Grace felt her excitement growing, as she for a moment began to forget about her own happy news, instinctively knowing what Paul would say next.
“Yet, if you will indulge me, I'd like to add just a little bit of joy to this evening if I may.” Paul raised his hand and spread his fingers for emphasis. “Only yesterday, I have proposed marriage to Constance. And I am so happy to announce that she has accepted!”
The happy chatter continued as congratulations began anew. Grace, was thrilled to share the spotlight with Constance, and couldn’t imagine a more perfect way to end the day, than eating a special meal with the three people that she loved more than any other, and her unborn child nestled safely within her womb. As everyone began to settle down and started to dig into the food on their plates, she simply sat there, content that fate had brought her to Montana, and led her into the arms of the only man she could ever love.
###
If you liked Montana Bound, keep reading for an excerpt of Kansas Bound:
Prologue
April 8, 1880
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The deafening shot rang off the high ceiling of the sparsely-furnished room. Time slowed to a crawl as the body slumped to the floor with a dull thud, cushioned by the jewel-toned Persian rug.
She glanced down in shock to see a dark stain seep into the rug, spreading like a crimson halo around the head of the fallen man. When she raised her eyes again, blue smoke curled from the barrel of the pistol, now leveled at her own head. Behind the weapon, a cruel glint flashed in the dark eyes that clashed with her own, as the handsome man’s mouth twisted upward in a victorious smile.
Chapter 1
One Month Earlier…
St. Margaret’s Orphanage
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
March 3, 1880
Cicely paced the halls, the unopened letter in her hand. It was the first letter from Charles Wyatt that she had not been eager to read. Deciding that she could not read it without the moral support of a friend, she turned and strode to the dormitory wing, to find Hannah. She had grown to become the best of friends with Hannah, over the years at the orphanage, and Hannah was the closest thing to a sister as Cicely would ever have.
Walking into the dormitory, which was lined with a long row of beds along each of the north and south walls, with narrow writing desks in between, she was relieved to find her friend alone sitting on her bed. The other girls were in classes, but Hannah and Cicely didn’t have to attend classes anymore. They were both nearly eighteen—the age when the girls had to leave the orphanage and make their own way in the world. Their time—when not required to be at Mass or doing chores—was meant to be devoted to job-hunting or courting. Unless, of course, a girl intended to go into the convent, in which case she was expected to spend her time in prayer or working alongside the Sisters of Mercy.
Upon seeing Hannah, Cicely felt her nerves settle a bit. “Hello Hannah. Ready for your big day?”
Hannah’s nuptials to Andrew Moran, who worked for a baker in a nearby town, were scheduled for the upcoming weekend, the day after Hannah’s eighteenth birthday. It was planned as a small affair. Hannah didn’t have any relatives to invite or to help pay for the wedding, and Andrew barely had enough saved to help them start their new life together, so they planned a modest wedding, which made Hannah happy, anyway.
Cicely knew it would have been very uncomfortable for her friend if they had invited everyone Andrew’s parents knew, only to have her own side of the church nearly empty. They would marry before the pastor with only a few friends and Andrew’s immediate family members in attendance. Cicely looked forward to witnessing the marriage of her friend.
Hannah immediately rose, and walked the few steps to where Cicely stood near the foot of her bed, and hugged her close. “I am so nervous, the closer it gets, but I am also happy and relieved, knowing that I’ll be married to a wonderful man once I leave this place.”
“I do envy you.” Cicely said, truthfully. It had only been a few weeks since she had postponed providing a final answer to Charles’ proposal of marriage, and the letter that she held in her hand would be his reply to her postponement. It wasn’t so much that she was reluctant to accept his proposal because she was unsure of how she felt about him. The difficulty was that she had never met him in person before.
Several months earlier she had responded to an advertisement in The Marriage Gazette from a Charles, a farmer in Kansas with two children. He had lost his first wife when she gave birth to his daughter, Rose, who was three years old by the time Cicely had begun to correspond with him. He also had a seven year old son, Robert. Charles had raised his two children for the last three years with the help of his sister, who lived nearby, but was ready to move on and was seeking a wife for himself and a mother for his children. He seemed to be a wonderful man, and she very much looked forward to the letters that they exchanged with each other. In fact, had his proposal letter arrived even a week earlier than it had, she would not have hesitated to accept. But that was before William Thompson.
William was a local business man—successful enough that he should not even consider a marriage to Cicely. Most ambitious businessmen would not take a second look at an orphan, regardless of how attractive she might be. An orphan had no family, no dowry, no connections that the men could use to further their financial situation. The girls from St. Margaret’s Orphanage were often regarded merely as financial burdens.
For some reason, though, William had not batted an eye when Cicely told him that she resided at St. Margaret’s. She could not explain his interest in her—she’d been told she was very pretty, but there were plenty of pretty girls that would have connections and a dowry—even a small one would do for a businessman, if she had connections that could be of use. But William didn’t seem to be worried about that—he was sincerely interested in her, and she wanted to give him the opportunity to court her before deciding whose proposal to accept. While Charles presented himself as a wonderful man in his letters, William was a local man and she felt that the wisest course of action would be to get to know him better and see where their relationship would take them.
“It’s you that should be envied,” Hannah said trying to comfort her friend, “you have the attention of two prospective husbands right now—and one is quite a catch. My Andrew is wonderful, but I wouldn’t mind if he had a greater income. The bakery doesn’t pay much.”
“Don’t be silly, you’re as lucky as they come. Andrew is a catch. A baker’s assistant? Any girl here would give their right arm for a man like him…especially the less fortunate ones.”
The girls fell silent. They both knew what happened to the girls who were less attractive or didn’t have marketable skills. It was Cicely’s fear of that very fate which had sent her to the marriage advertisements in the first place. Single young men were still a commodity on the east coast, even though it had been fifteen years since the War Between the States had ended. Things were getting much better, but for the girls from St. Margaret’s, marriage prospects were still fairly dim. If a girl was fortunate enough to find a husband, all too often he turned out to be a drunkard, or cruel, or too lazy to provide for his family.
For the girls who didn’t marry right away, it wasn’t uncommon for them to end up living in very dire situations after they left. None of them ever thought it would happen to them—those girls went off with hopes and dreams, sure that they could somehow beat the odds. But too often, they didn’t.
The Sisters did what they could to spare the girls, but their meager resources had to provide for the girls in the orphanage, and there was rarely anything left over. The girls who didn’t find husbands or go into the convent, or weren’t lucky enough to find a good job, ended up working in a dangerous factory, or scrubbing floors in an unsavory household, or selling their bodies to earn their way.
Cicely cleared her throat, shaking off such abysmal thoughts. “I received this letter from Charles today.” She held up the l
etter she’d been clutching at her side.
“That’s wonderful! What did he have to say?”
Cicely paused, looked down at her feet and then admitted, “I can’t read it Hannah. I can’t even get myself to open it. What if he hates me?”
“Cicely, you are being so melodramatic. He is not going to hate you. Has he ever been anything but a gentleman in his letters to you?”
“Of course not!”
“Well, why do you expect this time to be any different? All you’ve done is let him know that you can’t give him an answer yet. You were just being honest with him. He’ll understand. It’s not an easy thing to accept a proposal from someone you’ve only known in letters.”
“You’re right, of course.” Cicely said, looking up into her friends green eyes. “I’ll open it and we’ll read it together.”
Raising the envelope between them, she ripped the top edge of it and removed the letter from within. She held it in her hand for a long second, and then slowly unfolded it. As she began to read it aloud, Hannah slid closer to her and put an arm around her shoulder in support.
Dear Miss Dunbar,
Thank you for the honesty that you displayed in your last letter. I sincerely appreciate that you explained the situation with the local gentleman to me. I want you to know that, although it is disappointing to me, I do understand completely. I want you to be sure in your choice—if you did choose to marry me, I would want there to be no regrets on your part. Be assured that I have no other ladies in waiting at this time, and will be happy to wait to hear back from you regarding your decision. If I have not heard back from you by your birthday, I will assume that you have decided to marry your other suitor, and I will renew my advertisement in The Marriage Gazette. In that case, though I will be disappointed for myself, you will have my most heart-felt wishes of a happy future with your new husband.
Again, thank you for sharing this with me. I wish you well and desire only the best for you.
Sincerely,
Charles Wyatt
“You see Cicely, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Hannah said as she patted Cicely on the shoulder. “He was very understanding, just like we knew he would be.”
“He really is a good man, isn’t he?” she said smiling. As she continued, her smile melted into a frown. “But that just makes it so much harder. If the situation was reversed, I cannot say how I think William would have responded. If he were the one being held off, I am not sure if he would be as gracious. I just don’t feel like I know him well enough, despite the fact that we have spent time together in person. It makes me wonder if I am making my decision based on the wrong criteria. I’m just so confused right now.”
“I would be too. You just need to do what makes the most sense for you.”
“I know.” Cicely buried her head in her friends shoulder and cried softly. What she really wanted to do was to marry Charles…but what if his kindness proved to be a façade, and she was stuck with an undesirable husband, as sometimes happened to mail order brides? Should she risk a life of relative comfort for the hope of something that might not even be real? I can’t afford to take that risk, can I?
~~~
If you’ve enjoyed this excerpt and would like to read more of Kansas Bound, buy now… http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FAHZZ1C/
Be sure to watch for Claire Holiday’s next Mail Order Bride Journeys release!
About the Author:
When Claire Holiday isn’t pondering her next historical love story, she loves getting out into nature and enjoys camping, swimming, biking, and going for hikes with her family.
Montana Bound: A Sweet Mail Order Bride Historical (Mail Order Bride Journeys Book 2) Page 11