Regency Romance: An Intriguing Invitation (Historical Billionaire Military Romance) (19th Century Victorian Romance) (57 page)

“By deceiving others.
This is
not what God has in mind.”

“I am sorry.” Lilly’s face dropped at his mention of God. She didn’t want to anger God, either. “I did pray about this and it just…I just thought I should…”

“Come with
me,
” Adam said abruptly, cutting her off. “We will go back to the farm and discuss this.”

Chapter Four

The uncomfortable silence on the ride to Adam’s farm made Angelica feel a little sick to her stomach. She had been working hard to learn the language and act like an American. She was naturally shy and didn’t try to draw attention to herself. Her first impression of the man they had met was a good one. She liked his dark eyes and
dark wavy
hair. He was built strong and
solid
and had
nice
hands.

She could see that he was unhappy and perhaps a little angry at the deception. She didn’t hold Lilly at fault, though. Her friend had been looking out for her since they met in New York, where they had met at a boarding house they were both
working for
. Lilly had never been dishonest with her and had never tried to hurt her.

She felt as though God was making something
good
from the deception. He must have a
plan,
or they wouldn’t be there, riding in the wagon going toward a new home and a new life.

Angelica took Lilly’s hand and squeezed it. Lilly looked worried and afraid. It seemed strange that she was feeling so confident when Lilly was usually the one in that position. Lilly looked at her. A feeling of peace filled her when she looked in her friend’s eyes.

Perhaps things would be all right once they reached the farm.

Adam was staring straight forward, stewing in his mind. He hadn’t asked for an additional burden. What was God doing? He instinctively shook his head at his
own
thoughts. Two foreign women had deceived him and now
he
felt obligated and responsible for them. He didn’t see how this could turn out well. He didn’t like the feeling of uncertainty he had.

By the time they reached the farm, it was dark. The lanterns on the outside of the house
were lit,
and the flames brightened the steps so they could see as they went up. Adam tied the reins to a hitch and followed the women up to the door.

It
opened,
and Cody stood there, staring at the three of them.

The women stopped and stared back at him.

His curious eyes settled on Adam. “Adam?” he asked and didn’t finish the question.

Adam nodded. “Ladies, this is Cody. Cody, this is Angela and Lilly.” He gestured to each of them when he said their names. They nodded at Cody.

“Hello,
” Cody said, his voice and face still filled with confusion.

“Let’s go inside, shall we?” Adam
said
in a gruff tone. Cody stepped aside hurriedly and let them in. “Follow me.” Adam led them into the sitting room, directing them to set their bags down in the hallway to take to their rooms later. “Please sit. We will need to talk.”

The ladies both sat next to each other on the
couch,
and the men took seats nearby. Adam sat forward, his face stern. “I feel I have
been deceived
. I don’t want to scold you ladies, as you are not children. But this is not a good way to start a relationship. I had set values I wanted in the woman
I
brought
here,
and I am unsure that those values can be found
in
you seeing as how this
was done
.”

“Please don’t hold it against us, sir…” Lilly began.

He cut her off, lifting his hand and shaking his head. “Please call me Adam. I am not your
master,
and you are not my servant. Go ahead, you were saying?”

Lilly swallowed her anxiety. “As I said at the station, I have been traveling with Angel and her father for some time. Her father passed away about a month
ago,
and she was left with no one to care for her. I did not want to see her left
behind
if I should go. And I knew that I could pay my
own
way if I bought my
own
ticket and she was able to come.”

“But you lied in your letter.”

“I didn’t
lie,
” Lilly said in a pleading tone. “She is who I said she is. She’s beautiful and smart and all the things you asked for.”

“What about believing in the Lord?” Adam asked. “That is
very important
to me.”

“I know my deception may not make it seem like it, and I do hope that you forgive me for it. But we are both firm believers in
God,
and that is not a lie.”

Adam looked at Angelica. “You are also a believer?” He thought she was brave to stand up to him when she first arrived. He couldn’t tell if she was
truly
all the things he was looking for or if her beauty was only skin deep. It was true that she had a stunningly beautiful countenance. If he
were
simply
looking for a trophy to ride on his arm and make him look good, Angelica would be it. But he was looking for more than that. His experience with them so far had not shown him that those qualities were there.

“I am.” Angelica nodded emphatically.

Adam pressed his lips together and looked at Cody. “I value your opinion, Cody. You have heard what has happened. What are your thoughts?”

“I’m sure not gonna make a decision for you,
boss,
” Cody answered, turning his eyes to the women. “But I don’t see why you can’t give them a chance to show you they are
good
women.”

“I didn’t ask for
two,
” Adam grumbled.

Cody’s response was laughter. “You’d be the first man
not to want
two beautiful women in your house.”

Adam kept himself from
smiling
though
he was amused by Cody’s statement
. He glanced back at the women and noticed that Lilly was watching Cody,
an interesting
look in her green eyes. Cody caught the look and smiled at Lilly, who blushed furiously and dropped her eyes.

It was as if a light turned on in the darkness of Adam’s mind. He hadn’t even thought about it. Cody was also a God-fearing man.

Perhaps He sent the two women, one for him and one for Cody.

A double
answered prayer? The thought amused Adam.

They would have to see.

Over the next week, Lilly and Angelica proved they
were, at least,
able to keep a house clean. There was often dusting to
be done,
and the women spent much time going through the garden, cooking and cleaning for both men. Adam spoke to John about the arrangement, asking if the Lord was frowning on their cohabitation, even though he had set up the women in separate bedrooms on the other side of the house while he decided if he would go through with the marriage.

“I don’t think you should back out
now,
” John said firmly. “It sounds like you do have good women there and you are correct, you
are not obligated
to the second
one,
but you are showing acts of kindness and compassion by taking her in. You need to remember that God judges the heart. He knows your intentions.”

“He works in strange ways.”

“He does. I think it’s a good plan to see if Cody is interested in this other young lady. It sounds like they get along well.”

“She does spend a good deal of time with him.”

“Tell me something. Have you had the opportunity to speak to Angela alone?”

“I have.”

“What is your impression of her?”

“She is intelligent and friendly. Very soft-spoken.”

“Can you see yourself loving her?”

Adam thought about it. Her beauty was a big factor, because it was difficult not to
be attracted
to her for that and that alone. But he wanted to do right in the eyes of the Lord. “Yes. She is a good
woman,
I do believe.”

“Then why are you questioning it?
You have prayed about it for so long. Don’t reject the blessings God gave you.
It’s true that it wasn’t the best first impression to
make,
but I do feel they did it with the best intentions. Lilly was trying to protect Angela and Angela did not want to leave Lilly behind. She would probably never have answered the ad on her own.”

Adam agreed.

“Go home and make your intentions known to her, Adam. She is probably still as fearful as you are confused.”

As he rode up to the farm, he saw Lilly and Cody standing by the barn talking. Angelica was nowhere to
be seen
. They seemed to be having a serious conversation. He didn’t stop at the house but
continued on
to where they were. They saw him approaching, waved and
continued
talking.
He could hear their conversation as he got closer.

“It’s the worrying. That’s what’s done it to her.” Lilly said, shaking her head. “I don’t know what will make her feel
better,
but it’s nothing I can do.”

“What are you talking about?” Adam didn’t get down
from
his horse. He sat in the saddle looking down at them with a worried look.

“Angel is not feeling well. She’s running a temperature and is lying in her bed refusing to get up.”

“You think she is worried about
being sent
away?” Adam asked bluntly.

Lilly hesitated before answering, looking up at Cody for reassurance. He nodded at her.

“Yes,” she finally answered. “She has tried to be very
confident,
but she grows more nervous as the days pass and it’s causing her to lose weight and not eat. Have you not noticed?” Lilly’s question
was spoken
softly and sadly.

Adam realized that Lilly was right. He hadn’t seen Angela eating much of
late
though he
was used
to noticing such things. There had never been a woman around to
worry about
.

Suddenly his heart went out to the woman. He pictured her in his mind and without speaking another word, he turned his horse back around and galloped to the house. He tossed the reins over the hitch and took the steps up
on to
the porch two at a time.

He went directly to Angelica’s room and pushed open the door. She was, indeed, lying in the bed, her face red, her forehead sweaty.

He walked to her bed and sat on the edge, looking down at her. As ill as she looked, her beauty still shone through.

“You aren’t feeling well.” He didn’t ask it as a question. She nodded at him, her brown eyes reflecting deep sadness. “Do you know why?”

She didn’t answer. She just shook her head and looked away from him.

“Would it make you feel better if I told you that I have decided to keep you on here as my wife?”

Angelica looked at him. He pulled in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“You do not love
me,
” she said.

He touched her cheek with his fingers, brushing them softly over her lips and through a ringlet of brown hair that had gone astray. “I would like to love you. I would like to have the opportunity to love you. But can you love me? Can you
love
an old bachelor with no sense of compassion or romance?”

“You have compassion,
Adam,
” Angelica
murmured
. She pushed herself up on her elbows and gazed at him. “You would not have taken in two strange women if you didn’t have compassion. I know I can love you. I…” She had
closely
watched him in the last week. He was kind and gentle to every living thing. She wanted to know him much better. If he married her, she certainly would.

He looked at her for another brief moment before taking her in his arms and holding her to him. Relief flooded through her.

“I think…” he hesitated to confirm it in his mind and heart and pray quickly. “I think I already love you, Angela. I just didn’t know it. God sent you and your friend here. He did.”

Angelica pulled back from him and gave him a loving look, the first of many. “I am sure He did, Adam. I’m sure he did.”

Adam pulled her back into a tight hug and whispered in her ear, “Will you marry me?”

She smiled and whispered back, “Yes. Yes, I will.”

****

THE END