Romance: Mail Order Bride "The Ideal Bride" Clean Christian Western Historical Romance (Western Mail Order Bride Short Shorties Series) (170 page)

“Yessir,” Sam said. His gaze never left Maxine's face “I wouldn't dream of doing anything else.”

Wilkinson nodded. “Good,” he said, then cast his eyes over the rest of his staff. “Well? There's still work to be done, is there not? I don't pay you to hang around!”

A chorus of “no sirs” answered him and the crowd dispersed.

“Do you mean it, Sam?” Maxine asked.

“I don't say anything I don't mean,” Sam replied, “but I'm not one to rush things neither. I sure do like you a lot, but I'll wait as long as I need to. You don't need to worry about anythin' now, I promise.” The only thing Maxine could think of to do was kiss him, and so she did.

“Maybe we can take a walk later?” she asked. “After supper, maybe.”

Sam smiled. “Anything you want,” he said. “I know I don't have much money but whatever I have, it's yours.”

“You're all I want,” Maxine said, and she meant it with all of her heart.

THE END
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Chapter 1

Life had always been good to me. I was the type of woman who had never wanted for much. I grew up in the beautiful town of Richmond, Virginia. Many people have called Richmond God’s Land. The grass was green and the streams ran with fresh, cool water. I much preferred it to the bustling city of New York.

My father was a wealthy investor who always had a hand in the banks. He was a popular man who’d been invited to the mayor’s home for dinner on more than one occasion. Michael Monroe and his family were well-known throughout the area and I wasn’t exempt from that. Moving to Virginia didn’t change much of anything. People quickly learned who we were and soon we were in the good graces of the locals.

Richmond was larger than many of the other Southern cities, but it was still small compared to New York. Then again, I think anything would be considered small if it was stacked up next to New York. I didn’t mind, however. I enjoyed the break from the loud, smog-filled streets. A woman could breathe out here and get closer to God.

Who am I, you ask? Madison Monroe. The apple of my father’s eye and an only child. It was rare in these times for a family to have only one child, but my parents had never wanted a large family. They’d both grown up poor and had twenty one brothers and sisters between the two of them. It made family gatherings rather complicated.

Rather than having as many children as possible, my parents dedicated all of their time to one child and it seemed to be paying off. I was a happy girl and I grew into a happy woman. We went to church together, prayed together, and ate dinner together every night. We really were a story book family.

Everything was perfect. We were happy and we were thriving. I thanked God every day for my family and I honestly thought that it would stay like this forever. That was the naïve thinking of a girl who was barely eighteen.

The South is known for its storms and while we’d only lived in Richmond for a little over five years, we’d seen our share of cascading rainstorms. I actually thought them to be rather beautiful, though that would soon change.

My parents were used to the storms, and when they received an invitation to the mayor’s mansion, they weren’t going to turn him down just because the weather was bad. They got into the carriage and set off down the road. I stood at the porch and waved, smiling and blissfully unaware that I was never going to see them again.

They didn’t return that night. A flash flood made travel impossible and they became stranded. I couldn’t know exactly what happened, but it seemed that they got out of the carriage to try and escape the flooding and were swept away down the river and drowned.

That night I inherited my parents’ assets and estate as well as a tremendous amount of guilt and sadness. Everything felt wrong after that. I went through my days in a blur and soon fell into the care of my soon-to-be husband. Marriage was different in those days. I’d been promised to a wealthy banker years ago and now that I was of marrying age it was time to settle down.

My sadness didn’t seem to matter to my future husband. He wasn’t concerned with comforting me or trying to make me feel better. He was far more concerned with starting our family and transferring my parents’ assets to his accounts.

I gave him the house, but I wanted to stay in control of the rest of my parents’ fortune. Something about Jeremy made me wary. I didn’t want him controlling the money my parents left for me, though I knew that as soon as we were married everything would be his. I dreaded that day more than I cared to admit, though I couldn’t quite understand why.

I sighed softly and looked out the window as a spring storm left small puddles just outside. Birds fluttered and splashed around in them and I couldn’t prevent the soft smile that graced my lips. Spring in Richmond was so beautiful. Flowers were starting to bloom and the trees were unbelievably green. Days like this made me long for my mother. When she was alive it was days like this when we would sit beside the fire and work on our needlepoint while father read. Days like this had a comfortable silence.

The sound of footsteps upstairs broke me from my memories and I frowned softly, standing and gathering my long periwinkle dress in my delicate fingers. I checked my blonde locks in the mirror, ensuring that I looked presentable. Even if it was only Jeremy, I still needed to look as pretty as possible. He always prized my beauty. I wasn’t a vain woman but he was a vain man who wanted a beautiful wife. God had instructed wives to be dutiful, so I had to obey his wishes.

I wandered down to the kitchen to make some tea before setting it on a tray so that I could bring it upstairs. I made sure to make extra in case my fiancé brought guests. As I approached the door to his study I could hear two separate voices speaking. I recognized one voice as Jeremy’s but I couldn’t place the other one.

“Is everything set?”

“Everything is ready, sir. Our…problem will be taken care of shortly.”

My brows furrowed as the men spoke and I found myself unsure of what was being discussed. The steps came closer to the door and I held my breath, quickly ducking into a room down the hall. I suddenly had some questions that I knew could only be answered if I could get into my fiancé’s office. He kept anything and everything he considered important in there. I held my breath and waited.

“Thank you for all of your help. I’m glad we could handle this in a discreet manner.”

“Of course, my friend. Anything you need, you just tell me.”

The man with my husband spoke in a strange accent I couldn’t place. My brow furrowed a little and I heard the men walk away, their steps fading and becoming more and more quiet as they disappeared down the hall to the foyer.

Once I was sure both men were out of the house, I set my tea tray down and all but ran across the hall, closing the door behind me. He always kept his office closed and something in my chest told me that I didn’t want to be caught here. I took a deep breath and tiptoed over to the desk, my eyes scanning the many papers for anything that seemed strange or out of place.

As I shuffled through the papers I came across two things that were interesting to me. The first was a marriage certificate that looked like it had been written up recently. The ink was still wet. I frowned as I glanced at the name, realizing it was the name of a noble woman that lived in a nearby town.  This certificate made it obvious that my fiancé intended on marrying someone other than me.

I went to set the certificate down but stopped short, noticing a life insurance policy underneath. Just like the signatures on the marriage certificate, the ink was wet on the life insurance policy as well. I was the person whom the policy was bought for, and my husband had named himself the benefactor. My eyes widened as I began to put two and two together.

My husband was planning on killing me, collecting the insurance money and running away with another woman!

Chapter 2

Even a few days after this discovery, my mind was still reeling. I couldn’t believe that my fiancé wanted me dead! I knew that Jeremy and I weren’t necessarily the best match in the world, but I didn’t think he wanted me dead. My world was turned upside down and I was starting to realize I couldn’t stay in Richmond. There were other people involved and I couldn’t possibly know who they were.

Every day I stayed in town was another day closer to my own demise. I wasn’t sure where to go or what to do. My only hope was to get out of Richmond before my wedding. I knew that Jeremy wouldn’t risk killing me before he could inherit my family’s money.

I prayed every day, asking God to show me the way. I didn’t know where I was supposed to go or who I was supposed to turn to. I had no family left and the only person I had to protect me had plans to kill me. I prayed and I prayed, and soon enough those prayers were answered by a newspaper ad.

Mail order bride was a term I’d heard a few times before. They were women who traveled out west in order to find husbands. Many of them were women who never would have found husbands here in Richmond. Most of them were widows with children, or women who’d been unfaithful. Clean, God-fearing women weren’t the type to travel west.

It was certainly not something I’d ever considered before. The idea of living a life in the west was rather terrifying. People told stories of wagon caravans getting lost in snow storms and tribes of natives who scalped entire families. I never would have thought to be a mail order bride myself if that newspaper hadn’t blown by.

I was out shopping after church and a gust of wind blew an out-of-date newspaper across the street. It fluttered delicately, landing right on top of my shoe. As if to send me a message, big bold letters stood out on the page:

WIFE NEEDED TO CARE FOR FAMILY. WILL PAY TRAVEL EXPENSES. WILL BE TAKEN CARE OF.

An address was listed just below the message and as I stared down at it, I suddenly realized that this was the sign I’d been waiting for. God was telling me to take this chance. This was my way out. I looked around to make sure no one was watching before I snatched the paper up and stuffed it in my shopping bag, taking a deep breath and starting to walk away.

I clutched the bag and finished my shopping, not wanting to give myself away. I had to go about things as normally as possible if I was going to get out of Richmond. Jeremy had eyes all over the city and if anyone caught me acting strangely, it was sure to be reported. It kept me on my toes.

As watchful as Jeremy was when I was out and about, he didn’t keep my leash nearly as short at home. For the most part, I was allowed to go about my business without being disturbed and managed to mail the letter out without Jeremy catching on to my little plan. The days that I spent waiting for that letter to come back seemed to go on forever. Retrieving the mail was one of my duties so my husband thought nothing of it when I went to the door every day.

It was almost a month before I finally got a reply. The man sent me enough money for a train ticket and some food. It wasn’t much, but it was enough. I’d be happy to leave my fortune behind if it meant I’d be safe from my plotting fiancé.

Soon after the money arrived Jeremy went away on a work trip. He would be gone for a few days and I used those few days as my cover. I boarded the train early in the morning and disappeared before anyone had any chance to miss me.

I could only pray that this was the last I’d see of Richmond and of Jeremy.

Chapter 3

The train ride was longer than I’d initially expected, though I had no real frame of reference to be working from. I had only ever taken pleasure trips with Jeremy and those had been a few hours long and included wine and a meal. This train was not as hospitable. They gave us bread and water with a bit of meat for all of our meals, though I was able to get something a little better when we made our stops.

It was full of sad-eyed women who clung to children that looked just as sad. They didn’t have the look of adventurous women who were excited to take on the world. They looked downtrodden and the looked as if they were ready to give up. It wasn’t what I’d expected, though I probably should have. I was more than aware of the type of women who moved west.

The ache in my chest made it difficult to swallow and I had to do my best not to cry. I’d been running on adrenaline the last few days and now I was suddenly being faced with the realities of my decision. The west was a dangerous place full of roaming natives and animals large enough to snatch a grown woman off her porch. I didn’t even know who the man I was marrying was. He could have been an awful man with intentions of hurting me.

My mind swam for the rest of the train ride and I was relieved when the wheels screeched as the iron giant came to a stop. I stumbled off the train, tired of being in the stuffy train car. My ears rang with the sound of crying babies and even though the plains of Billings were hot, the cool breeze was a much needed relief.

There were men in uniforms walking around the platform, greeting women and directing them either in the direction of the home or towards people waiting for them. Small lines started to form and I got in one of these lines, looking around with weary eyes. I hadn’t slept properly in what felt like days. I was looking forward to sleeping in a real bed.

It was finally my turn and the uniformed man glanced down at his pad of paper, not bothering to look at me. “Name?”

“Madison Monroe.”

He nodded and glanced behind him, calling out my name. A tall, tired man raised his hand and the guard pointed towards him. “Go with him.”

“I…Who is that?”

“The person who is in charge of you.”

“In charge of me…?” I asked, looking confused.

“Ma’am, there are hundreds of other women waiting to be placed. If you think there was a mistake, you can take it up with him.”

I frowned, rather taken aback with the rude tone of the man’s voice. I had always been a well-to-do lady and so I was always treated with the highest honor and respect. Suddenly, I was being treated as if I were a common person, though I supposed I was going to have to get used to that. No one knew who I was here and to them I was just another poor soul, coming through their town to try and start a new life. Maybe that was for the best.

I followed the man’s instructions and approached the tired man. The closer I got the more I realized he was a handsome fellow. He had a strong jaw and sandy blonde hair that complimented his hazel eyes perfectly. He was a beautiful man and for a moment he even took my breath away. He dipped his head in my direction, though he didn’t look too happy to see me.

“Madison? Madison Monroe?”

“Oh. Yes. You must be Joseph Saint?”

“I’m afraid not.”

My brows furrowed a little. “Are you picking me up in my husband’s place?”

“In a way.”

His vague way of speaking was starting to get on my nerves. I frowned a little and crossed my arms over my chest.

“I am trying to be patient, sir, but I have been on a train for the last five days and I really would like to know what’s going on.”

He cocked a thick brow and turned his back towards me, walking over to a line of horses. I gasped but followed him. “Where are we going?”

“Home.”

I picked up my pace, moving to stand in front of him. “Will you please tell me what is going on? I promise I am not trying to be difficult! This is all new to me and…I’m frightened!”

He turned around to look at me, putting his hands in his pockets. “My name is James Saint.” He said, his deep voice a bit comforting. “I am Joseph’s brother. He passed away last week when a group of bandits robbed and shot him.”

I felt the color drain from my face and I took a few steps back, eyes wide and hardly able to believe what I’d just heard. “He’s dead?”

James frowned and removed his hat, nodding slowly. 

My mouth went dry and for a moment I just stared at him, unsure as to what I was supposed to say. What do you say to someone who just lost their brother? He glanced back at me and motioned towards the horse.

“Get on.”

I nodded numbly but swung a leg over the horse. James got on behind me and I felt strangely protected with his arms wrapped around me. I closed my eyes and leaned into him, sighing softly. It was nice to feel protected after so many days of uncertainty.

We rode out of town, taking a worn dirt road into the country side. Our nearest neighbors were miles away and it seemed that I would have to learn to make it on my own. I swayed from side to side as the horse made its way to a rather small cabin. Smoke billowed from the chimney and I was comforted by the sight of it.

“The trains are done running for the winter. Soon the ice and snow will make it impossible for them to get through,” he said, glancing over his shoulder at me. “When spring comes around, I’ll send you back to Virginia.”