Amelia (The Marriage Market Book 1) Read Online Free Page B
Author: Stevie MacFarlane
nervously twisting her hands.
"Let me see the picture again," Effie demanded.
Opening her reticule, Amelia pulled out the photograph and handed it to Effie. After studying it for several minutes while Amelia chewed her lower lip, Effie handed it back with a grin.
"Yes," she said decisively. "He's handsome, wealthy and ready for marriage. Besides, you get to go off on a grand adventure, while I get to visit my maiden aunt in Albany," she continued with a grimace. "Don't forget, I'm the first person you write to if he has a brother," she insisted as they pulled up to the station.
* * *
The trip to Albany was not nearly long enough, Amelia thought as she said good-bye to her friend.
"How long do you think you'll be able to stay with your Aunt Maude before someone gets suspicious?" she asked as she brushed Effie's cheek with hers.
"I don't know. I'll stay as long as I can stand it, but I doubt it will be longer than a week. Of course, there won't be any trouble until I return home and have to explain why you're not with me. I may be able to get a couple of extra days if I plead exhaustion and am not seen in public. Your father is the only one, well aside from Grace, who knows you went with me. I'll be in hot water over this for weeks when the truth comes out."
"Blame it all on me," Amelia insisted. "Tell them you knew nothing about me going west to marry until I refused to get off the train in Albany."
"That won't work. The first thing they'll ask is why I didn't notify them of your plans immediately when I became aware of them. Never mind. I'll figure something out, and by the time I have to fess up, you'll likely already be married and there won't be a thing they can do about it. Don't worry, Amelia. You just enjoy your trip. If things get too difficult, I'll be on a train headed west myself," she said earnestly.
"Oh, Effie, I love you. Thank you so much."
"I love you too, Amelia." Effie hurried away to locate her bags and find a porter.
In Chicago, Amelia boarded a train for Omaha, glad that she'd paid the extra fare for a compartment. The journey wasn't difficult, but it was lonely and she spent many agonizing hours wondering if she was doing the right thing as she stared out the window at the flat land of the Midwest.
She took her meals alone when the dining car was relatively quiet, wrote in her journal and read until her eyes crossed. By the time she boarded the train for California, she was beginning to get depressed, convinced she'd made a horrible mistake. When Theodore Thomas began to seem appealing, she pulled herself together and tried to enjoy the majestic scenery of the Rocky Mountains, noting their beauty in her journal and letters she'd started to Effie and Grace.
When the train pulled into the station in San Francisco, Amelia was filled with trepidation. Suppose he wasn't there to meet her? What if he wasn't who he said he was? What if he was a crusty old miner who'd sent someone else's photograph?
Gathering her things, she waited until the crowd of departing passengers had exited the train before she slowly made her way to the steps. Standing on the top one, she looked around at the milling people, her eyes searching for his handsome face, praying it was there.
She saw him approaching. He was tall, very tall, nearly even with her as she waited on the top step. His eyes were a cloudy blue, his jaw firm and his lips unsmiling as he stopped and looked at her questioningly.
"Miss Westcott? Amelia?" he asked hesitantly, his hat in his large hand.
Amelia gave one tiny nod and felt her knees quaking. She raised her hand as if to reach out to him and then did something she could never have imagined in a million years. She launched herself into his arms. Wrapping her arms tightly around him she buried her face in the curve of his neck and began to cry as he instinctively caught her and tightened his hold.
Her slight weight still managed to have him taking a step back. "What is it? Are you ill?" he
"Let me see the picture again," Effie demanded.
Opening her reticule, Amelia pulled out the photograph and handed it to Effie. After studying it for several minutes while Amelia chewed her lower lip, Effie handed it back with a grin.
"Yes," she said decisively. "He's handsome, wealthy and ready for marriage. Besides, you get to go off on a grand adventure, while I get to visit my maiden aunt in Albany," she continued with a grimace. "Don't forget, I'm the first person you write to if he has a brother," she insisted as they pulled up to the station.
* * *
The trip to Albany was not nearly long enough, Amelia thought as she said good-bye to her friend.
"How long do you think you'll be able to stay with your Aunt Maude before someone gets suspicious?" she asked as she brushed Effie's cheek with hers.
"I don't know. I'll stay as long as I can stand it, but I doubt it will be longer than a week. Of course, there won't be any trouble until I return home and have to explain why you're not with me. I may be able to get a couple of extra days if I plead exhaustion and am not seen in public. Your father is the only one, well aside from Grace, who knows you went with me. I'll be in hot water over this for weeks when the truth comes out."
"Blame it all on me," Amelia insisted. "Tell them you knew nothing about me going west to marry until I refused to get off the train in Albany."
"That won't work. The first thing they'll ask is why I didn't notify them of your plans immediately when I became aware of them. Never mind. I'll figure something out, and by the time I have to fess up, you'll likely already be married and there won't be a thing they can do about it. Don't worry, Amelia. You just enjoy your trip. If things get too difficult, I'll be on a train headed west myself," she said earnestly.
"Oh, Effie, I love you. Thank you so much."
"I love you too, Amelia." Effie hurried away to locate her bags and find a porter.
In Chicago, Amelia boarded a train for Omaha, glad that she'd paid the extra fare for a compartment. The journey wasn't difficult, but it was lonely and she spent many agonizing hours wondering if she was doing the right thing as she stared out the window at the flat land of the Midwest.
She took her meals alone when the dining car was relatively quiet, wrote in her journal and read until her eyes crossed. By the time she boarded the train for California, she was beginning to get depressed, convinced she'd made a horrible mistake. When Theodore Thomas began to seem appealing, she pulled herself together and tried to enjoy the majestic scenery of the Rocky Mountains, noting their beauty in her journal and letters she'd started to Effie and Grace.
When the train pulled into the station in San Francisco, Amelia was filled with trepidation. Suppose he wasn't there to meet her? What if he wasn't who he said he was? What if he was a crusty old miner who'd sent someone else's photograph?
Gathering her things, she waited until the crowd of departing passengers had exited the train before she slowly made her way to the steps. Standing on the top one, she looked around at the milling people, her eyes searching for his handsome face, praying it was there.
She saw him approaching. He was tall, very tall, nearly even with her as she waited on the top step. His eyes were a cloudy blue, his jaw firm and his lips unsmiling as he stopped and looked at her questioningly.
"Miss Westcott? Amelia?" he asked hesitantly, his hat in his large hand.
Amelia gave one tiny nod and felt her knees quaking. She raised her hand as if to reach out to him and then did something she could never have imagined in a million years. She launched herself into his arms. Wrapping her arms tightly around him she buried her face in the curve of his neck and began to cry as he instinctively caught her and tightened his hold.
Her slight weight still managed to have him taking a step back. "What is it? Are you ill?" he