The Bride's Scarred Love (Mail-Order Bride) Read online

  “Um...welcome to my home.”

  “Thank you.”

  They stood in silent discomfiture, each engaged in their own thoughts.

  Infuriated at his boss who refused to catch his look, Tucker cleared his throat again and said,

  “Perhaps you might like to go inside out of the heat, for a cool glass of water.”

  Caleb reddened instantly. He pointed at the house, “This way, please.”

  Ruth noticed how shy the man seemed and it made her hide a smile. She had never met a shy man before in her life. This was new to her.

  The ranch house was lovely. It was a little bare and simply decorated but she loved it because it felt homely. If this was where she was to stay, she absolutely loved it. Caleb led her to the kitchen and offered her a glass of cool water. She smiled her thanks to him. Her eyes moved around the kitchen. It was going to need a woman’s touch and she couldn’t wait to get started.

  With his hand rubbing the back of his neck, he gave her a nervous smile. “I was wondering if we could take a walk to the creek. It’s not far from here…that’s if you’re not too tired from the train ride.”

  “I’d love to and no, I’m not too tired. I would love to stretch my legs because the journey was quite cramped and…” She quietened when she realized that she was blabbering. What was it about him that was getting her all flustered?

  They walked out the backdoor and took a stroll to the creek. Caleb pointed out sights of interest and gave her a brief history of the ranch. She saw cattle grazing in the field as she had imagined. But Caleb’s seeming gentility and kindness were beyond all expectations and she couldn’t wait to get to know him better.

  **********

  Get a grip, Caleb told himself inwardly.

  Ever since laying eyes on Ruth, who was a vision from heaven in her dress that matched her gorgeous sky-blue eyes, he hadn’t been himself. Her beautiful dark tresses were swept away from her face in a severe knot at the back of her head, showing vividly a heart shaped face with a pointed nose and rose-tinted lips that took his breath away. He hadn’t expected her to look like this. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and he couldn’t control his reaction to her. While he enjoyed the fact that he could spend hours just looking at her, it got him a little scared that she might not accept him with all his flaws. She didn’t seem to be vain and he wanted to get to know her better, but he was somewhat skeptical. Why would such a beautiful woman want to marry a total stranger? What was she hiding? In her letters, she hadn’t really talked about her reasons for becoming a mail order bride except that she wanted a change of scenery and the adventure it would bring.

  His eyes flickered to her walking beside him gracefully and he didn’t know what to say or do. He wasn’t really experienced with ladies.

  He had it planned that she would live in the ranch house until they were wed in four weeks. In the meantime, they would get to know each other, and he would summon the courage to tell her about his scars. If he ever did.

  Shaking such unhappy thoughts from his mind, he turned to her and said cheerfully.

  “Please tell me about New York.”

  A shadow crossed her eyes and she hastily looked away. It seemed he wasn’t the only one hiding something or was it that she was missing home and already regretting having left? He hoped with all his heart that wasn’t the case. He was already envisioning a blissful life as her husband.

  A smile chased the darkness from her eyes.

  “I’d rather not talk about New York if you don’t mind. I left it behind, and I hope to have new memories here.”

  Caleb absolutely loved her answer. He smiled at her; something he didn’t do often, and it made him even more handsome and her breath caught in her throat. Blushing, she looked away.

  They sat under a tree and talked for hours, not realizing the passage of time until Tucker fetched them for lunch. They were surprised at how easy it was for them to converse.

  A smile was dancing on Ruth’s lips when she went to change in her room before lunch. An identical smile was also playing at Caleb’s lips as he washed his hands.

  Tucker chuckled behind him with a knowing smile.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Missing

  Back in New York, Stephen was staring at his bottle of whiskey at the bar in the saloon he favored. The noise around him was deafening but he didn’t hear anything; his thoughts were on his daughter. It wasn’t even a week since she left, and he missed her terribly. Sure, they hadn’t even spoken a word in the week she was back in his house but sharing a meal with her at dinner time had served as a balm to his hurt soul. During this time he would often stand at the drawing room door and just listen to her conversation with his wife. Sounds of her laughing usually brought a smile to his face.

  His business had been his life, simply because he had wanted to prove to his late father and relatives that he would be able to handle it. The old man hadn’t believed he could hold on to the store because he considered him a failure. Stephen had been surprised when his father bequeathed him the store, but he later comprehended that it was because the store was almost bankrupt. And with that, Stephen had tried his best to resurrect it. He had succeeded until his cock-sureness caused him to make bad business decisions. Before he knew it, he was broke. The drastic decision made to save his business had almost ruined Ruth’s life.

  “Oh, poor Ruthie,” he murmured and took a deep swig from his drink.

  Poor Ruthie indeed for the girl that used to sit on his lap and run to him immediately he opened the door after a long day at the store was no longer in existence. He had destroyed that for good. Riddled with so much guilt that he couldn’t bear it, he poured the rest of his whiskey down his throat, but it failed to assuage the feeling of loss. He was about to order another bottle when Margaret’s words at the train station came back to him.

  Her search and yearning for Maisie will bring her back.

  An idea instantly formed in his mind despite his tipsy state.

  Maisie! His granddaughter was the key to bringing back his daughter. Ruth would come back to New York if she knew her daughter had been found. Maybe she wouldn’t stay but at least he would get to see her possibly one last time and tell her how sorry he was.

  His eyes lit with joy at the thought of holding his little girl in his arms again, kissing her forehead and smiling into eyes that were so much like his.

  His eyes brightened at the thought but some seconds later they became as dim as a ghost at the dawning realization that it might be an impossible task.

  Where would he find her? She had been missing for so long, he didn’t know where he would start looking, but he had to try.

  He rose unsteadily just as a fight broke out. He turned back to cast a last rueful glance at the place. He would never set foot there again. He needed his wits about him if he was ever going to find her. He thrust open the door and left the rowdy place.

  The following day, Ruth’s father set about looking for her daughter. He didn’t tell his wife. He made the mistake, so it was left for him to make amends. He left his business in the hands of his competent assistant and went on his search. He didn’t care if his assistant ran the business into the ground; nothing mattered to him but finding poor Maisie.

  He stopped first at Ruth’s former house in the hope that the new owner might have retained the services of David’s servants. Unfortunately, the new owner informed him that he hadn’t met any of the previous servants.

  That was the first blow to Stephen’s quest. He suffered more blows as the days went on was almost tempted to give up. He spent what little money he had left, tracking anyone who had worked for David and who may have heard anything about Maisie. Ultimately, Margaret challenged him late one night after his return home after yet another fruitless search for Ruth’s daughter. She accused him of having an affair and even in his tired state, he had laughed, which riled her further. She burst into tears and ran upstairs to her room.

  The old Stephe
n would have allowed her to believe her assumptions for days before telling her the truth. But he had made so many mistakes in his life, and was trying to make reparations, so there was no point adding more to it. He joined his weeping wife upstairs on their bed and told her the truth. Her tears hadn’t dried up as he had expected but even flooded her face the more as she clasped a hand around his neck and whispered,

  “You’re indeed a changed man. You’re now kinder and softer and I was scared it was another woman who had wrought the change in you; I didn’t know it was guilt.”

  Stephen smiled at her but said nothing as she put her arms around him. He told her his search had been fruitless and he was ready to give up, but she wouldn’t let him. She became a well of inspiration and encouragement to him in ways he could always draw from.

  After almost three weeks of searching, Stephen finally got a breakthrough in the person of Tilly Smith. She was once a maid at the big grey-stone house David and Ruth resided in. The poor girl still feared David, even in death and denied any knowledge of the couple. But Stephen had pleaded with her to tell him what had happened when Maisie was taken from the house.

  She explained how David had taken the poor girl from the house. In her desperation to know where he was taking her, she had snuck out of the house and had a passing carriage follow David’s carriage, promising to pay him with her savings.

  “The master stopped at an orphanage. I got out and followed him. I hid behind a huge tree in the compound and heard him lie to the one of the workers about finding the poor girl on his doorstep. The man praised him and thanked him. I was about turning away to go back to the carriage to tell Miss Ruth, but the master spotted me, dragged me to the carriage and gripped me by my neck.”

  She paused as the memory made her tremble.

  Her hands were clutched tautly, and her lips thinned. “Oh, I was scared something awful when he squeezed my neck and told me that if I ever told anyone, my body would be found in the graveyard. I was so terrified, I didn’t return to work for him.”

  She began weeping and the elderly man comforted her.

  “I couldn’t tell anyone. The master told me he’d come after my family, too. My mama was very sick then.”

  Stephen nodded ruefully, he understood that the poor girl had been too young and petrified to tell anyone, but he was glad she had opened up to him. His sigh of relief was audible, and tears glazed his eyes. He had at last found Maisie. He could only hope and pray that she was still at the orphanage. He thanked Tilly and even though she refused, he pressed money into her hands.

  Without wasting time, he went to the orphanage and arranged to meet the housemistress who unfortunately wasn’t in residence. She had gone to visit her sick father and wouldn’t be back until the following day. He went home to share the good news with his wife and they wept tears of joy together. It was barely daylight when they were at the orphanage’s gate. They were told the housemistress wasn’t back yet, but there they waited for hours.

  At last the housemistress returned to be confronted by Stephen and his wife. Noticing the elderly couple’s desperation, she ignored her backlog of work and attended to them promptly.

  “So, what can I do for you, Mr. and Mrs. Belmont?” she questioned after they introduced themselves.

  Too caught up with emotion over finally finding their granddaughter, Margaret’s voice was diminished, and her husband had to do most of the talking.

  “We’re here for Maisie Jones.”

  “I’m sorry but there’s no one here by such name.”

  Stephen sighed. “I was told her father brought her here under the false name of Charlotte Winters. She’s a beautiful blind girl with black hair and blue eyes.”

  The woman’s brows shot up. No one had ever come to see the poor girl and they feared she would never be adopted because she was blind.

  Stephen falteringly explained the story of Maisie’s birth and the woman shook her head. She had found the story of a man finding a blind girl on his doorstep too good to be true when she returned to the orphanage and was told about poor Maisie. She had suspected that it was all a ruse by a father who could no longer cater for a blind girl. When she was told that the man seemed wealthy, she had presumed the reason to be one of status. But she still had to be careful about handing the poor girl over to the couple, although her resemblance to Mrs. Belmont was astounding.

  She asked that they describe the clothes Maisie was wearing on the day she was brought in. In between sobs, Margaret told her what Nanny Brown had told them.

  The woman in charge told them to return in two days to give them opportunity to deliberate on the matter. Maisie was very young when she was brought to the orphanage and even though she was a very bright child, she didn’t talk much. The housemistress took her under her wing and made her comfortable, so much so that the girl became relaxed around her. The woman then began to gently probe and though she couldn’t quite remember much, the girl remembered a loving mother, a caring nanny and a doting grandmother. When the woman asked about a father, the poor girl visibly trembled and the woman knew then that the Belmonts had spoken the truth.

  She permitted the couple to see Maisie when they returned, and Maisie cocked her head to the side when she heard her grandmother’s voice. It had been almost a year since she had heard it, but she knew the voice.

  With tears streaming down her eyes, Margaret sang to her as she had whenever she and Ruth had visited. Maisie recognized it instantly for she had always found herself singing it and when asked how she got to know it, she never could tell. With tears flooding her own eyes even though she couldn’t quite understand what was going on, she sang along and felt arms fold around her.

  “I am your grandmamma,” a kind voice she was slowly beginning to recognize said.

  Then she heard an unknown voice through masculine tears, “And I’m your grandpapa.”

  The employees at the orphanage wept at the teary reunion.

  A few days later, Maisie was allowed to go home with her grandparents. Margaret and Stephen’s joy knew no bounds. Stephen ran to his study the moment they got her home.

  “Where are you going in such a hurry?” Margaret asked her husband after she had served Maisie Ruth’s favorite childhood biscuits.

  “To write Ruth a letter. I was waiting to do that when we had Maisie home. I can’t begin to imagine the joy on her face when she reads the letter.”

  He stopped talking when he noticed his wife had a doubtful look in her eyes.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m just thinking how long it would take her to get the letter. It would take weeks. I’m sure she wrote us immediately she got there to inform us of her arrival and to tell us about her husband-to-be, but we received word only recently.”

  Stephen nodded in concurrence. “So what do we do?”

  “I think we should go to Bluewater and deliver Maisie to Ruth. She has been waiting for this meeting forever and it would be cruel of us to delay it. Besides, it would take us at most a week to get there compared with writing to her.”

  “What about her husband?”

  Margaret shrugged. ‘Well, we can only hope she’s already told him about Maisie and his heart would be big enough to accommodate her.”

  Stephen looked suddenly nervous, “Do you think it would be wise for me to come along? I mean, Ruth and I haven’t seen eye to eye for a long time.”

  His wife gave him a reassuring smile. “Stephen, all would be forgiven as soon as she sets eyes on her beloved daughter, knowing that you were responsible for finding her. Now, go and get us train tickets.”

  Keeping his fingers crossed, Stephen left the house after checking on his granddaughter and giving her a hug. He met Nanny Brown in the house when he returned, and her red-rimmed eyes told him she had had an emotional reaction to seeing Maisie. He had to go back to the train station for another ticket. Nanny Brown insisted on coming along.