Romance: Detective Romance: A Vicious Affair (Victorian Regency Intrigue 19th England Romance) (Historical Mystery Detective Romance) (115 page)

“Only men? That’s not possible.”

“I don’t mean it quite like that. Not literally. There’s just
many
more of them than women there.”

“So men advertise for them to come to the West and marry them?” The woman shook her head. “I don’t think I could do it.”

“
There are plenty who will
.”

There certainly is. Lilly thought.

*****

Adam sat in the pew listening to Reverend Stoop. The sermon was about salvation and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. Adam had heard a very similar
sermon
recently, here in this same church, from the same pastor.

But he didn’t mind and neither apparently did any of the other members of the small church. They knew that the Reverend often recycled his sermon topics and would forget that
he
had just used one very recently. He had been here preaching for the last thirty years.

Adam had known the
Reverend
since he first stepped foot in the church 17 years ago. He was like a second father to Adam, whose own father was living back in the East in the upper parts of New York with his mother and younger sister.

From the start, Adam had not liked the cold weather of New York. He had decided at a
young
age that he would travel
to the West
to see what he could make of himself on his own. At the tender age of 17,
he
’d done just that. It had taken him almost a year to get to his destination but once there, he began working
at
a farm and eventually took over the farm when his boss died, leaving it to him.

He enjoyed working the
farm
though the hours were long and things constantly needed to
be done
. There were tasks from the break of day to sunset and beyond. He hired a farmhand to help him with it, giving him room and board but the work seemed to be overloading him more every day. He was becoming lonely and wanted a change.

In fact, he was itching to make a change. He’d heard from a friend at the saloon that some of the men in farms nearby had been advertising for brides in
newspapers
in the East. He’d been praying on that and rolling it around in his mind for some time now.

When the service was over, he approached Reverend Stoop with the intention of getting the man’s advice. The Reverend had
been married
to the same woman for about thirty years, so he had to know something about it. Adam was nervous about the prospect of bringing a woman into his life when he had been a bachelor for so long. What if they weren’t compatible? What if she was not a Christian and they were unequally yoked?

These questions weighed heavily on him.

“If I could talk to you for a moment, pastor.”

The pastor looked at him and smiled. “Adam!
Good
to see you today.” He stepped down from the small platform to shake Adam’s hand.

“That was a good sermon today, John.”

“Thank you very much. I used the same topic about a month ago, according to the wife, but it was on my
heart,
so I used it again.”

“We can always use more words about the sacrifice of our Lord.” Adam nodded. “But I have something else I wanted to talk to you about if you have a moment.”

“I do. Let’s go for a walk.” He gestured with one
hand,
and Adam led the way down the aisle and through the front doors. He put his hat on once they were outdoors and they strolled over the grass
around
the side of the building. There was a cemetery very close
by,
and they walked along the side of it.

“I have been feeling very lonely lately. I am thinking about bringing a woman from the East to marry.”

The
Reverend
nodded. “I have heard of others doing that. Have placed a few ads myself. Not for me. For others in the congregation.”

Adam looked at him, surprised. “You have? I had not heard of that.”

John shook his head. “You wouldn’t have. It’s not something that
is advertised
here. And the men typically feel as you do, they are nervous and unsure of the future. Most of them request that the arrangement
be
kept private. Only those closest to them know what’s happening.”

“It seems to be my only option at this point.
No women are traveling
here just because they feel like it.”

“No, it seems there are only a few females here, other than
very small
children.”

“Do you know the success rate of other men sending for women from the East? Have they had successful marriages?”

“As far as I have seen, yes, they have. But I have not kept close track of their lives.”

“Do you think it would be a good idea
for
me?”

John stopped and turned to him. “Adam, that is a decision you have to make for
yourself,
but I will say this. I have watched you grow from a young man into
a strong
Christian adult. You have come far in your life, relying on yourself and the strength God has given you. If you have prayed about this and you have come to me about it, which I commend you for, I think you know what direction is right for you. It sounds like you have already made up your mind.”

“I believe I have. I will do it.”

John nodded and clapped a hand on his shoulder. “I pray for you, my brother. God will provide and protect.”

Adam nodded.

An hour later, he was sitting on the comfortable couch he’d purchased just
the year
before. He held his
Bible
in one hand, staring down at the table in front of him, where a blank piece of paper sat waiting for him to write.

What would he say? He began to list the traits and characteristics he desired in a woman in his mind. Beauty, intelligence, compassion, a strong love
for
God.

How would he put those things in an advertisement? Should he even mention beauty, as it was not good to judge by someone’s looks? He would feel bad if he ended up with someone he was not attracted to, however.

He picked up the charcoal pencil he always used to write and pressed it to the paper. So far he had successfully made a black dot on the
paper
.

He chuckled and began to write. The ad didn’t need to
be long
. But if it was too short, would it get the attention he wanted?

“What are you doing, Adam?”

He jumped when he heard the voice of his farmhand, Cody. He looked up at the young man as he came
through
the room and sat in a chair nearby, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees and clasp his hands in front of him.

“Nothing. What are you doing?”

“Just finished putting that fence back together where that
ol
’ bull broke it. It should be good for a while now. We
gotta
do something about him, Adam. He’s
gettin’
worse every day.”

“I know.” Adam nodded, looking back down at the paper in front of him. He’d managed two sentences.
He
wondered if he needed more. Satisfied, he folded the paper and tucked it in his shirt pocket.

“What’s that? You
signin’
the farm over to me? I can’t handle all this work by myself.” Cody’s voice was teasing. He grinned wide.

“No, I’m
gettin’
a woman sent
from the East
to marry.”

Cody’s eyebrows shot up. “What’s that, boss? What are you
gonna
do?”

“You heard right. I need the companionship of a woman. You’re a good
farmhand,
but
youain’t got
the right parts.”

Cody laughed. “I’m glad to hear you say
that,
but I’m pretty surprised by this. You didn’t mention you’d been
thinkin’
about
somethin’
like that.”

Adam shook his head. When he stood, so did Cody. They both walked to the kitchen, where Adam poured himself a cup of coffee. He offered it to Cody, who shook his head.

“Stuff gives me the
jitters,
” he said. “Can’t concentrate.”

Adam stood with one hand wrapped around the coffee cup and the other in his jeans pocket. “I’ve been lonely a long time, Cody, since before you got here.”

“That is a long time, boss. I’ve been here going on three years now. Come to think of it, I’ve never seen you in the companionship of a woman.”

“I always thought the bachelor life was what I wanted. But now I’m reconsidering.”

“You need a woman, boss.” Cody agreed, nodding. “You deserve to have a
family
if that’s what you want. You
thinkin’
maybe I should find a loft or another place to live?”

Adam shook his head, running one hand through his dark hair as he took a drink of coffee. “No, you can stay on here. There’s plenty of room.”

“Ain’t you gonna want some privacy?” Cody asked, tipping his hat back on his head.

“If you want to stay somewhere else, I won’t stop
you,
” Adam replied.

Cody shook his head. “I’d rather not leave, boss. I was jus’
sayin’
if you want privacy, I can.”

“No need for you to leave. We’ll build you a cottage of your own on the property if we have trouble with the privacy topic. But Lord willing, I’ll get a good woman who will
makea fine
wife and…”

Cody smiled. “You want some kids
runnin’
around, do ya?” He laughed. “I like
kids
. I got four little nieces and nephews, as you know.”

Adam nodded, smiling
with
him. “Yes, they are very rambunctious, aren’t they? Perhaps I will not have that many children.”

“Is that even up to you?”

They both laughed.

“I’m about to
go send
this ad to Virginia. Do you want to ride along? I wanted to talk to you about the eggs.”

“The eggs?” Cody looked at him confused.

“Yes, come along with me and I’ll explain.”

When they got to the post building, Adam was disappointed to see that it was not open. He thought it was always open. Cody slid from his horse and approached the door to read a piece of paper someone had stuck there. He came back to the horses, looking up at Adam.

“Sister
died,
” he said
simply
.

“Well, is there only one person who works at this place?” He frowned. He wanted to send the ad immediately.

“Sorry, boss. Looks like you’ll have to wait
until tomorrow
to put in your ad. You
look
like you’re getting’ pretty anxious about it. You
really
want to do this, don’t you?”

“I feel that this is what God’s put on my heart, yes.”

“I reckon you talked to Reverend John about it.”

“I sure did. Just today.”

Cody nodded. “That’s why you’re so anxious. You got confirmation from someone you trust.”

Adam gave his farmhand
a narrow
look. “You’re pretty smart when you wanna be, Cody.”

Cody laughed.
“Jus’ cause
my words are lazy doesn’t mean my brain is.”

Adam laughed with him. It was a good point.

“I guess we gotta go back and take care of the eggs then.” Adam sighed with resignation. He turned his horse around and headed home.

*****

Lilly was more nervous than she had ever been in her life. She was hurrying back from the post office with a letter for Angelica that she knew her friend was not going to expect. And Lilly was terribly afraid she would reject it
completely
and be angry at Lilly for what she’d done behind her back.

The letter was from Adam Burrows in Elko, Nevada. Lilly had found his ad in the newspaper and responded, signing Angelica’s name instead of her own. It was the only way she knew of to ensure that Angelica would be taken care of first. She would travel with her, with her
own
money that she had been saving, and hope for the best.

But Lilly hadn’t mentioned a few things about Angelica when she’d responded. She’d used perfect English – or as near it as she could come – and hadn’t
mentioned the death of
Angelica’s father. Nor had she said how stunningly beautiful Angelica was.