The Butcher's Bride

Samantha wants nothing more than to get away from Mama's ever watchful eye. When she sneaks away from a meeting with a possible suitor, Samantha finds about mail order brides and figures that anything is better than being forced to marry someone by her mama.

David's decision to follow his brother's example to move to Idaho has brought him a freedom that he never thought possible. As he prepares his new butcher shop and new home, he knows there's only one thing missing—a wife. His brother's suggestion to try a mail order bride wife puts him in contact with Samantha, a woman whose eyes bear a sadness that intrigues him.

Life in a small Idaho town is more than Samantha could possibly imagine, and she immerses herself completely into the work that's required to maintain David's home. But a surprise visitor is about to throw their small piece of heaven into chaos. Will their love be torn apart by Samantha’s past, or can David prove that he will do anything for Samantha's happiness?

Samantha slowly turned the doorknob and pushed the door shut. Finally. She had some peace in her room. It wouldn’t last long, but at least she could get away from Mama. Samantha flopped on her bed, something that was completely against all her etiquette classes. She rolled over and stared up at the ceiling, wishing she could get away from all of this.

Not that it was all bad. She loved her home here in South Carolina. It was much better than New York City and a few other large cities she’d visited with her family. But if she had to sit through one more dinner with a suitor, she would scream.

Commotion erupted in the hall just outside her room, and she knew she’d been found. Samantha
slid off her bed and tiptoed to the balcony. She glanced behind her, then climbed over the railing and flailed until her feet hit the
ivy lattice below. Her escape. Mama would know where Samantha was going next, but at least she had a head start. It was colder than she’d expected, but then it was early January. She should have brought something warmer to put on once
she got down.

As soon as she touched the ground, Samantha lifted her skirts so she could run faster. The few hundred feet to the stables were nothing thanks to all the races against
her brothers over the years. Servants worked out in the cotton fields, and
several called out as she ran past, encouraging her to move faster. Samantha ran straight for her horse, Clover, and climbed up. Edmond apparently knew she would be escaping, because Clover was already saddled. Which meant that the other servants knew that she was going to have a suitor show up as well.

Mama had let everyone know but Samantha, which meant she knew it was a match her daughter wouldn’t like. Samantha took off, headed in the opposite direction of her grandmother’s estate. Mama would expect her to take solace there. In fact, that’s probably where Mama had sent the man who was to court her.

Charleston was loud and chaotic, just exactly what Samantha wanted right then. She rode through the streets and took several detours before she finally ended up at a saloon. Not a place someone of her status should be found.

Some of the patrons looked up from their drinks, but most kept to their own business. Samantha found a spot near the back to sit and slid into a booth, then picked up a menu. Breakfast had been hours ago, and she’d skipped lunch as soon as she
heard about the plans for that night, so she ordered chicken and potatoes. 

A pile of old newspapers sat near the fireplace, waiting to be used as fuel. Samantha flipped through them, looking for something to read while she waited for her food. Mama always begged her to keep up on the news as she would take over the
estate one day and needed to know what was going on in business, but Samantha usually avoided it. 

She pulled a paper out from the pile and checked to make sure no one was watching before she opened it. The ink had faded since it was a month old, but it was still legible. There was a lot about politics throughout the paper, but that
made sense as it was an election year. One article caught her eye as she was closing it. She folded the paper and set it on the seat next to her so the waitress wouldn’t see it.

The waitress set Samantha’s food in front of her and smiled. Her eyes flicked to where Samantha had hidden the paper, but she didn’t mention it. “I haven’t seen
you here before. Are you new to these parts?”

“No, I grew up here. I just don’t usually come into a saloon.” Samantha picked up her
fork. “Thank you for the meal.” 

“You’re welcome.” The waitress beamed and moved on to the next customer.

The food was greasy and used completely different spices than what she was used to, but she actually preferred it cooked this way. She would have to come back the next time she needed an escape.

Once her food was gone, Samantha pushed her plate to the side and pulled the paper back out. The article was on mail order brides—a concept Samantha had heard about,
but hadn’t done any research on it. The article was moving. This woman
obviously loved the man she’d ended up with. The idea was great, but only if the bride married someone she cared about. Still . . . it was better than being set up with a suitor of her parents’ choosing.

Samantha rolled up the paper and slid it inside the pocket of her gown and paid for her lunch. “I was wondering if you could direct me to the nearest post office?”

“It’s about five blocks west of here, but you’d better hurry. I believe they’ll close soon.” The barkeeper slid her coins off the counter and into his hand. 

She nodded and pushed the doors open. Clover looked up from chewing on the grass under her feet. Samantha patted her horse’s side. “Come on, girl. We need to hurry down to the post office. I’m about to do something I hope I don’t regret.”

***

The sun
had already set by the time Samantha finally arrived at home. She brushed Clover and led her to her stall, then smoothed her dress and strode to the front door. It would have been better to sneak back up to her room so she could change and redo her hair, but Mama already knew she’d left so the rest of the
charade wouldn’t matter.

Guests stood in the hallways of the mansion, talking and laughing. Mama hadn’t told her dinner that night would be in the form of a party. By the stares from the guests, Samantha probably should have gone to change after all. She waved and escaped up the stairs. 

The second floor seemed empty except for her personal maid, who sat sewing a tear in one of Samantha’s other gowns.

“You’re a little late, my dear.” Edith looked up from the dress and smiled. “I do hope you enjoyed your adventure. If your mother has her way, it will be the last one for a long time.”

“I wish her luck with that. Could you please help me change?” Samantha went into her room and found the dress that had been laid out for her. It was a dark purple that her mother favored. Samantha preferred lighter colors, but when it came to
these parties, it was always up to Mama. She’d never forced Samantha’s brothers into these parties, but it didn’t stop her from showering Samantha with parties, cotillions, and an endless parade of suitors.

Edith helped her out of the gown she wore and made a face as she set it to the side. “What were you doing, exactly?”

“Riding Clover. I stopped for lunch at a saloon, and the people there are quite fascinating.” Samantha left out the part about applying to be a bride. Edith was the most wonderful of maids, but she didn’t always keep secrets like Samantha hoped she would, and this was the biggest of them all.

Once she’d changed and had her hair redone, it was time to go down and pretend she was happy to be there. Mama was busy talking to their neighbors when Samantha walked into the ballroom. If Samantha played it just right, maybe Mama wouldn’t
notice that Samantha was late.

The Duncans stood to the side, so Samantha figured they were the best place to start. She pasted on a smile and walked up to them. 

“Thank you for coming tonight.” 

Mrs. Duncan turned away from her husband. “Samantha, darling. I wondered where you were.”

“I was here and there. Have you enjoyed the night so far?” Samantha took an hors d’oeuvre from a
nearby tray. 

“It’s been wonderful. Although I hoped dinner would have started by now. A storm is supposed to roll in tonight and I’d rather not ride home in it.” Mrs. Duncan patted her hair.

Samantha frowned. “You haven’t—I mean, I’ll go see what the problem is.” 

Mama had moved on to another group by the time Samantha found her. She pulled on Mama’s arm to get her alone.

“I have people wondering when dinner will be ready.”

“We were waiting for you to make your appearance. Now that you’ve decided to finally join us, I will announce dinner. And don’t think we’re not going to talk about this later.” Mama turned and clapped her hands loudly. “Sorry for the delay.
Dinner will be served in the dining room. Please make your way there now.” 

Samantha breathed a sigh of relief. Mama hadn’t tried introducing her to anyone during the reception, which meant that there would be no uncomfortable conversations
with a man she knew nothing about. For now.

Papa was already seated at the head of the table when Samantha made it into the dining room. She sat next to him and set a napkin on her lap. 

“How’d you escape the reception?” 

“I told your mother I had an important meeting. Unfortunately for me, I’ve been sitting here for nearly an hour waiting for dinner. The upside is that I figured out what I want to do with my new land.” Papa patted Samantha’s hand. “May I ask where you disappeared to today?”

Samantha made sure Mama wasn’t around and leaned closer. “I was up to something that you may not appreciate. We’ll talk later.”

Papa chuckled. “I hate to see where this is going. I assume this means that our business venture with the Ellisons is in jeopardy?”