Alice: Bride of Rhode Island (American Mail-Order Bride 13) Read Online Free PDF

way, Alice, but you showing up was a complete surprise. I had no idea James would ever send for a mail-order bride.”
    James had decided not to tell anyone, not even Theo, that it had been Frank who had requested her. He felt it was better if everyone assumed he had sent for a wife.
    She exhaled deeply. “Yes, it is hard marrying someone you don’t know.”
    “James has always been serious, but when we were kids, he did look out for me. We moved from Providence to Tiverton when I was eight years old. It was hard settling in, and the other kids picked on me. James was thirteen but tall, so he looked much older. He wouldn’t tolerate anyone teasing me. He’s a good man, if difficult to live with.”
    “James told me what happened to your parents. I’m very sorry, Theo.”
    He stared at the chess pieces and shrugged. “It was James that got us through it. He took over the fishing company. He made it into what it is today.”
    “Is the business successful?”
    Theo nodded and grinned. “We fish the menhaden. Have you heard of them?”
    Alice shook her head.
    “It’s used to make an oil that can be utilized in soap-making and for smearing sheep to keep away parasites and soften the wool. It also makes an efficient compost. We fish mainly in Mount Hope Bay and have a fleet of six ships. James is looking to add more, but what we really hope to acquire is at least one fish oil factory. There are several in this area and it would really grow our business.”
    “It sounds as if you all work really hard.”
    “It’s all any of us has ever known.”
    Alice moved her queen. “Check mate.”
    Theo groaned. “You’ve beat me again. How did you get to be so good at this game?”
    “My papa taught me when I was young. Like you, I’ve also lost both of my parents. But it’s nice to still have a connection to them, isn’t it?”
    Theo silently agreed. “I think that’s why James devotes so much time to the business.”

 
    Chapter Seven
     
     
    A lice placed a freshly-baked loaf of bread wrapped in cheesecloth into the basket, the warm, yeasty odor surrounding her. It sat atop a hunk of cheese and the ham from the previous evening’s supper. She went to the back door, shrugged into a heavy wool jacket and donned a bonnet, tying it below her chin. Midday was chilly in November.
    Under a clear sky and a bright sun, she began the long walk to the wharf to bring lunch to James, Frank and Theo. Well, most days, it was only Frank and Theo. Her husband had a knack for being absent during her visits.
    Seagulls hovered and swooped around her, and Alice took a deep breath of the biting sea air. On bad weather days, she took the buggy. Theo had showed her how to harness the gentle and amiable gray gelding they called Dimitri so that she could go to town if she desired. What she really craved, however, was the company of James. His complete lack of interest in their marriage, and her , left her nerves frayed. So, when she could walk, she embraced the exercise with a determined vigor fed by her brittle temper. She’d silently curse him all the way then pause just outside the door, hoping she might see him, hoping he would change.
    The Martel Fishing Enterprises building—a ramshackle dwelling sided with weather-beaten shingles—sat at the end of a cluster of fishing-related businesses. Fishing for menhaden, called pogies by the locals, was by far the biggest enterprise, although Theo had told her that clams, quahogs, scallops, and oysters were also harvested during the summer.
    Along with running the office, James, Frank and Theo frequently went out with the steamers they owned. On those days, she never saw James, since he arose before dawn and returned well after supper.
    She could only hope that on this afternoon her husband was sequestered at his desk, attending to paperwork.
    As she stepped from the soft ground to the wooden walkway, the tap of her boots matched the increasing pace of her heartbeat in anticipation of seeing