Bride for Matthew

by Kirsten Osbourne

  RNWMP: Bride for Matthew

  Book nine in Mail Order Mounties

  Kirsten Osbourne

  Copyright © 2017 by Kirsten Osbourne

  Unlimited Dreams Publishing

  All rights reserved.

  Cover design by Erin Dameron Hill/ EDH Graphics

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Kirsten Osbourne

  Visit my website at www.kirstenandmorganna.com

  Printed in the United States of America

  Sinead Williams is frustrated with the lack of opportunity for her. She’s a fully qualified doctor, but no one wants to see a woman doctor. When the opportunity presents itself for her to go West to a community where she may be of help, she jumps on it. It doesn’t matter to her at all that she has to marry a Mountie as part of the process.

  Matthew Montgomery knows exactly what he wants in a wife. He needs a woman who enjoys being at home and keeping house—someone who will have dinner on the table when he gets home every night. As soon as Sinead steps off the train, he knows she’s for him. That’s the woman God and Miss Hazel intend for him to marry. He whisks her off to the local preacher before anyone knows what’s happening. He immediately finds out she’s a doctor, which makes her exactly the opposite of what he was looking for. Will he be able to get past his preconceived notions of what a wife should be? Or will they live without love forever?

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  Chapter One

  Sinead Williams stood her ground. She was tired of doctors bullying her and not accepting her as an equal. “I have a medical degree, the same as yours.”

  Dr. Johnson, who needed a partner for his practice, looked her up and down, wrinkling his nose. “Maybe you could get a job with some of the heathens out west, but you’ll never work in this town. You’re a woman, and you’re a Negro. Why would I hire you?”

  “I’m three-quarters white, and I’m a qualified doctor. Why wouldn’t you hire me?” Her heritage was always held against her. She looked like an African, though she was mostly white. Why couldn’t people accept her for who she was and not worry about her appearance?

  “I’ve already told you. You’re a Negro woman. I don’t even treat your kind, let alone work with you. Now, I’m a busy man and don’t have time to argue with you. Real doctors do real work.” He turned on his heel and headed back to his examining room.

  Sinead stood for a moment, controlling her anger. Why did people assume she was incapable of being a doctor just because she was a woman? And she was mostly white, but she was only seen as a Negro to everyone around her. Her father, who was half Negro, looked whiter than she did.

  She turned to see an older woman watching her. She put on her best smile. “You don’t happen to be in need of a doctor, do you?”

  The woman nodded. “Yes, I do, actually. I came here to see Dr. Johnson, but after observing how he just spoke to you, I’m afraid he simply will not do to treat me.”

  Sinead was startled. “And you’d let me treat you?”

  “Why would I want an unkind doctor to treat me? He could do something to hurt me just out of his meanness. No, I want you to treat me.”

  “I don’t have an office.”

  The woman shrugged. “I live around the corner. You can treat me there.” She opened the door and waited as Sinead followed. “I’m Hazel Hughes, but most people just call me Miss Hazel.”

  “It’s very nice to meet you, Miss Hazel. I’m Dr. Sinead Williams, but I would be very happy to have you call me Sinead.” Sinead was glad she’d been carrying her doctor bag with her, now that she had a patient. “What seems to be bothering you?”

  “It’s these darned hot flashes! Every doctor I’ve seen tells me it’s just a woman’s cross to bear, and I need to be thankful that I lived long enough to experience them. It’s almost winter, and I’m sweating! Can you believe?”

  Sinead nodded. “That’s very common in women as they grow old enough to stop their courses.”

  “Mine stopped, which I can’t say I’m upset about. Women’s curse is the correct term for that!” Miss Hazel crossed her arms over her ample bosom, obviously disgusted by the whole topic.

  “There’s an herb that was used by the Indians long before white men came to this country. I have some in my bag that I can give you. I keep it on hand for my mother, who is very unhappy with her lot in life as well.” Sinead’s mother often moaned about the unfairness of life toward women.

  “Do you mean I can take an herb and get some relief from this blasted heat? If I didn’t already live in Canada, I’d move to a cold climate!”

  “Not everyone feels relief from it, but enough women do that I feel positive that you should at least try it.”

  Miss Hazel smiled. “I’ll try anything to stop being so hot all the time. Shivering sounds positively wonderful at the moment!”

  Sinead grinned. “I’ve seen my mother scoop up as much snow as she can hold and just bury her face in it.”

  “I’ve done that too. Summers are the worst, because I can’t take off enough clothes to be comfortable without scandalizing all of Ottawa!” Miss Hazel opened her door, letting Sinead precede her inside. She waved toward a parlor. “Please, have a seat. I’m going to serve you tea and cookies, and we’ll chat a bit more.”

  Sinead started to protest, but as the woman and her own family members were her only patients, she didn’t have anywhere else she needed to be. She looked around the room as she waited, deciding that Miss Hazel must be very wealthy to have a home this beautiful.

  When Miss Hazel returned, she had a pot of tea and a plate of cookies on a tray. “Have you ever considered going West to be a doctor? They need doctors out there so badly, no one would care about you being a woman.”

  “Or a Negro?” Sinead asked. “It’s okay to say it. I’m a fourth African. My grandfather fell in love with his owner’s daughter down in South Carolina. She loved him right back, so they ended up coming to Canada on the Underground Railroad.”

  “What a romantic story! What did he do after they arrived here? Did he get work easily?”

  Sinead shrugged. “He was a farmer, which is pretty much what he’d been in America. But here he worked for himself and wasn’t owned by anyone. And he didn’t get executed for kissing the woman he loved.”

  “I can see where not getting executed would be an advantage.”

  “I always thought so, especially since my father was born five years after he and Grandma moved to Canada. I like being alive, you see.” Sinead took a sip of her tea, wondering why the woman was trying to talk her into moving West.

  “Well, let me tell you a little bit about what I do while you eat your cookies, and then you can treat me and be on your way…if you still want to.”

  Sinead studied the older woman for a moment before nodding. She hadn’t been around a lot of rich people who were willing to treat a woman of her heritage as an equal. “All right.”

  “This summer, my son told me how lonely he was. He’s a Mountie in British Columbia. I hand-picked a bride for him, and we took a train out West. He wasn’t exactly pleased, because I forgot to write him that Jess was coming as his bride, but that’s neither here nor there. They were happy, and his friends who are stationed w
ith him decided they wanted brides as well. So I took four more brides to British Columbia. And then word started spreading. I’ve matched nine Mounties in all now, and I think you should go as well. I have a Mountie named Matthew in mind for you.”

  “He won’t mind that I’m a Negro woman doctor?”

  Miss Hazel shrugged. “He said he was looking for a woman who would enjoy staying home.”

  Sinead laughed out loud. “That doesn’t describe me at all! I worked too hard for my medical degree to be willing to give it up to be a housewife!”

  “No, I know it doesn’t. But I happen to know that the Mounties in that area are the only medical team around, other than quack doctors and snake-oil salesmen. They need a doctor who will stand up to them, and I think you’re just the woman to do it.”

  “But…Matthew is expecting a bride, not a doctor.”

  “You can’t be both?” Miss Hazel looked Sinead in the eye. “I happen to know that you can’t be very popular with the men here. You belong to neither culture. You’ve been educated like a white man, and you look like an African woman. That won’t matter out West.”

  Sinead thought about it for a moment, frowning. She’d have to leave everyone she knew and loved…but for a new life, it might be worth it. “May I come see you tomorrow with an answer?”

  “Of course! I teach a little bride class that will start Monday, if you’d like to join us. I’ll take the four women who will be the brides for this group of Mounties to Alberta the first week in November.”

  “What kind of class?” Sinead knew nothing of wifely duties. She could barely cook well enough to survive.

  “I would teach you to cook, clean, and sew. You would be going with three other brides, and you’d all be able to lean on one another’s expertise. You wouldn’t be going completely alone. And I’ve never been to Alberta, so I’ll stay for a week or so to help you get used to it.” Miss Hazel shrugged. “There’s even a decent hotel in Cougar Springs. There are hot springs that you could use with your patients if you wanted.”

  “But I’m going there to be a wife and not a doctor.”

  “You’re making me repeat myself, Sinead. You can be both!”

  Sinead smiled. “I think I like you, Miss Hazel.” She reached into her bag to pull out the powder. “You need to mix a pinch of this with hot water and drink it every morning. It will take six weeks before you know if it’ll work for you, but at least it’s almost winter.”

  “Thank you.” Miss Hazel set the small packet of powder on her table as if it was a great treasure. “Come see me tomorrow and let me know what you’ve decided. I think Cougar Springs would be a fortunate town to have you.”

  Sinead stood and nodded. “Thank you for the tea and the opportunity, Miss Hazel. You’ll have my answer tomorrow.”

  The whole way home, Sinead could think of nothing else but going West. She wanted to be a real doctor, and going West might just be the only way she could make it work.

  *****

  Less than two weeks later, Sinead was on a train headed west, her new friend Molly at her side. She and Molly had bonded on their first day of classes, and they had talked a lot about what it would be like to marry a Mountie. Sinead was nervous to meet her Matthew for the first time. What if he had a problem with the fact she wasn’t all white? Would he be angry with her?

  She’d find out soon, because they were due to arrive in Cougar Springs at any moment. She loved the name. It just flowed from the tongue. Cougar Springs. It would be her new home, and it would be where she was finally accepted as a doctor. She could feel it in her bones.

  Molly leaned over her looking out the window. “Are you nervous?” she whispered softly.

  Sinead shook her head. “Honestly, I’m excited. I feel like my life will be very different here, and that’s what I need. I’m ready to meet my Matthew. What about you? Ready to meet Easton?”

  Molly shrugged, watching as the world flew by. There was an underlying sadness in her friend that Sinead didn’t quite understand. Perhaps one day the other girl would share her secrets—but until then, she would be strong for Molly, and offer her a helping hand whenever possible.

  The train slowed, and the conductor walked up and down the aisle.

  “Cougar Springs! Cougar Springs!”

  “This is us!” Sinead pulled her bag out from under her seat and took a deep breath. Hopefully Matthew was expecting a woman with a background in medicine, because that was what he was getting.

  She followed Molly into the aisle, happy that they were doing this together. No matter what, she had her friend with her, and that would make everything so much easier.

  As she stepped off the platform, Sinead looked at the four Mounties looking so formal in their red serge jackets, waiting on the platform for the four women that were there to meet them. She looked from one to the next, finally settling on the one who was second from the right. He had wrinkles around his eyes, which meant he knew how to laugh. That’s the one she wanted to be Matthew.

  Miss Hazel didn’t wait for anyone. She marched straight up to the Mounties and said, “I’m Miss Hazel and I’ve brought your brides.”

  One of the men swept off his hat and held it to his chest. “I’m pleased to meet you, Miss Hazel. I’m Easton.”

  Sinead heard Molly gasp as she stepped forward to meet her Mountie. “I’m Molly. I believe I’m supposed to be your bride.”

  Sinead was proud of her friend for moving forward so quickly and introducing herself, even though Sinead knew she was terribly nervous.

  Samuel was introduced, and Beth stepped forward. And then Matthew was announced. He was the man she’d hoped he would be, and her heart started beating faster. She smiled, stepping forward. She watched his eyes to see if he’d react to her skin color, but he showed no reaction at all.

  Sinead walked to his side and smiled up at him. “It’s very nice to meet you, Matthew.”

  Matthew grinned at her. “Call me Matt. Miss Hazel said we should have the pastor ready, so he’s waiting in the church. Do you want to just go do this thing?”

  She laughed. “Not quite the marriage proposal I laid awake nights dreaming about when I was a little girl.”

  “Well, you’re exactly the woman I laid awake dreaming about.” Matthew raised his hand to stroke her cheek. “Let’s go get married. I don’t want to have to wait in line.”

  Miss Hazel was still overseeing everyone, so Sinead gave Matthew her bag, and she slipped her hand through his arm. She was walking down the boardwalk with a Mountie who she was going to marry. How had her life possibly turned out this way?

  As they hurried to the church, she glanced over her shoulder to see that the others were still standing around talking. “I don’t think they even know we left.”

  He laughed softly. “They were too busy looking at each other.” When they stepped into the church, the pastor did a double-take, looking at her.

  “Is this the bride you were waiting for, Matthew?”

  “She is. Will you marry us, Pastor Franklin?” Matt knew the pastor was worried about his bride’s skin color, but as he was a quarter Japanese himself, it just didn’t matter to him. She was beautiful the way she was.

  The pastor looked confused for a moment before nodding. “Of course, I will.”

  Ten minutes later, it was done. “You may kiss your bride.”

  Matthew pulled her to him and kissed her softly. “I’m going to like this marriage stuff,” he whispered into her ear, and she grinned up at him. She couldn’t believe how readily he was accepting her. Would he be the same once he found out she was a doctor?

  “I think I am, too. Want to show me where we live?”

  “Well, we’re in a cabin provided by the government, so I want you to know not to get too excited about it.” He couldn’t let her believe it was going to be better than it was.

  “I understand. I’m not expecting to live in the lap of luxury.”

  “Good, because Mountie wives work plenty hard, too. A
lot of times you’ll have to help me with things.”

  “Like what?” She fell into step beside him as they left the church, heading to the outskirts of town.

  “This is a resort town, so we have a lot of tourists here all the time. A lot of them come for a thousand miles to take a bath in our springs. They go to the hotel for cures for whatever ails them. It’s sometimes our job to help with the injured or ailing tourists. We break up fights in the saloon. There are men here who work to care for the wealthy tourists who get drunk on a regular basis. This isn’t your typical Mountie job. In fact, we all work shifts to keep the peace.”

  “I had no idea there was a hotel here. Is there a doctor?”

  If he was surprised by the part of what he’d said she narrowed in on, he didn’t show it. “Not really. There are men who call themselves doctors who are trying to make as much money as they can from the tourists, but I doubt they have real medical degrees.”

  Sinead didn’t know if she was more indignant that people would pretend to be doctors to try to cheat tourists, or thrilled that there was no real doctor in town. Other than her, that is. “I see. Sounds like an interesting place to work and live.”

  “I love it here, to be honest with you. It’s a wonderful little town.” He led her into a small cabin. “A bit corrupt at times, but that’s why we’re here. To change things.”

  “Work for the change you want to see,” she said softly. “I’m a big believer in change.”

  There was a pounding knock on the door of the cabin before she really even had a chance to look around. “There’s a lady trying to have a baby at the hotel. Baby seems stuck. Stella’s having a hard time with her.”

  Matt took a deep breath and looked at Sinead. “Stella’s the local midwife. If she can’t do it, I don’t know what they think I can do. You don’t have any experience birthing babies, do you?” He ran his hands through his hair, seeming upset. He couldn’t pawn this job off on one of the other men because they were all busy getting married.