A Bride for Esau

by Parker J Cole

“Not at all. I didn’t steal anything, Miss Hampton. But I will say this; if you can’t prove to me that you’re in possession of these receipts by the end of the month, which isn’t far from now, then you will continue to pay me.”

  “I don’t have the money.”

  “Well…” His cold eyes glinted like shards of glass. “There are other ways I’ll accept payment.”

  “Other ways?” She shook her head as if to clear it of cobwebs. “What other ways?”

  That smirk reappeared, slanting the right side of his face. “I’m going to have you think really carefully about that.”

  Mr. North kept his wintry gaze fixed on her. The longer he stared, Delilah’s skin rippled with a needle-like sensation. Her mouth fell open as his words and their meaning dawned on her.

  “I will never debase myself in such a manner. How dare you even suggest--!”

  “I know what you are, Miss Hampton.”

  Her stomach plummeted to her feet. No!

  Averting her eyes, she clutched the skirt of her gown. “I’m not sure what you mean, Mr. North.”

  “I see. You’re going to pretend you’re something more than the daughter of a whore?”

  Heat crept over her face and her shoulders hunched over her chest.

  She choked on his name. “Mr. North, I am not—”

  “You are,” he interjected. “Blood wills out and it will with you. So, I’ll be waiting here until either you show me the receipts or you…”

  His voice trailed away; his meaning not lost on her. She couldn’t meet his gaze. “I’m leaving.”

  With as much dignity as she could muster, she stood and turned around. Her hand clutched the doorknob when Mr. North called her name.

  “Yes?”

  “Remember what I said now. Receipts in my hand by the end of the month or you will belong to me.”

  Her shoulders rolled violently at his words. Mr. North’s laughter followed her out of the small room and onto the street.

  Delilah could hardly keep her feet moving one in front of the other as she walked, her head bent against the blustery wind of a chilly winter day. People who shared the sidewalk with her were no more than half-formed shadows that went in and out of clarity.

  Had she really tried to gain her own against Mr. North? How proud she had been when she strode into his office, her head held high as she was flushed with the success of having her obligation to this man fulfilled.

  How more wrong could she have been?

  “Are you all right, miss?”

  A kindly old woman looked at her with some concern. Delilah longed to tell her the truth. “I’m fine. Thank you.”

  She walked across the street, feeling the rumble underneath her feet as carriages clopped by. There was more at stake now than she thought. Anna and Heather were depending on her. They had all worked tirelessly and now…this.

  A short while later she came to the towering building of the Magdalen Society of Philadelphia. Four stories tall with somber brick work along its outer façade. Her gaze lingered on the sight of the thirteen-foot wall that surrounded the Society.

  Matron McDonald had once stated the wall was for the protection of the ‘Magdalens’, women like her mother who had been accepted into the Society to avoid the pitfalls of sinful living. To prevent their corruption from the city while within the confines and guiding hand of the family.

  “Virtue can be instilled in a wayward Magdalen,” the matron stated to them as they sat in community scripture. “That wall protects you from the lifestyle that calls out to you.”

  Was the wall there to keep them protected from the outside influence of the world with all its temptations? Or was it there to keep them from experiencing the world’s delights? Often, Delilah had seen others escape, desperate to leave the strict regime of the Society to make do with their lives on their own terms.

  Thinking of Mr. North, she frowned. Matron McDonald had been correct in some regards. Dishonorable men sought to corrupt women. Which is why she’d done the best she could to ensure that she hadn’t met such a man when she dared to reach out for outside assistance.

  Her lips formed a flat line. Mr. North had tricked her, plain and simple.

  Nearing the front entrance, she stopped and took in a deep breath. What was she to tell Anna? How was she going to help Heather?

  Delilah pasted on a smile and knocked on the door. The smile that had gotten her through the rough years of the Society. The smile she kept on her face when she’d been forced to endure back breaking work, the censure of the staff, and the pitying glances of the potential donors the Society catered to for funding.

  Keep smiling even when it hurts.

  “Miss Hampton,” the door usher said without any greeting. “You’re wanted by Matron immediately upon your return.”

  Delilah’s smile almost slipped, but she stretched it further. “Thank you. I’ll see her right away.”

  The pulse at the base of her throat pounded as she hung up her threadbare outerwear. What could Matron possibly want with her? Delilah sifted through her day, her week even to see if she’d done some infraction but nothing glaring came to her mind. She’d had permission from the Visiting Committee to go out for her meeting with the odious Mr. North. Her chores were completed. Any that weren’t she was certain Anna had taken care of for her.

  So, what could the matron want?

  The question plagued her as she traversed down the halls. Framed on either side by dingy white walls, she passed paintings of benefactors of the Society, including a formidable picture of its first president the late most Reverend William White.

  For a moment, she paused at his picture. In the dim reflection, she saw her smile had slipped. Swiftly, she stretched her lips back to its place and continued her way. The sound of her feet on the wood floor echoed in a dismal fashion down the hall.

  Reaching the matron’s office, she knocked on the door. The matron’s voice called out, “Come in.”

  Taking in a deep breath and saying a swift prayer, she pushed it open. “Good afternoon, Matron, I was told you wished to see me?”

  “That’s correct, Miss Hampton. Please come in and close the door.”

  Delilah’s palms slickened with moisture. Her heart slammed against her chest as she sat before the woman who had overseen the Society longer than she’d been alive.

  “I’ve been reviewing your file, Miss Hampton. You are one of the rarest of the Magdalens, a young girl given to us to raise as opposed to reformation. Throughout these past ten years, you’ve shown remarkable ability to negate the wanton characteristics of your parentage. You’ve fully embraced what we at the Society hope to cultivate with all our Magdalens.”

  Delilah released a pent-up breath. “Thank you, Matron.”

  “Your understanding of Scripture, recitation of it, as well as your willingness to help new Magdalens to acclimate has not gone unnoticed.”

  A warm feeling flooded through her at the praise. “I don’t know what to say, Matron.”

  The woman smiled. “Say nothing. It’s due to this that I would like to talk to you about one or two things. Things of a highly confidential matter.” The matron leaned forward. “I trust you can keep confidences.”

  “Yes, Matron.”

  “Good.” The woman clasped her hands together. “The Board of Managers have discussed thoroughly the need for change in our approach. To be frank, we never accepted young children such as yourself into our fold, preferring to do what we can to reform those women of ill repute.”

  Matron glanced over at the corner where the large cross rested against the wall. “Our efforts have yielded little success. A woman must want to change her ways in the same way as a man must. We can tell her all the glories of righteous living but without the desire for righteous living, we can make little headway.”

  “I see, Matron,” Delilah responded.

  “When you came to us, we were going to turn you and your mother away. But I felt if we were to approach this new way of t
hinking, capturing young girls before they were lured away, then we wanted to determine how effective it would be with you and Miss Madison.

  “You have exceeded our expectations. You are a stellar example of what this Society can achieve. Due to this, we’d like to offer you a staff position with the Society. We’d like for you to become a leader among us and help us protect the virtue of young girls before riotous living takes hold of them.”

  She blinked at the enormity of what the matron said. “I…I don’t know what to say,” Delilah stammered when she caught a certain look in Matron’s eyes that hinted she expected some sort of response.

  “I’m sure.” The matron relaxed as if Delilah had passed an examination. “In order to do that, you must understand it comes with a certain level of respectability that must be maintained by all our staff members.” She paused in a deliberate way. “Do you understand?”

  Delilah’s smile almost vanished at the way the matron held her to the seat with a piercing gaze. “I’m not sure, Matron?”

  “Then I’ll be clear. You must end your association with Miss Madison.”

  “Anna?” Her mouth dropped open. “But why? Anna, I mean, Miss Madison has been with the Society for as long as I have.”

  “True, but she doesn’t express the devotion to sound living that you have. We will ask her to leave our Society in a few months.” The woman patted her hand in what she supposed was a comforting way. “It’s best if you end your association with her. You were childhood companions, but as the word of God says, ‘When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.’”

  Delilah sat in silence, feeling the weight crushing her shoulders. What was she to do?

  “I can see you need some time to think. You can come to me with your answer by next week.” She nodded and waved at her in an action of dismissal. “You may go.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  “That dirty scoundrel!” Anna seethed through her teeth. “How dare he!”

  “It’s all my fault,” Heather interjected in a plaintive wail. “If my room hadn’t been broken into—”

  Smile firmly in place, Delilah did what she could to reassure them. “Both of you, please, enough of this nonsense. Neither of you are to blame for this.”

  Not for any reason would she give them cause to suspect there was more to the conversation than she’d revealed.

  “We suspected Mr. North was behind the theft of the receipts. Now it’s certain.” Red bloomed on Anna’s cheeks as she stalked back and forth across the tiny room.

  Delilah sighed. “We can’t prove it. The boarding house proprietress stated she didn’t allow anyone to enter Heather’s room.”

  “The proprietress is lying, Delilah,” Anna retorted. “She’s only saying that because—”

  “I’m a loose woman,” Heather finished hollowly.

  Delilah and Anna wrapped their arms around her. “You’re not doing that anymore,” she said soothingly, “And even if you were, you’re our sister. Don’t forget that.”

  When Delilah and Anna spotted Heather’s bruised and battered form in the alleyway not too far away, they had carried her limp frame to the Society, begging for help. It was useless to take her to the crowded hospital. Her clothes and painted face would have given her occupation away.

  Grudgingly, the Matron had allowed them to nurse Heather back to health. The day she showed a semblance of marked improvement, Heather was asked to leave.

  Delilah had taken it upon herself to find her respectable lodgings that would accept her, but the price had come high. This was why she went to Mr. North for assistance.

  At the lodgings, Heather continued to recover from the brutal attack of which she had little memory. Delilah had found Heather’s lack of recall a mixed blessing. She wouldn’t have to live with the memories.

  But if Simon North had his way, then Heather may be forced to…

  “Did you hear back from your potential groom?” Delilah asked as a way of shifting the conversation to more pleasant news.

  Or was it her way of shifting her thoughts away from the predicament?

  Whatever the reason, it worked. A smile wiped away the strain from around Heather’s mouth. “I have.” With eager feet, Heather dashed across the room to a tiny drawer, pulling out an envelope. “It’s three weeks old.”

  Anna clapped her hands. “Does your groom seem excited for your arrival?”

  Heather’s brown eyes gleamed. “He does. I can’t believe it.” The next instant, she looked at Delilah. “Do you still have the funds for the traveling arrangements?”

  A rock settled in the pit of her stomach. You’ll figure it out, Delilah. “Of course! Don’t you worry about anything.”

  Heather’s shoulders relaxed. “I’m so glad.”

  How was she going to escape the clutches of Mr. North? It wasn’t just the dishonor of having associated with him for a good cause. It was the fact that if she couldn’t procure the receipt of the payments, Mr. North would—

  “What do you think, Delilah?” Anna held up a dress. “Do you think Heather should wear this one when she goes to meet her husband?”

  “Anna,” Heather groaned as she twirled a lock of her hair. “He’s not my husband yet.”

  “He will be once he sees you in this,” Anna crowed.

  “Don’t be so vulgar, Anna,” Delilah admonished, feeling her smile slip. Matron’s words came to the forefront of her mind. Her gaze went from one friend to the other: Anna with her blonde loveliness, Heather with her red hair and strawberry coloring.

  Could she give up the friendship of Anna? When her mother vanished, never to be heard from again, it was Anna who slept in her bed when the night cries came. Anna, who stood up to the teacher who heavily brandished a stick of obedience across Delilah’s knuckles.

  Yet, she had to admit there was something tempting about staying with the Society. Her days would be planned. No need to eke out an existence for herself. Maybe, at some point, she’d become Matron herself.

  She shuddered. Did she really want to do that? Or had she become so accustomed to her life that she saw no way out of it?

  Anna was the one who suggested they pool their resources together and establish a seamstress and millinery shop. It would cater to the elite of Philadelphia. Yet, when they saw Heather, they had decided to use the money they’d collected over the years to help her. Neither of them regretted it. Heather’s care had required more than they’d saved which had led to seeking out assistance in the form of Mr. North.

  What else could she have done? The Society would not have helped if they’d known the funds would be for Heather. She wouldn’t have lied to obtain it. Banks wouldn’t loan to unmarried women. Even if she had gone to the banks, if they knew of her as a Magdalen, they would be reluctant to lend her funds.

  None of that mattered though. Heather would soon be taken care of. The man whose mail order bride advertisement she’d answered, had no qualms about her past.

  Thank the Lord, it seemed as if Heather would have her own fairytale ending.

  She’d make sure of that, no matter what it cost.

  An insistent knock shattered her thoughts. As though from a long way, she saw Heather and Anna stop in their girlish play and stare at the door. Seeing Heather’s hesitation, Delilah smiled and rose from her perch to open the door.

  “You’re making too much noise,” the proprietress said without preamble. “There’s no need to disturb the other guests.” The woman shot daggers at Heather, her dark eyes like black glass. Though her chin trembled, Heather held the other woman’s gaze.

  “My apologies. It won’t happen again.”

  “Good.” The proprietress sniffed and handed a letter to her. “This came for you.”

  The air lightened once the woman had gone. Anna and Heather giggled like schoolgirls and Delilah hurriedly shushed them. “We don’t want her coming back.”

  “I can’t believe he’s written again!” Heather pushed back a lock of her unbound hair.
/>   “Do you want to share what he says?” Anna asked.

  Heather nodded eagerly, and with trembling fingers, opened the letter. Her green eyes, shining with an inner glow scanned the contents. The beatific smile slowly formed a straight line as she kept reading. Delilah stilled as she waited with bated breath. What in the letter caused the crease in Heather’s brow?

  When she finished reading, Heather’s hand drifted to her side. “Incredible.”

  “What do you mean?” Delilah pulled out the one chair and had Heather sit in it. “Is there something wrong?”

  “I’m not sure,” she responded, lifting the letter, and reading the contents again. “He’s coming here. Tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow!” both she and Anna exclaimed.

  She nodded.

  Delilah’s eyes widened. “But I thought—”

  Anna interrupted with a squeal. “We’ll be able to meet him tomorrow.”

  Delilah gazed back and forth between her friends. This solved one problem. If Heather’s groom were coming here, chances were that he would be taking her back to his home in Montana. A weight lifted off her shoulders.

  She wouldn’t have to find a way to come up with the funds that Heather would have needed for the trip out there.

  Patting Heather on the shoulder, Delilah bent and gave her a quick hug. “When does he arrive?”

  She gave them the information. Now knowing of her favored status in the Society, it should be easy to obtain a pass from the Visitor’s Committee on short notice.

  As to the other problem…

  Her eyes drifted over to Anna who was talking with Heather.

  As to that, she’ll have to figure that one out the day after tomorrow.

  ***

  Tom waited at the vestibule of the small hotel he’d reserved, his hat crushed in his hands. Well-to-do people stared at him in alternating expressions of confusion or disdain. Looking down at himself, he wondered what all the fuss was about. He’d dressed in his best clothes. A dark suit he’d bought several years ago and a string tie. He’d cut his hair and trimmed up his beard.

  He didn’t think he looked too bad.

  What would Heather think?