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“What’s the matter, Sarah, my sweet? Not hungry?”
Putting her fork down, Sarah Packard inwardly cringed. She didn’t realize she’d been pushing her food around on her plate until Derrick asked his question. Scanning the formal dining room once again, her thoughts raced. Where was Mark?
He should have been here by now. She’d tried to keep an eye out for his arrival, but having to greet a multitude of guests, wasn’t sure if he had shown up or not.
Maybe he doesn’t care.
He had seemed very preoccupied of late.
Distant.
Any time she tried to talk to him, he seemed to close himself off. She hadn’t even been able to coax him into going on a ride with her and Derrick yesterday, something they had done lots of times when they were younger. As her mother so often cautioned Sarah these day, she was a young lady now, and young ladies never went riding alone with men who were not their blood relative, or with their intended until they were married. Her good friend, Amy Flanders, had been a decent chaperone in Mark’s place, although she sensed that Derrick put up with Amy’s presence more than he enjoyed it, probably because she was such a good friend to Sarah. Amy’s indomitable spirit got on most people’s nerves at the beginning, but after a while, they got used to her dry wit and blunt way of speaking.
Sigh. Life had become too constrictive lately. Funny how Sarah had always looked forward to growing up and doing the things her mother did, participating in social calls, attending soirees, concerts, and plays, or playing whist with family and friends. Now she found that she’d rather go back to the way of life she had always known. With Mark as her trusty friend and companion.
An inevitable grin widened her lips. If Mark knew her thoughts at this very moment, she knew what he would say. Trusty? Companion? I’m not a horse or a dog, silly.
Of course, he wasn’t. At nineteen years of age, he was a handsome man. The fact that his stature had broadened and changed in the past three years proved it, his arms and legs forming muscles in places that had otherwise been mere sticks, and the pulse at the base of his throat whenever he got too hot and left his top button undone led her eye to his strong jawline, chiseled nose, and well-shaped lips. Lips that smiled often, spoke truth, and offered help to those in need at every opportunity. Lips that sang slightly off-key at church but crooned the sweetest, calmest words to horses old and young. Lips that offered words of hope in the face of adversity and a love for all of God’s creations.
Not that she should be noticing such things.
Derrick is nice-looking, too. His face was more rounded, giving him a boyish look. However, he was actually more serious than Mark. Or was it that Mark let down his guard with Sarah more than he did with others? She wasn’t sure, and anyway, what did it matter? After she and Derrick were married, there would be no more seeing Mark. He would be a fixture in her past.
The thought made her inordinately sad.
When Derrick touched her chin with his finger, Sarah’s gaze flitted to his. Seeing the warmth and caring in his eyes when he smiled, she summoned a smile for him as well. “I’m the luckiest man on earth, you know. The day you agreed to be my wife, I wanted to shout it to the rooftops. And now I can. Tonight seems to be a smashing success.”
“I’m glad that your parents could come.” Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin had traveled all the way from Denver for the special occasion.
“Yes,” was all he said on that subject before turning his attention back to his plate of food.
After taking a dainty bite, Sarah raised her head and opened her mouth to say something else to Derrick, then stopped when she noticed a woman with a long, narrow nose and pointed chin staring straight at her from across the room. Of course, she and Derrick were the guests of honor, so it was natural that they would be the center of attention, but something in the woman’s beady eyes made her shiver.
Derrick noticed. “Now you’re cold. Here, wear my suitcoat.”
He started to pull at one sleeve, but Sarah stopped him. “Thank you, but I’m all right. Just . . .” a little unnerved. “One of the guests caught my attention. She seemed to be staring at me rather intensely.”
“Where?”
“Right over . . .”
How odd. When Sarah looked toward the back of the room, the woman was gone. “Uh, never mind.” Lest Derrick think he was marrying a half-wit, she cleared her throat and said gaily, “You were saying . . .?”
He grinned. “I think we were agreeing that the party is a success and that it was fortunate that my parents could come for the special occasion. Father wasn’t sure he could get away from work for so long. I know he’s itching to get back and check on things at the mine. And I have to admit I’ve been wondering how Pete and Jasper are faring at the ranch.” Sarah nodded. Derrick’s workers were invaluable to him. The “ranch” was actually a dude ranch, one of Mr. Baldwin’s many businesses, though Derrick was the person who ran it.
Derrick leaned forward and whispered in her ear, “But I must admit to wanting some quiet time with you later . . . just sitting outside on the porch, looking up at the stars . . . or not.”
Sarah’s face warmed. “Mmm, sounds nice,” she said lightly, leaning back far enough to catch his gaze. “But for right now, I think we’d better focus on our guests. Our mothers have gone to such trouble to make our engagement party a success.”
“You’re right. Of course, after we’re married, we’ll have all the time we need to really get to know each other.”
Sarah smiled. She had fallen for Derrick’s charms the moment he came to the Packard-Bryant Stables last fall, looking for quality stock to add to his dude ranch. He’d traveled to Virginia all the way from Denver, Colorado after having heard of the Packards’ and Bryants’ exceptional horse breeding program from someone who was passing through. Hearing this, Sarah’s father had invited him to dinner to learn more. From there, with Derrick’s easy conversation and mutual love of horses, not to mention his good looks, Sarah had felt an inane urge to bat her eyes at him and engage him in hours of conversation, and he very willingly obliged. When it was time for him to head back home, she was as distraught as he.
But being the sensible girl that she was, she didn’t think she would ever see him again. Nor did she think when he promised to write that he would actually do so.
She was wrong.
Derrick had written such wonderfully poetic letters describing the Rocky Mountains with their wide variety of species, weather patterns, and endless trails and copses, and she had devoured them. Of course, it didn’t hurt that he always ended a letter with a phrase like, “But nothing can compare to your exceptional beauty.” She wrote to him in return that she wanted to see the Rockies someday for herself. It was still hard to believe that in just a few weeks, she would. That was where their wedding would take place. Not only that, but Colorado would become her permanent home. She and her parents, along with the Bryants—and Mark, of course—would be traveling by train and arrive a full week before the ceremony.
In a little over three weeks, I’ll be Mrs. Derrick Baldwin. The thought struck Sarah more forcefully than ever before. Time was growing short. Her youth was nearly gone, and in its place, womanhood—true womanhood with all its beauty and trappings—would bloom. Much like the bluebells that had hidden their bell-shaped clusters during the harsh winter and were now peeking out of the ground. Spring was a lovely time for a wedding. And Derrick was the perfect groom for her. Even her parents thought so.
Surely, this bit of nervousness was nothing more than pre-wedding jitters. Every bride experienced them, right? It was only natural to feel uncertain about the unknown. She had felt this same way when she left to go to finishing school four years ago. Though she missed her family and friends at home, that had turned out to be a good experience for her. And so would marriage. The man beside Sarah would love and support her all the days of her life. It was time to put childish and fanciful notions aside and take her place in society. Her silly infatuation with Mark had been just that. Now she was ready to fully step into her new life as Mrs. Derrick Baldwin. From that day on, she would never look back.
