The Mistress of Black Grove Manor (23 page)

"I love you, Harriet."

"I love you, Fran." One last embrace, and Harriet boarded the train with Mr. Rivers. She could not stop herself from trembling. She was doing something that she wasn't sure about. She'd left the property to Mr. McIntosh, but it was one of the hardest decision she ever had to make.

"Don't worry," Mr. Rivers said. "You'll like him. He's a good boy." She gave him a forced smile, but turned her eyes out the window. She hoped that Alex Rivers was just as nice as his father made him out to be.

The train jerked forward, as the horn continued to blare. Vaguely, she could hear her name being called. When she looked through the crowd, she spotted Francine waving at her. She smiled and waved back. The waves did not end until Francine was completely out of sight.

Suddenly, Harriet began to feel a deep emptiness inside her. She began to think that perhaps going to Oregon was not the best idea, but what could she do now? It was way too late to turn back now."

***

Alex sat in his father's home office and stared at the pen and paper before him. After days of thinking, he decided that he would write to a girl in the east. The only problem was, he had no idea what to write about himself. He was already surrounded with bundles of used paper that he'd crushed and thrown all over the floor.

Was it really this hard to write about himself? He took up the pen and began to scribble words again. By the time he got to the third sentence, he was stuck again. "This is crazy," he mumble under his breath. He crushed the paper and dropped it on the floor. Alex rested his head in his palms, wondering what to do next. The urge to write to a girl in the east would not let him be.

The sound of approaching horses caught his attention, and he snapped his head up. He stood and looked through the window, and there he could see his father coming in the distance. Alex made quick work of cleaning up the office before going out to meet his father.

As he stood and waited, Dillan came strolling out and stood beside him. The cart came to a stop, and Mr. Rivers stepped out. "Oh yes, it's so good to be home."

"Welcome back, uncle," Dillan said. "We thought something had happened, since we didn't hear from you."

"Don't worry about this old chap," he said, laughing. "I don't go down that easily." He turned back to the carriage and held out a hand. Alex's brow lifted with much curiosity, but when the delicate hand slide out and rested in her father's, his mouth fell open. The young woman stepped out, wearing an emerald green dress.

Her hair looked like it was on fire in the bright sunlight. And her skin, it was so pale, and so flawless. He studied every inch of her lovely face. She made the damsel in distress look quite mediocre.

"Christ," Dillan mumbled. "She's so gorgeous."

Alex shared the same thought, but kept it to himself. He wondered who she was, and why she was there. As far as he knew, his father was a merchant, and it wasn’t women that he bought and sold.

Mr. Rivers kept her hand in his, and walked her to the two gentlemen. "Welcome to my home, Harriet," he said. "This is Alex Jr., my boy, and this is Dillan, my nephew. Boys, this is Harriet Milestone from Baltimore."

"Ah, Dillan," the girl expressed. "I've heard much about you."

"You have?" Dillan replied, smiling. "I wonder what my dearest uncle could possibly say about me."

"Only wonderful things," she said. Alex watched the two exchange words, and he could not help but feel invisible. She'd overlooked him and spoken to his cousin instead.

"Nice to meet you, Alex." He glanced up at her with surprise. He was surprised at the surge of electricity that ran through him when she called his name.

"Likewise, Harriet," he replied. "And welcome to Oregon."

"Thank you." The two locked eyes with each other, and for a moment or two, butterflies invaded his stomach. Alex could hardly breathe.

"Dillan, could you show Ms. Milestone inside?" Mr. Rivers asked. He did not wait for a response but turned to Alex. "Son, please help me with these bags." Dillan gladly showed her inside, leaving a jealous cousin scowling at him.

Alex followed his father to the cart and began unloading it. Mr. Rivers took up a few items as well and straightened himself. "Son?" he called.

"Yes, father?"

"Ms. Milestone, she is here for you."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"She expects you to ask for her hand in marriage." Alex’s gawked at his father.

“What did you say, father?” Alex could feel his blood boiling inside him. How dare his father take a woman home for him to wed? This was the problem he’d always had with his father. The man was always trying to fix him, when he wasn’t broken.

At least, he didn’t think he was.

Alexander Rivers did not respond, but walked into the house. Alex stormed in after him, but by the time he caught up to him, he was in the living room with Dillan and Harriet.

“Mr. Rivers, this is quite a lovely house,” Harriet said, looking around her. Alex frowned at her. Her beauty was not as captivating as it was before. She was a girl, and of course, girls were light-headed, stupid, and were always trying to get men who can take care of them. He could tell that this one was no different.

“Thank you, Harriet,” Mr. Rivers replied. “I hope it does you some amount of justice, given the lovely house you lived in back in Baltimore.” She said nothing, but gave him a small smile. Somewhere in that smile, Alex could see grave sadness. Already he could tell, this girl does not want to be here. His father had never struck him as the type who forced people to things against their wishes, so why was this girl sad?

Who is she anyway?

***

Harriet was enraptured with the handsome man that sat before her at the dinner table. She never once considered that he was this good looking. Her only issue was that, he didn't seem as interested in her as she'd initially thought. It made her wonder if he was being forced into this.

"Victor was my good friend," Mr. Rivers stated. He'd been sharing with them how he and Victor had become friends, and Harriet did try her best to listen, but Alex Rivers. He was so...distracting.

He kept staring at her, probing her, and it made her extremely uncomfortable.

"But what about your parents, Harriet?" Dillan asked. "Where are they?" She glanced at her plate and licked her lips, in an attempt to hide her discomfort.

"My parents passed away a long time ago," she answered.

"Really?" he said. "That makes two of us." Harriet looked over at his smiling face, and she found so much warmth and comfort in his response. She'd never met anyone who had lost both parents.

Dillan was a wonderful young man, and much more open than Alex Rivers. The two looked more like brothers than cousins though. Same dark brown hair and light brown eyes. They even stood at the same height. The only difference was that Alex Rivers observed more than he spoke.

Mr. Rivers had ordered pastry, but Harriet could hardly eat another bite. She was too nervous about how her life would turn out from here on out. So far, Alex Rivers was not quite like Mr. Rivers had described him. She considered that perhaps he was feeling just as nervous as her.

She excused herself and went to bed early, hoping she could get some rest. Nevertheless, sleep eluded her for one more night, and sadly, she didn't have her uncle's room to run to. In the middle of the night, she exited the room and headed to the kitchen for a drink of water. She then decided to take a walk, hoping that she could clear her thoughts before going back to bed.

Her feet took her to a balcony at the back of the large two story house, and there she stood, enjoying the cool wind on her face.

"Can't sleep?" Harriet jumped in fright and spun quickly to see who the intruder was. "Relax. It's just me." Dillan walked slowly toward her and leaned on the balcony, with a drink in his hand.

"No."

"No?"

"No, I couldn't sleep."

"Oh, I see," he said, chuckling. "I sleep only two hours at a time, so that’s why I’m up." He scratched the back of his head, still chuckling nervously. “Not that you asked anyway.” Harriet turned to look at him, her lips curved upwards.

“That’s okay,” she said. “I like that you’re outspoken, unlike Mr. Alexander Rivers Jr.” Even she could hear the slight disdain in her tone.

“Don’t be too hard on him,” Dillan said, lifting the drink to his lips. “He really is a nice guy.”

“Is he now?” she teased. “For a man who wants to marry me, he’s barely said a word to me since I showed up here.” The spew of drinks across the balcony caught her attention, and her eyes bulged in shock. Dillan was now coughing excessively. “Um, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he managed to say.

“Okay.” She clung her eyes to him. From that reaction, she surmised that Dillan was not aware of the arrangement. She found that to be quite strange.

“So, um, how do you feel about that? I mean, um, marrying my cousin?” The free hand went to the back of his head once more. Already, she could tell that this was a nervous reaction.

“You didn’t know, did you?” she asked.

“What? No…I mean, yes, of course I knew.”

“It doesn’t sound that way to me,” she said. “What’s going on here?” Dillan sighed.

“Okay, fine,” he said. “I didn’t know anything about my cousin wanting to marry anyone. For heaven’s sake, I’ve been trying to get him to go out with a girl for an eternity, and he just wouldn’t give. Now I know why. And I thought all this time that we were best friends.”

“I see.”

“Don’t worry about it, though,” he added. “Alex can be a bit moody at times, but he’ll get around to doing it. The proposing part I mean.”

“Okay. If you say so.”

“I should go to bed. See you tomorrow.” Harriet gave him a small smile and nodded. She watched him disappear down the hallway

"I wonder why." She avoided his eyes, but listened keenly for his response. And up the stairs, trying to figure out what was really going on around her.

Something was definitely off, and no matter what, she will find out what it is.

Chapter Six

Alex directed all the pent up emotions inside him into ploughing the field with the hired help. It was early in the morning and no one, except the workers, were up as yet.

He was hoping that he could think this all through on a new day, with a fresh mind, but he’d thought wrong. He had never felt angrier with his father than he did now. Without his permission, the old man had brought him a wife.

Did pa not see that he was a grown man who could make his own decisions? There was no way he was going to marry that girl. He didn’t trust her one bit. She seemed like one of those gold diggers who only came to ruin his young life.

“Alex!” He could hear Dillan’s feet running toward him, but he did not look up.

“What is it?” he clipped.

“I thought we were friends,” Dillan started. “You sent to Baltimore for this girl to marry her, and you didn’t even tell me?” Alex stopped ploughing and looked up at his cousin.

“What silly bird have you been listening to?” he asked. “I did no such thing. It was father who brought her here, not me.”

“Of course,” Dillan replied. “I knew it couldn’t possibly be true.”

“Did dad tell you that?”

“No, the girl did.” Alex arched a brow at him.

“Harriet?” he asked.

“Yes, Harriet.  Apparently, she’s of the belief that you were the one who sent for her.  She’s wondering why you haven’t officially proposed to her as yet.” Alex pursed his lips, his anger growing. This was getting from bad to worse.

Last night, after dinner, he’d told his father that he wasn’t going to marry some girl that he brought back for him.  He’d made it clear that whenever he was ready, he would send for a wife. He did not need him to choose for him.

His father had not responded. Rather, Alex didn’t give him time to respond because he’d walked away and headed to his room. To now learn that this girl thought he was the one who sent for her, was outright over the top. Who knew that Alexander Rivers Sr. could be this conniving?

Alex threw the hat from his head to the ground. “I’m going to dad. This has to stop.” He dropped the plough and stormed into the house, with Dillan following.

When he got inside, Alex found Harriet sitting at the table nursing a large mug of coffee. She looked up at him with widened eyes, filled with concern. For some reason, his heart softened, and then his eyes, and he found himself smiling.

“Uh, good morning, Ms. Milestone.”

“Good morning, Alexander,” she replied.  She turned her eyes to Dillan and offered him a warm smile. “Hi Dillan.”

“Hey, Harriet,” he answered, glancing nervously at Alex. “I trust you had a good night’s rest.”

“Not quite, but I’ll survive.”

“Oh. That’s too bad.” Alex looked back and forth between them, and somehow he felt like a third wheel. He hadn’t even realized his anger had subsided until it started building up again.