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“Within the hour, Mr. Redman,” the man replied. He dipped his head, and excused himself from the conversation.
With nothing better to do with his time, Fausto sat back down on the bench. He crossed his arms and stared at where the train would be coming from in no time, as if his will alone would force it to move faster than it already was. He hoped that the girl he had bought a very expensive train ticket for was actually on her way. He hoped that she was pretty. The last thing he needed was an ugly wife and child.
*****
At half past the hour, a man came from the front of the train and through the box cars. He tapped on Lucrecia’s window, and when she allowed him entrance, he merely slid the door open six inches.
“You’re getting off in Montana, correct?” he asked, a friendly smile on his face.
There was something in Lucrecia that wanted to say no. How would they know any better if she was getting off in Montana or not? She might have been better off saying that no, she was going to California to join her husband who was a gold miner.
Instead, she nodded and smiled back at the man.
“Yes, that’s my stop,” she agreed.
“We will be there within a few moments, miss. If you’ll please gather up your things, someone will be here when the train stops to help you disembark and get on your way,” he said.
“Thank you very much,” Lucrecia said, and nodded again.
The man shut her door after that, and continued on his way down the train, looking for everyone else who was meant to get off on the Montana train station. Lucrecia felt a sigh go through her as she watched the world speed by through the window to her right. She had noticed for a while now that things had been moving slower, and that the train would soon be coming to a stop.
She had never once been on a train before, but she hadn’t expected it to be half as painful as it was. After two weeks of being in the same seat, whether she was stretched out or sitting up, it was an uncomfortable time. Certainly the room was plush, her would-be husband hadn’t spared a single penny in expenses, but it wasn’t anything like sleeping in a real bed and having real food every day.
Only a few minutes later and the train lurched, Lucrecia reaching out and grabbing one of the gold-plated bars for support. As the train slid into the station, she looked through the crowd to try and spot this Fausto Redman. She couldn’t recognize him among the sea of faces, all looking for loved ones and family members.
“Miss, are you ready to depart?” a man asked, tapping on the door to her box.
Lucrecia nodded, and stood up. The man entered then, and took all of her things from the upper compartments of the box.
“Are you happy to be back home?” he asked.
Lucrecia could have laughed. This wasn’t her home, and she wasn’t sure if it would ever be her home. She had just wanted to leave New York. Although now, looking out at the train station and the plain town past that, she wasn’t sure if it had been the best idea that she had ever had. She didn’t reply to the man, instead following him out of the car and off the train, where she was to wait with him until her escort arrived to take her home.
Chapter Four
Fausto wasn’t sure what he had been expecting from this Lucrecia woman, but when she stepped off the train with an escort by her side, he was pleasantly surprised. He took her in, nearly leering at her from the way that he looked her up and down. He examined each detail of her, making sure that she was absolutely perfect. He wouldn’t tolerate any less from his soon to be wife.
He stood from his bench, and walked over to the two of them. Lucrecia was dressed in the finest outfit that she had, her head topped with a stylish and trendy, if ostentatious hat. Fausto smiled at the two of them, and dipped his head to her escort. He was someone employed by the train station, no doubt.
“You must be Lucrecia,” he said, offering his hand to her.
Lucrecia looked down at Fausto’s hand, her eyes going wide as though she had never been offered a hand in her life. Warily, she extended her hand, and gasped when Fausto took her fingers and lifted them to his lips.
“It’s an honor to meet you,” he lied, laying the lies and the charm on as thickly as he could. He would need to do whatever it was that he could to join them as soon as possible.
“Your husband?” the escort asked, looking between Lucrecia and Fausto.
“Soon to be,” Lucrecia replied with a little smile. Fausto had dropped her hand by then, and she held it close to her chest. She’d never once been treated to specially, let alone by a man that she had never met before.
“Are you alright if I leave you alone?” the man asked. Lucrecia nodded, and he took his leave back onto the train.
Trapped in the silence, Lucrecia stared up at Fausto, her eyes wide like a doe’s. He liked the charm of it, and stepped forward to put his hand against her cheek. She wore no makeup, and in a way it made her even more beautiful.
“You’re prettier than I ever could have thought,” he said, although on the inside he felt himself sneer and draw back from the words. “I never could have imagined a girl like you coming so far to meet someone like me.”
“I wouldn’t have thought it possible myself,” Lucrecia replied, her heart pounding. She could hardly believe how absolutely perfect that Fausto was.
His picture certainly didn’t do him the justice that he deserved. Up close and personal with him, it was as though Lucrecia were looking at an entirely new person. Fausto was handsome and gorgeous, and had all of the mannerisms of a true gentleman. He held himself proudly, with his shoulders back and his chin held high.
