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    Out from the Shadows: Four Historical Romance Novellas
    Out from the Shadows: Four Historical Romance Novellas
    Out from the Shadows: Four Historical Romance Novellas
    Ebook186 pages2 hours

    Out from the Shadows: Four Historical Romance Novellas

    By Doreen Milstead

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    About this ebook

    The Jilted English Woman & The Texas Cowboy With A Secret - A disgraced woman from England is sent to the American west by her family, because she is unmarried and had an affair. She finally meets her intended after a long voyage and he appears cold and distant PLUS The Overweight Widow Takes A Chance On The Trace Of A Quiet Cowboy - An overweight woman is sent to Nebraska to be a mail order bride, through the machinations of her mother, who has sent a picture other than hers to the cowboy PLUS The Seamstress From Boston Teaches The Angry Nebraskan Rancher How to Love - A seamstress from Boston decides to head out to Nebraska and become the mail order bride to a rancher, but when she reaches the station and sees her cowboy, he is much older and much angrier than she would have ever imagined PLUS The Unlearned Woman & the Doctor - A mail order bride with little book learning but an inventive mind, travels to her fiancé, a doctor and war vet with one leg, who lives in a little town in New Mexico.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLulu.com
    Release dateDec 1, 2017
    ISBN9781387410668
    Out from the Shadows: Four Historical Romance Novellas

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      Book preview

      Out from the Shadows - Doreen Milstead

      Out from the Shadows: Four Historical Romance Novellas

      Out From the Shadows: Four Historical Romance Novellas

      By

      Doreen Milstead

      Copyright 2017 Susan Hart

      The Jilted English Woman & The Texas Cowboy With A Secret

      Synopsis: The Jilted English Woman & The Texas Cowboy With A Secret - A disgraced woman from England is sent to the American west by her family, because she is unmarried and had an affair. She finally meets her intended after a long voyage and he appears cold and distant. She eventually discovers a secret about him that could provide an entrance into his heart and love.

      Anna felt as if someone had slapped her. Did she really hear her father correctly?

      You leave next week, he continued. There is really no reason to delay.

      You want me to travel to America and marry some cowboy?

      Her father shook his head in frustration.

      "He’s a cowboy from a respectable family. He comes from a long line of earls with a very distinguished name.

      Is that all you care about? His name?

      Anna tossed her napkin over her plate and began to stand. She had learned the hard way that having a respectable name didn’t make a man respectable.

      It is my choice, Anna, her father said in a tone that refused to be refuted. And this, after that scandal last year, is the best choice I could make.

      Anna looked at her mother, but she had her eyes on her plate, as usual. There would be no help there. Anna fled the room too acutely aware anything she said now would only be ignored. She was stuck. There was nothing she could do but follow her father’s instructions.

      Anna threw herself onto her bed and began to cry. It was all her own fault. If she had simply followed the rules a year ago and gotten married to Arthur Blackburn, she wouldn’t be in this situation, but she didn’t love Arthur any more than she would love this cowboy.

      Her path in life had been disrupted by one man, Wyndham Answorth. She knew the moment he pressed the note into her hand she shouldn’t look at it. She knew it was wrong to sneak off alone to meet him. She was so convinced he returned her feelings she allowed hope to blind her to the truth. Sadly, the truth was he only asked her to meet him in the stables because he wanted something a woman is supposed to keep for her husband.

      How disappointing to realize Wyndham was, in the end, just an ordinary man with a common man’s uncontrolled desires. If that maid hadn’t walked in on them and screamed, no one would have known about their encounter. He had sworn he wouldn’t tell anyone and she certainly had no desire to allow her name to be dragged through the gutter, but that’s exactly what happened. Arthur withdrew his commitment to their betrothal and society quickly followed.

      The invitations to the balls and parties stopped, even for her parents. People whispered behind their backs when they walked into the shops. They practically became the main spectacle at the theater. Everywhere they went, Anna’s reputation preceded them. It soon got to the point when she didn’t want to leave the house for fear of what she might hear someone say.

      Like most things, it eventually began to blow over. Her parents were slowly accepted back into society. However, not for Anna. She was now considered soiled goods. Not even the lowest of their social circles would consider a union between her and their sons.

      She had grown content with the idea of becoming an old maid, but her father had other ideas and now she was about to be shipped off to the colonies to marry a cowboy. Couldn’t her father at least find a man with a respectable job? A barrister would be better than a cowboy. Even a farmer -- no, maybe not a farmer.

      She cried for a long time her tears staining the satin of her bedclothes. It wasn’t until Adele, her lady’s maid, came into the room that she was finally able to get control over her emotions.

      Adele was a young Irish girl a year or two younger than Anna with the classic red hair and green eyes of her beloved country. Anna imagined Adele would be devastated to learn she, too, would soon be leaving her adopted country. She was surprised to see excitement in her eyes instead.

      Texas? Isn’t that where they have -- what do they call them?

      Cattle ranches.

      Yes, cattle ranches.

      Adele smiled a dreamy smile.

      My uncle used to talk about moving there and having a ranch of his own. He was always so full of big dreams, but that one he held onto the longest. Now, imagine me going to Texas.

      Yes, well, the dream may seem romantic but I can’t imagine the reality will be quite so idyllic.

      Adele paused in the braiding of Anna’s hair to look at her image in the mirror.

      Life is what you make of it, she said, running one kind hand over the curve of Anna’s head. You can go into this looking at it like some sort of punishment. Or, you can turn it into an adventure.

      She began braiding again, her eyes falling from the mirror.

      I plan to see it as an adventure.

      Anna couldn’t see how being forced to marry a man she did not know could be an adventure, but she felt as though she had been chastised somehow, like she had been so many times by her stern governess when she was younger. The thought put a little steel into her spine, forcing her to look at this whole disaster in a different light. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad and maybe frogs could really turn into princes.

      It will be alright, her mother whispered against Anna’s ear as they stood in front of the gangway of the RMS Etruria. You will make him a good wife.

      Anna nodded, too much emotion choking her throat for her to speak.

      They had traveled together via train to Liverpool so Anna and Adele could board the ship. Her father, however, had chosen to stay behind in London to deal with business. Anna suspected it was more because he did not want to face this moment that would change everything in all their lives.

      Anna was their only surviving child, the only child they would ever send out into the world. To send her to America—it might improve his reputation, but she couldn’t make herself believe it was a choice that allowed him to sleep well at night. He barely looked at her the entire week between his announcement of the betrothal and the day they left for Liverpool. She almost felt sorry for him, almost.

      Anna threw her arms around her mother’s neck in a very unladylike gesture of affection. She was scared she would never see her again. She had studied her features, her gestures, everything about her throughout the trip, trying to etch it all on her memory. Now she only wanted to feel her mother’s embrace, the warmth of her being, so she could remember she was loved once.

      Be strong, her mother said a moment later while carefully removing Anna’s arms from around her neck. You are my daughter.

      Anna nodded. With one last look, she turned and climbed the gangplank with her head held high. This was the beginning of a new adventure. She just had to hold on to that thought and she might make it through.

      She and Adele were shown to their room where her trunk had already arrived. Adele set about unpacking, leaving Anna with nothing to do but sit on the lounge and pretend she wasn’t already horribly homesick.

      You should go above deck, watch as the ship leaves dock.

      Anna shook her head.

      I’ve seen that before when father took us to Paris. It really isn’t as fun as it seems like it would be.

      Then write a letter.

      Adele pulled her stationary box out of the trunk and brought it to her.

      You’ll be able to post the moment we dock in New York.

      Who do I write? All my friends deserted me when…well, I have no one to write but Father and Mother. I have nothing to say to Father and I just saw Mother.

      Why don’t you write to your intended? Perhaps it will smooth your path.

      I don’t even know anything about him except his name and his occupation. What do I say to a man I have never spoken to?

      Adele shrugged as she drew a long, red dress from the depths of Anna’s trunk.

      You could tell him you’re looking forward to seeing him. That you hope the two of you can make the best of what is to come. Ask him to answer a few questions you have.

      Do you really think he would appreciate a letter from me?

      Of course he would. It will allow him to get to know you before you arrive.

      Anna thought about it for a moment, her thoughts whirling from apathy to excitement. Perhaps Adele was right. Perhaps it would help to smooth the course if they could correspond for the few weeks it would take she and Adele to travel from New York to his home in Texas.

      She set about writing her letter immediately, tearing up several of the thick, lavender sheets as she attempted to get her words just right. In the end, she wasn’t terribly confident the note achieved what she had hoped it would, but it was a start.

      Dear Mr. Thomas Wellesley,

      My name is Anna Scott, daughter of William Scott, the Duke of Somerset. I have recently boarded the ship, RMS Etruria, in order to join you in Texas so we might be married. I am told you are expecting my arrival at the end of June. I am writing this with the hope we might learn a little something about one another before that event.

      I am a well-educated woman. I enjoy many pastimes, most particularly my large collection of books, which I hope will arrive safely at your home ahead of my own arrival. I also enjoy walking in the gardens of my father’s fine home in London as well as the gardens of our family home in Somerset. I have been told Texas is quite barren but I secretly harbor the hope your home has equally lush gardens we may walk in during the warmest days of summer.

      I have been told you were born in the Americas after your father emigrated there to become a tobacco farmer. I can imagine you must have enjoyed an interesting childhood. Did you attend boarding school? I am unfamiliar with the type of education available in America. Do you enjoy reading? Perhaps you can share with me the titles of your favorite books so we may discuss those we have in common.

      I am looking forward to meeting you.

      Yours,

      Anna Scott

      The last line felt a little like a lie to Anna—she really wasn’t looking forward to meeting him—but it seemed like the polite thing to say. She folded the stationary page and slipped it into an envelope, feeling a little better than she had before.

      Maybe I will go above decks, she said to Adele.

      Go. Meet some people. It will make this journey pass so much faster.

      She wasn’t sure anything could really make this journey pass quickly—or if she even wanted it to—but it wasn’t every day she got to cross the Atlantic on a steam ship.

      Anna’s cabin was on the Promenade deck. Other first class passengers were milling around, introducing themselves to others in an attempt to find out who was on board and whom they might benefit from getting to know.

      Anna had no interest in this social dance her father would have expected her to participate in. Instead, she went above decks and stood at the railing, raising her face to the cool wetness of the spray coming from the waves as they moved slowly from dock and headed north.

      She was learning to live with the sick fear that had settled in her belly the moment she accepted the idea she would have to submit to her father’s demands. That fear was a little lessened by the idea she might be allowed to correspond with her betrothed, to learn about him over the next few weeks before they finally met face to face. Maybe if she was able to see he was as kind and gentle as her father suggested he should be, after all, he did come from a good family with a long history in his native England, she would feel more at ease at becoming his wife.

      However, she couldn’t shake the horror stories she had heard. The stories of young women forced into marriages they didn’t want and living lives of abuse or burden, or simply a lack of love. Anna had never wanted that for herself. That was what had led her into the stable with Wyndham. That moment ruined any chance she would ever have of choosing a husband for herself or of finding some sort of happiness in this world.

      Arthur was a good man, but she didn’t love him and she couldn’t imagine ever loving him. Wyndham was…even now it made her blush to think of his pale features, his wild, dark curls, his intense, brown eyes. He was everything Arthur was not, wild and charming and exciting.

      She gripped the rail, leaning forward in an attempt to see the shore one last time.

      You shouldn’t do that.

      She turned and found herself face to face with a handsome young man, a cabin boy with an armful of linens.

      Shouldn’t I?

      You might fall.

      Anna stepped back immediately, the idea of all that water crashing over her head as unpleasant as anything else she could think of in that moment. The boy smiled as he ducked around her and disappeared through a distant door.

      Anna crossed her arms over her chest, her thoughts a little less about romance and a little more about practicality. How much easier would life be if she could live on a ship, spending her days delivering linens to First Class cabins? She wouldn’t have to worry about being shipped off as a mail

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