Emily: Army Mail Order Bride

by Mercy Levy

  “I also –“ Lord Fergus blushed and that caught her attention. “I find the way you laugh very endearing.My first wife, Lillian, she had a good heart but she was a quiet person. When you laugh, it feels like the entire room lights up.”

  “T-Thank you.”

  They were both red in the face and sat in silence for a few minutes.

  “Did you like the roses?”

  “They were beautiful,” Valerie replied. “I love flowers.”

  “Then you shall have them every day.”

  And true to his word, for the next two weeks, Valerie received a bouquet of beautiful flowers. Once or twice, Lord Fergus would stroll into her shop and hand her a rose and they would both blush.

  Valerie found that being courted was fun. It made her feel special. And when Mrs. Dumphrey forced Lord Fergus to come to dinner a few weeks later, Jane and Roland came as well. And Greggory enjoyed playing the role of older, wiser guide to the young pair. The three of them were a mess after they came in from the gardens, having climbed every tree they could find and crawled through every bush they could manage.

  “We were knights,” Sweet faced Roland declared, brandishing a wooden stick in the parlor. He had three leaves sticking out of his hair and you could not tell that the color of his shirt had once been white.

  The children became very attached to Valerie and at times refused to leave or demanded that she come with them.

  “I would like you to meet my parents, Lord Fergus.”

  Valerie sat in the huge dining room at the castle she had once looked at in awe. Lord Fergus frowned, “Is it that hard to call me Henry?”

  Valerie blushed, “We are not even married yet. It would be most improper.”

  But she could not help but look pleased when her fiancé scowled, “I will never allow you to call me Lord Fergus once we get married.”

  Valerie laughed, “I would not dare.”

  “As for your parents,” Lord Fergus looked thoughtful, “You will want to invite them here? I can have a room prepared for them.”

  “I was planning to ask Mrs. Cullen for a room. Do you think staying here would be better?”

  Lord Fergus kissed the back of her hand, “They should always feel welcome here.”

  Mr. and Mrs. Reiner were not particularly convinced of Valerie’s wedding and her mother took her aside and asked how she managed to find herself such a wealthy man. “Hundred pounds a year, Valerie. You will be rich.”

  Her father seemed satisfied and Lord Fergus kept both her parents occupied whilst the wedding preparations were underway. Her mother busied herself with talking to the dress makers and the tailors whilst her father enjoyed hunting and fishing on the large estate.

  Lord Fergus came upon his bride to be, one day before the wedding, making a bonnet. He watched her as she sat under the shade of the huge oak tree, with both children asleep by her feet, their heads on her lap, whilst she herself focused on her sewing. Feeling a rush of love towards her, he was glad no man had ever seen her for who she was.

  He found himself dropping next to her and taking off his coat, “Shouldn’t my fiancée be busy with her wedding preparations?”

  He picked up a sandwich from the picnic basket Valerie had prepared herself with such care, “I wanted to make Jane a new bonnet which matched her dress.”

  She smiled vaguely at him and he watched as her nimble fingers deftly fixed a flower into the bonnet. He had never sat like this with Lillian. Relaxed, outside, having a picnic. A beautiful person, she had been very reserved as well. With Valerie, he found himself laughing, enjoying the small little things.

  So, the next day, when he watched her walk down the aisle, his heart clenched in happiness. And when they were officially announced as man and wife and she called him Lord Fergus, he kissed her on the mouth, and declared, “Every time you will call me that and not by my given name, this will happen.”

  His wife blushed and he smiled.

  Valerie tucked her arm in his and sighed, delighted. Her future seemed so blissful that a tear ran down her cheek. God did work in mysterious ways.

  THE END

  Belinda’s Sweet Escape

  Chapter 1 – A Haunted Past

  “I want to see my baby! Just let me see my baby!” Belinda laid in the hospital bed, surrounded by sheets hanging from the ceiling. They were thin, white sheets, but they blocked everything else from her view. She couldn’t see any of the nurses, but she could hear a lot of commotion going on through the curtains.

  Brookside Hospital was one of the largest hospitals in the state, but Belinda still felt as though she was alone inside the curtain. Nurses had been swarming her a few minutes before; now she was alone, surrounded by white sheets.

  “Hello! Is anyone listening to me?” She shouted, trying to get out of bed, but a nurse suddenly appeared.

  “Just lie still, you shall see your baby in a minute.” She put her hands on Belinda’s shoulders, and Belinda relaxed.

  “What’s going on? Why not now?” Belinda felt tears stinging her eyes. She tried to lie still as the nurse had said, but her thoughts were running through her mind so fast she could hardly keep up with them.

  She didn’t know where her newborn child was; all she could see were these sheets around her, and no one was listening.

  Suddenly, the curtain opened, but Belinda didn’t see what she expected to see. She had hoped the nurse would appear holding her child, but instead, it was another nurse standing with a dish full of water and a washcloth.

  “Let’s get you taken care of, honey, and you’ll be up and out of here in no time.” She smiled warmly, but Belinda shook her head.

  “I just want to see my baby.” She said as she looked the other way, and the nurse paused, halfway through wringing out the cloth she had placed in the water.

  “Oh honey, I thought you knew… the new parents have come and gone. It’s easier that way. Your parents are waiting for you out in the other room; we’ll have you cleaned up and ready to go in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.” The nurse smiled, but Belinda felt her chest heave.

  She felt as though all the air was squeezed out of her lungs as she tried to gasp for breath. She shook her head, trying to keep the emotion in, but suddenly, it was too hard to bear.

  She turned away from the nurse, holding her hand over her mouth, and screamed.

  Belinda sat straight up in bed, her chest heaving and feeling out of breath. She looked around, the familiar sight of her room bringing her back to reality. She took a deep breath and put her hand to her forehead.

  She was covered in sweat, but it had only been a dream.

  It was the same dream she always had.

  Belinda had been young. Very young. She was only nineteen when she found out she was expecting, but since she had no husband, her pregnancy was nothing but shame to her parents… especially her mother.

  She had been betrothed to the young Mr. Buckley, the son of a wealthy plantation owner whom she despised. The couple had only met each other on a few occasions, but they hated each other every time they did.

  Belinda had then met another young man who had treated her as though he cared for her, and Belinda fell in love. Little did she know he only wanted to take advantage of her, and as a result, she found out she was pregnant. Her mother, horrified by her actions and determined to rid the family of Belinda’s child, gave the baby to a couple who was heading west.

  Belinda hadn’t wanted to give up her child, but her parents were respected in the town and had enough money to keep the entire situation under wraps. Belinda never forgave her mother for what she had done, and ran away soon after.

  She had traveled up the coast to New York, where she worked odd jobs and spent much of her life on the streets. A few months later, she received word that her parents and Mr. Buckley had perished on a trip to England when their boat was lost at sea, but she had no interest in going back to her little Georgia town.

  Life in New York, though hard, was enough to keep her goi
ng, and though she was plagued with dreams of the night her child was born, Belinda had done everything she could to forget all about the situation.

  Now, she groaned as she pulled herself out of bed. She put her feet on the cold ground and sat on the edge of the bed for a few minutes, thinking about her baby. Belinda had had a little girl, but that was all she knew.

  The couple who had adopted her left town that same day, and with Belinda’s other problems, she hadn’t been able to pursue them or even ask what they had named her daughter. She sighed now, rising from her perch on the edge of the bed and slipping out of her gown.

  She worked at the local baker’s shop and would have to be to work soon. Tying her hair back, Belinda looked at herself in the mirror. She noted how tired she looked, then rolled her eyes.

  She always looked tired. Of course she did. She never slept well. Belinda finished the bun on top of her head, then pulled on her coat.

  It was bitterly cold walking in the dark this late in the year, but she would have to get down to the shop soon or she wouldn’t have enough time to start the fires for the ovens. Christmas was coming, and there were still many things to do.

  Chapter 2 – The Fire in the Night

  “I really must insist that you get this looked at before we try a batch that big.” Belinda ducked down at looked at the crack in the oven. The fire licked at the bottom of the rack, but Belinda could see that smoke was building up inside and knew it would taint the flavor of the cookies.

  Her boss, Mr. Jordon, wasn’t at all worried about the oven, but continued to hand her orders needing to be filled. Belinda sighed and pulled another sheet of paper off the rack in front of her, scanning the order.

  It amazed her how many people wanted to purchase baked goods this time of year. The bakery wasn’t nearly so busy in the summer, and she assumed people were still enjoying baked goods then, so what was it about Christmas that made them wish to purchase their cookies rather than bake them at home?

  “Belinda! If you stand there any longer, we won’t fill these orders until next year!” Mr. Jordon barked at her, and Belinda turned her focus back on what she was doing. She threw more flour into the bowl, then began whisking the ingredients together, but became caught up in shaping cookies to go into the oven next.

  Her small timer chimed, and she pulled a batch of cookies out of the oven, cringing at the faint scent of smoke on them. She tried once again to point the problem out to Mr. Jordon, but he was too worried about filling more orders to pay any mind to her.

  Pushing her sleeves up higher on her arms, Belinda sighed when she saw she was covered in flour.

  Belinda decided to do her best keeping up with the orders and address the issue at the end of the day, but she prayed silently that no one would complain about the cookies or bring any of the other baked goods back to the little shop.

  “That was a beautiful day! My dear, you should be pleased. This is for you.” Mr. Jordon walked out of the back room, handing Belinda a small amount of cash as he did. She paused at the doorway, thanked him, and once again tried to point out the issue with the oven.

  Mr. Jordon glanced behind him, then shook his head.

  “That has been in this bakery since the day I opened the doors nearly thirty years ago. The oven is older than you are, Belinda. I think it’s going to have its quirks.” He winked at her, but Belinda tried to convince him to take a look at the piece.

  “I’ll tell you what, we’ll take it apart after the holiday madness is over, and you can help me take a look at it. What do you say?” He put his hand on her shoulder, pointing her toward the door. Belinda opened her mouth to argue, but he bid her good night and closed the door behind her before she could say anything.

  Belinda stood for a moment outside, letting the snowflakes fall gently down on her shoulders. She put her hand out, watching them melt as they fell. With a sigh, she turned and walked up the street. It was no use arguing with Mr. Jordon. All he cared about right now was how much money the bakery was making with the holiday sales and wondered how he might be able to increase their profits.

  He said we’ll take a look at it after the holidays. I don’t know if it’s going to last that long, but I’ll try.

  Belinda shot up in bed, looking around frantically. Her heart was thudding in her chest, but she hadn’t had that terrible dream; she had heard something. It was a ruckus coming from outside, but it was hard to hear what was going on in her stuffy little room above the livery stable.

  Throwing on her shawl, Belinda hurried down the stairs, stopping a boy who was running past her on the street.

  “What’s all this then?” She asked as she held his arm. He pulled away from her, but pointed behind him as he continued backing in the direction everyone was running.

  “There’s something wrong with the bakery. I hear there’s a fire!” He shouted, then turned and ran. Belinda’s heart skipped a beat.

  A fire at the bakery!

  She ran back up the stairs and threw on her jacket, then flew down the stairs and back onto the street. It was difficult to run on the boardwalk with the snow. Everything was dreadfully slippery, and she was unable to find her footing, so she ducked onto the street and hurried as quickly as she could, trying to stay out of the way of the other men and women running toward the bakery.

  She rounded the corner, scared of what she may see. Her heart sank as she saw what everyone was talking about.

  The bakery was indeed on fire, but there was no way they would be able to save it. Flames belched out of the window, and the roof was also engulfed. Mr. Jordon stood in front of the bakery, yelling at people and barking orders to anyone who would listen.

  She stood for a moment in the middle of the street, trying to decide what to do, when suddenly more shouts from behind her caused her to run off to the side. Firemen with their wagon loaded with pumps came rushing by, and she narrowly escaped being run over.

  Belinda brushed off her dress, looking around for more danger, then straightened her jacket. She looked back at the bakery once more, then turned to walk back up the street.

  She told Mr. Jordon that it was important, and he hadn’t listened to her. She decided that she would stop by in the morning and see if there was anything they could save, but she wasn’t feeling too hopeful about it.

  If it continued to burn at that rate, there would be nothing left by morning.

  Chapter 3 – Choices

  “It doesn’t matter what you thought, quite frankly. The fact of the matter is my bakery is gone. My business? Gone. My livelihood? Gone!” Mr. Jordon buried his face in his hands and swayed back and forth on his desk. Belinda sat opposite of him, fighting to maintain control of her tongue.

  He had asked her to join him for coffee in his new “office” to discuss what their next decision would be, though Belinda had suspected from the beginning it wasn’t going to be in her favor. She looked around his parlor, wondering how he planned to make an office out of his own home, then sighed.

  “I lost everything in that fire, too, Mr. Jordon. I have worked here-” But Mr. Jordon cut her off.

  “You have worked for me for a few years, yes, but you can simply go out and get another job. I can’t simply get another bakery!” He glared at her, and Belinda let her eyes drop to the desk. She wanted to argue with him, but she could sense it would be pointless.

  “I wish I could give you something for a parting gift or to show my appreciation for your hard work, but as I said, I lost everything. Good day.” He rose and walked over to the door, opened it, and motioned her outside. Belinda walked over to the door and hesitated, wanting to say something else.

  She couldn’t think of anything that would get her anywhere, so she simply thanked him for his time and the opportunity, then left.

  Once outside, Belinda heard the door close quickly behind her and shook her head with a slight smile. She had dutifully shown up to the bakery every day since she had been hired, on many days she arrived before Mr. Jordon did. It had been
her job to tend to the first fire, and she had done her job well, rain or shine.

  Now, she stood out in the cold without any idea of where to go or what to do next. He had given her some money the night before, but not nearly enough to pay for her room and board for another month. New York had been the perfect escape from her old life in Georgia, but it was an unforgiving city when she needed something done.

  After a few moments of standing with her eyes closed and breathing in the cold air, Belinda decided to try her luck downtown. Perhaps the general store would be hiring with Christmas just weeks away.

  She hurried as quickly as she could, trudging through the snow and bracing herself against the cold bite of the wind. She held on to both sides of her jacket, pulling it closer around her frail body.

  People ignored her as they passed by, but she was okay with that. Belinda had never been one for conversation, and ever since that fateful day in the hospital, she enjoyed company even less.

  Pushing onward, she finally saw the general store on the corner of the street. She was relieved to see that it looked busy, and with a surge of hope running through her, she picked up the pace and hurried up the stairs.

  The bell rang as she quickly pushed in out of the cold, but no one looked up or addressed her. The bell rang often as people pushed in and out of the store, each bustling by the other and trying to find Christmas gifts. Belinda smiled at a few people as she brushed by them, trying to get up to the front counter.

  The clerk of the store was busy wrapping packages, and there was a line of people waiting for his attention. Belinda sighed when she saw the group, wishing to ask her question, but when she tried to get the clerk’s attention, several people who were already in line told her to wait her turn like the rest of them.

  With a sigh, Belinda rolled her eyes and took her place in the back of the line, but not for long.