Elijah | mounties

Bride for Elijah

CHAPTER 1

"Get your hands off me, you filthy swine." Rose pulled her hand back and was already bringing the palm of it across his cheek as the door opened. The loud gasp that reached her ears drowned out the crack of her hand on the man's skin. Slowly turning her head, she knew the moment she saw her mother and the other woman standing there, they weren't going to believe anything she had to say.

They'd already made up their minds.

She was in the arms of Robert Harvey, with the front of her dress torn just enough to expose the white of her skin underneath. It wouldn't matter if she tried to say she'd been fighting him off, because everyone knew Robert was the man who'd been chosen for her to marry. He was one of the most sought-after bachelors in all of Ottawa. And the man who'd been chosen to partner in her father's law firm.

All this meant was that there would be no way she could get out of marrying him.

While some things had come a long way in the past few decades, a woman's reputation could still be destroyed in one instance. She could then be forced to marry the man who she'd been caught alone with in the society she lived in—the wealthy elite of Ottawa.

Well, she wasn't going to end up stuck being married to a man she despised, no matter what damage her reputation suffered.

"Mother. Mrs. Franks." Nodding to the women, she tried to walk by them with her head held high, while pulling her blouse back over to cover herself. As she got beside them, her skirt got caught on a metal vase sitting near the doorway, and the entire pot overturned with a loud crash.

She stopped and tightly clenched her eyes briefly, not even wanting to turn around to see the damage she'd just done. Of course she wouldn't be able to make an exit with her dignity intact.

Taking a deep breath, she continued walking, never looking back. She'd rather be sent through the gates of hell, forced to sit with the devil himself, than to end up married to Robert Harvey. So, with the sound of the vase still rolling and echoing loudly across the room, she made her feet take one step in front of the other as she kept going out the door.

No, this time, she was going to take matters into her own hands. She wasn't sure how yet, but she knew she was going to have to leave the sheltered existence she'd lived in Ottawa behind.

And she realized with a start, she'd never been more excited in her life.

***

She hated lying, but she didn't see any other way around it. Her plan was already in motion, and by the time anyone realized what she'd done, it would be too late to do anything about it.

"I'm sure going to miss you, Rose."

Rose set her bag down and went over to put her arms around her friend. Claire Anderson was a maid who worked at their house, but Rose had never thought of her as anything less than a friend. She'd been her confidante, and often the only one to show her any compassion or kindness while Rose's parents worked so hard to rise in the ranks of Ottawa society.

The girls often snuck away together to talk to each other about their dreams and what they hoped for their future. Claire was a hopeless romantic, and she believed in true love. Rose wanted to believe in that too, but from what she'd seen in her own parent's marriage, she wasn't sure it was real.

"I know, Claire. I wish you could come with me. I promise to write, and maybe someday, you can come out there to see me." Rose tried to keep her lip from trembling as she pulled back and looked into her friend's tear-filled eyes.

She knew it was unlikely that Claire could ever afford to travel out west. And Rose doubted she'd ever be welcomed back here in Ottawa once her parents found out what she'd done. So truthfully, they both knew it was probably the last time they would see each other.

"What is he like? Did Miss Hazel tell you much about him? Is he handsome?"

Rose smiled as Claire asked the very questions she'd known her friend would ask. It was the first time they'd really had a chance to sit and talk alone since Miss Hazel Hughes had approached Rose at church on Sunday. She would be heading to begin her training in just a few days, so she had been secretly trying to pack more of her belongings than anyone knew.

Her parents believed she was being trained in the wifely duties for her marriage to Robert. They couldn't understand why she was insisting on the training since Robert would be a partner in her father's law firm, and they would have maids as she was accustomed to.

Rose had insisted she wanted to be the best wife possible. She wanted to go to Miss Hazel's to learn everything she could before getting married.

Claire was the only one who knew the truth.

She had no intentions of marrying Robert, and would be leaving on a train headed to British Columbia on the first of October. And when she arrived, Rose would be marrying a stranger.

A Mountie who Miss Hazel Hughes had met, and who she'd decided needed a wife.

"I don't know any more than I've already told you. Miss Hazel says that Elijah is a kind and quiet man, and he needs someone who can bring out the laughter in him. And most importantly, he will protect me if I need it."

Claire wrinkled her eyes together like she always did when she was annoyed. "Robert Harvey better not even think of chasing you out there. If he does, I hope your Mountie takes care of him and lets him know that you're no longer someone he can try bending to his will."

Rose rolled her eyes. "He's not my Mountie, Claire." Although she had to admit to feeling a certain tingle in her stomach as she said the words. She knew it was crazy to be running across the country to marry a stranger, but somehow she sensed that this man Elijah would treat her better than the man she'd be forced to marry if she stayed here.

This way, she could have some control of her own life, and get away from the stifling life she led under her parent’s watchful eyes.

"I still can't believe Hazel Hughes just came right up to you and said she thought you'd be perfect as a Mountie’s wife where her son was working. Or that you'd be so quick to agree for that matter!"

"Trust me, when Miss Hazel has an idea, she doesn't back down easily. I knew the minute she came over to me she had something in mind. I've spoken to her quite a few times over the years at church, so I could tell this time, she wasn't just coming to make small talk."

Rose was leaning into her wardrobe, carefully choosing which dresses she would take with her as she talked with Claire. She hadn't realized quite how far she had her head inside until a loud clap startled her, making her bang her head on the corner of a small wardrobe shelf.

As Claire's voice followed, saying how romantic it all sounded, Rose had difficulty hearing through the ringing in her ears. She reached up to rub the spot that had been wounded as she quickly spun around to glare at her friend.

"Claire, look what you made me do! I just hit my head so hard I'm seeing stars. Get the notion out of your own head that this is some kind of romantic trip I'm going on."

Claire just laughed. "Rose, you and I both know you'd have likely banged your head regardless of what I was doing." She clapped her hands again for emphasis. "And, I have a feeling you might be in for more than you even realize when you head out to marry your Mountie."

Rose just kept massaging the bump that was already forming and shook her head in Claire's direction.

"I've told you already, he's not my Mountie!”

BUY IT