He reached into the drawer in the stand by his bed and pulled out a writing board with a small piece of chalk. He didn’t want to waste paper just to write the same thing over and over.
He leaned over the board and began to write. He only wrote a few words before he used one sleeve to wipe it clean. He wrote again. He started again.
I am looking for someone to be a wife and mother to my two children. I seek companionship, someone strong and who will be kind and gentle with them.
It was a start. Edward looked at it and ran the words through once again in his mind. He needed the woman he brought over to be the best mother he could provide for his little ones. He wasn’t about to sacrifice their happiness for his. If it made him miserable, he would live with it. But if she was good for his children, he would accept it.
****
Chapter Three
It wasn’t the first time Gabby wondered why her brothers were not living in huge houses far away from her. They had houses. Why weren’t they there?
They came bursting into the kitchen just like they always had, talking loudly about some political thing or other, Lincoln was doing this, Lincoln was doing that. Good for them. She didn’t think about that kind of thing. She thought someday she might go back to their homeland and see how things were there.
She stayed seated at the table, responded with “Morning” when they greeted her and looked down at the newspaper Aeden tossed down onto the table. They both went to the stove and poured a cup of coffee from the pot for themselves. As they headed back to the door, she lifted the newspaper and waved it at him.
He shook his head. “Already looked through it, Gabs. You keep it and give yourself something to do today.”
She turned back to the table so he wouldn’t see the resentment and disdain on her face. “Thank you.” She murmured. Give her something to do? Gabs? She wasn’t sure how much longer she could take it.
She snorted. The newspaper was filled with political information that she didn’t care for. She flipped through it and scanned each page. Her eyes stopped when she saw a small paragraph in the section that held the advertisements. A soft chill ran over her arms as the idea formed in her mind.
Freedom.
She sucked in her breath and grabbed the paper, focusing on the ad. It was a way to get out. Her brothers would be forced to care for her grandparents and she could have her life, for the first time in her life. She stood up, letting the chair scoot violently back behind her.
They would soon know how much work it took to make this house run, to keep it clean and to keep her grandparents alive and healthy. She was sure they would do it, that her grandparents would be healthy and cared for. There was no way her brothers didn’t have that kind of compassion.
She moved through the house and up to her room, knowing the path so well, she didn’t even look up from the paper. In her room, the large desk her grandfather had made for her when she was just a child sat waiting. She pulled the chair out, set the paper down and sat. It would only take one piece of paper, some ink and an envelope and her life would change dramatically.
I am wanting to answer the ad for the bride to come to Buxley. I am 23 years old, have long red curly hair, green eyes and I am slender but strong. I have been caring for my elderly grandparents since my brothers and I lost our parents in an accident some years ago. I am looking for a change of scenery, a change of pace. I am willing to care for your children, as I said I have been doing that kind of thing for some time now. Please let me know if you have any questions I should answer before you choose and if you will respond with further information as to how to proceed.
Gabby looked down at the letter and pondered whether it sounded to abrupt or rude or in a way that she would not accept herself if she was him. That confusing thought did no good when it came to her intentions. She tilted her head and reread it a third time. By the time she was done, she was satisfied with it and hurried to find an envelope. She would take it to the post straight away. She couldn’t help wondering how long it would take to hear back from him.
As she rode into town on her horse, Amazon, she began to feel excited. She wasn’t used to her heart beating so quickly. It was as if she saw a light in front of her and she was hurrying toward it as fast as she could. What would her life be like? Would she love the man she was going to marry?
Her breath came and went rapidly, as if she was the one running and galloping instead of Amazon. She gripped the reins tightly.
Gabby’s mind swirled around the possibilities. She had so many hopes and dreams, she didn’t even know were lurking in the back of her mind. And apparently deep down in her heart.
She felt the strange sensation that she wanted to cry. She rarely cried about anything. The last time she cried was at the funeral of her parents. She hadn’t felt happy since then. But now…it was strange to her. She wanted to be away from here, finally living her life. But she was going to miss her grandparents. And in some strange way, she was going to miss her brothers.