The Heartbroken Mail Order Bride: Love-Inspired Sweet Historical Western Mail Order Bride Romance: Brides for the Chauncey Brothers, #4

By Amanda Davis

Evan Chauncey, the long-lost sibling of the Chauncey clan, is poised to marry and thus secure his place in the family.

 

His plans, however, are foiled at the last minute by the unexpected arrival of houseguests.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blue Pines Sweet Romance
• Release date: Sep 21, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215774892

Book preview

PROLOGUE

Leeds, England – 1849

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A quick glance to his right proved that no one watched as he moved effortlessly through the marketplace, his gait confident. He shifted his eyes to the left with equal covertness and saw he was once again undetected.

And why should anyone notice me? I am but a gentleman among gentlemen, he told himself smugly, shoulders back, head high, his top hat gleaming as though he was the man he portrayed himself to be.

The glass at the clubhouse had told him he looked every bit as debonair as he thought he did.

But it is about demeanor, not appearance, he reminded himself, reciting the lesson in his head.

Excuse me, madam, he said genially to a fair blonde woman who paused to eye a fine dress in a window shop. Have you the time?

She looked toward him, a slight moue of disapproval as she looked at the stranger warily.

Could you not ask a man for the time? she replied haughtily, turning her head back toward the glass pane dismissively. The arrogance he had carried with him instantly dissipated. He was once more the scared little boy he had always been and the cocksureness became anger. He glowered at the finely dressed woman.

Are you always so rude? he demanded. You would think that with your fine breeding you would have been taught some fine manners.

Only to those not worthy of my time, she replied shortly without turning her eyes back toward him. And my manners are fine enough for those who deserve them. You may dress like a gentleman, boy, but your shoes have not any soles.

She moved away, leaving him to gape after her, humiliation and ire burning through his veins.

My shoes. Why did they not tell me about my shoes?

He reasoned that there was no reason to have considered his own shoes. After all, it was not his flimflam to understand.

That did not go well, Ashton chuckled, joining his side. You did not even get close enough to touch her, let alone relieve her of her jewelry.

He was still shaking at the slight administered by the woman, his long hands trembling. His cobalt blue eyes peered at the dirt beneath them and he cringed at such an oversight.

Shoes and dirty nails. I am no professional. Why did they think I could do this?

Next time, Louis. You needn’t fret, Ashton assured him but the words only incensed him more. He scowled at Ashton, shaking his head.

There will not be a next time, he snapped. I am hardly adept at this, Ashton. I do not wish to pursue it. Why do you keep insisting I do?

It was Ashton’s turn to frown, his eyes blazing with disapproval.

You behave as though you have a say in the matter, the older boy growled. If you want our protection, you will do as you are told!

Your protection, Louis scoffed although his heart thudded wildly in his chest. You speak a good deal but what do you truly afford me?

Ashton’s expression registered shock as he stared at Louis, his eyes flashing. Without warning, Ashton pinned the gangly teen against the store window, the very same through which the cultured blonde had peered, and pressed Louis tightly against the pane.

You speak too freely, Ashton hissed. As though you have forgotten what has become of those with sharp tongues like you.

Louis was terrified but he did his best not to show his fear, his eyes staring evenly into Ashton’s.

You do not scare me, Ashton, he fibbed. I do not need your help nor the help of anyone else.

Ashton snickered and dropped him, leaving Louis to brush off his clothing hastily before righting himself. The fear was nearly palpable but he had already learned not to show it. Like animals in the wild, the boys on the street could smell terror and would expose it any which way they could.

That was not what you said at the orphanage for all those years, was it? Ashton taunted. You certainly had no issue seeking our protection then.

I am not a little boy anymore, Louis retorted but even he could hear the quaver in his voice. This is not the home for children.

We will see how and when you need protection, Ashton snickered but there was not amusement in his irises, only a deep, malicious anger. But I would tread quite lightly if I were you.

I do not know what it is you expect of me, Louis muttered, relenting slightly. I am no good at this.

That is why you must practice, my bony friend, Ashton mocked. You will not improve if you simply mope about, will you?

Ashton punched him in the shoulder with far more force than a friendly tap ought to have and Louis shuddered. They had only left the orphanage a year earlier and he had been swept into a life he did not know nor want to explore any deeper but that was no longer an option.

How did it come to this? I am not the same boy I was one year ago.

But it was far too late for Louis to ponder how he had permitted his morals to slip away as he became one of the dozen runners who robbed for Harvey Miller around the city.

Louis refocussed his attention on the threatening young man with whom he had shared a rat-infested room at the God-forsaken home for children. Somehow, Ashton had become darker than he was in the shelter and that was quite a feat.

Was Ashton ever pure of soul or were we all doomed to be sinners from the moment we entered those walls? He cannot be faulted for being this way. He is just a boy too.

Yet Louis knew that all boys needed to grow up sometime.

Some of us must mature faster than others.

Perhaps he read the pity in Louis’ face for Ashton seemed finished with the skinny boy before him and turned away, leaving Louis to exhale in relief. It did not matter who they were, only what they had become.

I must leave Leeds. They cannot find me if I am not here and then I will no longer be at their mercy. Perhaps I will head to Manchester and seek work, eventually making my way to London. The world is changing and I can be a part of the transformation if I work hard enough.

Deep within him, there was an optimism which still existed, despite all he had endured in his seventeen years on the cruel earth.

Ashton paused halfway down the laneway and looked toward Louis one final time, his words sending a chill of apprehension through Louis’ body.

I would not think of leaving town, Louie, he called, almost jestingly. He winked in an exaggerated way. I daresay that Harvey has friends all over this marvelous country of ours. There is nowhere you can go that he will not find you.

I do not know what you are talking about, Louis replied quickly. I have no reason to run.

A slow, lecherous smile formed on Ashton’s face and he cocked his head to the side knowingly. It sent shivers through Louis. Whatever was next to come out of Ashton’s mouth was likely to be a threat.

The way I see it, friend, you have two choices, continue to work for Harvey or flee Leeds.

Ashton’s brow furrowed and he shook his head quickly as though something else had occurred to him.

My mistake, he corrected himself. There is a third option, of course.

Ashton ambled back toward Louis to lean in confidentially and lower his voice as the finely dressed passersby moved around them, no one paying them an iota of notice.

As casually as he moved, Ashton reached out and relieved a man of his pocket watch as he walked by, slipping it into the pocket of his too-large waist coat before he made full contact with Louis. Ashton pressed his cheek to Louis, his breath hot and dizzying in Louis’ ear.

You know what your third option is, do you not, Louie?

Louis swallowed and lowered his gaze, twisting his long fingers together. He tried to ignore the way his skin crawled, the damp stickiness of Ashton’s sinister breath.

I do not know what the third option is, Ashton. His voice was dull, toneless.

Surely you do! Ashton mocked in a staged whisper. Think. Think about our dear companions at the home, Louie. What happened to them all?

Louis’ insides seemed to quiver