Read Online Lessie: Bride of Utah (American Mail-Order Bride 45) by Kristin Holt - Free Book Online
Authors: Kristin Holt
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Historical, Saga, Western, Short-Story, Religious, Christian, Inspirational, new mexico territory, Bachelor, Marriage of Convenience, Faith, Trust Issues, twin sisters, victorian era, Utah, Forever Love, Single Woman, Fifty-Books, Forty-Five Authors, Newspaper Ad, American Mail-Order Bride, Factory Burned, Pioneer, Threats, Forty-Five In Series, Opportunity, Two Husbands, Utah Territory, Remain Together, One Couple, Cannon Mining, Bridge Chasm, His Upbringing, Mining Workers, Business Cousins, Twin Siblings, Male Cousins
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experience in her lifetime. “It’s perfect. I love it.”
“You haven’t seen the best part.” He kissed her forehead.
Her insides trembled. She almost didn’t want to see their bedroom. That had to be all that remained, didn’t it?
But into the bedroom he took her, his hand clasping hers. He turned on the gas lamps, one on each side of the bed and looped an arm about her shoulders.
This room was about the same size as the other three— a five bedroom home, counting the room on the main floor he used as an office.
A palatial house so far above her station she didn’t know what to think.
The big bed stood as a focal point of the room, the headboard tucked askew in a corner so that windows on the east and on the north allowed for a cross-breeze. She imagined the arrangement allowed for comfortable sleeping on a hot summer’s night.
No fireplaces… or stoves… in any of the bedrooms. “What about heat?”
She realized this room had to be above the kitchen and would stay warm, but what about the children’s rooms?
“Central heating.”
Her eyes rounded. The extravagance—
“Coal furnace in the basement. I’ll tend to it. You don’t need to do a thing.”
What had she done to deserve this kind of luxury?
She couldn’t meet her husband’s eye for fear the tears would creep back in. She fought the lump in her throat and noticed the closet door standing open… so much room for clothing. Many things of his already hung inside. The suite of furniture all had the same lustrous sheen of dark wood. A lady’s writing desk near one window balanced a lady’s vanity on the other. A large chest of drawers, twice the size of those in other bedrooms, completed the ensemble.
“Do you like it?” he asked.
“It’s wonderful. I do like it. Very much.”
“It’s actually the smallest of the bedrooms in the house.”
That surprised her. The room was so generously proportioned.
“The front bedroom,” he tipped his head toward the guest room facing the street, “is designed for the master, I suppose, but the window faces west. In the summer it’s far hotter than this east side. I moved in during the heat of July and wanted the cooler room.
That made perfect sense. She nodded in agreement.
“I also enjoy the sunlight in the early mornings. I enjoy waking to the rising sun.”
Oh, the luxury of sleeping that long. She’d spent so many years walking to work in the pre-dawn darkness, rising long before daybreak, that the thought of sleeping longer, until the rising sun nudged her awake, seemed the grandest privilege ever.
“Thank you.” Emotion clogged her throat, even as she turned to meet her husband’s eye. “Your home is beautiful.”
“ Our home.” He smiled, so warm and genuine and hopeful. “I built this home for you.”
Chapter Eight
Lessie lingered in the luxurious over-sized bathtub. She soaked until the deliciously hot water cooled to tepid and then cold. She lingered until the sun well and truly set and the bathroom was doused in the darkest of shadows behind the privacy curtain above the tub.
She had to admit she was a little bit nervous. They didn’t really know each other, after all, and while the man might be her legal husband, he was still essentially a stranger.
Three soft raps sounded on the heavy bathroom door and she started, splashed in the cold water.
“Lessie?” Richard’s voice sounded hesitant. “I didn’t intend to frighten you.”
“No, it’s fine. I probably should be getting out anyway.” She stood, letting water sluice down her body, relishing the sensation of being truly wet from scalp to toe. She hadn’t been this clean in a month of Sundays.
She’d made good use of the new toothbrush and tooth powder Richard had given her, before bathing. She’d washed her hair and every inch of her person, two or three times. She smelled fresh and clean and like a flower garden.
The open window allowed a fragrant breeze in,
“You haven’t seen the best part.” He kissed her forehead.
Her insides trembled. She almost didn’t want to see their bedroom. That had to be all that remained, didn’t it?
But into the bedroom he took her, his hand clasping hers. He turned on the gas lamps, one on each side of the bed and looped an arm about her shoulders.
This room was about the same size as the other three— a five bedroom home, counting the room on the main floor he used as an office.
A palatial house so far above her station she didn’t know what to think.
The big bed stood as a focal point of the room, the headboard tucked askew in a corner so that windows on the east and on the north allowed for a cross-breeze. She imagined the arrangement allowed for comfortable sleeping on a hot summer’s night.
No fireplaces… or stoves… in any of the bedrooms. “What about heat?”
She realized this room had to be above the kitchen and would stay warm, but what about the children’s rooms?
“Central heating.”
Her eyes rounded. The extravagance—
“Coal furnace in the basement. I’ll tend to it. You don’t need to do a thing.”
What had she done to deserve this kind of luxury?
She couldn’t meet her husband’s eye for fear the tears would creep back in. She fought the lump in her throat and noticed the closet door standing open… so much room for clothing. Many things of his already hung inside. The suite of furniture all had the same lustrous sheen of dark wood. A lady’s writing desk near one window balanced a lady’s vanity on the other. A large chest of drawers, twice the size of those in other bedrooms, completed the ensemble.
“Do you like it?” he asked.
“It’s wonderful. I do like it. Very much.”
“It’s actually the smallest of the bedrooms in the house.”
That surprised her. The room was so generously proportioned.
“The front bedroom,” he tipped his head toward the guest room facing the street, “is designed for the master, I suppose, but the window faces west. In the summer it’s far hotter than this east side. I moved in during the heat of July and wanted the cooler room.
That made perfect sense. She nodded in agreement.
“I also enjoy the sunlight in the early mornings. I enjoy waking to the rising sun.”
Oh, the luxury of sleeping that long. She’d spent so many years walking to work in the pre-dawn darkness, rising long before daybreak, that the thought of sleeping longer, until the rising sun nudged her awake, seemed the grandest privilege ever.
“Thank you.” Emotion clogged her throat, even as she turned to meet her husband’s eye. “Your home is beautiful.”
“ Our home.” He smiled, so warm and genuine and hopeful. “I built this home for you.”
Chapter Eight
Lessie lingered in the luxurious over-sized bathtub. She soaked until the deliciously hot water cooled to tepid and then cold. She lingered until the sun well and truly set and the bathroom was doused in the darkest of shadows behind the privacy curtain above the tub.
She had to admit she was a little bit nervous. They didn’t really know each other, after all, and while the man might be her legal husband, he was still essentially a stranger.
Three soft raps sounded on the heavy bathroom door and she started, splashed in the cold water.
“Lessie?” Richard’s voice sounded hesitant. “I didn’t intend to frighten you.”
“No, it’s fine. I probably should be getting out anyway.” She stood, letting water sluice down her body, relishing the sensation of being truly wet from scalp to toe. She hadn’t been this clean in a month of Sundays.
She’d made good use of the new toothbrush and tooth powder Richard had given her, before bathing. She’d washed her hair and every inch of her person, two or three times. She smelled fresh and clean and like a flower garden.
The open window allowed a fragrant breeze in,
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