Unexpected

Chapter One

"Miss Harris, as charming as ever."

"Thank you, Mister Burns," Caroline said. She smiled as she felt the kissable lips of one very attractive and extremely wealthy Mr. Daniel Burns brush against her knuckles.

"Call me Daniel, Miss Harris, I must insist," he said, piercing her with a pair of gorgeous blue eyes that mirrored the sea on a placid day. 

Daniel was the tailored sort of man Caroline had always dreamed of marrying, but could never quite find. Tall, yet trim, with a head of beautiful chestnut curls that made even the women in her circle of friends jealous. He wore only the finest suits, trimmed to his lean body to perfection. The Burns family spared no expense, especially not toward their only child, a son who was destined to carry the family name to even greater heights.

Caroline planned to carry that name as well.

"In that case, I insist that you call me Caroline. We are friends now, after all."

She hoped above all else that they would become more than friends. Not only was Daniel Burns the most beautiful man to ever walk Boston's busy streets, he was also affluent and polished. He was well-mannered and, as her aunt liked to say, well-bred. His father was the head doctor of the city's esteemed hospital while his mother was one of the most distinguished women of her generation, hosting all of the elegant parties of the age. 

It was at one of those parties that Caroline had met this handsome student from the medical school. Daniel had asked her to dance and from that very moment Caroline had fallen terribly in love with him, for she had a penchant for men who were skilled dancers. 

In truth, perhaps she was more in love with the idea of him. She was twenty and five now, and after watching her baby sister marry, Caroline was eager to follow suit.

Edith had found love in a wanted outlaw—a thief no less—but Caroline couldn't seem to find a suitable life mate anywhere she looked! She had always been the one with more experience with men, yet Edith had married first? It just wasn't right. Things were not supposed to progress this way. It was Caroline who should be writing Edith letters telling about the new house she and her husband had just finished building. Caroline who should be writing of all the annoying habits her new husband had and then, on the other hand, telling of all the sweet things he did to make up for his shortcomings.

"Were you listening, Caroline?"

She blinked green eyes at Daniel, realizing her thoughts had wandered. "Of course!"

"It looked as if you were lost in thought," he said, frowning. "I was discussing the medical school."

The medical school. His knack for boring conversation remained the only failing of Daniel Burns, but it was a serious fault indeed. He could go on for hours, speaking of the medical profession to no end. Most of the time, Caroline had absolutely no idea what he was talking about, but if she did not seem interested he was displeased. So she smiled and nodded, and occasionally managed to ask a question, but inside she was slowly drowning in boredom while she distracted herself with thoughts of luncheon with her friends. Hearing about those sickly patients, and the study of disgusting diseases... Caroline would rather suffer the agonizingly long train ride to Blackwell by herself.

"Yes, yes, please go on. I was just thinking about my father."

"He lives out west, doesn't he? Didn't your mother once say he was a man of the law?"

"He is," Caroline answered, relieved to have found a change of subject. "In a town called Blackwell."

"I've never heard of it." Daniel managed only a raise of his eyebrows. He was as disinterested in the west as Caroline was in the medical profession.