Pearl of Promise (A Sweet Mail Order Bride Western) (The Brides of Carville) by Raina King Page B

hour, and was already facing an unknown truth about her new life—her husband would be taking his life into his hands every time he went off to work in the mine.
    When they arrived at the point where the cabin was situated, Nora was disappointed.  She had expected a quaint little cabin with gorgeous mountain views.  Instead, it was a tiny, run-down cabin tucked in among the trees.  She’d have to walk a hundred feet or more, down to the stream, for any kind of view at all.  Arlen had said he’d been in Colorado for ten years, but the cabin looked to be twenty years old, at least. 
    Nora was afraid it might fall in on her during the night.
    “It’s not much to look at,” Arlen apologized, “but it’s clean inside, and warm.  And really, you don’t need much room for two.”
    I hope you’re right, she thought, because it looks to be barely big enough for two.  Where will a baby sleep, when that time comes?  
    He helped her down from the wagon, then lifted her suitcase out and led the way into the cabin.
    Inside, the cabin was blanketed with a fine layer of dust.  She was grateful to see that Arlen kept it neat and fairly clean, but it was clear that deep cleaning wasn’t high on his list of priorities.  She imagined he must be bone-tired when he came home from the mines, and knew he often spent his days off and his summer evenings working his own claim.
    The cabin was only one room, with a long board along the left-hand wall.  Sunk into a hole cut in the board was a washtub.  Above that was a cupboard, lined with plates, cups and pans.  The woodstove sat against the far wall, with a tiny table and two chairs in the middle of the room.  To the right, a blanket was hung, used as a curtain, behind which she could just see the foot of the bed.
    “It’s…cozy,” she said, coming up with the only word that wouldn’t be insulting.
    “It’s cramped and old, I know,” Arlen said, looking embarrassed as he set her suitcase down.  “It came with the claim, and I always promised Sylvie I’d build her something better, but then she was gone, and I didn’t see the point.”  He glanced at Nora.  “I’m sorry, I keep mentioning her.”
    “She was a part of your life for years.  It would be hard for you to talk about your past without her being a part of the story.”
    “I don’t want to offend you.”
    She put a hand on his arm.  “It’s an awkward topic for both of us, but it will be more awkward if you’re always trying to skirt around mentioning her.”
    “That’s probably true.”
    “You never did say what she died from.”
    “Diphtheria.”
    “Is…is she buried here on the land?”  The idea somehow spooked her—as if Sylvie Hunt’s ghost would be looking over the shoulder of her “replacement”.
    Arlen shook his head.  “She was buried by her family, back in Missouri.  She…uh…died back there.”
    Nora was surprised.  “She did?  Were you both visiting her family?”
    “I wasn’t there.  She…I’m sorry, I should have told you this before…but she left me.”
    She gasped in shock.  “I thought you said you were a widower!”
    “I am!  I’m not divorced.  It’s just that…Sylvie never took to life out here.  She found it hard—that’s why I warned you in my letters about the rough conditions here, and how small Carville is.  I wanted to make sure you knew what you were getting into.  Sylvie was never able to have a baby, and that, plus the hard life of the West, finally got to her.  I came home one day to find a note.  She…she was just gone.  I should have gone after her, but I didn’t.  She must have taken the stagecoach into Denver, then caught a train home.  A few weeks later I got a telegram from her parents.  She came off the train sick, and didn’t last a week.  The buried her in the family plot.  I never even got to say goodbye.”
    “Oh, how awful!” she breathed.  “I can’t imagine why she wouldn’t even say goodbye before