A Bride for the Faithful Groom by Indiana Wake

Author:Indiana Wake [Wake, Indiana]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fair Havens Books
Published: 2018-09-30T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

“Oh, Andrea, I think you’ve got a visitor.”

Andrea looked up from her sewing to see Mrs. Buxley standing by the window.

“What do you mean, Mrs. Buxley?”

“It’s that young man from the mission, Steven. He’s heading this way.” Mrs. Buxley gave a knowing smile. “I think he’s coming to see you.”

Andrea felt her pulse race. But she knew it was foolish to get so excited over seeing Steven. Two weeks had gone by since he had arrived in San Francisco, and Andrea ended up seeing him almost every day, either at the boarding house or at the mission station. It was as if they gravitated toward each other, like moths to a flame. Andrea knew it was foolish to want anything more from a widower who clearly still loved his wife, but she couldn’t help herself.

She had to be sensible about this.

“Don’t be silly, Mrs. Buxley. He’s not coming to see me.”

“Well, he’s been coming over here every other day for two weeks now just to see you. What else would he be coming here for?”

“Maybe he wants to have a decent meal?” Andrea shot back.

Mrs. Buxley laughed.

“Cheeky.” She swatted Andrea’s shoulder with a duster as she left the room. “I’ll leave you to it.”

“That’s no…”

But Mrs. Buxley had already left. Andrea heard voices out in the hall, and then Steven appeared in the doorway. He looked vaguely amused.

“What was going on there?”

“What do you mean?”

“With Mrs. Buxley. She was talking in riddles. It’s like talking to Mary again.”

Andrea sighed and put her sewing aside as she stood.

“I shudder to think what she’s up to. Besides, haven’t you got God’s work to do down the mines? There isn’t really anyone to save over here.”

Steven laughed. Andrea had to bite her lip as a shudder went through her. Since when had a laugh been as attractive as the man?

“I’m not one for getting dusty. Gareth, Ben and Paul may like it, but I prefer to be above ground.”

“I’ve noticed.”

“Besides, I wanted to check how you were.” Steven nodded toward the window. “I saw Martin hanging around in the street. I wondered if he’d been bothering you.”

Andrea sighed. Martin had been bothering her, but from afar. He had been keeping his distance since Steven had put him on the ground. Andrea often saw him looking at the boarding house but he was not approaching it. Mrs. Buxley was a fearsome woman when she wanted to be, and seeing Steven coming over often seemed to have Martin scurrying back into the shadows.

Andrea hoped it would be like that for good. Not seeing the infuriating man up close was a relief. She just wished he would walk away and leave her alone. He must realize by now that she would never marry him... only Martin just couldn’t get that into his head.

“He’s backed off since you faced him down, but he just hangs around outside sometimes.”

“He’s not come in?”

“I think he’s a little scared of you.”

Steven smirked.

“Me?”

Andrea rolled her eyes.

“Don’t be smug about it, Steven.

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