Patricia could tell her pa wanted to keep arguing with her, but he turned his attention to the older man. “Yeah, I suppose I should get some help, Ralph,” her pa said. “Someone’s due into Omaha in two hours, so I don’t have much time to waste.”
Patricia nearly clapped her hands with relief. Good. Her pa was willing to pick Valentine up at the train station. For a moment there, she was sure he was going to let Valentine stay there for the rest of his life while he waited for someone to show up.
Her pa glanced at her as Ralph started putting some of the crates into the wagon. “You better warn your ma about this.” Then, in a lower voice so Ralph wouldn’t overhear, he added, “I don’t think she’s going to be any happier than I am.”
Patricia took the letter back from him and hurried on down to Margaret’s home. By the time she got there and explained everything that had happened, she was surprised that her ma had a completely different reaction to the events than her pa had.
“You mean Nelly’s finally going to get married?” her ma asked, not hiding her excitement.
Feeling some of her earlier enthusiasm for the match returning, Patricia gave her the letter. “He sounds perfect for her. He loves the fact that she owns her own homestead. He thinks she’s a smart young woman who should be praised for her savvy business sense.”
“His name is Valentine,” Daisy piped up. “It’s a beautiful name.”
“It is,” Margaret’s daughter, Eva, agreed. “And it’s even better he can appreciate that fact that she’s an independent thinker. Those men are hard to come by. He must be from the East coast. Those men are more refined than the kind you find out here.”
“He’s from Boston,” Patricia said.
“That’s in Massachusetts,” Daisy added. With a glance at Eva, she added, “I told you I pay attention to what you say when you’re teaching us.”
Eva raised an eyebrow at her. “Do you know what ocean it overlooks?”
Daisy hesitated, and Erin said, “Who cares? The point is, we finally have a husband for Nelly.” She turned her attention back to her ma. “It’s the answer we’ve all been waiting for. Now she won’t have to be all alone on the homestead. She’ll have a handsome and noble man to talk to.”
“And hug and kiss,” Patricia said.
“And fall in love with,” Daisy added.
“And give me grandchildren,” Patricia’s ma said. She glanced at Margaret. “I would love grandchildren. You seem to have so much fun with yours.”
“They are fun,” Margaret admitted.
Eva sighed, and Patricia noted the wistful tone in her voice as she said, “I wish someone would fix me up with a man.”
Margaret gave her daughter a sympathetic smile. “The right man will come to you. You just need to be patient.”
“Well, we can’t be patient,” Patricia spoke up. “Valentine is due into Omaha in less than two hours.”
Patricia’s ma looked up from the letter, eyes wide. “In that case, we don’t have any time to waste. We have so much to do. We’ll need to get someone to perform the wedding. I wonder if Preacher Martin is available. He and Annabelle aren’t too far from Nelly’s. We’ll have to take him and Valentine to her homestead.”
“Between you, me, Pa, Erin, and Daisy, I don’t know how we can fit Ben and Valentine into the wagon,” Patricia said. “No one can sit in the back. It’s all full of supplies and staple items.”
Her ma bit her lower lip. “That does pose a problem.” She paused then glanced at Margaret. “You wouldn’t mind lending us your buggy, would you?”
“No, I wouldn’t mind,” Margaret replied.
“Great!” Patricia’s ma clapped her hands. “We’ll have to tell your pa about this.”
“I already told him,” Patricia said.
“What did Pa say?” Erin asked before their ma could.
“He said I needed to tell Ma,” Patricia replied, deciding not to add that he hadn’t been too happy about it. He had accepted it, and that was all that mattered.
“Alright,” Patricia’s ma said. “We’re all here in town so we can get him in two hours. We’ll get something to eat at the restaurant. We’ll take Margaret’s buggy to pick up Valentine. Then we’ll get Preacher Martin.”
Margaret shook her head. “I thought I kept busy, but this is more than I deal with on any given day.”
“It’ll all work out,” Patricia’s ma said. “But we should get going. The sooner we tell your pa the plan, the better.”
Patricia waited until Margaret had gotten them the buggy before she whispered to her ma, “Pa isn’t that happy about it. I’m not sure Nelly will be, either. When Erin, Daisy, and I came up with this scheme, we thought we’d have a few weeks to prepare them for Valentine’s arrival.”
Patricia’s ma smiled. “I realize this won’t be easy on them at first. Nelly’s just afraid that a man will try to take away her independence, but from what Valentine wrote, I can tell he will appreciate that about her. Not every man wants a woman who needs someone to tell her what to do. Some prefer the woman to speak up and make things happen. Your pa is like that. He’s allowed me many liberties during our marriage.”
“I know.” Patricia giggled. “He does everything you want.”
That’s what gave Patricia hope that her ma could convince him to welcome Valentine into the family. The hardest part had always been convincing her mother of something. Once she did, the rest fell into place. If Valentine was as good as he sounded, then Patricia had no doubt he’d be a good husband for Nelly, and, in time, Nelly would be glad she, Erin, and Daisy had answered the mail-order bride ad on her behalf.
Chapter Five
Valentine noticed the train slowing down. With a glance out the window, he saw they were approaching Omaha. Finally. He knew it wasn’t going to be like Boston. His birthplace was filled with everything a person could ever want. He and Jim hadn’t been sure how much Omaha would have, but as he searched the buildings and homes, he was assured there were at least some signs of civilized life out here.
He honestly didn’t know what he’d do if he was confined to a town with only a small shop, a livery stable, and a few houses. He’d actually come across quite a few places like that on his way here, and he didn’t know how those people didn’t grow restless.
“Are you going to finish the game?” the man sitting across from him asked.
Valentine forced his gaze off of the outskirts of Omaha. The two men sitting across from him were Melvin and Gregory, two friends who had been playing cards when he came across them in the first class car. Jim had paid for Valentine’s first class ticket, saying there was no way a soon-to-be wealthy landowner should have to travel in anything but first class. Fortunately, Valentine had plenty of suits, so he not only fit in with the other first class passengers, but he would also be ready for the life ahead of him.
Turning his attention back to the cards, he realized he didn’t have much of a hand and decided to fold.
“You took all that time to drop out of the game?” Melvin asked.
Gregory chuckled and glanced at his friend. “He’s got a young woman waiting for him. You can’t blame him for being distracted.” His gaze went to Valentine. “Did she send you a picture?”
“No,” Valentine said as he gave his cards to him.
Her looks hadn’t been his primary concern. He’d been worried about whether or not he could get along with her, but if he had to guess, she would be attractive. Sure, one might assume she was ugly since she was twenty-three and still unmarried. He, however, had a feeling it was her sense of independence that turned men away from her. Not many men could handle a woman who had a mind of her own. Even in Boston that would have worked against her.
Melvin lifted his glass of brandy in a toast. “Here’s hoping she’s attractive.”
Figuring it wouldn’t hurt to agree to that, Valentine raised his glass. “Well, it wouldn’t hurt if she was pretty.” Then he drank the rest of his brandy.
The men across from
him laughed. “Even if she’s not, she’s got money, and that’s what counts,” Melvin replied.
The train came to a stop, and Valentine put on his hat. “Thanks for the game.”
“Any time,” Gregory said.
Valentine waited for a few other passengers to pass him then followed them to the exit. He stepped onto the platform and stretched his muscles. Even in first class, all that travel had left him feeling stiff.
The platform was crowded as people hurried to meet their family or friends. Valentine had told Nelly he’d be wearing a red flower in the lapel of his brown suit jacket. He had no way of identifying her since she hadn’t had time to write back to him. He scanned the other men around him, and none had a red flower in their lapels. Good. That should make him stand out.
He glanced around, and since no one was coming up to him, he went to the baggage handler and gave him the two brass tags from his pocket. He had to wait for the handler to give out three pieces of luggage before the man set his two large trunks at his feet.
“Do you have a cart for these?” Valentine asked the man.
“Right there,” the man said, pointing behind him.
For a moment Valentine thought he was going to have to get the cart himself, but then a boy who looked to be fifteen or sixteen came up to him with a cart. The boy placed both trunks on the cart then looked expectantly at him.
Valentine gave one more look around the platform. No young woman with brown hair was coming up to him. Maybe Nelly was inside the station. Valentine gestured for the boy to follow him.
Once inside the station, he moved around the crowded room. Maybe he should have waited for Nelly to send a reply. Then she could have told him what she’d be wearing. It was much easier to see the colors in the women’s dresses than it was to see a flower in the lapel of a suit jacket.
“Excuse me?” someone called out to him.
Valentine turned to a blonde girl who wore a yellow dress and matching bonnet. She was probably the same age as the boy who was handling his luggage. His eyebrows furrowed. This couldn’t be Nelly. He cleared his throat. “May I help you?”
“Are you Valentine Silverton?” she asked.
His gut tightened. She was way too young for him. Sure, he knew men married women a lot younger than them, but those women were at least twenty. They didn’t look as if they could still be in school. This could not be Nelly.
Feeling a bit guarded, Valentine said, “Yes.”
“Wonderful!” She clapped her hands and gave him a hug.
Was it possible Nelly lied to him? Was she really a girl who needed a good four or five years to mature before she was ready for marriage?
“I’m Daisy Larson,” the girl said as she released him. “The rest of the family is on the platform looking for you. I was told to wait in here in case they missed you.”
Valentine breathed a huge sigh of relief. Thank goodness! She really had him panicked there for a second. Gesturing to the platform, he asked, “Is Nelly out there?”
“No, she’s at the homestead. But the rest of us are here. We’re going to take you to her after we get the preacher to marry you two. I’ll get the others. You wait right here.”
He watched her as she hurried out of the station. Who were the others? How many people had Nelly sent to get him? Poor Nelly. She didn’t have time to come to the train station. She definitely needed his assistance. He came at the right time. No one should be so busy that they couldn’t make it to the train station to meet the person they were going to marry.
He expected Daisy to go to the first class section of the train, but instead, she headed to the third class cars. He frowned. Why would she do that? Nelly was a wealthy landowner. Surely her family would expect him to arrive in the first class car. But she went to the third class section, and though he had trouble keeping track of her through the people who were starting to board the train, he saw her yellow bonnet pop up from time to time among the crowd.
He couldn’t make out who she was talking to, but she turned and headed for the second class portion of the train. So maybe Nelly had sent everyone to spread out and look for him. For all he knew, he passed up one of Nelly’s servants on the way into the station. Though, as he thought about it, Daisy had said her last name was Larson. She couldn’t be a servant. But if she wasn’t a servant, why was she dressed without proper attire befitting her social status?
A nagging sensation started to claw in his gut, but he didn’t know what to make of it. He thought over everything he’d learned about Nelly from her letters. She owned land and animals. She ran her own business.
Maybe the nagging sensation was only based on nerves. Sure, his financial situation was settled, but he was going to get married. This was a lifetime commitment. It wasn’t to be taken lightly. He breathed a sigh of relief. Yes, that was it. Now that worrying about money was done, he was free to think of other things. And besides money, what could be more stressful than meeting the person one was about to marry?
He watched as Daisy approached an older woman who looked to be the same age as his mother. Daisy gestured to the station, and the woman turned in his direction. They had to be related. Perhaps that was her mother. Daisy looked like a younger version of her.
The mother waved to a girl Valentine guessed was only a couple years older than Daisy. This one had a darker shade of blonde peaking out from under her bonnet, and she shared the same resemblance as the other two.
Daisy and the two others came into the station, and Daisy led them over to him. “Here he is! Isn’t he as handsome as we imagined he’d be, Erin?”
Erin’s face turned pink in embarrassment, and she shot her sister a look that let Valentine know she should have kept her mouth shut. Valentine didn’t mind. He didn’t consider himself vain, but it was nice to know others thought he was attractive.
“We’ve been looking forward to meeting you,” their mother spoke up, choosing to ignore Daisy’s comment. “We only got your letter this afternoon, and we didn’t have time to get Nelly. We’re going to take you out to her homestead after we get a preacher to marry you two.”
“Daisy mentioned that,” Valentine replied. “I suppose Nelly is busy on the homestead.”
“She is,” her mother said. “This is why we know she’ll benefit from having you out there to help her. Anyway, I’m Nelly’s mother. These are two of her sisters, Daisy and Erin.” She searched the station. With a wider smile, she added, “Nelly’s pa and other sister, Patricia, are heading over here.”
He turned in the direction she was looking and saw the two coming their way. Patricia had similar features that her mother and sisters did, though he saw a hint of their father in them, too.
A twinge of discomfort tightened in his gut. Why did all of Nelly’s family come out here to meet him? Nelly wasn’t here. Wouldn’t it have made sense for Nelly to send a servant to get him? Why send her entire family? Wouldn’t she want to be the one to introduce him to them?
“You’re better looking than we hoped you’d be,” Patricia blurted out as soon as she and her father reached the group.
“Patricia,” her father warned.
Though she told Valentine, “I’m sorry,” she glanced at Erin and Daisy and gave them an excited smile.
As flattered as Valentine was, he was aware that Nelly’s father didn’t seem as happy to welcome him as the others were. He was scanning Valentine up and down in a critical manner. Maybe her father sensed he didn’t have money. Maybe he saw through the suit and two large pieces of expensive luggage that Valentine had brought with him. Fathers, after all, probably had a sense about these things.
“We should get going,” Nelly’s mother said. “We don’t want it to be too late by the time we get to Nelly’s.”
Nelly’s father let out a sigh. “Yeah, I suppose we should go.” He gave Valentine another wary look. “I hope you’ll be good to her.”
“I will,” Valentine assured him. “I was brought up to be a gentleman. I’ll treat her
as I would my own sister.”
“I hope he doesn’t mean that,” he overheard Erin whisper to Patricia. “We got him for Nelly so he could show her how fun romance is.”
Valentine wondered if their father caught the whisper. It didn’t appear so since their father gestured for everyone to leave the station. Valentine gave another glance at the sisters, and all three of them were giggling as if they had managed to pull off a major feat. The tension in his gut grew stronger. It was a good thing he had dinner on the train because he didn’t think he could eat anything at this point.
What was the part Erin had whispered to her sister that alarmed him? We got him for Nelly? What, exactly, did that mean? Wasn’t Nelly the one who answered his ad? Or… He gulped. No. It couldn’t mean that they had answered the ad and pretended to be Nelly.
It couldn’t possibly mean that.
Could it?
“I’ll follow you, Mr. Silverton,” the boy standing by the cart said.
Breaking out of his thoughts, Valentine hurried after Nelly’s family. Instead of the carriage he expected, they led him to an old wagon that had seen better days.
“We’ll have to put your trunks on top of the crates,” Nelly’s father told him.
“We don’t have enough room for all of us to ride up front,” Nelly’s mother began, “so Patricia, Erin, and I are going to follow the rest of you in that buggy over there.”
As he feared, the buggy she mentioned wasn’t anything like the carriage he had expected. He took a good look at their clothes. If Nelly’s family didn’t own anything that made him suspect they were wealthy, he had a sinking sensation that owning acreage and a homestead wasn’t the profitable venture he and Jim had assumed it to be.
Valentine forced aside his unease. Something wasn’t right. He just knew it. But he was too afraid to ask for clarification as to what was going on. He’d come all the way out here from Boston. He’d left behind everything he’d ever known. There was nowhere else he could go at this point. He didn’t have any money except for the little bit he had left to give the boy who was going to take his trunks to the wagon.
Nelly's Mail Order Husband Page 4
