Mail Order Bride: Redeemed Mail Order Brides Box Set - Books 10-12: Redeemed Western Historical Mail Order Bride Victorian Romance Collection, #4

By Kenneth Markson

Now available as a Box Set, books 10 - 12 in the Redeemed Mail Order Brides Collection. 
** A Western Historical Mail Order Bride Victorian Romance Novelette Collection**

Mail Order Bride: Redeemed By The Soldier 
Corinne, a pretty young woman, could stay in Carson City and end up being a soiled dove, or take a chance. She chooses to be a mail order bride to a miner in the California boomtown known as Bodie. But everything is not as it seems. Dez, a handsome soldier entered the Civil War at the age of sixteen, and was traumatized by what he had seen and the loss of his left arm. He drifts aimlessly from place to place, caring about nothing. Chance brings them together. Who will save Corinne from a vengeful enemy? Can Corinne help the soldier live again? Will two lonely people find the love they deserve? 

Mail Order Bride: Redeemed By The Illiterate Farmer 
Jane is caught in a trap. Desperately poor, she leaves Kansas City to become a mail order bride to a store clerk in San Fernando, California. Her future husband turns out to be much different than she ever imagined. Who will help her? Can she free herself from this dreadful situation? Will she find the true love that she yearns for? 

Mail Order Bride: Redeeming The Widow 
Sarah, a pretty young mail order bride, travels with her husband on the Oregon Trail seeking a better future. She faces the tragedies and trials which lie ahead. Can she survive the journey, and will happiness be waiting for her at the end of the trail in Oregon? 

If you enjoyed these stories, you may also enjoy Kenneth's  "Redeemed Mail Order Brides Box Set - Books 1-3: A Redeemed Western Historical Mail Order Bride Victorian Romance Novelette Collection,"  "Rescued Mail Order Brides Box Set - Books 1-3: A Rescued Western Historical Mail Order Bride Victorian Romance Collection,"  "Rescued Mail Order Brides Box Set - Books 4-6: A Rescued Western Historical Mail Order Bride Victorian Romance Collection," "Rescued Mail Order Brides Box Set - Books 7-9: A Rescued Western Historical Mail Order Bride Victorian Romance Collection," and "Mail Order Bride And Western Romance Box Set - Books 1-3: A Historical Mail Order Bride And Clean Western Romance Collection."  

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Markson
• Release date: May 22, 2016
• ISBN: 9781533782694

Kenneth Markson

While an English major at college, I wrote a column which was published weekly. I have been writing ever since. The old West and Los Angeles in the forties are eras which lend themselves to tales of romance, courage, and fast paced adventure. I particularly enjoy writing stories about the mail order brides who fearlessly took a chance and traveled West, hoping to find love and a better future. Many of the locales that I write about are places that I have either traveled through or actually lived in. I try to make my works richly accurate. My desire is to provide you with an entertaining and fun read. When I'm not writing, I enjoy spending time with my wife and two children.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Corinne Dunner had to get out of Carson City.  There was nothing left for her there.  Her choice was simple; remain, and end up being a soiled dove, or take a chance, and become a mail order bride.

She boarded a stagecoach for Bodie, California with a sense of relief.  She looked forward to a better life with her future husband, a burly miner named Jeb Wells.  Corinne pulled out the picture of the large man, with his dark brooding eyes.

It was hard to tell from a picture and a bit of correspondence what a person would be like, she thought to herself.  Put a smile and a good suit on him, she reflected, and the miner wouldn't be bad looking at all.  She wasn't expecting miracles, just a chance to be treated decently.

That wasn't asking for too much.  Or was it?  Corinne sighed, as she put the picture back in her pocket.

Corinne glanced at the three other occupants of the stagecoach, who were sharing the ride with her.  A heavyset, bearded salesman gave her a bright smile as she sat down. 

Good afternoon, ma'am, he said in a cheerful melodic voice.

Good afternoon, Corinne replied.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the salesman came to the crux of the conversation.  He gave her his most appealing look, as he spoke. 

Ma'am, he said, you look like a young lady who might be interested in some of the latest dress fashions from back East.  Can I show you some fabric samples?

Corinne had to laugh.  Right now, besides the dress which she wore on her back, she had one other nice dress in her worn travel bag.  Never mind the latest styles, she thought to herself, she had barely enough money for a month's food and lodging.

I'm sorry, Corinne said politely, I'm not interested right now.

The salesman was not ready to give up, just yet.

Are you sure? he asked, his hand reaching back into one of his bags.  It wouldn't be any bother for me to show you a few samples, and there's no obligation on your part.

Just then, another voice piped in.

You hard of hearing, mister! growled a tall man dressed in a dark woolen suit, with a dark felt cowboy hat covering his face.  The lady said no, he continued.  Now shut up, and let me sleep!

Corinne looked over at the tall man, whose face was concealed.  There was the bulge of a weapon, underneath his jacket.  Something about the man gave her the shivers, and she didn't frighten easily.

The salesman was clearly irritated by the gruff demand.  His face formed a pout, but at the last moment, he wisely chose to hold his tongue.  He would remain silent for the rest of the trip.

A hard looking man wearing a bowler hat sat to Corinne's right.  He chuckled softly at the salesman's discomfort.  His wandering eyes showed little interest in Corinne.  They were however, often fixed on the salesman's gold pocket watch.

The rocking of the stagecoach as it rolled along made Corinne drowsy.  She decided to doze off.  Perhaps, she thought to herself, it would make the trip go faster.    The sooner she reached Bodie, and took leave of the stagecoach and its passengers, the better.

Chapter 2

Bodie started with a  tragedy.  Four prospectors discovered gold on the eastern foothills of the Sierras.  The founder W.S. Bodey went with another man to Monroeville to pick up supplies.  The pair were returning to their cabin, when they were caught in a blizzard and Bodey perished.

Legend has it that a sign painter misspelled the camp's name, and the emerging town became known as Bodie.  Bodie's luck changed in 1876, when a freak mine cave-in exposed a valuable body of gold, and the Standard Consolidated Mining Company subsequently made a large investment in equipment and lumber.  Two years later, the Bodie Mine had a rich strike, and the boom was on.

Boarding houses, saloons, gambling halls, restaurants, banks, hotels, and many other businesses sprung up, seemingly overnight.  Besides the business and professional men, the miners, and their families, the lure of wealth brought in many less than savory characters who came to prey on the rest.  Gunmen, gamblers, prostitutes, thieves of every sort, and killers flooded into the mushrooming city, eager to take whatever they could lay their hands on.

Corinne saw a bustling mining center as the stagecoach pulled into Bodie.  The streets were full of large horse drawn wagons hauling freight, lumber, and ore.  Several horse drawn wagons were leaving town at the same time as their arrival, loaded with gold bullion.  They were guarded by several stern, hard looking men, armed with shotguns.

Scores of saloons lined Main Street, which was where the stagecoach driver let the passengers off.  Along the way, Corinne witnessed a savage barroom brawl, which had erupted into the street.  She heard gunfire emanating from several areas.

Dear God, Corinne thought to herself, what kind of a place have I come to.  Her future husband was supposed to meet her at the station, when she arrived.  She hoped he would come soon.

Main Street was full of people, many of them miners.  But she did not see anyone who resembled Jeb Wells.  Corinne was starting to get anxious, as she stood there by her worn travel bag, when she heard a man's voice call out behind her.

You must be Corinne, he said with a grin.

Corinne looked up, and recognized the burly miner approaching her.  She shook his hand, and gave him a bright smile.

I am, she replied, and you must be Jeb.

In the flesh, the miner laughed.

He gave her an affectionate hug, and grabbed her worn travel bag.  He tossed it into the back, and helped her up onto the horse drawn wagon.

I've got a quick stop to make, Jeb grinned, and then we'll go to your future home.

Chapter 3

We don't want your kind in here! an ugly voice growled.  Get out now, while you still can walk!

The owner of the voice was a powerfully built, heavyset thug who was used to bullying his way around the establishment.  He was superbly confident in his position, especially since he was backed up by an assortment of brutes, who stood in close proximity behind him.  The small, but muscular Asian man to whom the threat was directed, looked strangely nonchalant for someone who was greatly outnumbered.

He stays! snapped a tall man with a dusty, brown felt cowboy hat, who sat off to the side, sipping on some whiskey.

Enraged, the thug glowered at the man who had spoken.

Who are you, mister, to butt in where you don't belong! he snarled.

The tall man rose from his seat, his icy hard eyes looking right back at the bully.  He was a handsome man, except for the scar which graced his left cheekbone.  He pulled aside his jacket, revealing a gun belt holding a Colt.

The name's Dez Kirkland, he replied, and the man you're bothering is a friend of mine.

The thug's narrow eyes betrayed an air of recognition.

Heard of you Kirkland, he said, "and your