RNWMP: Bride for Nathaniel (Mail Order Mounties Book 10)

by Kay P. Dawson

  She’d been walking straight to the stove, quickly trying to tie her apron behind her. But at his statement, she whipped around. “How do you know I’ve had headaches?”

  He put his hand out and took hers, pulling her over to sit on his lap. He laughed deep in his throat as she gasped loudly. Even with everything that had happened between them, she was still a bit shy about showing affection openly.

  “As a Mountie, I’m required to be able to read people based on more than what they’re saying. I’ve noticed the times you’ve been squinting, rubbing your temples, and the bridge of your nose. But I figured you just didn’t want to tell me for some reason.”

  His arms pulled her closer to him and she leaned into his chest, putting one arm around his shoulders for balance. “I didn’t want you to think I couldn’t handle my duties. Besides, Sinead gave me some powder to mix into my tea when I feel one coming on, and it seems to help a bit.”

  He pushed her back slightly and looked up at her. “Claire, you’re not a maid anymore, you do remember that, right?”

  She laughed and tapped him gently on his shoulder. “I know. But I still want to be a good wife to you.”

  He moved his eyebrows up and down in dramatic fashion. “Trust me. You’ve been more than a good wife.”

  He laughed again as her mouth dropped open before she slapped him just a bit harder this time.

  Pulling herself from his arms, she stood up and finished tying her apron. She went over and set the kettle on the stove and reached into the cupboard for some teacups she’d bought at the store.

  They had a small, delicate handle with pink flowers around the top. He was still having a difficult time drinking from them, but he did his best so she wouldn’t feel bad. He didn’t have the heart to tell her he’d much prefer his old tin cup he’d been using since he moved in here.

  “So, I should prepare you. My parents are coming to Cougar Springs next month to spend time here over Christmas.”

  He cringed as she fumbled with one of the fragile cups, but she managed to avoid dropping it. She turned to face him with her eyes open wide. “What will they think of me? I know you’ve mentioned your family came from some wealth, and I’m sure they’ll be surprised you’ve married a stranger. Especially a maid.”

  “Oh I have no doubt they’ll be shocked that I didn’t tell them I’m married—”

  “You mean you still haven’t even written to tell them?” Her voice was much higher than she normally spoke.

  A twinge of guilt hit him as she turned back and fumbled to set the cup down. He knew he should have sent a letter to his parents announcing his marriage but he just hadn’t felt like dealing with the repercussions if they had anything to say against it.

  “I just haven’t got around to it yet. But you have nothing to worry about. I’m sure they’ll be fine with my marriage. And even if they aren’t, I’m a grown man and truthfully, they don’t have any say in it.”

  She poured the hot water into the cups then set one in front of him. Claire sat down beside him, holding her cup between her hands as she looked over the rim at him. “How come you’ve never told me much about your family?”

  Her blunt question startled him. Truthfully, he hadn’t even realized he hadn’t shared anything about. Shrugging, he took a sip of the hot beverage, trying not to drop the dainty cup he held in his large hands.

  “There’s not much to tell you about. I already told you about my brother. I have an older sister too who was just married last year. My father and grandfather both went into law, making their fortunes by defending criminals.”

  Claire’s eyebrows raised over the top of her cup as she sipped.

  He shrugged and gave a cynical laugh. “They are defense lawyers, protecting and serving the lowliest of society.”

  She tipped her head slightly. “Well, surely they defend innocent people too. That’s just as important.”

  “There are some who are innocent, but the majority are nothing more than criminals who deserve to be put away. But thanks to people like my father, many of them get to go free.”

  “I don’t know if that’s fair to say about your father, Nathaniel.”

  He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms in front of him. “Maybe not. But I watched my brother be killed by a man who should have been in jail. He was defending a man who probably wasn’t much better, but since he was willing to give them information about someone else, he would have gone free too.”

  He knew it would be hard form her to understand. She hadn’t grown up watching it happen, spending her life believing someday she’d be doing the exact same thing. He’d never liked it, but until his brother was killed, he’d accepted his fate. After that, he vowed he’d never help a criminal go free. He would be the one catching them and hopefully putting them away.

  Standing up, he took Claire’s hand and pulled her up beside him. Taking her in his arms, he pulled her close. “I really don’t want to talk about my father or what he does. I can think of far more exciting ways to spend my time.”

  Lifting her in his arms, he laughed as she screamed loudly in shock. “Nathaniel, put me down! What would people think?”

  He grinned down into her wide eyes. “I imagine they’d think I sure am a lucky man.”

  Chapter 11

  “So, you seem quite happy. I’d have to say that being married to Nathaniel has worked out rather well for you.”

  Claire’s hand stopped moving on the shelf where she was looking for pencils and paper. She’d come to the mercantile to pick up a few items to make for dinner and had decided to see if she could find something to write a letter to Rose. She turned her head and smiled at Beth.

  “I am happy. I’ve never really had a place where I felt I belonged that was truly my home, until now. Nathaniel has turned out to be more than I could have ever hoped for.” Her heart fluttered as she thought about how well everything had been going with her new husband.

  They moved around the counter to look at the other items on display. Since Cougar Springs was a tourist town, the mercantile did have a good selection of items to choose from most of the time. And anything they didn’t have, they could order it in fairly quickly. Many items had to be asked for at the counter, but there were still a few shelves to browse through.

  “Have you thought about what you’ll get Nathaniel for Christmas?”

  “Well, I don’t really have any money of my own, so I’ll have to find a way to make something for him. This is the first year I’ll really be able to have a Christmas, so I want it to be perfect.” She’d been trying to think of something nice to make Nathaniel but hadn’t come up with anything special.

  “What do you mean it’s your first year to have Christmas?” Beth was looking at her with her eyes wide in shock.

  She shrugged nonchalantly, hoping Beth wouldn’t see how much it had really bothered her all these years. “In the orphanage, we didn’t have much of one. There were certainly never any presents, and we still had to do all our chores that day so there wasn’t any celebration. Then when I worked at the Lambert’s, they’d celebrate Christmas, but since I didn’t have any family I always just worked. I didn’t have anyone to celebrate with.” She smiled, but felt the familiar sadness wash over her. “Although Rose did always try to make it special for me. She gave me presents and always snuck up some of the Christmas pudding.”

  Beth’s eyes were wet with unshed tears as she listened. She didn’t want her friend to feel bad for her.

  “But this year will be better, and I can’t wait. I need you to help me think of the perfect present.” She tugged on Beth’s arm to move her around to the other side of the display cabinet.

  Just then, the bell above the door jingled, announcing more customers. Claire turned to offer a greeting in case it was one of the local residents she’d come to know.

  Not recognizing the man, she continued around to the other side of the case. As they did, the man started talking to the store’s owner. “My name’s Rog
er Hastings. I’m wondering if any packages or wires have been sent for me?”

  She stopped suddenly, causing Beth to run straight into her back. “Claire, what are you doing? I almost broke the eggs in my basket.”

  She forced her legs to move again until they got all the way to the other side. Beth’s eyes were pulled together in annoyance. “Why did you stop like that? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”

  Peeking between the openings in the cabinet, her eyes found the person who’d just came in. “Shhh…Beth, that’s Roger Hastings. The man I was telling you about.”

  Beth’s mouth went into an “o” shape as she quickly poked her head down to the shelf to look through too. Now, they stood side by side peeking between tin cans and jars to quietly watch him.

  He must not have had anything waiting for him, as he was now standing next to the rows of fabric with two younger women who’d come in the door behind him.

  “Father, I told you, I have nothing to wear. I didn’t think we were staying here as long as we have, so I didn’t pack enough dresses.” The girl who was talking was stunning, with black hair piled perfectly on the top of her head. She wore a blue dress and had a white coat over the top that looked warmer than anything Claire had ever seen.

  “Andrea, you have plenty of outfits to choose from for the Christmas Ball. You know this is just a small town without the luxuries you’re used to back in Vancouver. I told you there wouldn’t be any ready-made dresses.” The other girl spoke softly, and it sounded like she was struggling slightly as she said the words.

  “Father, can you tell Annie that just because she doesn’t have a hope of finding anyone who might be interested in her, I’d still like to try looking my best.”

  The girl named Annie put her hand onto some fabric and dropped her gaze, but not before Claire saw the flash of pain in her eyes. She wanted to go out and give the other woman a piece of her mind, but she didn’t dare.

  “Andrea, I told you to pick out some fabric and make yourself a dress. You can choose any you like, and I’ll buy it for you.” Roger’s voice made Claire’s skin crawl.

  “A lot of good that will do me. You know perfectly well I can’t sew. And mother won’t be any help at all. There’s no way I can have a dress made for me that will be suitable before the ball.” Her voice was whiny and seemed to be getting higher-pitched as she spoke.

  “We can find someone to sew the dress. Just hurry up and pick something out, then we’ll see who we can find to make you something.”

  Claire’s eyes turned to Beth, who immediately knew what Claire was thinking. She shook her head emphatically as she whispered, “No, don’t you dare.”

  “I have to. This is the perfect way to get into his room to see if I can find anything out about him.”

  “Nathaniel will be furious with you when he finds out.”

  Claire swallowed hard and looked back toward the family arguing on the other side. She knew Beth was right, but she’d also seen the pain and frustration in Nathaniel’s eyes as he spoke about what this man had done to his family.

  He needed Roger Hastings to pay for his crime.

  Standing up from where they were crouched behind the cabinet, she pressed the wrinkles from her skirt. “Well then, we’ll just have to make sure he doesn’t find out.”

  Beth gasped as she walked around to the other side. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t help overhearing. I think I can help you get a dress made before the Christmas Ball.”

  As Roger turned to face her, she had a moment of dread when she saw the coldness in his stare. He wasn’t a man to be trifled with. But she couldn’t back down.

  Sewing was the one thing she could do better than anyone else. And she intended to take advantage of that fact to help get Nathaniel the proof he needed.

  Chapter 12

  “You don’t have to bother making anything fancy for me. I’d be fine wearing something I already have anyway.”

  Annie stood on a stool letting Claire measure her and come up with a plan for her dress. Andrea had already been measured and told Claire everything she wanted for her dress, which had to have all the fanciest embellishments imaginable. She’d had to listen to the woman whine and grumble the entire time. Apparently Andrea didn’t want to be in Alberta in the first place, but thanks to her mother’s illness, they were having to spend the most exciting season in Vancouver stuck here. They weren’t sure what was even wrong with their mother but the hot springs had some miraculous healing properties so they’d all been dragged here for her to get better.

  Claire was sure she’d never met a more heartless and shallow person in her life.

  After meeting up with them in the mercantile yesterday, they’d immediately given her the directions she needed to come up for a fitting today. Andrea had been ecstatic that there was a dressmaker available on such short notice.

  Of course, Claire never really let on that she wasn’t a real dressmaker, but she hoped that wouldn’t matter once it was all over.

  When she’d come through the doors to their suite of rooms in the hotel today, Claire had been shocked to see how elegant they were. Even though she’d spent years working in the lavish home of Andrew Lambert, it was nothing compared to the most expensive suite of rooms at the Cougar Springs Health Institute.

  “You deserve to have a beautiful dress. It won’t be too difficult to make something for you, Annie.”

  Andrea’s sister was the complete opposite of her. And in the few minutes she’d now spent alone with the woman, she felt terribly sorry her. It was clear she wasn’t like the others. She exuded a sense of loneliness that Claire could feel the whole time she’d been here.

  “Claire, I appreciate your kindness, but I’m not one who needs to put on a show for some silly dance. I don’t need to pretend I’m anything I’m not. Truthfully, if I had my way, I’d hop on a horse and spend the night out riding around in the quiet of the snow-covered ground. Instead, I’ll be stuck standing next to a wall hoping no one notices me.”

  She smiled up at the girl in the mirror who obviously wasn’t comfortable being fussed over.

  When she’d met Annie, she’d immediately understood why she sounded like she struggled with some of her words. Claire had seen others who’d been born with a cleft lip over the years, so she’d recognized the familiar scar that ran across the top of the woman’s lip and under her nose.

  But Claire had also noticed right away how stunningly beautiful she was. However, it was obvious Annie didn’t believe it herself.

  “Well, I think I have everything I need to get started. Is there anything else you’d like me to add to your dress?”

  Claire stood up as Annie stepped off the stool. “Could you sew the middle up so if I do decide to sneak out and go riding, it will be more comfortable?”

  She whipped her gaze to Annie’s, not sure if she was being serious or not. But when she saw her grin, she breathed a sigh of relief. She’d been terrified at how Roger Hastings would react if she’d sewn a skirt like that for his daughter.

  Annie tilted her head and studied her. “Will you be going to the Christmas Ball?”

  Claire was piling up the fabric that the women had bought for their dresses, and stopped. “No, I don’t think so. My husband is a Mountie, so I don’t think we’d be invited to a fancy ball at the resort.”

  As soon as she said it, she wanted to take the words back. What if Annie mentioned to her father that Claire was married to a Mountie? Would that make him more careful?

  She hadn’t even had a chance to look around the rooms for any evidence yet, but she hoped when she came to do a fitting, she’d get more time. For now, she was just going to have to get working on the dresses and wait until she could come back.

  Annie smiled at her. “You’re lucky.”

  They shared a laugh and Claire realized that if she’d met her under different circumstances, Annie would have no doubt become a friend. She could sense a kindness in the woman, and she wondered how she could have t
urned out so different from her sister.

  “Although, you’re going to miss out on being able to watch Andrea strutting around the ballroom, while the men all desperately vie for her attention. It’s always quite the scene to watch.”

  Claire didn’t want to say anything mean about her sister, but she couldn’t help wondering how any man would want to be around a woman like Andrea.

  Just then, there was a knock on the door to Annie’s room, and Roger called out to ask if he could come in. Her heart leaped into her throat as she prepared to come face to face with the man once again.

  When he came into the room, Claire immediately noticed a change in Annie. Her body had stiffened up when she saw her father, and Claire thought she’d turned away from him.

  Roger was a short man, but he had an intimidating presence about him. He never smiled and his eyes seemed to be in a permanent scowl as he looked around. He wore a perfectly fitted suit, and a hat atop his slicked back, graying hair.

  “What’s taking so long in here? I’m not paying you to sit here and visit with my daughter.”

  “Father, she was just finishing up. In case you didn’t notice, Andrea took up most of her time, and she only just got to my fitting a few minutes ago. Be thankful I’m even willing to let you drag me to this party in the first place. The least you can do is be nice to the woman who has agreed to make me a dress.”

  Claire was surprised to see Annie speak to her father like that, especially knowing what a dangerous man he was. Although she guessed he wouldn’t be a threat to his own daughter.

  “I was just leaving, Mr. Hastings.” She quickly put her sweater on and picked up the bolts of fabric. Turning back to face Annie, she gave her a reassuring smile. “I’ll be back in a few days for you to try it on and start putting everything together.”

  She didn’t want to look at him, but her eyes went in his direction as she made her way to the door. His gaze almost stopped her in her tracks. She’d never seen eyes that were almost black before and she was sure she couldn’t see any feeling behind them at all. Her heart ached for Annie, wondering what kind of life she’d had growing up with this man.