Page 37 of His Perfect Bride
Then he turned to Caleb and thrust out his hand. Caleb took the offering in a firm shake, all the while studying Jackson and probably noting that Jackson was in a class far above them. It was all too easy to see by the way he spoke, his mannerisms, and his clothing.
“It’s good to meet a friend of Sage’s,” Willow said, glancing now at Tcoosma in the canoe. The older man had leaned back, pulled his hat over his face, and seemed to be resting. “I’m assuming David decided to come with you?”
Sage’s smile faded. This was the crushing moment she’d dreaded the whole voyage over from England, the moment when she had to admit her life had fallen apart and nothing had turned out as perfectly as she’d planned.
Jackson slipped his hand to the small of her back. The touch of his fingers was light, as if to reassure her—or perhaps remind her—that he was by her side.
He was looking at her with his jaw rigid and his eyes hard with anger—toward David? He already knew she avoided talking about David. Maybe he’d drawn the conclusion that David had hurt her. If so, he was right.
His fingers pressed into her back gently again.
Some of the tension inside her eased, and she returned her focus on to Willow. She may as well tell her sister the truth. It would come out soon enough. “David fell in love with someone else and broke our engagement so that he could marry her.”
“Oh, Sage.” Willow’s face didn’t hold pity, only compassion.
Caleb was standing beside Willow and wrapped his arm around her. She leaned into him, clearly finding her support in him just as she always had. Was that what made their relationship work? That they were there for each other during the hard times?
Sage had never had that kind of relationship with David. They’d always known each other, since they’d grown up in the same neighborhood. But David hadn’t started showing an interest in her until after she’d matured into a woman, the year she’d turned sixteen, when she’d begun to draw the attention of plenty of young men in the area. She’d picked David because not only had he been good-looking, but he’d had a steady job at the catgut factory and had ambitions to rise in the ranks at the factory, would be able to afford their own flat, and could take care of her and their children.
Everything had seemed perfect with their relationship. They’d gotten along well and enjoyed spending time together. She’d even thought she was in love with him.
After she’d been let go at the mill, he’d claimed that her lack of a job hadn’t mattered, and she’d believed everything would be okay. But the truth was, her life and her family’s had only gotten harder with the unemployment, especially after Dad was laid off. They’d struggled with finding food and fuel and hadn’t even been sure they’d be able to stay in their tenement.
As the situation worsened, she’d suggested moving up the wedding date to take the burden off her family, so that they would have one less mouth to feed. But David hadn’t seen the need to change their plans. Maybe his lack of compassion in her hardships—even his disinterest in Willow’s leaving and Mum’s death—should have been a warning that he wasn’t the right man. But she’d ignored the signs.
“I’m fine, truly.” Sage forced a smile. “Everything has worked out as it should.”
Willow studied Sage’s face for a moment as though trying to see the truth. Then she glanced at Jackson again before her lips curled up into a smile. “It sure looks that way.”
Sage shook her head. She couldn’t let Willow assume Jackson was a suitor. Before she could explain, Willow was tugging her into another hug. Then she began to guide her toward the path in the woodland.
Arm in arm, they made their way to Willow and Caleb’s home which was situated a short distance up the river trail and adjacent to another farm. Willow was excited to show Sage everything—the cabin with its addition, the new barn, her large garden, the land cleared for crops, the bountiful harvest, the bushels of food in the cellar along with dried and canned goods.
Willow and Caleb had worked hard to carve out their farm in the wilderness, and Sage was proud of her sister for all she’d accomplished. The roughness and simplicity of their log cabin and the log barn couldn’t compare to the fancy home she was living in with Augusta and Jackson. But it was more than either one of them could have dreamed of having back in Manchester.
At one point, Caleb returned to the portion of the interior of the barn where he’d been building a stall for their new dairy cow. Jackson offered to assist and went with him.
Time got away from Sage as she and Willow sat in chairs in the warm sunshine outside the cabin door, first sewing the curtains for the new addition and then plucking a chicken to set to roasting.
Willow was eager for news from home and wanted to hear all about everyone, not allowing Sage to leave out a single detail. They talked about their mum’s passing, how Dad’s health was deteriorating, what their sisters were doing, and what life in Manchester had been like before Sage left.
Willow also queried more into what had happened with David and what had led Sage to come to the colony ahead of their family. Sage didn’t hold anything back and told Willow about meeting Augusta, their voyage across the world, and what her life had been like as a lady’s maid.
In turn, Sage asked Willow about her voyage and all that had transpired when she’d arrived in the colony. Willow told her about the friends she’d made—including Juliet and Daisy—and how they’d become like family to her.
She also shared the whole exciting tale about working for the Manns at White Swan Farm, the key to the buried treasure, the danger she and Caleb had been in, and how they’d run away and hidden on Salt Spring Island to protect Caleb from Mr. Mann. She explained how they’d gotten married for convenience’s sake but how it hadn’t taken long for each of them to confess their true feelings and stop pretending that they didn’t love each other when they’d been in love for years.
“So,” Willow said, leaning back in her chair and studying the two men who’d stepped out of the barn and were conversing. “I know you said you’re not planning to get married and that Jackson is just a friend. But he definitely doesn’t see you as just a friend.”
Sage was taking out the seam in the waist of one of Willow’s skirts in order to give her more room for the baby growing inside her. At Willow’s statement—spoken much too loudly—heat rushed to Sage’s face. “Hush now, Willow.”
With both hands resting on the swell of her abdomen, Willow just laughed. “The fellow obviously can’t keep his eyes off you anytime you’re near.”
Sage cast a glance Jackson’s way. He was leaning casually against the split rail post of the corral. Sure enough, his gaze was riveted to her even as Caleb spoke to him. The moment their eyes connected, she expected Jackson to glance away, perhaps pretend he’d been busy with something else. But his attention didn’t waver. He even raised a brow as though to ask her how she was doing.
When had David ever asked her if she was okay? When had he ever raised a brow to see how she was doing? When had he ever really seen or known her—other than for admiring how she looked?
Here was this wealthy gentleman who had the temperament of a troll, yet he’d shown her more consideration and kindness in the past few days than David had in the years they’d been together.
