“Yes, I will.”
“Good then. I hope the two of you have a wonderful life together.” Mr. Gatlin looked down the table at his wife. “What time would you like the wedding to be tomorrow?”
Mrs. Gatlin took a sip of the water in front of her. “I believe I would like a late afternoon wedding, if that suits the bride and groom?”
Jedediah nodded. “That sounds good. I will need to spend the morning getting my wagon loaded for the trip.”
“And I’ll need to spend the morning packing up my things.” Hannah looked at her mother. “Do I have any dresses suitable for the trail?”
Her mother pursed her lips. “Maybe one or two. I’ll make sure you have some before you leave, even if we have to buy them from the general store.”
Jedediah frowned. It hadn’t occurred to him that she might need clothes for the trail. “We’re starting soon. Be sure you have plenty of winter clothes. I want to be nicely settled in Oregon before winter arrives, so we’re leaving soon. Our wagon train will only be twenty-two wagons, and we’re starting on Monday, the 29th of March. That’s early in the year.”
“That’s fine,” Mrs. Gatlin said. “I’ll make certain she’s ready. Let’s plan to meet at four tomorrow afternoon at the church.”
“All right. I’ll be there.”
Through the rest of the meal, Mr. Gatlin commandeered the conversation, and they talked about the perils of the trail. He kept emphasizing Indian attacks, but from Jedediah’s information, the real killer was cholera. He didn’t argue with the pompous man, though. He seemed to think he knew everything about the trail, simply because he lived in Independence.
After supper, he needed to leave right away. “I feel funny leaving my wagon as long as I have. One of the other men on our wagon train, Joseph Mitchell, is watching over it, but he has two wagons and eight children to watch over. I can’t take advantage of his time on the trail for too long.”
Hannah got up to walk him to the door. “Thank you for coming this evening. Getting a chance to talk to you before the wedding was something I really needed.”
“I can understand that. This whole thing is rushed.” He smiled at her. “I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon. After the wedding, we’ll stop here and collect your things.” Already he was thinking about the extra blanket and pillow he needed to buy for a lady. Hopefully she would have those things to bring, but her step-father seemed to be a singularly unpleasant man. He may not be willing to spare anything from his household.
“I hope you have a nice evening.” With one last smile, she closed the door, and he smiled to himself. In a way he felt like he was rescuing her from a difficult situation. All would be well. God wouldn’t have led him to her otherwise.
Hannah slowly closed the door after him and leaned back against it, letting out a sigh of relief. It sounded to her as if Jedediah would be a good husband. The Oregon Trail wasn’t something she wanted to travel, but hopefully it wouldn’t be a horrific experience.
When she got upstairs to her room, her mother was already there, working on packing up her things. Hannah moved beside her and worked alongside her. “I bought myself a journal when I first married so I would be able to record everything about marriage and how wonderful it was. But you came along so quickly that I didn’t ever write in it. I thought you might enjoy having it for your journey out west.”
Mother placed a beautiful bound book in her hands. As she flipped through the pages, she saw that it was completely blank. “Thank you, Mother. I think this will be good.”
Hannah had always enjoyed writing down private thoughts and little details about her daily life. She looked forward to writing down everything that happened on the trail. It would be such a wondrous journey that she was secretly excited about the time she’d spend on the road. Especially now that she knew she wouldn’t have to walk.
Knowing that Jedediah was a good man made everything simpler. She didn’t have to worry about him turning into Mr. Gatlin. At least she hoped she didn’t.
She put the journal on her dresser, planning to begin writing in it the very next night. The entire story of her journey overland would be available for all posterity. It made her feel good to know that the things she did could shape the future for others. Why someday, they may even use steam engines to go from one end of the country to the other, but that was a long way down the road.
That night, as she put on her nightgown and braided her hair preparing for bed, she couldn’t help but think about Jedediah, wondering where their lives would lead. Would she be the mother of a whole bevy of children? Or would she spend her life by his side as simply a partner and not a love?
She had no idea, but she liked that her life was now full of possibilities that it hadn’t been full of even a day ago.
Maybe Mr. Gatlin was doing her a service, instead of forcing her into life of servitude as a wife. Only time would tell.
When Jedediah got back to camp, he walked over to talk to Captain George Bedwell, their wagon master. He had made the journey the previous year and found the area he wanted to settle in. He had come back for his wife and children, and all of them would be traveling together. His two boys, Harvey and Albert, were in their early teens, and they were very excited about the journey ahead of them.
“I just wanted to let you know that I’ll be getting married tomorrow afternoon, so there will be one more on the trail with me.”
Captain Bidwell nodded. “That sounds like a good plan. You’ll be happy to have someone cooking your suppers in the evenings.”
“I know that’s true. She’ll be here with me starting tomorrow night.”
“Make sure she knows to bring warm clothes. Starting out this early in the year is going to make things just a tad bit more difficult on the beginning of the trail, but so much better at the end. I think we’ll be glad we did it.”
“I’m sure we will. I look forward to our travels.” Jedediah walked back toward his wagon, saying a silent prayer as he walked, thanking God for Hannah and for her willingness to make the journey with him. He knew he was in for the adventure of his life.
Two
When Hannah woke the following morning, she was both anxious and excited. Being out from under Mr. Gatlin’s rule would help her a great deal, but it was more than that. She was actually looking forward to going adventuring with Jedediah. Once she’d met him, she knew he was a good man, and he was much younger than any preacher she had ever met. Why, she was certain they would get along like two long lost friends. She could already tell.
She spent the morning finishing the packing of her room with her mother at her side, and she found herself talking excitedly about Jedediah and the future she was sure they would hold. “Mother, he said we could be partners in life, and I didn’t have to do…well, that thing you told me about right away.”
Her mother gave her a surprised look. “He did?”
Hannah nodded as she carefully folded a blanket to take with her. She would take all of her bedding because her parents could always buy more. She had a feeling she and Jedediah would be having to be more careful with their funds. “He did. I really like him, Mother. Who would have thought that Mr. Gatlin would actually find me a man I wanted to spend time with? I think we’ll start out as friends and after three or four years, maybe we’ll actually fall in love. Then we can have children. I don’t want to have a baby when I’m still a baby myself.”
Her mother laughed and shook her head. “Despite the fact that you’ll always be my baby, you’re definitely old enough for marriage and children. I’ll expect to get letters whenever you can send them.”
It wasn’t until then that it struck Hannah that she would be without her mother for the first time in her life. “I think you should come with me.”
Mother frowned. “You know I can’t do that. I’m married, and my husband is here. Besides, the pastor will not want his mother-in-law on the trail with him.”
“I know you don’t love Mr. Gatlin. No one could.”
Hannah made a face. “I think Jedediah and I understand each other.”
“No man of God is going to understand you disrespecting your parents.”
“I don’t disrespect you. Just him.” Hannah sighed, wishing she understood why on earth her mother had married Mr. Gatlin in the first place. He was over fifty and just plain mean-spirited. Unless he was in front of other Christians, and then he was a very pious man. It made her a bit sick to her stomach.
“Just be careful, Hannah. I’ve let you get away with disobedience to me over the years. Please don’t be the same with your husband.”
“I won’t.” Hannah wasn’t sure what it would be like to be married, but she was sure she’d have an equal say in all decisions. Jedediah would come to her. There was no reason for him not to.
An hour before they needed to leave for the church, Hannah’s mother helped her change into the beautiful off-white dress they’d chosen for her to marry in. Her trunks were next to each other. Mother had helped convince her to only take two trunks instead of the four she wanted to take, but it had meant a lot of paring down to get to that number.
Hannah’s red hair was fixed high atop her head, wound into a beautiful bun. “I wish I had blond hair. Or brunette even. I just hate being a redhead.”
Her mother smiled. “Your hair is the exact same color your father’s was. I saw his red hair in church one Sunday morning when I was about twelve. I pointed to him and said, ‘I’m going to marry that man one day.’ My mother just smiled, but I was married three years later. I so miss your father.”
“I do too. It seems like forever since the day he hugged me goodbye and never came home.” Hannah felt a tear drift down her cheek. “I wish he was here to give me away today.”
“I do too. But Mr. Gatlin is planning to give you away, and you need to be kind to him.”
Hannah sighed. “I will. But inside I’ll be wishing it was Father.”
“So, will I,” her mother said as she pressed a kiss on Hannah’s forehead. “We need to head downstairs now. He’ll be waiting out front to drive us to the church.”
Hannah looked at her room, now bare of her possessions. It didn’t look or feel like the same place she’d lived her entire life. It was too…empty.
“I’ll miss living in this little room and knowing you are just down the hall. That if I cried out, you’d hear me and come running.”
“I’ll miss you so much, Hannah. You’ve been a daughter and a friend. I love you.”
“I love you too.” Together they walked down the stairs and outside to get in the wagon. Jedediah had told her they’d come by after the wedding to pick up her belongings.
Her step-father helped her into the buggy, and then he helped her mother. “I’m escorting the two most beautiful women in town today,” he said loudly, so passersby would hear him and look at him. The man would do anything for attention. Hannah was surprised he hadn’t had a banner made announcing she was finally marrying.
He drove through the crowded streets of Independence toward the church where Hannah’s mother had married both of her husbands, and where Hannah herself had been baptized.
When Mr. Gatlin stopped in front of the church, Hannah waited for him to help her down from the buggy, knowing he would feel the need to do so in public. If there was no one around, he told her she didn’t need help.
The three of them walked into the church, presenting a picture of a united family, though they were anything but in Hannah’s mind. Jedediah was waiting at the front of the church, and she smiled as she loosely put her hand on Mr. Gatlin’s arm, wishing she didn’t have to touch him.
The pastor she’d had since she was a small girl was the one who married them, and when it came time for Jedediah to kiss her to seal the marriage, she lifted her face up to his, a bit startled. She’d forgotten about the kiss, and she’d never been kissed before.
She heard her mother weeping in the front row, and she wished she knew how to calm her, when her own heart was trying to beat its way out of her chest.
Jedediah leaned down and briefly brushed his lips against hers, and she blushed, feeling strangely. His kiss had made her stomach tie itself in knots, but there was a short-lived fluttery feeling that she rather enjoyed.
She turned to face her mother and step-father and a few other people her step-father had talked into attending the wedding. She didn’t know them, and she truly didn’t much care that they were there. It was strange, but she had no desire to be around people that day.
She just wanted her mother and Jedediah. Hannah smiled at her new husband before heading toward her mother, who was still wiping away tears. She pulled the hanky her mother had given her from her sleeve. “This will help dry your tears, Mother.”
When her mother saw the hanky, she cried even harder. Mr. Gatlin was looking at his wife as if she’d just grown two heads. “She’s married. I thought you’d be happy now.”
“I am happy,” her mother wailed, crying even harder.
When her mother didn’t take the hanky, she carefully tucked it back into her sleeve, wondering what to do about her mother, who was weeping and wailing as if she was Job and had just lost all of her family at once.
“Perhaps if we go somewhere more private, Mr. Gatlin.” Hannah looked around and was very aware of the gaze of every person in the church.
Mr. Gatlin nodded curtly and got to his feet, leading her mother out by one arm. “Please stop making such a scene!”
Her mother only wailed louder at the words, and Hannah hid a giggle as she looked at the confused expression on Jedediah’s face. “Mother never makes a scene. Ever. This is the first time I’ve seen her cry in public. Even at my father’s funeral, she remained completely stoic.”
“Does she not approve of me as a husband for you?” Jedediah asked.
“She does, I think. But truthfully, she’s spent very little time with you. She’ll need a little while to adjust.”
He frowned. “We leave on Monday. That’s only three days from now.”
“She’ll be fine by then. At least I think she will. I will write often, and she won’t even realize I’m gone.” Hannah had always been particularly close to her mother, and she knew deep inside that her leaving would leave her mother bereft.
“I’m going to the campground to get my wagon so we can pick up your trunk. Do you want to walk over and ride back with me? It might be best if we leave your mother alone with Mr. Gatlin to calm her down.”
Hannah nodded. “I’d like the walk.” Mr. Gatlin had always tried to get her to stay inside and never venture out. He talked about how ugly freckles made her, and she was more prone to freckles than most because of her red hair.
“Let’s go then,” he said, walking toward the campground just outside of town with her.
She looked over her shoulder to watch Mr. Gatlin trying to help her still-crying mother into the family buggy. She wanted to laugh hysterically, but she wasn’t sure how her new husband would react. She couldn’t stop her lips from twitching though.
“You’re amused?”
Hannah nodded. “Mr. Gatlin has no idea how to deal with my mother. He leaves every morning, and she tells me what’s on her mind and we talk through it. He’s not going to know what to do with her without me there acting as a buffer.”
“Well, those letters will be fun to read, won’t they?”
She nodded. “They certainly will.”
As they walked toward the camp, he told her what he’d done already to prepare for the journey. “I’d already purchased all of the supplies recommended for one person on the trail, but your step-father gave me enough money to pay for a second person. So, I got everything for you. You have a trunk packed already, right?”
She nodded. “Actually, I have two trunks packed. I packed all of my dresses, because most have only been worn once or
twice. I thought they might be good for trading on the trail.”
He frowned. “I don’t have room for two trunks in the wagon. Only one. You’ll need to take fewer things to trade.”
“But I had to work hard to only bring two chests. I wanted to bring four, but mother said two was more than enough.”
“I agree with your mother. It’s more than enough. You’re going to have to get it down to one trunk and another crate. Nothing more.”
“What? But I don’t want to leave all of my special things!” Hannah quit walking and dropped his arm, determined to win this first argument with her new husband. He needed to know she wouldn’t capitulate, simply because he was a man and he said so.
“Are you saying you won’t leave more?” he asked, shocked that his sweet-tempered wife was digging in her heels so quickly.
“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. I don’t want to leave my things, so I won’t. It’s that simple.” She wasn’t going to budge from her spot on the boardwalk without his agreement.
“You can’t be defying me. We’ve been married only a few minutes and already you don’t think you need to obey me?”
“If you wanted obedience, you should have married a dog. I’m far from obedient. I have a mind of my own.”
He stood there, looking at her for a moment. “I’ll let you keep most of your things, but our wagon simply can’t carry as much weight as you’re talking about. You could bring the things in the trunk, without bringing the trunk, and that would work beautifully.”
She shook her head. “No, I want my things protected by the trunk.”
“What if we put some of your things in an oil cloth bag? That would protect them from any damage, and you could still bring them, just not with the weight of a trunk?”
She considered it for a moment and finally nodded. “Yes, that should work nicely. Thank you for working out a compromise with me.”
“I hope you know I won’t always be able to compromise that way. You will need to be obedient for the most part.”
Hannah's Hanky (Clover Creek Caravan Book 1) Page 2
