by E. Walsh
Published by Steamy Reads4U
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, including electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events are purely coincidental. This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.
This book may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please return it to the seller and purchase a copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.
Warning
This book contains graphic content intended for readers 18+ years old.
If you are under 18 years old, or are not comfortable with adult content, please close this book now.
* * *
Chapter One
“No, father, I will not marry Bernard Hughes. He’s just so… odd!” Sarah McIntosh was pleading with her father. Usually this ploy worked. She had her father wrapped around her little finger and as a young and beautiful Savannah socialite, was used to getting her way.
Her father’s words were stern and he spoke without bothering to look at her. “That’s enough, Sarah, you will do as you are told. Bernard is a fine, young man from an excellent family. You will marry him. Enough with your silliness. You will be provided for and it is a good match.”
A good match for him, thought Sarah. She knew her father’s moods enough to know when to stop. Of course, Bernard was perfect on paper but physically, well, he was very far away from the good Lord when looks were being handed out. But his family was connected and by marrying him she would move up the social ranks even more, not that Sarah wasn’t a match for Bernard.
She had the breeding and the money but from her father’s perspective he needed to consolidate his family’s position and Sarah becoming Mrs. Bernard Hughes was just wanted he wanted.
Sarah did as any self respecting young lady did, storm off and run to her room and cry so loud to attract attention. Sarah couldn’t believe it. Only a few days before she was free spirited and thought she was in control of her destiny.
Her father, while a controlling man, did allow her some leeway, more than her other sister received but apparently, this time his mind was not for turning.
As she lay on her bed, pretended to cry but no one came to her aid, no one cared about her discomfort. It was the case of the girl who cried wolf too many times.
Her mother was weary of her tantrums and the staff would get very busy with their work as far as from her as possible. So she just lay on her bed thinking about what had happened in the last few days.
She knew something was going on and it started a month ago at the mid summer’s ball. It was making sense now. Her mother had seemed overly excitable and her father was in a more agreeable mood as they headed to the ball that evening.
Sarah was a willowy 19 year old and with her alabaster skin and red hair, she turned heads wherever she went and the ball was no exception. Within minutes of arriving, her dance card was full. But any time she tried to get some time with her friends, her mother would guide her away, telling her to sit or to stand. Then when a young man came to ask her to dance, her father stepped in and whispered to him and the young man turned away.
Then this lanky, odd looking young man was brought before her. He was very strange looking with sticky out ears, his eyes too wide apart and his limbs seemed too long as though they belonged to another body.
“Miss McIntosh, may I have the pleasure of this dance?” Bernard asked and as he smiled at Sarah, she saw his crooked teeth and he did something weird with his tongue.
She felt very uncomfortable. Who was this creature thinking he had a chance with her when Sebastian Cobb, the most handsome man at the ball, was next on her dance card. But as she opened her mouth to decline him, her mother spoke, “She’d be delighted to dance with you, Mr. Hughes. Off you go, Sarah, and dance with Mr. Hughes.”
Not wanting to make a scene, she obliged and took Bernard’s proffered hand with his weirdly long fingers.
Bernard was very awkward as though he had two left feet and Sarah had been taught to let the man lead no matter how bad of a dancer he was.
She excelled in everything she did and was a very accomplished young woman but she could feel her face reddening at the embarrassment of everyone seeing her shame.
She kept her head down as she danced with Bernard, afraid to catch anyone’s eye. When the dance ended, Bernard returned her to her seat, bowed and backed away. She saw her friends snickering in the corner.
Her mother seemed oddly giddy. “That was Bernard Hughes, you really should have been smiling more at him. He’d make a great husband,” her mother scolded her. And when Sebastian Cobb came for his dance, again Sarah’s father stepped in and prevented him from going to her. Sarah watched as she saw her father then talk with an older man as lanky Bernard stood to the side of them.
“How very odd he looks, I pity the woman that gets him for a husband,” she said to herself.
Now as she lay on her bed, she was the woman who was getting Bernard Hughes. The night of the ball was to showcase Sarah and apparently she met with his family’s approval.
Well, why wouldn’t I, I’m doing them a favor, she told herself, no woman would marry Bernard only for he has money. And the die had been cast. Their engagement was to be announced this week with a dance in their honor. There was no way Sarah could endure the pupil humiliation of such a spectacle.
Why couldn’t he have been matched with dull Hope? Hope was Sarah’s 18 year old sister. A wallflower compared to vivacious Sarah. Maybe I should suggest that and so she marched back down the stairs to her father’s study.
“Father, I have a better plan. Why not marry Bernard off to Hope? They’d be much more suited to each other.” Without wanting to sound vain she added, “They are both the bookish type, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Sarah, you are the one the Hughes wish to marry Bernard. In any case, it wouldn’t be proper for a younger sister to marry before her elder one. You are getting older and this is an arrangement I want to go ahead. This is for your own good, Sarah. You are no longer a child and must stop your foolish ways. You are to be married in a month. You will make me very happy to do this with good humor and you will be set for life. You will never want for anything. Now, for your own sake, accept it.”
Mr. McIntosh had softened his tone, but his intent was firm: she would marry Bernard Hughes if he had to drag her up the aisle to do it.
Sarah said nothing as her father talked, but inside she was fuming. She wasn’t used to accepting what she didn’t want. She’d have to try from another angle, her mother.
She turned on her heel without saying a word. Her father wouldn’t back down. It was the deal he wanted. He was a wealthy banker and knew a good deal when he came across one. And when he gave his word, that was it.
* * *
Chapter Two
Sarah walked around the house looking for her mother. She found her in the drawing room, doing embroidery.
“Mother, how can you let father just sell me off like I’m a painting to be auctioned off?”
“Whatever are you talking about, Sarah, your father loves you and is doing his job in making sure you marry well.”
“But mother, you’ve seen Bernard. He doesn’t look right. It’s like he’s made of different of bodies all sewn together,” to add effect Sarah shivered at the very idea of Bernard.
“Let me tell you something, Sarah. Do you think I agreed with my father when he decided I should marry your father? No, I did not, I was sweet on another but he was not a good match. Like you, I was ups
et but my father was right. Your father has never let me down, I am provided for and he is just doing the same for her as he will for Hope when he seeks a husband for her. We are women, Sarah and cannot be expected to make the right decision. It is not in our make up to think like men so we must be guided by them. Your father has decided. You must accept it.”
So mother was going to be of no help, Sarah was shocked. How could she just accept what someone else had decided?
It didn’t make sense to Sarah that men knew more and women like her mother just encouraged this idea. If Sarah wanted out, she’d have to do it herself.
There was no one for her to rely upon but what could she do. As her mother continued with her embroidery, Sarah knew there would be no support from her. She stood up and left.
“I have to find a way out myself and I’ll not find the answer here,” Sarah spoke to herself as she ran out of the house.
It was stifling her now even her dress felt constrictive, her heart was beating faster and her collar seemed very tight.
She couldn’t be someone pawn, she had to be free. She ran out of the house as though her life depended on getting out. She needed air.
She crossed the road in front of their townhouse to the park. There was something soothing about the ducks that swam in the pond and it was a place she felt she could breathe.
It had become important to her more so in the last few weeks. Not that she fully understood was going on but here she could listen to the birds, hear the breeze rustle the leaves and if the sun was warm, feel it on her face.
Today there was a breeze, it matched the turmoil inside her. How she wished she lived in another time where women could do as they pleased and make their own decisions but then she thought, how can it change if women are destined to be controlled firstly by their fathers and then by their husbands. This was the role of women, to serve.
She sat on a bench, the ducks were nowhere to be seen. Sarah was feeling the breeze now. In her haste to get out of the house, she had come out without her cloak but she wished the wind could just carry her away to a land where she could make her own choices. But it was getting more blustery now.
“Dear Lord, I know I bother you for childish, silly things but now I ask your help for grown up stuff. I don’t want to marry Bernard. It’s not just because he looks so strange.
“I want someone who needs and loves me, not just to get me as part of some deal. I want someone who will let me speak my mind, who sees me as an equal. I’m tired of the shackles of this world.
“Please Lord, I need guidance... If you wish me to obey my father’s demands, then I will... But Lord, I feel like You have a grander plan for me. I feel like You want me to not settle for marrying Bernard... Not that he’s not a good man, but, well, have you seen his ears? Of course you have, You created them... Lord, if You have a greater plan for me, please, I beg you, give me a sign...”
There was no one around and she had spoken out loud. It was worth a try but there was no sudden calmness of the wind or light shining on Sarah so she decided she’d go back home. Just as she stood up, she was knocked back onto the bench, a newspaper flying into her face.
“Hey, what is that?” She was just about to cast the paper aside when she noticed it was opened on the classified advertisements. She didn’t know why, but something led her to pick up the paper and read through the adverts listed there.
“Yes, thank you for this sign, Lord. Are you telling me to get a job!” Unfortunately there weren’t any jobs for accomplished young women who could sing and dance and be charming company. Then another ad caught her eye:
Widowed farmer needs a wife and mother to 3 young children. Reply to Jess Johnson by Western Union, Willow Springs, OK.
Sarah read the ad several more times. Then she blinked, as if a switch had been thrown in her brain. Here was her answer. There was no time to reply, but she had the town name. She had to get there before he got any replies. She’d arrive in person. Yes, that was it. She’d leave now, or well, as soon as there was travel to Willow Springs, Oklahoma... Wherever that was.
“Thank you, Lord,” she cried as she ran back to the house. How hard could it be to look after three children? She liked children; after all, she had been one herself!
Her mind set about planning her escape. She’d need money, probably more than she had stashed in the shoebox at the back of her closet.
She knew her father kept cash in a small safe in his office. She knew he had written the combination to the safe on the first page of a book on a shelf behind his desk. She’d take that when he was at dinner and leave an IOU. She was not a thief, for goodness sake. She had every intention of paying him back.
With excitement rising in her stomach and her heart racing, Sarah had made her decision. She would start a new life. but she couldn’t risk being stopped by her parents, so rather than leaving a note, she decided she’d send a wire in a few days to let them know she was alright. She doubted they’d even notice that she was gone.
* * *
Chapter Three
“I worry about you and those little ones, Jess. Don’t you think it’s time to look for a new mother for them?”
Eleanor Johnson Wickett had despaired over her brother’s lack of enthusiasm to seek a new wife. She decided if he wouldn’t do something of his own volition, she would pester him until he got tired of hearing it.
“Eleanor, we’re doing fine and we have you,” Jess said with a sigh. “What more do we need?” Honestly, he was tired of the subject being raised. It had been two years since his dear wife had passed, leaving him with three little girls, aged from 8 to 5.
Eleanor lived on the adjoining farm, but she had her own family to think of and now with her fifth child on the way, it was becoming more difficult for her to divide her time between Jess’ home and her own.
“But Jess, they need a mother. Those little girls need a woman to talk to. You know I love you and them but it’s not the same as having someone of their own.”
“Okay, Eleanor, let’s leave it for now. Jess doesn’t want to talk about it,” Eleanor’s husband Harry said. He knew how much of a bother Eleanor could be when she got something stuck in her craw. He didn’t want her constant harping to drive Jess away. It was a Sunday and they were all together for dinner, not for pestering.
“I know you’re right, Eleanor, but I just can’t face replacing Mary. It seems wrong. If the Lord wanted them to have a mother, He’d have left them their own one, not have me bring a stranger in.” Jess stood up to leave. He called to his children. “Eve, Lucy, Nancy, come on, we’re going home now. Say goodbye to your cousins and thank Aunt Eleanor for dinner.”
Jess ignored Eleanor’s continued harping even as he made his way to the door. Heck, he knew he needed help on the farm and with raising the girls, but he didn’t want to think about it.
His eldest, Eve, was a great help. She could cook and clean and got the younger girls ready for school on the days they went. They were fine, the four of them, all by themselves.
“It just ain’t right, Harry,” Eleanor said, standing next to her husband on the porch, watching her brother and kids walking across the pasture toward home.
“Now, Eleanor...”
“He and those girls need someone to bring in new energy and to love them. I don’t like how Eve has become a little woman. She’s just a little girl but he doesn’t see it.”
Eleanor began to cry and closed the door after waving her brother and her nieces away. She got very emotional whenever there was a baby due.
Harry had lived it before with her. She was so full of love and she wanted everyone to be happy. There was nothing wrong with that but as he’d tell her, you can’t force happiness on people.
“He’s never going to look for someone himself,” Eleanor said, seemingly unwilling to let the subject drop. “Jess will always find an excuse.” She looked at her oldest girls and smiled. “Kitty, Annie you are great girls doing the washing up.”
Eleanor’
s girls beamed back at her.
“Why don’t you take a rest,” Harry said gently, rubbing her shoulders. “Me and the girls will finish cleaning up.”
“Bless you all,” Eleanor said, letting go a long sigh. She worked herself out of the chair and went around to hug them all.
“Maybe I will have a little rest and think about what I can do for Jess. It’s a pity there aren’t more single women around.”
Harry guided her toward the door. “Go on, now. Let this drop. When Eleanor was out of earshot, Harry spoke quietly to the girls.
“I think I’m gonna ride in to town and get the doc to come back and take a look at your mama.”
“Is mama all right, pa?” Kitty asked.
“She’s fine,” Harry said, hoping it was the truth. “She just gets herself worked up and with the baby due any time, well, it’s good to keep a close eye.”
“Okay, papa,” Annie said, smiling, looking so much like her mother that it brought tears to Harry’s eyes.
He kissed them both on the top of the head. “Y’all look after your brother and mother. I won’t be too long.”
* * *
Chapter Four
As Eleanor lay in her bed, her body was tired, but her mind was racing. She had to do something about her stubborn brother’s situation. Lord knows he wouldn’t do anything on his own.
A memory suddenly came to her, a conversation she had had with Dr. Kane the last time he came by to check on her well being.
When the doctor told her to stop working so hard, she blamed her swollen ankles on her brother’s lack of female companionship.
“I worry so much about Jess, Doc. It’s been two years since Mary passed. Those little girls need a mother of their own. But what can I do? He’s as pigheaded as the day is long and won’t do anything to help himself.”
Dr. Kane gave her a thoughtful look and wiggled a thin finger in the air. “I may have a solution. Tobias Kane, got himself a mail order bride from New York City. She’s a very fine lady, indeed. I’ve met her and they seem very happy.”