Nellie (The Brides of San Francisco Book 1) (3 page)

Respectfully yours,

Blake Malone

Well, what do I want to do?
She walked to the living room. There was an oval table made out of dark wood. Six straight-backed wooden chairs with cushioned seats sat around it. The layout was as though the owner had had the room designed for families.

They could eat there. A room service menu from the restaurant on the first floor was on the bureau. That would be easier on the children than getting dressed and eating out. Mr. Malone could join them.

A knock on the door brought her out of her reverie and back to the present. She turned to the children. “You two be good now, while I answer the door.” She walked to the door and opened it. “Yes, may I help you?”

Before her stood one of the most handsome men she’d ever seen. He held his bowler hat in his hand and his black hair was combed straight back emphasizing his gray eyes. His suit was the color of rich, black coffee, his cravat tied perfectly. Nellie pressed her lips together so her mouth wouldn’t hang open.

“Mrs. Wallace?”

The deep timber of his voice washed over her, and she shivered. “Yes.”

“I’m Blake Malone.” He extended his hand toward her. “I’m pleased to make your acquaintance.”

She extended her hand to his and was engulfed by the warmth of his tanned hand. “I’m delighted to meet you Mr. Malone. Would you care to come in? My children and maid, Bertha, can serve as our chaperones. Though, I doubt we would need them now, would we?”

“I don’t know, Mrs. Wallace,” he said thoughtfully, before releasing her hand. “Perhaps it is best they are here.”

Nellie smiled. “Yes, well, do come in anyway. We are in the middle of unpacking, and I’m ordering dinner from the room service menu on the bureau.”

His brows creased into a frown. “No, please allow me to take you out for dinner. There are so many more restaurants and the offerings much better than those of the little place downstairs.”

They walked into the room, where chaos reigned between the children jumping on the bed and Bertha, admonishing them to stop. “Well, I don’t know. I really don’t want to dress to go out…”

“No need to dress differently.” He looked her up and down with an admiring gaze. “What you’re wearing is splendid.”

Nellie felt the warmth rise on her neck and knew she blushed. “Well…” she looked around at her children and Bertha.

“Oh,” He waved a hand encompassing all of them. “All of you, Mrs. Wallace. We should all get to know each other and what better way than over a meal, heh?”

He was thoroughly charming.

“Well, I guess getting out to see part of the city would be nice. Do you have a carriage?”

A smile spread his lips and he nodded. “Waiting just outside.”

“First let me introduce you.” She gestured for the children to come forward. “These are my children, Henry and Violet and this is my friend and maid, Bertha.”

“Pleased to meet you all. Henry,” Blake held out his hand for Henry to shake. “I must commend you lad, you’ve taken good care of your mother.”

“Yes, sir,” said Henry, standing a little straighter. “I’ve done my best.”

Nellie smiled. Her little boy was growing up in more ways than one.

Blake squatted down to Violet’s eye level. “Hello, Violet,” he said, holding out his hand. “I’m Blake.”

“Mr. Malone,” said Nellie. “For now.”

Violet, never the shy flower, took her thumb out of her mouth and touched Blake’s face. “You pretty.”

Blake turned red, then chuckled. “You think so do you, pumpkin? Well, I think you’re pretty, too. What do you think about that?”

“That’s okay, Mr. Marone.”

He hadn’t even flinched when her baby touched him with her wet, spit covered hand. Nellie smiled at this little piece of knowledge about the kind of man he was.
“Malone, dear,” corrected Nellie. “She’s still having problems with her L’s.”

“It’s all right,” he said, standing. “She’ll grow into it. Hopefully, she’ll grow to call me something else.”

He smiled.

Nellie saw straight, white teeth and the sexiest pair of dimples.
Oh, my.
Her breath caught in her throat. This man was affecting her. Had it really been so long since she’d been around a man that the nearness of one could practically send her into a swoon?

“And Bertha,” he said, taking the older woman’s hand and kissing the top. “A great pleasure to meet one of Nellie’s friends.”

Bertha giggled like a school girl.

“Yes, well, let me get my shawl,” said Nellie. Then she looked over at her family. “Get your coats, everyone. There is a chill outside.”

After everyone had put on their coats, they followed Blake out of the room. Nellie, in the rear, closed and locked the door to the suite and put the key in her reticule.

Blake donned his hat and waited near the door.

“Thank you for the lovely rooms. They are perfect for us.”

“I wanted you to be comfortable. I’m glad they are up to snuff. I’ll be honest with you Mrs. Wallace.” He leaned a bit closer. “I would have moved you into the house immediately, if not for Mrs. Selby insisting that you stay here.”

“It wouldn’t be proper for us to move in until after we are married. We still have much to discuss.” She pulled tight on her reticule strings and watched the children up ahead, bouncing down the hallway. “Are you certain you’re ready to take on a complete family?”

He walked next to her, but did not touch her instead keeping his hands in his pockets.

“Yes, I am. Although I suppose that we do have many things we need to talk about,” he conceded.

“I’d prefer not to discuss arrangements tonight. Perhaps you and I could meet tomorrow to discuss particulars.”

“Of course. I’ll be honest with you now, just as I intend to always be. I want this marriage to take place as soon as possible.”

Nellie continued to walk down the hallway. The walls were papered and the carpet a good wool, with a red background and black-and-gold pattern. Gaudy, she would have called it.

“I want this marriage to take place as well, but I must get some things out in the open.” She glanced from the corner of her eye, still disbelieving his handsome features. “I have my children to look out for and their needs must come first.”

“Of course, completely understandable,” he said affably.

She was beginning to wonder if he would say yes to everything she demanded. Although with the exception of specific schooling for Henry and new clothes for all of them, she didn’t really have too many demands. After all, she’d been a married woman and knew what to expect from marriage. The marriage bed was no stranger for her. Though the act had been painful and unpleasant, she and Robert had been more active in bed than she would have liked. She was almost glad he’d died, and she didn’t have to endure the pain he put her through. The beatings he gave her before and during sex, were memories she wished she could forget.

Before she could stop herself, she gave a shudder. She supposed consummation would be painful with Blake as well. That’s just what sex was. It was something to be borne so she could have more children and she did want that. Other than sex, she knew she had to provide him with a clean, well-run home and be a suitable hostess. Before she consented to the marriage, she needed to find out what else he required.

“Now, what kind of food do you like? We have all kinds here,” continued Blake.

“We’re not really very particular,” said Nellie. “Anything different would be welcome because the food aboard ship was very basic and routine. The children are not fancy eaters, none of us are really.”

“Do you like fish and sea food? We have some of the freshest in the country I dare say.”

“I do love fresh fish. It was sometimes not as fresh as it could be in New York. The quality depended on when my in-laws’ cook got to the market. If it was in the morning it was fine, but if the fish had been lying around all day, it was often fishy.” She shuddered. “Do you know what I mean?”

They continued to talk while walking down halls and across the lobby of the hotel.

“Yes, I do. I remember when I was back in Connecticut before I came out here.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “You’re from Connecticut? Where?”

“Hartford.”

She smiled. A memory of visiting her great aunt came to mind. “Oh, it’s lovely there.”

“Yes, but I was the third son, and we were not rich to begin with. I needed to make my own way and I have.”

“I suppose that is one of the things we should discuss. I know you are the owner of a saloon and gaming hall. But you have aspirations to do something else. That’s why you sent for me, correct?”

“Yes, but let’s discuss that tomorrow. Perhaps over lunch at my home. I’d like for you to see it.”

Anticipation and excitement warred with her need to seem in control. “I look forward to that.”

“I’ll send my carriage for you at noon. Ah, here it is. Shall we?”

A gleaming black conveyance sat at the curb. It was drawn by two magnificent gray horses that were well-matched, right down to the black stockings on their feet. Blake helped first the children, then Bertha, then Nellie into the carriage. Bertha and the children sat on one side and Nellie sat next to him on the opposite seat. With her full skirts, there wasn’t any chance they could sit too close together, but that didn’t stop her heart from pounding in her chest when he held her hand to help her in. She
must
get control of herself.

Blake took them to a restaurant right off the water on the edge of the cove. From the table where they sat, they could look out over the water. She saw there was a small island in the middle of the bay.

“That island? Does anyone live on it? And what are those animals that are all over the beach?”

“No one lives on the island. It is mostly just rock and uninhabitable. And those animals are sea lions. They come and park themselves on the beach and bark at anything and everything.”

“This is beautiful. The ocean, the sun setting making the sky glow orange and pink. I love the view.”

“As do I.”

His voice was deep and soft with a timber that caressed her. She looked up and found him watching her. Her cheeks heated and she glanced away, curious over this reaction.

“Wait until you see the view from my, soon to be our, garden,” he continued. “It looks out over the city. Quite lovely, especially at night, when all the light from the gas lamps lining the streets is visible.”

She let Blake order for all of them. He was conscientious of the needs, and perhaps tastes, of the children and ordered fried fish cakes for them. For her and Bertha, he ordered fresh salmon and for himself he ordered the swordfish. And he ordered a very nice bottle of white wine to accompany the meal.

When the food arrived, Nellie took a bite of her fish and closed her eyes in ecstasy. “This is wonderful. Bertha what do you think?”

“Marvelous, Nellie. I don’t think we ever had fish so fresh at home, and never salmon.”

“She’s right. Neither of us have had salmon before. We’re used to cod and the occasional grouper.”

“So, you’ve never had swordfish either? It’s one of my favorites. Here, try it.” He cut a small bite of the succulent fish with his fork and held it for her to taste.

He kept his gaze on her, daring her to take it off his fork. Though she knew doing so wasn’t entirely proper, she leaned forward and delicately closed her lips over the sampling. Her mouth exploded with flavor as the buttery fish melted on her tongue.

Blake grinned, a twinkle in his eye. “Good isn’t it?”

“I have no words to express the wonderfulness of that fish.” A smile accented her words. “I do believe I have a new favorite.”

“You’ll have to tell our cook. She’ll see that you have it every day if you want.”

“Oh, no.” She gave a small frown and shook her head. “I’d get tired of it then. Maybe just for special occasions or when we go out for dinner.”

“Well, then, you’ll have many opportunities to taste your new favorite, as you and I will be eating dinner out quite often. I entertain, not just at home, but in restaurants and other gatherings.” He sipped his wine. “You will accompany me. Make sure you have enough evening gowns to accommodate the various occasions.”

“Oh dear, I’m afraid that is one of the things you and I will need to discuss. I only have one gown for evening. It’s all I was able to procure in the short amount of time I had before the ship sailed.”

He waved off her concerns. “That’s no problem. I have a modiste that I’ve used for years. She is already on alert that you will be coming to see her.”

Nellie raised her eyebrows. “
You
have a modiste?”

After glancing around the table, he exhaled deeply. “We might as well get this out of the way. I have a modiste that I employ to make the costumes worn by my girls in my establishments. She also makes all of their day dresses.” He held up a hand when Nellie would have interrupted, which she did anyway.

“Mr. Malone,”

“Of course, you won’t want anything like my employees wear but something more, I don’t know what. Tasteful perhaps is the word I’m looking for. The girls who work for me wear very flashy and provocative clothes. The idea is for them to entice the men who come into my saloons, and separate them from their money. In any case, I’ll leave that between you and the seamstress to decide.”