Her breath snagged, fingers digging into the quilt. Who was he?
“This is Lord Enoch Balfour.” Mrs. Wang stood, her skirts rustling. “He’s been waiting for you to wake.”
“Lord?” The title clanged in Mandie’s ears, absurd against these raw logs. Lords belonged in velvet parlors, not…the wilderness territories.
“Just Enoch.” He spoke with a voice low and deep. His mouth held a faint curve missing from those piercing eyes. “How are you, Mrs. Beaumont?”
He knew who she was.
She summoned moisture to her dry mouth and glanced between him and Mrs. Wang. “How do you know my name? And how did I get to the Montana Territory?”
He reached for another chair against the wall and pulled it close so he could face her. As he eased into the seat, the wood creaked. “Do you remember anything about the journey? Why you came?”
Didhenot know? She shut her eyes, reaching. “I…I can’t…” She let out a sigh as she opened her eyes. “It’s all so murky. I can’t find a clear thought.”
He nodded, his lips meeting in a line. He seemed to be weighing his next words. Or maybe weighingher, like she might break. “You were corresponding with my brother, William. Sound familiar?”
“William?” Nothing—no flicker, no echo. Her chest clenched. “No. Why?”
Enoch’s gaze never flickered. And that beard made it hard to see the rest of his expression. “He placed an advertisement for a wife—a mail-order bride—and you answered. You came to marry him.”
The words crashed over her, icy and absurd. A mail-order bride? Her, Mandie Beaumont, trading Savannah’s parlors fora life so far away in a place she’d never even visited? “That’s impossible.” Her voice shook. “I wouldn’t. Did I know him?”
Enoch’s brow furrowed, his gaze searching hers as if trying to piece together a puzzle. “You never met in person. Just letters.”
Her mind reeled, grasping for a shred of logic in this madness. She, who had been perfectly content living on her own after Nicholas died, agreeing to marry a stranger? Impossible.
Mrs. Wang’s gentle hand settled on her shoulder. “Perhaps it’s best not to push too hard, dear. The memories will come in time.”
But she couldn’t let it rest, the panic rising like bile in her throat. She fixed Enoch with a desperate stare. “Where is your brother now? I need to speak with him, to understand.”
Something flickered in the depths of his eyes, there and gone, shuttered behind an unreadable mask. He glanced at Mrs. Wang, a silent exchange passing between them.
The housekeeper nodded. An encouragement to continue.
A new thread of panic rose in her. What more could there be? Something so bad he considered not telling her. Had she committed to marry a monster? A man with a violent temper? Or worse?
That same awful feeling that came with the memory of Nicholas’s brother rose now. Surely she hadn’t somehow agreed to marry a fiend like Clayton Beaumont.
Enoch leaned forward, elbows braced on his knees, his large hands clasped. The rough skin and blunt nails spoke of a life of labor, so at odds with the title Mrs. Wang had called him.
“Mrs. Beaumont...” He paused, jaw working beneath his beard. “There’s no gentle way to say this.” His voice was low, threaded with an undercurrent of something she couldn’t grasp. “My brother, William...he passed away more than three months ago. A tragic accident, here on the ranch. I sent word to you, but you must have already left.”
The words hung in the air, heavy and suffocating. Mandie stared at him, her mind struggling to make sense of it all. The man she’d supposedly agreed to marry...dead? Before she even arrived?
Grief and confusion and even a bit of relief warred within her, tangling into a knot lodged in her throat. She swallowed hard and met Enoch’s weary eyes. She could be relieved not to be forced into a marriage she didn’t remember agreeing to—with a stranger, no less.
But he’d lost his brother. Only three months ago. She could only imagine how hard that must be. As an only child, she’d always craved siblings. A brother, especially. Losing him would be devastating.
She swallowed again and managed to speak. “I’m sorry.” The words felt hollow, inadequate.
He nodded, his gaze shifting to the window. A heavy silence hung between them, thick with unspoken emotions.
Her mind reeled, trying to grasp the enormity of her situation. She had traveled thousands of miles to marry a man she couldn’t remember, only to find him dead. And now she was stranded in this wild, unfamiliar place, with no idea of what the future held.
Mrs. Wang’s gentle voice broke through the fog of her thoughts. “Perhaps it’s best if we let you rest now. This is a lot to take in all at once.”
Enoch nodded, his expression still guarded. He rose from the chair, his tall frame filling the small room. “Of course. We can discuss the details later.” He turned to Mandie, his blue eyes softening a fraction. “If you need anything, let Mrs. Wang know. I’ll be around the ranch.”
