CHAPTER1
Desperately searching for a place to hide, Daisy Miller ran through the streets of Charleston. For the last week, her life had been a living hell. She darted into an alley then ducked behind trash cans. The smell of rotting food almost made her gag.
Going from ball gowns, to living on the streets, what else could happen to her?
“Oh, Daisy, I’m going to find you,” the man said with a laugh. “Soon, a fine upstanding young woman like yourself, once a debutante, will be working in the whorehouse. Business will be great as all the men in town come to spread your legs. Sample what Thomas got a taste of.”
A tremble of fear had her body shaking as she tried not to breathe, hoping he would tire of hunting for her and go on. Tears filled her eyes and part of her wanted to give up.
Since the night of the scandal, her life had gone from parties to searching for help with nowhere to go. Not believing her claim she was almost raped, her father and mother had sided with Thomas Jones and his lie that he took her virginity. They had forbidden her from staying at their home, so she would not influence her sisters. Also, hoping to force Thomas to marry her.
But he didn’t care.
What kind of father would kick his daughter out of the house with nowhere to go? What kind of father would take the side of the man instead of his daughters? A father who so desperately wanted the man’s business in his work.
None of this was her fault, and yet, she suffered the consequences of that evil man’s actions. Somehow she would destroy him, but right now, she was just doing her best to survive on the streets, scrounging for food and shelter. Doing her best to hide from men like this who wanted to trap her and make her into a whore.
She would die first.
She peeked around the trash cans, knowing she couldn’t stay there all night. The alley wall she leaned against belonged to a bar, and soon, they would come out to dump their garbage. She would be found. Glancing down at the once beautiful dress she had worn that night, she wanted to cry, but crying would not get her anything to eat.
And she was starving.
The first night, she had crawled beneath an old blanket she found and cried herself to sleep in the park, but it was a dangerous place. A place where others like herself roamed at night.
How could her father and mother abandon her like this? She had never done anything wrong and suddenly they said she was scandalous. They thought she was lying when the most eligible man in Charleston tried to force her to have sex with him.
Standing, she tried to brush the dirt from her gown. Time to move on before the police found her and arrested her for vagrancy. She’d been threatened once, but where could she go?
Stepping out of the alley, she glanced down the street where she had walked with her mother, her head held high, laughing with her sisters, and shopping. No more.
They had disowned her.
With a glance, she noticed a woman putting up a flyer on a tree that led into the park. The park where she had spent the last few nights hiding behind the bushes, wrapped in a dirty blanket, struggling to stay hidden.
The woman glanced at her, and Daisy knew she looked bad.
“What are you posting?”
The woman glanced at her, her eyes widened but she didn’t look down on her. Instead there was sympathy in her gaze.
“I need women who want to become mail-order brides,” she said. “Eight women to go to Treasure Falls, Montana, where they will have a husband waiting to take care of them. These men will even pay your way back if you don’t like them or Treasure Falls.”
No one would know her in Montana. She would have a husband who would care for her. Give her the family she’d lost. No one would know of her shame or the deceit she’d experienced.
“When are they leaving?”
“Not until I find eight women. Right now, I only have one. But if you need a place to stay until the train leaves, I have room.”
No more sleeping on the ground, worried someone would find her. Or someone trying to…
No more running from the man who owned the whorehouse.
“What about food? I’m starving,” she confessed to the woman.
“You’re Daisy Miller, aren’t you,” the woman said.
“Yes, but I was—almost raped,” she said, her voice dropping low. “I didn’t want him to touch me.”
“You’re still a virgin?”
“Yes,” she said as a tear slipped down her face. No one believed her. They all believed that horrible man Thomas. And he was spreading vicious lies about her that her father thought were true.
“Let me help you,” the woman said in a kind tone. “It would be a new start for you, and you could escape the scandal.”
Oh, how she wanted her family to take her in. To believe in her. Oh, how she wanted her sisters to welcome her back with open arms, but she didn't think they would. They all believed the horrible stories being spread about her.
If she stayed here, what were her chances of finding a good husband? Of finding a man who didn’t believe the lies?
Not good.
With a sigh, she knew her chance for a good life was impossible here. Even if she proved her innocence, she was ruined. This could be a new start, a new beginning.
A sense of peace filled her and she knew this was what she needed.
“All right, but I can’t stay on the streets any longer. That horrible man who owns the whorehouse is trying to find me. He wants to turn me into a whore.”
The woman glanced around uneasily. “Come with me. You can stay at my place. We’ll get you a meal, a bath, and even some pretty new clothes to wear.”
Tears filled Daisy’s eyes. “You believe that I did nothing wrong?”
The woman took her by the arm. “Honey, for thousands of years, women have been subjected to men trying to rape them and then blaming the women when caught. You’re not the first, and you won’t be the last. But you can start your life over in a beautiful new location. You’re young. You’re beautiful, and the men in Montana are going to fight over you. Let’s get you home.”
For the first time in days, Daisy felt hope. She felt relief and security—things she’d taken for granted before. But never again. Never again would she trust a man. Never again would she be the subject of scandal.
She’d kill the next man who tried to take advantage of her. She’d do her best to get even with Thomas Jones even from as far away as Montana.