Mail-Order Baroness (Lords of the Rockies #2)

Chapter 1

Balfour Ranch, near Walnut Springs, Montana Territory

“What’s going on?” James Balfour propped his elbows on the polished oak dining table, glancing around at his three brothers as his insides knotted.

They’d all gathered at Enoch’s request, which meant something serious.

Especially since Enoch had sent the women outside for a walk to see the horses that were pastured nearest the house. In other words, out of earshot.

Enoch leaned forward, keeping his voice low. “We need help.” The words hung in the air like smoke from Mrs. Wang’s kitchen fire.

James arched a brow, scanning from one brother to the next. Enoch wasn’t the sort to admit needing anything. “What kind of help?” Though he suspected the answer. He’d seen the fatigue in Mrs. Wang’s face, the way she moved slower these days.

“For Mrs. Wang.” Enoch’s jaw worked. “She’s kept this place running for years, never a word of complaint. But with Mandie’s condition…” He nodded toward the window, where his wife, very heavy with child, walked with their housekeeper. “And winter coming on early, it’s too much for one person.”

Enoch had a valid point. One James should have voiced already.

Thomas, youngest of them all, spoke up. “You’re right. She’s not getting any younger. The work’s harder on her, even if she’d never say so.”

The silence that followed felt final, as though they’d all known it and only now put it to words.

Robert nodded from across the table. “The preserving alone nearly did her in this year. All those vegetables from the garden, plus the meat from the cattle we slaughtered. She was up until near midnight for a week straight.”

A familiar pang of guilt pressed in James’s chest. He’d been so focused on the ranch work, on getting the cattle and horses ready for winter, that he hadn’t paid enough attention to what was happening inside the house.

Mrs. Wang had been like a favorite aunt—or maybe a mother—his entire life.

He had to do a better job watching over her.

“So what are you thinking?” Robert settled back in his chair, arms crossed, gaze steady. “Hire someone from town?”

“That’s the problem.” Enoch ran a hand through his dark hair. “There’s no one available in Walnut Springs. The few women who might be suitable are already spoken for or have their own families to tend.”

“We could put out word farther south.” Robert had that thoughtful expression he wore when his mind was calculating a problem. “Maybe someone in Helena would be willing to come up here.”

James’s mind began to race, an idea forming so quickly it nearly took his breath away.

Rose. Sweet Rose, with her gentle hands and kind heart who used to help Mrs. Wang in the kitchen when they were children.

Rose, who’d disappeared from his life when he was nine, leaving nothing but an ache that had never quite healed.

He cleared his throat. “I might know of someone.”

Three pairs of eyes turned to James with varying degrees of surprise. Enoch’s dark brows drew together. “Who?”

James cleared his throat, suddenly feeling like that nine-year-old boy again, trying to explain why Rose mattered so much. “Rose Prescott. You remember her—she and her mother came from England with us and lived here for a while before Mother passed.”

“Rose?” Enoch’s face lit up with recognition. “Little Rose with the red hair who used to sing when she worked with Mrs. Wang?”

“That’s her.” Warmth spread through his chest at the memory. Her voice had such a soothing quality, he’d wanted to listen to it for hours. “She’d be perfect for this. She already knows the house, knows our family…”

“James.” Enoch’s voice carried a note of gentle warning. “That was twelve years ago. She’s not a child anymore, and from what I recall, she and her mother left rather suddenly.”

“I know where she is.” He almost regretted the admission when all three brothers stared at him with renewed interest.

“You do?” Thomas leaned forward. “How?”

James shifted in his chair. “Virginia City. She’s…a singer there. Goes by Ruby Starling now. I saw an advertisement in the newspaper for her musical performances.”

The hush stretched between them like a tight rope.

Robert spoke first, his gaze studying James. “You’ve been keeping track of her.”

It wasn’t a question, and the weight of his brothers’ scrutiny pressed in around him.

“Not keeping track, exactly. Just…I heard about this singer, Ruby Starling, and something about the name struck me. Then I saw an advertisement in the Virginia City paper with a sketch of her.” The jolt of recognition when he’d seen that familiar smile staring back at him from the newsprint had been almost jarring. “It was definitely her.”

Enoch studied him with those piercing blue eyes that seemed to see straight through to a man’s soul. “Virginia City’s a rough place, James. If she’s performing there…”

“She’s making an honest living.” His tone came sharper than he’d meant it to. “Rose would never—” He caught himself. He sounded too defensive. “Look, I’m just saying she might welcome a change. Performing can’t be easy work.”

Thomas whistled low. “You want to bring a saloon singer up here to help Mrs. Wang?”

Heat flared through him. “She’s not a saloon singer.” And why did his brothers keep insinuating she was? “She sings in a theater there. Rose is a respectable woman who happens to have a beautiful voice. And she’s family—or close enough.”

Robert’s brows lifted. “Even if she’d be willing to leave Virginia City, why would she want to come back here? If she’s performing, she’s probably making good money. Better than what we would pay for household help.”

James’s gut twisted at that very logical statement. Perhaps he could kick in more funds from his portion of the ranch proceeds. “Money isn’t everything, Robert. Maybe she’d welcome the chance to be somewhere…” He paused, searching for the right words. “Somewhere she belongs.”

“You’re assuming a lot about what she wants,” Enoch said quietly. “About what her life is like now.”

The weight of truth in his brother’s words settled like a load of rocks on his shoulders.

He was assuming. He’d been assuming for years that Rose might want to hear from him, that she might miss what they’d shared here before her mother took her away.

The unanswered letters he’d sent through the years were proof enough of how wrong his assumptions might be.

“Besides,” Thomas added, “if she’s performing under a stage name, she might not want her past following her. Some people leave for a reason.”

James clenched his jaw. “She didn’t leave by choice. She was a child. Her mother made that decision.”

“And now she’s a grown woman who can make her own choices.” Robert eyed him. “Including choosing not to return.”

The logic was sound, but it did nothing to squelch the restless energy building in James’s chest. He’d spent too many years wondering about Rose, too many nights staring at the stars and remembering the sound of her laughter echoing through these rooms. What kind of life had she built for herself?

Was she happy? Did she ever think of their childhood together, or had she put all of that behind her? Put him and his family out of her mind?

At last, he sighed. “Maybe she wouldn’t. But it can’t hurt to ask. The worst she can do is say no.”

Enoch was silent for a long moment, his gaze fixed on something beyond the window.

When he spoke, his tone was gentle. “If you want to reach out to her, James, you have my blessing. We’d all love to have Rose back if she’s willing.

” He looked around the table at his other brothers, who nodded in agreement.

“But don’t get your hopes too high. People change. Circumstances change.”

“I know.” But even as he said it, a spark of hope kindled in his chest. Just the possibility of seeing Rose again, of hearing her songs fill these rooms once more, made something inside him come alive.

The scrape of chairs against the wood floor broke the stillness as his brothers pushed back from the table.

“Well then.” Enoch stood and stretched his arms above his head. “I suppose we have our answer. At least a plan to try.”

Thomas clapped James on the shoulder as he passed. “Good luck, brother. I hope she says yes.”

Robert lingered a moment longer, his expression thoughtful. “Just remember what Enoch said. Don’t build this up too much in your mind.”

James dipped his chin, though his pulse had already quickened with possibility. “I’ll be careful.”

While his brothers headed outside, he climbed the stairs to his room. The familiar creak of the seventh step, the way the afternoon light slanted through the hallway window—everything felt different now, charged with the potential of change.

His room faced west toward the mountains, and he stood at the window for a moment, watching the peaks catch the late afternoon sun. Somewhere beyond those mountains, Rose was living a life he knew nothing about.

He settled at his small writing desk, pulling out a sheet of paper and his pen. But as the nib hovered over the blank page, doubt crept in.

How exactly did a man reach out to someone who’d been ignoring his letters for years?

The stark reality of those unanswered notes hit him like a cold mountain wind. A host of letters over the years—carefully crafted, full of memories and updates on his family and gentle inquiries about her well-being. Letters that had vanished into silence as complete as a winter snowfall.

If Rose wouldn’t respond to James Balfour writing to her directly, perhaps she’d respond to something else entirely.

A new idea began to form, one that made his chest tighten with both excitement and guilt. What if it wasn’t a letter at all?

The advertisement section of the Virginia City paper—he’d seen plenty of notices there for employment opportunities, respectable positions that drew responses from people seeking honest work.

He pulled out a fresh sheet of paper and dipped his pen in ink.

Seeking experienced woman for household management position.

He paused. Too formal. Rose would completely ignore that.

He marked through the words and started again.

Seeking Respectable Woman for Household Position

Household assistant needed for established Montana ranch family. Experience with cooking, cleaning, and general domestic duties helpful but not required. Suitable for woman seeking change from mining town life to peaceful mountain ranch.

Position includes room and board in comfortable accommodations, plus generous wages. Duties to include cooking assistance, general housekeeping, and companionship for female family members. Remote location requires commitment through winter months.

He studied the words, imagining Rose reading them in some Virginia City boarding house or theater. Would she be curious enough to respond? Would the promise of mountains and peace appeal to someone who’d been performing in the rough-and-tumble world of a mining town?

He added one more line:

Reply to Telegraph Office, Walnut Springs, Montana Territory.

Would she think it odd for the correspondence to be held at the telegraph office? It was clear that he wanted to remain anonymous, but maybe that wasn’t uncommon for general advertisements like this that might receive a horde of responses.

He glanced over the missive once more. This would do. He’d ride to town tomorrow morning to send the message to the Virginia City newspaper. That would be the only town he advertised in.

Then he’d give a week to wait for Rose’s response. If she didn’t answer, he’d ride to Virginia City and plead his case in person.

Certainly she couldn’t resist a bit of the Balfour charm from her oldest friend.

He could only pray one of these steps would work. Something inside him had come to life with the thought of Rose back in his life, and he wouldn’t give up this dream again.

Not like he’d been forced to the first time she left.