Mail Order Megan
(Widows, Brides, and Secret Babies Book 11)
By
Elissa Strati
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DEDICATION
MAIL ORDER MEGAN
COPYRIGHT
EDITION LICENSE NOTES
DESCRIPTION
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE – The Matchmaker
CHAPTER TWO – Fare Thee Well
CHAPTER THREE – All Aboard
CHAPTER FOUR – “Auntie”
CHAPTER FIVE – Aftermath
CHAPTER SIX – The Pinkerton Agent
CHAPTER SEVEN – Mrs. Kemble
CHAPTER EIGHT – No Rest
CHAPTER NINE – Benson
CHAPTER TEN – Mr. Bristol
CHAPTER ELEVEN -- Explanations
CHAPTER TWELVE – Starting Over
CHAPTER THIRTEEN – Gossip
CHAPTER FOURTEEN – With This Ring
CHAPTER FIFTEEN – A Little Excitement
CHAPTER SIXTEEN – “Droopy Pete”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN – News
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN – Broken Heart
CHAPTER NINETEEN – Tombstone
CHAPTER TWENTY – Kidnapped!
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE – Following Clues
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO – The Mine
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE – Tom McNeel
EPILOGUE
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ABOUT THIS SERIES
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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AllAuthor: https://allauthor.com/author/elissastrati
(Nota Bene: The cover of this book was a runner up in the March AllAuthor cover contest!)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
AUTHOR’S NOTE
DEDICATION
Dedicated to the memory of my dear friend
Maura Crist
Who faced with courage all that life had to offer, even death.
MAIL ORDER MEGAN
(Widows, Brides, and Secret Babies Book 11)
By
Elissa Strati
COPYRIGHT
Mail Order Megan © 2020 Elissa Strati
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author, Elissa Strati, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, or events, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
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EDITION LICENSE NOTES
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 person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.
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Cover design and logo inset by Black Widow Books, Virginia McKevitt, cover artist.
Series concept by Cheryl Wright.
DESCRIPTION
Megan, a young, second tier, Philadelphia debutante, of average looks and stature and not above average intelligence, has enjoyed two seasons but not met anyone who’s made an offer for her hand. Her brother, Paul, wishes to wed and is anxious that she find a home of her own.
When Paul’s classmate, Ted, mentions in a letter that he is in need of a wife to entertain visiting executives, and there are no candidates suitable in his new location in Benson, Arizona Territory, Paul thinks a marriage arranged between his friend and his sister would be the ideal answer for everyone involved. But of course, fate always steps in to lend a hand.
WARNING: Murder, mayhem, trains, robbers, and miners may be involved.
PROLOGUE
She gazed at the sleeping infant in the basket atop her trunk, then turned around at the sound of approaching footsteps.
"Miss Maddux?" The speaker was taller than she but not imposing despite the stiffness of his bearing. His uncertainty was obvious but he was clearly trying not to let it show. His nervousness actually relaxed her own a bit. And then she saw him take in the basket and its contents. And the outrage it sparked.
"Miss Maddux, I was expecting a maiden!"
"And I, sir, was expecting a gentleman!"
A shocked silence ensued as each glared at the other, then Megan turned her back on Mr. Bristol and raised her arm to summon a porter.
"Hrmmm, uhm," he cleared his throat, "perhaps you have an explanation for this, erm, uh . . ." His voice sounded plaintive and Megan felt herself waver from her own outrage. She turned back to him.
"You're right. I had no opportunity to write to you about the child before I left. But this is hardly the place for extended discussion." She glanced around at the passersby who quickly averted their heads as if they hadn't been gawping at the evident disagreement being enacted before them.
Mr. Bristol pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and mopped his forehead.
"No, this will not do. It will not do at all." Seeing the porter approach he nodded to the man abruptly and pointed toward the trunk. "Please assist the lady with her things. My buggy is just over there," he pointed with his chin. Then, giving a stiff bow, he offered Miss Maddux his arm.
"One moment, sir," she replied, dipping her head slightly; then, turning back to her luggage she secured the basket over her free arm before resting the other hand lightly on his extended appendage. The babe remained asleep.
Silence reigned as Mr. Bristol neatly handled his equipage, conveying them a scant few blocks from the station over dusty roads. The town wasn't much to look at. There were a few wide streets with a fair amount of commerce, mostly consisting of what Megan took to be ore wagons, based on Mr. Bristol's descriptions in his letters.
Those letters had been rather sweet and Mr. Bristol had sounded quite lonely. It was that, finally, that had convinced her to come west. But now?
CHAPTER ONE – The Matchmaker
Theodore Alexander Bristol, known by his friends as Ted, had gone to the University of Pennsylvania with Paul Maddux. Paul was fond of pointing out to all and sundry that his alma mater was the sixth oldest university in the country, having been established by Royal Charter in 1755.
You’d think that Royal Charter made him royalty, thought his sister Megan, rather disloyally.
