Mail Order Bride- Twenty-Two Brides Mega Boxed Set

by Emily Woods

  Only minutes later, she heard a frantic knock on the door of the apartment.

  “Who could that be?” Betha thought as she walked to the door.

  “Betha? Missus O’Connor?”

  Betha heard the voice of Aoife, her dearest friend. She threw open the door to find Aoife shivering the cold hallway.

  “Aoife!” Betha exclaimed. “Whatever are you doing here?”

  Aoife’s eyes were red. Her brow was furrowed, and Betha could see that her closest friend was on the verge of tears.

  “Aoife?”

  Aoife stepped into the dimly-lit apartment. She could hardly hold Betha’s gaze.

  “What is the matter?”

  Aoife sat down at the kitchen table.

  “Are your ma and da home?” Aoife asked Betha, her voice dripping with sorrow.

  “No, they left early this morning to do some work at the household where Da is employed. The family is having a party tonight, and Da and Ma are helping the servants prepare. What has come over you, Aoife?”

  Aoife fidgeted as she sat in the wooden chair. She tucked a stray blonde hair behind her ears.

  “I have to tell you something,” Aoife said, her voice shaking.

  “What is it? Are you alright, Aoife?”

  Aoife’s shoulders slumped as she looked down at her skirts.

  “It’s about Sean.”

  Betha felt her heart drop.

  “What? Sean? Is he alright? Oh, Aoife, what happened?” Betha asked.

  Aoife shook her head.

  “I saw something last night,” Aoife replied, tears streaming down her pale cheeks. “I was out for a walk with my sister last night. We went for a little stroll around Highland Park, and just before we reached our neighborhood, I saw Sean.”

  Betha wrinkled her nose in confusion.

  “His home is near Highland Park,” Betha said. “I am not surprised.”

  Aoife stared at Betha.

  “That is not all I saw,” Aoife replied. “Sean was walking arm-in-arm with Katherine O’Malley, Betha! He was walking arm-in-arm with her, and then, I saw them share a long kiss! He kissed her, Betha! He kissed her in public, and he’s courting you!”

  The blood drained from Betha’s face.

  “What?” Betha whispered incredulously.

  “Sean was kissing Katherine O’Malley, Betha,” Aoife said. “He stepped out on you, Betha.”

  Betha felt sick. Her stomach churned. How could this be happening? She was so close to a marriage proposal, and so close to relieving her parents of their duty to provide for her. Sean had stepped out on her with Katherine O’Malley? Katherine had been present at a dance that Sean and Betha had attended together just last week! Everyone in the community knew that Sean and Betha were courting; how could Katherine let this happen? Didn’t Betha matter to Sean? How could Sean be so cruel as to both break her heart and humiliate her?

  “Betha?”

  Betha looked up at Aoife, whose face was contorted in concern. Betha mustered a weak smile.

  “It’s alright, Aoife. Thank you for making it ’round to my house to tell me in person. I am thankful to know what is happening.”

  Aoife grimaced.

  “I am sorry to deliver such horrible news, but I could not let you stand by whilst that cad is out kissing other girls!”

  “You did the right thing,” Betha murmured.

  Betha opened her arms and pulled Aoife close to her.

  “You are a good friend, Aoife,” Betha said quietly. “The Lord blessed me with the best friend a girl could ask for.”

  “I’m sorry to tell you this, Betha, but I could not let you go through with this courtship with this kind of news getting out!”

  Betha shook her head.

  “Aoife,” Betha said quietly. “I think I knew that this would not work. I have seen my sisters and brothers with their sweethearts, and my courtship with Sean never felt like theirs. Sean is handsome and full of fun, but my heart did not sing when I saw him. My sister, Katie, told me that she could feel her spirit singing like a church choir each time she saw her Seamus, and I never felt that way about Sean. Maybe he could sense that. Maybe that is why he went after Katherine…”

  Betha hung her head sadly.

  “I hope I find that kind of love someday, Aoife. Every girl deserves to feel as though her soul is singing.”

  Aoife cocked her head to the side and studied her friend. Betha was a resilient girl, and Aoife knew that no matter what happened, Betha would be alright.

  “What will you do now, Betha?” Aoife asked, wiping the tears from her eyes as she leaned into her friend’s embrace.

  “I don’t know, Aoife, but the Lord will show me the way. He told my parents to come to America, and here we are, safe and alive after the terrible famine back in Ireland that took so many souls. He will surely show me the way now as I step forward from this mess.”

  2

  “Miss? Miss? Wake up, Miss! The train has arrived. It’s time for passengers to disembark!”

  Betha groaned as the train porter interrupted her sleep. She had barely slept during the month-long train journey to California, and she held back harsh words as the brusque train porter moved along to the next row of passengers.

  Betha blinked open her eyes. She stretched her arms over her head and stifled a yawn. Her entire body ached. She had been stuffed into the cramped third-class compartment of the train for so long, and she was worried that her legs would forever feel tight and weak from over thirty days of being sedentary.

  The train was motionless at last. It had been a bumpy ride along the train tracks of the untamed west, and Betha was thankful for the stillness. After journeying over the mountains, through the plains, and amidst the lonely, desolate landscape of the undeveloped, uncharted west, Betha could not be happier to have arrived at a proper train station.

  “Pinecone, California,” Betha whispered as she collected herself and her things and rose to exit the train.

  Pinecone, California, had been on Betha’s mind and heart for nearly four months, and now, she was finally here.

  Betha’s life in Boston felt like another lifetime. The day that Aoife had informed Betha of her suitor’s deception, Betha had sprung into action. She had always been resourceful, and not wanting to burden her parents for another moment, she began forming a plan to leave their household without needing to rely on a marriage.

  “I’m leaving the city, Ma and Da,” Betha had announced the next day as the family ate dinner together.

  Mrs. O’Connor nearly choked on her meal.

  “What are you talkin’ about, my girl?” Betha’s mother asked.

  Betha took a deep breath. She told her parents of Sean’s misbehavior. Her father’s mouth dropped open.

  “Why, that no-good, rotten, horrible fellow! How dare that Flanagan boyo disrespect my girl? I have half a mind to go on down to his house and give Sean and his da a piece o’ my mind!”

  Betha shook her head.

  “No, Da,” Betha said calmly. “That does no good for you, or for our family. I didn’t love Sean, Da. I liked having a suitor, and I liked the idea of being married. I didn’t feel the things one should feel when they are in love, though. I felt it in my heart throughout the courtship, and now that this news is coming out, I guess the Lord is confirming my fears. Sean was not the one for me.”

  Mrs. O’Connor began crying.

  “Oh, Ma,” Betha said gently as she reached for her mother’s hands. “It’s alright, Ma! I’ll be fine.”

  Mr. O’Connor’s face was still dark with fury.

  “I’ll show that boyo,” Mr. O’Connor muttered.

  “Da, please,” Betha pleaded as Mr. O’Connor stood from the table. “Da, Ma, I am nearly a grown woman now. I am another mouth to feed. I don’t want to bring trouble or burden to you anymore, and without this marriage, I fear that you will be sacrificing too much if I stay in the household.”

  Mrs. O’Connor’s jaw dropped.

  “Wh
at are you saying, my sweet girl?” Betha’s mother asked.

  Betha closed her eyes.

  “Please, Lord, please give me the strength to tell them my plans, and please let them give me their blessing,” Betha prayed silently.

  “Betha?” Mr. O’Connor said.

  “Ma, Da, I am leaving the city. I answered a marriage advertisement that I found in the back of the newspaper. Gentlemen from all over the wild west post advertisements when they are in need of a wife. I posted my response to one yesterday, and after spending the evening in prayer, I am convinced that the Lord has prepared me to go.”

  Mrs. O’Connor began openly weeping.

  “What does this mean?” Betha’s mother cried.

  “Mairead! Don’t cry, dear. Betha, tell your mother that this is just a silly dream. You aren’t going anywhere!” Mr. O’Connor told his daughter.

  Betha shook her head.

  “Ma, Da, I am going,” Betha said calmly. “I prayed about it, and I feel in my heart that the Lord is showing me His way. He delivered us from our hardships in Ireland, and He will deliver me from this mess with the Flanagan family. Please, Ma, please, Da, I am looking for your blessing.”

  Mr. O’Connor took his crying wife into his arms. He tenderly kissed the top of her forehead and whispered into her ear.

  “That is what I want,” Betha thought as her parents found comfort in each other’s arms. “I want a love like that.”

  After several long, silent, tense moments, Mr. O’Connor looked at his youngest child.

  “Betha,” he said gently. “If the Lord is calling you somewhere, your ma and I will not stop you from going. We are faithful people, and we know you are a good girl. If you truly believe He has told you to go, then, dear, we will only do our best to pray for you and love you from afar.”

  Betha was overcome with emotion. She had steeled herself for her parents’ disapproval, and here they were, extending her only their love and grace. Betha reached for both parents’ hands and gave them a squeeze.

  “Really, Da?” Betha asked.

  Mr. O’Connor nodded.

  “We always knew that you were our wild Irish Rose,” Betha’s father said. “From the time you were a little girl and playin’ in the mud with the boys, to being so strong on the voyage across the sea to America, to insisting on stayin’ in school, even when your Ma and I told you that you could leave and go find work, you have always been your own woman, Betha.”

  “You were born breech, Betha, and from the moment I first saw you, I knew that you would be different. Perhaps this is all your destiny, and if it is what you believe the Lord is tellin’ you, you need to go,” said Mrs. O’Connor.

  “May I pray for us, Da?” Betha asked her father, her eyes serious.

  Betha’s father nodded. He bowed his head, and Mrs. O’Connor followed suit.

  “Lord,” Betha began. “Lord, I thank You for guiding me and giving me strength to walk through this valley. Thank You for my wonderful family, and thank You for filling their hearts with Your wisdom. Lord, as I go west, be with my family and be with me. I trust in You and the direction You have given me for my life, and I will only be faithful to Your truths. Thank you, Lord.”

  “Thank you, Lord,” whispered the O’Connor parents in unison.

  Betha had been instantly drawn to the marriage advertisement. She had stumbled across it by accident, but as soon as she had read the words, she felt the peace of the Lord flood her heart.

  Christian Rancher and father seeks wife to join in the west

  I am a loyal, healthy widower

  Seeking kind-hearted woman as a wife and mother

  Join me in Pinecone, California

  Serious inquiries only, please

  “California,” Betha had whispered to herself as she scanned the rest of the marriage advertisement.

  Betha had always dreamed of venturing to California. One of her cousins had gone there to work in the coal mines and eventually made his way to the Pacific Ocean. He had returned to Ireland brimming with stories of the sea and mountains and proclaimed California to be “Heaven on Earth.” Betha had always imagined what kind of place could be described as “Heaven on Earth,” and she was excited at the prospect of venturing to such a wonderful place.

  Everything happened so quickly after Betha had made up her mind. Within the week, she had posted her response to the marriage advertisement and purchased her train ticket to Pinecone. She had sent a copy of the train schedule enclosed with her letter, and she urged the man who had posted to send a letter for her to collect along the train’s journey.

  “What if he does not write to you, Betha?” Mrs. O’Connor asked worriedly on the eve of her daughter’s departure.

  “What if he never received your letter? What if he does not like your response?”

  Betha shrugged.

  “Ma,” Betha said calmly as her mother fretted. “There is nothing for me to do but pray. The Lord is guiding me, and if I arrive in Pinecone without having received a response from this fellow, I will simply go find him myself! But I know that will not happen. I know that there will be a letter posted for me along the journey. I can feel it in my heart, Ma.”

  Betha was correct. At the third stop along the journey to Pinecone, a letter was waiting for Betha at the train station! The train was scheduled to make a long stop, and the passengers were free to disembark the train. Betha had rushed into the station, and sure enough, after inquiring, a fat envelope was handed to her by the stationmaster.

  “He wrote to me! I knew he would write to me!” Betha squealed excitedly.

  Betha took the letter and ran outside the bustling station. She settled on a narrow wooden bench under a grove of sycamore trees. It was a beautiful day—the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and there was not a cloud to be found in the clear blue sky.

  “What a perfect occasion to hear from the man in the advertisement!” Betha said aloud as she settled onto the bench.

  Dear Miss O’Connor,

  I appreciate your serious inquiry about the advertisement I placed in the papers. I hope you receive this letter along your journey; I admire someone of strong faith and conviction, and I am moved by the way the Lord is speaking to you regarding my advertisement and going west to meet me. In your letter, you said that you was planning to leave Boston immediately, and I hope that by the time you read this, you are well on your way to us. You seem like a good, sensible Christian lady, and I think you would be a real nice addition to our little family in Pinecone.

  I was pleased to learn that you received a high school education! We ain’t got a school in Pinecone, and I would sure love for a real smart lady to teach my son book smart things as he grows up.

  My son is three years old. He is a good boy; he minds his manners, and he knows how to count, and he loves listening to the sounds of the animals we have out here! I hope that you two will get on real well; he lost his mother, my wife, when he was only two months old, and it will be good for us both to have a lady around the house.

  Miss O’Connor, it is not always easy out here in the west, but from your letter, I can tell that you are a real hard worker and that you are a strong woman. I think we will make a good match; I will promise to be a loyal husband to you, and I will work hard to give you the things you need. I hope that we will grow fond of each other; I desire a large brood, and it will be good if we get on well.

  I am praying for you daily, Miss O’Connor. I hope you will post a letter to me along your journey.

  With kind regards,

  Charles

  The letter sent a chill down Betha’s spine.

  “Lord,” Betha whispered as she sat alone on the bench. “You did bring me here! You spoke to me through the advertisement, and I followed Your direction, and here I am, holding a letter from the fellow who wants to make me his wife!”

  A soft breeze sent the sycamore leaves shaking, and Betha felt the warm sun upon her cheeks. She had been cooped up in the small compartment o
f the train for so long, and now, as she sat in the fresh air, Betha felt as though she were on her way to her destiny.

  The rest of the journey crept by. Betha posted a letter to Charles at the next station, and she counted down the days until the train was scheduled to arrive in California. She spent her time praying, knitting, and reading the small leather-bound Bible her mother had presented her with on the night before her departure.

  Betha could hardly wait for her arrival. She had never been particularly skilled at sitting still, but with each minute spent gazing out the dirty windows of the third-class compartment, and with every mile traveled, Betha knew that she was inching closer and closer to the plans the Lord had laid out for her.

  “I wonder what Sean Flanagan thinks of me now,” Betha thought on a rainy afternoon as the train chugged through the wide, expansive plains.

  Betha had not confronted Sean Flanagan about his kiss with Katherine O’Malley, but she had written him a short note to let him know that he had her blessing to pursue his new sweetheart. Betha had not wanted to make things difficult for her family. She knew the importance of having an alliance with the Flanagan family, and by quietly disappearing, Betha was certain that her parents’ position within the community would be safe.

  Sean,

  I write with a heavy, but hopeful heart; I have heard about your fondness for a certain Miss O’Malley, and while I am disappointed to sadden my parents, I am writing to officially end our courtship. I know that your eyes have been on someone else, and I would hate to stand in the way of you finding what you are looking for.

  As to not garner negative attention to our situation, I will be quietly leaving the city. My parents will be silent about what has transpired between us, and you are free to say what you’d like about the relationship, as long as it is in proper taste. Perhaps you could say that I was too consumed with the hopes of furthering my education, or that I had to leave town to attend to private family matters. It does not matter to me, as long as you are kind and respectful of my name and my family.