Standing up, she pushed her chair back and stepped away from the table. "Mother, my home is here, in Squirrel Ridge Junction, or wherever else Elijah might get stationed. He's my husband, and I won't be going anywhere unless it's with him."
She spun to walk out of the room, without realizing the tablecloth had become caught on the clasp of her skirt’s waistband. The entire setting on the table crashed to the floor amid the horrified stares of the other guests. Her mother's hand flew to cover her mouth in shock, while Rose closed her eyes and counted softly in her head. Maybe if she just pretended she was somewhere else, she could be whisked away without anyone seeing her.
When she opened her eyes again, she was mortified to see Elijah standing at the doorway, arms crossed in front of him as he shook his head slowly in her direction. "I don't know what it is you have against dishes, Rose, but I have to say you certainly know how to make an exit."
“You know, my father isn’t likely to just leave quietly without trying to make me go with him. He won’t give up until he’s won.”
Elijah raised his arms and brought the axe down hard, easily splitting the big log in half. He’d been trying to build up the pile of wood for the winter, but since Rose had arrived, he’d been neglecting his work. Chopping wood was always the best way to get his anger out, so he figured today was a good day to get back at it.
He threw the split pieces to the pile and looked over at Rose. She sat on the back step watching him after she’d finished hanging the washing. He couldn’t believe a girl who’d grown up with the life she’d had was able to adjust to doing menial tasks like laundry so quickly, but he was learning that Rose was a lot stronger than anyone had ever given her credit for.
“Well, do you want to go?” He found his stomach quickly knot up as he asked the question.
She brought her eyebrows together in a scowl. “Of course not. I meant what I said. I didn’t just come out here because I was trying to get back at my father, or because I’d had an argument with Robert. I came here because I wanted a new start away from the life I’d had, with everyone telling me how to act, what to wear, even what to think.” She put her head down and looked at her hands clasped together resting on her knees. “I came here hoping maybe I could find someone who would care about me, and not the money my family has.”
Her last sentence came out so quiet he almost didn’t hear her.
Feeling like a heel, he realized since her family had arrived a few days earlier, he’d been punishing her by blaming her for not telling him everything. Since meeting them all, he could understand why she hadn’t.
And, he could see why she wanted to get away.
Setting the axe down, he wiped his forehead with the cloth he had sitting beside him and walked over to the step. “Rose, I’m not going to let your father drag you back to Ottawa. He can do whatever he wants to try and find a loophole that will say our marriage isn’t legal, but he won’t win this time. As much as I might not have believed I needed a wife, I’ve got to admit I’ve got used to having you around.”
He cringed again as soon as he said the words. They weren’t exactly the flowery, poetic words that told a woman he cared about her.
She brought her head up and laughed softly. “I’m glad, I guess. It’s good to know someone has become used to having you around.”
He crouched down in front of her and took her hands in his. “That’s not really what I meant. I mean I like having you here, with me. Sometimes I don’t say things the way I want to. But, I do want you to stay here. Your father might think he can make you go home, but he will have to go through me to do it.”
He thought he could see her eyes welling with wetness, but she quickly blinked and smiled at him. “Somehow I get the feeling my father might have met his match.”
Bringing his hand up, he cupped her cheek, rubbing his thumb along her soft skin. She leaned into his hand and closed her eyes. Feeling his chest clench, he moved in and gently brought his lips to hers. As soon as they touched, a fire ignited inside and he knew he was losing himself to this woman.
Her hands went around his back, pulling him toward her, almost causing him to lose his balance. His hand moved into her hair, bringing her closer as his lips moved on hers.
When he finally pulled his head back, he looked down into her eyes and smiled. “And Rose, I can assure you, you’ve found someone who doesn’t give a whit about your family’s money. All I care about is sitting right here in my arms.”
Chapter 17
"I'd make sure you think long and hard about your decision. This kind of money could help care and provide for your grandmother for the rest of her life. She wouldn't want for anything."
Elijah clamped his teeth together tightly to keep from telling Andrew Lambert exactly what he thought of him and his "offer". The man had come in to the station this morning to speak to him alone, and had decided to offer Elijah more money than he could hope to make in ten years working as a Mountie. But the catch was, he’d have to release Rose from their marriage so she could return to Ottawa with them on Thursday.
Thankfully, that was now only a couple days away. The time they'd already been there had worn on Elijah, and he knew it had been difficult for Rose. After rescuing her from the restaurant and paying for another set of china, he had taken her home and they had talked, with both of them seeming determined to stay together.
Even though, Robert seemed intent on making her see what she'd missed out on, and her mother just cried every time she saw her.
Her father was a completely different story, and had spent the week wiring back to Ottawa and trying to figure out how to get Rose out of the marriage.
Now, the man had decided to take matters into his own hands, hoping Elijah would be swayed by the promise of money. While there was nothing he wouldn't do for his grandmother, he knew she'd never want any money given with these stipulations.
"Sir, with all due respect, I think you should understand that your daughter made a choice to come here and be married. It would be nice if you could respect her decision and be happy for her, but if you can't, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. I'm her husband now. So as far as anyone having the right to make any decisions for her, that's now on my shoulders." He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms in front of him. "Although, as I'm sure you already know, Rose is more than capable of making her own decisions."
He kept his gaze on his father-in-law, making sure the man understood he couldn't be bought—for any amount of money.
"Rose was promised to Robert for a long time, and she hadn't complained once. Just because they had a falling out, it's no reason to throw away the history the two of them have together. Robert is heartbroken at losing the woman he loves, and I'm not happy that a promise I made to him was broken."
"A promise you made? What about Rose? Did she ever have any say in it?"
Elijah could see that Andrew was getting angrier by the redness filling his face. "Rose always knew what the plan was. Robert Harvey comes from a long line of big name solicitors in Ottawa, and to have him as a partner in my firm is a huge asset. Her duty was to marry him to ensure the bond of our families to work together."
It was times like this when Elijah was thankful for the simple upbringing he'd had. Even though they'd sometimes had to go without and times had been tough, at least he wasn't seen as a way to bring more wealth to his family.
Standing, he smiled to himself as the shorter man stepped back so he could look up at him. He came out from behind the desk and reached out to grab his red coat from the hook by the door.
"Sir, I appreciate the fact that you've come all this way to ensure your daughter's well-being." He almost choked on the words, knowing how much of a lie they were. "However, I offer my word that she will be taken care of and will never want for anything."
Andrew Lambert laughed cynically. "What can you give her? Eventually she’ll miss her life of being pampered, with maids and cooks to take care of her. Right now she might think she's having fun playi
ng the happy wife on the frontier, but I promise you, I know my daughter. She won't be happy living out here, living in a shack, and relying on a Mountie's wage."
Elijah stopped halfway through putting his arm into his sleeve. He didn't want to give the man the satisfaction of seeing how much his words had affected him. He'd had his own worries about it since finding out Rose had come from a wealthy upbringing.
He kept his back to the man as he heard him shuffling toward the door.
"I’ll let you think about my offer. Rose would never need to know. Just hop on your horse and ride away until I can get her away from here. And you can become a very wealthy man."
The door slammed and Elijah was left standing in the silence of the room. He put his jacket on the rest of the way, and worked on doing up the buttons. He had to go out on patrol so he didn't have time to deal with Rose's father right now. In all his life, he'd never met a man so arrogant and inconsiderate of others.
Especially his own child.
He found himself feeling a tremendous amount of sadness for the life Rose must have endured while growing up. He was surprised that her kindness hadn't been tainted by the coldness of the man who'd raised her.
Although in all likelihood, Rose had probably spent most of her time with maids and other servants who would have provided what her own family couldn't.
His heart broke for the little girl she must have been, and he vowed he’d make sure the rest of her days were filled with all the love she could imagine.
Because no matter what her father offered him, Elijah was not letting Rose get away.
He hated being away from Rose this long, especially knowing her father and ex-fiancé were there. He wished they'd just hop on the next train, which would be arriving today, and go back home. They'd been here a week and hadn't succeeded in finding anything wrong with their marriage, so hopefully they'd give up and be gone when he got back to town.
He'd left town immediately after talking to Rose's father in the Mountie’s station, determined to get this set of patrols done quickly. He wanted to go home to let Rose know that no matter what had happened, he wanted to make theirs a true marriage, and that he’d somehow fallen in love with her. His problem was going to be finding the right words. He had to say what was in his heart without messing things up when they were spoken out loud.
But things hadn't gone smoothly, and he was already gone a day more than he should have been. He'd been on patrol alone this time, doing some routine checks in the area. So he was in a hurry now to get back to town, pushing his horse to go as fast as she could go. He didn't want to give Rose's father any more time alone with her than he had to.
As though the weather understood his mood, the skies seemed to open fully, bringing down a torrential rain. He pulled his heavy jacket tight around his neck and hunkered down in the saddle, watching the rain pour from the front of his hat onto the horse's neck.
Another hour and he would be home. He hoped the rain would let up before then, but by the color of the sky he didn't hold out much hope.
Suddenly, a loud crash of thunder and a flash of lightning hit a tree a few feet in front of him. His horse spooked, rearing up as one of the larger branches came down, hitting him hard in the chest. Falling back off the horse, he tried to get his hand out to take some of the impact.
As his head hit something hard, he had a vision pass by of a beautiful woman with the blackest hair smiling down at him. He tried to reach for her, but she was fading from his view.
When blackness overtook him, his last thought was that he hoped she wouldn't go back with her father.
Chapter 18
"We aren't going home and leaving you here alone."
Rose took a deep breath and tried to smile. "Father, I'm not alone. I have Elijah, and I have my friends I've made. If you don't get on this train, you’ll be stuck here for another week until the next one comes through. Is that what you want? I know your stay here hasn’t lived up to the standards you are used to."
The Pullman car had been disconnected when they’d arrived and left at the station in Squirrel Ridge Junction for the Lambert's to use for the trip back to Ottawa. It still hadn't been hooked back to the train that had just pulled in, because her father was still insisting he wasn't leaving without her. Robert was pouring on his charm, knowing Elijah had been on patrol for the past couple of days.
"Listen, I didn't want to have to tell you like this. But since you've said yourself that Elijah isn't normally gone this long, I think it's best I tell you the truth."
Dread pooled in her stomach as she looked at her father and waited for him to continue.
"I decided to test your husband just before he left on patrol. I offered him a good sum of money that he could use to look after his grandmother…"
"Father! How could you? How do you even know about his grandmother?" Rose was horrified at what Elijah must have been thinking.
"Do you think I'm not going to investigate and find out everything about the man who married my daughter? I know he has a grandmother who still lives on her own, struggling to get by. And I'd say by the fact he's been gone longer than he should be, he's decided to take me up on my offer."
"What are you saying, Father?" She spoke through clenched teeth.
"I told him if he wanted the money, in return for letting you out of this marriage, to ride out of town until I could take you home."
She swallowed the doubt that threatened to rear its head. The Elijah she'd gotten to know over the past three weeks didn't care about money like that, did he? But she knew he cared about his grandmother. He'd never left any question about that.
Would he have wanted the money to help the woman he loved above anyone else? Rose couldn't really blame him if he did. His grandmother had raised him and given him everything she could.
But her heart still stung at the thought.
Lifting her chin, she turned to walk away. Her parents and Robert were free to stay, but she wasn't standing here listening to them anymore. She just wanted to get home, away from the eyes of everyone who were sure Elijah had chosen the money over her.
"Rose, there's someone here I think you should meet." Theodore met up with her, pulling an older woman along with him, her arm tucked neatly into his.
She put on a smile, even though she was sure everyone could tell her heart was breaking.
"This is Pearl Thorpe, Elijah's grandmother."
Rose's mouth opened in shock as she tried to figure out what to say. "You're his grandmother? Oh my goodness, Mrs. Thorpe, I had no idea you were coming! Elijah hasn't mentioned it at all. I'm so sorry! I would have met you here if I'd known."
The small woman laughed and reached out to take her hand, patting it between her own. "That's because I didn't tell him I was coming. I wanted to surprise him, much like he did with his letter to me announcing he was married."
"He'll be so upset that he wasn't here to greet you. He's on patrol, and has been gone a couple of days now." Rose's mind was racing as she tried to figure out what to do. She wanted to get Elijah's grandmother back to their house before her parents or Robert came over to continue their conversation.
"So, you're Elijah's grandmother? It's so nice to meet you. I'm Rose's father, Andrew Lambert. I'm sure you were just as shocked to hear about their marriage as we were."
Too late. Of course her father would have heard everything. She was surprised his investigator hadn't already informed him that Mrs. Thorpe was on her way out to British Columbia.
The kind woman shook her father's hand with a smile. "It was a shock, but now that I've met your daughter, I can see why he'd be smitten so easily." Mrs. Thorpe was still holding on to her hand and squeezing it as she looked at Rose.
"If you ladies want to come with me, I’ll get your bags, Mrs. Thorpe, and escort you both back to Elijah and Rose's place."
Rose sent Theodore a grateful smile, knowing he was aware of the situation with her parents. She could see he was doing what he could to help her get
away without incident.
Elijah's grandmother let Theodore take her hand once more, tapping him gently on his shoulder as she shook her head. "I wish you all would just call me Pearl. You make me feel like an old woman calling me Mrs. Thorpe."
Rose grinned at Theodore who was now staring at Pearl in shock. He was quite obviously unsure how to respond. But it didn't matter as the older woman started walking over to the bags lying by the side of the platform, practically dragging Theodore along behind her.
As Rose started to follow, someone grabbed her arm. Whirling around to see who had stopped her, she shook her head at Robert.
"I would suggest you get your hands off me, Robert. Theodore isn't far away, and I'm sure a Mountie would be obligated by law to enforce punishment on anyone mishandling another officer's wife." She used to be intimidated by this man, and the power he had over everyone around them.
But she wasn't anymore.
"You're making a mistake, Rose. I won't wait forever. Now that your Mountie has taken off, waiting for you to go back to Ottawa so he can collect his money, you aren't going to be left with many other options. I'd suggest you think about what you're doing before you push me away again."
Yanking her arm from his grasp, she turned to see Elijah's grandmother watching them closely. She put on a smile, hoping the woman wouldn't see how upset she was.
Rose walked over and hooked her arm in the other woman's and they followed Theodore back home. As they made their way along the street, Rose couldn't stop wondering where Elijah was. He should have been here to greet his grandmother.
She tried to ignore the ache in her heart as they made their way home. Feeling the woman beside her give her hand a tight squeeze, she turned her head and met bright blue eyes that reminded her of Elijah's.
"Whatever is worrying your pretty head, my dear, you can just let it go. I know my Elijah, and I can tell by the words he wrote me that you've become important to him. He might not have been able to let you know himself, but I know what's in my grandson's heart."
RNWMP: Bride for Elijah (Mail Order Mounties Book 2) Page 7
