Taking a deep bolstering breath, I pushed back the curtain and peered out.
The house loomed before me.
It wasn't the neat stone farmhouse I'd half imagined, but a great dark shape against the falling dusk, its windows glowing faintly like watchful eyes. My heart thumped unevenly. Somewhere inside waited the man who had written his acceptance in neat black ink, a man who wanted no dowry, no fortune, only me.
An untouched orphan from the wilds of the Transvaal.
I smoothed my skirts with trembling hands, as though dust and fatigue could be hidden under a press of fingers. When the driver climbed down and swung open the door, the air rushed in, thick with the smell of horse and earth and something unfamiliar I could not name.
One shaky breath, then another.
It was time to meet my husband.
I put one foot out, as the driver held out his hand to help me climb from the carriage. When my boots landed on the cobbled stone, I finally forced myself to look up at the house.
Although,housedidn't really do justice as a moniker.
It was incredibly impressive, in size and stature. My dear Captain Smythe had left out a few details in his letters to me. Not once in the last few months had he mentioned we were to be living on anestate.
No wonder he wasn't bothered by the fact that I had no dowry.
Now... the question was, why on earth would he have need of a mail-order bride? Surely a war veteran, with the amount of money it appeared Captain Leighton Smythe had, could have his pick of brides from Cape Town society.
The front door swinging open with a muted thud drew me from my musings and I was drawn to a tall figure in a dark tailcoat and crisp white gloves as he stepped briskly onto the stone path. His posture was impeccable, shoulders straight, hands clasped neatly at his sides.
I guessed I just saw my first ever butler.
"Miss Kruger, welcome to Eagle's Rest," he said, his voice measured but warm, tinged with a deference I'd never experienced before. He dipped into a slight bow, one hand extended toward the door. "Your rooms have been prepared, and your luggage will be brought inside immediately. Please allow me to see you safely in."
He stepped aside with a slight wave of his arm, inviting me inside.
"Uh, thank you," I said, unable to come up with anything more substantial. I didn't know what on earth was going on, but I had not prepared for this. "Is the Captain not here?"
The stately gentleman cleared his throat before pulling the door shut behind us and then preceding me down the hall.
"He's just dealing with an urgent matter, and asked that I show you to your rooms when you arrived. His business should be concluded by dinner, so he will be joining you then."
I couldn't hide my disappointment that I wasn't to meet my fiancé yet.
And from the look on the butler's face, he’d caught my saddened expression.
Drat.
I cleared my throat. "I'm sorry, I never asked your name."
"Of course, Miss! Pardon my bad manners. I'm Graham Sinclair. Butler to Eagle's Rest. It will be so lovely to have a woman's presence in the house, and all the staff are very excited to have you join us."
I blushed at his kind words, but a small niggle of worry had started building inside me.
Maybe one of the inhabitants of Eagle's Rest wasn't all that excited for me to be here. The only one that really mattered.
My fiancé.
"It's lovely to meet you, Mr. Sinclair. I'm very excited to be here myself, but I must admit I wasn't quite prepared for the... lavish reception. From the Captain's descriptions, I was fully expecting a smaller farmhouse with a small growing vineyard."
Graham Sinclair straightened at my words, his shoulders squaring even more—if that was even possible. "Ah." He cleared his throat. "The Captain is a very humble man, Miss Kruger."
Somehow, the words didn't quite ring true.
