Heidi Vanlandingham - Lucie: Bride of Tennessee (American Mail-Order Bride 16) (2 page)

Running almost the entire width of the room, the wooden counter ended near the wide-mouthed opening of a large staircase. A thin male stood behind the counter, staring at them with a tight-lipped smile as they made their way across the room to one of the tables.

Lucie’s gaze moved from the sheriff’s to Mr. McCord’s then back with a slight frown. “Sheriff, you said you needed to discuss something with me about my intended?” She tried to control the shivers taking control of her body.

He gave her a short nod. “All right, ma’am. I came to tell you Mr. Crenshaw was found dead this morning. I would’ve been by the station sooner, but my deputy didn’t come across your letter until about an hour ago.”

She stared, unable to move. Her lungs refused to take in air as despair filled her heart. “What are we going to do now?” she whispered, grabbing for her brother’s hand. The room darkened; the men’s faces in front of her blurred. The small shivers turned to more pronounced shakes. She let out a small cry as she fell to the floor.

* * *

“Sissy! Sissy!” The boy dropped to his sister’s side and patted her cheek. Raising his tear-streaked face, he begged, “Please, help my sister!”

              With a small sigh, Sebastian scooped the waif of a girl into his arms and strode toward the stairwell. He’d stopped noticing the grandness of the hotel’s furnishings. He’d worked hard to pay off the mountain of father’s debts after building the hotel. ‘
Nothing but the finest
,’ he’d said. Unfortunately, his father had never had the money to buy any of it.

He strode past the spindle-legged chairs resting on the landing, the square table nestled between them with a cut-glass bowl on top. Dark wood continued down the hallway, and a beautiful jewel-toned carpet covered the planked floor. Sebastian stopped at the end of the hall and, using the toe of his boot, knocked on his mother’s door.

“Mother, open the door!”

The door opened. His mother’s frown quickly changed to one of concern. “Sebastian! What’s going on? What happened to her?” She stepped back and let the men in, the young boy holding tightly onto the sheriff’s hand. “John, come in, come in.” Turning to her son, she motioned with a quick flick of her wrist toward his old bedroom. “Lay the poor girl on the bed.”

He strode into the room and laid her on the blue and yellow quilt covering the small bed, his arms strangely empty as he stared down at her sleeping face for a moment. The girl was pretty. She was too thin, her features too sharp to be beautiful. Her dress was worn and dirty from the train ride—and looked to be two sizes too big.

His mother followed him into the room,
tsking
the entire time she unlaced the girl’s boots, dropping them to the floor. He stared at the worn soles, a small hole in one where the ball of her foot would be.

Glancing up, he noticed his mother had already pulled another quilt over her and had her tucked into bed. She was motioning for him to leave, and his gaze rested on the girl’s face a moment before he followed his mother out of the room, partially closing the door behind him.

Walking into the large sitting room, she headed toward the boy and kneeled in front of him. “Hello. My name is Martha.”

Alex glanced up at the sheriff who nodded down at him with a smile. He met the woman’s gaze. “My name is Alex—Alexander Croft. Is my sister going to be okay?”

Martha smiled. “I will take very good care of her. Are you hungry?”

Alex’s eyes widened. He nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Good. Sheriff, please take Alex downstairs and get him some supper. I’m sure Cook still has some of his delicious stew left.”

After the door closed behind them, she turned around and met Sebastian’s gaze with a frown. “Please explain.”

He moved toward the door. “There’s not much to explain, really. The sheriff asked me to go with him to Union Station to try and find a woman. I did, and we found her.”

“If you found her at the station then why is she lying unconscious in your old bedroom?”

He took a deep breath. “She was told her intended was found dead, and passed out.” He shrugged. “What was I supposed to do?”

Martha shook her head, momentarily closing her eyes. “You were right to bring her here, the poor dear. Now go downstairs and make sure John is taking care of Alex.”

“John? Since when did you start calling him by his first name?”

She pushed him toward the door. “Shush. Get downstairs and tell Cook to send up a bowl of stew for my new guest.”

In the hall, he turned back to his mother. “And my daughter?”

She smiled. “She’s asleep in my room. Probably exhausted after terrorizing the kitchen staff by helping them serve the food after you left with John. You really should think about finding yourself another wife. Your daughter needs a mother.”

“My daughter is just fine. Besides, she has you. She doesn’t need a mother.”

His mother placed her dainty hand on his arm, her bright blue eyes staring into his. “It’s been almost one year since Maggie died.”

“She didn’t just die, mother. She ran out on Stella and me. That’s a bit more than just dying, don’t you think?”

“Yes. What your wife did was wrong. Running away with that scalawag and leaving you and her daughter was unforgivable. But murdered by the man she ran away with? No one should die like that.”

Sebastian forced his angry retort back down his throat and into the large reservoir of hatred he felt for his wife. He turned and walked down the hall. His mother was wrong. The last thing he or his daughter needed was a wife and mother. The last thing he would ever do was marry again.

Chapter Two

Lucie woke up and glanced around the unfamiliar room.
Where am I?
Alex’s familiar soft snoring on the bed beside her was comforting. Turning her head, she glanced at her brother’s peaceful face, his hair sticking out everywhere from tossing and turning in the night.

She readied herself for the day as quietly as she could so Alex could sleep, creeping through the small apartment before quietly shutting the door behind her. She followed the hall to a grand staircase, then into the room she remembered from last night. Heat filled her face as her reaction to the sheriff’s news flooded her mind.

Hoping she could afford a cup of coffee in the elegant hotel, she sat down at one of the empty tables. Her job at the textile mill back in Lawrence hadn’t paid much, but she’d pinched pennies and managed to pay most of the bills, as well as put a little food on the table. It had taken quite a bit of convincing, but she’d finally talked Alex out of quitting school to make extra money. Instead, he worked a few early mornings selling papers.

Now what were they going to do?

One of the waitresses walked up to her table and set down a steaming cup of coffee. “You must be Miss Croft. Mrs. McCord told me to be expectin’ you.”

Lucie frowned. “Excuse me?”

The girl nodded. “Mrs. McCord left explicit instructions that you and your brother weren’t to leave the hotel until the sheriff returned. She also said to make sure you both had a bit of breakfast.”

“Oh, but…”

She shook her head, and the mousy brown wisps of hair that had worked loose from her right bun moved on either side of her plump face. “No buts.”

“I don’t want to be beholden—”

“Now don’t you worry yourself about it. It’s a gift. Now, how about some of Cook’s delicious pancakes?”

Lucie placed the napkin across her lap and smiled. “They sound delicious, but I think I will just have some coffee please.” The waitress disappeared through a swinging door behind the bar. The next thing Lucie knew, she’d returned with a plate full of pancakes and a small bottle of syrup.

“I didn’t order—”

“Orders, Miss. Mrs. McCord said to feed you breakfast, and that’s what I’m doin’.”

Lucie looked around the room, noticing the room’s magnificent decor as she chewed the fluffy pancakes. The hotel looked as if it had been built yesterday. The staff must be very diligent, as nothing showed any signs of wear and tear. Not even the wood-planked floor was as scuffed as she would expect it to be in an older establishment.

Halfway through her meal, an eerie feeling settled over her. Taking another bite of the delicious pancakes, she glanced around the room. Sebastian McCord stood behind the counter, talking to the clerk. He was tall, about a head taller than the clerk, and had a very nice profile. His neatly trimmed mustache and small triangle of hair underneath his bottom lip completed the picture. His tailored black jacket stretched tight across his broad shoulders, and his legs were long and lean. His light brown hair was cut close to the neck and looked tousled, as if he’d just come in from outside.

His head turned in her direction and his brown gaze met hers. Without another word to the clerk, he walked around the counter and crossed the room, walking directly to her table. She hurriedly swallowed the bite and wiped her mouth, wondering what she’d done to warrant his darkening frown. He stopped beside the table and glared down at her.

“Good morning, Miss Croft. You look much better this morning. Have you talked with Sheriff Gurley yet?”

Eyes wide, she shook her head, afraid to say anything. The man was so handsome, and extremely intimidating.

“Sebastian, do not browbeat the poor girl.” Martha McCord patted him on the chest and stared up at him until he leaned over and kissed her cheek.

“Mother. I merely asked after her health and if she’d heard from the sheriff yet.”

The woman sat down across from her. Lucie was surprised at how young the woman was. She was very attractive too. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a tight bun, accentuating her heart-shaped face, and her blue eyes were the color of the sky.

“He should be here shortly. You, my dear, look much better this morning. Not quite so pale. Did you enjoy breakfast?”

“Very much. Thank you, Mrs. McCord.”

“Please, call me Martha.”

“I hope it’s all right,” Lucie said as she relaxed a bit more and leaned back in her chair. “I left Alex asleep upstairs.”

“Of course. You both looked as if you needed a couple days of rest. I learned early on to give Sebastian an extra thirty minutes before making him do his chores. He woke up so surly.”

“Mother…”

She smiled up at the man towering over them. “Well, it’s true. Your father was the same way. Now.” She patted her son’s arm. “Sebastian, go see if you can round up the sheriff while I have a little chat with Lucie.”

Lucie stared up at him, wishing his scowl would go away. The man was so daunting.

Martha raised her cheek, which he leaned over and kissed. She patted the other side of his face. “Go.” She watched her son walk away as the waitress placed a steaming cup of coffee in front of her. Blowing softly on the hot liquid, she took a timid sip.

“Your son—he’s very serious, isn’t he? I’m so sorry I’ve inconvenienced everyone. I don’t usually faint.”

“You are fine, my dear. Don’t worry about anything. And yes, Sebastian is very serious. Too much so, I’m afraid.” Martha glanced around the room, her eyes shining. “He’s done something his father never could, and made the place what you see today. I’m so proud of Sebastian and what he’s accomplished. My husband, bless the man, had no head for business. Before we married, he was the captain of a ship. He tried his hand at many things, but the sea always called to him.”

“Why didn’t you go to sea with him?” Lucie asked.

Her face twisted in a grimace. “I get seasick. The first time he took me out, I stayed in the cabin, deathly ill the entire time. He sold the
Princess
so we could buy a house. I’d almost convinced him to purchase another ship, but Sebastian came along. He didn’t want to leave his son, so we traveled a lot while he searched for something he could do.” She took a few more sips of coffee and set the cup down in the saucer with a soft
plink
.

“I know what it’s like to be scared of tomorrow. To not know when your next meal will be, or if you’d even have a place to stay.”

“So that’s why you helped us?”

Martha nodded. “How old are you?”

“Nineteen. Alex is almost thirteen.” With her finger, she swirled the condensation on her glass. “My mother passed when I was five. My father remarried and then Alex was born. They died in a fire when he was only two. I’ve been trying to take care of him ever since. We were doing okay until the mill where I worked burned down.

“I did what I had to do to make sure my brother had a roof over his head and food to eat, so I signed up to become a mail-order bride.”

“It’s quite unusual for a gentleman to agree to take on a child. How did you manage that?”

Lucie felt her cheeks grow warm, and she quickly glanced down at her lap, the knuckles of her tightly clasped hands now white. “I, ummm…I didn’t tell him.”

A burst of tinkles, like a wind chime, sounded as Martha laughed. “You didn’t tell your future husband that you were bringing along your twelve-year-old brother?” Her laughter slowed then finally stopped as she wiped her eyes with a napkin. “You have spunk. I like you, Lucie. You remind me of myself at your age.”

“I didn’t know what else to do.” Lucie raised her tear-filled eyes.

Martha leaned forward, all traces of her previous laughter gone. “You did what was necessary, both for you and your brother. No one will fault you for that, my dear. Least of all me. I dare say, I would have done the very same thing had I been in your shoes.”

Lucie’s eyes widened. “Really?”

Martha’s gaze moved to something behind her. “Yes, I do believe I would have.” Her pink lips turned up in a sweet smile. “Good morning, John.”

He whipped his hat off and held it in front of him, his fingers worrying the brim. “Mornin’ ladies. Haven’t had my coffee yet, so can’t say it’s been a good start to the day.”

Martha motioned to the waitress across the room. “Nancy, please get Sheriff Gurley a cup of coffee.” With her hand outstretched, she directed him toward the chair opposite theirs. “Please sit a moment, John. Whatever news you have can wait while we fix your day.”

With a loud scraping of the chair legs against the floor he sat, placing his hat on the table beside him. A moment later, he held a steaming cup of black coffee in his hands. He took a few sips, oblivious to the scalding heat then set the cup back down, his large fingers awkwardly holding the small handle.

“Just came from the doc’s—Doc Brown’s house.” He glanced at Lucie under his thick eyebrows, the skin between them slightly furrowed. “Doc says Mr. Crenshaw died of apoplexy ’bout two days ago.” He took another gulp of coffee. “If you don’t mind me askin’…Mr. Crenshaw looked to be in his fifties or thereabouts. Wonder why he’d send off for a bride now? You seem a might young to be weddin’ a man his age.”

Lucie stared down at her half-eaten meal and pushed the plate away, her appetite gone. “I honestly have no idea. As I told you yesterday, Sheriff, I answered a mail-order bride advertisement. His name and letter were given to me by a woman back east, helping those of us who lost our positions when the place where we were employed burned. I didn’t know his age or why he wanted a wife.”

She reached into the small pocket sewn into her dress and pulled out a folded piece of paper, very wrinkled and stained. She handed it to the sheriff, promptly clasping her hands in her lap.

“Lucie?”

She turned to see her brother standing a few feet away, his hair still messy from sleeping. He yawned and rubbed one eye with the side of his fist.

“I’m hungry.”

With a wave of her hand, Martha rose and immediately ushered Alex to the table next to theirs. In a matter of minutes, he had a large stack of pancakes in front of him, which he was quickly devouring. Lucie had no clue how she would ever repay this kindhearted woman, but somehow she would try.

She leaned toward him. “Alex, don’t shovel the food into your mouth like that, you’ll choke. At least chew it first.”

He smiled then resumed stuffing the pancakes into his mouth as fast as he could. “They’re really good, sissy! Our cook back home never made ’em this good when she worked for us.”

“True. These are quite good—very fluffy.”

He nodded as the waitress placed a glass of orange juice beside his plate, which he emptied. Without asking, she plopped three more pancakes onto the smudges of remaining syrup then walked away.

Amazed, Alex stared at them and sighed. “It’s like a dream come true—I didn’t even have to ask for more.”

Lucie turned back to face Martha. “I take it he approves of the cook’s pancakes?”

“Seems so,” Martha said “He’s a growing boy and can have as many as he wants. From the way your clothes are hanging, neither of you have been eating too much lately. Do you have any family back where you came from who could help?”

“No one that I know of.”

“Well, that’s it then. You and your brother will stay here until we figure something else out.”

Lucie slowly shook her head. “Oh, but we can’t impose on you or your son like that!”

“Nonsense. No arguments, now. We’ll get young Alex enrolled in school this afternoon. Even if the situation’s temporary, he shouldn’t miss school.”

“Thank you for being so kind.”

Martha glanced over Lucie’s shoulder again and narrowed her eyes. “If you will excuse me for a moment, I need to talk to Sebastian.” Rising, she walked over to her son who was talking to a man a couple of tables away.

“I think I have a solution to your problems, Sebastian.”

“What problems would those be?”

“Stella.”

“Mother—”

Martha held up her hand. “Just hear me out. Please. I’ve done everything I can for my granddaughter, but I’m not what she needs. You have tried to be a good father, but taking care of her if a full-time job. You can’t run this hotel
and
take care of a little girl who is having trouble accepting that her mother is never coming home. I think I have a solution to both yours and Lucie’s problems. I would like for you to consider marrying her.”

Lucie choked on her coffee, setting the cup down in the saucer with a loud
clink
as she patted her chest. Martha was out of her mind! When she’d answered Mr. Crenshaw’s letter, she had been desperate. There were no jobs in Massachusetts—but maybe here, she would be able  to find a position that paid enough for her and Alex to stay.

“You are out of your mind…”

“Then consider moving back here. I could at least help out with Stella more, and try to keep her out of trouble,” his mother pleaded.

Not wanting to hear Sebastian’s refusal, Lucie met Sheriff Gurley’s worried gaze. “Mr. Gurley, do you happen to know of a job I might be able to do. It would have to be close to the hotel and school. I don’t want Alex wandering around Chattanooga alone.”