Read Online Lilly: Bride of Illinois (American Mail-Order Bride 21) by Linda K. Hubalek - Free Book Online Page A

not the style of the dress, but the color.”
    Lilly blushed at his compliment of sorts. At least she’d have a good memory of the dress now because Mr. Reagan thought she looked pretty in it
    “Ah…were you able to get a few things for me?” Lilly hated to ask, but she really needed some items on the list, and to change the subject.
    “Yes, you’ll find the packages on the settee. I thought you needed to sleep rather than looking through your items when I got back to the room.
    “And about sleeping arrangements…I checked and the hotel is full, so I couldn’t get another room. I’m sorry, it isn’t proper, but I’m going to have to sleep on the floor in this room.”
    “Mr. Reagan, you are paying for this room so I’ll sleep on the floor. I’ve slept in much worse places,” Lilly could have bitten off her tongue telling him about her past living arrangements, but he didn’t comment on it.
    “You’ve been hurt, so you stay in the bed tonight. But I do ask for the spare pillow and a blanket,” he asked as he yawned.
    She’d gladly give him most of the bedding for his generosity. Why couldn’t he have been the groom waiting for me at the train station?
    It didn’t take Mr. Reagan long to fall asleep, even if he was sleeping on the carpeted floor. But after Lily heard his even breathing, she rolled on her side toward him, just so she could look at him. The window drapes weren’t quite closed in the middle and he’d moved enough so she could see his face in the shadowed light sneaking across from the window to the floor.
    She studied his features, wishing she had the liberty to feel the dimple in his chin, follow the line of his eyebrows, and trace the calluses on this working rancher’s palms. The few times she’d touched his arms or chest, she felt hard muscles of a man who did honest, manual labor.
    Lilly automatically compared him to Mans Soderstrom, the only man she’d ever touched—because they were to be married—or so they’d planned. But his parents didn’t want Mans to marry a piga , a servant girl way below his family’s social class.
    Mr. Reagan may not have been as handsome as Mans, but she liked his rugged looks. And he’d proved he could be trusted and had followed through with his promises, where Mans hadn’t.
    She shut her eyes when tears trailed down her cheeks and onto the crisp, white pillow case. Lilly had thought Mr. Hardesty was her destiny when he answered her letter regarding his ad, asking her to come to Chicago. She’d memorized the short, cherished letter because she was excited someone wanted her.
    Dear Miss Lind,
    I received your letter requesting to come to Chicago, and I agree after seeing your photo. Enclosed is a train ticket to travel to the Union Station Depot. It is a six day trip so I’d like you to arrive here on November 10th.
    Sincerely,
    Mr. Wilber Hardesty, Esquire
    But after meeting him and seeing the Emporium, Lilly realized he never asked her to be his wife, nor was the letter sent through Miss Miller as it should have been. The letter was short, to the point, telling her to be in Chicago by a certain date—that was all, absolutely no mention of marriage. She knew better, had been hurt before, and swore she’d never get in a situation she couldn’t control again…but Lilly took the first chance she saw to have a new life, without thinking it through as she should have.
    Now she was back to being alone, penniless, and in a new city where she didn’t know a decent soul—except for one man who’d be going back to Kansas in a few days.
    ***
    Seth was surprised at the amount of food she again ate this morning for breakfast. If she was a horse, he’d be worried about her floundering because she shoveled food into her mouth like she couldn’t get enough. It made him wonder—was she naturally very slim by nature, or because she hadn’t had money for food? She still hadn’t talked about her past, but he was about to suggest a future.
    Seth