Ilsa:

by Shanna Hatfield

  “Yes, it does. Quite well, in fact.” Aundy reached behind her for Garrett’s hand. “Garrett, this is my sister, Ilsa.”

  Garrett kissed Ilsa’s cheek and shook her hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you. Aundy has told me so much about you and she’s missed you every single day.”

  “I don’t see how she could possibly have missed me with you around,” Ilsa teased, admiring her handsome brother-in-law then noticing the boy lingering by the door.

  “And this must be Nik.” Ilsa waved him into the room.

  He swept the hat from his head, bowed over her hand, and kissed the back of it, smitten at once with her delicate beauty and cultured charm. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Thorsen.”

  “Oh, I think you better call me Ilsa,” she said, smiling at Nik and then Aundy. “Does Louisa know you’re here?”

  “She told us we could see you tomorrow. She tried to convince me you were out running errands.” Aundy raised her eyebrow at her sister and both of them began laughing.

  “Why is that funny?” Nik asked, still staring at Ilsa in adoration.

  “She’d never send Ilsa to run errands because her talent is far too valuable to squander on such things.” Aundy began looking around the room for a trunk. Taking off her gloves and hat, she tossed them on the bed. “Do you have a trunk or bags? We need to get you packed as quickly as possible.”

  “Here, madam,” Dudley said, carrying in a large trunk. “If you gentlemen would be so kind, there are a few more in the storage room we can plunder.”

  “Sure thing,” Garrett said as he and Nik followed the butler, returning with several trunks.

  “Could you call and get a delivery wagon for Ilsa’s trunks? I’d like to send them straight to the train station,” Garrett asked Dudley. When the man nodded and hurried out of the room, Garrett turned to his sister-in-law. “Pack a bag with what you’ll need between now and when we get home. Put everything else in those trunks.”

  “Quickly, Ilsa, before Louisa figures out we’re here.” Aundy stuffed gowns into trunks while Ilsa hurried to empty her dresser drawers.

  “If she hasn’t figured it out, the cook will be sure to call and tell her. You’ve never seen such a gossip in all your life.” Ilsa snatched up a drawer full of gloves and dumped them into a trunk as she told her sister about her upcoming nuptials to a man she reviled.

  Garrett carried the first trunk down to the wagon when it arrived then helped Nik carry the second, which contained Ilsa’s sewing machine. Dudley helped them pack the many trunks down to the wagon then assured Garrett he’d see them delivered to the station himself. Garrett shoved money into his hand and sent him on his way before he and Nik returned inside.

  When they made it back to her room, Ilsa was shoving the last of her things into a large travel bag. Aundy and Ilsa pinned on their hats, tugged on their gloves, and glanced around the room to make sure they didn’t leave behind anything important. Picking up her reticule, Ilsa smiled as she and Aundy breezed out the door.

  “Thank you, so much, for coming.” Ilsa squeezed Aundy’s hand as they hurried down the stairs behind the two men.

  As she reached the foyer, Mary, the maid who had been her friend, ran out from the kitchen and gave her a hug. “Best wishes, Ilsa. Be safe.”

  “Thank you, Mary.” Ilsa patted her friend’s hand, and said goodbye to a few of the staff who stood in the hall before she started out the door. They were almost down the steps when Louisa charged up the walk.

  “You will get back in that house this instant,” Louisa ordered, grabbing Ilsa’s shoulders and spinning her around.

  “She’s coming with us,” Aundy said, taking Ilsa’s hand and pulling her toward the waiting cab. Nik and Garrett, who’d gone ahead to give the women a moment alone to say goodbye to Ilsa’s friends, turned as Louisa and Aundy engaged in a tug-of-war with Ilsa.

  “I won’t stand for it. March back up to your room right now,” Louisa hissed.

  “No!” Ilsa yanked her arm from her aunt’s grasp.

  “How dare you speak back to me?” Louisa raised her hand to slap Ilsa. Before she could connect with the girl’s cheek, her arm caught in what felt like a steel band. Shocked, she looked over at Garrett’s hand holding her arm. A glance up confirmed anger sparked from his eyes. He took a menacing step forward while Louisa took a step back.

  “We are leaving with Ilsa. You will not do anything to disrupt our departure because if you do, I’ll have you, your husband, and anyone else involved in keeping her locked in her room like a prisoner hauled off to jail. If you don’t believe me, just try me.” Garrett opened his coat enough Louisa could see a shiny deputy sheriff star pinned to his vest. On occasion, Garrett helped the sheriff when he was short-handed and decided to bring along the star, just in case it might come in handy. Like now, when he wanted to intimidate Aundy’s aunt.

  “Well, I never…” she said, her hand going to her throat as all her carefully made plans to further her and Henri’s social aspirations collapsed around her.

  “You never and you better not plan on it, or you’ll be mighty sorry.” Garrett motioned for Aundy and Ilsa to get in the cab then let go of Louisa’s arm. He took a few steps, turned around and walked back to the cruel woman. “Just to be sure you understand, if you ever try to contact either of your nieces or in any way bring them an ounce of discomfort or sadness, I will personally make sure you are locked away in a dank, dark prison cell for the rest of your life. Do I make myself clear?”

  “Perfectly,” Louisa whispered, shaking with fear.

  “Good day.” Garrett strode with purposeful steps down the walk to the cab where Aundy, Ilsa and Nik waited.

  Taking a seat next to Nik, they returned to the hotel.

  After depositing Ilsa’s bag in their room, they went out to dinner at a nearby restaurant and listened as Ilsa told of her aunt’s plans to marry her off to a man she loathed who was nearly twice her age so it would assure Louisa and Henri’s placement in the upper crust of Chicago society.

  “Why didn’t you contact me sooner? Why didn’t you run away?” Aundy struggled to hold back her tears as Ilsa shared the suffering she’d endured at her aunt’s hand the last two years. “I would have come for you, if I’d known.”

  “I know you would have,” Ilsa said, patting Aundy’s hand where it rested on her arm. Her head felt like it was spinning from the suddenness with which everything had happened the last few hours. She couldn’t believe she was finally free of her aunt and was sitting at a table in a lovely restaurant with her sister, brother-in-law, and adopted nephew. It was too good to be true.

  “Then why, Ilsa? Why?” Aundy struggled to understand what kept her sister from reaching out to her for help before the situation had gotten quite so desperate.

  “I didn’t want to, well, I… I didn’t want you to be disappointed in me. To think ill of me.” Ilsa focused her gaze on her plate. She used her fork to push around a piece of delicious roasted chicken.

  “Oh, dear girl, I’d never think ill of you,” Aundy said, wishing they were somewhere more private for this conversation. Working to keep her emotions in check and her voice low, she studied Ilsa for a moment. “Why would you think I’d be disappointed? If anyone has a right to be disappointed, it’s you. I let you down.”

  “No you didn’t.” Ilsa used her napkin to dab at the tears that leaked from the corner of her eye. “You came as soon as I asked for help.”

  “But you shouldn’t have had to ask. I should have never left you behind. I should have made certain…”Aundy’s voice broke and Garrett put a comforting arm around her shoulders.

  “Honey, why don’t we save the rest of this conversation for after dinner? You two have hardly eaten a bite and the food is very good. Isn’t it, Nik?”

  The boy nodded his head in agreement, chewing a bite of tender meat.

  Aundy let out a sigh and gave her husband a look of gratitude. “You’re right. Let’s talk about this later. If I’m not mistak
en, I think I saw a waiter bring a huge piece of chocolate cake to that table over there. We must have dessert before we go back to the hotel.”

  “I believe you’re correct,” Ilsa said, gazing at a table near theirs where a couple shared a chocolate confection.

  Nik and Garrett filled the silence with stories about Nash’s Folly, their ranch. After eating their fill, they strolled back to the hotel, taking in the sites along the way.

  Returning to their suite, the four of them sat in the gathering room. Aundy and Ilsa shared the sofa, sitting close together, as they talked about people they both knew and friends from their school days. When the conversation once again turned to how they both felt they’d failed the other, Nik excused himself to go for a walk and Garrett desperately wanted to join him.

  He’d never done well around crying women. Aundy rarely cried and it broke his heart to watch her hold Ilsa as they both shed what seemed like buckets of tears.

  Uncertain as to what he should do, Garrett sat quietly in his chair, waiting for the storm to pass. When it did, the two women wiped at their cheeks and noses with soggy handkerchiefs. Glancing his way, they began giggling.

  “He’s a keeper, Aundy.” Ilsa offered Garrett a warm smile. “I’ve never seen a man who didn’t run away from a crying female.”

  “Since you two obviously don’t need my assistance, I’ll go find Nik.” Garrett got to his feet, kissed Aundy’s wet cheek, and strode out the door.

  “I didn’t mean to chase him off,” Ilsa said, looking from the door to her sister, wondering if she’d offended Garrett in some way since he made such a hasty departure.

  “You didn’t. He would have stayed if he thought there was something he could do to help us, but once we started giggling, it let him know we’ll be fine.” Aundy gave Ilsa a hug and kissed her cheek. “I’m so, so happy to see you.”

  “Not nearly as happy as I am to see you. If you didn’t arrive this week, I planned to run away after church Sunday.” Ilsa fussed with the handkerchief she held in a tight grip with both her hands. “I just couldn’t abide the thought of marrying Delmon.”

  “You shouldn’t have to marry anyone you don’t love.”

  “But you did.” Ilsa turned a watery gaze to her sister’s face. “Who knows what would have become of both of us if you hadn’t replied to the advertisement for a mail-order bride in Pendleton. I know you didn’t love Erik, but you married him all the same.”

  “Yes, but look how that ended,” Aundy said, thinking back to her first husband, the man she’d left Chicago to wed. “We got in that wagon wreck on our way home from the ceremony and poor Erik died a few days later. He wasn’t ever really my husband, just in name only.”

  “I know that, but you married him even though you didn’t have feelings for him. You did it to make a better life for both of us, not because you wanted to get married. And I know it sounds bad, but if Erik hadn’t died, you wouldn’t have been free to fall in love with Garrett.” Even though she’d only been around the man a few hours, Ilsa could see he was deeply in love with her sister.

  “True.” Aundy’s wistful look wasn’t lost on Ilsa. “I’m grateful every day for the life I’ve been given, but it will be even sweeter with you in Pendleton. I can’t apologize enough for not realizing you were in trouble and needed my help.”

  “I didn’t want to need your help.” Ilsa got to her feet and walked over to the window. Although it was still light out, evening shadows were beginning to darken the sky. She hoped Nik hadn’t gone too far. The city could be a dangerous place at night, especially for a boy who was used to the solitude of the country.

  Releasing a sigh, she turned to study her sister. Aundy was still independent, determined, and competent. Instead of wearing the haunted, frightened look she’d had the last time Ilsa saw her when she left Chicago two and a half years ago, a gentle softness filled her face. One that came from loving and being loved.

  Ilsa wanted to know a love like that, but she had her doubts she’d discover it in the small western community her sister now called home.

  “What do you mean?” Aundy finally asked as Ilsa came back to the sofa and sat down beside her again.

  “I’m not strong like you, Aundy. I’m not tough or tenacious. I never was. When Louisa imprisoned me at her house, I tried to think what you would do, but I just couldn’t make myself follow through.”

  “What did you think I would do?” Aundy wondered what sort of grand visions Ilsa dreamed up in her head.

  Ilsa smiled. “Pack your bags, punch auntie in the nose, and march out the door with your head held high.”

  Aundy stared at her sister a moment before breaking into peals of laughter. “I’ve never punched anyone in the nose. You must think I don’t possess a bit of propriety.”

  “On the contrary, you are every bit the lady mother raised you to be,” Ilsa said, giving Aundy another hug. “She’d be so proud of you. So would father. You know he would, and they’d both love Garrett.”

  “I wish he could have met them. Father would love Nash’s Folly and mother would be as fond of Garrett’s parents as I am,” Aundy said, looking at Ilsa with a satisfied grin. “I hope you know that Nora and J.B. will probably treat you like a daughter, since that’s what they call me. And all the ranch hands will fall at your feet, ready to do your bidding.”

  Ilsa smiled at Aundy’s teasing. “What about your friends? Will I charm them, too?”

  “Absolutely.” Aundy thought her beautiful sister would charm more than one of the single men they knew.

  “I have no intention of getting involved with any men,” Ilsa said, shaking her head. “I can hardly allow myself to believe I’m escaping a life of terror with Delmon until we are on the train heading west.”

  “Well, believe it, Ilsa. Garrett and I aren’t leaving you here, and that’s a fact. You won’t ever have to see or think about Louisa or Henri or any of their friends again.”

  Chapter Four

  “Wake up, Ilsa. We’re almost there.”

  Ilsa felt a hand gently shake her arm and forced herself to awaken. She’d been so tired, she spent most of the train trip to Pendleton asleep next to Aundy. The train car was hot, stuffy, and malodorous. Sleeping was her way of blocking out the unpleasantness.

  Used to being around cultured women who smelled of expensive perfume and her aunt’s well tended home, the combined scents of dust, soot, sweat, and stale food made her stomach churn.

  Refusing the food Aundy and Garrett tried to get her to eat, she did accept the peppermint candy Nik slipped her and gave the boy a warm smile. She could see why Aundy had adopted him, even though she was only seven years his senior. Between his soulful eyes, kind heart, and charismatic smile, he’d be a fine catch for a lucky girl when he grew up.

  Already viewing him as a little brother, she opened her eyes and noticed him watching her as she sat upright and dabbed at the perspiration on her forehead.

  “Remind me to never again make a train trip in the summer,” she mumbled to Aundy as they pinned their hats and tugged on their damp gloves.

  “I can’t wait to get home and go for a swim,” Nik said, glancing out the window as they rolled into Pendleton.

  “A swim?” Ilsa asked, confused. She knew there weren’t any large bodies of water in Pendleton, or beaches for that matter.

  “In the creek by our house,” Nik explained, helping gather their belongings as the train stopped and the porter opened the door.

  “You swim in the creek. All of you?” Ilsa glanced in disbelief at her sister. She was the picture of a lady in her light blue traveling suit with a matching hat. How Aundy managed to keep her white shirtwaist looking so crisp and fresh in this miserable heat was beyond Ilsa’s ability to comprehend. She just wanted to go somewhere she could take a bath and wash off all the dirt from their travels and then sleep.

  “Aundy didn’t tell you about the time Kade and I caught her and Caterina swimming in the creek?” Garrett asked as he stepped from the t
rain and held a hand out to his wife before helping Ilsa.

  “No, she didn’t mention it.” Ilsa grinned at her sister. “I guess you’ll have to fill me in on the details.”

  “I think not,” Aundy said, standing to her full height and leveling a glare at her husband. He chuckled and squeezed her hand as they walked toward the depot.

  “Hello! You’re back!” Caterina called, waving to them from where she waited next to Kade, Tony, and Dent. “Welcome home!”

  “It’s good to be home,” Garrett said, shaking hands with the men and kissing Caterina’s cheek after Aundy gave her a hug.

  Pulling Ilsa next to her side, Aundy introduced her to their friends. Caterina gave her a warm embrace then Kade shook her hand.

  The deputy sheriff was even taller and brawnier than Ilsa pictured. From the cleft in his chin to his dancing green eyes, she could see how Caterina fell for the handsome lawman.

  Her gaze landed on an equally handsome man, although not nearly as tall or big as Kade. He was about the same height as Aundy with a head full of thick, dark hair and broad shoulders. His amber-colored eyes snapped with humor and excitement while white teeth gleamed behind a friendly smile.

  He took Ilsa’s hand in his, letting his gaze linger attentively on her face.

  “Aundy never said her sister was the most beautiful woman to ever walk the earth.” Tony kissed her fingers and held onto her hand.

  “And who might you be?” Ilsa asked, thinking the man bore a striking resemblance to Aundy’s friend Caterina. He obviously possessed more than his share of charm.

  “I am Antonio Valentino Campanelli, your future husband.” Tony was as surprised by the words that flowed out of his mouth as the rest of the group. He had no idea where they came from.

  Ilsa gasped and jerked her hand away from him before taking several steps back, until she stood partially behind Aundy. What kind of crazy man did her sister consider a friend?