Regency Romance: A Duchess in Disguise (Historical 19th Century Victorian Romance) (Duke Fantasy Billionaire Romance)

by Sarah Thorn

  “Even if I convince him that he has to stop his gambling ways, the bank won’t listen to me, either.”

  A thought ran through her head and she suddenly perked up. Ellie didn’t notice and continued to talk. “I must say, Margie, you will have to tell me his response. If you come running to my house at all hours of the night crying because he’s said something mean, I will have Jack after him before he can say boo. I will tell you that, my girl.”

  Margaret giggled. Her friend was so soft on the outside and rough on the inside. And she loved her for it. She was very glad they were friends.

  “Do you want me to come to the house with you or are you going to the stables?” Ellie asked. “I have to go back to the stables because Jack asked me to bring him some of the milk from home.”

  Margaret frowned. “He asked you to bring milk? What for? The horses don’t drink milk.”

  Ellie gave her an exasperated look. “The milk isn’t for the horses, Margie! It’s for Jack!”

  They both laughed heartily.

  “I’ll go with you to the stables. I want to see if Mark is there. I think we should talk.”

  “Do you want me to come with you? You know, you might want to wait on talking to him about it until you figure out a plan.”

  Margaret hesitated. “I don’t know. I’ll have to see when I get there. I’ll see what kind of mood he’s in. I don’t want to deal with a lot of hassle or anything. And I don’t want to get emotional in front of the men.”

  “They might think you are in hysterics. When will you tell him about the baby?”

  “Well, I guess I should tell him at the same time, shouldn’t I? I mean, it is the reason I found out and the reason it must be stopped.”

  Ellie shook her head. “Your baby is very important. But he needs to stop because he’s going to lose everything he owns if he doesn’t.”

  Margaret sighed. She couldn’t wrap her brain around the idea that everything she had been working so hard to accomplish and earn throughout the months she had been here could suddenly be taken away and she could be left with nothing. Her first thought was to run back to her father. But she couldn’t do that now, not with a child on the way and love in her heart for the man she married.

  She couldn’t believe he had been lying to her the whole time. He just hadn’t seemed like the type.

  Her father was the only hope she had. She prayed she could help her husband change his ways and she prayed that her father would be able to help them with the bank. Those were her only options.

  Chapter Four

  The kitchen door swung shut behind Margaret, and she stood in the breezeway, watching the front door. She knew Mark would come through any moment and she was mentally preparing herself for what she wanted to say.

  She had spent the last day or so with Jack, at Ellie’s request, and he had filled her in on the track and the debts that Mark had built up. It was true that he had a problem. It wasn’t just the betting, it was the fact that he wasn’t very good at it and wouldn’t let anyone pick horses for him. He always insisted that he would get the right one and he rarely did. When his horse won a race, he was elated, using the win to justify the losses. And it was never enough, certainly not enough to pay the bills they had looming over their heads.

  The house was in jeopardy, the horses were in jeopardy, and the stables were in jeopardy. They really could lose it all. She thought about her growing baby and what they would need to do to prepare for it. It was a scary thing. She was older than most of the women who were giving birth. By the time those women were her age, they were on their second or even third child. Doctor Joe had warned her that it could pose a problem but not to worry too much about it.

  Jack had given her copies of the papers Mark had signed when he bet everything he had and started in on the property. He gave her the financial documents that she needed to understand how much was owed and when it was due by.

  Her heart thumped as she waited for Mark to come in. She’d heard the wagon pull up some time ago and knew that he had to be about done settling in the horses for the night. So she stood there and waited, her mind racing with anxious thoughts just as quickly as her heart beat in her chest.

  The door squeaked when Mark pushed it open. He took a few steps inside, saw her standing there and stopped to stare at her.

  “What is that look?” He asked, his voice tense. She assumed he could tell that she knew what was going on. Only a guilty man could have a face like that. And she had grown to know his expressions fairly well over the last few months. He was open with his feelings.

  Or at least she had thought so.

  Could she trust him now?

  “Mark, we have to talk about what’s going on. You need to know something.”

  “What do you mean ‘what’s going on’? You tell me what’s going on.”

  She lifted one hand to show him some of the papers she had gripped in her fingers. “We owe everything to the bank, Mark. We’re going to lose everything you’ve built up here!”

  Mark nodded. “I’m glad you said everything I’ve built up here. This is my house and that’s my stables, you need to remember that.”

  “Mark, it’s not going to be yours or mine or anyone’s but the bank’s in a short time, maybe just a few weeks! You didn’t tell me you were going through this when you brought me here!”

  “Well, I wasn’t about to tell someone I didn’t even know about issues I might be having with my finances.”

  Margaret struggled to hold in her emotions. She had been thrilled all the way up until this morning, loving her new life with the horses and a husband. She thought was happy and content. “Oh Mark!” She turned away and quickly prayed for strength and guidance. She turned back to look at him. “Mark, you were quick enough to bring me here and marry me and take me to your bed. You have been to church with me every Sunday. You have prayed with me! How can you not tell me that you are struggling with gambling?”

  “I’m not struggling with it!” Mark reached down and yanked off one of his boots. He angrily pulled the other one off and moved to go past her into the kitchen. “It looks like you’re the one who’s struggling with it. If you don’t like it, well, I guess you can just go back to Virginia!”

  For a moment, Margaret was devastated. She had fallen in love with Mark and didn’t want to lose the family she had longed for because of this problem.

  “No, Mark!” She followed him into the kitchen. She could tell by the tone of his voice that he was ashamed and that he didn’t mean what he said. “I don’t believe you want me to leave. I believe that you have fallen in love with me the way I have with you.”

  Margaret could tell by the look he gave her that she was right. He could only glance at her and then look away, his cheeks flushing a deep red under the dark beard he had grown. His eyes looked sad.

  Mark dropped himself into a chair at the table after filling a mug with hot coffee she had ready for him. She pulled one of the nearby chairs closer to him and sat in it, leaning in toward him so that she could speak softly.

  “You must know something, Mark. I have news for you that might change your mind about your problem.”

  “You do?” His voice was so small.

  “Yes.” She took one of his hands and placed it over her stomach. “We’re going to have a baby.”

  His eyes opened wide and he blinked a few times. “We are?”

  “Yes.”

  He stood up, pushing the chair back with his legs, looking down at her. “We are?” He repeated. His face was a mixture of emotions. She couldn’t tell if he was pleased or dismayed by the news. “I…I…”

  Mark couldn’t think of the right words to say. Or simply didn’t have them.

  Margaret got up and went to stand in front of him, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. She felt relief to feel him hugging her back. He lowered his head and gave her a kiss on her soft blond hair.

  “I’m glad we’re having a baby, Margie.” He said softly. “I haven�
�t known what to do about the debts for a while now. I was afraid to come to you and tell you. It all happened so soon after you arrived.”

  Margaret looked up at him. “I know that you’ve been gambling for a long time but yes, it seems the worst of it happened right after I got here. You have to stop now, Mark. Do you see that?”

  Mark separated from her and went to the kitchen window to stare out over the land. “I can’t now. I owe so much the only way to take care of the situation is to keep it going. I’ve been trying so hard to get the money but every time I think I’m on a streak, I start losing.”

  “That’s what gambling is!” Margaret moved to stand next to him again, wanting to be close to him. She wanted to show him that she wasn’t judging him, that she loved him and that she wanted to work things out the right way. “You know that when you do something too much and it puts your money and family in jeopardy, it’s a bad thing. You can beat your problem if you just pray about it and work really hard to resist.”

  Mark was quiet for a moment, continuing to look out the window. “I still can’t.” He said to her disappointment. “We can’t get out of debt without the money that comes from it.”

  “We aren’t getting out of debt that way, Mark, it hasn’t happened yet, what makes you think it will?”

  “Things will change. I’ll start getting a lot of winners and…”

  Margaret violently shook her head, putting one hand gently on his arm. “No, Mark! You have to stop. I believe I can get my father to help us get out of debt with the bank. Then, we can…”

  “I’m not taking money from your father!” Mark said vehemently and walked back to the table to pick up his cup of coffee. He held it for a moment, looking at it and then shook his head, setting it back down. “No, I just can’t do that!”

  “Mark, you have to think about our baby! You have to think about me! Don’t you love me?”

  Mark looked at her with passionate eyes. He was obvious with his love and had let everyone he worked with know about it. He had made her feel like queen of the castle since her arrival. It was one of the reasons she couldn’t believe he had been hiding this from her.

  Then again, when she thought about it, she understood, as well. He had fallen in love with her and then been too ashamed to admit his problem.

  “Yes, I love you, Margie.”

  She went to him again and he pulled her into a hug this time. “I have faith that we can get through this, Mark. I have been praying and I just know that God is going to come through for us. But you have to pray, too. You have to really believe that he will help you stop what you are doing.”

  “How can I be a man and ask your father to bail me out of my debts? I am the one who sent for you! I promised him, even though I never told him, that I would take care of his daughter. I know how much you love and respect him. How can you love and respect me after I do something like this to your father?”

  “You haven’t done anything to my father. If you refuse to let him help us, then you will really be doing something to him. You’ll be putting the safety of his only daughter in jeopardy. He would be very angry at you for that.”

  “He would, wouldn’t he?”

  “Yes, he certainly would! And our baby! His grandchild. He would be very, very angry.”

  “But we need a substantial sum.”

  “It won’t matter. The only thing that will matter is that when we have paid what we owe and begin paying my father his money back, you don’t gamble it away. Do you think you can break your habit?”

  She rubbed his arm and looked up into his eyes. He was blinking and refusing to look at her.

  “Mark, please. Please tell me you love me enough…and love our baby enough to do this for us.”

  “I want to, Margie. I do love you and our baby.”

  “We will keep praying about it. My papa will help us through this and then we will start again. From the beginning if we have to. But at least we will have our horses and our home.”

  “And our baby.”

  “Yes.” She smiled wide and he matched it.

  “It’s so wonderful to think that we will have a little boy or girl here next year. I hope it looks like you.”

  She giggled. “If it’s a boy, I don’t think he will like that.”

  He shook his head. “I hope that he or she is healthy. I hope that you are okay through it all and that everything works out good in the end.”

  “Ellie is going to help me. She will know what’s going on before I do.”

  They both laughed at that.

  “I’m glad she is wanting to help you.” Mark’s demeanor had lightened significantly from only moments before. She could see that he felt relief and renewed strength. She wondered if he would really be able to kick the habit. He was so good with money otherwise.

  “Do you want me to start helping manage the finances of the track and stables, Mark?” She asked a little nervously. It had always been his job. She didn’t want him to feel that she was stepping on his toes.

  He paused and looked at her thoughtfully. “I think it would be wise, yes.” He agreed. He put one of his hands on her tummy and the other on the small of her back. “You won’t be up for all that physical work taking care of yourself for the next year anyway.”

  “Silly man, it doesn’t take that long to have a baby!”

  “I know.” He laughed. “But you won’t be going back to grooming and cleaning out stables for a long time, honey. You’re going to have my baby to take care of!”

  The thought of a happy family in her future lifted Margaret’s spirits back up into the clouds. She threw her arms around her husband and hugged him close. “I love you, Mark!”

  “And I love you, my sweet little Margaret!” He replied, kissing her soft lips with a passion she would never be able to resist.

  ****

  THE END

  MAIL ORDER BRIDE - Three Brides, Three Brothers, and a Baby

  Chapter One

  The noise from the train pulling out of the station was almost deafening. Catherine Carvey was sitting next to a young woman about her age and across from another. They were all going to the same destination, she knew, because the man who had sent for her from the West had told her so in the letter he’d sent.

  Cathy had responded two months ago to an ad for a bride in her local newspaper. Her heart was thumping hard, and she folded her hands in her lap nervously, rubbing her fingers together.

  The woman next to her looked much more secure and a lot less nervous. She smiled at her.

  “Hello,” she said.

  The woman looked at Cathy, scanning her face closely. “Hello,” she responded, finally holding out one hand for Cathy to take. “I’m Robin. Robin Foreman. And you are?”

  “Cathy Carvey,” she responded.

  “You are also going to Nevada?”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “You’re going to marry a man from there?” Robin asked. Cathy nodded. Robin sounded even more secure than she looked.

  “Yes. You are, too?”

  “I am. My suitor sent me a letter saying that I would be sitting with two other ladies who were going there to marry his brothers. You are one?”

  “I am.”

  At the same time, both ladies looked at the third sitting across from them. She gave them a weak smile, one hand pulling on a long strand of blond hair that had strayed from her braid. “I’m Joy. Joy Kelly.”

  Cathy and Robin nodded at her.

  “You look scared,” Robin said, bluntly.

  Joy pulled in a deep breath and looked out the window to her left. “I am a little scared.”

  “Why?”

  Joy rubbed her hands together and looked down at them, her face flushed. “I…I have never been out of Virginia in my life. I come from a close family and…I’m…afraid of the change. I don’t…know what to expect.”

  “I understand how you feel.” Cathy nodded and looked at Joy sympathetically. “I don’t come from a close family but I am very
unsure about what is going to happen, and it scares me, too.”

  “If you have a close family, why are you going so far away from them?” Robin asked.

  Joy looked sad. “My father said it would be a good change for me. He says I need to experience the world. He says I’m too shy.”

  “Well, I’m worried about the men we are going to meet,” Robin said. Her voice was firm and determined. “I hope they are gentlemen. I hope their mothers raised them right. I don’t want a brute or a callous man. I want someone who is going to treat me with respect. It’s not easy to find men that will do that. They want you to be dolled up and pretty and quiet all the time. I’m not like that.”

  “Why did you decide to go?” Joy asked, her voice exactly the opposite of Robin’s. She was the quiet, pretty type. She was small, with an oval face, pretty green eyes and a head full of beautiful blond hair. She looked like the type that could be hurt easily, physically and mentally. Robin was tall, slender but larger than Joy, with bright red hair and flashing green eyes.

  “I am an orphan with no prospects of my own. I am interested in what can be seen on the other side of the country. I hope to learn a skill so that if this doesn’t work out, I can work and survive on my own, like cooking.”

  “You sound like you would prefer that.”

  Robin nodded. “Yes, but I need a man to help me and did not find one here. My aunt says if you want to be successful in life, you have to take steps to get there, even women. So I will concentrate on learning while I am there. Unfortunately, the man I am going to has a baby. His wife died in childbirth, so the baby is very young. I’m not sure I will be a good mother to a baby I didn’t have. I don’t have brothers or sisters and no experience with babies.”

  “Are we all living together in one home?” Cathy asked her. “Do you know?”

  Robin shook her head. “I don’t know.”

  Cathy hoped so. She had spent several years helping her sister raise the two children she had with her husband, Mark. She had enjoyed every moment with the babies and thought how exciting it would be to have another one to raise. “I have experience with babies.” She said. “If we are all together, I will help you. Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl?”