MAIL ORDER BRIDE: ARISTOCRAT: The Duke’s Engagement (Historical Victorian Duke Romance) (New Adult Romance Short Stories) (10 page)

The days passed by slowly.  Tina’s luck in the bedroom continued, as William always seemed too busy to make love to her.  It turned out he worked all the time.  Work was his obsession and his life.  This was just fine by Tina, who thought that the less she saw of him, the better.  One afternoon, while William was away on business, and Tina was sitting in her bedroom, she heard a small pebble hit the outside of her window.  She walked over and opened the window, looking down below to see none other than Jacob on the ground below.  “One moment!” cried Tina, who was thoroughly happy to see the man of her dreams.  Her heart raced, as she raced down the stairs and through the foyer and antechamber, opening the large front doors and running to the yard.  She leapt into his arms and they shared a long, drawn out kiss.  “Come inside,” she said.  “William is away on business and we have the house to ourselves.  Although we shouldn’t probably dally.”

They raced up the stairs, hand-in-hand, and jumped onto her big feather bed, still kissing.  That afternoon they made love for the first time.  It was Tina’s first time, and she could not have asked for a more memorable occasion.

“I know where he keeps his money,” said Tina finally, after having caught her breath.  “Let’s load up a satchel full of cash and you can bring it back to your house and put it in your safe.  We’ll smuggle a little out each day until the end of the week when we will have enough to run away and start our new life together.  I’ll tell William at the end of the week that you are the new man in my life.  He will likely get very angry with me, but he will also have no choice but to confront you and challenge you to a duel.  You will of course win, and I will be yours!”

So they went into William’s study and opened his safe.  They started filling a large leather satchel with bills and gold bullion until it was almost too heavy to carry.  She closed the safe and headed back down to the front yard and helped Jacob load the satchel onto his horse.  One goodbye kiss later and he was headed off into the sunset.

The week passed by quickly and finally at the end, over dinner, Tina broke the news to William.  “I have been seeing a lover,” she said.  William paused for a moment as though he were waiting to hear more.  When she said nothing more, he put down his fork and said in a quiet, calm, manner, “You will see no more of this man.  Are we clear?”

Tina replied, “I am in love with him.  He is mine and I am his.  I no longer love you.  I have
never
loved you.  And I am planning on eloping with this man.”

“Who is he?” asked William.

“His name is Jacob Farraway.  We have made love, and I hope I am with his child.”

William un-holstered his pistol that was on his hip and set the gun d0wn heavily on the table next to his applesauce.  “This man is dead,” said he solemnly, and rose and walked over to his study.

Tina believed him.  She believed that William had every intention of killing her lover and that he was probably a pretty good shot too.  But love had to win.  It
had
to.  They would prove victorious.

That evening, after William had gone to bed, another pebble was at her window.  She opened it and looked down.  There was Jacob, looking confidant and smiling up at her.  “Come down!” he whispered loudly.  “I have news.”

Tina crept down the main stairs and out the front door, still in her night gown.  They hugged, and kissed, and Jacob filled her in on what had happened.  Apparently a messenger had left a note for Jacob saying that William had challenged him to a duel, to commence the following morning at dusk in the town square.  Already the newspapers were getting ready to report on the event and through word of mouth, many were starting to amass.  Tina said she would be there, gave Jacob another kiss on the mouth, and then crept back into the house and into her bed.

At the duel, there was indeed a large crowd that had assembled.  William was on one side of the long main road the dissected the town in half.  Jacob was on the other.  It was how many duels of the day had gone down, and this was nothing new to Jacob.  As it turned out, it was nothing new to William either.  But as both shots were fired, only one of them connected, and only one of the bodies hit the floor.  And that body was that of William J.  Hornhill.  Jacob had won.  And in his victory, Tina had won too.  They kissed and saddled up, making their way through the town and to her parents.  She said her goodbyes to Dorothy and Henry, and then to Kate and Eric.  To Kate and Eric she extended an invitation that they could visit whenever they wanted.  And of course Kate and Eric said that they would be happy to have Jacob and Tina over whenever they wanted.

It was a happy time.  And the first of a long life of happiness for the new couple.  They got married again, eventually, and set up a nice life for themselves running a ranch.  Tina, who had gotten pregnant from that first night that they had together, soon became a very happy mother.  She produced even more children and pretty soon they had a large, happy family.  Jacob never had to use his weapon again, but kept it on hand just in case he needed to defend his land or his family.  And luckily for Tina, her passion for cowboys, had been sated thoroughly.

*** THE END ***

In Love With The Preacher’s Daughter

By: Stephanie Hunt

Chapter 1

Sarah Miller had grown up loving her family.  She was an only child, and so didn’t have any other siblings to compete with.  Her parents, and her aunts and uncles always lavished her with much love and attention.  For her birthdays, they were generous, giving her many wonderful presents, and always celebrating with large, lavish meals.  As her nineteenth birthday approached, Sarah was looking forward to the festivities.  But there was one thing that she was missing in her life.  She wanted a boyfriend.  Or a husband.  Mainly she wanted a companion to share her life with.  All of the other girls her age seemed to be getting ready to settle down.  A few of her friends, even, were starting families and having children.  Children! At the age of nineteen.  If Sarah were to think about it, she would find that she did want kids.  But first she wanted to be with someone that she loved.  Love was the most important qualification that she would be looking for in a spouse.

Her parents seemed to think that a man with a good, Amish upbringing would be the perfect match for her.  They wanted to find her someone with a similar background.  A “man of the church” was the phrase that her parents, Benjamin and Olivia, used.

It wasn’t that Sarah was ungrateful of her friends, family, and other members of the church.  It was just that she saw things a bit differently.  She didn’t see why she should be bound to only the Amish when deciding whom to marry.  Her Dad was a preacher, and was pretty rigid on this point.  He did not want her marrying outside of the church.  So it was very fortuitous and somewhat life-changing when she met Christopher Lockley.

Sarah was outside, in her father’s orchard, picking strawberries one Saturday afternoon when she bumped into a strange fellow.  He was kneeling in the dirt, obviously trying to hide from someone or something.  When Sarah looked over at him and made eye contact with him, he raised his head and brought finger over his lips.

“Ssshh!” he said.

Sarah was not used to being told to keep quiet on her own property.  Especially not by a vagabond like this strange fellow.  She glanced at him again, giving him a solid appraisal.  He looked to be about twenty years old, had sandy blonde hair that he wore long and combed back, and was rather tall.  Perhaps five-foot-eleven or six feet.  Sarah decided to play along.  If only for the fact that he was relatively cute, and she had never seen him before in the village, let alone on her property.

Then Sarah heard some shouts coming from across the orchard.  They were men’s voices, and they appeared to be coming closer.

“Where are you?” one of them said.  “We know you are around here somewhere.  Give it back and you won’t be hurt.”

The stranger kept silent, and from the look in his eyes, begged quietly for Sarah to keep silent as well.  Then the sounds of the searchers quieted down, and they seemed to be moving away in the opposite direction.  It wasn’t until a few minutes after that that the blonde-haired man decided to speak.

“I am sorry about that,” he said.  “I stole a loaf of bread from one of the merchants down the road and they must have tracked me to this field.  My name is Christopher.”

“You have got some nerve coming onto my family’s property,” said Sarah irately at first.  “Do you think we are so foolish as to harbor criminals?”

“Hear me out,” pleaded Christopher.  “I am not an outlaw.  I normally run a very successful flower business.  I have a shop in the next town over.  It’s called ‘Lockley Flowers’.   I used to run it with my mother and father.  But a few weeks ago, the place got broken into.  Everything was set on fire, including all our money and merchandise.  My father didn’t believe in having insurance so we were at a loss of what to do.  My mother and father and I are currently in the process of rebuilding the store but we have had no money to hold us over until that can happen.  So, yes, I have resorted to stealing – a bit.”

“Stealing is never good.  Don’t you know that it is a cardinal sin? You could go to hell for that.  My father often preaches about it in church.”

“So, you are Amish, then?” asked Christopher.

“Of course,” replied Sarah.  “Everybody in this area is.”

“Well, I am not from this area,” said Christopher.

“Yes, you did mention that.  Well, stand up.  Let’s have a look at you.”

Christopher got to his feet and it was evident to Sarah that he was indeed six feet or taller.  He had a lean but muscular build, and he had a quiet, yet dignified demeanor about him.  For some reason, Sarah could not look him directly in the eye.  But Christopher had no problem staring into Sarah’s eyes.  When he looked at her, it was as if he was looking into her soul.  He looked past her exterior and was examining what she was like as a person.  She felt that her innermost fears and desires were being exposed.

Christopher dusted himself off and then took a bite of the loaf of bread that he had been carrying underneath his jacket.  He must have been hungry for he took several, very large mouthfuls.  Sarah didn’t know what to say.  She had a soft spot in her heart for people who were going through rough times.  But she also knew that stealing was never the answer.  Maybe if she introduced the man to her father he could instill some sense into him.  Her father was a very kind man, but then again, she had never really seen him deal with people outside of the community.  Being Amish, they were very closed in.  She couldn’t just bring Christopher home for dinner and expect him to fit in right away.  She decided, then and there, that she would have to prepare her father for this encounter.

“I’m Sarah,” she said.  “I have decided to help you.  It is our way to reach out to those less fortunate than us, and it seems as though you have gone through significant hardship.”

“What’s the catch?” said Christopher coyly.

“No catch, just be here at the exact same time tomorrow evening and I will meet you.  I am going to try to convince my father to help you.  He is a very caring man, but he is also a bit strict.  I’m not sure if he’ll open his arms up for someone who is not part of our community.  But I’ll try.”

“Why are you helping me?”

Sarah didn’t know exactly how to respond to this.  The truth was, it had to do with the way that he looked at her.  He didn’t look at her the way most other guys their age did.  His eyes were pure and innocent, and full of courage.  Sarah got the feeling that he really deserved to be helped.  That he wouldn’t squander any generosity bestowed upon him.

“Let’s just say that I have a soft spot in my heart for the unfortunate,” she said, and walked away.

Later that evening, around the dinner table, Sarah decided to broach the subject regarding Christopher.

“I met a man this afternoon, father.  He was in our orchard as I was picking strawberries.  He was an outlaw, but a most remarkable one.  You know how you always said that stealing was wrong? Well surely it can be condoned in certain, extraordinary cases.  This guy – Christopher was his name – had to steal a loaf of bread because bandits had set his family’s business aflame.”

“Stealing is always wrong,” said Benjamin.  “The Lord punishes us if we commit such a sin.  No matter the situation, there is always an alternative to taking someone else’s property.”

“I suppose so,” said Sarah.  “In any case, I was wondering if we could help out the Lockleys.  Well, we have so much, and they have so little, and it would be a good opportunity to do God’s work.”

“You have always had a sincere heart, Sarah.  That is one of the reasons we have always felt blessed to have you as our daughter.  Where does this boy and his family live?”

“They are in the next town over.  They sound like perfectly fine people, aside from the fact that they had to steal.  They are not Amish, however.”

Benjamin thought long and hard.  Then he decided to ask for his wife’s opinion.

“What do you think, Olivia?”

“I think it’s worth a shot.  As our wise daughter has mentioned, it is also a good idea to get into God’s good graces.  And you are always preaching about opening our hearts in your sermons.”

“Alright then.  We have two spare bedrooms upstairs, and plenty of food and drink for guests.  But let this boy and his family know, that they will be expected to pitch in around the property.  We have livestock that needs to be tended to, not to mention taking care of our orchard.  Of course, they will be provided with meals and a roof over their heads.  And they are going to have to rebuild their own store.  I don’t want them staying here indefinitely.”