Free Dacey: Bride of North Carolina (Amercan Mail-Order Bride 12) by Shanna Hatfield Page B

we’ve got in abundance in Pendleton are saloons and houses of ill repute.”
    Ellie gasped and clutched a hand to her chest while Beatrice stared at her in surprise.
    Genteel women weren’t supposed to know bordellos existed, let alone speak of them.
    Due to that fact, both women eagerly awaited the continuation of Dacey’s tale. When the girl continued to pause, studying their appalled reactions, Beatrice tapped her hand. “A house of ill repute, you say?”
    “The fellas at the ranch refer to Miss Clementine’s place as the twenty-three steps to heaven. In my opinion, it’s more like twenty-three steps to the depths of he…”
    Laughter from the doorway drew the gazes of the three women across the room. Braxton leaned against the wall near the doorway, clearly amused by Dacey’s story.
    “Please don’t stop on my account. By all means, continue,” Braxton said, pushing away from the wall and crossing the room in a few long strides. He took a seat on a side chair near Dacey and offered her an encouraging nod. “Go on.”
    Nervous in his presence, Dacey shook her head. “I think I’ve said enough.”
    “You most certainly have not.” Beatrice nudged her side with her elbow. “Finish the story. Please?”
    Dacey smiled and slowly nodded her head. “Well, I slid off Thunder, that’s my horse, and tied the reins to a hitching post around the corner. Quietly, I started creeping up those steps. I remember the wood was polished and shiny, and flowery perfume floated in the air. The walls leading up the stairs held numerous paintings of…” Dacey glanced over at Braxton. Her gaze fell to her lap as her cheeks pinked from embarrassment.
    “Of what?” Ellie asked, eyes round and wide.
    Dacey dropped her voice to just above a whisper. “Women without a stitch of clothing. My stars, but it was the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen.” Dacey sat back and cleared her throat, appearing to shake off the memories of the images. “I was halfway up those steps when a hand grabbed me around the waist while another clamped over my mouth. Our ranch foreman, Rowdy, dragged me down the stairs and back to my horse. When he let me go, he said, ‘Dacey! What in tarnation are you doing?’ and I said, ‘Finding out where that stinkin’ polecat is spending all our money.’ Of course, he sent me home. He stayed long enough to discover Luther spent every evening at one of the, um… establishments in town. He’d been drinking, gambling, and availing himself of the services most every night. That’s how he lost our ranch.”
    “In a card game?” Braxton asked, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.
    Dacey nodded her head as tears pricked her eyes.
    From what little she had shared about her life in Oregon, Braxton had gathered her stepfather had lost the ranch her father worked so hard to wrestle from the sagebrush, but he had no idea it had been in a drunken card game at a bordello.
    “Then what happened?” Ellie asked, touched by Dacey’s account.
    “The man who won the ranch kept on the hands, but Mother, Luther and I had to leave. He would have let me stay, but I couldn’t abandon my mother. Not to Luther. Riding away from the ranch, knowing I’d never be back was one of the hardest things I ever did.” Dacey sniffled and tamped down her tears. “We moved into a tiny little place in town. Mother took in mending and ironing to make a little money while I went to work for one of my father’s friends training his horses. Luther refused to work or give up his proclivity for um… well… Anyway, my mother withered right before our eyes. Within a year from her wedding to Luther, she’d passed away. Before she died, I could see things would end badly with Luther. I contacted the daughter of Mother’s childhood friend to see if she could help me find work far away from Pendleton. Josephine encouraged me to join her in Massachusetts where she worked in a factory. I started making plans to leave. The day