Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Josie sat on her bed, nervously fidgeting with her cameo brooch.
It had been over a month since the accident, and no warrant had yet been issued for her arrest or a death announcement mentioned in the newspapers.
Nothing felt right. Mammy told her she wouldn’t announce the death until Josie was safe, but how long could a body be kept secret?
Even if there was a search warrant, would they be able to find her in this confined space? She had gone unnoticed when she arrived, cloaked and discreet. None of Aunt Tia’s servants had seen her. Marcus forced Josie to cut ties with her aunt, so why would Aunt Tia be suspected?
Josie never left the attic, not even for fresh air.
Aunt Tia encouraged her to roam the grounds at nightfall, but Josie wouldn’t budge.
She spent her nights and mornings in this confined space, safe and secure.
The room wasn’t a prison cell; she was only a prisoner to herself and the threats that lurked outside.
Aunt Tia had brought Josie tea earlier that morning, along with some preserves and biscuits, but Josie could hardly stomach anything but the tea.
Anything that looked like food nauseated her.
She rose, poured herself a cup of tea, and peered through the small crack in the window, observing the city of Charlotte from the attic’s height.
Her aunt’s home was larger than Josie’s childhood home, Belle Vallée, and the horrid mansion in the city of Statesville, where she had been forced to play the role of a frightened and fragile wife.
From the attic window, Josie quickly took notice of the police roaming the streets in their navy blue uniforms and hats.
She turned away from the crack, her back pressed firm against the wall.
Though they couldn’t see her, their presence made her shudder.
The door squeaked open, and Josie jumped. To her relief, it was Aunt Tia again. She exhaled, her hand resting on her chest.
“Josephine, I have news,” Aunt Tia announced softly, stumbling in while balancing herself on a cane. She held up a letter. “Mr. Blythe has replied.”
Josie’s mouth fell open. After waiting nearly two months, the response she both dreaded and hoped for had arrived. One thing in that letter was for certain—an answer. Josie didn’t know which response to fear more. Rejection stung like a bee, but a proposal filled her with dread.
Aunt Tia settled herself at the corner desk, and Josie took the letter into her possession.
Her teacup rattled on its saucer from her trembling hands.
Josie set the cup down, sucking in a steadying breath.
She stared at the return address and name, hardly able to make out the penmanship because of her quivering limbs. Travis Blythe. Willow Grove, Montana.
“Well, open it for goodness’ sake,” Aunt Tia instructed impatiently.
Exhaling, Josie broke the seal, her pulse racing.
Carefully, she pulled the letter from its envelope and scanned the handwriting.
The penmanship was unlike the neat script of the upper-class men she knew, but what could she expect from a man out West?
However, the mystery drew her in. What words would a man shaped by the untamed frontier say?
Would he speak proper and educated, or would he be a disastrous, uneducated buffoon?
Dear Miss Callahan,
I’d like to express how pleased I am to have received your reply.
My name is Travis Blythe. I’m thirty years old and from Willow Grove, Montana, a small wheat farming town twenty miles east of Bozeman.
Of course, you already gathered where I live from the advertisement.
I just didn’t know how else to introduce myself.
I will admit, this is strange for me, too.
I confess I never wrote to a stranger either, let alone anyone in North Carolina.
My children and I live in a modest cabin in a valley, surrounded by a background of snow-capped mountains and a blooming meadow where my children like to play.
We have a two-decade old farm that hasn’t failed our family thus far.
I grew up in a dugout with my parents, and ten years ago I built my own place.
My mother passed on six years ago, so now it’s just us.
I hope this doesn’t frighten you away, knowing we don’t have much. Our life includes hard labor, but it is worth it when we have each other. My aunt has pitched in since my wife’s passing and volunteered to stay a little longer to help you settle in if you accept my proposal.
If you choose to decline, I understand, but I wanted to be honest with you as you have with me. If you choose to marry me, my children will be very glad to have a mother again. I have enclosed the money to fund your journey. It is long and expensive, but I trust you’ll use it wisely.
Sincerely,
Travis Blythe
Josie dug deeper into the envelope, finding the money Travis set. Her face burned hot as a rush of shock overcame her.
“Money? Why would this man send you money?” Aunt Tia asked.
“It’s to pay for my fare,” Josie explained, her throat dry. She swallowed. “He wants me to come.”
Aunt Tia poured herself a cup of tea. “Hmm, you must have left quite an impression for him to trust you with his money.”
Josie folded the letter and returned both it and the money to the envelope. “I’m sending it back.”
Aunt Tia’s brows arched and lips pursed. “You are not! You’re going to Montana to marry this man.”
Josie sat at her desk and took out a blank sheet of paper. “I won’t,” she said firmly, shaking her head. “Him choosing me is a mistake. I was honest with him, saying I lack experience with mothering, and he wants to marry me.”
“The man is smart in choosing you,” Aunt Tia remarked, taking a sip of tea. “What girl, in her right mind, would willingly apply to mother children and be a wife in a godforsaken land? He admires that and respects you.”
Josie huffed, rolling her eyes. “He’s crazy then. I’m not going.” Josie rose from the desk and peered through the window crack.
“You don’t walk away from me, Josephine Eleanor! You may be a grown, widowed woman, but I am still your great aunt.”
Josie folded her arms “It’s been two months, Aunt Tia. Police aren’t looking for me. I’m cleared.” That was a big lie. Just one glimpse at her, and Marcus’s connections would take her down in an instant, escorting her to the gallows without mercy.
Aunt Tia stayed silent. Josie shifted her gaze, seeing the woman looking down at her teacup, her fingers nervously tracing the rim.
“Aunt Tia? What is it?”
Aunt Tia rubbed her forehead. “Mammy covered for you, saying you were with cousins in Wilmington, but there’s only a matter of time before the truth gets out. You must go. It’s too dangerous.”
Josie pressed her hand against her abdomen. Aunt Tia was right. She only had so much time, and it wasn’t just her life she should be concerned about.
“What about the baby?” Josie squeaked, her breaths coming in rapid gasps. “What man would want to take on another man’s child?”
“You won’t tell him.”
Josie’s eyes widened. “What? I can’t do that. There’s only so much time until I’m showing. I’m three months along.”
Aunt Tia patted the desk chair beside her. “Sit down, child.”
Josie obeyed and settled beside her aunt. Aunt Tia looked her in the eyes with a seriousness that cut through Josie’s inner turmoil. “I am going to give you a piece of advice that your mama never gave you. Men don’t believe women, nor do they trust them. You have no voice and no power.”
Josie peered down at her lap. If anyone knew that pain personally, it was her.
It didn’t matter that her plantation home doubled Marcus’s shareholdings; she was no more than his wife—no voice, no control.
The wealth meant nothing when it was her freedom that had been stripped away, her choices discarded like worthless scraps.
Aunt Tia’s eyes saddened. “What man is going to believe a woman who is so desperate to go west and marry a stranger with four children? You may be a widow, but he won’t believe it. Not one bit. You’re too young and attractive.”
Josie bit the inside of her cheek. She believed her aunt.
How could this Travis trust her when she didn’t trust him?
This marriage would be her only chance, but what could she do with the baby?
How could she trust Travis to father a child that wasn’t his?
He was too honest in his letter, enough to send his life savings.
What Josie counted would take years for a wheat farmer to save. How could she show up and deceive him?
The words in that shaky penmanship now echoed in her ears, as though it were mocking her conscience. I wanted to be honest with you as you have with me. Josie clenched her teeth. He trusted her.
“So . . . What do I do about the baby?”
“You make him think it’s his,” Aunt Tia explained before taking a sip of tea.
“What?” Josie’s chest pinched. “Surely you’re not suggesting . . .”
Aunt Tia nodded, retrieving the sugar pot from the tea tray. “Yes, I am.”
Josie clung to the desktop as her stomach convulsed. She pushed her tea away and turned her head towards the peeling gray wallpaper. Bile rose in her throat again. She sucked in a breath, then exhaled slowly, her hands pressing against her unsettled belly.
“But the baby will be early . . . Earlier because it will take a while before my acceptance letter reaches him, maybe longer.”
Aunt Tia stirred her tea. “You won’t be writing. You’ll send him a wire and get on that train first thing tomorrow morning.”
So soon. Josie closed her eyes tight, fighting the urge to vomit. She’d be a wife again. She had only just tasted freedom, and already she’d be tied down once more. She couldn’t go through with it; the mere idea made her heart race with fear and dread.
She wouldn’t.
She couldn’t.
Josie hugged herself, trying to catch her breath. “I can’t . . . I can’t . . .”
Aunt Tia placed her hand over Josie’s. “You must. This isn’t the ideal picture I had for you—marrying an uneducated farmer—but this is the only way.”
Josie pressed her lips together. After a few moments, she nodded. “I understand.”
“Good. I’ll arrange for your departure, send a telegram, then you’ll take a train first thing tomorrow morning.” Aunt Tia arose from the table and made her way out the door.
Turning back to the desk, Josie picked up the letter again and held it in her hands.
The money was too much—too much for a farmer.
The savings she had set aside would be enough for two trips.
She’d return Travis’s money because it wasn’t hers to take.
After all, he would need it when a tiny, unexpected member joined his family in six months.