She