Mail Order Love (Sweet Mail Order Bride Historical Romance Novel) (Oregon Mail Order Brides) Read Free Page A

being said. You are better off taking a chance on a new situation than being sure of a bad one here.”
    “It wouldn’t surprise me at all if there are rumors, Briggs. The expression on his face is enough to warn me something is wrong.”
    “You are perceptive, miss. And they are facts more than rumors. I have it on good authority. A friend of mine worked at his house for a short time. Let’s just say that Gergmins is known to take out his frustrations on his staff. He’s been wanting a wife for some time now, but a number of arrangements have fallen through.”
    Ellie nodded as she listened intently. “I see.”
    Briggs breathed in noisily through his nose and his eyes looked fierce. “It sickens me that Ursula is willing to turn you over to that beast. Your life would be over if you became his wife. I am sorry to be so blunt, miss, but it is the truth.”
    Briggs had come to care for Ellie like a granddaughter. He looked visibly shaken by the revelation today.
    “Ellie, I will do whatever I can to help you. I know the clerk at the newspaper office so I can help you check for mail there. One or other of us will check at least every day. We just have to get you out of this house and far away from Gergmins.”
    “Thank you, Briggs.” This good man’s heart made all the difference to Ellie. He was the only human being alive who cared about her.
    Ellie’s brow furrowed as she thought things through.
    “Briggs, what if it doesn’t work, what if no one reads my advert? And even if someone does read it, will they accept me on the basis of my words alone and send me a ticket to come to them? There isn’t enough time for letters to travel back and forth. I need an immediate acceptance. And I can’t just run away with nowhere to go, I would end up in the poorhouse. I must have a live-in job to go to.”
    Briggs tried to look as confident as possible for Ellie’s sake.
    “Someone will see that advert and want you, Ellie. You must have faith.”

Chapter 4
    Deep in the prairies, Oregon State.
     
    Grammy Ford relaxed in bed with her cup of tea, the covers all drawn up around her. She munched on a toasted biscuit, not minding the few crumbs that flew out.
    Maybe that’s not what refined ladies do, but I’m not one to care about that.
    She’d never considered herself a refined lady and was actually rather proud not to be counted among their ranks.
    Up on the top two floors of their palatial dwelling Grammy had her own wing of rooms. Her attic bedroom was the main room where she sat.
    The ceiling of the room was so high, and the window so large, that there was no hardship involved in living up in the eaves of the house. On the contrary, the room had the advantage of providing the best views of any spot in the building.
    Grammy had furnished the room comfortably. She had a worn old wooden rocking chair that she loved to sit in. For visitors there were four chairs and a fraying chaise longue, with patchwork cushions and soft woolen blankets strewn around. Embroideries of flowers, natural scenes, and wise sayings decorated the walls.
    Grammy looked out of the wide-open window, far over the rolling prairie beyond.
    She scanned the view. Out under the wide blue sky she could see a figure moving against the fields. Her grandson Jared was herding up the cattle valiantly on his horse. She watched as he sprinted on his horse and sharp-turned to get the cattle rounded.
    He never stops, that boy. Constantly working all the hours God sends.
    It was just her and Jared now, after his Ma and Pa had died in the great train crash fourteen years ago. Since the crash it seemed all he’d done was work.
    It was a struggle to hold the enormous estate together on his own after his two brothers and two sisters had moved on to seek their fortunes. Jared did an admirable job, but in truth he was just about holding the place together, provided he worked long exhausting days without rest. He never complained once about it.
    Grammy would cook up