Lone Pine Bride (The Brides of Lone Pine #1)(11)

Seth lay Esmé gently on the couch and there were a few people sitting around. Linda had tea and cakes on the table and some children sat drawing on paper which she had given them.

Dr. Cranford walked over to sit next to Esmé. “I’ll have to reduce the fracture,” he said.

“Pardon?” She looked bemused.

“Like this.” He stood, took the foot in his hands and with a deft movement straightened the leg which was pointing sideways from the ankle instead of forward.

“Did that hurt?” he asked.

“Not at all. You’re a clever man.”

“We’ll splint it just now. Nurse Creedon is bringing some materials from the surgery in Lone Pine which, fortunately, is still standing. A lot of houses have collapsed, however.” He looked at Seth. “How are you doing in Middle Pine?”

“Most of the houses are down,” Seth replied, looking at Esmé’s leg. He had done something similar to that with a couple of animals who had broken legs though it was a bit different with a person. But he needed to get back so he mustn’t hang around. He all but ran to the door and Linda Barnsley ran after him.

“She’s a lovely woman,” she said.

“Pardon?” He turned to look at her.

“Hannah. All the ladies insisted on going to Middle Pine and their future husbands are very fortunate to have them, which includes you. We may not be able to have the ceremony today unless, of course, the rescue speeds up.”

“That is quite understandable,” Seth replied and ran out to where the Reverend was waiting in his wagon. They started away from Lower Pine and within minutes were back in Middle Pine. He ran down the road to where Hannah was clearing rubble.

She was on her knees at this moment, the two spades beside her, her hair still held back in the way he had done it earlier. Seth Lomas was not the man for her, Seth thought. He would be better for one of the shorter women and a couple of them were that, he had noticed. One was slightly plump though not at all fat, the only lady he had seen clearly because of being sidetracked by the earthquake. The rest he would see later, which would include Rachel, of course. But now there was more work to do and he must concentrate on that. He must also not say anything about Seth Lomas because he didn’t want Hannah to feel nervous about her bridegroom to be.





Chapter 5


Seth would probably see if he could find his fiancé, Hannah thought as she watched him walk up the road with Esmé, and this would be a good time for him to do it because it must be very frustrating for him to be stuck with a lady who wasn’t his bride to be. Rosie, she felt sure, because she spoke of a Seth, and the other Seth would be the one to whom Hannah had written.

But Rosie didn’t seem to be as young as this Seth though looks could be deceiving. She definitely wasn’t nineteen years old, Hannah was sure, so maybe she had lied about her age. But Hannah’s Seth was a nice man, she had been able to ascertain from their letters, and she was looking forward to meeting him. Would he be as good looking as this Seth?

But her looks were not spectacular, anyway, so it wouldn’t matter. What did matter was what was inside a person and what was inside Seth she knew to be very acceptable from his letters.

It was a good thing he wasn’t the Seth with whom she was working, she thought, because he was probably a bit vain. Anyone who looked like him would be that. Tall, muscular, lean. He was all the romances of the day said a hero should be though the rest she did not know. He did appear to care about the people he was trying to rescue but then he would because he had lived here for quite a while.

It had seemed exciting when she set off from her original destination to make her way to New York and then on here. She had been on trains before but not on such a long journey. Maybe the excitement had faded just a tiny bit because of the length of the journey but overall she enjoyed herself and the presence of the other young ladies after she left New York had made it more interesting. The scenery was breathtaking and seemed to change constantly as they went from state to state.

But an earthquake? That was a totally different thing and something she would never have anticipated. There was no romance in an earthquake and did it mean that this area would have such things? They had already had one rather violent aftershock so would there be more? It was probably a vain hope to expect there not to be.

So why had she left relative security to come here? Maybe she needed to remind herself. Where she was didn’t have earthquakes. It was respectable and safe. It had shops, hotels and parks. It was where she ought to be now, not desperately trying to dig someone out of a flattened house.

But the only kind of men she met there were those who did not have marriage on their minds. There were plenty of them and they always seemed to be interested in her, something she could not quite understand because she never encouraged them. If she went to a dance she rarely sat. When she walked down the road she was often spoken to by some gentleman or other.

What was even worse was the way other women regarded her. As a threat, she sometimes felt, but why should they be threatened? She was no prettier than anyone else and she certainly did not want any of their husbands.

She dressed well, of course, and loved the fashions of the time. She enjoyed choosing new outfits and wearing them. She paid attention to her hair and tried different styles. She had a multitude of hats which meant that she could wear a different one each week to church. Because her family were well off she could afford such things and, anyway, her mother was fashionable too.