“Why?” he finally whispered, staring at Hannah. “Why wouldn’t you tell me?”
“Because I was afraid,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around herself in an attempt to comfort herself a little. “I was afraid that you might send me away.”
“Whose baby is it?” he asked desperately, his voice cracking with emotion.
She swallowed thickly and fell into the chair, dropping her head into her hands. “People act like being a mail-order bride is such a bad thing, but it’s nothing compared to what they do to girls in North Carolina,” she whispered, shaking. “My mother and father, they arranged for me to marry this man because he was rich and owned a lot of land holdings in the South. They told me to do it because it would be a profitable arrangement.”
Esther’s heart twisted in pain as her sister recounted what happened back home. Hannah took a few deep breaths before she could continue.
“He was a cruel man. He was ungodly, and he didn’t care about me. The only time he ever paid me any attention was in his bed chambers and then even that stopped. He was much older than me and passed away after only a year of marriage. Our parents also died that year, and all of our money and our estate went to my husband,” she whispered, staring at the floor. “By the time Richard died, he owned everything, and he controlled me. He controlled us,” she whispered, wiping her eyes again.
Esther was watching Aaron’s face, and he seemed to be softening as Hannah explained herself.
“I didn’t love him. How could I love him?” she whispered desperately as the tears came faster and heavier. “He was just so cruel. Even in death,” she said with a bitter laugh. “He was seeing a mistress regularly, a woman he thought was much prettier than I. She was a lady of the evening, and when he died, he left everything to her. He left every penny to her, and we had nothing,” she whispered. “When we found out I was with child, we knew we couldn’t stay in Edenton. There was nothing for us there. We didn’t have any skills, and no one was going to marry two women who couldn’t offer anything. All we were to the men in town were two more mouths to feed,” she said, shaking her head. “There was no other choice, so we came West.”
Aaron stepped forward for a moment and stood before Hannah, looking down at her. After a moment, he got down on his knees and cupped her cheeks, looking up at her. Tears were still pouring down Hannah’s cheeks, and she sniffled, wrapping her arms around the man in a desperate attempt to hold him close.
“Please don’t send me away. Please don’t hate me,” she whispered.
A soft tearful laugh escaped him as he wrapped his arms around Hannah in return. “I could never hate you, Hannah. I love you,” he whispered, kissing her temple and cheek. “You are everything to me, you know that?” He pulled away and cupped her face, pressing their foreheads together. “Every single day you impress me. You are so strong and so brave, and you have every right to be none of those things. You’ve seen so much pain and strife, and you somehow still manage to light up my world,” he whispered.
Hannah let out another choked sob, whimpering Aaron’s name as she pressed her lips to his. He took a breath and ran his fingers through her hair.
“I can’t fix the bad things that have already happened, and I can’t make the pain go away, but I promise that you will never have to face the world alone again. I am here for yo,u and I’m always going to be here for you,” he promised, wiping away the tears that were steadily falling down Hannah’s cheeks.
He held her close and rocked her back and forth, swallowing thickly. “I’m not mad, sweetheart. I wish you would have told me sooner, but I’m not mad. I love you, and we’re going to get through this.”
Esther pressed herself against Caleb, tears of joy coming to her eyes. She wiped the away quickly and sniffled as Aaron peppered kisses all over Hannah’s face.
“I prayed for someone I could love, and God sent me you. He brought you here for a reason, and I’m not going to question that,” he said simply. “You were the answer to all of my prayers, and I would never turn that away. I’d never turn you away, Hannah. If God wants me to care for this child and raise it as my own, then I will. There’s a reason for everything.”
Hannah nodded and wiped her eyes again. “There is, isn’t there?”
Aaron smiled and nodded, pulling her into a hug. “Just promise me you’ll never lie to me again.”
“I promise, Aaron. I promise. I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry.”
As he pulled away, he smiled at her. “No more apologies. It’s OK. We’re OK.”
She offered a shaky smile in response and nodded. “I love you, Aaron.”
“And I love you, Hannah.”
Esther watched on, grinning and pressing her hand to her chest in an attempt to still her heart. It was slamming in her chest as happiness bubbled through her and came out in the form of a giggle. She watched her sister and Aaron and for the first time in a long time, she knew everything was going to be all right.
Chapter Eight
After Hannah told Aaron about the baby, life was perfect. The snow began to melt, and things went back to normal quickly. Hannah and Esther continued about their day to day life, and word traveled fast in their little town about Hannah’s pregnancy. No one seemed to be surprised, and everyone assumed it was Aaron’s, which seemed appropriate because Hannah considered it to be Aaron’s child. Her baby would never know any other father aside from Aaron, and that was enough for both of them.
Esther was just happy that everything seemed to be settling and there was no risk of them being sent back to North Carolina. At first everything seemed to be too good to be true, but Esther was quickly realizing that this was happiness. It was something that was foreign to her at first, but she got used to it fairly quickly. Being happy and being in love was much more pleasant than their lonely existence back home.
No, this was their home now. There was no “back home.” Wyoming was everything to them now, and they couldn’t be happier about it. The rolling hills and mountains became the backdrop of the rest of their lives.
Hannah’s baby came in the early summer. It was born on a blustering stormy day. Lightening cracked in the sky as the small woman gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, who managed to look like Aaron somehow. She was born with an unruly tuft of black hair and big green eyes just like her mother.
They named her Gabriell,e and judging by the conditions of her birth, she was going to grow up to be a firecracker. She was just one more blessing in their household, and she brightened everyone’s lives up. Having a baby around was like seeing God’s wonder every day.
Only a short while after Gabrielle’s birth, Esther discovered that she was going to have a baby as well. It felt like a dream come true, and every day she got bigger she felt more and more blessed. This was heaven on earth.
The entire family was out on a picnic, enjoying the last of the warm sunshine before fall and winter crept up on them. Being stuck in the house during the winter months was always a little rough, but at least they would have the babies to keep the company.
Aaron was napping under a tree while his daughter lay on his chest, her breathing synced up to his. Aaron took to fatherhood with a gusto few expected. He was such a reserved man that few expected him to be so warm and affectionate with his child. He truly was meant to be Gabrielle’s papa.
Esther smiled and glanced back at the sleeping father and daughter, rubbing her own belly. Caleb put his hand over hers and sighed, leaning up to kiss her gently. There were no words to express how excited they were to become parents. It was everything they never knew they wanted. Esther never really considered having children before now because she’d never met a man she wanted to marry. But now that she was madly in love, it was the thing she wanted most.
Hannah smiled at them, cocking her head to the side and watching them closely. “Are you two excited?”
“We can hardly bare it, Hannah,” Esther sighed, looking over at her husband. “I want to meet him so badly.”<
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“Him? Do you think you are going to have a boy?” she asked with a cocked brow.
“I know I’m going to have a boy,” Esther corrected.
Hannah snorted and smiled. “How can you know you are going to have a boy?” she asked.
“God showed me in a dream.” She hummed, still rubbing her growing belly. She had the tinniest little bump, but she was so proud of it.
“Well, He certainly hasn’t steered us wrong so far, has He?”
Esther shook her head and leaned against her husband. “I’m so thankful that He led us out here. We would never have met Aaron and Caleb without His guidance.”
Hannah smiled and nodded, looking over at her sleeping beloved. “We wouldn’t have,” she agreed. “I’m thankful for him every day,” she said, referring to Aaron.
Esther reached out and took her sister’s hand. “And this is just the beginning, Hannah. We have so many more blessings to come.”
Hannah nodded her head and looked up at the sky, sighing as the sun kissed her pale skin. “I can’t wait to see what else He has in store for us.”
Esther nodded and stole a kiss from Caleb, grinning. “Neither can I.”
THE END
Return to the TOC for Bonus Content
A Cowboy’s Bride
Chapter One
Lucy Copperfield tried to close the heavy lid on her massive, leather suitcase with little success. It was full to the brim, and it seemed that at any moment, it might explode. After all, she had to take all of her stuff, everything that she would possibly ever miss, possibly ever need. It didn’t happen every day that a young woman left her home forever. The previous night she kept wandering like a guest around her own room—the room she had slept in for God knows how many nights, the room that housed all of her girlish dreams and naïve desires for a bright future, the room that soaked up all of her tears that rose out of her broken heart. It’s not that she had her heart broken too many times. The Good Lord had taken good care of her, and she always felt protected and loved.
But now, spending the last night in the room that would never again be hers, that would, from then on, really accept her only as a guest, she had to admit it felt strange. In fact, many things felt strange and had for quite some time. She could feel it in her bones, like a chill that went straight through her, leaving her empty and reverberating with a source-less cold.
The truth was she didn’t want to leave the safety of her parents’ home. It wasn’t her choice at all. But taking into account the circumstances, Lucy didn’t really have many choices. Ever since that unfortunate episode in town when she acted unlike a young lady of her stature and beliefs should act, she couldn’t shake that feeling, like a snake rattling somewhere from the bushes, that her parents had become somewhat ashamed of her and were not only looking for any excuse not to take her to social soirées but that they were also actually trying to get rid of her altogether. Not that she could blame them. They were honest, hard-working Christians whose every word and actions mirrored those of the Good Lord. She knew that she had become a burden to them.
Finally, with one big push, she managed to lock the suitcase. She sighed, and he room suddenly became quiet, too quiet. Her girly laughter didn’t fill it anymore. Her dolls had fallen asleep. Her diary wished to hold no more of her secrets. She had no reason to laugh. She hoped that was just for the time being and that a time for smiling and laughing would come again.
“Are you decent, darling?” There was a gentle knock on the door. Even before she spoke, Lucy knew it was her mother. Abigail Copperfield had a way about her, an old-fashioned charm that seemed to have been dusted out of someone’s attic after many years of no use but now was as effervescent and sprightly as before. She spoke a lot, a trait her daughter didn’t really inherit but rather tried to mirror. Lucy’s father always said that one chatterbox in the house was more than enough.
Well, now he would be left with only one, Lucy thought. No need to worry about the other anymore. She would become someone else’s problem.
“Yes, Mother, do come in,” Lucy replied automatically and without much joy. She didn’t resent her mother or anything of the sort. She simply wanted to be left alone and to contemplate her life for a while. It appeared to her that if she had done more of that, she wouldn’t be forced out of her parents’ home under the all too convenient pretext of marriage.
“Are you all packed, dear?” her mother chirped. Lucy nodded without turning around to face her.
“Did you pack everything you need? You don’t want to forget anything. ” Abigail continued merrily.
“Everything is packed, Mother. You needn’t worry about me.”
“Oh, but I do worry. Always,” she exclaimed gaily, only to realize that it might not have sounded exactly right. “Not that you’ve ever been a worrisome child, Lucy, my dear.”
Apart from that one episode that is making you send me away, Lucy thought to herself, unwilling and incapable of speaking the words out loud.
Having noticed that she had created an uncomfortable pause, Abigail continued. “Going out West! Isn’t that exciting?”
“I suppose,” Lucy replied. She didn’t find it particularly appealing, and she was almost sure that her mother knew this.
“You’ll be so happy there, Lucy, my dear! Quentin’s father has been a dear family friend for years, and if Quentin is anything like his father, you are free to consider yourself one lucky lady,” Abigail chuckled, and as she did, her heavy motherly bosom filled with pride.
Lucy had to admit that she didn’t have much recollection of either Quentin or his father. This was probably due to the fact that whenever their family came to visit, the men went walking around the ranch, horseback riding, hunting or whatever else it was that men did, while the women chit-chatted in the clean, cozy comfort of an inside parlor room, paired with a cup of warm tea and apple and cinnamon biscuits.
I guess I connect Quentin with cinnamon biscuits, Lucy thought to herself again, and a smile escaped her for the first time in days.
“Oh, is there something funny, young lady?” Lucy’s mother asked with mock scorn.
“I just remembered something funny,” Lucy replied monotonously yet again.
“Well, I do prefer you to smile than to sulk,” she was quickly to reply before giving her daughter a warm hug.
This seemed to be too much for Lucy, who broke down in her mother’s arms and started crying.
“Well, well, now what’s all this then?” Her mother pulled away a little, trying to wipe her daughter’s tears.
“Things will be all right, dear, you’ll see,” she said reassuringly. “We’re doing this for your own good. I know it might not seem that way at first, but trust me, we are, and we know that this will help you see the light of God. There, there, little one. There, there.”
The two women embraced for a long time before either of them felt like moving. Silently, they prayed for each other, as well as for themselves. Lucy was soothed into believing that things would actually turn out all right. Not everything was as black as she thought it was.
Chapter Two
The following morning all was set for Lucy’s journey. She was to go and settle in her new household, and her parents, along with other members of their extended family, would join them shortly afterwards for the big day. Not that they decided to make it a big deal or anything, but Lucy knew that her mother would do a bang-up job of organizing everything and everybody. But if anybody had asked her, there was very little to celebrate.
It was a quick farewell, one that didn’t bring much pain despite the fact that a daughter was leaving her ancestral home for good. It was a joyous occasion that everyone obviously looked forward to. Everyone apart from Lucy, that is.
The journey out West didn’t take as much as Lucy had expected—or was it that she was too busy trying to remember the last time she met Quentin and what was it that they talked about (probably nothing of too great relevance). But now, they would be meeting as
future husband and wife, and this thought made her shiver.
What if I don’t like him? I don’t remember liking him much when we were kids. I’ll probably like him even less now, she thought to herself.
But it didn’t really help her much to think this way. Besides, whatever memory she had of him, it wasn’t him being a hard case. Not that he was too much of a goody-two-shoes, either.
“Oh, fiddlesticks,” she exclaimed.
She felt helpless and lost, but she also knew that just like you can’t prevent rain from falling or the sun from shining, you also can’t prevent life from going on and the devil from creating obstacles along the way. It’s what he does, after all. But she could remain faithful to God, and in doing so, she knew that his message was clear: Never be afraid for I am here with you!
That was how Lucy knew that somehow, someway, everything was going to be all right. Because even though she sometimes lacked the right words to express how she felt, what matters is that she always feels the right way, and He sees this.
With these thoughts, Lucy calmed down and actually managed to enjoy the rest of the trip. Upon her eventual arrival, she saw—to her disappointment—that she was welcomed not by the man of the house himself but by the housekeeper. She was a sweet-looking, elderly lady, who actually reminded Lucy of her own mother. The thought made her smile and reassured her that there would be someone to scold her lovingly here as well.
“Welcome, dear child!” The voice of the lady echoed throughout the entire ranch. Even the birds seemed to stop chirping. “Quentin had some urgent business to take care of I’m afraid, but don’t you worry. I’m here to help you settle in.” She was a chatty little soul, and Lucy took an immediate liking to her.
“Mah name’s Betsy, and mah job here’s to make ya’ feel comfy-cozy like. Oh, look at ya’, aren’t you all skin and bones.” She took a stern glance at Lucy’s figure. “My, my, my, we can’t have that now, no sir. But don’t you worry, sweet child, you’re under ol’ Betsy’s care now.”
Regency Romance: Fallen Duchess (A Historical Victorian Murder Mystery Love Regency Romance) Page 25