The Most Eligible Bachelor Romance Collection: Nine Historical Romances Celebrate Marrying for All the Right Reasons by Amanda Barratt Susanne Dietze Cynthia Hickey Shannon McNear Gabrielle Meyer Connie Stevens Erica Vetsch Gina Welborn & Kathleen Y’Barbo

Author:Amanda Barratt, Susanne Dietze, Cynthia Hickey, Shannon McNear, Gabrielle Meyer, Connie Stevens, Erica Vetsch, Gina Welborn & Kathleen Y’Barbo [Barratt, Amanda; Dietze, Susanne; Hickey, Cynthia; McNear, Shannon; Meyer, Gabrielle; Stevens, Connie; Vetsch, Erica; Welborn, Gina; Y’Barbo, Kathleen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781634093378
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2015-05-26T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Lightning flashed through the menacing clouds as Sarah slipped the cool nightgown over her shoulders and secured the high button at her throat.

“It was like a scene from a book,” Mary gushed as she ran a brush through her long red hair. “We sat amongst the violets and spoke on and on about ourselves. The smell was almost intoxicating—”

“Mary!” Hazel’s voice rose in shock.

“I said ‘almost.’” Mary rolled her eyes and slid the brush through her hair again. “Mr. Longley is everything I had hoped and more. I’ve never met a more handsome man.”

“Looks aren’t everything,” Sarah gently reminded. “He’ll age, and his looks may fade. It’s his heart that will grow more beautiful over time, if he fashions it after Christ.”

Mary appeared not to hear her.

Sarah sat on her bed and separated her hair into three parts to begin her nightly braid.

Genevieve opened the door and slipped into the room.

“You’re lucky you came in before curfew, Genevieve.” Hazel clucked her tongue. “You could have been suspended from your work.”

“I’ve been home for almost an hour. Mr. Longley and I sat on the porch and watched the storm roll in.”

Sarah couldn’t stop the envy from creeping into her heart at the thought of the two of them together.

“Sarah is the only one left who hasn’t had time with Mr. Longley.” Mary patted Sarah’s knee as her eyes filled with empathy.

“We’ve had a few opportunities to talk.”

“But has he asked you for time alone?” Hazel knotted her nightcap under her chin with a yank on the strings.

“No, he hasn’t.”

“Surely he will.” Mary offered a sympathetic smile. “He only has two more days before he must decide.”

“Unless he already has decided,” Genevieve said as she unbuttoned the front of her dress.

Her comment made Mary’s brows rise. “He can’t possibly make up his mind, not until he’s had proper time with each of us.”

Genevieve removed her dress and stood in her chemise. “Maybe the opportunities he’s had to talk with Sarah are enough to know she’s not the right one.”

Sarah’s mouth parted.

“Maybe he’s saved the best for last.” Mary placed her hands on her hips. “Like dessert.”

Genevieve turned away from them and didn’t say another word as she prepared for bed.

A crash of thunder rattled the window and made gooseflesh rise on Sarah’s arms. Maybe he had made up his mind already. Maybe he wasn’t going to ask her for time alone.

Mr. Beaumont’s words returned to her. What if the Greenfields had advised him not to marry her? Father had often said that her careless ways would be her ruination. Were his words coming true?

But she remembered their time together by the clothesline, when he had said her curls were becoming. Did a man compliment a woman’s beauty, if he was simply a friend?

She shouldn’t read more into the compliment than he intended. He was admiring her hair, like he would a sunrise, or a blossom on the prairie.

The first droplets of rain pattered against the windowpane, and lightning lit the sky, illuminating the sheets flapping on the clothesline.