The Sister Wife Read Online Free
Author: Diane Noble
excursions in the Rocky Mountains with Sir William Drummond Stewart, a Scottish nobleman, the oddest of mountain men of the time.
The earl seemed to be searching for somethingâ¦or someone. He stood near the landau, leaning on his cane. His gaze took in the Sea Hawk , and he scanned the knots of passengers and well-wishers on the wharf. After a moment, he stopped and seemed to recognize someone on the pier below Gabe.
He followed the earlâs gaze to a man standing just yards from the dock, close enough for Gabe to see him well even without the telescope. He was a commanding presence: tall and slender with light brown hair that curled under just before reaching his shoulders, a curious style and not one often seen in England orScotland. More charismatic than handsome, he seemed to have a powerful hold on the small cluster of people who stood around him, appearing to hang on his every word.
Gabe caught snatches of his conversation before the winds whisked most of the words away. âGood of you to come, brothers and sistersâ¦Youâll be following soon, of courseâ¦Youâll find America is a new world, your life with the Saints an exciting newâ¦â He gave instructions that Gabe couldnât pick up, and then he gestured toward the earl and his party. âBy all means, let them know youâre here to see them off.â
His accent was unmistakable. And his delivery bordered on oration. A preacher perhaps? If so, a preacher as American as Daniel Booneâs coonskin hat or Jim Bowieâs knife. But why would the Earl of Salisbury seek him out? And who were the people standing around him? They were mostly families, and rather impoverished in appearance at that. Crossing the Atlantic by clipper ship, especially this clipper, cost far beyond what most Englishmen could even dream of paying.
He was still pondering the connection between the earl and the preacher when a childâs frightened shriek pierced the air.
For a moment, dead silence hung like a pall. Then another shriek, this time louder. The carriageâwith the boy on the wildly rearing gray, the little girl in the groomâs seatâhad lurched forward, tilting precariously. As the horse reared again, Gabeâs heart lodged in his throat. The earl fell to the ground and rolled toward the safety of the wharf. But the woman, frilly hat askew, had pulled up her skirts and petticoats and, holding on to the carriage with one hand, found her footing and catapulted herself into the groomsmanâs box to reach the now sobbing child.
Gabe kept the rig in sight as he took the quarterdeck stairs three at a time, raced to the outer rail, swung his legs over, and shimmied down a rope. It took all of three seconds to reach the bottom, where he dropped to the wharf.
As he ran toward the landau, he listened for the sounds that too easily could follow within seconds: the clatter of the wagon wheels on the rough wood of the wharf and the terrified screams of the horses just before they plunged into the deep waters of the harbor, dragging the carriage, two children, and their mother to certain deaths.
Â
âJump!â Mary Rose scrambled to get a foothold near the child as the carriage rocked first one way, then the other. âYou must jump nowâto the other side. Quickly. Do it now!â
Pearl, for the first time in the fortnight since Mary Rose had taken her under her wing, seemed as immovable as a chunk of granite. Nose running and cheeks glazed with tears, the little girl stared at Mary Rose. She held her hands around the tangle of reins in a seeming death grip. Not a strand of leather remained wrapped around the brake. Mary Rose prayed the apparatus would hold just long enough to get the children to safety.
âJump to me, then, child, jump to me!â This time she didnât wait for Pearl to act. She flung herself toward the girl and pulled her from the seat. In one swift movement as the horses reared and the
The earl seemed to be searching for somethingâ¦or someone. He stood near the landau, leaning on his cane. His gaze took in the Sea Hawk , and he scanned the knots of passengers and well-wishers on the wharf. After a moment, he stopped and seemed to recognize someone on the pier below Gabe.
He followed the earlâs gaze to a man standing just yards from the dock, close enough for Gabe to see him well even without the telescope. He was a commanding presence: tall and slender with light brown hair that curled under just before reaching his shoulders, a curious style and not one often seen in England orScotland. More charismatic than handsome, he seemed to have a powerful hold on the small cluster of people who stood around him, appearing to hang on his every word.
Gabe caught snatches of his conversation before the winds whisked most of the words away. âGood of you to come, brothers and sistersâ¦Youâll be following soon, of courseâ¦Youâll find America is a new world, your life with the Saints an exciting newâ¦â He gave instructions that Gabe couldnât pick up, and then he gestured toward the earl and his party. âBy all means, let them know youâre here to see them off.â
His accent was unmistakable. And his delivery bordered on oration. A preacher perhaps? If so, a preacher as American as Daniel Booneâs coonskin hat or Jim Bowieâs knife. But why would the Earl of Salisbury seek him out? And who were the people standing around him? They were mostly families, and rather impoverished in appearance at that. Crossing the Atlantic by clipper ship, especially this clipper, cost far beyond what most Englishmen could even dream of paying.
He was still pondering the connection between the earl and the preacher when a childâs frightened shriek pierced the air.
For a moment, dead silence hung like a pall. Then another shriek, this time louder. The carriageâwith the boy on the wildly rearing gray, the little girl in the groomâs seatâhad lurched forward, tilting precariously. As the horse reared again, Gabeâs heart lodged in his throat. The earl fell to the ground and rolled toward the safety of the wharf. But the woman, frilly hat askew, had pulled up her skirts and petticoats and, holding on to the carriage with one hand, found her footing and catapulted herself into the groomsmanâs box to reach the now sobbing child.
Gabe kept the rig in sight as he took the quarterdeck stairs three at a time, raced to the outer rail, swung his legs over, and shimmied down a rope. It took all of three seconds to reach the bottom, where he dropped to the wharf.
As he ran toward the landau, he listened for the sounds that too easily could follow within seconds: the clatter of the wagon wheels on the rough wood of the wharf and the terrified screams of the horses just before they plunged into the deep waters of the harbor, dragging the carriage, two children, and their mother to certain deaths.
Â
âJump!â Mary Rose scrambled to get a foothold near the child as the carriage rocked first one way, then the other. âYou must jump nowâto the other side. Quickly. Do it now!â
Pearl, for the first time in the fortnight since Mary Rose had taken her under her wing, seemed as immovable as a chunk of granite. Nose running and cheeks glazed with tears, the little girl stared at Mary Rose. She held her hands around the tangle of reins in a seeming death grip. Not a strand of leather remained wrapped around the brake. Mary Rose prayed the apparatus would hold just long enough to get the children to safety.
âJump to me, then, child, jump to me!â This time she didnât wait for Pearl to act. She flung herself toward the girl and pulled her from the seat. In one swift movement as the horses reared and the