Mail Order Bride- Twenty-Two Brides Mega Boxed Set

by Emily Woods

  “He is healthy, and he belongs to Charles. I’m sure the issue is minute. Charles would have told me about something serious!”

  Betha awoke early the next morning. The sunlight streamed in through the windows of her second-floor room, and she could hear the songs of the morning birds that rested in the trees outside.

  “Today is the day!” Betha exclaimed as she sat up in the narrow bed. “It is my wedding day!”

  Betha enjoyed a brief breakfast with Gerta and Paul, and then, it was time to prepare for the wedding ceremony. Gerta accompanied Betha upstairs where a tub had been filled with warm water for Betha to bathe in.

  “We will scrub you clean and make you shine like a brand-new penny!” Gerta proclaimed as Betha shed her clothes and slipped into the tub.

  Gerta scrubbed Betha’s hair and brushed it out until it shone in the morning light.

  “We’ll tame those messy Irish curls of yours! You’ll look like a little angel bride today,” Gerta clucked as Betha relaxed in the warm bathwater.

  Gerta brushed through Betha’s dark curls once more when they had dried, and she painstakingly wound each and every curl into a perfect coil. Gerta tightly pinned the coils around Betha’s head, but pulled out two long curls to frame Betha’s pale face. Gerta placed a long, white antique veil on Betha’s head as if it were a crown, and then, as Gerta helped Betha into her wedding gown, the reality of Betha’s situation began to set in.

  “This is really happening,” Betha thought excitedly as Gerta adjusted the voluminous puff sleeves on the wedding gown.

  The dress looked even better on Betha than it had when she had first tried it on. The high lace neckline rested inches above her clavicle, and the soft pearl color of the dress made her alabaster skin look radiant. The gown’s soft material felt cool on Betha’s bare skin, and she imagined Charles’s hands helping her remove the gown later in the evening. Betha blushed as she considered what was to come with her husband that night, and Gerta caught her staring at her reflection in the mirror.

  “Charles won’t be able to take his eyes off of you!”

  Gerta fastened the buttons that ran all the way down the back of the gown and helped Betha adjust the two creamy white petticoats beneath her top skirt. Betha loved the rustling sound the petticoats made as she moved, and she had never felt more beautiful.

  4

  The wedding ceremony was short, but sweet. Betha was overcome with emotion as she glided down the aisle in her wedding gown, and she saw Charles surreptitiously wipe tears from his eyes when she first entered the church.

  The church was a cozy, white wooden building in the center of Pinecone. The steeple was shorter than anything Betha had ever seen in Boston, but she was pleasantly surprised to see a stained-glass window in front of the altar.

  “What a luxury,” Betha thought as she surveyed the room. “This church, and its people, and the groom at the altar are simply treasures!”

  Throughout the ceremony, Betha did not break Charles’s gaze. The couple stared at each other with loving eyes as the preacher said his words, and finally, it was the moment Betha had been waiting for since she had become a young woman.

  “Charles,” the preacher said with purpose and vigor. “You may kiss your bride!”

  Charles grinned at Betha as he took her into his arms. Betha smiled back at her new husband, and in spite of herself, she let out a gleeful shriek. The congregation chuckled, and Betha wrapped her arms around Charles and kissed him on the lips.

  After the ceremony, Charles led Betha up the aisle and outside of the church.

  “You are my wife now, Betha!” Charles said as he pulled Betha close to him in the bright California sunshine.

  “It’s true!” Betha squealed.

  Charles and Betha embraced, and Betha giggled as her puffy sleeves got in the way of Charles’s face.

  “Them sleeves are as big as one of the horses on the ranch!” Charles teased as he leaned in to kiss Betha.

  Suddenly, a gruff but friendly voice interrupted the newly married couple.

  “Son! Charles! Ain’t she a lovely girl! Come introduce your new gal to your ma and me!”

  Charles pulled back from Betha, who noticed his face had gone pale. Betha had not thought about her new in-laws until this moment, but now, she was eager to make their acquaintance, as well as finally meet her new son.

  Charles’s parents stood outside the church doors. They were both smiling, and Betha could see that Charles was the spitting image of his father, who was also tall, blonde, and bearded. Charles’s mother was a petite woman with curly red hair. As Betha smiled at her new mother-in-law, she noticed that Charles’s mother was holding the hand of a small child who was shyly standing behind them.

  “Hello!” Betha gushed as she rushed to embrace her new in-laws. “My name is Betha! It is my pleasure to meet you!”

  “An Irish girl? Charles, you did not mention that this gal would be Irish! What a treat! I’m real shocked, but what a surprise!”

  Charles’s mother smiled kindly at Betha. “We are real pleased that you are here, sweetheart,” Charles’s mother cooed at Betha. “You was a real pretty bride, and we know that the Lord is going to make you and our son so happy!”

  Betha kissed her mother-in-law on the cheek, thrilled at how hospitable her new family was.

  “And this right here? This is Billy,” Charles’s mother said gently as she pushed the little boy forward.

  The child was beautiful. He looked like a little cherub with golden blonde curls that spilled over his forehead, and plump pink cheeks that indicated good health. He had blue eyes like his father, but unlike Charles, Billy’s eyes were almond-shaped, and Betha imagined that the child had inherited them from his mother.

  Betha scooped up her skirts and kneeled down to the child’s eye level.

  “Hello, Billy,” Betha said gently she softly placed a hand on the boy’s golden curls. “My name is Betha, and I am your new mother.”

  All eyes were on the boy. His smile was big and his eyes were bright, but he was not looking at Betha. Billy stared off toward the town.

  “Billy?” Betha prodded, rubbing the boy’s soft curls with her gloved hand.

  The child looked left and then looked right. He reached his hands out in front of them and touched Betha’s wedding gown.

  “Pa?” Billy asked. “Where my pa?”

  Betha furrowed her brow, confused by this interaction. Charles was standing right behind her, and Betha did not understand why the boy was asking where his father was.

  “I’m right here, Billy,” Charles said as he stepped forward to pick up his son.

  “Pa!” Billy giggled as he buried his face in his father’s beard. “Hello, Pa!”

  Betha rose from where she had been kneeling outside of the church. She looked to Charles’s parents for an explanation, but they did not offer one. Betha watched as Charles kissed his son on the forehead, and then, she understood.

  “Charles? Billy cannot see, can he?” Betha asked her husband as his son snuggled against him.

  Charles did not look into his wife’s eyes.

  “We wanted to say a real quick hello to our new daughter! We’ll just take the boy and go on home now, won’t we?” Charles’ mother said.

  “Come here, boy,” Charles’s father whispered to Billy as Charles handed his son back to his parents.

  “We’ll get on home now. Betha, Charles, we hope to see you both tomorrow for lunch! Enjoy your time together tonight. We know how special a wedding night is!” Charles’s mother called out as they walked away from the bride and groom.

  Betha placed a hand on her hip and stared at Charles. “I feel as though you misled me, Charles,” Betha said to her new husband, squinting against the bright sunshine of the early afternoon. “I don’t care that Billy is blind, Charles,” she went on.

  Charles looked down at his boots.

  “The Lord made us all different, and if the boy is blind, it is surely because the Lord int
ended him to have a different path. I’m worried about us, Charles. Why did you not tell me about Billy’s eyes when I asked about the boy? Why did you keep this from me?”

  Charles sighed. He ran a hand through his blonde hair and shook his head. “I don’t know, Betha,” Charles said quietly.

  Betha crossed her arms across her chest, and her voluminous sleeves felt heavy and intrusive.

  “Charles, that is not an acceptable answer,” Betha replied, her Irish lilt now sounding harsh rather than melodic.

  “I was afraid that you would leave,” Charles finally offered, shuffling uncomfortably. “I nearly married a girl from another town last year, and when she found out that my son has such a challenge, she ended the engagement. I was real heartbroken, Betha. When you arrived here, I didn’t want to spoil anything or scare you off. You are real pretty and smart, and I ain’t got the strength to take another heartbreak, not after losing my wife and being left by the girl last year.”

  Betha’s green eyes narrowed. Wedding guests were beginning to stream out of the church, and Betha could not maintain her composure for much longer after hearing such shocking news.

  “Let’s go to your cabin,” Betha hissed to Charles as smiling guests walked toward them.

  “We need to discuss this in private.”

  It was not the wedding night that Betha had eagerly anticipated. Instead of becoming unified in spirit, mind, and body, the newly-married couple were unified in frustration, despair, and angst. Betha and Charles spent hours sitting at the kitchen table discussing what had transpired.

  “You should have just told me, Charles,” Betha said as she wiped hot, angry tears from her eyes.

  “I have been deceived in love before, and this dishonesty feels like deception once again! I don’t know if I can trust you, Charles.”

  Charles had not said much as he sat with his distraught new wife, but Betha could see that her new husband was sorrowful. Tears brimmed in Charles’s blue eyes, and he could hardly meet Betha’s gaze.

  “Charles?”

  Charles slowly looked up and into his wife’s eyes.

  “I’m real sorry, Betha,” Charles finally said. “I ain’t a bad man. I was scared, Betha. I took one look at you in the train station yesterday, and I knew that you were the one that the Lord sent for Billy and me. I thought that Billy’s condition might drive you away, and I couldn’t bear the thought of losing you. I ain’t trying to be untruthful, Betha, I swear.”

  Betha was overwhelmed by Charles’s admission, and she buried her face in her hands. Still dressed in her wedding finery, she was horrified at how things had changed between she and Charles so quickly.

  “Betha?”

  Charles put a hand on Betha’s shoulder, but she shuddered at his touch.

  “Oh, Betha, I ain’t a bad man,” Charles pleaded with Betha as she rose from the kitchen table.

  “Charles, it has been a long day, and a long journey to get to California,” Betha began. “Last night, as we embraced in this very cabin, I was so excited for our future, but now, I feel as though I don’t know who you are. Dishonesty is not something I can accept, Charles. I really need to think about things before we proceed in this marriage. I don’t feel comfortable sharing a bed with you tonight, or sharing myself with you. I need time.”

  Charles leapt to his feet and knelt before his wife.

  “Anything you need, Betha,” Charles said, tears now streaming from his eyes. “Please, just don’t leave us.”

  Dearest Ma and Da,

  I write to you with a heart filled with sorrow and confusion. I arrived in Pinecone, California, with all of the hope and eagerness in the world! I was ready to be wed, and ready to follow the Lord’s calling on my life. Everything has changed now, my darling parents, and I wish I could be home in your loving arms with your words of comfort and wisdom as I tread carefully into this next chapter of my life.

  After everything that happened with Sean Flanagan, I was nervous about finding true love; I knew that Sean did not really love me, and I was excited to experience the true love of the one the Lord chose for me. I truly believed that the Lord had his hands on the marriage advertisement that I responded to, and I was happy to be traversing His path with your blessings.

  I met my husband and was smitten; he is handsome, kind, and of good spirits, and he claims to love the Lord! He loves his young son very much, and I can see the devotion he has for his parents.

  I am worried though, my dear parents. My husband kept a secret from me, and I feel as though I have been betrayed. I was betrayed by Sean, and my heart is now leery of this man I am married to. I am scared that perhaps this betrayal is a sign from the Lord; what if I made a mistake and was not supposed to travel to California? What if I moved too quickly? I am so scared that I have made a mistake and that I am not in the Lord’s favor.

  Please pray for me, my beloved parents. I do not know what will come next in my journey, and I am hoping that prayers and reflection will help determine my path. I am asking the Lord to speak to me, and while I fear for the future, I know He has great plans ahead for me.

  Give my love to my brothers and sisters back in Boston, and give my warmest regards to Aoife as well. I miss you both very much, and I hope that my next letter will be filled with happier news.

  All of my love,

  Your daughter,

  Betha

  Betha did not leave. She remained at the cabin with Charles and Billy. She spent her days tending to Billy while Charles was working on the ranch, and she quickly grew fond of the beautiful boy. Betha barely spoke to Charles, consumed by grief and anger at her new husband. While they lived under the same roof, Betha and Charles hardly interacted over the next few days.

  One night, as Betha cleaned the remnants of dinner off of the kitchen table, Charles could no longer handle the tension between he and his wife.

  “Betha, we need to talk about what happened,” Charles said as Betha tidied the kitchen. “I am real sorry about what I did. These feelings between us have been hard for over a week now, and I ain’t going to stand by and let my wife be unhappy. I want to make things right, Betha.”

  Betha stopped. She placed the plates she was holding back on the table. Betha pursed her lips and wrinkled her nose. She thought for a moment and closed her eyes.

  “Betha?”

  Betha’s eyes opened.

  “I was asking the Lord for guidance, Charles,” Betha said flatly as Charles stared at her. “Charles, my heart is heavy. I have grown fond of Billy, and from the precious time we spent together in this very cabin before our wedding day, I was growing fond of you. I had never felt so alive or desired by a man before, and I was so excited on our wedding day. I just don’t know if I can forgive you for what you did. Dishonesty is so hurtful, and I have had my share of dishonest fellows. I need more time, Charles. I don’t know if I can stay here, or stay with you.”

  Charles felt his stomach drop. He instantly felt nauseated. How could he bear to lose another woman he loved? Betha’s grim face brought pangs to Charles’s heart, and he reached for Betha’s hand.

  “Please, Betha, please,” Charles said as Betha pulled away. “Give me some sort of word that there is hope for us.”

  Betha frowned.

  “You are going away with the other ranchers this week to visit a farm in the next county. I will be alone with Billy then. I think that will give me the time I need to think and pray, Charles. You will be away, and I can relax and consider my plans and needs, and fully give myself to the Lord’s whispers in this empty cabin.”

  Charles nodded at his wife.

  “I’m leaving on Wednesday. Betha, please know that I will be praying for you and praying for us. We could be a happy family! Believe me!”

  Betha grimaced.

  “I don’t know if I can believe you about anything, Charles.”

  When Charles left on Wednesday morning, the tension in the household was sharper than ever. Betha hardly spoke to Charles as he shuffle
d out the door, and she trembled anxiously as he leaned in to kiss her on the cheek as he left.

  “I’ll be praying for you and for us, Betha,” Charles said with sad eyes as he bid his wife farewell. “I’ll be praying real hard. I ain’t a bad man, Betha. Please remember that. Remember the evening before our wedding when we stood in this cabin and got to know each other. Remember how it felt when my hands went to your face, and how it felt as I held you close to me. Betha, the Lord brought us together. Don’t let the tenderness we shared vanish because of my mistake. I’m real sorry, Betha.”

  Betha looked into her husband’s blue eyes.

  “Charles,” Betha said impatiently. “I need time. I’ve told you that I need time. I will watch out for little Billy while you are away, but I need time to think about things. Please respect that.”

  Charles nodded and left the house. It was early morning and the sun had not risen. Betha rubbed her eyes, feeling the dull ache of sleepiness tug at her body. Billy was not awake yet. The boy was sleeping peacefully in the loft upstairs, and Betha carefully climbed the wooden ladder to join him.

  “Billy boy,” Betha whispered as she snuggled next to Charles’s son.

  Billy stirred. He blinked open his sightless eyes and reached out his hands.

  “Pa?” Billy asked, his hands roving

  “I’m here, sweet boy,” she said. “It’s me, Betha.”

  “Mama?” Billy replied.

  Betha’s heart swelled. While she and Charles had been barely speaking, she and Billy had grown close. Betha had been the youngest of her siblings and rarely spent time around small children, but she and Billy had instantly taken to each other. Betha loved the way his soft golden curls fell into his eyes, and the way his light brown freckles sparkled in the sunlight. Billy was spirited and adventurous. Despite being blind, he loved to play and run! Betha took Billy on walks, read stories to him, and found herself falling in love with the boy as if he were her own child.