Page 3 of The Lady of Red River Valley (Ladies of the Wilderness #2)

“Thank you.” Eleanor spoke to Mrs. Ferguson, but her gratefulness went heavenward, as well.

“Go on now and help the minister,” Mrs. Ferguson said to Eleanor. “I’m sure he’ll need your assistance preparing the body.”

Dread rippled over Eleanor as the full weight of the situation fell upon her. She nodded mutely as she lifted the hem of her skirt and climbed the ladder to the hall above, her arms and heart weak with grief. For several minutes, she just stood in the inky darkness and forced herself to breathe.

Mr. and Mrs. West were not only her friends, but also her chaperones on this journey—and it was not yet half done.

The only reason Lord and Lady Selkirk had agreed to let Eleanor join the colonists in Red River was because she would be traveling with the minister and his wife.

Eleanor had shared a cabin with Anne while Mr. West had bunked with the bachelors in another room. With Anne gone, what would happen now?

The air in the hall felt suffocating and unyielding. Without giving it a second thought, Eleanor walked to the opposite end and climbed the steps. She pushed open the door and stepped onto the deck.

Immediately, the cold air sliced through her, filling her lungs with life. She took a deep breath—and then her lips parted in surprise and the air came out in a gasp.

To her right, in all their magnificent splendor, blazed the aurora borealis. The green and purple lights were bright and glorious against the crisp night sky.

The Prince of Wales glided silently through Hudson Strait as Eleanor stepped away from the door and crossed the deck.

On either side of the ship, tall bluffs reached toward the sky in stark grandeur as the aurora borealis danced and shifted behind one of the bluffs.

She’d heard of this celebrated wonder but had not expected something so breathtaking.

How could life be so beautiful and so heartbreaking at the same moment?

Eleanor had been warned not to walk about the ship unescorted, especially here on the deck where the sailors roamed freely, but the lights were so mesmerizing, she could not withdraw.

She stood for several minutes in the silence, her mind shifting between the harsh realities of life and the stunningly beautiful display of God’s creation. There were only a few sailors near the ship’s wheel, but they were too enchanted by the phenomena to pay her any attention.

A crashing noise pulled her eyes from the lights, and she watched in horrified fascination as an iceberg floated nearby, some two hundred feet high.

There was enough light for her to see the dips and valleys of the massive mountain of ice.

A large piece broke off the berg and fell against itself, sounding like distant thunder.

The captain had said these came from off the tip of Greenland and as they floated south, they began to melt as this one was doing.

Shivering, Eleanor stared for a long time at the sights around her, marveling that she’d had the courage to finally travel to this remote and desolate place to start a school.

What other wonders existed in the world?

All she’d ever known was England and Scotland.

The only things she knew about the world beyond Great Britain were from the stories Arran had told her.

Just thinking of Arran made her close her eyes, and wrap her arms around herself, recalling the last night she had seen him.

They had been at St. Mary’s Isle Priory, walking in the park-like gardens of her cousin’s home.

He spoke about things such as the aurora borealis and the buffalo and Indians on the North American prairies with such fascination, she had been enthralled by his words.

He had told her about his plans to help colonize Lord Selkirk’s land and the need for ministers, doctors, and teachers.

Her heart had bonded with his as she imagined a school for the colony children, even as she knew her dream to join him was impossible.

He had been impossibly tall, and his shoulders were broad and built strong from hard work.

When she stood beside him, his height and breadth did not intimidate her, like it did others.

On the contrary, it had made her feel safe and protected.

His eyes, which were so brown they were almost black, had watched her gently in the moonlight, as if taking great pleasure in what he saw.

He made her feel beautiful and enchanting, though she knew herself to be simple and sensible.

Arran was a handsome man, but more than that, he was kind and good and full of passion to make his mark on the world.

When he had proposed marriage and asked her to go with him to colonize the Red River Valley, she had wanted to say yes—with all her heart—but the fortress of lies her father had created forced her to say no.

Father’s debts were so overwhelming, he needed Eleanor to marry a wealthy suitor.

It was the only thing that could save them.

She was embarrassed by her father’s lack of self-control and could not tell Arran the real reason, so she had told him she was too frightened to go with him.

The pain in his eyes and voice had broken her heart and intensified her own sorrow.

Rejecting his proposal had been the hardest thing she’d ever done.

As she watched him walk away, she knew she was making a mistake, but obligation, and fear for her father’s future, had kept her from chasing after him.

She had resigned herself to marrying a man she did not love to save her father from ruin.

Eleanor opened her eyes and stared at the shifting aurora borealis, wondering how Arran would receive her when she arrived in Assiniboia. Would he be happy to see her, or would he be angry and bitter? Had he fallen in love and married another?

After Father’s scandal, she’d been shunned by her peers and her marriage proposals had vanished.

There was no other choice but to flee to Scotland, to the home of her cousin, Lady Selkirk.

It took three long years, but Eleanor had finally convinced Lord Selkirk to let her go to the colony and start a school.

She needed to prove to herself that she was valuable beyond being a pawn in her father’s marriage schemes.

That she could pursue a dream, the same as all the other colonists, even if she had no concept of the harsh reality of life on the North American plains.

It wasn’t just bravery or courage that had compelled her to come—though it had taken a great deal of both.

It wasn’t simply adventure or excitement, or even to be a part of history.

She was also going to the colony to tell Arran MacLean she had been wrong to turn down his marriage proposal.

She should have had the courage to stand up to her father and follow her dreams three years ago.

She only hoped it wasn’t too late.