Bride School: Mary (The Brides of Diamond Springs Ranch 4) Read Free Page B

need to speak to anyone but Milly. “What is
it about this Mr. Hermann?”
    “He’s not frightening. Like Fontaine said, he’s
quite handsome. However…” Hortense bit her lip for only a second or two. “Mr.
Hermann is not interested in being anyone’s groom. One of Mrs.
Carnegie’s customers must have been delayed by the storm, and Mr. Hermann will
be filling in. The same happened last week. I thought Mr. Hermann would have
left town by now. Back to Boston, I believe.”
    The other three ladies seemed disappointed to hear
that the “pretty face” wasn’t in the market for any of them.
    “But you seem so pleased,” Mary pointed out.
    “As you should be.” Milly gathered her skirts and
prepared to disembark. “Mr. Hermann won’t be wasting space on our dance cards,
so to speak, because he’ll be dancing every dance with you, Alexandra! ”
    “Oh?”
    “And our potential husbands will be able to keep
their attention where it belongs. You see?” Hortense nodded again. “Providential.”
    The rest of them seemed appeased and one by one,
they made their way out the door. It took a moment to find the courage to take
that first step, but after Mary found it, there was no stopping her. Surely,
with all the talk of Providence in the past few hours, it was destined to be a
pleasant evening.
    She was grateful for Elsa’s supportive hand under
her elbow as she stepped to the ground. She turned her head away from Fontaine
and did her best to mimic the regal walk of Alexandra Campbell. Long, gliding
steps took her across the boards and into the large building that glowed warmly
from the inside. Elsa followed close on her heels and shut the doors behind
them.
    Finally, the moment she’d been waiting for.

CHAPTER FIVE
     
    The assembly hall was as big as a barn, only it
lacked the usual shadows and heavy smells that filled outbuildings. The walls
were lined with candles behind glass and the polished wood of those walls shone
like wet river rock on a sunny day. In the near corner to her left, musicians
plucked their instruments and paid no mind to the mob of women pulling coats
off each other. Farther along the wall, a passel of men stood with their backs
to the women. They all appeared to be participating in the same conversation,
and they were loud enough to drown out the sounds of the musicians testing
their tools. After a few minutes passed, it was obvious the men hadn’t realized
the women had arrived.
    The clang of a tin cup skittering across the floor
brought both music and mouths to a halt.
    Men turned their heads toward the rear of the room
where Elsa stooped to pick up the cup she’d dropped. More than a few eyebrows
rose at the sight of a woman in chaps. And if her long braid of golden blond
didn’t convince them of her Swedish heritage, the lilt in her speech removed
all doubt.
    “You know d’rules, yentlemen. If you say or do
anything inappropriate, I’m here to see dat you don’t leave this building
alive.” She smiled sweetly then. “Fine wid you? Good,” she said, without leaving
time to deliberate. “You can dance now.”
    All eyes watched Elsa’s hands come to rest on the
handles of her guns. She frowned, then rolled her eyes and nodded toward the
women. It made Mary chuckle to see how relieved the men seemed at finding the
rest of the women were in skirts. For a dramatic second or two, the opposing
parties stared at one another. Then, in a rush, the men hurried forward to
apologize to the first female they could reach. As one, the gals took a nervous
step back.
    The fellow closest to Mary offered a deep bow to
her and Alice.
    “Forgive me, ladies, for missing your entrance.
Please allow me to apologize by asking you to dance.” He looked at Alice, then
at Mary. “Each in turn, of course.”
    The man was only a few inches taller than Mary. He
had to look down at Alice.
    “Alexandra’s dance card is promised to another,
sir.” Alice beamed up at him. “But I accept your apology and