The Heartbroken Mail Order Bride by Amanda Davis

Author:Amanda Davis [Davis, Amanda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Blue Pines Sweet Romance

She heard something in the night and through a fitful sleep, Julia opened her lids. For a moment, she lay in the dark, unsure of what it was but after a moment of hearing nothing else, she threw her legs over the side of the bed and padded toward the door in her nightdress.

Cautiously, she pulled it open a crack and looked into the hallway. There was nothing stirring beyond.

A mouse, she reasoned. Impishly, she considered what her sister would do if she chanced upon a rodent in the house.

She might leave. Perhaps that is a consideration to take into account.

Shame flooded Julia at the devious idea but she was afraid that if Madeline remained on the farm much longer, something terrible might occur.

She moved stealthily into the hall and realized that she had gotten out of bed for no good reason, but a cup of warm milk seemed like a good solution to her restless sleep.

It was not until she was on the main floor that she caught a sign that someone else in the vast household was awake, the flicker of a candle dancing in the kitchen as she approached.

“I am telling you, Victoria, the man is not whom he claims to be,” Oliver muttered in a low voice. “The proof is coming.”

“Ollie,” Victoria sighed. “I was not whom I claimed to be either and yet I pose no threat to the family.”

“You did not claim to be our brother!” Oliver’s voice was growing louder and Julia heard the coo of baby Emily as he grumbled.

“I apologize,” Oliver sighed, realizing he had stirred the child. “But you must have Richard acknowledge the truth.”

“And then what?” Victoria whispered. “Will we send him away? He has been a part of our family for almost two years, Ollie. I know you have your differences because of Esme but—”

“This is no longer about Esme,” Oliver interjected. “Now he has his sights on Julia. Do you think it is a coincidence that he moves in on the women we choose?”

“Ollie, you know I trust in you and I believe you but I haven’t the energy to fight this battle with you. I am not certain I would even wish to if I did.”

“You do not care that he pretends to be someone he is not and will fool that girl into marrying him?”

“Oliver, Julia is a grown woman. She has not been forced into the marriage.”

“Because she does not yet realize whom she is marrying!” Oliver insisted. “Do you suppose she knows what a whoremonger he is? That he has bedded every prostitute in San Bernardino?”

“Oliver, that is a rumor,” Victoria chided and Emily began to wail. “I must take her back to bed. I suggest you get rest of your own, Ollie. Whatever this fixation you have on Evan will not bode well for you in the long run.”

Julia ducked back along the stairwell as she heard the chairs moving in the kitchen and she choked back a cry as she felt something against her leg.

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