The Oregon Pursuit

Prologue

1870 West Linn, Oregon

America

Pierre Girald, the Vidame of Demoulin, looked outside the window of the carriage he shared with his friend, Lord William Almonbury, the son of an English viscount. William had talked Pierre into leaving Paris to join him on his trip to visit his holdings in West Linn, a thriving frontier town in the Pacific Northwest part of America. Hoping to entice Pierre into investing in some of the exciting and new ventures the area had to offer, the grueling trip had been presented as an adventure.

Pierre had welcomed the distraction from the concern over the sudden disappearance of the people he loved. Several years prior, he had left Paris to take care of business, as well as to avoid watching the woman, who held his heart, become engaged to another man. When he returned, he found Margaret had vanished along with his cousin, Jackie, and childhood friend, Randall.

He suspected their sudden disappearance had been spurred by the Duke of Witherton, who had been hunting Margaret along with her young son, believing he fathered the child during an illicit night. The duke had been the reason Margaret had fled to Paris and stayed with Pierre while she was hiding.

Pierre had loved Margaret since they were children but their time together in France solidified his feelings for her. He made his intentions known, wanting to court her, but she told him his lack of faith in God made it impossible for her to accept him as a suitor. The rejection wounded him deeply but to watch her quickly become involved with another man made it impossible for him to stay in Paris.

When he returned to find them gone, he immediately hired an investigator to track down their possible location. When some loose leads pointed to America, Pierre agreed to travel with William, with the hope of finding them as he made his way out west. As luck would have it, their common friend, whose family had relocated to Boulder, Colorado, invited them to stay with him before they made their way up north. A chance meeting at a ball led Pierre to finally track his cousin, the woman he had loved for a decade, and his childhood friend down.

It had been devastating to realize that they had moved on without him. Pierre had half hoped when he had left for England after Margaret's first rejection, his absence would have made her realize how much she loved him. But when Pierre saw the love between Margaret and her new American husband, he knew she would never be his to have.

Several weeks had passed since he last saw Margaret, and yet, he still was unable to shake the melancholy from his heart. Maybe another new adventure was just what Pierre needed to heal his soul.

"There it is, Pierre, the West Linn Inn. They have all the comforts of a proper European hotel. I am telling you, you are going to love it."

Pierre rolled his shoulders and narrowed his eyes as he stared out at the inn. Nothing had met his expectations in the American west. He did not expect this to be any different.

"I find your assurance suspect, as you have made such lofty promises before, only for them not to come to fruition."

"It is not my fault ever since we left Boulder, you have been in a sour mood. You need to stop wallowing in your misery, Pierre."

"Believe me, I have tried."

In retaliation against his sorrow, Pierre began to drink frequently, gamble often, and enjoy the company of as many women as possible. But nothing dulled the ache left behind by Lady Margaret, the former Countess of Renwick. He had resigned himself that he would never feel love again. Pierre had decided once he had finished his business in West Linn, he would return to Paris, marry a woman with the right title simply for necessity, and hope that children could fill the void he felt in his aching heart.