Jared glared at Michael.
“I meant, where is she now?”
“Oh I see, she was a bit dizzy so she went to tidy herself up I think. She’s coming back. Though, I have not seen her for a good half hour now, come to think of it.”
Jared’s lip snarled up and he looked set to cuff Michael there and then.
“You manage to tend the cattle and protect them from harm, then you let a sick lady wander off on her own. What kind of man are you? Which way did she go?”
Michael looked shocked and suddenly more sober, aware that he might lose his job if he displeased Jared. He pointed at the door to the outside.
“She walked that way I think … I will come and help. Jared, I was not thinking straight, as usual I’ve drunk a few beers and -”
“Stay there!”
Jared went for the door without a second look. Michael was a gump. Ellie could have fallen down in a dizzy spell and banged her head. She was a defenseless girl, she should not be wandering around without a man to escort her. He had to find her.
He pushed through the crowds and went through the door that led outside. The outside dance area was packed with people now. They had come from miles around for the dance. Everyone had their freshest, prettiest clothes on, newly washed and ironed. The girls had flowers and bows in their hair. It would be a pleasant sight if he wasn’t worried sick about Ellie.
He could see a crowd seated on a circle of straw bales. The crowd watched the dancers jigging, gearing up to join in with them. There was a set of eight dancers in white outfits with ribbons streaming from their ankles and wrists in red, white and blue. The four men and four ladies called as they danced a reel, the dust rising up as they stamped and whooped under the stars. The sound of the fiddles was loud and someone banged a drum in time. The laughter and shouts were raucous in Jared’s ears.
Jared approached every person he came across and described Ellie, asking if they had seen her. People could hardly hear him as he spoke. They put arms around his shoulders and offered him beer instead.
Then as the band started up a new song, people moved to join in with the dance, and a couple of bold ladies tried to pull him into the circle.
Jared shook them off like flies.
Where is she?
With every step, he worried more. He paced around, pushing through the crowds, but he could not find her.
He decided the best idea was to comb the whole area. Perhaps she had collapsed in a dark corner. There was a haystack at the far end of the dancers. He walked around to the back of it, aiming to start there and work his way down.
Finally.
There she was. Lit up by the moonlight and fast asleep, slightly curled to one side in the dry fragrant hay.
Thank God.
She was safe. Alone, but safe. Jared reproached himself for having let this happen. He had spotted some rough cowboys from out of town here tonight. Anything could have happened.
Where had Joe Allen and Michael been? What were they thinking of, letting her off alone like that? Joe had been tasked with taking care of Ellie tonight, and he had failed.
Jared would admit one thing though. He was glad it had been him - Jared - who had found her. He was the one who would rescue her. Not Joe, and not Michael.
Ellie face glowed peacefully in the moonlight. Jared squatted down beside her. “Ellie?” he whispered. He could see her sleep was deep. He gently shook her shoulder and her head drooped forward. Fast asleep. Jared thought quickly.
I’m getting her out of here. She’s exhausted. It’s my fault for letting her work too hard. I should have thought of her instead of being caught up in my own affairs.
Jared burned with anger at himself. He knelt to lift her gently and quietly into his arms. She flopped toward him. He placed her arms around his neck and her head fell onto his chest.
You are coming home with me.
Jared strode back through the crowds carrying Ellie in his arms as light as a feather. His face was set determinedly and he kept his eyes fixed on the door. A ripple of people turned their necks and stared with unabashed interest at the spectacle of Jared holding a lady so intimately in public. Some of the ladies had a look of envy in their eyes. Murmurs of gossip were already starting to brew.
Just inside the main hall, Jared saw Michael and motioned at him with his head.
“Ellie has passed out, I am taking her home. You are to tell Joe Allen, and you are to escort Harriet and Anne back to their hotel once they are ready.”
“Yes sir.” Michael had sobered up relatively quickly once he realized he had displeased Jared.
As Jared turned back outside to make his way through the crowds and leave, he came across Harriet and Anne.
“Jared, where have you been, we -”. Harriet was mid-sentence when she saw Ellie, and the look on Harriet’s face was one of shock and disgust. Anne looked as if she wanted to rip Ellie from his arms right there and then.
Anne spoke up. “I was just coming to get you for the polka Jared, it’s starting now. Poor Ellie! Too weak to stay the evening. You must let Michael take care of her now.”
“And you must not tell me what to do,” Jared muttered just audibly as he held Ellie slightly closer to him and strode back out, leaving Harriet and Anne gasping in his wake.
Chapter 32
Jared’s boots crunched on the dirt as he carried Ellie back to the buggy. He walked straight across the field and out through the side gate, latching it shut behind him. The sounds of the crowds and the music faded with each step.
Jared reached the buggy and tenderly placed Ellie on the seat. He reached over to get the rugs he kept stored away in the back and padded Ellie all around so she wouldn’t get jolted as they drove. He paused momentarily to look at her face and smiled as he hitched up the horses.
Still fast asleep. Looks like she’s tucked up in bed already.
Jared clicked to the horses and the buggy started up. He set the horses going at a moderate pace. He wanted to get back home as soon as he could without jarring the buggy and waking Ellie up.
Looks like she needs that sleep. Sleep of a hard worker, that’s what it is.
It was a tranquil journey back. Jared glanced to the side every now and then to make sure Ellie was safe and secure in her nest of rugs. He watched the winds ripple the tall grasses of the prairie, lit up silver and gray by the light of a crescent moon. The sky was metallic black, studded with stars all the way down to the horizon.
There was only the sound of the horses’ hooves clopping, the buggy lightly rattling, and the soft wind in Jared’s ears.
Jared was a little way from home when he saw a dark shadow coming at him, racing fast. He lost sight of it below a hill, then upon reaching the crest, Jared saw it was Eric. Eric kept up the pace until he had caught up to Jared and he stood there panting. He had only enough breath for one little woof.
“Eric, you came all the way to meet me, good boy.”
Eric panted and grinned at the sound of Jared’s voice, glad to be with his master again. He turned his face back toward home and trotted alongside the buggy as they carried on.
There was an eerie howling in the distance, first one howl then another and another, echoing other. Wolves.
Eric’s ears pricked up at the sound of the distant howls, and his back stiffened as he listened. As their calls faded away, Eric relaxed and looked up at Jared with his big gentle eyes.
“You’ve come to see me and Ellie home safely, boy. What would I do without you? Good dog.”
Jared looked to the side at Ellie again. “Eric, you are a darn sight better than Joe and Michael at protecting, I’ll tell you that. It’s all right, she’s got me and you now.”
Jared pulled up quietly at the house, unhitched the horses and bedded them down for the night. He scooped Ellie into his arms, as warm and floppy as a sleeping pup. Her hair smelt like orange blossom and hay, mixed with the slight scent of cloves. Jared thought of the spice cake she had baked earlier that day. It ha
d perfumed the whole house.
Jared felt intoxicated as he heard a rushing in his ears. The noise had come out of nowhere. It was followed by the buzzing squeak of a bird call. Nighthawks. The rushing noise was nighthawks swooping down and causing a burr of wind through their feathers. He looked up to see them curving through the moonlight, their solid forms outlined against the night sky.
Jared pushed the front door open with his boot and climbed up the stairs to Ellie’s attic room, deftly making his way in the dark. Jared was quiet and steady as he climbed so as not to wake his charge. Grammy had long gone to bed so the house was quiet. Jared carried Ellie into her pristine room lit by the moonlight.
Jared drew back the white linen covers of her bed with one hand. He transferred Ellie down from his arms and placed the quilts over her. He sank down on a chair. He felt tired all of a sudden, glad to sit and rest for a while.
Jared yawned and rubbed his forehead. He looked up and his eyes were caught by Ellie’s face lit up by the pale moonlight. Her thick chocolate eyelashes were glossy against the golden brown of her skin. She was hardly moving as she breathed. A shallow, peaceful breath. Then a long pause. Then another breath. She was in the deepest of sleeps, floating away in a dream somewhere.
It had been four weeks since he had brought her here by buggy, and now, this was the second time he had done so. Both times, she had ended up asleep on her bed. Jared chuckled softly.
His eyes were tender as he gazed at her sleeping face, lost in thought. As he watched her slumber he spoke in a low voice, quiet enough not to wake her.
“You never stopped working, did you Ellie, with all your crashing into things and falling over? What a clumsy thing. But you just picked yourself right up and carried on going.”
He reached forward and touched her cheek with the back of his fingers, warm against the satin of her cheek for one second. Then he pulled back his hand.
“This Ellie that I see, I can see you fighting inside yourself every day. Trying and trying. Pushing on forward whatever happens. Even though you have no one in the world to call family. Never a tear from you. This Ellie I see, it makes me feel like I … like I am falling into love.”
Jared watched her for a moment longer as he sat on the chair by her bed, his elbows on his knees and his chin resting on his hands. He felt his heart opening as he took a breath. His chest expanded. He did not know if she would have him, but he knew he did not want her to leave his side.
Chapter 33
A warm orange light filtered into Ellie’s bedroom with the dawn. She opened her eyes slowly and stretched the stretch of an animal coming out of hibernation. Her body felt heavy with relaxation, the quilts around her lightly hugging her with warmth. The light played upon her face and she sighed slowly and deeply.
What a wonderful sleep. Finally she had taken the rest she needed. She had replenished her energy stores and felt renewed. Ellie slipped out of bed and walked to the window. The sky was the brightest orange above the hills, fading up into sparkling azure blue. There were smoke-like wisps of cloud running in level lines between the orange and the blue of the sky.
Today was the day. Jared would speak to her. He would tell her if she were to stay here or not. She had worked as hard as could. Pushed herself to the limits of her ability. She had surely done everything she could to prove herself a worthy housekeeper. Ellie felt that the outcome was in the hands of God now. There was nothing more she could do.
She watched as the wispy clouds evaporated, showing the blue behind them. She loved the sky here, so bright and clear. The orange light dimmed as the sun showed itself and began to rise.
Ellie’s mind ranged back over last night and her heart began to beat more quickly. What had happened? How had she got back here? She couldn’t even remember putting herself to bed.
Jared’s steady gaze was still in her mind. Had he really been watching her dance? Surely not. But his countenance had looked so calm, so knowing, so … adoring.
Ellie racked her mind, trying to remember what had happened next. She could remember drinking lemonade, watching the dancers underneath the stars. She remembered the jostling crowds, the hanging lamps, the bales of straw, a haystack.
More pieces of memory began to filter back into her awareness. Jared had been there … she remembered being close to him … the jolt of the buggy. Could he have taken her home?
She turned back into her room to get dressed and ready for the day. Her eye alighted on a small piece of parchment paper on her dresser. She felt as if she were still dreaming as she lifted the paper with the finger pads of both hands as if it were a delicate gold leaf.
There was Jared’s clean, balanced handwriting:
What a wash out!
You fell asleep before I danced with you.
Your Jared
Ellie breathed in as her spirits soared higher, and let out the air in a snuffle of a laugh.
My Jared? He wanted to dance with me? He is my Jared?
She checked herself. No, she should not read too much into it. It was just a note, dashed off quickly in his usual friendly manner. She must have fallen asleep, and poor Jared had been tasked with taking her home.
It must have been a deep sleep then, to last through the whole journey home in the buggy. Ellie smiled as she raised her eyes to the mirror and shook her head at herself. What a thing to happen.
Ellie rinsed her face, cooling her warm cheeks with the cold water. She bent at the waist and brushed her hair a hundred times, working her energy out until her hair shone like silk. Then she started a braid on the left side by her temple, taking in pieces as she braided down and along until all the hair was in the braid by the ends. She curled and pinned the braid up, selected small pink daisies from the vase on her dresser, and pinned them into the coil.
Ellie took a dress she had not worn yet. A pink and powder blue dress of checks, each check so large it was the size of a handkerchief, with the bodice of the dress decorated in pink gingham ribbon. She put on her petticoat and pulled the dress over her head. Then she laced up her brown work boots and skipped down the stairs, humming a tune from the night before.
“Good morning Grammy, let me get you your coffee. I am up a little later today, do excuse me.”
Grammy twinkled at Ellie. “Ah, it’s you at last! From the moment I opened my eyes this morning I’ve been desperate to know how you enjoyed your spring dance. Did you make the boys weep?”
“Oh, for sure when I stepped on their toes I did. Two left feet I’ve got, Grammy.” Ellie started up the coffee, making it in her own special way that Grammy loved.
“You must have been the prettiest girl in the room. I bet they queued up to get their toes stepped on, if they had any sense.” Grammy had a look of innocence on her face. “Jared see you, did he?”
“Oh Grammy, it seems I fell asleep and I think he had to take me home. I’m feeling rather bashful about it actually."
“I’ll come clean, I know all about it. Jared told me earlier. Just wondered how much you remembered, that’s all.” Grammy fixed Ellie with a happy eye. “He’s gone out early today, he said he had business up out in Northcote. Takes a while to get there so he left before dawn.”
Ellie tended to the coffee, unsure of how much she wanted to show her feelings.
Grammy helped Ellie by fetching the milk and the sugar bowl. She seemed unusually sprightly this morning. “But I do believe he’ll be talking with you later, as your one month is up today, so it is.”
Ellie looked at Grammy and pushed her coffee toward her. Grammy regarded Ellie as she took a sip.
“And you are not to worry, my dear, you understand? I can’t even remember what it was like before we had you here, and I’m not letting you go in a hurry.”
“Oh Grammy. You don’t know how happy that makes me.” Ellie looked into Grammy’s eyes and glowed.
“Enough of that now dear. I wouldn’t dream of you going anywhere. As for today, there are some sewing things I need for a job I am doi
ng. Can you take the second buggy into town with the old horses and pick up what I need? Michael has checked over the buggy and it’s working fine.”
“I’d love to, Grammy, I enjoy driving. It would be a welcome thing today, I feel as if I have more energy than I know what to do with.”
Ellie hitched up the horses and set up the old buggy. With her bonnet and shawl, and her basket for the items she was to buy, she climbed up and set off for town.
Ginger and Treacleface steadily clopped along on the trail. Ellie enjoyed the solitude and rest. This was easy work after her usual occupation of attacking the household tasks. She felt an excited tickle in her stomach as if she were going too fast over a hill. It was a feeling of excitement and anticipation.
Ellie thought again of the note, hearing its contents in her mind, the words already tucked away in her heart.
What a wash out! You fell asleep before I danced with you. Your Jared.
Mine. How I would love for that to be true. Could I have a chance, maybe?
Ellie’s mind ranged back over the night before. It had been the deepest sleep. A sleep that was impossible to wake from, where things had been happening around her but she could not rouse herself. She had felt the touch of a creature or an angel, a warm brush against her cheek. Some kind of dream.
Grammy said there is every reason for me to stay on as housekeeper. This is everything I ever wanted. A chance for a new life.
Ellie jiggled her legs in time with the buggy. She couldn’t keep still. The anticipation of this afternoon was too much. She felt that things were working out so well, it was almost too perfect. A part of her worried that something would happen to bring her down from this height.
Chapter 34
Ellie arrived in town, secured the horses, and walked to the general store. Along the way, she passed the saloon, the blacksmith’s, the leather tanner, and the rickety old medical supplies shop. As she walked along the dusty main street, taking in the view of the buildings, she wondered if she would be here for many years hence. Whether she would grow old with these shop fronts and they would be here to witness it.
Mail Order Love (Sweet Mail Order Bride Historical Romance Novel) (Oregon Mail Order Brides) Page 12
