Mail Order Bride: Deception (Historical Western Romance): Clean Romance Series (Western Mail Order Brides Book 1) (5 page)

“Where do you go to, Victoria?”

She swung her head around to look into his eyes. “What do you mean?”

“You get that far away look in your eyes, and I can’t help but wonder what you’re thinking. What’s going on in your mind?”

Now would be a good time to tell him that she wasn’t Victoria. She studied the honesty in his eyes. He seemed genuinely concerned for her; he sincerely wanted to know what she had been thinking of. Could she be brave enough to tell him who she really was? But if she told him the truth, would he still look at her with the same loving eyes? No one likes to be fooled. “I’m just thinking about many things.”

“One day I hope you’ll trust me enough to tell me what those things are.”

Just at that moment, the black horse nudged Leah’s arm; she was pleased to have the distraction. “Hello, boy. You’ve come over to talk to me again, have you?”

“He likes you.”

“He’s a beautiful horse. I love animals.”

“And I can see they love you.” He chuckled as he reached out to pat Night on his neck. “Victoria, let’s get married the day after the Fourth of July celebrations.”

She nodded. “All right then.”

“Good, I’ll speak to the pastor about it tomorrow. Has anyone told you what we’re doing this Fourth of July?”

Leah shook her head. “Are you doing something special?”

“Most of the towns’ folk are heading out to the old fort. It’s now a soldiers’ home. It used to be a fort to guard travelers from Indians, but it hasn’t been used for that in some time. There’ll be a big celebration with a special tribute to commemorate peace between the north and the south.”

“Oh, I didn’t know.”

“I thought that Beth would’ve enlisted your help with the food preparations by now.”

“No, I’ll speak to her about it, of course. I must do an equal share of the workload.”

Chapter 7.

On Thursday, the day before the Fourth of July and two days before his wedding, Austin opened the door when he heard a knock. Beth stood on his doorstep.

“Where’s Victoria? I saw she’d taken one of the carriages,” Beth said.

“She’s upstairs changing Violet. She’s taking her out for the day.” He knew he was beaming as he said it. It did make him feel good that Victoria had connected with his daughter so rapidly. It was as if God was finally taking notice of his prayers.

“That’s good, but I do need to talk to you.” Beth made her way into the living room.

“I figured. Can it wait until we’re alone?” He sat on the couch.

“Of course.” She threw some letters on the hall table. “I picked up your mail. The postmaster said that you hadn’t been there to collect it in days.”

“Thank you.” Now that Victoria was here, the rush to read the mail was over.

Beth sat next to him on the couch, and the two of them were there for several minutes, until Leah came down the stairs with Violet on her hip.

Austin jumped up and stood at the bottom of the stairs. “I’ve got the carriage all ready for you. There’s a rug and a picnic basket.”

“Thank you, Austin, that’s thoughtful.” Leah noticed Beth and smiled. “Hello, Beth. I left the house early this morning without telling anyone, I hope that was okay.”

“Hello. We guessed where you’d be. Have a good time on your picnic.”

“Thank you.” Leah hoisted Violet onto her other hip.

“I’ll walk you out.” Austin secured Violet in the carriage, and made sure they were right to go. Then, he watched his future bride and his baby daughter go on their first outing together. A feeling of peace washed over him, and he knew all his doubts about finding a wife had been for nothing. He took a deep breath, and walked back into the house to speak to his sister.

When he walked into the sitting room, Beth arched an eyebrow.

“What?” he muttered.

She laughed. “I can see how fond of her you’ve become. You’re like a bumbling idiot around her.”

“Thank you,” he replied, with a lopsided smile.

“Austin, I mean it out of the utmost love. You care for her and it hasn’t even been two weeks. I’ve only seen that one other time.”

He nodded. “Yes, I know, with Charlotte.” He was tired of feeling that he was betraying his late wife. “This is nothing like that.”

She smiled. “You’re right; it’s not. Back then you were both in love, it was easy, you were both young. This isn’t like that, but it doesn’t mean that it can’t be like that over time.”

Austin stared at Beth. He was confused because she had disapproved of him writing to a woman. “You didn’t want me to have Victoria come here.”

“I know!” She nodded as he sat down across from her. “I’m not above admitting when I’m wrong. If you can be this happy so soon after meeting her, I can’t even imagine how close you two could become.”

Austin had wanted to have love for someone again, but he had never expected it to happen. “Well, we will have to wait and see.”

“You deserve love again,” Beth said.

He couldn’t believe he was even thinking about love, or that his sister was urging him to love a woman he had only just met. “I appreciate you coming here and saying that. Is that why you came here today?”

“I’m just checking on my little brother.” Beth stood up, and Austin walked her to the door. Before she walked out, she turned to face him, and leaned in toward him. “Love and marriage sometimes do go together,” she whispered against his ear.

He pressed his lips together to suppress a smile. “Thank you, I will try to remember that.”

“I’ll talk to you later.” Beth walked out the door.

Austin sat back down, and turned his attention to his mail. He leafed through the stack until his gaze fell on an envelope that had no return address, and yet, the handwriting was familiar. He opened it and read:

Dearest Austin,

By now, I am sure that you are wondering why I didn’t come to meet you as arranged. I am not normally a woman to go against my word once I have given it. Perhaps it was nerves, or the fact that I didn’t feel that it was right for me. I have not heard good things about your hometown. I have heard that there are many gambling establishments and houses of ill repute.

Forgive my boldness, but I must tell you that those are my reasons for not coming to marry you. After more prayer and contemplation, I was led to remain behind in my home. I believe you will think that I did the right thing. I hope that you find happiness, and I hope that you and Violet live a wonderful life. I just feel that, in my heart, I am doing what’s best for both of us. I hope that you believe that, too.

Yours sincerely,

Victoria

He stared at the letter, flipping it over, and trying to discover a hidden meaning. It couldn’t be true, because if it were, who had just left the house with his daughter?

Chapter 8.

Leah had seen the green park at the town’s edge. It was a perfect place for Violet to practice her walking. Violet had taken three steps, but then she usually collapsed. Leah was sure that if she had the soft, green grass to fall on rather than bare floorboards, she would be bolder in her efforts to walk. Leah stopped the carriage, got out, and tied Night to the railing.

“Let’s go, Violet.” She pulled Violet out from where she’d been sitting in the carriage, and hoisted her onto one hip. “My, you’re a heavy baby.”

With her free hand, Leah pulled a quilt out of the back of the carriage. “Now, we’ve got something nice to sit on.”

Once they were both sitting on the unfolded quilt, a sense of peace washed over Leah. This would be what it would be like to have her own child. Maybe, Austin would fall in love with her, and it wouldn’t matter that she wasn’t Victoria. That way, she could be a real mother to Violet. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you, Violet? Would you like me to be your mother?”

Being too young to understand Leah’s words, Violet squinted at her, and scrunched her nose, causing Leah to laugh. “You’re so precious, Violet. Just so precious.”

Violet giggled, and set about babbling to herself. She seemed to know exactly what she was talking about, but Leah did not understand one word of her babbles. Leah was pleased to have the whole park to herself. Her birthplace of Chicago had been overcrowded, and the best thing about the west was its huge open spaces. There were miles and miles of wide-open plains with no buildings or people. The prairie was just one huge, open space.

The park was at the edge of town, bordered by the Arkansas River, and was the greenest place she’d seen since she’d arrived in Dodge City. There was a large fountain in the center of the park. Some folk had told her that if you threw a coin in the fountain, you could make a wish. “Let’s walk over to the fountain, Violet.” Leah pulled Violet to her feet, and supported her by her arms as she walked her over to the fountain.

She looked into the dark water, and couldn’t see any coins. “I don’t believe what they say about making a wish. You make your own luck anyway. You remember that, little one,” she said, as she looked down at Violet.

Violet put her hand into the water, and splashed around.

Leah pulled her back. “You’ll get your clothes all wet; your father won’t be happy if you arrive home in wet clothes.” She walked Violet back over to the quilt, and they both sat and enjoyed the warmth of the sun.

Violet yawned, and lowered herself from her sitting position. Leah patted Violet on her back, and soon the baby was asleep. “What am I to do, Violet? I’d like nothing better than to stay here, and be your mother, and marry your father, but I know that won’t happen. Soon, I’ll have to leave you.” Desperation led Leah to think of all kinds of ways she might be able to stay.

What would she do; continue her fake life as Victoria forever? No, the truth would have to come out, and she’d be better off if she were long gone when it did. Maybe she should stay and marry him, but it wouldn’t be a proper and legal marriage if she weren’t using her own name.

At that moment, Leah knew she’d left things too late already. Tomorrow was the Fourth of July, and the next day she was to get married to Austin. Leah bit her lip, wondering when she should leave. If she didn’t disappear tonight, she would have to leave on the Fourth of July or the wedding day.

“I must tell everyone the truth. Otherwise, Austin will be badly hurt like James was. It will cause everyone less worry if I tell the truth now. I will take the shame and face my wrongdoing.” She spoke out loud to herself. There was no one to listen to her, but she was used to having no one to talk to; she was always alone.

She looked back down at Violet, and stroked her soft hair. “I hope that one day you have a good mother to love you, sweet child.” Leah chewed on a fingernail as she wondered whether she had committed a crime by pretending to be Victoria. Maybe Austin’s brother, the Marshal, would have grounds to put her in jail.

No, she must tell Austin, and she must tell him now. She wrapped the quilt around Violet, and gathered her up in her arms. She would go back and tell Austin the truth.

* * *

Leah carried the sleeping baby back into the house. Violet was so much heavier when she was asleep. She had hoped that Austin would be there to carry Violet up the stairs, but he was nowhere to be seen. She carried Violet up the stairs by herself, and when she had placed her in her crib, she stroked her hair. Leah waited to be sure that Violet would not wake before she left the room.

She went downstairs to look for Austin, and found him in the living room. “We had the best time. Violet was so good, you have a wonderful daughter.” She chattered nervously, gathering the courage to tell him the truth about herself. Leah didn’t notice that he wasn’t paying attention to her until she saw him sitting still, a piece of paper in his hand. “Something wrong?” She had hoped to find him in a good mood before she told him of her true identity.

“Well…” He handed her the letter. “I suppose you could say that.”

She took the paper in her hand, unfolded it, and then collapsed into the nearest chair. She read the letter carefully, and then looked up at him. “I can explain.”

“It’s true?” he asked, his voice croaking. “You aren’t Victoria, are you?”

She slowly shook her head. She’d known it was bound to come out, and just wished that she had been the one to tell him. It was too awful that he’d found out in this way. “I’m sorry. I just…”

“Who are you?” he asked, through clenched teeth.

“Leah Morgan.” This time, the truth was her only option. “I have no parents, no family. I’m actually not sure whether my father is alive or dead, I haven’t seen or heard from him in over ten years. I bought a train ticket with what little money I had, and came here.” She could feel tears stinging the back of her eyes. “I didn’t want to hurt any of you, Violet, Beth… you’ve all been so nice.”

“You didn’t have the decency to tell me? Instead, you went along with a lie, and you deceived my mother, and everyone else? You have no right to be here.” His words were loud, and his face was red with rage.

It would do no good to say that she’d come back early from her day with Violet to tell him the truth. He wouldn’t believe anything she said now, and she couldn’t blame him. “I know. I should have never lied, but I truly wanted to belong somewhere. It felt nice for someone to want me for a change - to feel like I belonged somewhere.”

“Victoria… I mean, Leah, don’t you get it? Every part of this relationship began with a lie. I thought you were someone else, so how can that be okay?”

“It’s not,” she replied. “I know it’s not, but it was too late to do anything about it. When I said I was Victoria, I didn’t know that Victoria was set to marry you. That was the last thing on my mind.” She looked at him, and could see that everything she said would fall on deaf ears. Her eyes flickered around the room looking for the easiest escape. “I appreciate your hospitality, and I apologize for the pain that I’ve caused you.” She stood up. “I’ll get my things from your mother’s house and go. I’ll leave on the next train.”

He cleared his throat. “Where will you go?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll just go back home.”

He leaped to his feet. “Where is home?”

“Chicago,” she said, softly. She walked past him. “I’ll be leaving now.”

By accident, she brushed against him; he reached out and touched her hand. “You don’t even know when the train is leaving.”

“I’ll find out soon enough. I must go.”

He turned his face away from her. “That would be best.”

She ran from the living room, before the tears welling up in her eyes fell down her cheeks. She got into the carriage she’d borrowed from Mrs. Wright, and made a hasty escape.

* * *

Austin made his way to the door and watched her leave. He saw her tears, and it hurt him that he couldn’t comfort her, but where would that leave them? This wasn’t right, and he knew that. There was an ache in the pit of his stomach; he knew he cared for her. Everything Beth had said regarding how much he’d grown fond of her was true. But, she - this woman - wasn’t Victoria, she was a stranger called ‘Leah.’ If she was lying about her identity, what else would or could she have lied about? He’d prayed for a devout woman of good character to come into their lives, not a woman who thought nothing of deception and lies.

He glanced down at the letter he’d handed Leah just moments before. None of this would have happened if he’d listened to his sister, and had stopped writing to Victoria. On the other hand, he wouldn’t have met Leah, and he couldn’t imagine that. He shook his head, and went upstairs to Violet, the only person who mattered.

Once he reached the stairs, it hit him. He cared deeply for Leah, but he couldn’t let his heart rule his head in such an important matter. He had to make that decision for Violet as well. Even though the woman he’d come to know as Victoria had made his heart race, a virtuous woman would not have lied the way that Leah had. God had to be testing him.

Austin decided that as soon as Violet woke, he would go to his mother’s house. He’d sort things out with Leah in a reasonable manner. If what Leah had said was true, she had little money, and no place to go. As a proper Christian man, he should find a way to help her, maybe find her some lodgings, and help her find gainful employment.