Chapter Six
The rest of the month of May passed by in a blur. Iris had adored the fabrics Runa had chosen, and promised to help her with cutting out the dresses. Runa had managed to complete two dresses by working when she was able at nights, finishing the second only the night before her departure. The two dresses from the dressmaker had arrived, and Runa had been speechless when she saw them; they were pretty, and finer than anything she had expected to ever own. She wasn’t used to having pretty or fine things any longer, and a part of her rejoiced that these were hers and no one else’s.
She had modeled her wedding dress for Iris, Titus, and Polly, and all three had declared her absolutely lovely. Titus’ eyes had watered a bit when he saw her, and told her that her husband would be a lucky man. They had hugged then, and Runa had promised she would send word as soon as she could, to let them know she was safe, and tell them about her new husband and the people he called family. She had already told them what little she knew from the two letters that she had from him, and Iris and Titus had been relieved at what the letters had told them, though Titus had voiced doubts.
“Anyone can say something, show their best face until they get what they want. Be careful.”
She smiled at the memory as she boarded the train in the early morning hours. Titus was just looking out for her, as he always had. She doubted he would ever stop.
She settled into a seat the conductor showed her to, tucking her carpet bag between her feet and the side of the train where no one could get to it, her new sewing basket and a basket of food Iris had given her being placed at her feet. She was proud of the sewing basket; it was a thing of beauty. Titus, Iris, and Polly had presented it to her the night before, the three of them conspiring together to purchase it for her as a wedding gift.
For a moment she contemplated taking some of the fabric she had cut out of her carpet bag so she had something to work on, but decided it could wait. She wanted to look at the scenery for a little while, and after all, she did have eleven days to work on her sewing while traveling.
At seven o’clock exactly the train began to pull away from the station, and Runa felt a thrill of excitement go through her.
Her adventure had truly begun.
~*~
Several days later, on Monday, Theodore Rumlow frowned out the window, before going in search of his wife.
“Why is Polly doing the laundry?” He demanded. “I thought that was Runa’s task.”
“It was. It is Polly’s now.” Donna Rumlow countered as she set aside the sampler she had been stitching.
“The wedding isn’t until next Friday. Runa can still complete her chores until then. We can hire another maid afterward.” Theodore frowned.
“I am afraid Runa will be married before then. She left for Texas on Thursday.”
Theodore’s face grew red with apoplexy, and he sputtered a few times before he found his words. “She has gone to Texas? To marry someone other than Brock?” He demanded.
“Yes. She left to become a mail order bride.”
“And you knew? Why did you not-”
“I arranged it!” Donna snapped. “I was not about to let that little nobody marry into this family due to your sentiment and guilt-”
“Sentiment?” Theodor roared. “Sentiment? Woman, do you know how much money you have lost us? Brock was to marry the Freydis heiress!”
Donna practically gaped at him. “But the money was all gone! You said it yourself when you brought the little chit into this house after Lars passed!”
“I said that because I knew if you found out you would eventually tell someone and the news would get back to her. I needed her in this house under our thumbs so we could reap the benefits of her wealth. The damned lawyers her family hired wouldn’t let her guardian touch the accounts save for base expenses. She also holds controlling interest and ownership of the shipping company. The lawyers and account managers have been running it for her. I can’t even make the decisions for my own damn business!” He strode to the sideboard and poured himself a brandy. No matter that it wasn’t even lunch time yet; if there was ever a reason to drink in the morning, the loss of the girl and her fortune was it. “She gains control of the fortune and the business on her twenty-first birthday. Friday next.”
“We have to find her.” Donna stood and went to her little writing desk, nearly ripping out the drawer to ruffle through the papers, trying to remember if she had kept anything, the original ad, at least. “We can bring her back. Things might happen a bit later than planned, but we can still have her marry Brock so he can gain control of her fortune. Does he know of this plan of yours?”
“He was against marrying her until I explained a fortune was involved. If it wasn’t, I would have let him tumble the girl when he first planned to and let that be an end to it.” Theodore scowled. “Where did she go in Texas?”
“Some place with a funny Spanish name. Something springs. I wanted her far enough away that you would decide fetching her was not worth the hassle.” She slammed the drawer shut in frustration. “I don’t have any of the information. She left on a train Thursday morning. I did not pay attention to the time.”
“I will go down to the train depot. See if I can ferret out any information. We will find her.” He downed his brandy. “We have to.”