Kitty_Bride of Hawaii Read online

  Kitty

  Bride of Hawaii

  Janelle Daniels

  Dream Cache Publishing

  Contents

  Copyright

  Summary

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Epilogue

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  Titles by Janelle Daniels

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  KITTY: BRIDE OF HAWAII

  Dream Cache Publishing

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  www.janelledaniels.com

  Copyright © 2015 by Janelle Daniels

  Cover Art © 2015 Creative Book Covers

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  As the beloved illegitimate daughter of a billionaire railroad tycoon, Kitty Jones should have had a comfortable life. But soon after her father passes away, she is forced to go on the run when someone hired by her half-brother tries to kill her. While hiding in Lawrence, Massachusetts, working at a textile factory, the mill is torched by an unknown arsonist—with the workers still inside. Desperate for safety, Kitty accepts a position in a location where her brother will never find her: Hawaii.

  Warren Castle, the owner of the Castle Sugar Plantation, has no intention of marrying for convenience, regardless of his company’s needs. But when he sets eyes on his foreman’s mail-order bride, he’s determined that she’ll marry no one but him.

  After Kitty’s life is threatened, Warren convinces her to marry him for his protection, regardless of the consequences. But when someone unexpected turns against them, it’ll take everything in Warren’s power to keep her alive.

  To sign up for Janelle Daniels’ mailing list and receive notice of new titles as they are available, click here.

  To Kirsten Osbourne for being such an amazing friend and inspiration. Thank you for including me in your Kweenly shenanigans.

  And Dan. For always believing.

  Chapter One

  Lawrence, Massachusetts, 1890

  Kitty pushed the rough cotton fabric through the sewing machine, her fingers raw from the hard work. At least they weren’t bleeding anymore. She shouldn’t complain. She was safe here among the other women of the factory.

  For now.

  That’s all that mattered.

  The needle on her machine slowed as it ran out of fabric. Kitty wiped the sweat from her forehead, her gaze drawing up to the sea of women surrounding her. They hunched over, wisps of hair clinging to necks as they pushed fabric through humming machines at frantic paces.

  The windows on the wooden building blazed with light, but they didn’t open to let in fresh air. The building became an oven during the day. Heat from the sun filtered in but had no place to leave, rising in the air until relief could only be found out of doors.

  Everyone needed their job at the textile factory, and each and every woman was willing to push herself toward the limit to meet the demands placed on them. Lawrence, Massachusetts, wasn’t large by New York’s standards, but it had enough opportunity that relocation to the big city wasn’t necessary. There just wasn’t a large variety of jobs to be had.

  While the crowds of New York beckoned her to find safety in their numbers, it was too risky. Frederick Craven would locate her there. She wasn’t about to give her half-brother the opportunity.

  Cutting the thread from her machine, she pulled the finished garment in front of her for a final inspection before folding it up and placing it in the half-full basket beneath the table. She was ahead of schedule today.

  “Kitty, did you see him?”

  Kitty turned toward two of her roommates. There were four of them in total, but Josie, Lessie’s twin sister, was out of work. That left Lessie, Maddy, and Kitty in charge of bringing in enough income to cover their living expenses. Kitty didn’t mind though. Others had been there to help her, and she was grateful she could do the same.

  Not sure if Maddy or Lessie uttered the question, she asked, “See who?”

  The dark-haired women passed a look between themselves before Lessie said, “Mr. Brown. He’s in Roberta’s office right now.”

  “Mr. Brown? The owner of the factory? I don’t think I’ve ever seen him.” Kitty glanced up to Roberta’s office, but couldn’t make out anyone in the room above. “I wonder what he’s doing here. Have either of you seen him before?” Kitty had only been at the factory for two months, but the two of them had worked there much longer.

  “I have. But only once,” Maddy explained. “Roberta says he doesn’t want anything to do with the business, and as long as it makes him money, he has no reason to come here.” She sniffed in disapproval.

  Kitty’s lip curled. If she owned the textile factory, she’d have her hand in running it. Leaving a business for others to manage left one’s self open to being robbed. And while rumors circulated that money was missing, Roberta had never confirmed them one way or another. Besides, Kitty had come to know the hundred or so women who worked at the factory. None of them had it in them to steal from the company.

  Mr. Brown slammed the door to Roberta’s office, and for the first time since she’d started, each and every machine paused at the scene.

  “Well, that doesn’t bode well,” Lessie said. “What do you think that was all about, Kitty?”

  Kitty’s eyes narrowed as Mr. Brown stormed away. Roberta and Mr. Brown had argued from the looks of it. “I couldn’t say. Nothing good though.”

  Roberta calmly walked out of her office to the railing, her eyes searching for someone out in the sea of women. “Let’s get those machines running again, ladies.”

  No one questioned Roberta’s orders. They respected her too much. Each and every woman knew that Roberta cared for them. Not just as cogs in a wheel, necessary for the running of the factory, but as people. As women. As friends.

  The loud hum of machines started up again as soon as she’d asked.

  Sarah joined Roberta in her office, and Kitty’s roommates shared her worried look. Something terrible must have happened. No doubt Roberta would tell them all soon enough.

  Kitty wiped her sweat-grimed hands on her gray cotton work dress before reaching for another piece of fabric. Regardless of what happened between Roberta and Mr. Brown, there was still work to be done.

  Maddy muttered as she worked at the station next to hers. The oldest of the roommates, Maddy had previously been married but didn’t talk about it much. No doubt it was a bad union. But Kitty hoped she’d marry again. Although sassy, Maddy possessed a heart capable of deep affection.

  If only Kitty’s future was as hopeful—

  Glass shattered across the room, disorienting her. She frowned. How had that happened? She pushed away from her machine to check on the women closest to the window for injuries when a fireball flew into the room, landing on heaps of cloth.

  Kitty’s feet rooted in place as her mouth went dry. Flames licked a
t the fabric, consuming the pile in greedy gulps.

  Before screams could echo in the room, another window shattered, and more fire was flung into the crammed building.

  Sweat iced her skin. She couldn’t look away from the destruction.

  “Get out! Everyone!” Roberta yelled from the office.

  Screams surrounded her as women fought their way around machines to safety.

  “Kitty!” someone yelled, but she couldn’t answer their call. Her heart beat too forcefully in her chest. Her lungs worked too hard through smoke and fear.

  He’d found her. Frederick had found her.

  “Kitty!” Lessie grabbed her arm. “We need to get out of here! The whole building is going to go.”

  Lessie and Maddy tugged on her arms, jarring her from her shock. Her eyes wide, she took in the scene around her, the worst nightmare any factory worker could dream of. And she’d just stood there.

  She squeezed her friends’ hands as they ran to safety, joining the others outside on the street. Alarm bells rang in the air, warning the surrounding buildings of the fire and calling for help.

  But assistance wouldn’t get there soon enough. Flames hungrily consumed the dry wood exterior, chewing through the building without pause.

  The factory had been a haven for her the last few months. And living with her friends had been some of the best times she’d had in her life. That was over now.

  Where would they go? What would they all do? Half the workers weren’t married, and there weren’t enough factories to absorb the workforce. Some would have to leave to find opportunities to support themselves.

  She’d be one of them.

  She studied the people crowding around the edge of the building to watch its destruction. He could be out there. Frederick. Or whoever he’d hired to come after her. She’d stayed here too long, had gotten too comfortable with her arrangement.

  While her brother hunted her, she couldn’t stop, couldn’t settle. Because he never would either.

  “What are we going to do?” Maddy whispered as she watched the destruction before her.

  Kitty squeezed her hand. “What we need to. We’ll survive.”

  They had to survive. That’s what their lives were all about.

  But Kitty’s heart ached. She’d never see her friends again.

  * * *

  The small park on the bank of the Merrimack River was Kitty’s last stop before she headed to the train station. Once she’d convinced herself that the fire was started by someone other than her half-brother, she’d given herself a week to arrange her departure.

  One week.

  Josie, Lessie, and Maddy walked with her to the park to hear an announcement from Roberta, but none had decided what they were going to do. Finding employment turned out harder than they’d originally anticipated.

  But Kitty knew what she would do. She needed to run.

  She didn’t have enough saved to get far, but once at the train station, she’d see where her money could take her. She’d make it work from there.

  “I’m sure you’re all wondering why I’ve gathered you here today,” Roberta said, quieting the crowd. “All of us have been left jobless by the fire in the factory. Mr. Brown has no intention of rebuilding. I, like you, had no idea what to do next, but my sister recently went to Kansas as a mail-order bride. A matchmaker in Beckham found a groom for her, and she’s happy. I went to see the matchmaker yesterday to find out if she had any other prospective grooms out there.” She held up a newspaper. “She had just received the first hundred copies of the Grooms’ Gazette when I arrived. I told her about our predicament, and she gave me fifty copies.”

  Kitty’s breath shortened as she stared at the Gazette—her way out of Massachusetts. Roberta said something else about how she was going to a man in Wisconsin, but all Kitty could think of was how far away she could get by becoming a mail-order bride.

  Josie gasped as Lessie and Maddy marched to the front, taking the first papers offered, but Kitty couldn’t worry about her friends now. They’d work it out. They always had.

  As if outside her own body, Kitty took a copy from Roberta, the noise around her fading to a dim buzz as she scanned the names and states of potential grooms.

  Georgia, Maine, Montana, Oregon… The list included every possible state and even several of the territories.

  For the first time since her father died, a glimmer of hope lit in her chest. If she could get to one of the territories, move far enough away from New York, her brother would never find her. She’d be safe.

  She’d be free.

  She wouldn’t have to work in factories or as a lower-class servant. She could put the education her father had paid for to good use. She could become a teacher or governess. Something where she could support herself and a husband if need be.

  She could be herself.

  At that moment, she wasn’t picky who she married. All she hoped for in a husband was kindness.

  She moved under one of the shade trees, blocking out the stifling September sun and read the descriptions of each man.

  Her eyes latched on one, gulping down his words.

  Mr. Timothy Banner, Hawaii

  Mr. Banner is 28 years of age, hard-working, and in good health. He is employed as a plantation foreman at Castle Sugar, and is of above-average means. He is of medium height and build, possesses a good moral character, and of average appearance. He is seeking an honest woman who is not afraid to work hard, brave the Hawaiian climate, and is reasonably educated, with a view toward matrimonial engagement.

  Please contact Mr. Banner at Castle & Snow Industries, San Francisco, California.

  Geography wasn’t Kitty’s strong suit, but she knew Hawaii was located in the Pacific Ocean.

  Past the other side of the American Continent.

  She couldn’t imagine another place in the world farther than that. Her brother would never look for her there.

  Chapter Two

  “You need a wife, Warren. And you need one now.”

  Warren glared at his business partner, Charles Snow, from across his desk in their San Francisco office. The man might be old enough to be his father, but in business matters, they were equals. “There has to be another way. Castle & Snow Industries has done well enough over the years without a marriage on my end, and it will continue to do so.”

  His late father’s best friend and founder of Castle & Snow shook his head. “Things are changing. Hawaiian sugar doesn’t have the hold it once did. Now that the McKinley Tariff Act passed, it puts us at a disadvantage. If we want to do the same quantity of business, yield the same profits, it’s going to take more than good prices. We’ll have to mingle with our clients. Host parties. Attend balls. A bachelor can’t manage the responsibility. A wife will handle all the duties needed to keep us on top.”

  Warren pushed away from the heavy furniture in Snow’s office in favor of pacing in front of the window. Seagulls called to each other, content to forage for food in the harbor below, but Warren didn’t share their ease. He felt marriage shackles around his wrists already. But he’d never let that happen. He’d seen firsthand how his parents’ marriage arrangement had turned out. He had no desired to be saddled with a debutant who acted like his mother. Heaven help him, if Amelia Castle wasn’t his mother, he would have tossed her and her nonsense out long ago. He had no patience for such things. When he married—if he married—it would be for something more than a social contract.

  “Just assure me you’ll consider it,” Charles pleaded. “But don’t take too long. Our clients are willing to stick with us, but I guarantee you, loyalty won’t hold out over larger profits. They’ll leave us in the dust before the year is out.”

  Warren cursed and nodded at his partner. It was the least he could do. As much as he hated the idea, he knew Charles was right. Times were changing, and they needed to evolve with them. But having a wife forced on him rubbed him the wrong way. “I’ll consider it, Charles. But I make no promises.”

>   “That’s all I can ask for.” He stood, shaking Warren’s hand. “Are you heading back to Hawaii on the Castle Crown?”

  “Yes.” Thankfully. He couldn’t stand San Francisco. “My belongings are already loaded. We set sail once I’m on board.”

  “Excellent. The next harvest should be ready to ship once you’ve docked. I’ll check it over once it arrives here.”

  “You’re not heading back to Hawaii before then?”

  The old man coughed, trying to hide a blush. “Not quite yet.”

  Warren arched a brow. What could Charles possibly be embarrassed about? “What’s keeping you here?”

  “Cece prefers San Francisco this time of year. I promised her we could stay another month before returning home.”

  And now it all made sense. Charles adored his wife, but Warren found it galling that the woman had so much sway over him. “Ah. Well, I’ll see you back home soon then.”

  Charles nodded gruffly. “Safe travels.”

  As Warren walked the short distance to the docks, he hoped the voyage would be uneventful. With larger vessels, it was safer to travel from the mainland to the islands than it was in smaller ships, but the ocean was a powerful force that could smash the greatest ship to pieces. He’d seen it happen too many times to ever doubt her power.

  He walked up the gangway onto the boat, his sailors nodding in respect as he boarded. Captain James was on deck waiting for his arrival. “Is the ship ready to sail?” Warren asked.

  “Yes, sir. All cargo and persons are accounted for.”

  Warren checked the pocket watch he kept tucked in his waistcoat, pleased with the crew’s promptness. He valued order, as it was needed for any business to be successful. “Excellent. Set sail whenever you’re ready.”

  With any luck, he’d get a head start on the endless pile of paperwork on the desk in his cabin. He might even get enough done to take a day or two off once they reached land.