Claiming Their Mail-Order Bride: A Cowboy Ménage Romance (Montana Ménage Book 2)

  Claiming Their Mail-Order Bride

  Montana Ménage Book 2

  Lily Reynard

  Philtata Press, LLC

  Copyright © 2020 Lily Reynard

  All rights reserved

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

  Cover design by: Jacqueline Sweet

  For Liv Brywood, with friendship and gratitude for sharing her knowledge of Montana history and her photos of various Montana locations. This book could not have been written without her input and assistance. Thank you!

  Excerpt

  Then, as if the surprise of an arriving—and highly unwelcome—bride wasn't enough, Walt threw another stick of dynamite into the conversation.

  "Our bride," he said quietly. Color rose in his face under his tan and scattering of freckles. "I subscribed to the Matrimonial Hope magazine and saw an ad for a mail-order bride. Miss Elizabeth Hunter has agreed to marry both of us." He paused, studying Larkin's face.

  Larkin didn't try to hide his shock and dismay at this turn of events. "Goddammit, Walt!"

  "I thought you'd be happy," Walt added, looking unhappy. "Since we usually share our women, I figured that you wouldn't mind sharing a wife. Or maybe you want your own wife? I could give you my copy of Matrimonial—"

  "I don't need a God-damned wife!" Larkin exploded. "I'm happy with the way things are! I like women just fine, especially in bed, but I sure as hell don't want to hitch myself to one!" He was so angry that he was shaking. It took all his self-control not to wallop Walt and knock the stupid out of him. "Why the hell did you have to go and do that? And without even talking to me about it!"

  "All I'm asking is to give Miss Hunter a chance!" Walt's face flushed, a sure sign that he was getting mad too.

  He might be generally soft-spoken and cautious where Larkin tended to charge ahead when he spotted an opportunity, but Larkin knew that his friend was every inch as stubborn as he was. And for some crazy reason, he'd set his mind on marrying this female, sight unseen. "We've been writing letters to each other since last autumn, and I can tell she’s a sweet and caring woman. More importantly, she's a farm girl, and so living out here on the ranch won't come as a shock to her system."

  "Sweet and caring, huh?" Larkin snorted. "C'mon, hand over a photograph of this angel. She sounds too good to be true." He shook his head. "Look, if she's everything you say she is, then why hasn't she already gotten herself hitched to a suitor back home?"

  "Because she doesn't have any money or any prospects. Her brothers are set to inherit the family farm, and they're bound and determined to keep her a spinster so that she can care for their father in his old age," Walt explained. He sighed. "And that's why she wasn't able to send a photo—no money for one, and she didn't want her brothers finding out what she was up to."

  I can't believe he fell for that humbug! Larkin shook his head.

  "She's probably a sour, hatchet-faced old stick; you're gonna be really sorry that you got bamboozled," he predicted.

  "Well, if you hurry and get yourself cleaned up, we can both meet the train and Miss Hunter," Walt shot back. "Then we'll see who's right."

  Chapter One

  Young lady of good family and education would like to correspond with some gentleman of means, one who would be willing to take her without a dollar, as she has nothing to offer but herself. – 19th century mail-order bride advertisement

  Aboard the Utah & Northern Railway train from Ogden to Butte

  Thursday, May 13, 1886

  "Two men, Liza?" Sarah Franklin exclaimed. "And you intend to marry both of them? Isn't that illegal?"

  "Shh!" Elizabeth Hunter whispered, hunching her shoulders and glancing quickly around the second-class railway carriage. "Not so loud, please!"

  The carriage consisted of pairs of cushioned seats facing each other, and a wide center aisle. Their fellow passengers in the women and families car appeared to be absorbed in quiet reading or trying to entertain bored children before bedtime. A murmur of stories read out loud and quiet guessing games, punctuated by an occasional shriek from a baby or toddler, rose above the creaking of the train car's springs and the steady clack-clack-clack of the wheels against the rails.

  Outside the train, the passing desert landscape was etched in long shadows. Jagged mountains were washed in silver by the full moon, which hung low on the eastern horizon.

  The polished brass gas lamps hanging from the beadboard ceiling had been lit an hour or two ago, but it would be some time yet before the porters came through the carriage to fold down the seats into beds and to pull down the row of folding upper berth beds from their positions against the carriage's side wall. Each section would then be screened from the aisle by a curtain for the overnight portion of the twelve-hour journey to Butte in the Montana Territory.

  Sarah and Liza had met on the train a few days earlier, on the Chicago to Utah segment of Sarah's cross-country odyssey to escape her old life in Boston. They had quickly become close friends on the long journey across the Great Plains.

  Upon arrival in Ogden, located on the barren shores of the Great Salt Lake, Sarah had been glad to discover that Elizabeth, too, was transferring to an overnight Union Pacific train headed north to the Montana Territory. They had eaten supper together before boarding the overnight train.

  Keenly aware that their journey together would be ending soon, they had begun talking about their plans for the future. From their earlier conversation, Sarah was already aware that Liza, who was plain but had beautiful glossy brown hair that she kept braided and pinned up under a smart straw hat, was traveling to a small mining town to begin her new life as a mail-order bride. But she hadn't been expecting her friend's shocking pronouncement when the other young woman reached inside her reticule to produce a photograph of her suitors.

  With a mixture of shock and fascination, Sarah stared down at the photograph, which had been mounted on a sturdy card. Two men stood against a painted backdrop of snowcapped peaks. They were both fit and clean-shaven and appeared to be in their mid-to-late twenties. They were both clad in plain dark coats and matching gray buttoned vests over white shirts, with sturdy trousers and work boots. One man was fair-haired and smiling at the camera, and Sarah was immediately struck by the friendliness and good cheer radiating from the sepia-toned image. The other man was dark-haired, with an intense stare and a serious expression. He looked quite handsome in a brooding, Byronic way.

  "I suppose that the situation may become clearer once you actually meet them in person," Sarah ventured in a low voice, handing back the card to her companion.

  "Perhaps," Liza replied. "But Mr. Edwards—Walter—" She pressed her lips together in a line, as if considering her next words carefully. "Well, he was quite frank in his correspondence. He informed me that there are very few women in Twin Forks, or anywhere in the Montana Territory, as a matter of fact. He and his childhood friend, Mr. Larkin Williams, are business partners who own a prosperous ranch and a mine. They're offering me very comfortable circumstances—a nice home in the beautiful countryside, and with a generous settlement. And…" Her expression sobered. "Well, to tell you the truth, this is the best arrangement I could possibly hope for, being a girl wi
th no money and no prospects. I know it's an outlandish proposal, but it's still a hundred times better than what was awaiting me back home on my father's farm!"

  Sarah nodded. She understood all too well. Hadn't she run away from home to gamble on an unknown future in the booming frontier mining town of Butte?

  "I do hope you won't think too badly of me," Liza continued. Her expression turned anxious. "You're my only friend in the world right now, and it would break my heart to lose your esteem and respect."

  Sarah leaned forward in her seat and grasped the other woman's gloved hand.

  "Believe me, I understand perfectly," she assured Liza. "And I would never judge you. I—" The words choked in her throat. She couldn't risk telling anyone what had happened. But she didn't want to lie to Liza, either. So she settled for a partial truth. "I find myself in similar straits and hope desperately to find respectable employment when I arrive in Butte."

  She pushed down the nagging fear about what might await her in the booming mining town once she arrived with her meager funds and without references or any connections. Her late mother had always advised her not to borrow trouble.

  Surely there are respectable women in Butte in need of a well-bred lady's maid or even a governess. Or perhaps I could apply to become a schoolteacher, especially since I was always good at sums, and I speak passable French.

  Liza's pale face broke into a radiant smile. "About that…I have an idea. Please hear me out." She squeezed Sarah's hand back. "You mentioned that you don't have a position awaiting you in Butte, nor any relations there. What if you alighted at Twin Forks with me? It's only a few stops away from Butte!" Her blue eyes glowed with excitement.

  Sarah's surprise must have shown, because Liza quickly added, "And if you change your mind later, you can always resume your journey."

  "I—" Sarah's throat tightened with conflicting emotions. She wasn't accustomed to having anyone care about her well-being, nor had she received many offers of aid in her straitened circumstances. Afraid to get her hopes up, she ventured, "I wouldn't want to be a burden or inconvenience you in any way."

  "Nonsense," Liza said, still smiling, her tone firm. "Perhaps we could even find you a husband." She grinned, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "I mean, I don't really need two fiancés, do I? I'm not certain what I'll do with one husband, much less a pair of them." She giggled. "When we arrive in Twin Forks, I could introduce you to Walter and Mr. Williams."

  "I'd—I'd like that very much," Sarah said. Her head was spinning with this abrupt change of plans, but she couldn't resist the prospect of starting her new life with a friend by her side. "I was already anticipating how much I'd miss you and contemplating the difficulty of forming new acquaintances among strangers. This way, you and I would at least know one other person in Twin Forks!"

  "Exactly!" Liza said. "I don't have any sisters, just brothers, but I feel as if we could be sisters in spirit. So, you'll do it, then?"

  What do I have to lose? Sarah asked herself. One mining town is probably much the same as another.

  "Yes," she replied. "As I told you, I'm an only child, but I've always dreamed about having a sister."

  "I'm so glad!" Still holding onto Sarah's hands, Liza leaned forward and kissed Sarah's cheek. Her lips were icy.

  Startled, Sarah pulled back a little and saw that her friend was looking paler than usual, and her lips had acquired a faint blue tinge.

  "Who knows, perhaps Mr. Williams will take a shine to you, and we can celebrate a double wedding!" Liza continued. "I think—"

  Sarah never found out what Liza was thinking.

  Her friend took a pause to draw breath, wheezing alarmingly. Then she bent double in her seat as she was racked with a violent coughing spell.

  "Liza!" Sarah said with concern. "Let me fetch you some water."

  Liza looked up at her, her eyes wide with terror, and nodded, her shoulders shaking with her efforts to draw breath and with the relentless coughing that shook her like a terrier shaking its prey. Alarmed, Sarah observed that her friend's lips were definitely blue now.

  She grabbed one of the tin cups that had held tea and hurried towards the lavatory at the back of the carriage. She recalled that she'd seen a drinking fountain next to it.

  The terrible sound of Liza's coughs followed her down the aisle. The other passengers began craning their heads and looking around.

  The door connecting their carriage to the next one opened, and their porter entered. He was a young black man who had introduced himself earlier as George. His eyes widened in alarm as he heard Liza.

  "Please," Sarah said to him. "Do you know if there's a doctor on the train? My friend needs help."

  George nodded. "There's a doctor in the next carriage."

  Sarah felt a surge of hope. "Do you think he'd be willing to take a look at my friend? She's having trouble breathing, and her lips are turning blue."

  George froze. Then he said, looking deeply uncomfortable. "Thing is, Miss, that doctor is a lady. A Negro lady."

  Sarah was too frantic to feel shock at this unexpected revelation.

  "It doesn't matter," she assured him fervently. "If you could request her aid, I would be most grateful."

  "Of course, Miss." George vanished through the connecting door.

  Sarah filled the cup with water from the narrow copper spigot positioned over a white porcelain basin, then turned to hurry back to her seat.

  An older woman wearing widow's weeds held out a small, crumpled-looking paper bag as Sarah passed. "Here dear, I have some horehound drops. Please take them. They're just the thing for soothing a cough. "

  "Thank you," Sarah said gratefully. She accepted the bag with the hard candies, then returned to Liza.

  In a vain attempt to stifle her coughs, her friend was pressing a white cotton handkerchief to her mouth. Sarah noticed that the corners were embroidered with incongruously cheerful-looking yellow primroses.

  Liza accepted the tin cup with a grateful nod, but the tiny sips of water that her friend managed to take between coughs only seemed to make things worse, and one of the brown horehound cubes had no effect whatsoever. Even more alarmingly, Sarah saw flecks of blood staining the snowy fabric of the handkerchief.

  "Good evening," said a soft voice a few minutes later. "I'm Dr. Beth Addison. How may I help?"

  Sarah looked up and found a beautiful brown-skinned woman looking down at her with concern in her dark eyes. She carried a black leather physician's satchel in one hand.

  Dr. Addison's thick black hair was pulled back into a neat chignon under a straw hat trimmed with a wide satin ribbon that matched her fashionable long, fitted bodice and draped skirts over a modest bustle. Her clothing was free of excess ornamentation, but Sarah's experienced eye saw immediately that the sky-blue wool was of the very best quality, and the tailoring impeccable.

  "Oh, thank goodness," Sarah exclaimed. "Thank you so much for coming. My friend hasn't been able to stop coughing, and I'm so worried about her."

  A certain tension in the doctor's upright carriage vanished at Sarah's words.

  "May I examine you, Miss?" Dr. Addison asked Liza.

  Liza nodded breathlessly, and the doctor pulled off one of her spotless kid gloves, dyed a pale blue to match her clothing, and bent to touch Liza's forehead with long, elegant fingers.

  Aware that all of their fellow passengers were now observing with keen interest, Sarah rose from her seat and quickly unfastened the long curtains intended to provide privacy after the beds had been made up. She drew them to screen their seats from rest of the carriage.

  "No signs of fever," Dr. Addison reported in a low voice. "But her pulse is rapid and irregular. How long has she been like this?"

  Liza tried to answer, but the attempt just brought on a fresh bout of coughing.

  "Not long. It started only a few minutes ago, but it didn't sound right. And I saw some blood on her handkerchief," Sarah replied. "She seemed fine until now, just a little bit out of breath wh
en we were walking briskly to board this train. I thought perhaps her corset might be laced a bit too tightly."

  A line appeared between Dr. Addison's finely shaped dark brows at the mention of the blood. Her expression sympathetic but concerned, she asked Liza, "Are you experiencing any chest pains?"

  Liza nodded.

  Dr. Addison's frown deepened. "Any prior fatigue or feelings of weakness? Frequent shortness of breath?"

  Liza nodded again. An icy lump of dread began congealing in Sarah's stomach.

  Dr. Addison opened the black leather satchel and pulled out a stethoscope. "Have you noticed any swelling in your legs, ankles or feet?"

  Another nod from Liza as she convulsed with another spasm of coughing.