Darby: Bride of Oregon (American Mail-Order Bride 33) by Bella Bowen Page B

sister. But
Darby had worn it so much in the past few weeks, it seemed like her own now.
And she was certain Rand wouldn’t want it back, not with her Scottish fleas infesting
it.
    She was determined to put the man out of her mind
until she understood what he had planned for her. For all she knew, he would
pick her up at the train station in Portland and put her on a ship bound for
China. The look he’d given her, just after he’d slapped her, promised he’d be
capable of doing just that.
    She tugged her handkerchief out of her sleeve,
dabbed at her eyes, then chided herself for letting her mind wander again.
    There was a murmur of deep voices from the
entryway and the four girls fluttered away from each other to sit on separate
furnishings. Their inviting smiles magically appeared the moment a gentleman
walked into the room.
    He gave a little bow in their general direction,
then turned and bowed to Rosemary. His eyes lit up when he noticed Darby, but
her hostess stepped slightly in front of her and shook her head. The fellow
nodded, then wandered in the other direction.
    Darby was fascinated. If she did get away from
Rand and end up on the streets, would she be able to find a place like Rosemary’s
in which to make a living? Now that she knew what kind of work was required,
would she be able to stomach it?
    The gentleman offered his arm to a short girl with
dark hair, then he led her from the room with a disturbing smile on his face.
And Darby, knowing the gist of what would transpire between the two, couldn’t
suppress a chill.
    Elton, standing just inside the door, frowned at
Rosemary, then looked away. Apparently, the guard was a bit revolted too.
    There were more voices in the entryway. Someone
drunk, it sounded like. Or perhaps just a little too pleased to be there.
    The girls took their places and set their smiles.
Then everyone in the room turned to the doorway.
    Rand Beauregard stepped into the room and Darby’s
heart jumped. He spoke quietly with Elton only for a moment, then walked
directly to the far end of the room where he spoke with all three of the girls
at once. They gathered around him like they were old friends and laughed at
something he said. Then, as if he were playing some child’s game, he tapped
them each on the head, again and again, until his hand stopped. The girl he
touched stuck her lip out and sat on the couch. Then Rand offered an elbow to
the other two, turned, and escorted them out of the room.
    Two? Why would he need two?
    With Rosemary partially blocking her from view,
Rand couldn’t have known she was there. But if he had, would he have done any
differently?
    Don’t be a fool.
    What did she expect? For the man to have picked
her? Of course not!
    Darby stood and Rosemary took a step back. The
woman wouldn’t look her in the eye. “I’m sorry about that, Miss.”
    Darby looked at Elton. The man was fuming mad. And
she finally understood that it had all been arranged. She was supposed to see
Rand choose those girls and go blithely on his way. He wanted to hurt her.
    Well, it was only fair. She’d hurt him soundly
enough to deserve a little pain herself. And she’d been deserving it since the
moment she’d decided to answer his advertisement. And her mind went back to the
day she’d first read it.
    “Margaret?”
    “Mm?”
    “How long does it take, do ye reckon, to make a
man fall in love with ye?”
    “Less than a night, if the trollops are to be
believed.”
    Well, she was better equipped to answer that
question now. And it definitely took longer than that. In fact, three weeks
wasn’t long enough.
    Slowly, deliberately, and just as determined as
she’d been to get away from Rand two nights before, Darby strolled toward the
doorway. Elton watched her. He turned and prepared to escort her back upstairs,
but then had to watch silently as she continued to the other end of the room.
When she settled into an overstuffed Victorian chair and forced her lips into a
pleasant