Read The Governess Bride: A Sweet Mail Order Bride Historical Online

Authors: Eliza Lewis

Tags: #Literature & Fiction, #Romance, #Historical, #Victorian, #Western, #90 Minutes (44-64 Pages), #Short Stories, #Historical Romance, #Inspirational, #Westerns

The Governess Bride: A Sweet Mail Order Bride Historical (2 page)

BOOK: The Governess Bride: A Sweet Mail Order Bride Historical
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She was trembling a little, now that the reality of the situation was upon her and the man she knew to be Gideon McCabe was walking towards her, but Clara was at least comforted to find as the distance between them diminished that there did seem to be a calm and quiet kindness in his dark and rather handsome face. He took off his hat, and Clara swallowed hard.

 

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Hamilton," the rancher said, offering his hand.

 

"And I yours, Mr McCabe," Clara returned, suddenly painfully shy; hoping against hope that Mr McCabe, who was now striding in the direction of his wagon with all her worldly possessions, wouldn't notice how very greatly her hands had begun to shake when he came to help her into her seat.
Juniper Creek Ranch
, she said over and over in her mind. Could it be somewhere to call home?
Could it be?

 

 

* * *

 

The breeze was a cool caress as they rumbled back along the road to Juniper Creek, and it seemed to Clara that everywhere there were trees and meadows, mountains and valleys. Glimpses of twinkling streams, and capping it all that vast, unending blue sky.
Clara's nervousness evaporated, and instead she found herself gasping again and again – each new sight sending her hand flying to her mouth. "Such beauty," she murmured. "I've never seen such beauty!" She was entirely unable to tear her eyes from all that surrounded her. 

 

Gideon's eyes, meanwhile, were not on the vistas. Fine as they were, he was used to those. Instead, his eyes found themselves drawn back again and again to the unexpected young woman sitting beside him in the wagon.
Well she was a puzzle, that was for sure.

 

While waiting for the train to arrive, Gideon had hastily leafed through the letters Clara had written to Mrs Abercromby. More than once, Clara had referred to herself as a plain girl, not given to fanciful notions of making a marriage match. She had written that she believed she knew her place, knew what the good Lord intended for her – which was, she had explained, to care for other people's children, not her own.  And so on, and so on. And now that she was here, trembling somewhat beside him – though thankfully now distracted enough by the newness of everything – well, the truth was, Gideon didn't know whether to feel perplexed or amused.

 

Plain
? Could this young woman really think of herself as
plain
? In his experience, such as it was, a beautiful woman knew herself to be so.
Why not this one
, he wondered? But just as quickly as he formed the question in his mind – he pushed it away. Because it occurred to him then and there:
the less he got to wondering about this young woman the better.
This was a business arrangement. Nothing more. And before he forgot himself, he'd best remember it was to be a very temporary one at that.

 

"Welcome to Juniper Creek, Miss Hamilton," Gideon said quietly, directing a friendly – but not too friendly – smile at her before setting his eyes firmly on the road ahead.

 

 

* * *

 

Back at the ranch house, the little ones were sleeping, and introductions were in order. "Mrs Abercromby, Clara Hamilton. Clara Hamilton, Mrs Abigail Abercromby," Gideon said calmly, flashing a disapproving look at the old lady.

 

If Mrs Abercromby had noticed Gideon's disapproving look, she wasn't showing it. She was entirely starry-eyed over her young invitee. "But, my dear, you described yourself as
plain
? What nonsense! You are simply a
rose
! My, those two baby boys are going to adore you!"

 

Clara blushed deeply into her dimpled cheeks and dropped her lashes. An unexpected flare of warmth went through Gideon's chest to see it. He'd just been thinking the very same thing.

 

"May I meet them? The little ones?" Clara ventured.

 

Mrs Abercromby beamed at her. "They're sleeping in there. Go on and take a peek."

 

"Thank you. I will," she said, dropping her voice to a whisper.

 

While Clara stepped away softly to look in on the boys, Mrs Abercromby smiled widely at Gideon. "Well, I'd love to stay a little while but I really must be on my way. I hear Mr Abercromby outside this very moment. Perhaps you would step outside with me a moment Mr McCabe? I'd like to have a word before I go."

 

Gideon raised a brow but followed Mrs Abercromby outside, carrying her things for her.

 

Once outside the ranch house, and therefore out of Clara's earshot, she leaned urgently towards him, her eyes noticeably sparkling. "My dear Mr McCabe," she said to him conspiratorially – and a little breathlessly. "Give my regards to Miss Hamilton. Help her to settle in well, and tell her I'll be out to visit her real soon. And now, listen to me very carefully. I'm too old to set a bad example – so I'm going to give you some advice instead." With this, Mrs Abercromby looked imploringly into Gideon's eyes, and her voice gentled. "Don't walk away from love if you should one day find that it is standing before your very eyes." She allowed a moment for her words to register with Gideon. And then she winked at him, and set off jauntily down the track with a wave and a holler to her husband.

 

Love?
Love? What on earth was she talking about now?

 

Gideon shook his head as he watched her go. A curious old lady. A truly curious old lady.

 

 

* * *

 

Gideon was up and out at dawn the next day for a full day's fencing, and he didn't return home until sundown. The truth was, that's what he'd intended. He had no idea why, but he felt a little tongue tied around the newly-arrived young woman. Best leave her to get acquainted with the boys, he told himself. At the day's end, however, he found that he was as keen as usual to see the little ones – but to his puzzlement he found that he was also keen to see the young woman.
Clara
. It made him smile to picture her pretty face. Her watchful eyes. As soon as the thought occurred to him however, he found himself pushing it aside and replacing it with another. He was curious, that was all. Curious to find out how their day had gone.

 

A moment later, Gideon swung open the door of the ranch house and his mouth plain fell open.
"What the…"
His voiced trailed away – he was lost for words. Before him was a scene of utter disarray
. Some kind of baking,
he wondered?
Or had a clutch of chickens flown around the room upending every object and emptying parcels of flour behind them as they did so?
Gideon simply stood there, his hands on his hips, his face the picture of astonishment.

 

"Now, look here Miss Hamilton," he began, quite on the point of laying down the law and telling her he'd be finding her respectable employment in the town before the week was out. But he stopped mid-sentence. Little Charlie and little Abe waddled to her in unison and hugged her legs, beaming at her, then beaming gummily at their uncle. Clara, without a second's hesitation dropped to her knees, sending a soft, whooshing cloud of pale blue fabric billowing around her as she gathered the two boys into her arms, smiling into their faces, nuzzling their necks and speaking to them tenderly – all soft and womanly like a … like a mother would, Gideon realized, with a heavy tug at his heart.
Like a mother would
.

 

Gideon opened his mouth to speak. Words of admonishment swirled in his brain, struggling to form themselves into a scold.
But darn it if the words wouldn't come.
And darn it if despite himself he didn't feel the slow spread of a smile across his face. His baby nephews… Heck, he wasn't sure he'd ever seen their chubby little faces so sweetly smiling, nor their eyes so brightly happy. A further thought stole into his mind – as moving to him as it was worrisome: the little ones. They loved her.
In all of five minutes, his two little nephews had fallen in love with Clara Hamilton – and Lord help him, despite the chaos, he wasn't hard pressed to see why.

 

 

* * *

 

Well the rest of the week saw Gideon's ranch house – and his life – turned upside down. Noise. Chaos. Distractions. Yes, thought Gideon.
Distractions.
Distractions with sweet smiles and hazel eyes and strands of gold in her hair.
Distractions like Clara.
He strode out across his land needing to be alone. The storm-filled sky was about as turbulent as his mood right now. He vaulted a fence and continued on his way.

 

Darn it
, he thought. This whole idea was supposed to have smoothed things out not
complicated
every darn thing into a state of downright mayhem. He'd been right in the first place. This whole thing was a meddle that shouldn't have happened. It needed to be undone and put right. He loved his nephews. He'd be there for them – always. But he was the first to hold up his hands and admit that as a bachelor – and a loner to boot – he hadn't a clue about how to raise them right. He was finding his way with it all. But this mail-order wife-in-name-only, bride, Governess
thing
of Mrs Abercromby's.
Heck, it was supposed to have made things simpler, wasn't it?
The reality was, he was forced to admit, that the arrival of Miss Clara Hamilton had turned everything upside down.
Everything
.

 

Gideon stopped walking and came to rest a while at a fence, his eyes going to the distant horizon. Something was bothering him.
There was pain in her eyes
. And he wanted to know why. She tried to hide it, but he knew it was there. And it troubled the heck out of him. He was even losing sleep over it. Gideon brought his forearms to rest on the fence and watched the clouds roll in a while. This land, this
chance
. He had to keep his mind set on it. Had to make a go of it. To get distracted by this… By
her
, or at least his feelings for
her
… He couldn't let it happen. Because his future was here, and so now was the future of his two young nephews.

 

Well, it was altogether too distracting and he didn't know what exactly to do about it. He knew what he
should
do. He should find her a decent job, a decent place to board. And he should get back to what he was good at. Running the ranch. Building a future for the boys. Being alone. But every time he saw the boys seek out her arms for comfort, or waddle her way to hold up some little thing that had delighted them, well, he was stopped in his tracks. Clouds were gathering on the horizon.
Another day or two, then we'll see,
he told himself.
Another day or two.

 

 

* * *

 

But as it turned out, those days became weeks, and the weeks became months. And before Gideon could do much about it, the days had taken on a rhythm of their own that he didn't see fit to disturb. Summer turned to Fall, and Fall give way to Winter.

 

Snow came. Flurries of it swirled around the ranch house for days, blanketing them in quiet and peace. Gideon tended the ranch, and Clara tended home and kept the fires burning. While logs crackled cozily in the hearths, the four of them fell into a warm peace with each other. Every day, Gideon smiled to see how greatly the little ones thrived under Clara's care. From time to time, Mrs Abercromby's words from all those months ago surfaced in his mind…
Those little boys need a mother
. Gideon was a big enough man to know when he'd got it wrong. And, well, he
had
got it wrong, while the dear old lady had been quite right. His baby nephews
did
need a mother. As for him… What did he need? There was a time not so long ago when he thought he knew the answer to that question…
Peace. Quiet. The ranch. To be alone…
But lately, he wasn't so sure he'd given it enough thought. Not nearly enough thought at all.

 

Sitting there by the fire, whittling a piece of wood, lifting his head now and again to survey the happy domestic scene, and share a smile with the little ones, it struck Gideon with powerful force: Clara
was
mother to the boys. The only mother they'd known. Those infants trailed around after her like a pair of happy shadows. Their chubby little faces filled with sunshine when she entered the room; and they wailed in protest when she left it. They reflected her love for them back at her tenfold. It was as pure and true and good a thing as Gideon had ever seen, and he was thankful for it. He was thankful for Clara, too, he realized. He ought to let her know that, he thought suddenly, stilling his hands and lifting his eyes from the piece of applewood he was working to glance shyly at her, noticing how darned pretty she was in the firelight.
Yep
, he thought, resuming his work again, a little more slowly, a little more thoughtfully this time.
He ought to let her know it…

BOOK: The Governess Bride: A Sweet Mail Order Bride Historical
9.32Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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