Read Online Forget-Me-Not Bride by Margaret Pemberton - Free Book Online Page A

I’m twenty-six,’ Miss Salway said, doing her bit to break the ice between them all.
    It was Lottie who truly broke the ice. ‘Why are you all going to Alaska to marry men you’ve never met?’ she asked ingenuously.
    There was a sharp, shocked intake of breath from Miss Nettlesham. A peal of husky, unchained laughter from Marietta. Susan Bumby had flushed scarlet. Kate Salway looked discomfited. Edie looked bewildered.
    â€˜You’re forgetting your manners, Lottie,’ Lilli whispered to her with unusual sharpness, aware of the embarrassment that had been caused.
    â€˜No, she isn’t.’ The speaker was Kate Salway and everyone looked towards her. From the moment she had introduced herself to Lilli, Lilli had been aware of the auburn-haired young woman’s inner calmness and quiet authority, an authority even Marietta seemed to pay heed to. ‘It’s a very reasonable question,’ Kate said, looking around at them all, ‘and I don’t mind trying to answer it, though I’m afraid it won’t be easy for me.’
    â€˜Well, I have no intention of baring my soul to a child, or to the rest of you,’ Miss Nettlesham said chillily, rising to her feet. ‘Nor do I think I shall be joining you for meals in future.’
    â€˜Who are you goin’to sit with instead?’ Marietta asked intrigued, ‘a nice respectable gun-slinger or a decent, hard-working card-sharper?’
    Lettie hooted with laughter and even Miss Bumby’s mouth twitched.
    â€˜If Mrs Peabody had had the slightest inkling of your true character she would never have countenanced your travelling with us!’ Furious spots of colour burned Miss Nettlesham’s pale cheeks. ‘You’re not a respectable young woman at all! You’re a … you’re a floosy !’ She flounced on her heel and marched away, leaving Leo gazing at Marietta with even more avid interest than previously.
    â€˜Miss Nettlesham’s going to have to lose her high and mighty airs when we reach the Klondike,’ Susan Bumby said knowledgeably. ‘I’ve lived there and I know.’
    â€˜Are you a gold-prospector?’ Leo asked, his eyes rounding. ‘I didn’t know ladies could be gold-prospectors …’
    â€˜I’m a kindergarten-teacher. In another few weeks I might even be your kindergarten-teacher.’
    â€˜And you’ve lived in the Klondike?’ There were so many questions Lilli wanted to ask Susan Bumby she didn’t know where to start. ‘You’ve lived in Dawson City?’
    Susan nodded. ‘I most certainly have and if you have any questions you want to ask about Dawson, I’d be happy to oblige.’
    Before Lilli could inundate her Marietta said, puzzled, ‘If you’ve lived in Dawson, why’d you travel to ‘Frisco to ask Mrs Peabody to fix you up with a husband? Why didn’t you find a rich stampeder while you were livin’there?’
    Susan Bumby’s almost masculine face coloured. ‘No-one ever asked me,’ she said with brutal honesty. ‘I thought this way someone might.’
    There was an embarrassed silence and then Kate Salway said warmly, ‘I’m sure they will. Everyone has something special to offer in a married relationship and nothing is more important than kindness. Look how you won Leo’s heart when you gave him a stick of liquorice. Please tell us a little about what we can expect when we reach Dawson. Is the weather freezing cold? Is the town full of saloons and dance-hall girls in big hats and pretty dresses? And if it is, why is there such a demand for marriage bureau brides?’
    Breakfast over, men had begun to push back benches and rise to their feet, eager to take a little air on deck. As they left the dining saloon and the noise level fell, the Peabody girls gathered closer around their table, eager to hear whatever Susan Bumby might tell them.
    Susan was