Anna: Bride of Alabama (American Mail-Order Bride 22) Read Online Free PDF

thought you did the same.”
    Neither spoke for long minutes, both staring out across the pond until Gabriel said, “Julia will be quite disappointed if you don’t come back to the house. I’m used to her tantrums but a I really don’t want to listen to her complain all evening.”
    “You don’t seem as upset about this as you did earlier.”
    “I’ve found being angry about a situation does little to solve the problem.” He took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. “Julia wants a mother.” His cheeks darkened for a moment before his naturally dark complexion returned to normal. “She’s made her feelings on the matter known on more than one occasion but I hadn’t thought to take a wife again. The last one left me with a distaste for it that will take a lifetime to overcome. Normally I’d move the sun to make Julia happy but in this, I’m not sure I can.” He turned to look at her. “As lovely as I find you, Anna, marriage just isn’t something I want.”
    “I see.” Anna’s heart ached at his admission. She’d not been overly excited about marrying a stranger but from the moment she saw Gabriel walk into the parlor, she’d been more than willing.
    “I hope you understand and aren’t too upset with Julia. She doesn’t think things through before she acts on them.”
    “No, I understand,” Anna said. “I can’t be angry at a twelve year old girl whose only desire is for a mother.”
    “My daughter wants a companion. A mother is the natural choice for her but there are other ways to give her what she wants. If you’ll agree.”
    “I’m listening.”
    “As a child, my sister had a governess before she took ill. Its an old fashioned notion but there’s no reason why Julia can’t have one. There’s things I can’t teach her that you’re more than qualified for.”
    He detailed the things Julia needed instruction on. Things only another woman would know. Ruth had enough responsibility as it was and he didn’t want to burden her with more. He offered her a place in his home befitting her new station. It wasn’t a marriage proposal, or a promise of love everlasting, but she’d have a roof over her head, which was all she’d really been expecting. “I’ve no idea how to be a governess.”
    “You’ll do fine. Just teach her the things she’ll need to know when she’s old enough to make her own decisions and you’ll have my undying gratitude.”
     Anna knew next to nothing about teaching anyone anything. She could read, do simple figures and sew, but other than that, she was as clueless as Julia was. Would it be fair to do this when she herself knew so little? Seeing as she had no where else to go, she had little choice but accept the offer. “All right. We’ll give it a try.”
    “Wonderful.” He smiled at her, her heart giving one powerful thump against her ribcage. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. There was no denying her attraction to this man. How would she ever be able to live in his house and not act like a lovesick schoolgirl every time he looked her way?
    “Let’s go break the news to Julia,” he said, turning to the bench to pick up her carpet bag and reticule. “Hopefully she’ll be receptive to the idea. I’ll have terms of the arrangement drawn up. Nothing too restrictive. It will just protect us both incase something goes wrong.”
    “Like what?”
    He laughed. “A week in this house and you’ll wish you’d kept walking instead of stopping to look at the pond.” He motioned to the house with a nod of his head. “Shall we? Ruth has lunch waiting.”
    Anna looked toward the house with its flaking paint and broken shutters and felt the first bit of glee she’d managed to find since leaving Massachusetts. It wasn’t the happy marriage proposal she’d always hoped for but it was better than begging for scraps in a dark alley or worse, selling the only thing she had worth any value—herself.
    Gabriel may not want to marry her, but he would provide her