Sadie was nervously chattering and couldn’t seem to stop herself. She had thought she was being helpful by collecting the eggs already but perhaps he thought she was being disrespectful, not waiting for him to direct her. She hid her sigh of frustration behind a deep breath.
“Not at all, Sadie, I was just surprised. I would have expected you to sleep much later.”
“Well, it was rather early when I retired. And I slept quite soundly. I haven't slept in such quiet in years, if maybe I ever did. It was quite lovely.”
She couldn’t interpret the strange expression on Hamilton’s face, but Sadie ignored her own discomfort, smiled wanly at him, and proceeded to fry them both some eggs despite the fact that he hadn’t told her what he wanted instead. She needed to eat soon despite the nervous tension in her stomach or she would get a headache.
Sadie didn’t think she would be able to eat much, but was surprised by how delicious the small meal was. Her nerves pushed aside, Sadie made quick work of downing a couple eggs and a slice of bread.
“You did well.”
Her face heating again, Sadie was embarrassed to hear how surprised he sounded.
“Did you not think I would? What did Mr. and Mrs. Fredericksburg tell you about me? Did they not tell you I could perform all the domestic necessities?”
He again had an expression she couldn’t interpret. “They didn’t say too much really, but yes, they did mention that my wife was highly skilled.”
Sadie frowned, puzzled by his turn of phrase. When he didn’t elaborate, she didn’t press for more information, still embarrassed by his surprise. Her appetite was satisfied and her stomach was clenching from the familiar pang of nervous energy, so she got up and started tidying from the meal.
“Will you be all right here, Sadie? I have things I need to get done, but I don’t want you to be nervous or uncomfortable.”
“That’s kind of you, but I’m sure I’ll be just fine. I need to continue to familiarize myself with the kitchen, and it looks to me as though I will need to make some bread, so I’ll have plenty to occupy myself with. Will you be around for a noon meal or should I pack you something to take with you?”
“Now you’re the one being kind. I’m grateful that you’re ready to get straight to work.”
“Of course.”
“I’ll be back in a few hours.” He finally answered one of her questions as he slapped his hat on his head and left the house.
~~~
Hamilton was grim as he strode toward the barn. He needed to wire Fred and confirm that this pretty, young woman was indeed his wife. He had to think of how to word the telegram. He should have asked her for the documents. He glanced back toward the house, thinking he ought to go in and do that before riding into the village. But he didn’t want to get held up. She might get suspicious and have too many questions, and that would cause him delay. He would just have to come up with the proper wording on his own.
Normally he found the ride into the village to be restful. The scenery was lovely and he enjoyed the peace and quiet. But today it passed in a blur. Hamilton could hardly believe it when he found himself already in the village. He swung down off his horse, tied him to a post next to the watering trough, and walked directly to the telegraph office. It also happened to be the postal office and the mercantile, so pretty much the breeding ground for any and all gossip. Which was why he was wanting to be particularly careful about his wording.
PLEASE PROVIDE COMPLETE NAME OF EXPECTED ARRIVAL AND IDENTIFYING DETAILS. CAN YOU CONFIRM THAT MY INTENDED APPEARS AS REQUESTED?
It gave away more than he wanted, but that couldn’t be helped. He wanted to reiterate that he wanted a homely woman but didn’t want that getting around in the community. If the woman in his house really was his wife, he had no desire to shame her. Hamilton was rather proud of himself for how he had managed to word the telegram. No one would even know from his message that he had brought a woman home with him yet. While it was possible they had been seen while they drove through yesterday, the fact that they hadn’t stopped would work in his favor now.
Hamilton hoped he wouldn’t have to wait too long for a reply. It could be hours or days. But Hamilton didn’t really want to go home without his answer. And he would hate for his reply to get intercepted by Sadie. If she was an imposter, he didn’t want her to know he was onto her schemes. If she wasn’t, it would surely hurt her feelings to find out what he had suspected. But Hamilton needed to know, so he nodded to the gentleman behind the counter and handed over the necessary coinage to pay for the message.
“I have some people and places to visit. I’ll stop back in an hour to see if there has been a reply.”
“Sure thing, Foster. I’ll hold onto any messages for you until you tell me otherwise.”
“Great, thanks.” Foster flicked him another coin and walked out.
He glanced both ways along the dusty road when he stepped out of the store front. Hamilton was surprised by a giant yawn. He didn’t really have anywhere pressing to go. Maybe he ought to just find a grassy spot under a tree somewhere and try to get a little bit more sleep before he came back and checked for a response from Boston. With a decisive nod, he untied his horse, swung up on his back, and rode out of the village to a small copse of trees. It would provide some shade and a bit of grass for the horse to nibble while he rested. Hamilton glanced at his timepiece trying to mentally prepare himself to wake up in the allotted time.
Releasing a groan from the discomfort of sleeping on the hard ground, Hamilton released another one when he realized it was a little more than an hour since he was at the mercantile. Not that it mattered overly much. The telegraph agent had promised to hold onto any messages until Hamilton returned. But Hamilton didn’t want to risk someone else getting a message and, in an attempt to be helpful, riding out to his homestead right away. He hurried back hoping there was a message for him.
“Ah, Mr. Foster, you’ve got perfect timing,” the man at the mercantile called to him when he stepped inside. “Come on back here. Your response has just arrived.”
Hamilton glanced around, surprised to once again find the store free of customers.
“I’ve never seen it so empty in here, Smith.”
“You never come in at ten o’clock in the morning.” The other man chuckled. “It’s usually crowded shoulder to shoulder when we first open at eight o’clock with anyone needing last minute provisions before they ride out for the day. And then again, it’s fairly steady most of the afternoon. I’ve often thought we might as well just close from ten ‘til one but then someone like you drops by, and I’m glad I didn’t.”
“Well, I’m glad you didn’t as well. You said you’d already received the answer?”
“Just arrived not five minutes ago. A curious response. Not too many words. I trust you’ll understand it better than I did.”
Hamilton nodded grimly, glad the man wasn’t exhibiting too much curiosity and relieved there were no women about. Not that there were many in the surrounding areas, thus his need to send to Boston for a wife, but there were wives around. Women that seemed to hunger for gossip. He wondered if it was a female issue or a result of being isolated. He gave a mental shrug. It didn’t really matter why; he didn’t want to be fodder for the gossips. Nor would he want his wife being discussed if he did have the proper woman at home.
“Thank you, Smith, I’m sure I’ll figure it out.”
SADIE AMELIA FITZSIMMONS
BLONDE AND BLUE
SILLY TINY HAT
BETTER THAN EXPECTED
Hamilton’s stomach fell. Fred thought he was doing him a favor by sending him a pretty wife. He hadn’t seen the papers that the woman no doubt had with her, but it seemed more than certain that the woman at his house was, in fact, his wife. For one thing, the silly, tiny hat was the sign Sadie had said she was to wear for him to identify her. Fred had originally just said she’d be wearing a hat. But the telegram proved that Fred had thought it a good joke at his exp
ense. And the woman was definitely blonde and blue as the telegraph said. Her long blonde curls were probably outrageously fashionable in Boston, but they would be an encumbrance if she were going to do anything practical around the homestead. Her blue eyes were beautiful to behold. There was no avoiding that fact. Fred had sent him a beautiful woman as his bride. Once again, Hamilton felt a surge of violence welling up within him. He wanted to vent his frustrations with foul language or a wrestling match but had to content himself with deep breaths followed by a bruising gallop.
He slowed his mount and allowed the horse to cool down as they neared home. It wasn’t the horse’s fault Hamilton was in a predicament. When they reached the barn, Hamilton removed his saddle, wiped down his horse, and then let him loose into a field. He then set himself to the heavy task of replacing the straw in some of the stalls.
“What’s going on, Boss?” Herman’s voice interrupted the flow of his labor. Hamilton couldn’t decide if he were relieved or disgusted. He took the time to wipe the perspiration that was streaming down his face with the back of his sleeve.
“What do you mean, Herman?”
“Well, for one thing, this should be Bobby’s assignment, and for another, those stalls probably had at least another day or two in them before they needed to be replaced like that.”
Hamilton wouldn’t allow himself to feel any embarrassment or guilt over what he had done. He had enough money that even if he had to buy more straw, it wouldn’t be a problem. And, as Herman had said, he was the boss, if he wanted the stalls cleaned out, and wanted to do it himself, it wasn’t anyone else’s place to gainsay him.
“Don’t you have work to do?”
Rather than being chastised, Herman grinned at his boss, saluted him and left the barn without another word, adding to Hamilton’s feelings of ill usage. By the time he got into the house, he was feeling overworked and cranky.
~~~
The slamming of the door made Sadie jump and nearly drop the pan she was holding. With a hand to her chest she turned to see what the ruckus was about.
“You startled me. Is everything all right?” Her newfound determination to make a go of her marriage prompted her to be solicitous. But it was a challenge in the face of the glower she encountered.
“Is there a reason you haven’t given me the legal documents you were surely provided before boarding the train in Boston?”
Sadie felt the ready blush rising up once more into her pale cheeks. “No reason except that it slipped my mind with all the adjustments of a move like this.” She paused, searching his face, wondering why he would be so mad about it. “I apologize if you were expecting me to hand them over immediately. They quite slipped my mind, in all reality.” She began to untie her flour-splashed apron. “But I can get them for you right now.” She suited her words to actions and hurried up the stairs while he stood where he was and watched.
For a brief moment, Sadie feared she had misplaced them. Wouldn't that be exactly what she needed, she thought with sarcasm. She knew they were important but was surprised at Hamilton’s seeming anger. It wasn’t as though she had deliberately withheld them. Her stomach clenched with nerves with the realization that she was married to such a volatile stranger. Despite her recent affirmation to herself that she would honor her vows, Sadie wondered if she would be able to remain with a man with an unpredictable temper.
As she dug through her bag, she was flooded with relief when her hand closed around the small bundle of papers. It was all the documentation Mr. Fredericksburg had assured her she would need. There was one bundle for her and one for Hamilton. Sadie wondered if she ought to give both to her husband but decided she might need her own copies for her own protection as her friend Jane, Mrs. Fredericksburg, had said when she insisted her husband provide two sets. Sadie remembered the encounter.
“Alastair Fredericksburg, you make another copy, right this minute,” Jane had said with a sharp insistence. If Sadie hadn’t heard the underlying warmth she would have thought her friend was upset with her husband.
“Now, Jane, you know Ransom vouches for this Foster fellow. There is nothing to be nervous about.”
“I don’t care who vouches for him. A woman can never be too protected. You know I’m right about this. And surely it won’t take so very long to make one more copy. So, you needn’t kick up a fuss.”
Sadie had watched the byplay between the two and had been consumed with envy over the warmth between them. She wished she had a hope of such a happy union in her future but with how Hamilton was acting, Sadie knew she needed to keep her hopes low. She couldn’t picture him ever looking at her with love in his eyes as Mr. Fredericksburg had looked at Jane.
With a nod and a sigh, Sadie gently buried her personal bundle of papers back at the bottom of her small luggage, under the scarf and mittens she had knitted on the train ride West in anticipation of the coming winter. She had dithered long enough. It was time to present the marriage documents to her husband.
“I’m sorry, Sadie, I shouldn’t have growled at you like that.” Sadie almost fell down the last few steps she was so surprised by Hamilton’s words. “Despite the fact that I requested this arrangement, it seems to be a bigger adjustment than I had expected. But that’s my problem, not yours, and I shouldn’t be taking my frustrations out on you.”
Sadie was at a loss as to how to respond to such unprecedented words. She could feel another blush staining her cheeks, so she avoided making direct eye contact with Hamilton, only bobbing her head in a small nod and quickly handing the bundle of papers over to him.
He scanned them quickly. “Your middle name is Amelia? I had an aunt named Amelia. It’s a nice name.”
How does one respond to such a statement? Sadie wondered. She smiled slightly and waited to see what else he would say, as tension gripped her. Her stomach clenched and her head began to ache as she watched him read through every line of words in the entire bundle of paperwork. He glanced up at her a couple of times while he was reading, making her wonder what he was thinking. Sadie almost sagged with relief when he finally lifted his head and put the bundle of papers down on the table.
“You look like you’re about to faint,” he commented with a frown. “Why is that?”
Sadie swallowed, wondering if she could avoid answering the question. But when he continued to gaze at her with elevated eyebrows, she was forced to stammer out a response.
“I don’t really know you yet, but you appear to be upset. It is making me nervous.”
“I already apologized for growling,” he argued.
Sadie shrugged. “That doesn’t change the fact that you seem upset. Are you wishing you could send me back to Boston?”
Her question was followed by silence, making Sadie want to hide. She had hoped he would laugh off her question as though it were ridiculous. But he stared at her instead. He finally spoke.
“Why would you ask me that? Are you wishing to return home? Are you sorry you came out to this backward countryside?”
“Don’t put words in my mouth. It’s you who is seeming to be upset about our marriage, not me. I only asked you a question.”
“I need a wife. We’re legally bound to one another, so no, I don’t wish to send you back.”
Sadie knew she should allow it to drop, but she just couldn’t stop herself from asking, “Then why do you seem so upset?”
~~~
Hamilton stared at her in consternation. How was he supposed to answer such an unanswerable question? He cleared his throat, trying to hide his discomfort.
"As you said, it's a big adjustment taking a stranger to wife. And I must admit, you aren't what I was expecting."
He shouldn't have added that last bit. She appeared to suddenly be consumed with curiosity.
"What were you expecting? Did Mr. Fredericksburg lead you to expect someone with more accomplishments? I apologize if you feel you’ve been misled somehow."
Feeling heat climbing in his cheeks, Hamilton had no intention
of admitting to her how very close she had come to the truth.
“Not at all, I didn’t really have any sort of expectations.”
The dubious expression on her face made Hamilton realize that he had just contradicted himself. He felt his cheeks burn but ignored the sensation. “What were you expecting from me when you arrived?” He hoped to turn the focus onto her.
She shrugged, her pretty face filling with embarrassment. “Mr. Fredericksburg didn’t have a physical description of you, but he assured me you were a kind, successful, God-fearing man and that you would provide me with a place of security. That was all I could wish for.”
Hamilton laughed. “I see Ransom was generous in his description.”
Her confusion was evident, so Hamilton elaborated.
“My friend Ransom Delaney was the one who connected me with your friends the Fredericksburgs. He must have been generous in his description, if that’s how I was described to you.”
Now his wife was frowning. “Which of the descriptors was false?”
Hamilton would have gladly cut out his tongue but was forced to carry on. “Never mind about me, you’re far prettier than I expected.”
She appeared puzzled but flattered. Hamilton was relieved that women were always happy to hear such a thing. She was just like his mother had been. Hamilton suppressed the grimace of dismay that he felt forming on his face. It was his worst nightmare, so Hamilton forced himself to change the subject. Dwelling on the difficulties wasn’t going to do either of them any good.
“It smells delicious in here.”
She once again looked delighted. “Thank you. You were almost out of bread, so I baked some.”
“You were able to find everything you needed?”
Her vigorous nodding would be endearing if he weren't so set against being drawn to her. “I am thrilled with how well stocked your larder is.”
“Good, good,” Hamilton answered, ready to be done with the frustrating conversation. What was he supposed to talk about with the tiny little woman? Why couldn’t she have been the homely, desperate woman he had been hoping for? With a few more nods and murmurs Hamilton made good his escape, returning outside after grabbing a hastily scrambled together sandwich.
A Bride for Hamilton Page 4
