MAIL ORDER MOUNTIES

Bride for Nathaniel

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CHAPTER 1

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“Thank you, sir, but I can manage just fine on my own.” Claire tucked the small bag tighter under her arm as she worked at dragging the other two suitcases down the sidewalk. They were heavy, so she had to stop and rest every few steps. The man who’d been following her, determined to help, still wasn’t taking the hint. She didn’t trust him, or the way he was eyeing up her reticule. 

 

“Come now, miss. You can’t be dragging all these bags on your own. Just let me give you a hand.” His words were slightly slurred, and she couldn’t tell if it was because he’d just come from the saloon at the far end of the street or it was just his usual manner of speaking.

 

Either way, she still didn’t like him hanging around her. Everything she owned in the world was inside these bags. She wasn’t letting anyone hold on to them except herself.

 

 He reached out and held on to the suitcase bouncing against her left leg as she pulled herself along, struggling against her long skirt and cumbersome baggage. She stopped and turned slightly to face him. 

 

“Sir, kindly take your hands off my case. I’ve tried to be polite, but I’m afraid you just aren’t understanding me. I don’t want your help.” She could see her breath as she spoke, the small puffs of air rising into the coldness of the day. Tugging hard, she pulled the suitcase from his grip.

 

As she did, he lurched forward, grabbing at the small purse under her arm. Twisting away, she clenched her arm into her side while she dropped the suitcase from that hand, preventing him from getting a good grip on the purse. He stumbled slightly, just as she swung around and brought the other suitcase up with both hands, slamming it into the side of his head.

 

He fell forward, clutching at his head. “Ouch, what are you doing, you crazy woman?”

 

“I’m giving you exactly what you deserve, you loathsome buffoon. You’re not getting any of my bags, so you can keep walking. If you even so much as look at me funny, I’ll scream so loud we’ll have the entire city of Ottawa racing to see what the noise is all about.”

 

Her chest heaved as she glared at the man who was looking back at her like she’d completely lost her mind. Which, if she were truthful with herself, she was teetering very close to having happen.

 

His eyes pulled together and he started to come toward her again. She waited until he was close enough before swinging again. This time, he was ready and put his hand out to stop the suitcase from making contact. But while he sneered at her, believing he’d won this time, she struck out with the pointy end of her boot, connecting hard on his shin.

 

When he stumbled and bent over in pain, he let go of the suitcase enough that she could swing it once more, with a loud crack to the side of his head.

 

Thankfully, a couple were now walking by and stopped to ask if everything was all right.

 

“This man seems to think he can help himself to my bags. I’ve merely been showing him that isn’t the case.” She smiled at them as the man who’d been accosting her stood up and ran in the other direction, as fast as his stumbling legs would take him.

 

The woman smiled widely at her while the man on her arm tipped his hat before making their way down the street. Claire was still in the nice section of Ottawa. However, there were always thieves and thugs hanging around, thinking they could help themselves to any belongings the wealthy who lived in the area couldn’t hold onto tightly enough.

 

She was alone again. Pulling her shawl up tighter around her neck, Claire stood for a moment and looked around her. People rushed along the streets, hurrying to get into the warmth of their destination and away from the cold autumn wind. 

 

Claire had lived here for as long as she could remember, working in the upscale area of Ottawa. She’d spent her early years in Miss Pascal’s Home for Orphans before being hired by the Lambert family to work as a lady’s maid to their young daughter, Rose. The girls had both been quite young and had formed a close friendship, although they’d kept it hidden from anyone else.

 

It wouldn’t have been considered proper for the daughter of the wealthy Andrew Lambert to be friends with an orphan who’d been hired as her maid.

 

But it hadn’t mattered to Rose. She treated Claire as a friend, and since the day she’d left to marry her Mountie out west, Claire had been left on her own. After Mr. Lambert found out she’d known about Rose’s plan to run off to marry a stranger in British Columbia, and had even helped his daughter to pull it off, he’d promptly fired her. It left her with nowhere to go.

 

Swallowing against the lump in her throat as she realized how alone she was, Claire tried not to panic. All her life, she’d had to depend on herself. Other than Rose, she’d had no one else to rely on. She could figure this out too.

 

Bending down, Claire picked up her bags and made her way to the bench up the street. She struggled to hold them tightly to her while keeping her shawl from falling away from her shoulders. The skin on her cheeks was prickling from the crisp air, and when she sat on the bench, the cold from the metal frame seeped through the fabric of her skirts.

 

Bringing her hands up, she cupped them in front of her mouth and blew warm air into them. Her bags sat on either side of her, and her reticule was still tucked up safely under her shawl.

 

Pulling it out, she carefully opened it to peek inside. She knew there wasn’t much money in there. Mr. Lambert had refused to pay her the last few weeks he owed her, saying she had no right to the money after doing what she’d done.

 

Claire didn’t care. Rose was happy now and getting away from the life she hated here was the best thing her friend had ever done. So even though she’d lost her job and was now with nowhere to go, Claire would do it all again to help Rose.

 

The familiar envelope was there inside her bag so she pulled out the letter to read again. 

 

Dearest Claire,

 

I promised you I would write as soon as I could. There is so much to tell you!

 

Remember when you kept talking about my Mountie and how sure you were I’d fall in love, but I didn’t believe it would happen?

 

Well, you were right, Claire. I did fall in love.

 

Elijah is the most caring, wonderful man I could have ever dreamed of marrying. Every day I wake up so thankful that I was brave enough to get away and take charge of my own life. British Columbia is beautiful, and Squirrel Ridge Junction is small but lovely. The mountains are stunning to look at every day. I even have a moose named Monty who visits me regularly, albeit while sometimes causing some minor destruction along the way.

 

I miss you so much, and I wish every day for you to find your own happiness like I have. If you ever have the chance to do something daring that can bring you joy, promise me you’ll do it. There’s so much more out there beyond the city of Ottawa. You just never know where your heart may lead you.

 

I pray I will get to see you again soon. Your friendship got me through the roughest times, and I can never repay you for helping me to get away.

 

All my love,

 

Rose

 

Claire had received the letter just this week, and hearing how happy her friend was had warmed her heart. Folding it along the well-worn creases from being read many times over, Claire tucked it back into her bag.

 

You just never know where your heart may lead you.

 

The words played in her mind, over and over. And as she sat on the cold bench watching the world go on around her, Claire knew exactly what she had to do.

 

It was time to do something daring, and pray that her heart would know the way.