The Runaway Bride

by Noelle Marchand

  “She’s no better off than I am.” He frowned. “Worse probably and she let me know it.”

  “That’s what I don’t get about this whole thing. Lorelei and I never argued. We got along perfectly. I thought that meant we were in love, but now that I know we never were, I’m inclined to think there just weren’t any strong feelings there at all. Not even enough to make us bicker.” He crossed his arms and tilted his head suspiciously. “You two, on the other hand, can’t seem to be in the same room for longer than a minute before you’re shooting invisible bullets at each other. It makes me wonder.”

  Sean narrowed his eyes as he slowly asked, “It makes you wonder what?”

  Lawson smiled. “Guess.”

  Sean’s eyes widened. He cleared his throat and looked away. “That’s impossible.”

  “Sure it is,” Lawson said sarcastically, then ignored Sean’s protests to ask, “When is this courting business supposed to start?”

  “I don’t remember if Mr. Wilkins gave a specific date besides the engagement, but I’d like to give Lorelei a while to cool down. I could use some time, too.” He pulled in a deep breath and rubbed his hand over his face. He groaned. “What am I going to do?”

  Lawson shook his head dubiously. “You, my friend, are going to marry Lorelei Wilkins—your nemesis since you were ten years old. God help you both.”

  Sean stared at his friend. “What would I do without your encouragement?”

  Lawson shrugged. “I’ve been wondering that myself, but I figured it would be best if we don’t find out. I’ll be sure to include it in my letters if I ever find a job out of this town.”

  “Thanks, Lawson. That would be just dandy.” Sean slumped down to rest his head on the back of the chair and stare thoughtfully at the boards of the porch roof. He needed to think practically. If he was going to get married, he needed to find his own place. There was no way he could bring a wife into the one-room cabin he’d rented in town. Just around the corner from his office, the space served him well as a bachelor, but it was no place to start a family.

  As if detecting the vein of his thoughts, Lawson cleared his throat. “I know this is supposed to be a secret, but what are you going to tell your family?”

  “I don’t know,” he murmured quietly. “Nothing yet I suppose. I need time to think about this.”

  His family… His shoulders tensed under the load of a new thought. He was the only one of his siblings who would carry on the family name. With that came the responsibility of continuing his parents’ legacy. Theirs had been a love match for sure. He’d wanted that for himself one day, but the way things were shaping up it didn’t look as if he was going to get it.

  He should have listened to Pastor James. For once, he’d been impulsive and agreed to let Elmira chaperone them even against his better judgment. That decision had gotten them into this mess. If he’d been more patient, he might have managed to convince another parishioner to chaperone them. Or, maybe someone from the next settlement would have gone back with them. He sighed. He’d learned a long time ago that maybes didn’t change anything. Only hard work, logic and methodical planning guaranteed results. He’d need all three if he intended to improve anything about the situation he was in.

  * * *

  Lorelei couldn’t contain her restlessness any longer. She abruptly set her embroidery on the settee beside her and stood. If I have to push this needle through that cloth one more time, I’m going to toss this cushion out the nearest window.

  Her gaze landed on the large family Bible sitting on a nearby table. Maybe reading the Psalms would help. She wandered over to the Bible. It opened to the bookmarked page near the back. Before she could turn the page, a verse caught her eye. “If a man says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar.” She paused for a moment to allow those words to sink in. “For he that does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this is the commandment have we from him. That he who loves God must love his brother also.”

  She read the last part of the verse again and frowned. Wasn’t there something between love and hate? If there was, God didn’t seem to be all that concerned with it. The commandment was pretty simple. Love God. Love your brother.

  “Wonderful,” she murmured.

  Her mother glanced up from her embroidery. “Did you say something, Lorelei?”

  She shook her head, then narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. “You can love someone without being in love with them. Right, Mama?”

  Caroline shrugged. “Sure you can. Why?”

  “Never mind,” she said. She wasn’t even sure she was ready to go that far when it came to Sean. It was too dangerous to let herself love him in any way, and she just wasn’t ready. She smoothed her skirts nervously, then set her shoulders decidedly. “I think I’ll take a walk.”

  Her mother gave a slow nod before glancing toward the window where stylish blue drapes filtered the muted sunlight. “You’d better take an umbrella. It’s likely to rain.”

  Lorelei walked to the curtain and peered outside. “It looks sunny enough to me.”

  “Nevertheless,” her mother said significantly.

  Lorelei turned from the window to quickly make her way upstairs. She donned a hat accented with deep blue ribbons and black lace. It perfectly matched her blue dress with the black ribbon detail that ran across her hips before floating artfully down the back of her dress. She hurried back down the stairs and paused just inside the door next to the umbrella stand.

  Her hand reached for her father’s overly large, overly green umbrella, then strayed to the dainty black parasol just beside it. A quick glance over her shoulder told her that her mother wouldn’t notice, so she pulled it from the stand, then she set out on her way with a hurried goodbye. She opened the parasol and set it on her shoulder.

  She pulled in a cleansing breath of fresh air as she passed the few remaining houses on the street. Her home had been stifling in the days since her father’s alarming edict. She’d hardly allowed herself to think about the impending doom the courtship represented, let alone the man who would help bring it about.

  The only bright spot on the horizon was that her mother had somehow convinced Mrs. Greene to agree to the plan they’d devised. Lorelei had listened at the top of the stairs while her mother soothed Mrs. Greene’s bluster until the woman promised to help spread the rumors of the new romance, with the caveat that she’d take her niece’s story to the judge if the wedding didn’t happen as scheduled.

  And so, her fate had been sealed over cinnamon scones a week ago. She shook her head in frustration. Sean had not shown up once since that evening or done anything to seek her out. If he didn’t want to spend time with her, that was fine. She didn’t exactly want to spend time with him, either, especially knowing he was being forced to do so. For that reason, she crossed the street toward the mercantile rather than continuing across the street where she’d have to pass the sheriff’s office.

  She stopped to peer into the display window of the millinery shop. She saw Miss Cummings speaking to a costumer. The woman had shown her around the shop on Monday when Lorelei had arrived for her first day of work. Since it was only Wednesday and Lorelei was not scheduled to work again until Friday, Miss Cummings only waved at her. She returned the gesture before moving on.

  As she passed the seamstress shop, a young gentleman exited the mercantile and caught her gaze before offering an appreciative smile. Lorelei nodded politely but did not stop at the friendly invitation in his gaze. Though she hardly gave the stranger a second thought, his actions somehow reminded her that, despite all of her best efforts, she would be forever bound to a man who could not stand her.

  A small cry of dismay escaped her lips, and she glanced around to make sure that no one heard the traitorous sound of her inner turmoil. She searched for something to distract her from her sad thoughts. Her gaze landed on the church’s spire not far off of Main Street. Perhaps she would find some relief in the sanctuary
.

  Her feet began to hasten their steps. She waited for a wagon to pass, then hurried across to the same side of the street as the church. She stepped onto the sidewalk just as the café door opened. Sean stepped out. Her steps faltered when she met his gaze.

  * * *

  Sean watched Lorelei’s eyes widen in alarm as he reached out to steady her. Her stormy dark blue eyes turned cold the instant before they dropped from his. She turned to continue on her way. For a moment, he was tempted to let her go. Then with a silent sigh, he turned to follow her. “Lorelei, wait!”

  Taking her elbow in his hand, he pulled her to a stop as he stepped in front of her. Her affronted gaze met his as she tilted her head as though in deep concentration. “Is there a particular reason you’ve decided to cause a scene?”

  He didn’t have to glance over his shoulder to know he was probably drawing curious stares from the patrons of the glass-fronted café. He leveled her with a quelling look. “As a matter of fact, there is. We need to talk.”

  “Well, there’s no reason for us to stand in the middle of the street to do it.” She eyed the café, then took off walking toward the church at a fast pace, leaving him to follow. She glanced up to frown at the large raindrop that landed on her parasol with a definite plop, then transferred her frown to him. “Why now? I don’t see how whatever we need to talk about can be any more important today than it was yesterday or the day before that.”

  Though she ended her speech with a polite smile, Sean easily recognized her dig at his not having approached her before. “I needed time to collect my thoughts.”

  She glanced up again as the clouds began to steadily drizzle large drops of heavy rain before she turned back to him. “You were avoiding me. Now I wish you’d allow me the same courtesy you gave yourself.”

  He caught the slight look of hurt in her eyes before she managed to hide it. Lawson’s theory about her behavior teased at the back of his mind. Right now, with her deep blue eyes staring back at him, he could almost imagine it was true. “I wasn’t avoiding you. I was trying to think this through and come up with a plan.”

  Her frown turned skeptical. “What kind of a plan?”

  He was about to explain when the clouds burst open. The large raindrops turned into a deluge of stinging rain. He glanced around for cover and realized that as he’d been talking to Lorelei, they’d left Main Street and were halfway to the church. He looked over to find she’d stopped to gape at the sky.

  She looked rather pitiful. Rain streamed from the corners of her tiny parasol onto her fashionable dress. She seemed unable to decide whether to turn back or go forward. His hand settled pressingly against her waist. “Come on, you’re getting soaked.”

  She followed his lead as they hurried toward the church, but he soon noticed that she’d slowed as they continued their frantic trek. He realized that her heavy skirts were tangling about her legs and restricting her movement. Impulsively, he came to a stop. She glanced at him in confusion. “What’s wrong?”

  “Hold on to your parasol,” he said, then swept her into his arms. Her gasp rent the air. He glanced down at the face close to his own. “Ready?”

  He seemed to have taken her completely off guard. She shrank slightly away from him in his arms but gave a small nod.

  “Hold on tight,” he urged.

  Her arm slipped around his shoulder. He took off at a fast clip toward the church. He hid a reluctant smile as her drooping parasol slowly lifted to cover both their heads. It kept the rain from his face, which helped him to see, so he supposed it might have a slight purpose after all. He carefully mounted the church’s stairs, pausing at the door only long enough to open it. He stopped just inside the foyer to let Lorelei’s feet slide carefully down to the floor, keeping his hold on her waist to make sure she caught her balance.

  The sudden silence of the church after the hammering rain rushed around them, stilling them both. He took the moment to survey the woman he was supposed to marry. Her wide dark blue eyes stared back at him framed by thick black lashes that swept downward demurely at his perusal. His gaze followed their movement downward over her angular nose that softened into a rounded tip before his eyes fell to her nearly-too-full-to-be-fashionable lips.

  He hadn’t allowed himself to notice it in so long that he’d nearly forgotten—Lorelei Wilkins was beautiful. That was why she hadn’t been on the Peppin marriage market long before she’d been claimed by his best friend. Sean had thought that claim was going to last forever. Apparently, he’d been wrong. It looked as if he’d be the one to claim her as his own through no real effort of pursuit. It seemed wrong somehow, but it couldn’t be helped.

  He had to make the most of it, and he’d better start now. He was beginning to realize the task might not be as dreary as he’d once imagined. That meant he needed to be careful. He couldn’t allow himself to get confused about his goal. That goal was to convince the town that they were a couple so that they could save their reputations. This courtship needed to go according to plan not only for their sakes but also for their families’. It was his duty to see that it did, and Sean O’Brien never shirked his duties.

  Chapter Seven

  Lorelei’s hand slipped from Sean’s shoulder to his chest as she pushed him away. Avoiding his gaze, she shook out her parasol on the church’s unfinished floor. She closed it with a snap, then sent him a glare. “Was that perfectly necessary? I would have made it on my own.”

  “It was ‘perfectly necessary’ and a thank-you will do just fine.”

  “Thank you,” she muttered, though it was clear she didn’t mean it. She turned to glance around the church. The sanctuary doors stood open, but not a sound echoed through the halls of the church beyond their own. “It looks like we have the place to ourselves.”

  He walked forward to survey the sanctuary, then gestured her inside. “We might as well make ourselves comfortable until the storm moves on.”

  She averted her gaze knowing she certainly wouldn’t be comfortable trapped anywhere with this man. Her grip tightened on her dripping parasol. She wanted to leave and leave now. Realizing that would be impossible, she schooled her features into a neutral expression. “I’ve never seen so much rain come through so suddenly.”

  “Well, summer is on its way out, and autumn is coming through like a steam engine. I’m sure we’ll see plenty more of these squalls in the next few weeks.” He watched her in concern. “You’re shivering.”

  She forced herself to stop. “I’m fine.”

  “Nonsense. There should be a blanket around here somewhere.”

  She was cold, so she didn’t keep him from leaving to find one. Once he was gone, Lorelei lifted her sodden skirt to step onto the small stage, then dripped toward the piano. She carefully traced her finger along its smooth wood. She’d spent countless hours practicing on the instrument since she was fourteen.

  Her parents had donated the piano as a gift to the church with a request that Lorelei be allowed to play the instrument as long as it did not interfere with church functions. Since then, the instrument had provided her with an outlet for her emotions. She suddenly realized how sorely she’d missed playing it the past few weeks.

  She heard Sean’s boots ring on the wooden floor and stepped down from the platform to meet him in the aisle. She took the blanket he offered her. Wrapping it around her shoulders, she managed to give him a grateful smile and a whisper of thanks through chattering teeth. He grinned. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

  She sent him an ungrateful look.

  He chuckled. “It’s too late now. You can’t take it back.”

  “I wasn’t going to,” she said, then settled into one of the pews near the back. She tried to ignore the fact that he took the seat beside her. She scooted a bit farther away under the pretense of fixing her blanket, but he angled his body so that he could see her face. It looked as if he was settling in for a long talk. She sighed. “We should check the weather.”

  “I just did.”
He pointed to the small windows that let light flow into the church. “It’s still raining.”

  “Oh.”

  “No need to worry. We have plenty of time to talk.”

  She burrowed farther into her blanket. “I’m not worried.”

  “First off, I’d like to apologize.”

  Her eyes widened in surprise. “For what?”

  He sighed wearily. “All of this is my fault. If I had taken the time to think, I never would have agreed to let Elmira chaperone us. It was a bad decision.”

  A slight smile teased the corner of her mouth. “Thank you for apologizing, but if I hadn’t run away, we would never have needed a chaperone.”

  Sean seemed to think about this for a minute, then frowned and nodded. “You know what? You’re right. It is your fault.” He grinned when her mouth fell open, then continued seriously. “However, ultimately it was my responsibility to protect your reputation, and I failed at it. At least this courtship will give me a way to rectify the situation.”

  She stared at him thoughtfully. “Duty means a lot to you, doesn’t it?”

  His gaze shot to hers. “I live up to my responsibilities, if that’s what you’re asking. To do that, I learned I have to think things through and live life deliberately. Perhaps you’d do well to learn a similar lesson.”

  “You know, you have the oddest talent of saying something nice right before you say something rude.”

  He frowned. “What did I say that was nice and what did I say that was rude?”

  “Never mind,” she said, shifting slightly away from him.

  He shook his head in confusion. They listened to the drum of the rain on the roof for a few moments before he spoke again. “I’ve been thinking. We really don’t have a lot of time to convince people we’re falling in love. I reckon this is as good a start as any.”

  “Start for what?”

  “Our romance.”

  Dread settled in her stomach. She swallowed and met his gaze. “How do you figure that?”