Matthew nodded and leaped off the wagon without a word to Holly. He never turned back to say he loved her, or he was sorry as she sat on the wagon with tears freezing on her cheeks as they fell. When Holly heard a lone horse gallop off, she knew Matthew was gone.
Mister Royalton looked at Holly, “I have nothing against you, young lady, but Matthew will marry the woman his mother and I choose.” He tossed a heavy bag of coins into the wagon landing next to Holly’s feet. “Take the money and leave. You are less than a mile from the train station. Take a train to a town where Matthew will never think of looking for you. Make it far enough away so you will never again be a temptation to my son. One of my men will follow you to assure you have left town. Don’t ever return.”
Mister Royalton managed to turn his buggy around on the narrow road, and he and two of the mounted men left Holly sitting there stunned and hurt. The remaining man tipped his hat. “I will follow you into town and take care of the wagon after you’ve boarded the train. I would take Mister Royalton’s advice, leave, and never return. You don’t want to annoy him.”
Holly took a moment to look into the coin bag before she began to drive the wagon to the train station. She quickly counted the coins and decided how much she could spend on a train ticket with enough left to live on once she arrived at her destination. She’d need money for shelter and food until she found employment. God willing, she’d find another job as a seamstress assistant.
When Holly arrived at the train station, Mister Royalton’s man helped her from the wagon and carried her bag to the ticket counter. Holly set the coins she decided she could afford to spend on a ticket and said, “I’d like a ticket as far from here as this will get me, please.”
The ticket agent scrunched his eyebrows and shrugged. He’d had a lot of people ask for unknown destinations, but he thought this young woman must be running from someone. He’d help her choose a safe place.
The ticket agent counted the coins and checked his map. There were a few options, but his heart told him to send the young lady to Belle, Wyoming. He wasn’t quite sure why, but he had a feeling it was far enough and remote enough to keep her safe from whatever she was running from.
He looked up at Holly and said, “It will take you to Wyoming. Will that be acceptable?”
“Yes,” Holly said looking over her shoulder at Mister Royalton’s man standing at the opposite side of the platform. “But once I buy the ticket you won’t tell anyone where I’m going?”
The station agent saw the man standing there trying to act as if he wasn’t watching Holly. “Of course not. If anyone asks, I’ll tell them I recommend you take the train to Montana. Would that work?” He said and winked.
A slight smile lifted Holly’s lips, and she whispered, “Thank you. God bless you, sir.”
“All right, this is what you do. The train will take you to Fort Bridger, and then you’ll catch a stagecoach to Belle. My brother lives near Fort Bridger and writes about the area. Said I should move West. Talks about the town of Belle a lot. Seems to be a nice safe place. I think you might want to stay there, at least for a while.”
Holly nodded.
“Your train will be here in ten minutes. Safe travels and be careful,” the ticket agent said as Holly took her ticket and walked toward a bench on the platform.
Holly turned her head and smiled at the ticket agent before settling on the bench. Mister Royalton’s man didn’t approach her but stood silently like a museum statue and watched Holly from the corner of his eye until she boarded the train and the train pulled out of the station.
Once the train left the city behind, and the scenery changed to farms and fields, Holly finally let her tears fall. She left the one person who truly cared for her behind. Miss Constance was as close to family as Holly ever knew. Matthew never loved her. She knew that now or he wouldn’t have left her so easily.
This was not what Holly expected. She expected to marry and finally have a family. Since she was old enough to understand what being an orphan meant, Holly wanted a family of her own. It was her one and only Christmas wish.
Chapter Two
The thirty-mile stagecoach ride from the train station outside Fort Bridger to Belle was more uncomfortable than Holly anticipated. At least she was alone in the coach, so no one heard her groans and grumbles when the coach hit yet another bump. After the train, she hoped for a smoother ride. Life certainly was different in the West.
As the stage slowed and entered Belle, Holly did her best to see the shops as she passed. She hoped to see a seamstress shop where she might find employment, but if there was one, she missed it. She could take in mending to feed herself Holly thought as she wondered why she ever believed Matthew’s lies. She could be back in Chicago where she knew people and Miss Constance was always there with encouraging words and a shoulder to lean on. Here she was alone and feeling a bit lost.
Joseph Shields browsed the mercantile
