RNWMP: Bride for Elijah
Mail Order Mounties
Kay P. Dawson
Copyright © 2017 by Kay P. Dawson
All rights reserved.
Cover Design by Erin Dameron-Hill
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 written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons living or dead, events or locales is coincidental.
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Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Epilogue
Bride for Nolan Excerpt
About the Author
Also by Kay P. Dawson
Introduction
Mail Order Mounties is a multi-author series set in Canada during the early 1900’s. Join authors Kirsten Osbourne, Kay P. Dawson, Cassie Hayes and Amelia Adams as they bring you fictional stories about members of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police, and the mail order brides who love them.
RNWMP: Bride for Elijah is the second book in the Mail Order Mounties Series
What does a wealthy, pampered woman from the city have in common with a simple Mountie on the frontier?
Nothing—and that’s exactly why Miss Hazel Hughes decides they need each other.
Rose Lambert has grown up in the wealthy society of Ottawa, but longs for a life where people will respect her for who she is, and not what her family’s status can give them. After her fiancé leaves her reputation in tatters, she knows she needs to get away somewhere for a fresh start—somewhere where she will have a say in her own life.
Elijah Thorpe didn’t think he needed a wife, believing it wouldn’t be fair for a woman to marry a Mountie, only to be left a widow if something happened. But when Miss Hazel Hughes decides a man should be married, he soon finds out that she will get her way. Before he knows it, he has a woman on her way out to to British Columbia to become his bride.
When they meet, he soon realizes the woman he’s been bound to isn’t quite what he’d expected.
What will happen when two strangers are brought together, unsure of their decision to marry? And when the past catches up and threatens to destroy the shaky foundation they’ve started to build, can their love withstand the forces trying to keep them apart?
Chapter 1
"Get your hands off me, you filthy swine." Rose pulled her hand back and was already bringing the palm of it across his cheek as the door opened. The loud gasp that reached her ears drowned out the crack of her hand on the man's skin. Slowly turning her head, she knew the moment she saw her mother and the other woman standing there, they weren't going to believe anything she had to say.
They'd already made up their minds.
She was in the arms of Robert Harvey, with the front of her dress torn just enough to expose the white of her skin underneath. It wouldn't matter if she tried to say she'd been fighting him off, because everyone knew Robert was the man who'd been chosen for her to marry. He was one of the most sought-after bachelors in all of Ottawa. And the man who'd been chosen to partner in her father's law firm.
All this meant was that there would be no way she could get out of marrying him.
While some things had come a long way in the past few decades, a woman's reputation could still be destroyed in one instance. She could then be forced to marry the man who she'd been caught alone with in the society she lived in—the wealthy elite of Ottawa.
Well, she wasn't going to end up stuck being married to a man she despised, no matter what damage her reputation suffered.
"Mother. Mrs. Franks." Nodding to the women, she tried to walk by them with her head held high, while pulling her blouse back over to cover herself. As she got beside them, her skirt got caught on a metal vase sitting near the doorway, and the entire pot overturned with a loud crash.
She stopped and tightly clenched her eyes briefly, not even wanting to turn around to see the damage she'd just done. Of course she wouldn't be able to make an exit with her dignity intact.
Taking a deep breath, she continued walking, never looking back. She'd rather be sent through the gates of hell, forced to sit with the devil himself, than to end up married to Robert Harvey. So, with the sound of the vase still rolling and echoing loudly across the room, she made her feet take one step in front of the other as she kept going out the door.
No, this time, she was going to take matters into her own hands. She wasn't sure how yet, but she knew she was going to have to leave the sheltered existence she'd lived in Ottawa behind.
And she realized with a start, she'd never been more excited in her life.
She hated lying, but she didn't see any other way around it. Her plan was already in motion, and by the time anyone realized what she'd done, it would be too late to do anything about it.
"I'm sure going to miss you, Rose."
Rose set her bag down and went over to put her arms around her friend. Claire Anderson was a maid who worked at their house, but Rose had never thought of her as anything less than a friend. She'd been her confidante, and often the only one to show her any compassion or kindness while Rose's parents worked so hard to rise in the ranks of Ottawa society.
The girls often snuck away together to talk to each other about their dreams and what they hoped for their future. Claire was a hopeless romantic, and she believed in true love. Rose wanted to believe in that too, but from what she'd seen in her own parent's marriage, she wasn't sure it was real.
"I know, Claire. I wish you could come with me. I promise to write, and maybe someday, you can come out there to see me." Rose tried to keep her lip from trembling as she pulled back and looked into her friend's tear-filled eyes.
She knew it was unlikely that Claire could ever afford to travel out west. And Rose doubted she'd ever be welcomed back here in Ottawa once her parents found out what she'd done. So truthfully, they both knew it was probably the last time they would see each other.
"What is he like? Did Miss Hazel tell you much about him? Is he handsome?"
Rose smiled as Claire asked the very questions she'd known her friend would ask. It was the first time they'd really had a chance to sit and talk alone since Miss Hazel Hughes had approached Rose at church on Sunday. She would be heading to begin her training in just a few days, so she had been secretly trying to pack more of her belongings than anyone knew.
Her parents believed she was being trained in the wifely duties for her marriage to Robert. They couldn't understand why she was insisting on the training since Robert would be a partner in her father's law firm, and they would have maids as she was accustomed to.
Rose had insisted she wanted to be the best wife possible. She wanted to go to Miss Hazel's to learn everything she could before getting married.
Claire was
the only one who knew the truth.
She had no intentions of marrying Robert, and would be leaving on a train headed to British Columbia on the first of October. And when she arrived, Rose would be marrying a stranger.
A Mountie who Miss Hazel Hughes had met, and who she'd decided needed a wife.
"I don't know any more than I've already told you. Miss Hazel says that Elijah is a kind and quiet man, and he needs someone who can bring out the laughter in him. And most importantly, he will protect me if I need it."
Claire wrinkled her eyes together like she always did when she was annoyed. "Robert Harvey better not even think of chasing you out there. If he does, I hope your Mountie takes care of him and lets him know that you're no longer someone he can try bending to his will."
Rose rolled her eyes. "He's not my Mountie, Claire." Although she had to admit to feeling a certain tingle in her stomach as she said the words. She knew it was crazy to be running across the country to marry a stranger, but somehow she sensed that this man Elijah would treat her better than the man she'd be forced to marry if she stayed here.
This way, she could have some control of her own life, and get away from the stifling life she led under her parent’s watchful eyes.
"I still can't believe Hazel Hughes just came right up to you and said she thought you'd be perfect as a Mountie’s wife where her son was working. Or that you'd be so quick to agree for that matter!"
"Trust me, when Miss Hazel has an idea, she doesn't back down easily. I knew the minute she came over to me she had something in mind. I've spoken to her quite a few times over the years at church, so I could tell this time, she wasn't just coming to make small talk."
Rose was leaning into her wardrobe, carefully choosing which dresses she would take with her as she talked with Claire. She hadn't realized quite how far she had her head inside until a loud clap startled her, making her bang her head on the corner of a small wardrobe shelf.
As Claire's voice followed, saying how romantic it all sounded, Rose had difficulty hearing through the ringing in her ears. She reached up to rub the spot that had been wounded as she quickly spun around to glare at her friend.
"Claire, look what you made me do! I just hit my head so hard I'm seeing stars. Get the notion out of your own head that this is some kind of romantic trip I'm going on."
Claire just laughed. "Rose, you and I both know you'd have likely banged your head regardless of what I was doing." She clapped her hands again for emphasis. "And, I have a feeling you might be in for more than you even realize when you head out to marry your Mountie."
Rose just kept massaging the bump that was already forming and shook her head in Claire's direction.
"I've told you already, he's not my Mountie!"
Chapter 2
"All right ladies, you want to make sure you use a sharp knife to cut the chicken into pieces. First, you will want to pull open the thigh and gently cut it from the body. Then, you can chop off the legs." Miss Hazel slammed the knife down, viciously slicing off the first leg of the chicken.
Rose's hand flew to cover her mouth as a loud gasp escaped. She started to back away from the side cupboard where the raw chicken was now lying with only one leg sticking in the air. However, with another sharp swing of her arm, Miss Hazel quickly removed that one too and tossed it into some flour, then into the bowl of batter they'd just finished mixing up.
"Now, you will continue cutting the chicken pieces, making sure to use up all of the meat on the bird."
Her eyes widened as Miss Hazel continued to hack at the poor dead animal on the counter. She kept cutting and removing pieces of the flesh, then flipping them into the batter.
Rose had been feeling so proud of herself as they had worked at mixing up the batter for the fried chicken. Miss Hazel had said it would be something the men out west would love, and it would be a staple food they could make for their husbands. Along with the meat from the chicken, she was then going to show them how to use the bones and left overs to make a delicious chicken soup.
Rose had managed to measure out the ingredients and had been feeling quite confident in her ability to learn to cook.
Until Miss Hazel had flopped the carcass of a dead bird on the counter in front of her.
And things had been rapidly sliding downhill ever since.
She continued backing up, holding her hand over her mouth for fear a scream would escape if she brought it down. Suddenly, her backside made contact with something and before she could turn to see what it was, a loud crash broke through the room.
As she jumped and spun around, she watched in horror as the pans filled with the ingredients they'd set out to make the soup clattered to the floor. They had placed everything on the table ready to use while the fried chicken cooked, and now everything was falling to the ground like a waterfall.
Horrified, Rose knelt down and started picking some of the ingredients up while the echoes of the pans still vibrated through the room. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to…" Her voice cracked as she struggled to keep back the tears.
She realized another girl had joined her, so she slowly lifted her eyes, afraid of what she would see on her face. It was Tilly, the one who seemed to be able to do all of these tasks with ease. Tilly smiled at her, before putting her head back down to help with the clean-up.
These girls must all think she was completely hopeless. And truthfully, when it came to any household duties, she was.
She'd never had to do anything like this before. She'd certainly never thought about where her chicken pieces would have come from.
These girls would make good wives for all of their Mounties. Her poor Mountie would likely end up with food poisoning and die of hypothermia when she couldn't even wash his clothing for him.
Standing up tall, she tried not to let herself look at the others. She faced Miss Hazel, who was still standing and watching her in shock with the knife held in the air. "If you'll excuse me, Miss Hazel, I'm not feeling well."
She didn't even wait for permission to leave. Turning quickly on her heel, she walked from the room as fast as she could go. And as she did, she sent a silent prayer of forgiveness up to all the chickens she'd ever eaten in her lifetime.
Rose stood looking out the window to the street below. As she watched the people milling around, she wrung her hands together, swallowing hard to keep the lump in her throat from choking her.
Why did she ever think she could do this?
She'd grown up with maids and cooks and helpers for everything she wanted. Anything she needed was done for her.
And she'd honestly thought she could learn enough to move out to the untamed west and be a good wife to some poor man who deserved far better than she could ever give.
But what other options did she have? She'd grown to hate the life she was living in Ottawa. The fact that she was waited on by everyone around her was starting to make her feel useless. She wanted to be able to care for herself, and do simple tasks like cook a meal for someone.
She wanted more for her life, including a home and a family of her own. And a man who could possibly love her for herself, and not for the wealth her family had.
A gentle knock sounded at the door, and she reached up to wipe at her eyes. She couldn't let anyone see the tears that had been threatening to spill over. Since she'd lied and said she wasn't feeling well, she quickly went over and sat on the bed, not wanting them to catch her standing and looking out the window. It hadn't been completely a lie anyway. After seeing that poor chicken on the counter, she really hadn't been feeling very good.
"Come in." She cupped her hands tightly together on her knees.
When the door opened, Miss Hazel peeked her head around and smiled at her. "I hope I'm not disturbing you. You looked quite distraught when you left."
The older woman came into the room, softly shutting the door behind her before walking over and sitting next to Rose on the edge of the bed.
"You know, we all have to start somewhere w
hen we learn new things. You don't need to feel embarrassed that you can't do some of these tasks I'm teaching you girls."
Rose couldn't even lift her eyes to look at Hazel. But she could sense the woman's eyes were intently watching her.
"I don't know even the simplest of tasks. I want to learn, but how can I when I can't even cope with seeing a dead chicken lying in front of me? I've eaten chicken all my life, but never once had to see how it had looked before it ended up on my plate."
She kept her head down, waiting for Miss Hazel to speak. Surely she would tell Rose she wouldn't be a good choice to go out and marry a man who would need a competent wife to look after him.
Miss Hazel reached out and placed her hand over hers. "Rose dear, I've known you for many years now. I've watched you grow up, coming to church every Sunday with your family. And I've seen the kind of woman you've grown into. I can see who you are, even if you can't see it yourself yet. That's why I chose you for Elijah. I knew you'd be a perfect fit for him."
Elijah. Every time she heard his name, her heart would skip a beat. She couldn't understand why, but there was just something about his name that made her feel hope in her chest.
She finally lifted her head and looked at Miss Hazel. "But why? Surely you must know other women who'd be better suited. Women who can cook for him, and wash his clothes, and keep his home clean. I'll be lucky if I don't end up burning his house down around him."
Miss Hazel chuckled softly and shook her head. "Maybe. But I also think he needs someone just like you. Someone who can make him smile and make him happy."
RNWMP: Bride for Elijah (Mail Order Mounties Book 2) Page 1
