Pioneer Love: Damaged Hearts Head West: Mail Order Bride 5 Bundle (17 page)

Chapter 8

The next few days, Mary and David spent almost all of their time together. When they interacted with other guests, subconsciously they ended up going into the same rooms and hanging around close to each other. They never seemed to run out of things to talk about.

After that first day, David began to take his meals with the rest of the guests, preferring to sit with Mary and talk about anything that struck their fancy. They shared their life experiences, their hardships, their hopes, and dreams.

One day while they were sitting alone in the den. Mary was looking out the window and David could not believe she was still single after all these years.

“Why did you never remarry?” he asked. “It must have been very hard living alone all those years.”

Mary stared out the window as if she were searching the mountain tops for some sign or other. “I could ask you the same thing,” she said.

“Yes you could, but I asked first.”

She let out a long sigh. “I loved Jefferson very much and he left me with a small income. For many years, I did not want to think about marriage but then some friends encouraged me to court a local suitor. I did not want to. Yes, I am lonely but I was happy alone and did not want to accept the thought of love into my life. I’m sure you understand.”

She looked up and David could see moisture glinting in her eyes. He did, he understood only too well and he nodded feeling a lump in his throat that would not allow any words to pass.

“I did not love this man, but he had a child from a previous wife and I thought it would give me… Well, I guess I wanted children.”

He reached out and took her hand, squeezing it gently for comfort but the feelings it gave him were much stronger. He was falling for this woman. With her head bowed, she told him, in confidence, about how she had been played for a fool at her wedding. She had been engaged to marry the man. They had not been in love, but they had respected each other enough that she had agreed to marry him. It would make her dream of a child come true, even though it would not be hers. For the first time since Jefferson’s death, she had been excited about the future.

Her eyes clouded over with shame as she explained. On the day of her wedding, as she sat in her dress, a boy came with a letter for her. The guests were all outside, waiting for the wedding ceremony to begin. She opened the letter to read it and inside was a short note from her fiancé. He wrote that he couldn't go through with the marriage and that they both deserved to be with someone they loved. He said that he had met a woman who took his breath away and that he couldn't force himself to be with her just because he had made a promise. He wrote that he was leaving and would move to a different town to start a life with his love.

David felt his heart breaking as she finished the story.

“After that day,” Mary said. “I wanted to make sure that no other woman went through what I did. So I started the Pioneer Brides Mail Order Bride Agency. It was small at first. I just helped a few people find each other. Then I read about the shortage of women out West and I knew that many women back East were in my situation. It seemed perfect and I have helped many women find their true love.”

“Do many of your women fall in love with their husbands?” David asked for he could not imagine it happening very often.

“I make it my mission to never send a bride to a husband that I do not think she could love.”

David shook his head. He had badly misjudged her and now he was amazed at what a good woman she was. She had taken something that would destroy many people and turned it into a business. It was the reason she had never married. She had been betrayed and humiliated and she had not wanted to go through a similar experience ever again. What’s more she had not wanted any other woman to go through the same. He felt himself in awe of her and what she had achieved.

David found himself seeking out Mary’s company over the next few days. The only regret he had was that if he moved out here to be with his daughter then he would lose this wonderful woman. Could he find a way to bring her with him? Then he stopped himself. Mary had spent much time in his company, but there had never been any hint that she was looking for a companion, that she was looking for a husband. Maybe he was just getting carried away? As he watched her one day, he wondered how he could broach the subject. Maybe on the train ride home?

The wedding day finally arrived and the whole house hummed with excitement. Last minute adjustments were being made, servants and maids were running all over the place getting everything in order, and the guests were chattering away, figuring out where they were to be seated.

David knocked on a bedroom. He went in and his eyes moistened as he looked at his beautiful daughter. He only wished that her mother had been there to see her in such a glorious wedding gown. Jolene, Anna’s best friend, smiled at him and ducked out of the room and David took a deep breath.  “Are you ready?” he asked and wondered if he would ever be ready for this.

“I am,” Anna said and together they walked through the house.

The staff and some of the guests were all waiting and they gave them an honor guard as they walked to a waiting carriage. Two white horses pulled the carriage which had been decorated with silk ribbons. It seemed the Gellman’s had pulled out all the stops.

As the carriage lurched forward, David wondered where Mary was. Had she already left for the wedding? Would he see her there?

A large crowd had gathered outside the small church as David helped Anna down. Taking her arm, he led her to the doors. No one looked at her limp all they cared about was how beautiful she looked and what a wonderful dress she wore. The train spread out behind her as they entered the church. The music began to play and wiping away his tears David led her down the aisle that led to Ian.

Ian only had eyes for Anna, as she walked toward him and David couldn't help but feel the joy to see all the love reflected in Ian’s eyes for his Anna. After handing her to Ian, David turned to go take his seat. He sat and scanned the room for Mary. She sat three rows back and the sight of her took his breath away. She looked magnificent in her shimmering light green dress. It was long; a little low cut and accentuated her curves, making her look more beautiful than he had ever seen. She was more beautiful than anyone here, save the bride.

Shaking his head slightly to clear it, he turned back to see his daughter accept Ian for all of eternity till death do they part. He saw her eyes shimmer with unshed tears and he couldn't help but let a few of his own fall as well. His daughter was all grown up now and starting her own family. He couldn't have been more proud of her.

Chapter 9

After the ceremony was over congratulations were made and they all moved back to the lodge for the wedding feast. David found himself walking as Ian and Anna had taken the carriage. The sound of her delighted laughter still echoed in his ears as he scanned the crowds for Mary. She was nowhere to be found so he made the walk back and into the ballroom. All around people were laughing and eating and at the top of the room the happy couple greeted their guests. David looked around until he saw Mary. She was standing by a table, chatting with a man. As he saw the two of them laughing, a heat flamed his face right up to his ears and he began to shake in anger. His anger surprised him and he looked down at his fisted hands, wondering what had come over him and why her talking to anyone affected him in such a way. Maybe, he was just protective of her since she had been hurt previously and he did not want her to be in pain again.

He moved toward her and touching her lightly on the arm, asked, "May I interrupt?"

Mary turned toward him, with a bright smile on her face. “Mr. Montgomery, of course,” she said. “That was a beautiful service and the bride looks almost as dashing as her father does this evening."

More heat spread down his neck. "And you look ravishing, Mrs. Hawkins. Would you like to dance?"

Blushing furiously, Mary nodded her head and David then proceeded to lead her to the dance floor. "You really do look absolutely breathtaking, Mrs. Hawkins," he said as he led her through the dance.

Blushing again, Mary mumbled a quick thank you. They both danced in silence for a while, not parting as the songs ended and new ones started. David was enjoying holding her close to him a lot more than he thought he should. His heart was beating like a drum, he was sweating a little, and he couldn't seem to keep his eyes off her. She kept blushing every time she looked into his eyes and David couldn't help but wonder if maybe she was feeling the same things, he was.

While they had been dancing, David had looked around once or twice and noticed Jolene, Anna's best friend looking at him with a weird expression. When he would look at her, she would grin, nod towards Mary, and wink at him as if to show her approval. David went red in the face and after the third time, he decided not to look up at all. Feeling awkward with Jolene staring, he said to Mary, "Do you maybe want to leave now? We could go to the library, nobody would be there, and we'd get some quiet."

Mary looked at him with gratitude. "That sounds like a great idea."

And so it was that they escaped the wedding and spent the evening in just each other's company, the way they liked it. Half way through the night Mary explained that she would be leaving tomorrow. The thought devastated David and he wondered how he could let her know how he felt. “How have you enjoyed the West?” he asked.

“It is lovely,” she said. “I wonder what it would be like to reside out here.”

“Could you still run your business?” he asked intrigued.

“I don’t see why not,” she said “But let us talk of home. Do you miss it?”

David thought about that for just a moment. Did he? “Not as much as I missed Anna,” he said.

The morning after the wedding, David came down to find Mary had her bags packed and was ready to go back home. He wanted to tell her that he wished they could travel together. Thought about asking if she could delay her trip back, but in the end he said nothing. Instead he helped her into the carriage, kissed the back of her hand, and told her he would call on her when they got home. Mary’s face colored a lovely rose pink and she told him how she looked forward to it. Then the door closed and she was gone. Somehow it was as if the sun had gone behind a cloud and the world was a much cooler place. This entire trip had been like one dream and he didn't want to wake up from it. Not going with Mary would be like missing out on some last precious minutes. He shook his head; there were precious moments to have with Anna. Or at least there would be when she returned from her trip.

With a heavy heart, David watched the carriage until it was out of sight. All the time he worried about what the future held and how things would be different between them back home.

The next few days were rather boring for him without Mary. He had gotten quite used to her being around all the time and now he felt her absence. As more and more guests left, the house grew quieter. Ryan and Jolene were spending a lot of time together and David wondered if maybe romance was in the air? So he sat in the library, read a little, and spent his days thinking about Mary. How could he miss her so much when he had known her for such a short time?

Finally, his daughter came back and he spent the day with her, rejoicing in the little time he had with her before he was to head back home. He laughed with her, remembered her mother, told the others stories of her childhood, and had a merry time with the family. He was glad that if he were to leave his little girl, it was in such a happy place.

The next day, he said his goodbyes and promised he would think about retirement and about coming back soon. His stomach was jittery and for some reason he was nervous, although he had no reason to be. He was only going home, but the thought of seeing Mary again made him restless throughout the whole train ride back.