Chapter 2
Sophie was often warning her students not to look out of the window during class. Now that she was awaiting a reply from Mr. Parker, she found that she was doing much of the window-gazing, dreamily imagining what life might await her across the country.
She hoped that she was beautiful and amiable enough for Mr. Parker’s liking. He had not asked for any photographs, but she knew that a question about that must come at some point. Time only served to toy with her emotions, making her question herself and wonder if Mr. Parker would even respond to her. Did the men who posted advertisements get thousands of replies?
Finally, almost four weeks after she sent him a letter, she received a reply from Seattle. Sophie opened the envelope with some trepidation, praying that her letter had been well received.
Dear Mrs. Miller,
How joyous I was to receive your response to my advertisement. I had heard good things from some of my friends about the service, so it is a relief and a comfort to know that it was successful in leading you to me.
I was sorry to read about your late husband; however, your children sound delightful. I am a widower myself, with a small daughter of my own. Her name is Gwen and she is also five. With any luck, she and your children will be fast friends.
Since my wife’s death, Gwen has unfortunately been left rather lonely. I am very busy managing my logging business, and though she is under the care of a great governess, I do believe that given your skills as a teacher you would be a wonderful friend and tutor to her. I shall not dismiss her governess, of course, until we are sure that this would work out to our mutual satisfaction.
I am pleased that my advertisement amused you. I must admit that I have had some assistance with writing these letters – from Gwen’s governess. I am well-spoken but not quite well-written, if you can understand.
If I have not completely changed your mind about me, I have also included some photographs of myself. I will look forward to your response, but will acknowledge that I may have frightened you away with my visage and my lack of wit. However, I shall hope against that.
Warm regards,
Randolph Parker
Sophie found herself smiling several times as she read the letter. She read it three times, feeling more excited each time. Then, she turned to the photographs that had indeed been enclosed in the envelope.
Mr. Randolph Parker had dark hair and a mustache. He was dressed well, in a handsome suit. In his hand, he held a bowler-type hat. He appeared much more well-to-do than she had been expecting, but that only made Sophie happy. He was clearly successful. She wondered how long he had been working in the lumber business. Perhaps he had even made a bunch of homes. Perhaps he could build a school for her…
Chapter 3
The photographer that Sophie visited was highly professional. She could not stop admiring the photographs that had been taken of her. It had taken a long time to get them back, so she was relieved to see that she appeared quite lovely in them. Her long, auburn hair fell in curls against her shoulders in one of the portraits, and it was styled up in a bun in the other portrait. Her blue eyes stared out, ghostly and mysterious. She hoped that Mr. Parker would find her as lovely as she felt. It was rare that she had a professional take her photograph, but she believed this was a good occasion to do so. The older photographs that she had did not show how she appeared presently. She hoped that the extra bit of care she took would prove helpful in her flirtations via mail with Mr. Parker.
Sophie tucked the photographs into her envelope and wrote him a reply on some lightly-perfumed stationary.
My dear Mr. Parker,
A governess is a splendid way of seeing to little Gwen’s education, as well as your own. Before I was married to the late Mr. Miller, I served as a governess to a wonderful family. I would enjoy serving as Gwen’s tutor and perhaps her governess and myself could form a partnership to further along her schooling. It is my wish to establish a small school in Seattle, should that be acceptable, of course. I am unsure how many children live in your area, but I would love to teach whoever is around for the teaching.
Dear Mr. Parker, you are ever so silly. Your portraits were divine. You are both handsome and clearly well bred. In fact, I do believe that God has sent you to me. Right as I was beginning to believe no one was out there who could fill the void left by my poor Alfred, along you came. You are ever so amusing and ever so sweet. I pray that we shall meet each other and share a new, happy life and family together.
Yours fondly,
Sophie Miller
She read over her letter and placed it gently into the envelope. She wished that she could see his reactions to her notes. Would he appreciate her portraits as she had appreciated his? The pony express made her feel as though Seattle was now nestled beside Baltimore, yet she wished with all her heart that she could feel his hand is hers and know that he was truly there with her. She longed for him in a way that she had never longed for anything. Loneliness and a desire for Mr. Parker had crept up on her and now she no longer knew what to do with herself. She was twenty-eight years old, and yet she felt again the romantic youthfulness of a sixteen-year-old. Time was moving along so slowly, and it was now also moving backwards. When would her Romeo come for her? Could she dare to dream that their ending would be happy?
Chapter 4
The mail carrier certainly seemed to enjoy making her wait. Sophie spent the next four weeks trying not to distress herself too much with how things might work out. She focused on teaching and taking care of her children, but her heart seemed to no longer be in the things she used to enjoy. Her mind often drifted away, thinking of places and people she had not even met, hoping that she soon would.
She received a letter postmarked from Seattle right as she was beginning to think she might never hear from Randolph again.
Dear Mrs. Miller,
I hope that this letter finds you and your children well. I have spoken with Gwen and her governess, and we all agree that you should come out here to Seattle and be with us for Christmas. It has been far too long since we have last had the company of family and friends. Gwen’s mother was quite good at decorations and that sort of thing. Perhaps you are, too? You don’t have to decide if you want to decorate a house you have not seen, however. Please simply consider the idea.
I can have some rooms prepared for you in my home, or I can make preparations for you at a nearby lodge if you think that would be more comfortable.
I have enclosed some boarding passes for you, Teddy and Anna on a ship that will sail from Baltimore to Seattle.
Looking forward to meeting you at last!
Warm regards,
Randolph Parker
Sophie nearly jumped for joy after reading his response. “Children!” she called. “Children, we are going to move to Seattle!”
Teddy and Anna ran into the room, holding hands like the good boy and girl they were. Sophie smiled proudly at them. “The nice man that I have been writing letters with has asked us to move to Seattle to be with him and his family.”
“Is he the logger?” Teddy asked, scratching his scruffy brown hair.
Sophie laughed lightly and nodded. “Exactly. He is a nice man who works with trees to make houses. He wants us to be there for Christmas. Won’t that be wonderful?”
Anna pouted a little. “But if we’re there and not here, how will Santa Claus find us?”
“Aww,” Sophie said, gently petting Anna’s long, golden locks. “Santa Claus can find you. He knows where you are, always.”
“He does?” Teddy asked, his eyes widening.
“Oh yes,” Sophie said, sincerity coating her voice. “He watches you throughout the year; making plans to give you cheer.” She gave them a little wink. Being a teacher meant that she had to employ some creativity at times, and that spread to her parenting skills.
Her children were both staring at her in awe. Christmas was not for several weeks, but she had certainly awakened their hopes. She felt incredib
ly hopeful and blessed. This transition to Seattle was going to be amazing, not just for her but for her children as well.
Chapter 5
The ship ride started out being less than amazing for them. Sophia felt sick almost as soon as the boat began to rock, and Teddy seemed to become sick with panic at the idea of truly leaving the home he had always known. No amount of reassurance could help them calm down and she spent the entirety of their first night and day on the ship in their cabin with them, holding them and trying to convince them to sleep. Sophie began to fret that she and Alfred had not taken the kids out on the water enough. She loved the outdoors and being on sailboats, but her children had not quite acquired the skill and taste for it. She hoped that Mr. Parker would not be unhappy about that. Maybe little Gwen could introduce Teddy and Anna to boating. Sophie was not entirely sure that Gwen enjoyed boats. She did not know much about the child. What she had imagined was that Gwen was precocious and a bit lonely. Who knew what she might really be like?
This journey west was going to lead to so many magnificent things for the three of them; no, the whole new family of them! Sophie laughed a bit at herself, thinking about how she had been so set against having a new husband. Now, here she was, altering her home and everything with it to be with a man. A stranger, no less. As much as she admired and adored Mr. Parker, he was still a stranger that she would not fully know until she had spent some time with him. There was something exciting about it, however. She was truly excited to be meeting such a charming man with the possibility of becoming his wife! She would never have believed it a year ago.
Sitting in a chair on the deck of the ship, gazing out at the sun as it reflected on the waves, holding her sleeping children in her lap, Sophie looked forward to meeting Gwen and her father, the handsome and amusing Mr. Randolph Parker.
Chapter 6
Seattle, Washington – 1880
One of the nice things about travelling to Seattle from Baltimore was that both cities were port towns, so boats could go straight to them. Sophie would not have liked having to board a train directly afterwards, as she had heard about from her friends when they had gone off to meet their prospective grooms. She felt no small satisfaction as she stepped off the ship, holding each of her children by the hand. Seattle smelled like salt and fish, which was a familiar and enjoyable smell to her. “We’re home,” she told her children happily. “Isn’t it wonderful?”
Teddy even smiled a little bit. “It smells like home.”
Anna was very sleepy so Sophie picked her up as they went in search of their waiting carriage. A man followed with their luggage and helped to load it into the coach that came for them.
A door in the back seat of the carriage opened and the young man from the photographs appeared. He grinned at Sophie. She smiled back at him and adjusted the sleeping Anna against her hip. “Mr. Parker,” she said, a bit breathless from the surprise at seeing him so quickly. She did not know what she had expected, but she had not been imagining him waiting for them at the docks.
“Greetings, Mrs. Miller,” he said in a friendly, happy tone. He held the carriage door open for her, Anna and Teddy. “I wanted to come and make sure that you arrived safely. I will not break from custom and sit with you. I’ll sit in the front with Lawrence, my driver.”
Sophie blushed and smiled at him, gratefully getting into the back seat of the carriage. She kept little Anna in her lap so the child would not be disturbed. “You are too kind,” she told Mr. Parker. “Thank you.”
They rode along in the carriage and Sophie looked out of the window with Teddy, pointing out the beautiful, tall trees that surrounded them. Those were surely trees that Mr. Parker used to make lumber. They must have been thousands of feet tall.
A light dusting of snow was on the ground. Perhaps they would enjoy a white Christmas in their new home. Sophie smiled, imagining the tall trees as Christmas trees, full of ornaments and light. What a beautiful place Seattle was. She thought she had known wilderness before, but this was like no other.
The carriage stopped outside of a large manor. It was made of wood, and the design had a welcoming, homelike feel to it. Sophie was tickled that this was to be her new home. She felt like a princess as Mr. Parker opened the carriage door for her and her children.
“Welcome to my home,” he told them, smiling brightly.
Teddy stared up at him. It had been two years since he had had a father figure to look up to. Sophie hoped that they would become fast friends, but she did not want to pressure either of them.
Mr. Parker led them up the path to the front door and held it open for them all to pass through. Anna started to wake up and looked around at the inside of the house, bleary-eyed. “Is this home?” she asked.
Sophie laughed softly, a little embarrassed at the question. She looked at Mr. Parker and smiled. “We have been invited to live here,” she said. “This is your home now.”
Introductions would need to be made, but the children were too awestruck and exhausted to be as polite as Sophie wanted them to be.
“Mrs. Pierce?” Mr. Parker called before turning to Sophie and giving her a polite bow. “Please excuse me a moment.” He went off into the recesses of the house to find the governess, Sophie assumed.
She took the opportunity to admire the architecture of the house. It had beautiful dark wood and emerald green accents. She wondered if Mr. Parker had designed it himself, or perhaps he had even built it.
Mr. Parker was a charming and pleasant host. Sophie dared to dream that he would be a loving husband and companion to her, and a caring, supportive father to Anna and Teddy.
Chapter 7
Before too long, Mr. Parker reappeared with an older, finely dressed woman in tow. Sophie was sitting on the sofa with Anna asleep again in her lap and Teddy dozing a bit against her shoulder. Mr. Parker smiled adoringly at them.
“Mrs. Miller, please allow me to introduce Mrs. Pierce,” he said to Sophie, keeping his voice down so her children could continue to rest. “She is Gwen’s governess and she has agreed to be your companion while you are here in the house with me.”
Sophie gave Mrs. Pierce a friendly look. “Hello,” she said. “It is so nice to meet you. These are my children, Anna and Teddy. They are exhausted from travelling. Might I show them to their bedroom?”
“Of course, Mrs. Miller,” the kind woman said with a small smile. She quietly came over and brought Anna into her arms. Sophie stood and took Teddy by the hand to follow the nanny to the children’s bedchamber.
Once each child was safely tucked into bed and given a kiss on the head, Sophie and Mrs. Pierce went back down to the living room where Mr. Parker was waiting for them.
“I have been assisting Gwen for almost three years now,” Mrs. Pierce told her proudly. “She is taking a nap at the moment, but wait until you meet her. She is the most charming child.” She smiled at Mr. Parker and then sat down on the sofa, taking up her knitting from a basket on the nearby table.
Mr. Parker gestured for Sophie to take a seat on one of the chairs. “Now that you are here, please call me Randolph, or even Randy,” he told her.
Once upon a time, she had called her husband ‘Alfie’. Sophie blushed as she smiled up at Mr. Parker. “Then you may call me Sophie. I was just admiring your house. It is truly beautiful. Did your company build it?”
Randy beamed at her. “Thank you. It started off as my own project, but my loggers did all of the final work on it. When I was younger and Gwen was but a baby, we lived in a much smaller house. As you can see, my company and I have come a long way.”
She appreciated his pride in his work. It was well-deserved. “I noticed the trees as we were riding here. Have you really climbed up them?”
Randy chuckled and nodded. “One thing you really cannot be if you hope to have any success at being a lumberjack is afraid of heights.” He winked at her, which made Sophie blush further.
“He has fallen before,” Mrs. Pierce piped up, twirling her yarn over her
fingers. “The stories he tells will make you fear for his life, but he has given it up, thank goodness.”
Randy looked down, a little embarrassed. Sophie noticed that he was blushing, which only served to endear him to her further.
“I would not think of it as giving up,” she said, hoping to cheer him up and show that she supported him. “I think it is impressive to go from being a lumberjack to owning your own logging company. It’s especially marvelous that you have been able to build such wonderful things like this house.”
Mrs. Pierce smiled then. “He and his workers have built many of the buildings in town,” she added. “It is indeed an honor to go from climbing and cutting to being in charge of many employees. Forgive me for my remarks, sir. They were ill advised.”
Randy shook his head, chuckling quietly. “Think nothing of it. You weren’t wrong.” He turned his attention back to Sophie. “Would you like to go out and look at the trees with me one of these days soon?” he asked her. “Mrs. Pierce could stay here and look after the children, or you could bring them along if you like. It has been a while since Gwen last saw the land, or played in the snow for that matter. We have had several dustings these past few weeks. I predict a beautiful holiday is in store for us. Almost as though God wanted to put on a show to welcome you here.”
Sophie laughed lightly. “I do believe He was showing off his skills when he made this place. Seattle is absolutely beautiful. I would love to go out and see more of the land with you. We shall have to ask if the children would like to come along. It would be wonderful to spend some of our Christmas out among the…what are those trees called?” She enjoyed nature and believed forests to be breathtaking, but, not being an outdoorsman like Randy, she did not know the proper names of a great many things.
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