Page 49 of Mail-Order Viscountess

“That’s supposed to be encouraging?”

“Extremely.” Robert’s rare smile appeared. “You need someone who’ll call you on your foolishness. God knows the rest of us are tired of doing it.”

Thomas aimed a half-hearted shove at Robert’s arm and turned toward the house. Behind him, his brothers’ laughter carried on the cold air, but he didn’t look back. They could enjoy their amusement all they wanted—he had more important matters to attend to.

Like telling Kate the sheriff would come tomorrow.

Like facing the reality that in one day, he’d be a married man.

The thought should have made him want to bolt for the barn and saddle his horse for California. Instead, what rose in his chest felt closer to anticipation.

He found them in the dining room—Kate, Clara, and Rose gathered around the table with plates of what looked like Mrs. Wang’s apple cake and steaming cups of tea. The three women looked up as he entered, their conversation dying mid-sentence.

Kate’s hazel eyes met his across the space. Something flicked in her expression—awareness, maybe, or the same strange expectancy that had been building in his own chest since she’d said yes.

“Thomas.” Rose gestured to an empty chair—Enoch’s chair at the head of the table, but also the one nearest Kate. “Join us. Mrs. Wang just brought out fresh cake.”

“I’m fine.” But he took the seat.

“What did you all learn about the campfire?” Rose leaned forward, her expression turning serious.

He glanced at Kate and Clara. The last thing he wanted was to worry them, but they deserved to know the details as much as anyone. Hiding the truth wouldn’t help them learn to live in this mountain wilderness.

“Not much.” He accepted the plate Mrs. Wang placed in front of him and sent her a grateful smile, though his appetite had vanished somewhere between finding those tracks and announcing his engagement to his brothers. “Single rider. Made camp in the trees last night where he could watch the house.” He kept his voice matter-of-fact. “Tracks lead toward Walnut Springs, but we lost them once the ground froze. Enoch’s gone to see if he can catch up.”

Clara’s hand went to her throat. “Someone was watching us?”

“Could be nothing,” he added quickly. “Maybe just a drifter who arrived too late to knock. Decided to wait out the cold rather than disturb us.”

“But you don’t think so.” Kate’s words weren’t a question. She’d already read the truth in his expression.

He met her gaze. “I don’t know what to think. But Enoch will find out.”

The silence that followed pressed heavy. Rose reached a hand to stroke Clara’s back. She would make a great mother one day, with that ever-present calm she resonated.

But Kate’s expression had gone nearly blank—the same guarded look she’d worn when they’d first met in Butte.

Maybe she needed a distraction. “While Enoch’s in town...” He forced himself to continue, to push past the sudden tightness in his throat. “He’ll ask Sheriff Hawkins to come out tomorrow. For the ceremony.”

Kate’s eyes went wide. “Tomorrow?”

“If that works for you.” He kept his voice steady, though something in his chest twisted at the flash of panic crossing her features. “I know it’s fast. I figured you’d want to move quickly, given what Hartwell will likely say once he returns to Butte. But we can hold off if you’d rather.”

Her face had gone pale—close to the gray of storm clouds. Her hands gripped the edge of the table, knuckles white.

Clara’s expression shifted from worry to something that looked almost like joy. “Oh, Kate.” Her voice held a bit of wonder. “You said yes?”

Kate’s gaze didn’t leave Thomas’s face. “I did.”

Clara’s squeal of delight cut through the tension. She launched herself at Kate, wrapping her arms around her sister’s shoulders hard enough to make Kate’s chair scrape backward. “I’m so happy for you. For both of you.”

Kate’s arms came up to return the embrace, but her eyes stayed locked on Thomas’s. Something moved in those hazel depths—fear and determination tangled together in a way that made his ribs ache worse than any bruise.

He’d moved too fast. Pushed too hard. She’d agreed to the marriage in theory, but facing the reality of it happening tomorrow—that was something else entirely.

But then she spoke. “Tomorrow then.” Her voice sounded steady. Determined. And the hint of a smile she gifted him felt like maybe she might be looking forward to the event. Or at least not dreading it.

Rose stood, her smile warm despite the worry Thomas could see flickering at its edges. “Then we have work to do. We’ll all help you prepare. Everything will be perfect.”