Page 4 of His Perfect Bride
She hastened through the narrow lanes until she turned onto Market Street, where the stench of the livestock greeted her as did the calls of the merchants bargaining with customers. She fingered a second list in her pocket, the one with the few meager food items she needed to purchase. She didn’t really need to write out the list—not when she bought the same bread, cheese, and fish with nearly every trip.
But she liked writing lists. It was one small way to keep order in her world when everything else was falling apart and when she’d already lost so much—her employment, Willow, Mum, and David.
David.
Her heart pinched with the need for him—a need she no longer had a right to feel, not when he belonged to Bessy and was getting married soon. In fact, he was getting married on Ascension Day.
That was just a few short days away.
The pain inside swelled forcefully, bringing Sage to a halt in the flow of shoppers in the storefront markets.
What had she done wrong to lose him?
Even after analyzing their relationship for weeks, she still hadn’t been able to figure out her shortcomings that had driven him into the arms of another woman. She’d loved him and had tried to be the perfect fiancée. She’d been supportive and respectful and agreeable, had even delayed their wedding day because he’d said he wasn’t ready.
As hard as the truth was, she couldn’t deny it. After two years of courtship, he just hadn’t been ready forher—not when he’d been willing to get married to Bessy so quickly after he broke off the engagement.
Sage glanced around, praying she wouldn’t see Bessy anywhere. Since they lived in the same neighborhood and went to the same church and had the same friends, Sage often saw the pretty woman. If that wasn’t bad enough, it was even worse when she saw Bessy with David. She could only imagine how much more difficult seeing the two would be after they were married.
“No.” The whisper came out harshly.
She couldn’t live that way, constantly being reminded that the man and the life that should have been hers belonged to someone else.
The desperation from earlier rose to choke her. She had to get away from Manchester. She couldn’t stay another week, couldn’t bear to be here another day.
She spun around and began to stride back the way she’d just trekked. The muddy street squelched beneath her clogs, splattering her skirt in her haste. For once she didn’t care. All she could think about was the need to start a life someplace new—someplace far from David.
She was practically running by the time she reached the front door of Manchester City Mission. Without a moment of hesitation, she opened the door and stepped inside.
“I’ll do it.” She locked in on Miss Lennox. “I’ll take the position as your lady’s maid.”
Two
Victoria, Vancouver Island
September 1863
As Sage stepped off the steamboat landing stage onto the wharf, relief and gratitude mingled within her chest and brought a sting of tears to her eyes. She wanted to fall to her knees and kiss the ground, but she held herself stiffly and properly behind Miss Lennox.
After one hundred twenty days of voyaging halfway around the world, they’d finally arrived in Victoria. Their ship had actually dropped anchor in nearby Esquimalt Harbor on Vancouver Island the previous day, but they’d been detained along with all the other passengers until a steamboat was available to transport them into the shallower waters of James Bay.
With the morning sunshine warming her back, Sage took shaky steps down the wharf.
“Come along now, Sage.” Miss Lennox was already two steps ahead with her long stride, her sights fixed upon the sprawling town of Victoria on the gently sloping embankment. “There’s much to be done today.”
“Yes. I’ve got the list.” First thing that morning, Sage had compiled the usual list outlining their day.
“I do love your organization.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” At least in that one area, Sage had excelled in her new lady’s maid job.
The voyage across the Atlantic Ocean had been difficult with tumultuous seas and storms, particularly around the Falkland Islands near the tip of South America. Sage had tried not to be seasick, but against her best efforts, she’d become violently ill during the rough weather, as had most of the other passengers.
As an experienced world traveler, Miss Lennox hadn’t been bothered by the ship’s swaying or the sea’s swelling. She had instead proven herself to be a compassionate and charitable woman, tending to not only Sage but also to many other passengers.
Thankfully the journey through the Pacific Ocean north had been calmer. When they’d reached San Francisco, Sage had been feeling almost normal again—normal enough to go ashore with Miss Lennox and spend a few days touring the bustling American city.
Even though the experience in San Francisco—truthfully, the entire journey—had been unlike anything Sage had ever known, the first sights of Vancouver Island had surpassed everything else she’d yet encountered.
