Michael and David stayed a little longer before making their excuses. Tomorrow would be an early start just like every other day.
Hearing the door finally shut behind them, Jared sunk down further into his battered old chair in front of the fire and shoved out his legs. He let out a sigh as he took a cinnamon-colored twist of tobacco from his pocket and used a papery corn shuck husk to roll up a cigarette. He lit it and smoked it slowly, blowing the smoke out direct at the red embers in the grate.
“What do you think then, Eric, Fairy? Good idea?” Jared murmured, staring deep into the glow.
Eric loped over and stretched his chin onto Jared’s thigh, looking up at him.
Jared felt one hot wiry velvet ear and rested his hand on the dog’s head. Eric raised his hairy eyebrows, pulling them together and up toward the center of his forehead. He made a gentle questioning whine as he looked into Jared’s face.
“You know what’s right, don’t you boys? What do you think, should I go tomorrow? I guess I have to, though I’ve no idea how to behave around a woman who’s come to be my bride.”
Jared looked into the fire and for a moment it seemed like the weight of the world was on him. His eyes were dark green in this light, each holding a reflection of the red embers. Jared looked like nothing could shake him out of this state. His face fell a little and the skin between his brows bunched together. He let out a deep sigh.
His dogs watched him anxiously, their eyes on his private face that no one else ever saw. Jared was needing something, that was for sure.
Chapter 9
Ellie was nearing the end of her train journey out west to Oregon State. Although the journey had been long and grueling, it was easier for Ellie than the hard manual work she was used to. She had planned to sleep through much of her journey, but she had felt too excited and restless to slumber. Instead of sleeping she looked out of the window and thought.
As she watched the rolling hills she knew that every mile brought her closer to her destiny. She celebrated within herself with every new variety of tree she saw. The stranger the countryside around her looked, the happier she felt. It meant she was getting farther and farther away from Boston.
Ellie prayed that her new employers would be decent people who would allow her to remain free in heart and spirit. Still, surely anything would be better than Ursula and Gergmins. Her new employers were unlikely to try and marry her off to a monster, and if she didn’t like the job she could leave.
Although Ellie was worried, she felt happier than she had felt since her family had died. She was free at last. Free right now, riding in this train to an unknown situation.
It was shocking how easily everything had slid into place once she had published her advert and got the reply.
Come right away, you will be very welcome. No references required, we trust you. Tickets enclosed from Boston to Oregon.
It had seemed a little informal to Ellie, even eccentric. Was this how people did business in Oregon?
Back in Boston she had awoken before dawn and slipped out as silent as a mouse. It had still been dark when she had left the house and she planned to wait at a teashop in the center of town before catching her train.
She had all her worldly belongings with her in one small trunk. Two spare work dresses, a petticoat and underdress, two bonnets, her Bible, and her lace collars and cuffs for Sunday best. She wore her smartest blue work dress. Around her neck was the only piece of jewelry she owned, the locket her Ma had given her.
She had been overjoyed to leave the house. Good riddance. She vowed never to return to the place, and never to set foot in Boston again either. The only regret she had was leaving Briggs, though she hoped that somehow she would see him again one day.
Briggs had prepared a small set of provisions to sustain her through her journey, and had given them to her the night before, carefully wrapped up in wax paper. He had been to the market and got her a treat. A slice of dark pink chewy salted ham. He had packed the ham with some slices of bread which he had spread with hot yellow mustard. There were hard biscuits and some small apples in the package too. They bade each other farewell that night.
“I admit, miss, I am both envious of you leaving and sorry to see you go because I will miss you. Whoever these people are, they are lucky to have you, remember that.”
Ellie was not so sure about that. She had not told a lie in her advert, for she certainly was a good housekeeper. However her body was still weak and thin as a result of the typhoid. She didn’t have the robustness and power needed to manage a large household properly. Maybe she could manage a very small house.
The illness had left her with nerve problems which meant she would drop things unexpectedly, a source of great anger and irritation to Ursula. She had also sustained inner ear damage which meant she would fall over when an unexpected dizzy spell knocked her sideways.
Added to that, she had no idea how to cook. When her family was sick she had tended to their needs, but they hadn’t had much food to prepare. They had survived on bread and scraps.
When she had moved to Ursula’s house, Ellie had eagerly asked if she might take care of the food preparation. Cooking was something she felt drawn to and wanted to do. As a result, she had not been allowed to cook anything. It was as if Ursula had taken a note of her desires and made a point of making sure they would not be fulfilled.
Ellie felt overwhelmingly grateful that there were people out here in the west who were prepared to take her on. They had no assurance of her abilities. She felt every determination to make these folks glad they had chosen her. She resolved to make up for her lack of strength by working longer hours. That is what she had done at Ursula’s house and that is what she would do here.
It had to work out. She had no other option.
Ellie could see from the scenery that they would soon pull into the station and she would meet her new employer. Her stomach started turning somersaults though she showed no outward sign of it.
Her slim pale face was cool and composed, and her brown hair was pulled into a low bun with her bonnet firmly tied over the top. The smokestack on the train had blown a cinder and slightly singed her work dress. She had smothered it out quickly but it had left a small black mark.
Earlier, in private, she had carefully wiped her face with the new white handkerchief she had saved for the purpose. She had checked her reflection. At least there were no sooty marks on her skin.
There were a couple of slight scratches still showing on her face from her tumble into the garden escaping Gergmins. Ellie hoped they were not too noticeable. The main thing was to look clean, neat and presentable. Like a suitable housekeeper.
As the train slowed and pulled to a halt, Ellie spotted a tall young man standing very still on the station with two large intelligent-looking gray dogs sitting at his boots. He looked like he was in another world. Not on a train station at all. Not waiting for a train. Not even noticing it pulling in.
He had an attractive, noble face with a high forehead. His deep-set eyes looked piercing even from this distance, and he had a largish nose set above a strong chin and jaw. There was something peaceful about the way he stood there, motionless, in his big black boots and hat.
Ellie watched him, fascinated. Then she jolted herself back to reality.
This is it. He could be my employer. He most likely is my employer, as he is the only person standing on that platform.
Ellie lugged her trunk, and as the train doors opened, she took her first step into the land of the west.
Chapter 10
Jared had awoken that morning with a groan. What had he agreed to? He had work to do on the farm. Cattle to tend to. His workmen could keep things running while he was gone, but what a waste of time this was going to be.
He could not back out now. The lady would be arriving later on in the day and he could not abandon her and leave her waiting at the station. Grammy had really gone too far this time. She did these things on impulse sometimes. This ti
me she had done it again, and it was going to cause problems all round.
Some tiny part of him wondered if this mail order bride might be the flaxen-haired lady he had dreamed up the night before. He was going to meet a fine lady from Boston who was coming to be his wife.
Jared had got up in one fast bound, shaking the covers off him as if to rid himself of the nonsense thought. He had set his mind on the day at hand and decided to get some extra work done in the time he had before leaving.
Now Jared was standing at the station. He had arrived early and had been waiting there for thirty minutes.
Elizabeth Bates, twenty-one years of age. That was all he knew. No description, no height, no hair color, nothing.
He stood without moving a hair, his eyes fixed on a point far away, thinking of anything but trains. His parents had died in a train crash.
It had been a senseless, stupid, random event. There was no point thinking about it, and he never did, except when his nighttime dreams shoved it back in his face. Most of the time he kept his head on straight, kept working, kept moving forward and didn’t chew over the past.
Right now, standing at the train station, he didn’t want to think about it either. So he mentally counted his cattle, noting their individual markings in his mind.
As Jared stood there tall and poised, Eric and Fairy lay by his feet. They waited patiently, trusting there was a point to all this standing around.
Eric’s ears pricked up and Fairy’s followed suit. There was a distant squeal of a steam train as it wound through the mountains and pulled round toward the town. The dogs hauled themselves up and sat expectantly either side of Jared on the dusty platform.
Jared didn’t move. He didn’t stop counting his cattle.
The train slowed to a halt at the station. Jared kept his eyes fixed ahead, focused on a distant point. A few people were getting off. Gradually the platform cleared. Still he stood, looking ahead. He heard footsteps hesitantly approaching. He could sense someone standing in front of him at a respectful distance. He looked.
A petite woman, or lady he should say, had fixed him with her wide blue eyes and was regarding him quizzically.
Her eyes were so big they seemed to take up half her face, and her thick eyelashes only made her eyes stand out more. She was pleasant-looking with very pale skin. She had a neat medium-sized nose that turned up ever so slightly and small ears half hidden under her bonnet. Her eyebrows were slightly raised.
“I’m sorry to bother you, sir, but are you from the Ford household? I was supposed to be met here.”
Jared came back to reality. He felt unbearably uncomfortable; in fact all he wanted to do was hightail it out of there. He remembered his manners and addressed the woman standing in front of him.
“Yes, you are right ma’am, I am. You are Elizabeth Bates?”
Jared’s voice came out gruffer than he had meant it to. He was not sure what level of formality to use with a Boston lady he had never met before.
“Ha! Yes, excuse me, it’s just, please call me Ellie, I can hardly recognize that name as me.” She blushed slightly, and he realized she was probably as nervous as he was.
“I am pleased to meet you, ma’am, Ellie, miss, …" This was not going well.
She looked relieved and she stood there, holding her trunk and looking up at him expectantly.
“I am pleased to meet you too, sir."
“Call me Jared, let’s drop all this formality once and for all.”
She nodded and looked down.
He had to pull himself together. He had no idea how to deal with a mail order bride. Still, he had to take some kind of action. He decided it would be best to start for home and they could talk things through on the way. He reached forward for the trunk Ellie had dragged off the train with difficulty. He lifted it as easily as a twig from her hands.
“We’ll go to my buggy, then, and get going.”
They walked along together in the afternoon sunshine. One tall easy cowboy striding in his big black boots and hat, one small slim woman trotting in a blue calico dress, and two rangy long-legged gray dogs loping along beside them.
Jared considered the lady walking by his side. She seemed confident for a woman on her own. There was something about the clear, frank way she looked at him that made him feel she was a strong character. It seemed at odds with her frail physical bearing.
She was very slim. Looked like she could hardly lift a pail of water. Her thin face was drawn and he could see gray-blue smudges of tiredness under her eyes. Her little hands had looked small and weak when he had taken the trunk from her. How on earth could she do laundry or run a house as a wife would be expected to do?
He had noticed too, how plainly dressed she was. Her face looked wiped clean and her brown hair was scraped back off her face. There was even a little scratch on her cheek. Jared mused as to whether she had tended animals in the home she had come from.
One thing was for sure. There was no artifice about her, no trying to look pretty to meet her future husband. In fact, she hadn’t tried to charm him in the least, neither in looks nor manner.
He sighed inwardly. He had no one to consult with about this situation. He had to think it through for himself, right now, and do what he felt to be best and right. How did he even feel about her? Some tiny, immature part of him even felt disappointed that she was not some great beauty that had set his heart alight like the start of a great romantic story.
Chapter 11
Jared rolled his eyes at himself. What did he expect, his ideal goddess standing right there on the platform? Love at first sight?
He needed to take charge of the situation and deal with it like a man. Lord knows what Grammy would think, but that was not his concern. This was his life and his potential bride. Jared knew he had to make some kind of decision. He could not let this state of affairs drag on.
They walked along the path together and his buggy came into view. The two horses were standing patiently waiting for him. Jared felt he ought to say something to let Ellie know what to expect.
“There’s my buggy. We’ll go along back to my homestead, it’ll take around two hours all in.”
“Thank you, I appreciate it.” Ellie spoke clearly. Jared noticed her gentle self-assurance, forthright but undemanding. She didn’t seem concerned that she had just met her new husband-to-be. She wasn’t asking anything of him. She appeared to be happy for him to take control and tell her what she needed to know.
Most women in her position would be making a fuss. They’d be complaining about something or other. Fretting about their wedding dress or asking about the dwelling they’ll be living in.
Jared stood back to escort Ellie into the buggy, raising his arm to support her. Then he realized she had flitted in perfectly well on her own. She smiled at him from her seat.
“I’m about your height now. I can talk to your face without straining my neck to see you.”
She spoke with an air that made him feel as if she was letting him in on a secret. Jared felt something inside him relax a little. Maybe this whole situation could be resolved quite easily. She seemed like a reasonable and friendly enough woman. He just had to work out what to say, so as not to hurt her feelings.
Eric and Fairy leapt up into the buggy and sat in the space behind the seat. Although they were gentle dogs that did not snarl, Jared knew that some people were afraid of them on account of their size.
“I hope you don’t mind my dogs. They come along with me pretty much everywhere I go.”
“Oh no, they are welcome to sit with us. They look like they won’t bite me at least.”
“Don’t worry, they only bite people they take a dislike to. You seem to be passing the test for now.”
Ellie laughed, apparently delighted with his reply.
Jared smiled to himself as he flicked the reins. That’s the kind of remark many Boston ladies would take offense to. Not this woman though. She thinks it’s funny. He stole a glance at her as they rode
along.
She looked like the happiest lady you could imagine. She was flopped in a little heap on her seat, blissfully soaking in the sun’s golden rays right onto her face. She was watching the new scenery pass by as if it were the most wonderful view on earth. A contented sigh heaved her chest and she looked grateful for what she had. Just seeing her like that made Jared feel at ease.
She certainly didn’t look like she was starting a new life as a wife. She wasn’t saying much either.
Just then, Fairy came and wriggled his head under Ellie’s resting arm. He plonked his head on her lap, looking up at her with soft endearing eyes. She looked down and lifted her arm to let the dog come underneath and rested it back down onto Fairy’s shoulders.
Jared caught her eye and smiled. “Yep, definitely passed the test all right.” Jared gave her a wink in spite of himself. He was beginning to admire this woman’s self-possession and relaxed air.
Jared took a hold of himself.
Now is the time to resolve this, before it goes any further.
Jared knew he didn’t want to marry some woman he had just met by pure haphazard chance. Whoever this lady was, she was not suitable for him in any case. This birthday surprise was a crazy idea and Grammy was going to have to be disappointed.
He heard himself speaking before he had decided what to say.
“Ma’am, Ellie I mean, I think we need to decide how this is going to work …”
There was a pause. Shucks, have I upset her? Jared didn’t want to be uncomplimentary to a lady.
Jared could see Ellie raise her eyebrows a little in surprise as she emerged from her reverie. She paused, perhaps to bring her focus back to the present moment. Then she spoke airily.
“Oh yes, I would also like that. I think a trial period would work well for the both of us.”
Jared’s mind worked quickly as he tried to process her comment.
What on earth did she mean by that, how could she speak so blithely and readily about a thing of such importance? A trial marriage did she mean, or a trial time together, or … that is not proper any way you think about it.
Mail Order Love (Sweet Mail Order Bride Historical Romance Novel) (Oregon Mail Order Brides) Page 4
