Chapter 1
The dining room was lit in a soft golden glow, the polished silver and fine china gleaming beneath the chandelier. Every detail had been arranged with care. Nothing in the Aldridge household was ever out of place.
Mary turned around, intending to go up to the library, when she ran straight into her mother.
“Where are you going? Our guest will be here any moment.” Her mother fidgeted nervously, looking about to see if Mary’s father was near, no doubt.
“Why do I have to have dinner with you? Father rarely has me join him for dinners with business prospects.” She frowned, unease rising within her.
“Your father wants you to meet him.” Her mother’s cheeks blushed, and she didn’t meet Mary’s gaze.
Mary’s eyes narrowed. Her mother was acting strange. She was a head shorter than Mary, and they had similar auburn hair, though Mary got her green eyes from her father instead of her mother’s gray ones.
Something had been off the whole day; she just couldn’t figure out what.
“I have to get something from upstairs.”
“Be sure to hurry back. You know how your father is when he’s angry.” Her mother’s voice shook.
Mary knew her mother was right. Making her father upset was not a good idea for anyone.
But she had to have a few minutes alone, to brace herself for whatever her father had in store for the evening.
She was trying to figure out exactly what it was, but there were several possibilities.
None of them was good, considering her sisters weren’t included.
She slipped past her mother and ran up the stairs, not caring that she might damage her gown or scuff her slippers. Her sisters, nineteen-year-old Clara and sixteen-year-old Ada, were waiting at the top of the stairs.
Ada was the reason she’d tolerated her father for as long as she had. Ada was sweet and kind, loving to a fault. She trusted in people in a way that Mary knew would get her heart broken one day.
She couldn’t bear to leave her sisters alone in the house. As her father’s main focus, she feared what might happen once she left and his attention shifted to Ada or Clara.
“What’s going on?” Ada asked. “Mama said that you’d be joining her and father for dinner.” Ada’s big gray eyes were full of worry.
“It’s all right, Ada. I’m sure it’s nothing.”
Clara crossed her arms, staring at Mary intently.
“You’re sure it’s nothing? Then why do you look so upset?” Clara was the feistiest of the three of them; she always had something to say, and yet, she managed to keep her attitude under control when it came to their father. He’d managed to tame even Clara’s fire.
“Mary! Our guest is here.” Her father yelled up the stairs.
“I have to go. I was hoping he’d forget about me.” Mary took a deep breath, gave her sister as confident a smile as she could muster, and then hurried back down the stairs to her waiting parents.
She’d just arrived when the front door opened.
Jasper Montgomery stood there. Mary forced a tight smile. Jasper worked at the bank with her father. His father owned the place.
“Jasper, come in,” her father said, shaking Jasper’s hand, motioning for him to step inside.
“Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Aldridge.”
Jasper was only a few years older than her. However, unlike her, he was everything her father liked in a man. He was conceited, greedy, and while he knew how to talk a slick game, the truth of his colors was dark. Dinner with him was going to be miserable.
She still didn’t know why her father wanted her there. He had to know that she didn’t get along well with Jasper. They’d come to avoid each other whenever she went into the bank.
“Dinner will be served shortly. Have a seat.” Her father showed Jasper to the dining table, and Mary followed, taking her spot. Her body was rigid with worry about what would happen next.
Mary sat with her hands folded neatly in her lap, her posture straight, her expression composed. She was the picture of a well-bred young lady, exactly as she had been trained to be. Only the slight tension in her fingers betrayed the unease stirring beneath the surface.
Across the table, her father spoke with measured authority, his voice carrying easily as he discussed business matters with practiced ease. Her mother nodded when appropriate, offering small, agreeable comments.
Mary was starting to think that her father had simply wanted her at dinner to prove he could have her there if he wished. Mary lowered her gaze briefly to her plate, though she had little appetite.
“…which brings me to an important matter.” Her father’s voice cut cleanly through her thoughts.
Mary looked up.
Benjamin Aldridge set his utensils aside with deliberate calm, his gaze moving around the table before settling on her. Something in the weight of that look made her stomach tighten. Her uneasiness from earlier came rushing back.
“It is time we discussed your future, Mary, which is why I invited Jasper here.”
Mary swallowed hard, trying to get the lump out of her throat. Something about having her father’s full attention made her feel as if things were about to take a turn for the worse.
She kept her expression steady, waiting for her father to explain. A small pause followed.
“You are to be married. Jasper and his father both agreed it would be the perfect match. We are already partners in the bank. The two of you would make sure that our combined wealth would be passed to the right hands when the time comes.”
The words landed without softness. Mary pulled in a sharp breath, trying to process the words she’d just heard.
Mary blinked once, uncertain she had heard him correctly. Married.
She knew that it would happen one day. How could it be happening so soon? She’d been anticipating it, knowing that at her age of twenty-three, her father would try to marry her off to someone.
That was why she’d considered being a mail-order bride, negotiating her own terms of marriage instead of having them foisted upon her.
“Mary?” Her mother’s voice shook, forcing Mary to face the circumstances.
“You expect me to marry Jasper?” Mary’s tone was rude. She knew Jasper; they’d met many times at her father’s workplace. None of those meetings had been pleasant. She shuddered.
Silence settled heavily over the table. Mary’s fingers tightened slightly in her lap. She was aware of her mother’s disapproving glance.
She’d been afraid of the day her father decided that it was time for her to be married, but she’d hoped and prayed that he would choose someone kind, someone that there was at least a chance of her falling in love with, a chance of having a good marriage with.
“I am sure you’ll come to accept this turn of events. We may not know each other well yet, but I intend to remedy that.” Jasper spoke, his cold dark eyes capturing hers, promising the misery she feared.
“What do you have to say?” Her father narrowed his eyes, daring her to contradict him.
“I…” Mary tried to find the words he was expecting, but came up short.
Her father resumed eating, as though the matter had already been settled, which, in truth, it had.
“It is only fitting that you begin to understand one another’s expectations, which is why I arranged this dinner, as well as for Jasper to come around the house more often so you can get to know each other properly before the wedding.”
Mary inclined her head slightly.
She wanted to scream no. To tell him that there was no way she’d ever willingly marry Jasper. But the words stuck in her throat. What had she thought would happen when her father decided to marry her off?
She was already twenty-three, practically an old maid. She helped her younger sisters stay in line, not to mention her father was very selective about who he wanted in their family, or that was what she’d thought.
“Miss Aldridge,” Jasper said with a small smile. “I am most pleased that this arrangement is now out in the open.”
Mary offered a polite smile. “Of course,” she managed to say.
“I have been considering what will be expected of us,” he said, his tone thoughtful.
“A marriage such as ours must be built upon proper order. I want you to know that it is the type of man I am. You can count on the fact that my parents have raised me right, and you’ll only find what you should expect once we are married. ”
Mary’s heart gave a small, uneasy beat.
Jasper shifted uncomfortably, and Mary almost felt sorry for him, receiving so much scrutiny, until he continued, quoting with quiet confidence, “‘Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.’” His gaze held hers as he spoke.
“It is a guiding principle I hold in the highest regard, and it was the biggest reason I agreed with my father when this match was proposed. It is a hard task to find a proper wife who understands Biblical principles.”
The words settled heavily between them.
She had heard that scripture countless times before, repeated in sermons and lessons, always with the same emphasis. Yet now, sitting here, with her future being laid out so plainly before her, it felt…different.
Her life would be her mother’s life. The same nightmare she’d lived with her whole life was what it would hold for her.
“I trust,” Jasper continued, “that we will have a harmonious household, guided by faith and proper understanding.”
Mary inclined her head slightly. “I do hope you’ve had time to read the rest of that passage.” Her words were biting, pushing back a little at the destined road ahead of her.
“I see you have opinions on the Bible.” Jasper’s tone suggested approval, but the anger in his eyes matched her father’s. Her comment would come with a price, but she had a feeling it would be worth it.
Two months ago, in the bank, he’d asked her to accompany him through town. He’d expressed interest, and she’d turned him down. He’d promised her that he could have her if he wanted. He was making good on his promise.
She clenched her fist under the table.