Blake shook his head as he guided Eliza to his carriage. “We’ll have to change that.”
Eliza settled into the black carriage with shiny gold wheels. She said, “I just need enough fabric to make two simple day dresses. I don’t need more than that to work around the house.”
“Nonsense,” Blake answered as he flicked the reins and started the horses and carriage toward the ranch.
“When Amalie and Faith arrived, they didn’t have a lot of things either. I believe a visit to the dressmaker’s tomorrow is in order. She also has readymade dresses you can purchase until your wardrobe is ready.”
“But I don’t know what I need. You don’t have to do that,” Eliza insisted.
“You are my wife. Of course, I have to make sure you have enough clothes. When we get home, I’ll send a rider to Deke’s ranch and have him deliver a message to Amalie. She and Faith can meet us in town tomorrow and can assist you in your purchases. My aunt and Constance won’t be up until late or ready to leave until after lunch. That should give you ample time.”
Eliza sat stunned. She never expected Blake to purchase clothing or anything else for her. Theirs was a marriage of convenience, and she was grateful to be away from the Richards family and have a safe place to live.
“I know I’m your wife but in name only. You’re offering me a home and food. I can’t expect more than that. I’ll never be able to pay you back for quite some time after I find employment,” Eliza said.
Blake reined the carriage to a stop and turned to look at Eliza. “I’m grateful you agreed to this proxy marriage and offering you a home and food would be the very least I could do. You’ve met my aunt, although briefly, and can you imagine how my life would be with her here permanently or my going back East? Supplying you with a new wardrobe is my pleasure, and I never expect anything I give you to be returned or paid for. I would never keep your things the way your former employer did. My home is yours as long as we’re married, and I want you to feel at home.”
“Thank you,” Eliza murmured.
“Look ahead,” Blake said. “That sign over the road is the beginning of the ranch. Welcome to the Circle M.”
Eliza saw a large sign hung by chains from two tall poles proclaiming Montgomery Ranch for all to see strung across the road.
“I hope you’ll be happy here,” Blake said, offering Eliza his warmest smile.
Eliza smiled back and said a prayer of gratitude for the kind man that saved her from her former life.
Chapter 5
Blake started the horses moving again, and after a few minutes, they crested a hill, and Eliza’s breath caught in her throat when she saw the spacious house in front of her.
“Certainly, this isn’t your home?” Eliza asked.
“No, it’s our home,” Blake answered and laughed. “I told you it was a dream to have a home like my grandfather’s, and this is a close replica. It took longer to buy and ship the lumber needed than it took to build the home. My neighbors thought I had lost my mind, but I’m happy.”
Eliza continued to stare at the house and asked, “Is it as big as it looks?”
Blake laughed. “It is indeed. I’ll give you a tour, but on the first floor is my bedroom, well, it’s ours now for as long as Aunt Hortense is in town, the guest room, kitchen, dining room, parlor, bathing room, and a room for doing laundry. There is also a small room off my bedroom that is meant to be a nursery, but I use it as an office. The second floor has the simply furnished bedroom I spoke of earlier, a library, and three other empty bedrooms.”
“That’s a lot of room. Did you intend to use it all when you built it?”
“To be honest, no. It was only the fulfillment of a dream, but after a year of living on my own, I thought it would be nice to fill the rooms with children, but I never found anyone to share my life with. I was still looking when I received the letter from my aunt telling me she was bringing me a wife,” Blake confessed.
“It’s a wonderful dream, and you fulfilled it,” Eliza said.
“I suppose I sound a bit pompous and spoiled, but I’m an only child, and I inherited my father’s estate, and he inherited half of his father’s estate, which was substantial. My grandfather was quite successful. Aunt Hortense’s husband, my Uncle John, inherited the other half. They never had any children, and she thinks she can run my life by withholding that inheritance from me, but I don’t want it.”
“You don’t?” Eliza asked with a surprised voice. “Who wouldn’t want a fortune?”
“Me. I already inherited half, which is more than enough for one man, and living out here doesn’t cost nearly as much as back East. I will never return East. I love my ranch and raising cattle. I could never be happy behind a desk in some office all day.”
“Then,” Eliza said, smiling, “you made the right decision, and living a dream is never bad.”
When the carriage stopped in front of the house, the door opened and a young woman a few years older than Eliza stepped out onto the porch.
“Welcome back, Blake,” the pretty brunette said as she wiped her hands on her apron.
“Hello, Sarah,” Blake answered as he jumped from the carriage and hurried around to help Eliza step down.
Blake took Eliza’s hand and walked with her to the front wrap-around porch. “Eliza, I’d like you to meet Sarah Adams. She keeps this place from falling apart, and her husband, Jack, is my foreman. Sarah, this is my wife, Eliza.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Missus Adams,” Eliza said.
“Missus nothing,
