Mail Order Brides of Thornward (A Western Romance Book)

By Faye Sonja

Three inspirational stories of women who risked everything for love and traveled thousands of miles to the western frontier.

Part 1: Orphaned, Betrayed & Cherished by Her Foreign Artist

Forced to work in a brothel under the New Orleans gambling den manager Gus, Zelda has almost lost all hope of freedom. When all things seemed so hopeless, one day something good happened- she was set FREE.

She is offered to marry an artist. But things are not quite as simple as they seem.

What happened when Zelda discovered the truth that she was dumped on Charles, an Italian immigrant who won her in a poker tournament?

Part 2: Damaged, Cheated & Redeemed by Her Lawman

Grace has a tragic past that haunts her: orphaned on the streets of New Orleans, she was torn apart from her ten siblings at an early age.

She has no idea what she is in for when one day she is released from the New Orleans gambling den. She believes she is being set free. . . But the truth of the matter is that she has been bought by Rosalie, Jarrett's mother, to be her son's wife.

When Grace sees Jarrett's five children her heart melts. Could this be the family she has been longing for?

Part 3: The Forged Bride Meeting Her Rogue Royal

Elizabeth has been imprisoned for ten years for a crime she didn't commit, forced to take the fall for someone else.

FORCED to spend twenty-three hours a day locked up, in terrible conditions, Elizabeth's hope is wearing thin. But hope still remains that one day she will be set free. . .

When Blaine Harkness chooses her for his wife, it could be her one chance to get out of jail. To live a free life…

3 parts of heartwarming mail order brides tales of love, romance, and triumph over adversity in one book.

Love on the western frontier was a rare treasure. Follow these inspirational women who risked everything to travel to the untamed West in the hopes of finding love and starting a new family.

If you're a fan of clean western romance, you will love this book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Faye Sonja
• Release date: Feb 20, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393578321

Faye Sonja

Faye Sonja is a multi-voiced writer who aspires to use different voices in telling her stories, seeing characters coming alive through the multi-faceted writing styles give her great satisfaction. As a young girl, Faye Sonja has been fascinated with stories of the Old West, especially the theme of Mail Order Bride where a woman will find the courage to leave her homeland, take the plunge to seek out the love of her life out there in the unknown land. Such an act requires bravery, such an act requires faith. It takes a woman with strong Christian faith to step out on such a pursuit for her love. It is Faye's desire that readers will once again have the courage to believe in love again from reading her books, to be inspired through the characters in her story who through perseverance, in the face of obstacles, overcame the hurdles using that simple faith and belief of theirs. 

Book preview

PART 1

Orphaned, Betrayed & Cherished by Her Foreign Artist

Prologue

*   *   *

New Orleans

Ten Years Earlier.

The three girls sat, huddled together, as the storm took hold. Zelda, the eldest, shuddered as she felt a rat run across her feet. She reached over and hugged Grace, the next eldest girl closest to her. Elizabeth, the youngest of the three, with curly red hair and still full of innocence, didn't notice the rats. Don't tell her, Zelda whispered into Grace's ear. It'll only ruin her birthday.

Some birthday, Zelda thought quietly. Some way for Elizabeth to celebrate her thirteenth birthday.

Elizabeth turned to the others, her blue eyes bright and gleaming. The hint of happiness in them almost broke Zelda's heart. She knew this was no way for a young girl to celebrate her birthday, but Elizabeth had been living on the streets since she was just a small child, and it was all she knew. Whereas Elizabeth and Grace had been much older, seven and five, respectively, and they could still remember a life before it.

Did you get it? Elizabeth whispered. Oh, tell me you did, Zelda.

Zelda swallowed all of her misgivings and forced a bright smile to cross her face. I sure did, she said, pulling the cake out from behind her back. Elizabeth gasped. It's so beautiful. Where did you manage to get that, Zelda?

Don't ask.

Elizabeth reached over and threw her arms around Zelda's neck. She planted a kiss on Zelda's cheek before reaching over and doing the same to Grace.

Happy birthday, Zelda said, as she broke the dry, crumbling cake into bits for the other two girls.

Aren't you having any? Elizabeth asked, as behind her the storm clouds hovered even closer and the rain began to pour heavily.

Zelda shook her head. You two girls enjoy it, now.

Elizabeth, thirteen on that day, had been living with Grace, fourteen, and Zelda, now fifteen on the streets since their orphanage had flooded and disappeared two years earlier. They were too old to be taken in by adoptive parents, and only had only ever had each other to rely on. Zelda reached out a protective arm in an attempt to shield the others from the rain.

If only we had some shelter. Just for one day. Just for Elizabeth's birthday.

I'm sorry today couldn't have been better, Zelda said quietly.

Oh Zelda, you can't control the weather, Elizabeth replied.

It's not just the weather. She stopped and watched as the rats ran across the gutter again. This time she couldn't keep them away from Elizabeth. I'm sorry for all of this. Sorry we're all out here. Sorry I couldn't even get you a proper cake, let alone a present.

The youngest girl kept chewing on her piece of dry cake, as she eyed the rats trying to escape the rain. Zelda, Grace, she started. I want to make a birthday wish. More like a promise. It can be your present to me. She made sure she had the other girls’ attention. Grace nodded at her and Zelda asked what promise she wanted to make.

I want us all to make a vow, right here and now, that no matter what happens, we will always stick together.

Grace and Zelda looked at each other, before nodding and turning back to Elizabeth.

I promise, Elizabeth, that we will never be separated, Grace said, giving her younger friend a squeeze.

As Zelda watched the storm grow heavier, and the gutters begin to overflow with rainwater, she reached an arm around Elizabeth. I promise I will always be here for you Elizabeth. No matter what comes our way.

* * *

But times on the street grew ever tougher. As the winter set in, the rains and floods grew heavier, and food became harder to come by, and soon, Zelda began to notice that Elizabeth and Grace were little more than skin and bone.

She knelt down and prayed one night that they would be taken care of. That someone would rescue them off the streets.

So when Gus Sloane appeared one day, in his three piece suit and fancy rings and his fancy watch, the girls thought they had found their savior. He reached down and promised them everything: safety, shelter, and food on the table. The offer was too good to refuse.

And we won't be separated, will we? Elizabeth asked.

Gus promised they wouldn't be. He promised he'd be back the next day, with some friends, and that the girls should be ready and waiting.

But the next day, it was three wagons that appeared, not one. No, Elizabeth said, as the mean looking men rode up the road, each wagon approaching to snatch up a different girl. Zelda, help me! They are going to take me away from you! But Zelda was helpless to do anything, as she felt her hands being tied behind her back, and she was shoved into the wagon, the sound of Elizabeth and Grace's screams echoing in her ears.

They were each taken to a separate location. Zelda, to work in a brothel down by the docks of New Orleans. Grace, the girl who wanted a family more than anything else in the world, was taken under the wing of the gambling den, and forced to live and work in the middle of the city for sixteen hour days. Elizabeth, the youngest, managed to escape, but ended up falsely imprisoned in New Orleans’s toughest jail.

It would take ten years for the three women to find each other again.

*   *   *

1

*   *   *

New Orleans

1853, Ten Years Later.

A scream woke her.

Zelda sat upright in her bed, listening to see if the screaming would continue. When it didn't, she laid her head back down and tried to close her eyes again. Nothing too unusual about a scream in this place, she thought, trying to get some rest before she was dragged out of bed at 5am to start work. But sometimes it was the silence that was the hardest to sleep through and she lay there, listening to the nothingness.

Just silence...

Something isn't right... she thought, throwing her blanket back, wondering if she should get up. As she heard another scream she almost relaxed for a second, relived to at least hear a familiar noise. But as she concentrated she heard that it wasn't just the usual scream of one of the girls in the brothel. The voice was screaming help. She could hear the sounds of the struggle, of feet being dragged across rough floorboards, then the sound of you can't keep me here!

Then Gus's voice. You belong to me now. And I can keep you here as long as I like.

Zelda pulled the blanket back up to her chin and shivered as she tried to block the screams out. So, he'd captured another girl then. She tried to block the screams, turned over on her pillow and pulled the other side over her face. You can't save every girl, Zelda, she told herself. She knew that well enough.

But the screams made her shudder. All she could hear was Grace and Elizabeth's screams on that day, ten years ago, when they'd been pulled and captured, dragged off to some awful place to work or rot. Captured on the street where they'd grown up as orphans, separated and forced to work under the most degrading circumstances. God, what happened to them? she wondered, pulling the pillow tight over her head. Where are they now? It was nights like these that tested her soul the most. Nights like this made her wonder if God really had abandoned her. If there was any hope at all of ever seeing her friends again. The guilt ate her soul as she lay there, praying for silence, praying for forgiveness.

Praying that one day, she would see their faces again.

* * *

5am came, but time meant little in the brothel.

Zelda rose, listening for the screams of the night before. But they'd been replaced by the familiar sounds of bottles breaking, shrieks and hoots of laughter, along with songs from the old music box. She took half an hour to dress, making sure her hair was up to standard; big and curly, just the way the clientele liked it. She put a dash of rouge on her cheeks, hating how the makeup felt against her skin, the false color it put on her face, contrasting so harshly with her pale skin and her dark hair. But these were the rules Gus made for his girls and if she didn't comply, a beating would follow.

Below her, the raucous from the lower floors drifted up. The dull roar of the brothel was always present, a background noise that was far from a comfort to Zelda. More than anything, she dreamed of living near the ocean somewhere. To her, perfection would be a small cottage near the coast, just herself, with no one else around for miles. Sometimes she felt as if she wouldn't care if she never saw another soul in her lifetime. Life in the brothel was claustrophobic. The four story building was cramped, full to bursting at all times. The house was really only fit to hold up to a dozen people, at most, but there could be up to one hundred customers inside the walls at any one time.

Zelda pushed her way down the stairs, a man shoving against her as she went. He pushed her into the banister, but she really registered the sensation. Even if he'd sent her flying over the banister, to fall three feet below, she wouldn't have minded. Though her body descended the stairs, her head was lost in a daydream. She could practically smell the sea salt, feel the cool breeze against her cheeks. Her feet were sinking into cool, wet sand, firm enough to walk on but the grain smashed up between her toes.

Zelda! A gruff voice pulled her out of her daydream and the stale smell of the brothel hit her nose instead. The sounds and smells flooded her senses, brought her stumbling back to her horrible reality. She gripped the banister for balance as she stopped, her right foot a step further down than her left, feeling like she could topple over at any time.

He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into an empty room and she braced herself, tensing her body. Although she knew that tensing her muscles only made the beatings hurt more. She cast her mind back quickly, wondering what she might have done to deserve his wrath this time. Did she start work too late the day before? Retire too early? Not wear the right shoes or clothing? Maybe he's been riled up by that girl screaming at him all night and now he's going to take it out on me, she thought, as she pressed her back against the wall. Her dark curls provided a cushion for her head as she kept it pressed against the wood as well. She wanted to disappear into it, to sink into the wood, so that if Gus hit her he might break his fist. She kept one eye on the door, even though she knew there was no point to run away. She'd only get beaten twice as hard once he’d caught her again.

She inched back again, still wishing her flesh would melt into the wood, pushing her back so close to the door that her corset felt like it might snap. Gus inched closer to her and opened his mouth so that she could smell the foul whiskey stench on his breath. His mouth curled into a taunting grin and she braced herself for what was about to happen.

I've got news for you Zelda.

She shivered. This couldn't be good news. What's that? she whispered.

He looked down at his fingernails, picking dirt from underneath them, before he carelessly said, Your time is up. Your debt is cleared.

She scoffed. I never had a debt to pay to you! I was tied up, brought here under false circumstances. Tricked. Forced to work and live like an animal.

He pushed closer to her and shoved a finger into her nose. You owed us Zelda, for everything me and my men did for you. We saved you and we protected you. He moved his finger away and pointed up to the ceiling instead. Put a roof over your head for crying out loud. A little bit of gratitude goes a long way, he snarled. Especially since we are letting you out of this place.

She shook her head in disbelief. Saved her? Every day she had wished and prayed to be back on the streets. Anywhere but that brothel.

Zelda slunk back. She didn't dare allow herself to believe anything he said. Set free? After all this time? There must be some sort of catch.

She felt sick as she realized something. It's because that new girl arrived isn't it? she asked bitterly. You've got a replacement for me now. She shook her head. She didn't want to be set free at someone else's expense. She didn't know the new girl, hadn't even laid eyes on her, but she knew what she must be going through. The horrors that awaited her. Why can't you set all your girls free? Why just me?

He turned to leave. The wagon leaves tomorrow morning.

I won't get on it, Zelda called out defiantly.

He turned back towards her slowly. You'd rather stay here? His eyes grew wide. He raised an eyebrow. Well, there would be certain clients who would be pleased about that.

She grimaced. I'd rather stay in a place where at least I know the horrors that await me. Her voice was steady even though she felt like she was shaking on the inside. I'd rather take my chances here.

He kept his eyebrows raised. You surprise me, Zelda. I thought you were more adventurous than that. His lips curled up. At least, you were when you first arrived here. So young and bright eyed. He stared at her with his cruel, black eyes.

Zelda gulped. She hated that Gus thought this place had broken her spirit. She didn't want to give him or the brothel, that kind of power over her. I'm still adventurous, she whispered. But I don't need to prove anything to you.

He laughed. What kind of woman would choose imprisonment over the chance at freedom? You're like a caged animal now Zelda, too afraid of freedom even when it is offered right up on a platter.

The words stung her and she felt a hot prickle in her cheeks. I'm not afraid of leaving this place, she spat, the bitterness coming off her tongue. How dare he suggest that she'd choose the brothel over freedom? She wasn't that denigrate. As she felt her back pressed against the wall, she wondered how she must appear now, what she must look through Gus's eyes. Did he see a broken, pitiful creature, literally backed into a corner, too frightened to venture outside?

What happened to me? she wondered. What happened to that girl, so full of hopes and dreams of the future? So optimistic? But she knew what had happened. Her dreams, her wishes, had been crushed, along with her spirit, broken by life in the brothel.

Gus still had one hand on the door. He took a step back into the room. I know your dream, Zelda, he said, his voice a lilting sing-song. I know what you fantasize about.

She pressed her back further into the wood. You know of no such thing, she spat at him. Don't you ever even presume to think that you know what goes on inside my head.

But I do know, Zelda. I know that you dream of a life beside the ocean. Of a quiet life away from all of this.

She stiffened. How did he know anything about her dreams? She held her breath as he came closer to her again, smelling the whiff of whiskey on his breath as he whispered. And Zelda, I have been listening to your prayers, and I have answered them.

You have no power to do that, she said, flattening herself against the wall even more. No man has the power to answer my prayers. Only God has that power.

He laughed. Be ungrateful then. But if you get on that wagon tomorrow, that's where you will be sent.

To the ocean? she gasped. She searched his eyes frantically. But how?

We've arranged for you to be sent to a property, close to the ocean, a farm property, where you will be able to work and live peacefully.

His words sounded too good to be true. Zelda knew deep down that she should remain true to her instincts. And they were screaming at her, saying, Don't trust him! But his words sounded so sweet. The ocean.

Then he said the words that sealed the deal, words so sweet that she could almost taste the sugar in them. And those friends of yours - Grace and Elizabeth. They will be going with you.

Zelda gasped, bringing her hands up to her mouth as tears began to stream down her cheeks. She shook her head. Tell me, please Gus... promise me that you are speaking the truth. His voice was low and frantic, the tears hitting her lips as she spoke. Are Grace and Elizabeth really coming?

He nodded and pulled back from her, pacing back towards the exit. I told ya, Zelda. Your time is up. You're being set free. All your dreams are about to come true. He shot her one last dark glance before letting the doors swing behind him.

*   *   *

2

*   *   *

Thornward, Utah, 1853

All in, Charles said, his Italian accent making the other men snicker as he pushed the chips to the center of the table. Or maybe it wasn't so much his foreign accent as it was his foolishness. They laughed and exchanged glances between themselves, wondering at the ridiculous foreigner who sat before them in his strange threadbare clothing and floppy hat. The man who was so arrogant as to think that he could take money from Hal Montgomery. 

Hal took a long drag of his cigar, shooting Charles a deadly look, before he also pushed his chips to the center of the table, matching the Italian's bet. Charles reached up to scratch his neck, pulling the collar of his white shirt back as he glanced over his cards again.

Confidence, he had to remind himself. Don't let them see that you're nervous.

Next to Hal, a man called Blaine Harkness folded. I'm out. He chucked his cards down onto the table, shooting Charles a glare. Blaine wasn't the type of man who liked being shown up by anyone, let alone a foreigner. Charles knew he'd be hoping that Charles embarrassed himself. He looked over his cards again, knowing his time was up. Time to place them down on the table.

He knew there was only one hand Hal could be holding that could beat Charles' combination. Still, his hands sweated as he revealed his hand. A straight flush.

His heart beat fast as he checked Hal's face. Perfectly straight. Unreadable.

It felt like an eternity before the man finally revealed what he had been holding. Four of a kind. Close, but no cigar.

Charles let out a sigh of relief as he leaned forward to collect his winnings. As he did so, he noticed the look on Hal's face grow dark. He slowed down his actions, pulling the chips at a snail's pace, searching the looks that Blaine and Hal were exchanging, as Blaine leaned over and whispered in Hal's ear.

Hal nodded. He turned to face Charles, clearing his throat. I'm afraid I won't be able to honor this bet this evening.

Charles looked at him, wondering if this was some sort of joke. Hey, I don't know if you think you may take advantage of me because I don't come from this country of yours, but I won this game fair and square. He slapped his hand down on the table. When he caught the look on their faces be brought his hand back up and became quiet, wondering if sticking up for himself in such a way was worth the risk. He glanced down at the revolvers they kept at their sides.

It's all right, men, Charles said, backtracking, holding up his hands. Let's just call it even, what do you say?

Hal scoffed, leaning back in his chair as his fat stomach spilled out over his belt. He took another puff on his cigar before laying it down on the table. What kind of man agrees to call it even? What sort of a man are you, Charles?

He gulped. I'm man enough. I'm just offering you an olive branch here, Hal. Let's just call the bet off. He waved his hands over the table. "I've got more than enough here to last me. I see no sense