Dorcas: An Independence Day Bride (Brides of Noelle Book 6) Read online

  Dorcas

  An Independence Day bride

  Kit Morgan

  Contents

  Dorcas

  License Note

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  About the Author

  Dorcas

  An Independence Day Bride

  Brides of Noelle, Book 6

  by

  Kit Morgan

  ANGEL CREEK PRESS

  Dorcas: An Independence Day Bride

  Brides of Noelle, Book 6

  by Kit Morgan

  © 2018 Kit Morgan

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  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without permission in writing from the publisher. All characters are fictional. Any resemblances to actual people or livestock are purely coincidental.

  Cover design by Angel Creek Press and EDH Designs.

  License Note

  This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Chapter 1

  Boston, Massachusetts, March 1877

  “You want me to do what?” Elwood Zachariah Hunter paced across his father’s office. “I won’t!”

  “Yes, you will!” his father shouted. Their argument was heating up by the minute.

  Elwood placed his hands on the desk and leaned toward his father. At six-two, muscular, with flashing blue eyes and honey-gold hair, he was an imposing figure. He was also one of the most eligible bachelors in Massachusetts. His father Thomas, on the other hand, was short and portly, though with the same blue eyes. “Father, I’m going to say this only once. Under no circumstances will I marry that woman!”

  Thomas stood and leaned as well, putting them nose-to-nose over the desk, though he had to stand on tiptoe to do it. “Gertrude Van Housen is a perfect match for you. Besides, the Van Housens have almost as much money as I do!”

  “They’ve got a lot more,” Elwood corrected. “But they can keep Gertrude. I won’t marry her.”

  “You will!” Thomas shot back. “In four months’ time, if I have my way. Your mother and Mrs. Van Housen are already planning the wedding.”

  “What?!” Elwood said in shock. “They can’t do that – we’re not even engaged!”

  “You will be. I’ve already written the announcement for the newspapers.”

  Elwood grabbed handfuls of his hair to keep from hitting something. He didn’t want to disrespect the man, but wasn’t his father disrespecting him? He knew other families arranged marriages, but didn’t think his would be one of them – or that his father would be so insistent. “I won’t do it. You and Mr. Van Housen can find someone else to marry Gertrude.”

  Mr. Hunter sighed and leaned wearily against the desk. “It’s a good match, son,” he said, trying a new tactic. “And think of your mother – do you want to break her heart?”

  Elwood folded his arms across his chest and rolled his eyes. “The only thing that would break Mother’s heart is if you canceled her credit at the stores. Now if that’s all you wanted, I’ll be going.”

  “What do you mean, if that’s all I wanted? You’re creating a catastrophe!”

  “And you just asked me to throw my life away. I’d say that’s catastrophic enough. Good night, Father.” He turned on his heel and strode for the door.

  “If you leave this room without agreeing to this marriage, then don’t come back.”

  That stopped Elwood in his tracks. He slowly turned to face him. “You can’t be serious.”

  “I certainly can. If you walk out that door, I’ll disinherit you.”

  Elwood’s eyes widened in shock, then quickly narrowed. “You think so little of me?”

  “I’m thinking about the future of this family!”

  “You’re thinking of your bank accounts.”

  His father’s eyes bulged as he turned red. Elwood knew that look – the man was about to go up like a volcano. “The Van Housen fortune coupled with ours would make us one of the richest families in the East!”

  Elwood closed his eyes and shook his head in dismay. “Exactly my point. Father, when did money become more important than family?”

  “I’m doing this for our family!”

  Elwood opened his eyes. “No, you’re doing this for you. Mr. Van Housen is no doubt doing it for himself as well. Does Gertie even want to marry me?”

  “Aha!” his father said in triumph. “You called her by her nickname! I knew you always liked her.”

  “Father, we grew up together, that’s why I know her nickname. But she’s rude, condescending and not a very nice person. Besides that, she’s …”

  “So what if she has a few extra pounds on her?” his father interrupted. “At least you’ll never lose sight of her.”

  “Father, that’s a horrible thing to say. Gertrude Van Housen may be large, but that’s beside the point. She’s mean. I could never marry a mean-spirited woman.”

  “She’ll keep you in line.” Thomas smacked the desktop. “Confound it, boy, why won’t you listen to reason? It’s not like you’re doing anything with your life!”

  Elwood straightened. “I am and you know it.”

  Mr. Hunter laughed. “You mean writing your silly novels? Balderdash! Bad enough you read so much trash, but writing it? Ha!”

  “It’s what I love,” Elwood looked him in the eye.

  “It won’t make you money,” he barked back. “Helping run the family business will. Shipping is what we do and will be until the day we die! How do you think you can afford those books of yours? Hunter Shipping, that’s how! If Reginald Van Cleet had a daughter, I’d marry you off to her, but he and his brother Cyrus have no children. The Van Housens are the next best thing.”

  Elwood shook his head again. “This conversation is getting us nowhere, Father. I know what I want to do with my life. If you’d listen to me, you know that marrying Gertrude is not it.”

  “And if you’d listen to me, you’d understand the sense in this. We could rule the East Coast!”

  “At the expense of my and Gertrude’s happiness.”

  “Yours, maybe, but she’s ecstatic about it.”

  Elwood paled. “She is?”

  “Of course she is! She’s had her cap set for you for years!”

  Elwood gulped. This changed things. Even had he considered his father’s proposal, he would never marry a woman as vicious as Gertrude, who’d liked to pull the legs off of spiders and throw rocks at birds as a child. In adulthood, she preferred using gossip and cutting remarks on human victims. The thought of marrying her was horrifying!

  “Well?” his father prompted. “Are you going to agree to this or not? You now know the consequences should you choose unwisely.”

  Elwood took a deep breath and looked his father in the eyes. There
was only one thing to do. “Goodbye, Father.” He turned and walked out the door.

  “You’ll regret this, you whelp!” his father screamed after him, then added for good measure, “You milksop!”

  “Milksop? Milksop!” Elwood fumed as he packed his bags. Milksop, indeed. Was the thought of marrying Gertrude Van Housen so repulsive as to move him to leave Boston and family? In a word, yes. But deep down, he knew he wasn’t just running from an unwanted marriage. No, he was running to his destiny. He’d go west, open a bookshop somewhere, write his novels and live out his days in peace. He’d have to speak with his friend and fellow bibliophile Luke to arrange storage for his library before he boarded the train.

  He continued to stuff clothes into two satchels. He never had liked the shipping business. Besides, Cyrus Van Cleet had left his company to seek adventure on the frontier – why couldn’t he? Cyrus, one of the biggest shipping moguls in Boston, was an inspiration. The man had gone west 25 years before, and had been out there ever since. But most of all, there were stories to be told out West, and Elwood knew he was the one to tell them. There were publishers in San Francisco he could approach with his novels.

  But first he had to figure out where to go …

  “Wait a minute.” He snapped his fingers. “Draven!”

  He finished packing as thoughts of the notorious Sheriff Draven raced through his mind. He’d been following the man’s career for some time, and heard he’d settled in an obscure mining town in Colorado. Draven was the epitome of a frontier hero, rough, tough and one of the fastest guns around – the perfect model for his character Sheriff “Polecat” Pete Savage.

  Elwood paused to stare at his reflection in the mirror on the opposite wall. Granted, he was decent-looking, tall, strong. When he wasn’t working in at his father’s office, he lifted stacks of books with Luke when they volunteered at the local libraries. They both taught in their spare time and devoured books like nobody’s business, even ordering them from London – thanks to his father’s shipping company, they got them at a fair price. But he wasn’t rough or tough or any kind of gunhand – not like Draven.

  He stared at his private library, his most precious possession – so large it only left space in his room for the bed. How was he going to move all of them and quickly? He’d need help, that was certain. He’d speak to Luke about them too, and make arrangements for his other books, the ones he kept with Luke’s at a small warehouse near his father’s office. Once he got settled somewhere he could send for them all, and the rest of his belongings.

  His satchels packed, Elwood set them aside, reached for his coat and hat and headed downstairs and outside. He looked at the windows of his father’s study – was he still inside, or had he left to head to his office? Or perhaps straight to his lawyers to disinherit his son? It was a good thing Elwood had the foresight when he was younger to see to his own fortune and save his money. He was frugal, except for buying books.

  Somewhere deep down, he’d known this day could come. He and his father never did see eye to eye on his vocation. Thomas Hunter wanted him to take over the family shipping business; Elwood wanted to write and open a bookstore. The two occupations’ only similarity was that both required management skills, which Elwood thankfully possessed in abundance. Could he run Hunter Shipping? Of course. Did he want to? Absolutely not – especially not if it meant marrying Gertrude Van Housen. He shuddered at the thought.

  He headed up the street to his bank, went inside and approached a teller. “May I help you, Mr. Hunter?” the teller asked.

  Elwood cleared his throat. “Yes, you may. I’d like to close my account.”

  The teller blanched and pulled at his shirt collar. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes,” Elwood said emphatically. “And no, it’s not for any reason of the bank’s service, which has been commendable. I’m just making … new arrangements.”

  The teller wiped sweat from his brow in relief. “Very well, Mr. Hunter. As you wish.”

  Meanwhile, in Denver, Colorado …

  Dorcas Minx entered her father’s study, went to a chair and sat. “You wanted to see me, Papa?”

  Her father Tobias looked up from some papers. “Yes, my dear. There’s something I want to discuss with you.”

  Dorcas straightened and folded her hands primly in her lap. “What is it?”

  “Your mother and I have been speaking of late with Mr. and Mrs. Fink.”

  “The Finks? What were you discussing?”

  Her father fidgeted. “Your betrothal to Vernon.”

  “What!” Dorcas jumped to her feet. “You want to marry me off to Vernon Fink?!”

  “Now, now, Dorcas, don’t get upset. It’s a good match. Both your mother and I think so, as do Vernon’s parents. The two of you would make a lovely couple. After all, he is the most eligible bachelor in town.”

  “The most eligible bachelor of our station, you mean.”

  “Actually, the Finks are above our station,” her father corrected. “All the more reason for you to marry him.”

  Dorcas’ heart raced. What to do? She didn’t want to defy her father but ….Vernon Fink? Ew! The man was handsome, for sure, but he was the nastiest individuals she’d ever met. “I can’t.”

  “You will.”

  Dorcas shook her head. “No, Papa. I can’t. You don’t know Vernon like I do. He’s vile, awful!”

  “Nonsense – I’ve known the boy for years. I see nothing wrong with him. You’ll want for nothing.”

  “Except happiness,” she said softly. She realized she was looking at the floor and met her father’s eyes. “No, Papa. I won’t do it.”

  Tobias stood. “See here, Dorcas, your mother and I went through a lot of trouble to arrange this for you. We’re only interested in your happiness.”

  “If you’re interested in that, don’t make me marry Vernon!”

  Her father shook his head and sighed. “Vernon Fink is a respectable individual in this city. He hasn’t a black mark on him, him or his family …”

  “He’s a monster! If I marry him, it will ruin my life!”

  “Dorcas, don’t make me order you.” He stared at her a moment. “Don’t tell me you’ve set your cap for someone else? Because I’m telling you, you won’t find a better prospect than Vernon Fink.”

  A worse one, you mean, she thought, wringing her hands. Her father obviously didn’t know Vernon the way she did.

  “It’s settled already. In fact your mother has begun the wedding preparations.”

  “Father! For Heaven’s sake, Vernon and I aren’t even engaged.”

  Tobias smiled. “Yes, you are. The Tribune and the News Daily already have the announcement.”

  Dorcas shook her head as tears filled her eyes. “How could you? How could you throw my life away like this?”

  Mr. Minx closed the distance between them and put his arms around her. “Your mother and I are doing this for you. Vernon is the best prospect out there. Why can’t you see that?”

  Dorcas squirmed out of his embrace. “You didn’t grow up with him. You haven’t seen the things he’s done …”

  “Come now, Dorcas, boys will be boys. Whatever Vernon did during your childhood means nothing now. He’s a grown man, a good man, and you should be more appreciative of our efforts to make this match. The Finks are very picky people – they want only the best for their son. And they agreed you were it.”

  Dorcas tried not to groan. “I don’t like Vernon. I never have.”

  Tobias’ face fell, but then he straightened and gave her a stern look. “Dorcas, you’re going to do this whether you like it or not. You’ll learn to love the man, just as he’ll learn to love you. It worked for your mother and me.”

  “I know, but I don’t think it’s going to work between Vernon and me. I’m only being honest with you, Papa.”

  He leaned against the desk and sighed. “I appreciate that. But you’re still going to marry him.”

  Dorcas cringed. “No.”

&nbs
p; “I’ll brook no arguments.” He returned to his desk and sat. “Nor will your mother.”

  “Papa, please …”

  “We know what’s best for you, dear. You’re too young to make a good choice for yourself. Now run along.”

  Dorcas’ original panic turned to anger. “You can’t treat me like a child!”

  “I’m treating you like a grown woman of marriageable age. As is Vernon. You’ll be very happy together, you’ll see.”

  “Oh!” Dorcas huffed. She wanted to hit something at this point. Her father’s mind was obviously made up, and once Tobias Minx made up his mind, that was that. He wouldn’t argue the point further. Out of ideas, she spun toward the door in a swirl of skirts and petticoats.

  “Your mother will be up shortly to discuss the details of the wedding,” her father called after her. “And she’s invited Mrs. Fink for tea!”

  Dorcas stopped in the hall, her heart in her throat. “Fine!” she yelled back, then picked up her skirt and ran up the stairs two at a time. As soon as she was in the safe confines of her room, she threw herself on her bed and allowed the tears to come.

  Chapter 2

  Noelle, Colorado, April 1877

  Elwood climbed down from the Red Bird Stage, took one look at what had to be the Golden Nugget across the street and smiled. Like the rest of the town, it was rough-looking, with miners and other folks going about their business – just the sort of place to write his adventure stories.