Bonds of Matrimony Read Free

captivated.”
                “I’m
not captivated,” she protested a bit too loudly.
                “Ssh,”
he replied as he led her through the hotel lobby and up to her room.  
                In
her room, she slipped out of her man’s suit and into her nightgown before
falling into bed beside her sister.   She was almost unconscious before her head touched the pillow.   But that night, she dreamt that it was her
who Colton Webb had against the wall of a building.

CHAPTER 2
                Her
sister was kind enough to wake her the next morning by opening the heavy drapes
wide and allowing the spectacularly blinding morning sunlight into their hotel
room.   Feeling the lingering
effects of her drinks from the evening before, she shrank away and buried her
face in a pillow.
                “Just
think!” Rosalie exclaimed as she flopped onto the bed beside her sister.   “Six days from now, we will be hugging
our brother again!   I could
positively squeal in delight and excitement!”
                “Please
don’t,” Chastity mumbled groggily, wondering when this shift in her sister’s attitude
had taken place.   She had been
dreading this trip from the beginning.   When the girls had learned of their parents’ betrayal, Reese had been as
desperate to escape as Chase was.   But without male chaperones, their journey overseas could prove
perilous.   For this reason, they
had agreed to pass themselves off as young brothers travelling with their
grandmother.   For a boldly
outspoken young woman who was born envying the freedom of the men in her life,
it was an ideal plan in Chastity’s opinion.   For her sister, it was a terrifying prospect, and frankly, a
role she wasn’t terribly adept at performing.
                In spite of the black trousers, jacket, and
bowler hat, Reese still looked purely feminine.   And certainly, her twirling in front of the mirror did not
help matters.
                “You
look fine,” Chase lied.
                “I
look ridiculous,” she pouted.
                “Perhaps
you could conveniently become seasick once we board the ship.   Then you can lock yourself in our cabin
on the ship,” her sister suggested, only partly joking.
                “For
six days?” Reese asked, clearly displeased with the suggestion.   Tears welled up in her blue-black eyes,
making her look even more feminine.
                A
knock sounded on the door of their room, and Chastity rushed to answer it,
eager to avoid Reese’s frustration.   James tipped his hat at her as he entered and then stopped short when he
spotted her sister.
                “This
is never going to work,” he mumbled.
                “Come,
Chase!   It’s time to make our final
preparations.   We are to board the
Mauretania in a mere two hours!”
                She
remembered the men talking about this ship they were to board.   It had already made a reputation for itself
for being the fastest and most luxurious boat to sail the Atlantic.   The passengers could expect to dock in
New York in fewer than six days.   The men at the saloon had bragged about its strength and power, not to
mention its size.   Their grandmother
had raved about the ship’s elegance.
                And
yet, no one had adequately prepared her for the sight that met her at the docks
in Liverpool that morning.   No one
had warned her about the crowds of people that painted a picture of true
diversity.   Women dressed in
elaborate gowns were escorted by equally well-dressed men, while porters
struggled with their vast amounts of luggage.   Young men and women dressed in barely more than rags huddled
together closely carrying little more than the sparse clothing on their
backs.   Around her, people called
out in a variety of foreign tongues, no doubt speaking words of excitement