Mail Order Bride: JUMBO Mail Order Bride 20 Book Box Set

by Hope Sinclair

  Daisy looked at Calvin curiously, and Calvin, sensing her confusion, continued.

  “You don’t remember, do you?” he asked, setting the candlestick back down on the piano. “Your parents had just gotten a new puppy—a yappy little thing with curly hair—and you accidentally let it out of the house one night while they were off in town. You ran around the neighborhood, crying, in search of it. And, when you passed my house, I grabbed these two candlesticks—with candles in them, of course—and came out to help you find the little beast.”

  “Oh, yes, yes,” Daisy giggled. “I’d all but forgotten about that! When I got your letter, I was flooded with memories of other things. I remembered—”

  Daisy stopped herself and carefully considered her words. Things with Calvin were going much better than she expected, and she didn’t want to say anything to spoil the moment.

  “Hmm,” Calvin hummed. “I know what you were gonna say—and, to be honest, I was hoping you’d forgotten about all of that. I know I played a great many pranks on you when we were younger, and I’m truly sorry for it all. But, I assure you, I’m beyond such tomfoolery now. I’m not as puckish as I once was.”

  “Did you say ‘puckish’?” Daisy asked, arching her eyebrows. She’d heard the rest of what Calvin said, and appreciated it, but that one word surprised her.

  “Yes, I did,” Calvin affirmed. “Why do you ask? Are you unfamiliar with the word?”

  “Oh, I’m familiar with it,” Daisy smiled. “I’ve just never heard anyone use it in casual conversation before.”

  “I guess you don’t know many people who’ve read Shakespeare then,” Calvin replied, cocking his head to the side and raising his own eyebrow. Daisy’s heart fluttered in her chest when she heard the great bard’s name and heard Calvin rightfully attribute the term to his writings.

  “You have read Shakespeare?” she asked.

  “Indeed,” Calvin answered. “As well as many others… Come with me. I want to show you something.”

  Calvin led Daisy away from the piano, towards the hallway at the far end of the living room. He walked past the kitchen, where Mrs. Evans was noisily preparing supper, and stopped outside of another entryway.

  “This is my library,” he said, gesturing his hand toward the room. Daisy looked into the room, and her fluttering heart nearly stopped beating. Along with many other furnishings and features, the room contained a very large bookshelf that contained what had to be over 200 books. A treasure in any household, more so in a remote area out west.

  “I’ve read all of them, except the dozen or so on the bottom shelf,” Calvin explained, as Daisy stared on in awe. “Those were gifts,” he continued with a shrug.

  “Which reminds me,” he added, walking over to the shelf. He bent down, picked up a book, and returned to Daisy. “Here you go,” he said, handing it to her.

  Daisy looked down at the book—a lovely copy of Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist—then looked up at Calvin curiously again.

  “It’s a rare copy,” Calvin explained. “It’s inscribed and signed by Dickens himself. I found it in an oddity shop during my travels two years back, and I had to buy it. I figured if I ever ran into you again, I’d give it to you—to replace the copy of yours I destroyed many years ago by gluing the pages together… So, there you go. It’s yours now.”

  Now, Daisy’s heart felt like it was going to explode in her chest. She was so touched and moved by Calvin’s gift. And, it wasn’t the fact that it was a collector’s copy of the book that moved her. It was the fact that Calvin had bought it for her two years ago, when he had no reason to think that he’d ever see her again. She knew that that had to mean something, and, whatever it meant, it tickled and delighted her.

  “I… I… I don’t know what to say,” Daisy stuttered, holding back her tears of joy.

  “Well, ‘thank you’ would be a good start,” Calvin grinned as he turned his head and glanced down the hallway.

  “Thank you,” Daisy replied, though Calvin seemed oblivious to her words as he made his way toward the kitchen.

  Daisy followed after Calvin, and, soon, they both were in the kitchen, where Mrs. Evans was hunched over the table… sleeping. Apparently, she’d dozed off while chopping some vegetables, and the rest of their supper’s ingredients sat unprepared on the counter behind her.

  “I said she was my housekeeper,” Calvin snickered as he leaned forward and removed the knife for the old woman’s hand. “But, I never said she was a good one… She’s a sweet old lady, but she’s awful at cooking and housework. She falls asleep on the job quite often.

  “I only ‘hired’ her—if you can even say that—out of my Christian nature. Her homestead burnt down over a year ago, and her husband died in the fire. She has no surviving family, and no way of supporting herself, so I hired her to be my housekeeper and built the servants’ shed out back for her to live in, so that she’d have a comfortable place to stay… But, to be completely honest, it’s me that does everything around here—which is why I wouldn’t mind a life partner and helper.”

  Calvin smiled at Daisy, and, in that instant, she realized that, yes, Calvin Anderson was the type of man she wanted to marry. He was successful, kind, interested in the arts and reading, and, dare say, romantic. But, unfortunately, there remained one problem—and Daisy needed to address it before their evening went any further.

  NINE

  “Calvin,” Daisy said somewhat meekly, “there’s something I need to tell you.” It pained her to say those words, but, no less, she knew that her disclosure was necessary.

  “Yes?” Calvin asked, taking over the meal preparation as Mrs. Evans snored at the table.

  “I fear that there may be some misunderstanding here,” Daisy said, swallowing the lump that was forming in her throat. “When Anabelle wrote to you and told you of my predicament, perhaps she did not explain it fully. Indeed, I am looking for a husband and want to marry promptly. But, that’s not all I’m after. I’m also looking for—”

  “A man to take over your father’s business back in New York,” Calvin interrupted, completing Daisy’s sentence for her.

  “So, you know?” Daisy asked, astonished.

  “Yes,” Calvin replied. “Anabelle wrote about that in her letter too, and I was aware of it when I offered to marry you. I’d hoped that, once we started communicating with each other, I could persuade you to move here and take up a life with me in California. But knowing you—and knowing your father—I was prepared for the alternative as well.”

  Daisy tilted her head and looked at Calvin inquisitively.

  “I want to marry you, Daisy Robinson,” Calvin said, smiling, as he dropped a handful of carrots into a large pot. He took a deep breath and seemed to have made a decision. Shrugging with a sheepish grin, looked at her and confessed.

  “I’ve been in love with you since the first moment I saw you from my front window back in New York—and, I haven’t been able to get you off of my mind since leaving.”

  Daisy’s jaw shook, and she wanted to say something. But, she couldn’t find the words.

  “When we were younger—when I played all those terrible jokes on you—I treated you as I did because I liked you,” Calvin went on, turning around to put more vegetables into the pot. “You know what they say about boys teasing girls because they like them.”

  Daisy had heard people say such things before, but she never had the life experience to believe any of it. And now, in hindsight, she felt a bit foolish for overlooking what should have been obvious.

  “When I finally got over my childish ways,” Calvin continued, “I didn’t know how else to deal with my feelings. So, I ignored you for a while. But, eventually, I decided that I would tell you—and, before I made that decision, my parents had already made theirs, and, once I learned that I was moving, I figured it was best not to tell you how I felt, so that neither one of us would suffer once I left.

  “Only thing is, I did go on to suffer after I left. My heart ached fo
r you, and I couldn’t stop thinking about you, no matter where I went or what I did. That’s why I haven’t been able to find anyone I fancy here in California—or anywhere else in this country, or in this world. My heart belongs to you. It always has, and always will.

  “And, that’s why I decided, when Anabelle wrote me, that I’d do whatever it took to have you as my wife. Sure, I’d try to convince you to move out here with me. But, if you wouldn’t, I’d surrender to your father’s wished and return to New York with you, if that’s what I had to do to have you.”

  “But… but… but,” Daisy replied, stuttering again, “you have so much here. You have a successful business, a huge lot of land, and a beautiful home filled with paintings, books, and other fine luxuries—and, you have Mrs. Evans here to take care of. Are you really willing to leave all of that behind to go back to New York and run a linen business?”

  “Daisy, Daisy, Daisy,” Calvin sighed, wiping his hands on a kitchen towel. “I’d leave it all—and more—behind to be with you. Other than Mrs. Evans, all of the things you mentioned are just things, and I can acquire those wherever I go. So, too, I can find success wherever I go, in whatever business I take to.

  “Success is something that any one of us can achieve if we put our hearts, minds, and bodies to it and pray for God’s graces. It’s something that we can make from nothing if we are committed to it. But, love… Love is something much different. The type of love I feel for you isn’t something that can be made or replaced. It’s one of a kind. It’s a blessing, and, it’s worth sacrificing everything I’ve acquired over these past few years to hold on to.

  “So, if, in your heart of hearts, you want to marry me and have me to return to New York with you and take over your father’s business, I will… because the love I feel for you, and the happiness we’d share together, means more to me than anything I have here or could find elsewhere on this earth.

  “I’ll sell my ranch, my belongings, and my livestock. I’ll pay someone in town a small fortune to take on Mrs. Evans and leave her a handsome stipend… All I ask in return is that you stay on here with me as I make my arrangements—because, now that I have you back in my life, I don’t want to ever be apart from you again, and the thought of you going back to New York without me, even if I am to follow shortly thereafter, is unbearable to me.”

  At some point during Calvin’s address, Daisy had started crying, and she did nothing to hold back her tears.

  “Oh, Calvin,” she wept joyfully as she stared into his sapphire-blue eyes. “I’ve never heard more powerful words spoken, and I’ve never felt my heart pound this hard before. What you’re offering—and the type of man you’ve shown yourself to be—is more than I could have ever hoped for. It’s the stuff that dreams are made of, and it’s about time that both of our dreams became a reality.” Her lower lip trembled as she took a deep breath and continued, “So, yes, I do want to marry you, and, though it comes at great sacrifice to you, I would like you to return to New York with me to take over my father’s business. In exchange, I will do as you asked and stay on here with you as you make your arrangements, and I will give you something else as well.

  “I give you my promise that, from this day forward, I will appreciate, and return, your love fully and show you that your sacrifices were not for nothing.”

  “Well then,” Calvin replied, grinning for ear to ear, “it sounds as though we’ve come to an agreement. And, first thing tomorrow, I will begin making my arrangements—starting with the one I consider most important.”

  Daisy smiled, arched her eyebrows, and begged Calvin, with her eyes to continue.

  “The things I have to take care will take some time, at least a few weeks, I’d imagine,” Calvin stated. “And, if you are to stay on here with me during that time, I’d like you to stay on with me not as my guest or ward, but as my wife.

  “I’d like us to marry as soon as possible, so that we can start our life together without any further delay. So long as we remain unmarried, social convention dictates that we cannot be alone together—and, although I love Mrs. Evans dearly, like a second mother, I can’t imagine that a stroll in the moonlight or picnic in the field would be nearly as endearing with her there between us.”

  “You’ve made a good point,” Daisy giggled, “and I agree with it completely. So, yes, sure enough, I’ll—”

  “Hold on a second,” Calvin interrupted. “I want to do this properly.”

  Calvin took a deep breath, rubbed his palms together, and, then, slowly walked toward Daisy. As soon as he was standing in front of her, he dropped to one knee, placed his right hand over his heart, and glanced up at her lovingly.

  “Daisy Robinson,” he said ever so sweetly, “will you do me the honor of becoming my bride?”

  “Yes,” Daisy replied, crying. “Yes, Calvin, I will marry you.”

  Daisy’s voice rang out louder than she intended, or expected, and it stirred Mrs. Evans from her slumber. The old gal lifted her head up from the table, looked behind her, and clicked her tongue at what she saw.

  “Hey, you two,” she shouted at the young, enamored couple, “I already told ya’—no funny business! Ya’ aint’ married yet!”

  “But we will be,” Calvin said, rising to his feet and smiling at his groggy housekeeper, “very, very soon.”

  TEN

  Just three days later, Daisy Robinson and Calvin Anderson were lawfully married in a private ceremony held after Sunday services. Mrs. Evans was the only guest in attendance, and she served as witness to their union.

  Since the couple planned to leave Blue Basin and go to New York as soon as circumstances allowed it, they decided not to have a reception of any sort or make a big fuss over their nuptials. They’d do that, they figured, once they were back in New York and immersed in the community they were to live and work in.

  They did, however, celebrate their wedding later that evening, with Mrs. Evans. She’d spent all day Saturday preparing a feast of spring lamb and roast vegetables for them, and she’d even baked a cake. It was an unsightly thing and wasn’t all that tasty, but she’d managed to make it, and the rest of the meal, without dozing off thanks to an extra-strong pot of “cowboy coffee,” the likes of which she used to make for her late husband.

  As was the custom, Mrs. Evans continued to serve as “chaperone” for the first few days following Daisy’s and Calvin’s wedding. She remained with them most of the time they were together, and shared her servants’ shed with Daisy for three nights after their union.

  On one of those nights, Daisy stayed up well past midnight, carefully constructing a letter to her parents, informing them of her nuptials and promising her prompt return to New York. She apologized to them for running off as she did and getting married without them being present, but assured them that they’d find Calvin to be a suitable husband and businessman who was more than capable of carrying Robinson Linen’s profit and reputation into the future.

  Once Daisy signed and sealed her letter to her parents, she felt as though a huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders. And, once Mrs. Evans said her time as chaperone was through, Daisy felt as though there were there were no longer any prying eyes keeping watch behind them. She was free now to move forward with her life, the way she saw fit, without worry of disapproval or judgment.

  “Go, now, Mrs. Anderson,” Mrs. Evans told her the fourth and final morning Daisy awoke in the servants’ shed. “It’s time to join your husband in the main house, while I stay here and rest my tired old bones for a few more hours.”

  Daisy smiled at the old woman and thanked her kindly for sharing her quarters and serving as chaperone, then hurried off toward the main house, where she found Calvin already on the porch.

  “Good morning, wife,” he said, greeting her with a huge smile. He was a bit surprised to see her unaccompanied by Mrs. Evans, but was very, very cheerful when he learnt that the elder had retired her services.

  Unfortunately, however, Calvin had been out on th
e porch for good reason. He was readying himself to go into town for a meeting with another rancher, who was interested in buying his land.

  Daisy was a little disappointed to learn that her first morning “alone” with her husband was to be spent entirely alone, without him. But, given the nature of his meeting, and what it meant for their future, her disappointment quickly faded.

  Once Calvin bid Daisy a temporary farewell and left her with a tender kiss on the forehead, Daisy went inside of the house and searched for something to do. The place was already very clean and in impeccable order, and there were no further chores that needed to be done to maintain it.

  With nothing else to do, Daisy decided to do what she liked to do best. She retrieved the collector’s copy of Oliver Twist that Calvin had given her from the mantle, where she’d placed it a few days earlier, and sat down on the couch and began reading.

  A good amount of time passed—perhaps two hours, maybe more—and Daisy was engrossed in Dickens’s novel, when, all of a sudden, she heard the kitchen door swing open. No bother, she assumed it was probably Mrs. Evans coming to do her “housekeeping,” or in lieu thereof, raid the pantry.

  “I thought you were going to rest your tired old bones for a few more hours,” Daisy joked, with her nose still buried in the book.

  “Not without my bride,” a male voice cackled.

  But, that voice was not Calvin’s. It was too cold, too sinister, too… ruthless—and, too familiar.

  Daisy looked up from her book in a start, and she saw a thick-bodied figure with a round head; beady, spectacle-laden eyes; a long, crooked nose; and yellow teeth staring back at her in anger.

  “Marcus Taylor!” Daisy exclaimed. Every part of her, and her body, recoiled and tightened. “Where did you…. How did you…”

  Marcus reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope as he rushed toward Daisy. “Where did I come from? How did I find you?” he hissed.