Golden Chances (Borrowed Brides 1)

David shook his head. “Divorce.”

Faith took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders, and pulled herself up to her full five feet. “At least I know where I stand.”

* * *

The four of them—Faith, Joy, Temperance, and David Alexander—boarded the ten-fifteen train with a quarter of an hour to spare.

Faith sighed in relief. They had somehow managed to take care of everything. David Alexander had safely deposited the bank draft in an account at The Bank of Virginia. The taxes were paid. And Faith was married to a man who hadn’t even come to the ceremony. A man who sent her thousands of dollars, but forgot to send a plain, gold band.

Faith and Joy had said loving goodbyes to Hannah, Agnes, and Aunt Virt. Faith had pressed ten-dollar gold pieces into each of their hands as she hugged them.

Tempy also said goodbye to the others. She left Virt in charge of the family until she returned, then handed her older sister a list of things to do while she was gone, hoping it would keep them too busy to worry.

Faith smiled at Joy, bouncing on the seat opposite her own. Her little pug nose was pressed against the glass window in her eagerness to see everything, her warm breath fogging the glass.

“Look, Faith!” Joy pointed down the tracks.

Faith turned to look out the window and watched as the train station grew smaller and smaller in the distance. She bit her lip as a mixture of excitement and apprehension tore at her insides. It was comforting to look across the seat and find Tempy seated firmly next to Joy. The deal had been made. Soon, she would leave for Wyoming, but for a little while longer, she had Temperance with her.

The train ride to Washington seemed uncomfortably long. It was cold in the passenger car. Faith changed seats so that she, Tempy, and Joy could huddle together for warmth. David sat alone, wrapped in his greatcoat. The first burst of excited conversation died with the passage of long hours. The four of them dozed, succumbing to the hypnotic rhythm of the train and the boredom of confinement.

* * *

In Washington, Reese Jordan spent his hours working. He had made all of the arrangements for the trip to Wyoming and was clearing his desk in preparation for Faith’s arrival. His other business ventures could wait until the details of his agreement with Mrs. Collins were outlined on paper. Every detail must be clear, concise and legally binding. Reese Jordan believed in contracts and he was about to affix his signature to the most important contract of his life. He glanced impatiently at the clock, then thumbed through the morning newspaper to the page announcing the train schedules. By now, she should be Faith Jordan and well on her way to Washington. But Reese refused to think about the marriage. It was a mere technicality. Just another way of guaranteeing the deal. He wasn’t going to acknowledge her as his wife. She would remain Faith Collins as far as he was concerned.

He looked at the clock once again. Two more hours. Two more hours to wait. He began sorting of his mail, determined to complete the task without interruption.

A cream-colored vellum envelope caught his eye. He studied the handwriting and the return address. Senator Darcy’s office. The senator was head of the Appropriations Committee and who was sponsoring several bills regulating the uses of the open range in the Wyoming Territory.

Reese ripped open the envelope. How long had it been buried under the pile of paperwork on his desk? Damn, he thought, of all the times for this to happen. Inside the envelope was an invitation to a New Year’s Eve reception and dance at the senator’s residence. He glanced at the date on the invitation and then checked the desk calendar. Tonight. And Faith Collins was arriving in two hours.

Reese paced between

the desk and the window for several minutes, thinking, planning, calculating. He smiled as he thought of a way to turn the situation to his advantage. The reception started at nine. That should give him adequate time to get her ready.

He grabbed his hat and coat, pulled on his gloves, and hurried out of the suite.

* * *

The train whistled sounded shrilly, as the iron monster pulled into the Union Station.

David Alexander rose from his seat, stretched his arms, and reached for the sleeping child lying across the laps of the two women in the seat across from him. “I’ll carry her,” he told them, “You, ladies, have held her for hours. You must be tired.”

Tempy lifted Joy from across Faith’s lap and handed her to David. She was stiff and numb from the weight of Joy’s legs and she knew Faith was just as stiff. Joy’s head had rested across Faith’s arm and in her lap for the better part of the journey. “Thank you, Mr. Alexander.” Tempy was grateful for the relief.

Faith nodded in agreement. “My limbs are numb,” she said, stretching her legs in front of her. She bit her lip against the painful tingling in her arm and legs.

“Take your time, ladies. Reese is supposed to meet us. I’ll take Joy on out to the carriage and come back for you.” David made his way down the aisle, five-year-old, Joy Collins following sleepily behind him.

Reese spotted David as soon as he exited the train. He jumped down from the carriage and hurried to meet him. “Where is she?”

“Still on the train,” David told him. “I took Joy to give them a minute to stretch their legs in privacy. She’s been sleeping in their laps for over half the trip.” David smiled down at the little girl.

“Ladies? How many did you bring with you?” Reese knew a moment of panic. Suppose the others couldn’t bear to be parted from Faith? What would he do with all those women in tow?

“Just one of her aunts. Relax, Reese. We need someone to witness the agreement. And I thought Mrs. Collins would be more comfortable with one of her relatives. And one of her trusted aunts is less likely to talk to strangers about this scheme,” David explained.

Reese sighed in relief and held his arms out to take the child. “Give her to me. I’ll hold her while you go back for the ladies.”