The Bridal Veil Read Online Free PDF Page B

said and strode to the
wagon.
    “ Don’t be long,” Cora said,
“I’ve had that ham ready to carve for the better part of two
hours.” She shook her head as she watched him lead the team toward
the barn. “That man. Well, come on Mrs.
Becker , I’ll show you to your
room.”
    She yanked open the screen door and
whisked Emily through a neat parlor. Emily had little time to look
around. Cora continued down a short hall that led to a flight of
stairs, forcing her to follow. On the second floor she noted
several rooms.
    “ Heavens, what a big house.”
After years of rented rooms, where Emily and Alyssa had shared a
bed until her stepfather died, this farmhouse seemed
enormous.
    “ Luke built this place
himself for my daughter Belinda, plank by plank. I never would have
thought that shiftless man had it in him to build anything. Some
Swedish family lived here before, but the house burned down and
they decided to leave. He got the land cheap. I wondered why he
made it so big—I guess he thought there would be lots of children
after Rose. But there weren’t. This is Rose’s.” They passed a
bedroom that looked as if a tornado had struck it. Clothes were
strewn everywhere and hung from the open drawers of a bureau.
“Luke’s room is in there.” Cora nodded toward a closed door on the
right and passed it. “Yours is this way.”
    Emily didn’t know whether to be
disappointed or relieved that she would not share her husband’s
bed. If Alyssa had come, would she have been led past Luke’s room,
as well? In any case, Cora had obviously arrived at her own
decision already.
    At the end of the hall,
Emily glimpsed her trunk standing in a clean, bright bedroom. It
was far more cheerful than her room in Chicago, where her view had
been of the brick wall across the alley. This one had two big
windows graced by white lace curtains and shades, that looked out on the
plowed fields. Between the windows was a plain wardrobe. A pretty
quilt and bolsters gave the big bed a cozy look. A washstand and a
simple dressing table with a small mirror and upholstered bench
completed the furniture. Emily sensed a woman’s touch here, and
something told her it wasn’t Cora’s.
    “ All right?” Cora demanded
like a grumpy innkeeper.
    “ It’s very nice. Thank you.”
Emily said.
    “ My daughter decorated this
room. She upholstered the bench herself, made the quilt, and
braided the rug.” Emily waited for the warning not to touch
anything. It didn’t come but it was implied. Cora added, “Soon as
you’re ready, we’ll be setting down to supper.”
    “ Yes, I’ll be right
down.”
    “ I usually serve meals at
seven, eleven and five. Those who aren’t setting at the table on
time don’t eat. I’m not running a restaurant here.”
    “ I appreciate knowing the
schedule,” Emily lied.
    Cora held her gaze for a
moment, then nodded and closed the door with another hmph .
    Emily allowed herself a quiet sigh and
looked around at the cream-colored walls. As she perched
tentatively on the edge of the bed, a feeling of ineffable
loneliness settled upon her like a familiar old shawl. She supposed
that her decision to become a mail-order bride was no worse than
taking a position as a governess or a lady’s companion. The chief
difference was that she was legally bound to the situation and the
man who’d brought her to this house. Legally bound, and morally,
too, since she had given her word to God, to Luke, to Judge
Clifton, and to the State of Oregon. She was Luke Becker’s wife now
and the people in this house should be her family.
    Except they weren’t. They were just
strangers. And she wasn’t Alyssa, so they were not very pleased to
see her.
    She pulled off her gloves, and with
the left one came her wedding band, too small for her ring finger,
too big for her pinkie. She fished out the ring and put it back on.
It was loose but if she had asked Luke to compromise, she would
have to as well. Compromise was another of Emily’s