Mail Order Bride: Redeemed Mail Order Brides Box Set - Books 7-9: Redeemed Western Historical Mail Order Bride Victorian Romance Collection, #3

By Kenneth Markson

Now available as a Box Set, books 7 - 9 in the Redeemed Mail Order Brides Collection. 
** A Western Historical Mail Order Bride Victorian Romance Novelette Collection** 

Mail Order Bride: Redeemed By The Scarred Bride 
Amy's face is badly scarred by fire at the age of twelve. Tired of the taunts and living in the shadows, Amy longs for a new life, and decides to become a mail order bride. Donald is blind due to a severe fever, and seeks to withdraw from life. The last thing he wants is a wife. Can Amy teach him what is truly important? Will love triumph in San Diego? 

Mail Order Bride: Redeeming The Crippled Cowboy 
Tess, a spunky young woman, leaves an abusive stepfather in Boston and travels to a small town in Texas, to be a mail order bride. Clay, the ruggedly handsome foreman of a large cattle outfit, is crippled saving a young cowboy during a stampede. He returns home to his ranch to drown himself in drink. Can spirited Tess bring him back to become the man he once was? Will love prevail, and can the evil which comes to town be stopped? 

Mail Order Bride: Redeeming The Deaf Rancher 
Ruth, a pretty teacher in a prestigious Boston school, stands by her principles and is discharged. A vindictive headmaster closes any opportunities open to her, and she decides to go to Los Angeles as a mail order bride. Chet, a tall, handsome rancher, heroically tries to save a teller during a bank robbery. He is shot, and an ensuing explosion severely damages his ears, leaving him deaf. Can Ruth teach Chet to overcome his disability and live life to the fullest again? Can they survive a future disaster? Will they both find love together? 

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: 9781533763709

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

Ugly! Ugly! Ugly! the schoolchildren cried.  Years later, she still remembered those cruel words.  Some scars heal.  Some never do.

Amy Jenkins was twelve when a fire took her mother's life, and horribly burned the right side of her face.  Her mother died, saving her.  As far as Amy was concerned, her father left her that terrible day as well.

Thomas Jenkins was overwhelmed with grief at the loss of his wife.  For some reason, he seemed to resent his daughter's presence from that time on.  Perhaps it was because Amy was the very image of her mother, with her long dark hair and blue eyes, and her father could not bear to look at her without feeling pain.

Whatever the case, he completely withdrew his love from her, just when she needed it the most.  He never cared about the cruel taunts against his daughter.  Throughout her childhood, Amy had to stand alone, and fend for herself.

Amy recently reached her eighteenth birthday.  There was no celebration in their small home.  She and her father were like two strangers who happened to share the same living quarters.

The most recognition she generally got out of him, was a nod or a grunt.  Nevertheless, Amy would prepare their meals, perform the household chores, and keep the place clean.  After dinner, her father would customarily go to his bedroom for the rest of the night.

Thomas Jenkins spent long hours during the day employed as a menial worker at a St. Louis brewery.  He worked the dangerous machines that ground, milled, and shredded the malt and barley.  The steam heat and open fires that surrounded him, were hot enough to make workers collapse from heat stroke.

Amy's father's work also required heavy physical labor.  He had a hard lot.  But he chose to make things worse, by withholding his love from his only daughter.

Chapter 2

The area where Amy lived along the banks of the Mississippi, was a rough working class neighborhood.  Besides brewing, the leading industries of the city included flour milling, slaughtering beef, machining, and tobacco processing.  The factories were like constant machines, that pushed out their products continually.

Factory workers worked long night shifts to keep their families from going hungry.  They gathered at waterfront eateries like Carson's, for breakfast and a brief respite from their grueling labor.  Carson's was about half a mile from Amy's home.

Even though it was pitch dark, Amy covered the right side of her face with her long dark hair, before she left her home, and went out on to the street.  She customarily hid that side of her face with her hair or a shawl, whenever she went outside.  That way, she avoided the shudders and stares from uncaring people.

Mary Carson was a hard, middle-aged woman in her early sixties, who lost her husband in an explosion in the brewery's bottle shop.  Forced to rely solely on her own resources, she opened up a restaurant, servicing the very people that her husband had once worked with.  Mary was one of the few people who had been kind to Amy when she sought a job.

She gave her a chance, when so many others had waived her off.

It won't do, Mary said, looking Amy right in the eye, for you to wait on the customers.  But, if you're willing to stay in the back room all the time and learn how to cook, I'm willing to take you on.

Amy immediately agreed, and over the course of a year, she had become a good short- order cook.  She worked under Pike, a crotchety old sailor who was an excellent cook when he wasn't drunk.  Mary kept him in line, when he became too abusive. 

Mary smiled when Amy arrived. 

Get your uniform on fast, Amy, she said.  We've got a full house, this morning.

Pike glowered at her, in his usual grumpy state.

About time you got here! he grumbled.  I hope I don't have to carry you the rest of the morning!

Worry about yourself! Amy retorted.  And stay off the sauce, she continued, I can smell it on your breath!

Pike scowled and shrugged his hands. 

Let's all just get to work, Mary said.

Inwardly, Mary smiled.  She had a fond spot for Amy, and was glad to see that the young woman was showing some spunk.  She would certainly have need of it, Mary thought to herself.

Chapter 3

Amy prepared the breakfast fare for the workers in the hot, back room of the restaurant.  They never saw her once, during the whole time that she worked at Carson's.  But they certainly did enjoy her food.

She baked tasty hot bread, muffins, pies, and corn bread.  Amy heated up omelets, sausages, fried potatoes, chops, and hash browns.  She learned how to keep the food hot, and get it out fast.

Pike's nasty comments didn't perturb her at all that morning.  Amy was in high spirits.  When her shift ended at noon, she intended to act upon a decision that she had reached earlier in the week.

She had read an ad in the St. Louis daily from the Wheeler Bridal Agency, seeking mail order brides to marry men out West.  Now that she was eighteen, Amy was determined to strike out on her own, and have a better future.  There never had been any love between her father and her, and she was certain that she would not be missed.

When her work at Carson's had ended for the day, Amy carefully covered the right side of her face with her hair, and took a carriage downtown.  Her heart was filled with both excitement and trepidation, as she got off at Main Street.  She was happy that she had found the strength to take a step to help herself, but she feared what the reception might be.

The bridal agency was located in a small brick building.  Amy rapped on the wooden door with a brass knocker.  A kindly looking woman in her forties, with soft blue eyes and brown hair wrapped in a bun, answered the door.

Can I help you? she smiled pleasantly.

Yes, you can, Amy replied.  I read your ad seeking mail order brides, and I was interested in speaking with you about it.

Oh, yes, the lady said, holding out her hand.  My name is Elaine Wheeler.  Please come in.

I'm Amy Jenkins, Amy said, shaking her outstretched hand.

Amy glanced around the room, as she sat down on a nicely cushioned chair.  The office had a fine carpet, and was tastefully furnished.  There were several fine paintings on the walls.

Call me Elaine, the lady said.

She was seated at an elegant wooden desk in front of Amy. 

So, why do you want to be a mail order bride, Amy? she asked pleasantly.

I've given the idea some thought, Amy replied.  There is no future for me here.  I would like to go out West, where I can start a new life, and raise a family with a nice gentleman.

Good, Elaine replied.  That is my goal with every young woman who walks through this door.

Elaine looked at the young woman sitting in front of her.  She was a compassionate person, who had helped many young women escape desperate situations.  But she also had an obligation not to deceive the gentlemen who corresponded with them. 

It was clear to her that Amy was hiding