A Mail-Order Beauty to Heal the Beast (Preview)

Chapter One

Amy could hardly believe her ears as she sat in her parlor, staring across the table to where her best friend, Elizabeth, sat looking like she thought she had just said the most brilliant thing in the world. She couldn’t possibly have suggested what Amy thought she had. It was simply too absurd!
“Well?” the other woman asked from where she sat across the table from Amy, all but bouncing in her seat. “You haven’t said anything. What do you think? Do you want to take a look with me?”

“I haven’t said anything because I think I must have heard you wrong,” she replied, unable to keep the shock out of her voice. “It sounded like you told me I should look into being a mail-order bride so I could move out west!”

Elizabeth chuckled, rolling her eyes. “It probably sounded like that because that is what I said.”

Amy could only blink in shock as she tried to find her voice. How on earth was she being so calm and chipper about something like this? “You can’t be serious! I can’t do something like that!”

“Why not?” Elizabeth shrugged as though she was asking about trying a new cut of sleeve on a dress or going to a new place to eat for lunch rather than marrying a stranger she found through the newspaper. Plenty of people do it. Besides, Lucas would want you to move out west and this is the easiest way to make it happen.”

She frowned at the mention of her brother. It felt a bit underhanded to bring him into this, but Amy knew that Elizabeth didn’t mean it like that. She wasn’t trying to make Amy feel bad, only to get her to think and remember the severity of her situation. Pretty soon, she would either need to dip into the meager savings she and her brother had managed to build up for rent or she would have to find a new place to live. The city of Boston was expensive and now that she was on her own, it was going to be that much harder for Amy, a single woman with no living family to speak of ever since her brother passed away., to find a way to make ends meet.

Even so, she found it hard to think about her future, let alone plan anything or commit to any kind of choices. It hadn’t been all that long since she lost her brother, only just shy of a month. Amy hated to leave the city that was his final resting place, but she knew Elizabeth was right. He wouldn’t want her to waste her life here. Not only that but there was no telling how long she would be able to manage to support herself in any kind of truly meaningful way.
This hadn’t been anything like the life they had dreamed of building as they made the multi-week-long trip on a boat to the United States from London. Back then, they were both so excited and full of hope. Even though the ship had been dark, damp, and packed full of far more people than it probably should have been, it had felt like the beginning of a wondrous new life. The two of them would stay up late into the night talking about what their lives would be like when they finally arrived in the new world, this was sometimes to the annoyance of the other passengers who were too poor to afford their own cabins.

The plan had always been to go west and establish a farm where they could grow their own food and never have to worry about going to bed hungry again, but before they had even settled in, it became obvious that they still had a lot further to go to achieve the idyllic life they dreamed of. The city was far more expensive than either of them had expected. By the time they covered all of their expenses each month, it left them with only a small amount of money they could put away to begin saving up for their dream.

Amy knew that she needed to find a way to make their dreams a reality for her brother much as she had to do it for herself, but still, was this the way to do it? Would her brother be embarrassed or ashamed to see her use her marriage as a bargaining chip for financial security and property? “It just seems so impersonal and cold.”

“So what? It’s a marriage. There’s nothing personal about it.” Elizabeth shrugged with a sigh. “I know it wasn’t the way you were raised, that you grew up dreaming of love, but it isn’t that simple for most people. At its heart, marriage is a business decision, a combination of assets, and an agreement to try to build a stable life. Love is a bonus, but love won’t keep your belly full and wood in your fireplace.”

“I know that, but does that really mean it should be thrown out entirely?”

“No one is saying you need to throw it out entirely.”

“But isn’t that what you’re proposing?”

“No, because there’s no reason love can’t grow while you start to build your lives together.”

Amy looked away. She knew there was some level of truth to what Elizabeth was saying even if she didn’t want to admit it.

“I know that the idea of something like this can feel like a lot, but if you can be honest about what marriage really means, not just to you or the idea of marriage you’ve built in your head, but the financial and legal reality of it, then this could be the key to the future you and your brother always dreamed of. I just don’t want you to wake up one day and feel like you let it pass you by.”

She softened at her friend’s words. “I know you only have my best interest at heart, but still something like this…” Amy trailed off, shaking her head. “I just don’t know if I can do something like this.” It seemed like it held the answers to all of her prayers in so many ways, but it just felt so wrong. It felt like she was using herself as a commodity or a bargaining chip, reducing something that should be meaningful and sacred, to little more than a means to an end.

And yet, could she really throw away this opportunity?

As if she could sense her hesitating, Elizabeth pushed a newspaper towards her. “I’m not saying that you need to commit to anything or make a choice now. In fact, if you told me you were ready to marry someone today, I would be concerned and warn you to slow down. I just think that if you take a look at the listings, you might be surprised by what you find. Consider it rationally and do what’s going to be best for you in the long run.”

“But what kind of man would post a listing like this?” she frowned, eyes locked on the paper between them. “Surely it can’t be that hard to meet someone.”
“There are far more than you would think and the reason they’re doing it isn’t something you can paint with a broad brush. But generally speaking, there aren’t a lot of women out west yet, and most of the ones who are went there with their husbands, so I imagine that it might be hard for them to find someone to settle down with.” Then a wide grin spread across her face as she realized something. “Besides, if you’re asking me that, then you must be curious. Just take a little look. You don’t need to decide anything or even write to any of them. I just think that you could benefit from seeing what’s out there.”

Amy could feel herself wavering. Perhaps Elizabeth had a point. She didn’t need to commit to anything just yet. She could look over the paper and then move on with her day. Besides, knowing Elizabeth, if she didn’t at least look, then odds were she would never drop the issue. At least this way, she could say she tried, right? “I suppose there’s no real harm in looking. It isn’t like it would commit me to anything just yet.”

Elizabeth lit up, flipping open the paper. “That’s what I like to hear. I went through and circled a few that I thought you might be interested in.”
Amy blinked at her. “You went to all that trouble already? What would you have said if I told you I was firmly against the idea?”

“You wouldn’t have.”

“Of course, I could have. I almost did.”

“Maybe, but you didn’t, did you? Come on, Amy. We’ve been friends for how long? I think I know whether or not I can convince you of something like this by now.”

“It still just seems a bit presumptuous on your part.”

“Maybe it was, but it worked, didn’t it?”

Any frowned, refusing to admit her long-time friend was right. “If you know me so well, then why don’t we test that?”

“What did you have in mind?”

Go ahead and show me who you think would catch my eye and we can see if you got it right.”

She just grinned. “I was hoping you would say something like that because I know that I did.”

Amy frowned down at the page in front of her. There were far more entries circled than she would have expected. If she was being honest, seeing the sheer amount of advertisements searching for wives felt more than a little overwhelming. She couldn’t help but be reminded of job listings or for sale advertisements. Was she really about to pick a husband from something like this?

“I can see you getting in your head about this already,” Elizabeth said, pulling the paper away from her.

“Can you blame me? You said you picked out a few you thought might suit me, but there must be at least a dozen of them circled!”

She rolled her eyes. “Not all of them are the ones I wanted to show you. I have since narrowed down my selection.”

Amy sighed, shaking her head. “I don’t know. Maybe I was right and this wasn’t the best idea after all.”

“Oh come on,” Elizabeth whined. “You haven’t even read any of them yet! At least give them a chance.”

“It wasn’t like you even gave me a chance. Besides, I don’t understand how you can expect me to do that. It just feels more like shopping or looking at job listings than looking for someone to court.”

“You’re not looking for someone to court. You’re looking for someone to marry. It’s a business decision, but if that’s how you feel…” she trailed off, pulling the paper towards her for a moment before handing it back to Amy, pointing at one of them. “Look at this one. I think it might be more what you’re looking for.”

Amy frowned, taking the paper in her hands to read over the listing. She hated to admit it, but it seemed like Elizabeth might have a point.

The listing she was pointing at read: Theodore Caden of Summerset, Wyoming in search of a wife. Theodore Caden lives on a ranch in Summerset, Wyoming. He is in search of a wife to join him by his side. Willing to pay for travel. Open to a long correspondence, courtship, and engagement if desired. Those interested may inquire for more information by writing to the address listed below.

Amy frowned, turning back to Elizabeth. “It still just seems so formal and cold.”

“I understand why you feel like that, but he’s willing to write for a long time. What’s the harm in sending him a letter?”

Elizabeth thought for a moment. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Are you going to be sending a letter too? It might be nice to have you with me out west,” Amy suggested, chewing her lip.

Elizabeth snorted, shaking her head. “Me? Go out west? We both know I couldn’t survive in the countryside. I’m a city girl through and through, but you’re not. And I won’t let you stay here just because you don’t know how to move forward.”

Amy let out a long breath. “It’s a long journey to make on my own.”

“I know it is. I’m not saying it will be easy, but you’ve always talked about how badly you wanted to move west. I don’t want to see you let your best chance at finally getting it pass you by.”

Amy’s eyes drifted back down to the listing. As much as it wasn’t how she imagined her life going, she knew that Elizabeth was right. She would never be able to afford a farm on her own. It had been one thing when she and Lucas could have pooled their money together, but with him gone, Amy was on her own. She wouldn’t let their dreams die. If this is what she needed to do to make them come true, then she could be content with a marriage of convenience.
“You’re right. There’s no harm in sending a letter,” she finally said, hoping her voice came out stronger than she felt.

“That’s more like it! Let’s get to work.”

The pair spent the rest of the afternoon crafting a good introduction letter. Amy couldn’t help but feel like it was the kind of letter someone sent when inquiring about a job, but Elizabeth assured her that it was perfect. When they were finally satisfied with it, they dropped it off at the post office. After that, all there was to do was wait.

Chapter 2

The storm pounded against the sides of the large, spacious barn hard enough to make the wooden walls rattle. Theodore winced at the sight of a few places he could already see that would need repairing in the upcoming days once the weather cleared up. A small leak had started coming through in at least one spot. Thankfully, it was in the walk way rather than any of the animal’s stalls. Still, he would need to get that taken care of first thing tomorrow. He shook his head, he needed to focus on getting his horse saddled up. He could deal with the rest later.

“I swear the corral gate was locked and secured before I came inside,” Rob insisted once again from where he was getting his own horse ready.

“So you keep saying,” Theo frowned. “But there’s no time to talk about that now. We need to get the Mustangs back inside before anything happens to them.”

“I know,” he said, voice barely above a whisper.

Neither of them said another word as they finished getting ready before racing into the pounding rain. Theo squinted his deep blue eyes, straining to see the horses through the never-ending rain. It smacked against his skin hard enough to hurt, wind cutting through his thick wool coat to turn his very bones to ice.

One by one they carefully captured each of the missing horses they could find before securing them safely inside the stables. It was hard though, the rain made it hard to see or hear much of anything. All they could do was to try to spot motion through the pounding rain and hope they weren’t chasing ghosts.

It must have taken hours for them to find as many of the horses as they could have realistically hoped to. They were still missing three, but the storm was getting even worse and it wasn’t safe for them to keep searching right now. Despite the risks to both of them, Theo knew he would need to be the one to make the call. After all, he was Rob’s boss and the man was far too good of a worker to stop if he thought there was more he could do.

Theo looked to Rob, motioning him back to the house rather than trying to scream over the roaring storm. There wasn’t much chance of him being heard and it felt like there shouldn’t be anything to say since the reason for going back was so obvious.

When he did, however, Rob simply shook his head.

Theo could only sigh in resignation.

He watched in disapproval as Rob began to ride further off into the distance where the missing horses were believed to be. Theo wasn’t surprised the younger man wanted to keep looking, but the storm was too strong. The time to try had long since passed, and they needed to get inside for their own safety. Even if the younger man was content to be reckless, Theo wasn’t about to let him risk his safety for a few horses. He’s already seen what can happen when someone risks their safety for business and he wasn’t going to let him suffer any of those possible consequences.

He motioned for Rob to follow him again and this time, more insistent. And for a moment, he looked like he might continue to try and argue before his shoulders heaved in a sigh, and he complied.

They returned to the farm house, the long ride seeming to stretch on even longer. Now that there was no longer the quest to find the missing horses to focus on, all Theo could think about was how cold he was. He tried not to shiver as his soaking wet clothes plastered themselves to his skin.

No sooner had they stepped through the doors than Linda, Rob’s mother raced over to them, her curly red hair with streaks of grey creeping in, fighting to escape the low bun she wore it in. She had two steaming mugs of coffee in her hands. “Quickly, come inside and go sit around the hearth.” The red-haired woman ushered them inside. “You poor things must be freezing.”

Theo let himself be herded, and they stopped in the other room before heading to sit in front of the fire so he could take his wet coat off. After everything that had happened with the horses, Theo couldn’t stop his mind from racing. He was never one to jump to conclusions and prided himself on being a logical man, but something about this situation wasn’t sitting right with him.

“Rob,” he said, voice grave as he thought about the implications of his suspicion. “Are you sure that the gate was secure before the storm? You know for a fact that you locked it up properly?”

“I swear on my life I know that it was,” Rob insisted. “I don’t know how this could have happened. Maybe it was damaged in the storm.”
“Maybe,” Theo said, sipping from his coffee.

“You don’t sound convinced,” Rob said with a frown. “What do you think happened?”

“I don’t know yet, but something isn’t sitting right with me.”

They lapsed back into silence as they warmed themselves by the fire. Theo’s mind was racing with far too many thoughts for him to feel up for much conversation.

The truth of the matter was this wasn’t the first time the Mustangs had gotten out. It wasn’t even the second or the third. In the past two months, they had gotten out four times. It was clear that they needed to do something, but first Theo needed to figure out why this kept happening.

He was still thinking about it when they got up the next morning to finish rounding up the Mustangs. The two men spent hours searching, but in the end, there was still one of the horses missing.

“Maybe if we just look a little longer we can find him,” Rob said when they were debating returning to the farm.

Theo sighed. He hated to leave any of the animals behind. They were a necessary part of maintaining his farm and an important income source for him. Not to mention that if his suspicion about exactly how they kept escaping was correct, it felt like admitting defeat. He sighed, shaking his head. “I hate to do it too, but we’ve already spent most of the morning looking for them. If we haven’t found them yet, then odds are they’re long gone.”

“But still, there needs to be something we can do.”

Theo just shook his head and started making his way back. Rob followed behind him, but he could tell the man wasn’t happy with his choice, not that Theo could blame him.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Rob said suddenly, startling Theo from his inner turmoil.

Theo shook his head. “Nothing worth talking about.”

“Somehow I doubt that. Come on, whatever it is you can tell me, as long as it isn’t just about the horses again.”

He sighed. “I won’t lie, I’m still really thinking about the horses. It doesn’t take a genius to see that something isn’t right there.”

“How so?”

Theo frowned, thinking for a moment. The simple fact was he didn’t want to give his suspicions yet in case he was wrong. He needed proof before saying something so serious. “Forget it,” he sighed, shaking his head. “I just don’t like to see all our hard work vanishing into the woods like this. We’ve lost over half our herd in the past few months,” he said instead.

“I know. There must be something wrong with the latch or something,” Rob said.

There was nothing wrong with it. They had checked it more than enough times to say that for sure. “Maybe I would have been better off selling the farm when I had the chance. This couldn’t be happening at a worse time.”

“Don’t talk like that. I’m sure whatever is going on, we can figure it out, and things will be back to normal before you know it!” Then he paused, frowning, “But what makes now such a bad time for it compared to any others? This seems like the kind of thing where the time shouldn’t matter much.”

“It would be a problem no matter when it happened, but I just replied to a letter for a prospective mail-order bride,” Theo confessed, hoping that if he said it like it was a normal and expected thing, Rob wouldn’t make a fuss about it.

Of course he couldn’t get so lucky. “You asked about a mail-order bride?!” he gasped in shock.

“Not of my own free will,” he sighed. “If I had been left to my own devices, I wouldn’t worry about trying to find a wife, but your mother wants to see me settle down so I figured it couldn’t hurt. Besides, it isn’t like I had much luck in that department,” he muttered, subconsciously tugging his hat in a vain attempt to cover the scarring on the left side of his face.

“You were hurt in an accident,” Rob insisted. “And trying to save your father and some of the men working for you I might add. If that’s something a woman wants to hold against you, then she’s someone who isn’t worthy of you to begin with if you ask me.”

“That’s kind of you to say, but I don’t think many people in town would be inclined to agree with you.”

“Like I said, it’s their loss.”

Theo snorted, shaking his head. As they rode, he couldn’t help but think back to the day he had first received her reply. He had agreed to put out the listing so long ago that he wasn’t expecting anything to come of it. Truthfully, he did his best to forget about it. While it was more than a bit of an exaggeration to say that Linda had to strong arm him into it, he couldn’t deny that he had some concerns, he was lonely and it seemed like this was his best chance at trying to meet someone.

It happened one day when he was sitting at home. He had just picked up the mail and was sitting on the sofa while he went through it. Most of it was business, bills, and notices from prospective buyers of his horses, but then he came across something he wasn’t expecting, something that made him pause.
It was a simple, white envelope with neat handwriting in black ink on the front from Boston. He frowned. It didn’t seem like the kind of place that someone would be ordering his horses from, but what else could it be?

He opened it and read the words in surprise.

Dear Mr. Theodore Caden,
Allow me to begin by introducing myself. I’m Amy Jameson. I saw your listing in our paper and thought it might be worth it to try to contact you. I’m not sure if you’ve heard from anyone else yet, but I have wanted to move out west for quite some time.
I thought we perhaps might be able to improve each other’s lives. I can cook, sew, and have an interest in reading. I came to America from England with the hopes of coming west and starting a proper homestead. I think it finally might be time to put that plan into practice.
If the offer is still open, I would be happy to communicate more about the next steps.
I hope to hear from you soon
Sincerely,
Amy Jameson

For a long time, all he could do was stare down at the letter in shock. Truthfully, Theo never expected to receive any kind of reply to the letter. He leaned back on the sofa, looking down at the paper.

How hard was it to meet with her? He could pay for a train ticket for her to come visit, and if she took one look at him and went the other way, then that would be that. He could move on with his life and his mother could rest easy knowing that he had at least tried to settle down.

He took a deep breath and sat down to pen his reply. Only to scrap it and start from the beginning over and over and over again. As he looked from the growing pile of discarded letters to the half formed letter in front of him, his hand drifted to the burn scars that covered the left side of his face. Why was he doing this to himself?

There was no doubt that if she came, she would only be disappointed. Sure, if he was honest, he was rather lonely, but that didn’t mean it was worth putting himself through the pain that was sure to come from her rejection.

Of course that was when Rob had come in. “what are you working on?” He asked, walking over to Theo.

Theo turned to his employee with a groan. “Why do you never knock?”

“How do you know I didn’t and you just didn’t hear me?”

Theo leveled him with a look.

“Besides, none of that is the point right now. What are you writing?” Rob insisted, trying to read over his shoulder.

He groaned, flipping the paper over so he couldn’t read it. “I’m writing a reply to a letter. I thought that would be obvious.”

“I could see that, but who are you writing to? I didn’t think you had anyone you would be penpals with or anything like that, and it wouldn’t take you so many tries to get it right if it were a business letter.”

Theo didn’t say anything, but he didn’t need to. Rob was like a dog with a bone when he started to catch on to something like this.

“Come on, just tell me what it is,” he grinned. “Maybe I can help.”

“I don’t need any help, but thank you for the offer.”

Rob didn’t say anything, eyes moving from the pile of crumpled letters around Theo to Theo’s face.

“Fine,” he muttered, showing him the letter.

The Pair then spent the rest of the evening working on Theo’s reply. He wouldn’t have been surprised if things ended there, but sure enough, Amy replied. So he sent another letter only to have her reply again. Once they had exchanged a few letters, he finally found the nerve to send his latest letter, the one offering to pay for her to come see the ranch.

Rob’s voice pulled him out of the memory and back to the present.

“You still haven’t told me much about her,” Rob said, practically bouncing in his saddle from the excitement. “What’s she like? Is she coming soon?”

Theo rolled his eyes at just how eager his friend had become. “Her name is Amy Jameson. I’ve only received one letter from her so far. As for her coming here, that’s up to her now.”

“That still sounds pretty promising. What did you say to her?”

“I told her the train station would be holding a ticket for her if that’s something she would choose, but with everything going on, I don’t know if that was such a good idea.”

“But you still haven’t told me what you think is going on with the Mustangs,” Rob asked.

Theo wouldn’t even look at him. His thoughts swirled in his head, a dark and turbulent storm. If he told Rob it would only involve him more than he already has. it was bad enough that the town’s folk already treated him poorly for being associated with him. The last thing he wanted to do was make it worse. He shook his head and sighed. “And I don’t think I should tell you. Some things are better off left unsaid.”

“What? But Why not?”

Theo didn’t say anything, trying to ignore the way he could feel Rob staring at him. Then he watched as realization dawned on the other man. “You think someone is doing this on purpose, don’t you?”

“Of course, I do. It’s the only thing that makes any sense,” Theo admitted.

“But why? Who would do something like that?”

Theo’s mouth hardened into a thin line. “The same man who’s spent the past five years trying to drive me out of this town, Henry Pennyrose,” he spat the name out like a curse. It was bitter on his lips like poison.

Rob gasped, but Theo didn’t understand why he was acting so surprised. Now that he had finally said it out loud, it was so obvious that there was no avoiding it.

The only question was what to do about it now that he knew.