The Last Bride: Last Chance Brides, #4

By Diana Bold

Lilly Scott has bravely traveled to the Washington Territory with the other Last Chance Brides. But she is on the run from her past, and she can't tell anyone her secrets.  

Garrett Monroe is still mourning his wife who died in childbirth and the last thing he wanted was a new bride. But his friends don't listen, and now he feels honorbound to marry the girl they've brought back for him.

 

Lilly and Garrett are the last two people to be matched. Can they shed their tragic pasts and find love with each other?

 

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Diana Bold
• Release date: Nov 17, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393202752

Diana Bold

All my life, I've wanted to a writer. Even as a child, my sister claims all I ever did was sit in my closet and scribble in a notebook. In any event, I won my first writing contest when I was seven, and I was hooked! I married young, and soon had three wonderful little boys running around the house, so writing took a backseat for several years as I worked a variety of jobs that I hated. Once I started seriously pursuing a writing career, I found it was not as easy as I had expected, and I was not the prodigy I had imagined. But I joined a writer's group and made a ton of writing friends along the way who showed me the error of my ways and unselfishly helped me get a little better. By the time I sold my first book in 2006, I'd already been at this for over ten years and was about ready to give up. Rejection is hard!!! But holding that first book in my hands made it all worth it! Now my sons are all grown up, and two of them have babies of their own. But I now have all the time in the world to devote to telling the stories that just won't let me sleep. Hope you enjoy them! Love, Diana Diana 

Book preview

Prologue

New Orleans, Louisiana

April 7, 1867

Lilly Scott trembled as she stood over Jackson Earl’s unconscious body, unable to believe that the sedative she’d slipped into his drink had actually worked. Rosie, one of the barmaids in the riverboat’s saloon, had slipped the pills to her after seeing the bruises on Lilly’s face one too many times.

Rosie had assured Lilly that she’d have at least four hours before Jackson came to, and Lilly had a lot to do if she wanted to get safely away from him.

Turning away, she grabbed the small bag she’d packed earlier, taking just a moment to pull out the newsletter clipping that had given her the courage to make this reckless move.

Successful, respectable men seek twenty-two healthy, proper, unmarried young ladies to relocate to the booming town of Last Chance in Washington Territory. Purpose: Matrimony. Safe passage and all expenses paid.

She glanced once more at Jackson, heat rising in her cheeks. She didn’t think she could be considered ‘proper’ after everything he had put her through in the last few months. When she’d first met him, he’d promised he’d marry her. He’d charmed her and lied to her, made her believe that he made a good living as a professional gambler. She’d been desperate to get away from her abusive father, so she’d gotten on the riverboat with him, certain the rest of her life as Mrs. Jackson Earl was going to be a grand adventure.

But his promises of marriage had been repeatedly postponed—though not the consummation—and he’d ended up being just as abusive as her father.

She crumbled the newspaper in her fist and shoved it back in her bag. The last thing she wanted was to tie herself to yet another man, but at least she’d get away from Jackson. At least she’d truly be married. And the Washington Territory was a world away from everything she’d known so far.

Perhaps it truly could be a grand adventure. She’d just have to choose the man who was the most gentle and kind.

Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she left the cabin and hurried down the gangplank with her head down so as not to draw any attention from Jackson’s disreputable friends.

The New Orleans dock bustled with activity, and she stopped the first woman she saw who looked as though she had a kind heart. Excuse me, ma’am. Can you tell me how to get to the Grand Hotel?

The woman looked her up and down, frowning when she saw the bruise on her jaw. Are you all right, Miss?

Lilly nodded, her face heating. I will be if I can just get to the Grand Hotel before four o’clock.

The woman smiled sympathetically. You’re not far. Let me take you there.

Thank you so much, Lilly said, hurrying after her but unable to keep from repeatedly glancing over her shoulder. Nothing in her life had ever come this easily. She fully expected to look back and find Jackson barreling after her, intent on dragging her back.

In less than five minutes, Lilly found herself in front of the hotel. The woman bid her good luck, and she entered the shabby hotel lobby, where many other young women were seated.

A handsome dark-haired man approached her and handed her a piece of paper and a pencil. Are you here about becoming a mail-order bride?

She nodded jerkily, her heart pounding in her chest. Now that she was actually here, the whole thing seemed reckless beyond belief. What if they didn’t choose her? She had no backup plan. What if they did? Was she truly ready to travel halfway across the country to marry a stranger?

Take this and fill it out. Someone will call for you shortly, the man said kindly, his gaze lingering for a second too long on what she knew must be a horrific bruise on the left side of her face.

She sat down and stared at the questionnaire, which was filled with questions about why she wanted to do this. Taking a deep breath, she started to write.

Lilly Scott?

She glanced up to find a different man, this one blond and even more handsome than the first, standing on the other side of the lobby, a clipboard in his hands. Their extraordinary good looks might have put some women at ease. But not Lilly. She didn’t trust handsome men.

She pushed to her feet and crossed to his side, handing him her questionnaire. I’m Lilly.

He smiled at her, but once again, his gaze lingered on her face. Hello, Lilly. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Joshua Blake. Can you come with me?

Nodding, she followed him down the hallway, where he ushered her into a room outfitted with a desk and two chairs. Once they’d both sat down, Mr. Blake took a moment to look over her questionnaire. After a few moments, he put the sheet of paper aside and frowned at her.

How old are you, Miss Scott?

She flushed because that had been one of the questions she’d answered, but he apparently didn’t believe her. I’m nineteen, sir.

Nineteen? he questioned, his voice kind though filled with doubt. You look quite a bit younger.

I’m nineteen, she answered firmly. I’m just small. She cursed her slight frame and elfin face. She would probably be thirty before anyone thought she was an adult.

Mr. Blake smiled a bit at that, but then he gestured to the bruise on her face. Did someone hurt you, Miss Scott?

She thought about lying, saying she fell down some stairs or something, as she had so many times in the past, but this man seemed kind, and she sensed that her honesty would determine whether or not he chose her. There is a man... I made a horrible mistake. I’ve run away from him. I need to get on that boat, Mr. Blake. And somehow, I have to keep him from finding me until then.

Mr. Blake leaned back in his chair and stared at her for a long moment, but then he smiled. "I think you’ll make a fine addition to our