A Runaway Bride to Cherish: The Bridal Train, #1

Prologue

After debarking from the train, the bride must report directly to the Espousal Alliance Office on Monroe Street, to be appointed lodgings and details about her husband-to-be.

Anna stared at the letter in her hand, reading those words for the thousandth time since receiving the missive back in Concord, Massachusetts. The instructions always looked the same, but she’d read a lot between the neatly spaced words on the parchment.

For one, the letters were precisely formed and the ink had been well-blotted, leading Anna to believe the person writing them was meticulous. And two, the woman who ran the Espousal Alliance Office was educated. Because of these points, Anna could place her trust in this woman, and it boded well for a female traveling alone to a new part of the country.

It might as well be a brand new world—Topeka, Kansas was so far away from Concord and all the things Anna had come to know as home.

She let out a sigh and folded the paper neatly again, tucking it into her string purse which sat on the train seat next to her. She looked out the window at the passing scenery. Open land for endless miles met her eyes, accompanied by the click-clack of the train trundling over the tracks. For the first hundred miles, she had been certain the noise would drive her mad and that by the end of the journey, she’d disembark with gray hair, all the pins pulled out, and with bald patches where hair was missing.

But she’d soon grown accustomed to the sound, and now it was almost soothing if she thought about it.

She folded her hands primly in her lap and tried not to let her mind wander to her reason for leaving her home and family. This decision had not been made lightly. After all, fleeing one’s home and traveling alone to the wilds of America was something a much stronger, more adventurous woman would do. That woman was not Anna.

She’d grown up petted and loved, with a governess and all the best training in the arts. She could play piano well and had a fair hand at painting. Her mother had beamed over her last oil of her own home, with the sunlight dappling the trees and the shady spots on the front porch looking just as inviting as they did in person.

Her momma had hung this painting above the fireplace, a place of recognition, to be sure. Anna was proud.

But she was not proud of her reason for leaving. Pure stupidity had driven her actions that night of the Hemsley’s ball. The dance had been the biggest, most exciting of the year, with hundreds of guests and a punch fountain and an ice sculpture, which was really unheard of even in their wealthy circles.

She’d clutched her dance card half the night before a handsome young man had written his name there—not once but three times! And oh, how her heart had pattered when he’d taken her hand in his and spun her out onto the parquet wood floor.

By night’s end, she’d been half in love with Mr. Thomas Wendall of Boston. After that, he’d written her letters and when he returned to Concord on business, he’d come to call on her.

This became such a habit that her family and most of society was sure she would become Mrs. Wendall and be whisked off any day to become the mistress of his townhouse in Boston.

But in the end...

She sighed and fiddled with the strings of the bonnet at her throat. She was hot and wanted to remove the hat, but a lady would not do that. She could just hear her mother now.

Looking out the window again, her situation washed over her once more. She was far from home, on her way to meet Ms. Godwin to be matched with a husband.

A frightening prospect, but one that Anna was led to after Thomas Wendall had kissed her soundly in the garden. Then been found kissing Marie Hopkins shortly after.

The social slight of being alone with a man might have been brushed under the Oriental rug if they had actually been engaged and slated for matrimony. But Thomas had not offered any of those things and had instead turned out to be quite a rake, kissing Marie and later, Anna had discovered, several other young girls he also had written to and visited.

He was a dastard and a rake, which was all fine for a man. But for a woman, it meant ruin. She, and all the others too, were seen as unfit for the marriage market after this incident, and Anna had locked herself up in her bedroom for weeks hoping the whole ordeal would disappear.

In the end, her momma had talked sensibly to her, if not harshly, and Anna had known her course.

Which put her on this train bound for a new land, new husband. New life.

She reached up and tugged the ribbon tied beneath her chin. Releasing the hot bow afforded a bit more air to touch her damp throat, and she dragged in a deep breath.

Tea is being served in the dining car, Miss Winters. The bellhop in blue uniform with white gloves smiled down at her. Or would you prefer to take it in your compartment?

I’ll go to the dining car, thank you. Her compartment was hotter than anyplace she’d ever been. She smiled back, and he gave a nod before moving down the aisle to the next seat.

Anna tied her bonnet strings again and grabbed her string purse. It contained all of the money her parents had allotted, which only covered what she would need on this journey. They’d sprung for passage as well as a sleeping compartment. They had also paid Ms. Godwin’s fee to match Anna with a husband.

All these things Anna was grateful for, while at the same time feeling resentment that her family had thought it best to push her on to become a mail order bride.

Or in this case, a Bridal Train bride.

When she arrived at the dining car, she took a window seat alone while the other young ladies also traveling to Topeka, she assumed for the same reason she was, sat together and talked excitedly while sipping tea and eating cakes and small sandwiches.

Anna picked up a cake and nibbled at it. It tasted dry in her mouth, so she set it back on the china dish and stirred two lumps of sugar into her tea instead. With half an ear, she listened to the other women chatter about their futures and how dashing their husbands would be. How out West, the men were plentiful and the women scarce, so they’d be snatched up quickly.

Turning her attention to the window and the green fields rolling by, Anna sighed. She did wish for a husband, a family and a happy life. And Ms. Godwin had been paid to ensure she got it. Anna would have those things that were out of her reach back in Concord, and all would be well.

A private smile came over her face, which she hid by sipping her tea. By this time tomorrow, she would be standing next to her future husband, taking her vows

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Chapter One

When the hot Kansas breeze washed over Anna’s face, she let out a gasp. Not only was it extremely hot compared to the East, but it smelled.

And the first words she was met with were all cuss words, spoken in a thick Irish accent and punctuated by blasphemies.

She pressed a hand over her heart. What had she gotten herself into? What kind of ruffians and vagrants would she encounter in this place?

This is your home now, Anna. You must learn to adjust.

She stepped off the train and onto the landing. The depot was crowded with the same young women she’d journeyed with, along with businessmen wearing top hats. Several livery drivers were parked out front, and they were busy loading the passengers’ luggage into carts to take to their destinations.

But Anna did not have a driver or anybody to carry her bags. Nor could she afford such luxuries now, at least until she was married.

She gripped her bag tightly and patted her string purse at her side, making sure she had it close. She couldn’t afford to be pickpocketed at this stage of the journey. Arriving at the Espousal Alliance Office penniless simply could not happen.

Suddenly, a strong, hot, smelly wind blew at her face, billowing her full skirts out behind her. Somehow, this gave her a push to get started on foot.

She