by Rye Hart
With a boldness characteristic of her stubborn nature, she stepped forward. "Pleased to meet you," she said in her best lady-like voice. She extended her hand.
Carter took it. "Charmed," he drawled as he brought her hand up to his lips to kiss it.
The feel of his bare lips touching her skin sent another shiver down her spine; a reaction Georgina was decisively not prepared for.
"I," she began, but stopped short of forming a coherent sentence. At the moment, she was debating whether or not she should blow her cover and walk away from the absurd situation, or stay and follow through with the unthinkable.
"Unfortunately, this situation is not the ideal way to first meet your bride," Carter smiled.
He presented himself with an air of self-assured confidence, which was a striking difference from the other nervous, fidgety males in the room. This man didn't look like the type that needed a matchmaking service to bring him a bride, but rather the kind of man that could easily have his pick of any woman in town.
Georgina assessed him curiously. She wanted to know why he was asking the desk clerk about the missing girl.
"I beg to differ, how else is one supposed to meet a husband these days?" She was stalling, choosing to play the game until she knew what her next move was. "I know why I am here, but what made you decide you needed a wife?" She gave him a cool look, choosing not to reveal too much about herself just yet.
Carter Heath laughed in response to Georgina's question.
Georgina prickled at his amused response. Nothing in her statement was meant to be amusing. She was a hard-earned journalist, not some ninny to be laughed at. "What do you find so funny?" she questioned as his laughter subsided.
"You are fascinating," he said without quite replying to her question. He rubbed his chiseled, clean-shaven jaw and surveyed Georgina with unabashed interest.
Georgina felt her cheeks redden. "And you sir, are quite bold," she tossed her comment back at him.
He smiled and cocked his head to the side. "How about we go ahead and get the marriage license business out of way then?" he teased.
Georgina stopped short. This was the moment that she had been dreading all day. There was no way she was signing a marriage license, especially to a complete stranger, just for an article.
"Look," she figured it was best to just lay it out there. "You seem like a sensible gentleman, I think we might be able to come to a more reasonable compromise."
A single eyebrow shot up in surprise. "A compromise?" he asked with curiosity. "Continue," he encouraged.
Georgina took a deep breath to steady her nerves. She usually wasn't the type to get performance anxiety, but at the moment, her ability to finish this investigation and write that article hinged on the information that the man before her might have. "Well, I think it is a bit premature to get married on the same day we met. You even said yourself, that this is not the most ideal situation."
Carter Heath was silent for a moment, and he rubbed his jaw in thought. "You are completely right, but how do you propose we solve this as the marriage license is waiting for us to sign?" he added.
"Well," Georgina elaborated, "I was thinking we could just take the contract with us to sign when the time is ready." She didn't bother to say that there would never be a time to sign it, for as soon as she had her story, she would be on the first train home. A part of her felt bad for deceiving Carter, but all it took was one look at his dark eyes and brilliant smile and she knew that he wouldn't be struggling to find a bride for long. However, at the moment, she needed lodging and information from him first.
"You don't think that might be a bit improper?" he teased, while his eyes danced with an amused brilliance.
"Perhaps a little," she flashed him a dazzling smile in return. She could feel her stomach twist with anticipation. Usually she felt this when she was on the verge of a good story, but now she felt it whenever her eyes locked with his.
"Then we best be on our way," he suggested.
They both moved toward the marriage licensing table where a wiry older gentleman sat with a stack of printed licenses. "Name please?" he asked in a monotonous voice.
"Carter Heath," said the man.
"And you Miss? The man at the desk asked once he finished writing Carter's name on the license.
"Georgina Wellington," she replied.
"Ok, now sign here," the man produced the document and pointed at the two lines at the bottom.
"That is all for now," Carter picked up the document, folded it, and tucked it into his lapel pocket.
"Sir, you need to sign it first," the man at the desk said in a bored tone.
"We will sign it when we are ready, but at the moment we do not feel it is necessary to enter into the legally binding portion of a marriage contract before we have a decent conversation," he stated.
"Sir, I don't care about how many conversations you have had or not, I need you to sign it first," the clerk reaffirmed.
"What is going on here?" Mabel's voice interrupted as she poked her head next to Georgina's arm.
"They are refusing to sign the document," explained the licensing clerk.
"Well, that is unacceptable!" Mabel said in her usual shrill voice. "It is not proper for you to go home with your groom if he is not officially your groom. Likewise, it will damage our company's reputation if one our couples refuses to abide by the rules of proper courtship," she chastised.
"We are not refusing to sign it ever," explained Carter, "we just believe that it is in our best interest to give ourselves a bit more time to get to know each other."
"You can get to know each other within proper rules of marriage," Mabel corrected again.
Georgina had had enough of the back and forth. She was tired from the long journey, cranky from the myriad of complications she was facing at the moment, and Mabel's voice was giving her a headache. All she wanted was a place to rest and to try to piece together the few clues she had, as well as the clues she was going to get once she grilled her 'fiancé.'
"Mabel, I understand where you are coming from, where reputations are concerned and all, but I am sure that no one besides you and this clerk care whether or not we sign the document today," she said with commanding authority. "We are going to go now, and when or if we decide to sign the thing, it has nothing to do with you!" And with a flourish, she turned on her heels and toward the door.
"You will regret burning your bridges with Distant Heart Matchmaking," Mabel threatened Georgina's retreating back.
Georgina could care less. During her time with the company, she was not able to glean any information regarding Mia, and neither was she able to dig up the dirt that Mia's father was asking for. She wasn't getting anywhere by trying to get information out of them. Besides, she was just about to leave with her biggest clue.
Carter Heath clearly knew Mia Barrington, and Georgina was going to find out just how well. One way or another, she was going to get that information out of him.
With a confidence born only of a woman at the end of her patience, she strolled out of the hotel with Carter beside her.
Chapter Four
"So why did you choose to come out west as a bride?" Carter asked as they walked down the street.
Georgina debated what she could tell him. What she wanted to say was, where is Mia? Did you kidnap her? Are you going to try to kidnap me too? Is that what you do, find mail order brides and kidnap them, or worse? But her rational mind argued against such an aggressive tactic.
"I wanted a bit of an adventure," she answered vaguely.
"What do you think of your adventure so far then?" he asked.
"It's been interesting to say the least," she mused. "But how about yourself? You never answered my question regarding why you chose to sign up for a mail order bride?" she figured his answer might provide a few clues.
"Same," he shrugged. "I needed a bit of a change and thought a wife would bring some adventure into my life."
Georgina tried to hold bac
k her groan of displeasure. This man was difficult to crack, but despite his nonchalant answers, she felt that he was hiding something. She was getting impatient as her curiosity urged her on to find out what that was. She knew that her family back home would kill her for agreeing to leave with a man she suspected of possibly kidnapping another woman, but she assumed she could take good care of herself had any unexpected turn of events taken place.
"So where are you taking me again?" she asked as they turned around a corner toward a small building.
"I am renting an apartment, it is just over here," he pointed toward the building ahead of them.
Georgina gaped. "I thought all men who ordered brides had homesteads and the like," she said.
"I might one day," he said absently. "But at the moment, I prefer to live closer to the growing city."
Georgina wasn't sure what to make of his answer. So she would be sharing his apartment then? She knew that traditional etiquette would disapprove, but at the moment she could care less. Traditional etiquette disapproved of her having a job, so it held no relevance in her life.
"If the landlady asks though," he said as they approached the building, "we did sign that contract."
Georgina nodded. She knew that if the landlord knew, they might no longer rent to them, which would mean that she went through with almost getting married, just to end up homeless.
Carter opened the door and was greeted by the cheerful face of Mrs. Gavin, the landlady.
"Ah, Mr. Heath, I see that you indeed brought back a bride," she took a surveying look at Georgina. "And is she a pretty one," she stated with a lilting voice.
"Thank you Mrs. Gavin," Carter said with an appreciative smile.
"It is nice to see young folk starting their lives together," Mrs. Gavin said.
Carter coughed, visibly uncomfortable.
Mrs. Gavin didn't seem to notice, and instead continued to prattle on about what a beautiful couple Carter and Georgina made.
"I think my new bride is a bit exhausted from the excitement of the day," Carter brought his arm protectively around Georgina.
"Oh yes, yes," Mrs. Gavin replied excitedly. "Must protect your bride's delicate constitution."
Georgina's eyes flared with indignation. She opened her mouth to tell Mrs. Gavin exactly where she could stick her "delicate constitution," but abruptly quelled it the moment she noticed Carter's pleading look. She realized it probably wasn't to her best advantage to engage in an argument with the elderly landlady.
With the strength that had carried her through many difficult challenges, Georgina plastered the closest thing to a smile that she could muster on her face. "Thank you Mrs. Gavin, you are so thoughtful."
Mrs. Gavin didn't seem to notice the rigid way Georgina held her spine as she spoke, but Carter did. Georgina suspected that he saw right through the mask she presented to the world and straight into her soul. It was unnerving the way he appeared to study her with a quizzical intensity that not many men possessed. Unnerving, but also intriguing.
"All right you two lovebirds," the elder Mrs. Gavin echoed as Carter guided Georgina away.
Neither one spoke again until they were in the safety of his apartment.
With a sigh, Carter placed Georgina's suitcase down on the ground. "I apologize for Mrs. Gavin, she can be a bit —"
"Presumptive?" Georgina finished for him.
"Precisely," he nodded.
"It was probably for the best then, that we didn't mention our unsigned marriage license," she admitted softly.
"Yes, I suspect she would put up quite the fuss if she thought that we were —"
"Living together outside of wedlock?" Georgina finished. She batted her eyelashes with a sense of innocence that she did not possess.
Carter cleared his throat as a reddish blush crept up his neck.
Georgina was surprised by his reaction. He had seemed so self-possessed, confident, and self-assured. And although she suspected he was still a bit cocky, his response to her words suggested that he had a gentle heart beneath is manly demeanor.
"You may take my bedroom," Carter offered. "I will sleep on the couch tonight."
"Thank you," she muttered. Georgina was thankful that she would have access to her own room. Besides, she thought, it will give me the opportunity to investigate his room and see if he has anything to do with the disappearance of Mia Barrington.
"Well then, I bid you goodnight," Carter shot her a smile.
"You too," she added with a hint of her own faint grin.
Suddenly, Georgina felt very shy. With an awkwardness she had not realized she possessed, she picked up her suitcase, headed toward the door to the small bedroom, and quickly shut it behind her. She didn't know what came over her, but suddenly she felt very self-conscious around the mysterious Carter Heath.
Chapter Five
Georgina didn't care about unpacking the few items she had. She didn't plan on staying with her new "husband" for long.
She was, however, sick of wearing the same travel outfit. She quickly opened her suitcase and pulled out her nightgown. She took off her long overcoat and placed it on the bed, then proceeded to change into the lightweight, sleeping-garment.
Once she was ready for bed, she figured she could make the best of investigating Carter's room. However, the barely decorated bedroom didn't appear to contain anything that might reveal the mystery of the man she almost married that day. She checked under the bed, in the nightstand drawers, and even between the mattress and the bedframe. Her search revealed nothing.
"Hmmm, what are you hiding?" she wondered aloud.
A soft rap on the front door of the apartment startled her out of her thoughts. She quickly moved toward the bedroom door and pressed her ear up against the thin wood in hopes of hearing what kind of visitor Carter Heath would have at this hour of the night.
She strained to hear the conversation.
"Carter, did you pick her up?" An unknown, male voice spoke with a sense of urgency.
"Yes, but she doesn't know yet," Carter replied.
Georgina could feel her senses come alive with the suspense. Are they talking about me or Mia? She thought. She didn't have the sense that she was in any danger at the moment, but just in case, she checked to make sure that the bedroom door was locked.
"Do you think she is on our side?" the male voice questioned.
Georgina held her breath as she tried to hear Carter's reply. But their voices suddenly dipped down to a hush that was barely audible and completely indistinguishable. She got down on her knees and tried to listen through the crack at the bottom of the door.
"I'll grab my coat then," Carter said with sudden force.
When Georgina heard the two men leave and the door shut behind them, she jumped to attention. Where are they going? She knew in her gut, that if she followed them, they would lead her to Mia. She knew that there was something more to Carter than he presented himself to be. The stranger had asked if she — at least she thought they were speaking about her — was on their side. The overheard conversation added a whole new level of intrigue to the whole situation and her brain ran wild with questions as a result.
She knew she needed to take action while she still had the chance. With a sudden swiftness, she grabbed her long overcoat off the bed and threw it on to cover her dressing gown, as she didn't have time to change. She quickly slipped her boots back on, unlocked the bedroom door, and left the apartment. She whizzed down the stairs and just as she exited the building, she spotted two figures — one distinctively Carter — stroll around a corner and into the night.
Georgina wasted no time. She quickly began to follow them from a safe and undetectable distance.
She was too far back to hear anything they were saying, but from the lack of gesturing, it appeared that they were walking in silence. They seemed intent on reaching their location and walked with a purpose that indicated that they knew exactly where they were going.
She continued to follow, all the
while trying to decipher how all the clues fit together. She knew that Mia Barrington's father had, after no luck with the private investigators, gone to the paper to do their own investigation. Mr. Barrington and Devon had decided that Georgina would be the best to go undercover, as she could pose as a mail order bride with the same company that Mia had applied through.
However, none of this explained why Carter Heath had been inquiring about Mia at the front desk of the hotel, and it most definitely didn't explain why he turned out to be her groom. And now, he was trudging through town in the middle of the night.
Yet, Georgina instinctively knew that Carter Heath was the key to solving this whole mystery. Her mind raced with the anticipation of a discovery and her heart beat with the excitement from the danger of the unknown. She had no idea where they were going and if this was all an elaborate trap or not.
She was about to find out, when the two men suddenly stopped in front of a small store. The unknown man produced a key and Carter quickly followed him into the small building and shut the door behind them.
"Drats," Georgina thought aloud. There was no way she would be able to approach the building from the front, as two large bay windows would quickly expose anyone walking toward the store. Her best bet was to sneak around the side and hope she could find another entrance.
She tried her best to stay in the shadows as she made her way toward the building. She quickly slid around the side and silently hoped for an alternative entrance. She was rewarded for her efforts as she spotted a door. Georgina wasn't quite sure what type of situation she was walking into just yet, so she made sure to approach the building carefully.
As she moved closer, she could hear indistinct voices through the thin walls.
"I can't believe he would go that far!" a clearly upset, female voice rang through.
