by Terri Grace
Constance, your husband awaits you. I love you. I love you. I love you. God knows how much. Forgive me once again, and please do not delay. Come to me.
Your love,
Seth.
* * *
“You’re smiling,” Lenora spoke cautiously.
“Am I?” Constance was surprised at herself.
“Is he coming back?”
Constance shook her head.
“What? So, what are you smiling about?”
She shrugged, “Seth wants me to come to Montana; he’s building a home for us.”
Lenora’s expression was one of surprise and displeasure mixed together.
“I know what you must think,” Constance smiled.
“No,” Lenora was embarrassed, “yes, I am a little upset, but I know Seth was always an honorable and God-fearing man. If Montana isn’t better than Crow Spruce, he wouldn’t tell you to come.”
“You’re right,” Constance noted, “but this letter makes me think Seth never got my last letter.”
Lenora blinked, “What? I…I—I gave that letter—”
“Lenora, not to worry,” Constance assured, “so much can happen between here and that place; it’s not strange for a letter to go missing. He did not for once mention our child… I know he’s not aware.”
“Wow, that is a relief,” Lenora grinned.
“Yes,” Constance agreed, “he’s not the man who neglected his pregnant wife. He’s still the man working hard to build a home for his family somewhere far west.”
“So, does that mean you’re leaving?”
Constance exhaled aloud, then grinned, “I love him despite some of the hard times—of course I’ll go!”
Chapter 16
The Jewel
THREE DAYS AFTER receiving Seth’s invitation, Constance was on her way westwards, bound for an unfamiliar place called Rainbow Mountain. Before her departure, she had said a tearful goodbye to Beatrice, before writing a letter to her brother Justice in Boston. She also left the house and property in the hands of Lenora and her husband Elias. They had been honored to be the stewards of the old, memorable place.
With hundreds of miles slowly being slashed one mile at a time, Constance continued in prayer; one thing on her mind—reconciling with her husband and showing him the jewel he had missed all these months… their baby.
Seth and Wash had ridden to Henn Height the day before and spent the night there. They were waiting for the highly anticipated arrival of Constance MacLeod.
It was high afternoon. Seth was tending to his horse in the stable of the inn they had lodged when Wash came bursting in, startling him.
“They have come!” Wash announced, panting.
“Serious?” Seth gulped, “Are you sure?”
“There is only one caravan coming today, and one has come now.” Wash grinned.
Laughing, Seth embraced the shorter man, and the two patted each other’s backs heartily.
Seth stepped back quickly, running to mount his horse. “Wash, can you bring the carriage around? I will ride ahead and meet them first.”
“Sure,” Wash grinned, “but you ride the carriage back to Rainbow Mountain.”
Seth laughed, “You’re not going to let me sit with my wife at the back, will you?”
Wash grinned, “No, you take your wife home. I ride ahead to my wife.”
Seth was grateful his friend had been willing to come with him to meet Constance. The least he could do was let him return to his wife too. Washakie was thirty, and he had a young, pretty wife and twin boys who were six years old.
“Thank you for everything, brother,” Seth turned the horse around.
“No worry, brother,” Wash gave him a crooked smile, “now go!”
Seth rode out, speeding towards the depot, knowing that he was going to lay eyes on his beloved Constance once again—after all these months…
Hastily dismounting, Seth anxiously looked at the people who kept spilling from the wagons. He kept counting and tapping his feet until the slim figure of a fair haired beauty stepped down from one of them. She was looking around keenly, hands clasped together. Seth’s heart was swollen with joy and pride.
She may have sensed something, because she suddenly turned and saw him looking back at her. A broad smile formed on her lips.
That was all the invitation he needed.
He ran towards her, pushing aside anything he encountered in his way. Her arms were opened as she walked towards him, but when Seth got to her he swept her from her feet into his arms.
“Oh my love! Constance!” He laughed out loud, before quickly pulling her aside from the busy crowd.
He turned to her as soon as they were away from the crowded area.
“My love, I am so so sorry for everything!” he started, “After my last letter, things were happening so fast. We did find some gold! But it wasn’t so much—I lost a lot of money, the Indians needed some help, and so much… I just…” he sighed, taking her hands, “In the end, it wasn’t so bad because I acquired a huge piece of land; it’s good for farming, and Rainbow Mountain is a great place. I believe it will be a town in a few years, and I just thought you had to—”
Constance had had enough of the chatter it seemed, and she cut him short with a potent kiss. Seth wrapped his arms around his wife’s waist and savored the feel of the lips he had missed for so long.
“So, the surprise is land?” She said in a teasing tone when she looked up at him.
He chuckled, “It’s not that bad… what did we have in Crow Spruce? One acre?”
“Well,” she tapped his chest, “I also got some treasure I want to show you. Your friend Matthew was keeping an eye on it while I came out to find you.”
“Really?” His eyes lit up, “How?”
She turned towards the unloading wagons, and sure enough, Matthew Saw had a huge bag in his left hand… and then in his right hand, a small bundle wrapped in white cloth…
“Oh my…” Seth’s mouth went dry.
Seth’s eyes were riveted to the white parcel, carefully carried by a smiling Matthew Saw.
“Seth, it’s our child… your daughter, Rachel.” Constance announced as Matthew approached them from a few yards.
Seth fell to his knees, covering his face with both palms as he openly started to weep. Unfazed by the few curious onlookers who watched, Constance knelt beside him and snaked an arm around him.
“Darling, it’s okay now, let’s go home.”
Chapter 17
The Promised land
SETH GUIDED THE carriage himself on the bumpy road as he took his family home. He longed to be in the carriage himself with Constance and the baby, but he knew he would get his chance when they got to Rainbow Mountain.
Hours later, and close to sunset, atop a hill, Seth finally pulled into a large, green yard that opened to a beautiful house.
Seth practically jumped down and rushed to open the carriage door for his wife. As soon as she emerged, he took the baby, and then drew her close for a kiss.
“It’s a beautiful place, Seth,” she told him.
“And it’s all yours.” He draped an arm around her and led her inside the house.
While Constance wove a cute basket for Rachel, Seth made a fire and soon, they settled on the floor at the fireside, reminiscent of their old habit when they had gotten married afresh in Crow Spruce.
“You know,” Seth told her thoughtfully, “there is something I need to show you.”
“Do I need to get up?” She pouted.
“No, my princess,” he jumped to his feet, “you just wait here.”
He rushed to one room, where he kept all his old mining tools and equipment. In the middle of that room was the large old table from the first cabin. Pinned on it was the large parchment map. He carefully unpinned the map and rolled it. He took it with him, and headed back to Constance in the other room.
He found her gently rocking the baby in the basket and stood in front of her.
&
nbsp; “What’s that?” She eyed the parchment curiously.
“This is the map I made over ten months, my love,” he told her, “covering every detail of these hills, and places where I was sure gold could be… most of which I did not try to mine. I was out of money, and had to decide between building this place and getting farmland for us… or continuing with the expedition. So, here it is… the map,” he unrolled it, showing her the full map.
She eyed it for a moment, before carefully asking, “So, what do you want to do?”
Constance eyed him narrowly, fearing what he might say next.
Smiling, Seth ripped the map in two. She gaped as he picked each piece and ripped it again, and again.
“Why are you doing that? Isn’t that your toil and—”
Seth held seven torn shards of the map in his trembling hands.
“Constance,” he knelt beside her, “I will keep these for one reason only. One day, my children and my grandchildren will see these pieces and ask me what they are. I will tell them what true treasure is – that it is not found in rivers or rocks or any such place. It is found in the heart. I am done searching for gold—I have found the treasure I need. It’s right here. It’s you, and our child. I have been a rich man all along, everywhere I go. I just couldn’t see it. But now that I see, what more can I ask for?”
He saw the emotions move in his wife’s eyes. Constance leapt to her feet, throwing herself into Seth’s arms and hugging him so tight that he thought she was going to make him burst. She was laughing joyously. She drew back from the embrace, and framed his face with both hands.
“You’re the best man I’ve ever known, do you know that?”
“You make me what I am, my love,” Seth replied huskily.
In reply, she leaned forward and kissed him, pouring all the love she could muster into the one kiss. She had missed her husband—she had missed her best friend—she had missed a part of her. But now, everything was back together.
A sharp cry. Both of them came apart instantly, trying to catch their breath. Rachel was starting to cry.
Seth grinned at Constance, “We’re not alone any more, are we?”
“Nope,” she winked.
“You don’t mind?”
“Are you kidding?”
“So you want another baby?” he smiled.
She laughed, “And if I say yes?”
“Then I’ll say it’s too soon,” he winked, crawling on all fours to the basket. He lifted out the crying infant and she nuzzled warmly into his chest.
“Aww,” Constance smiled, “she recognizes you,”
“She must love me,” he beamed.
“I can’t blame her,” Constance moved to his side, allowing Rachel to be between them. She wound her arm around his waist while her other hand reached out to caress Rachel’s smooth face, “She looks like you.”
She looked up and met Seth’s gentle look, “But I pray she has your heart, Constance. I love you.”
Constance could see the deep contentment and pride that filled her husband’s eyes as he gazed upon their child.
“I think you have discovered your promise of gold, right here at home on Rainbow Mountain.” She leaned to kiss her husband, “I love you, Seth…”
Chapter 18
Epilogue
A TERRIBLE RAINSTORM eventually destroyed the house. No one lived there anymore, but the folks of Rainbow Mountain just loved the old place—supposedly the first home of Seth MacLeod himself.
Among the voluntary search party was a young teenager, Cole Marshall. He watched as the older men carried planks and pieces of destroyed materials from inside the house.
“Hey lad! Git out of the way!” A bulldozing man carrying a broken armchair was heading towards him.
Cole sidestepped him, ignoring the withering look the man gave him. He walked further around, and to the back of the old house where nothing was recognizable. The damage was significant. There was a gentle slope behind house—Seth had built the house on a hill. Cole started to walk down; the small path was littered with items from the house that had been swept all the way down toward the valley.
He stopped when his eyes caught something. A piece of parchment was sticking out from under a small rock. Cole walked towards the rock, careful not to slip. When he got close enough, he knelt on the ground, and took a good look at the piece.
“This can’t be true,” Cole murmured as he examined the parchment.
He looked behind him quickly to be sure no one was there. Gently, he began to pull it out. He realized it was a bad idea, the parchment was damp and damaged, and tugging too hard would surely tear it. Bracing himself, he started to push over the rock. After a full minute, he was able to carefully roll the rock over, watching it tumble away downhill.
He picked the piece of parchment and held it up. He saw a name—a signature—S. MacLeod.
It had been said that Seth MacLeod, one of the founders of Rainbow Mountain had come there in search of gold. He had found some, but had resigned and taken to farming instead. However, legend told that he had drawn a map that highlighted points he believed held significant amounts of gold. The stories said that Seth had torn the map in seven pieces but the reasons for doing so were not clear anymore. There were several variations of the story. Many people had argued the stories were not true; Seth was a local hero, but not a treasure hunter. Still, there were those who knew there was an element of truth to the treasure tales. Still, no one had proved it, and no relative of Seth had surfaced to confirm the map’s existence, its authenticity was still in question.
“Seth’s treasure map does exist,” Cole spoke to himself, “but what do I do with one piece? Let people know about it? Of course not…”
Seth MacLeod’s map was lost in seven pieces, and Cole Marshall only had one piece of the puzzle. The gold on Rainbow Mountain was going to remain in the bellies of the rocks for a while longer…
I hope you enjoyed this first book in the captivating romantic series Mail Order Brides of Rainbow Mountain.
This brings us to the final stokes of Seth and Connie MacCleod’s tale of treasure lost and found - but it is only the beginning of a story that reaching into generations to come - and to the lives of seven brides who would also come to know love on the Frontier, and possession of one piece of mysterious map each…
I have also included the first chapter of the Ruby’s Return for your enjoyment as a bonus at the end of this book…
Chapter 19
Meet Our 7 Rainbow Mountain Brides
MORE PRECIOUS THAN GOLD
The happiest day of Seth’s Macleod’s life on earth was the day he married Constance. But their happiness is interrupted by a terrible misfortune that sends Seth westward in search of his fortune. The search becomes and obsession that very nearly leads him to lose all that is precious.
When he comes to his senses and sends for Constance to join him, she arrives with a surprise in her arms that all the riches of the Montana mountains could not buy.
Seth’s legacy however continues when the seven pieces of his torn treasure map find their way into the hands of 7 more colorful Mail Order brides and their pioneer husbands.
RUBY
Ruby Murphy is a young orphan who is used cruelly by her aunt and cousins. When one of her cousins attempts to molest her and she defends herself, she is kicked out into the street and left to fend for herself. Homeless and unable to find employment, she turns in desperation to The Western Matrimonial Agency and answers a complete stranger’s advertisement for a bride. Alone on the long trip out west she wonders, will the groom turn out to be all that he appears? Will she find a love in which she’ll never be mistreated or abandoned again? Her husband to be also has a fragment of map framed above his fireplace, one that his father believed would one day lead to a lucky strike.
CORAL
Despite all her friends’ warnings, Coral is determined to marry Richard. Then, when he leaves her at the altar for his secret lover, Coral is unable to f
ace people’s looks and disdain. The chance to move west and marry Thomas Winters seems the perfect escape route, but will Thomas turn out to be what he claims? Will he be as weak a man as Richard was, or will he be the strong, dependable husband that Coral longs for? Or will his grandfather’s stolen map fragment drive his desire to discover the gold hidden in the mountains and steal him away from his new love?
AMBER
Amber is highly amused at the sight of the ridiculous Lord Richard Clarington The Third, Earl of Suffolk, but she is horrified when she discovers that her father and stepmother intend to marry her off to him. When she refuses, her parents confine her to her rooms, but she and her maid, Felicia, plot her means of escape: Amber will become a Mail Order Bride. When she receives Rufus Bradley’s letter, she knows he is the man for her – but on the way, she meets a destitute old man who sells her a cryptic piece of a map. During their conversation, she lets slip her name and destination. Will he sell the information? Will her father and stepmother manage to track her down and drag her home to face marriage to Lord Clarington? And as for Rufus – will he ever treat her as a woman, not a fragile child, and let her become his true helpmeet?
JADE
Forced to sell her family home, Jade Fern is clearing the attic when she comes across her ancestor’s papers and diaries. Included are letters from his sister, Constance MacLeod of Rainbow Mountain, and one portion of a mysterious map. Always ready for adventure, Jade decides to use what little money is left from the sale of the house to go for a holiday to Rainbow Mountain and track down any of her surviving relations. Meanwhile, Julius Neil is seeking his next adventure. He looks through a wooden box left to his mother by his great-great-uncle, George. Inside, he finds a promissory note to George’s son, David, stating that a certain Seth MacLeod owes him the final payment on a piece of land in Rainbow Mountain. Jade and Julius arrive almost simultaneously in Rainbow Mountain and both lay claim to the MacLeod’s abandoned land. A spirited rivalry springs up between them when they both fall in love with the land and refuse to give it up. But Sheriff Augustus Gordon has a scheme – wouldn’t a marriage between Jade and Julius solve the dispute?