by Rye Hart
Her aunt and uncle nodded their understanding.
"I'll go take these empty boxes to the car," Uncle Mark said as he left the small apartment.
Eva's aunt lingered a moment, "Okay honey," Aunt Marie added, "if you need anything don't hesitate to ask."
"I won't," Eva smiled.
"Come here," Marie held her arms and enveloped Eva in a tight hug. As Marie walked away, she suddenly stopped just short of the door. She turned back around and sent Eva a serious look. "And Eva, just remember, we are always here for you," she paused for the briefest moment, as if debating her next words, "and the baby." And with those final words, she left Eva alone in her new place.
Eva was determined to face her current world and all the challenges ahead of her with courage. She knew that it wouldn't be easy, but the fear of the challenge no longer intimidated her. The old Eva would have never been strong enough to be where she was right now. And although she sorely missed Bhradain, their short journey had tested Eva's strengths and taught her to put trust in her own abilities.
Chapter Eleven
Eva had been at work when the contractions had started. She had been helping one of the other admins photo copy a set of papers when all of a sudden she felt a gush of water pool at her feet.
"Sweetie," the elderly admin looked at the floor and then back at Eva, "I think your water just broke.
"Yes, I should probably get to the hospital." Eva said sarcastically as a contraction rippled through her and caused her to double over in pain. "Call an ambulance," she said through panted breaths.
"Tsk tsk," the woman teased as she made her way toward the office in search of a phone. As she walked, she started absently telling Eva about the birth of her fifth child, and how he had come so quickly that she ended up giving birth to him in a restaurant. "I gave birth during the second and third course, cleaned him up, and then returned to the table to finish by dessert," she said as she started to dial the emergency line.
"I'm sure you did," Eva said through gritted teeth. She wasn't in the mood to argue with old Mrs. Matthews about the factuality of her story, as she had a well-known tendency to exaggerate.
"Annddd," Mrs. Matthews continued, "only after I finished my dessert did I go to the hospital."
"Great story Mrs. Matthews, but is the ambulance on its way?" Eva asked desperately. Her contractions had subsided for the moment, but she knew that at any second they would return.
"I'm on the phone with them right now sweetie," she called to Eva from across the room.
At this rate, Eva feared she would never make it. Come on Eva, you are stronger than this, she encouraged herself. She gritted her teeth and set her jaw with determination. She was going to be just fine.
****
Eva looked down at the sleeping babe in her arms, her and Bhradain's little baby boy. He had a full head of thick black hair and intense brown eyes, just like his father.
"Drummond," she echoed softly, "I'll name you Drummond, after your father." She pressed a soft kiss on the baby's forehead and gently began to rock him while she hummed a lullaby.
Eva stopped humming the moment she sensed another presence in the room — a presence that caused her body to respond in an instinctual way. She didn't need to look up to know who was standing in the doorway.
"Bhradain," she gasped as she brought her eyes up to meet his with fierce intensity.
Heavy emotions played out on Bhradain's face as he looked down upon the image of Eva holding the babe.
"He's ours," she said softly.
"I ken," his voice wavered on the last word.
Eva smiled at the sound of Bhradain's heavy brogue. She had missed it greatly. "How did you … I mean, where did you?" she had so many questions, but she was too overwhelmed by the surprise to think clearly.
Bhradain walked slowly toward Eva and baby Drummond, his eyes glistening with the hint of tears. "I cannae believe he is ours," he said gruffly.
Eva nodded. Her own eyes stung with tears of joy, her mind still taking its time to fully process that Bhradain had returned to her.
Bhradain leaned closer and brushed his thumb gently against baby Drummond's cheek. "He is beautiful," Bhradain breathed. He turned his gaze back on Eva. "And ye make a radiating mother," he smiled as he spoke.
"Would you like to hold him?" Eva asked Bhradain. He looked surprised, but eager.
"Aye, I would," he said softly. He carefully lifted the sleeping baby out of Eva's arms and brought him close to his chest, cradling him gently.
Eva enjoyed the site of her intense highlander gently rocking their sleeping babe. Her heart ached with the joy of seeing him, while her mind continued to try and wrap itself around the concept that he was indeed here.
"I thought you were gone!" Eva said as she was wiping the tears from her eyes. She wasn't sure how Bhradain had returned to her, and she wanted to know what had happened to him these past few months.
Bhradain looked up from where he had been gazing at their sleeping infant; his eyes locked with hers. "The curse is broken Eva," he said with pure happiness. "Ye broke the curse."
Eva felt even more bewildered. "But the witch said that it was too late," she added.
"Nae," Bhradain said. "Ye remember the night when little Drummond was conceived," he shot Eva a heated look. "Ye said ye were willing to pay the price to help me break the curse," he continued. "Our love and the conception of our little babe broke the witches curse and re-enforced the kingdoms protection long before we ever entered that room."
Eva's eyes widened. "But where were you all these months?" she tried to clarify.
Bhradain laughed. "Aye, the curse was broken in part that night, but it was not complete until little Drummond was born," he explained. "Until then, I could nae come for ye."
"But how did you get here?" Eva asked. Her mind kept racing with questions.
"There are some perks to being a son of a witch," he winked.
Eva threw her hands up in the air in exasperation, "Well I've officially seen it all," she exclaimed. When she looked back up at Bhradain, she couldn't help but giggle. "I can't believe you are back," she sighed. "Are you here for good?" she asked nervously. She suddenly was filled with the fear that he might leave her.
"I will stay as long as ye want me here," he said gently. "Although with ye being a witch, it seems that ye too have the ability to return. I can show ye how," he teased.
Eva nodded as tears welled up in her eyes. "I would Bhradain," she sighed.
Bhradain moved toward her and brought his lips to brush against hers. "I love ye," he breathed gently against her waiting mouth.
"I love you too," she echoed his words a moment before his mouth enveloped hers in an all-encompassing kiss.
Sara
Chapter One
My name is Sara Blanche and to say that I grew up a spoiled brat would be a bit of an understatement. I grew up in the upper crust of New York society. It wasn’t uncommon for my father to be invited to the mayor’s house for dinner or for him to meet dignitaries of foreign countries. We were a very wealthy and well-known family.
My father made his fortune in the investment industry before me or my sisters were born. He was a brilliant investor and had an eye for what kind goods and services were going to take off; it was one of his many skills. My father was a brilliant man and the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.
I was always interested in his business dealings. I watched him with a keen eye as I grew up, taking in the world of business, despite the fact that it was considered unladylike for women to meddle in these affairs. Business and money had no place in a woman’s mind. If I was interested in money, it should only be for shopping.
As a young girl, this mindset would upset me. I would beg father to take me to his office but he would just kiss me on the head and usher me back into the room where mother would sit and silently work on her needlepoint. 1866 was not the best time to be a woman, but I made it through. Well, not so much made it through, as I c
onformed to what was expected of me.
I grew into a young woman and I left my interest in father’s business behind. I even managed to convince myself that I wasn’t ever interested at all. I suppressed everything inside of me that went against the narrow definition of ‘ladylike’. Just like my mother and sisters, I took up needlepoint and exchanged my knowledge of accounting ledgers for knowledge of what the newest spring fashions were.
I put on the dresses, fancy hats, and all the trimmings of proper society, and soon the parents of young men began to notice me. I was young when they first started to look at me, but that’s how things were. Parents would more or less scout young women before they were of marrying age and start to plead their sons’ cases, trying to convince the fathers that their sons were worthy.
My sisters and I were prime candidates for marriage. We were beautiful, talented, and we came from one of the highest regarded families in New York. Everyone knew our names and our faces. I knew that as soon as my eighteenth birthday came around, I would be married off to the highest bidder. When I was young, this idea used to break my heart into pieces. The fact that I would eventually be sold off like cattle used to dig into my soul and squeeze my heart until I couldn’t breathe anymore.
I hated the way I felt when I considered the fact that one day I would be thrown to the wolves. I knew that I should have been looking forward to the day when a man would choose me to be his wife. I should have welcomed the idea of having children and caring for my husband’s home. These things should have made me happy, but when my sisters talked about them and giggled excitedly, all I could offer was a weak smile.
I had given up on the idea that one day I might be able to work with my father, but I hadn’t yet given up the idea of being an independent woman. Things were changing every day and I saw women taking control of their lives. I longed to be one of those women.
Women were moving out of their little farming towns and coming to cities like New York where they got jobs as seamstresses or started working in the mills. Mother considered this to be horrendous and she thought of the women as poor souls who’d had no other choice. In her mind, only poor women worked and only poor women wanted to work. The fact that they were looking for these jobs at all meant to her that they were unwed and destitute.
Mother considered them ‘poor souls’, but I considered them lucky; these women were free. I’m sure most of them would have considered me lucky, but if we were being honest, I would have killed for their lives. Sometimes I imagined what it would be like switching places with them. I dreamed of taking their place and exploring the city on my own without a chaperone. It all seemed so wonderful, but I knew that it would never happen; I was going to be married off.
The reality of it all started to set in when my eldest sister was married to a banker in the city. He was twice her age and looked at her like she was a slab of meat. It made my skin crawl and it terrified me. When I looked at them, I saw my own fate and it scared me more than I could possibly express.
Soon after Margret was married, Chloe turned eighteen and a man took interest in her as well. Soon I was the only one left in the house and my eighteenth birthday was looming over my head like a storm cloud. I wasn’t ready to give up my life yet. I still had so much I wanted to do.
On the outside, I was a prissy princess wearing the fanciest clothes. My cheeks were rouged and my lips painted a light pink hue. I flirted and fluttered my eyelashes and did everything that was expected of me. On the outside I was a perfect woman, but on the inside I was screaming. In the months that led up to my birthday I began to be a bit petulant. I threw fits and started wearing older dresses, doing anything that might make a man look down on me and turn his nose up.
Soon enough, however, I wouldn’t even have to try to dissuade their interest.
Chapter Two
The Bad Deal. We called it that. Whenever we referred to the deal that brought my family to their knees we just said ‘The Bad Deal’. Everyone in the family knew exactly what we were talking about. My father’s business relied on investments and new inventions. He was always putting money into new machines and technologies that were designed to make life better. This was obviously a risky thing to do, but it had worked out for him so far.
It was a great business until it all went bad. My father put a large portion of his investment money into a quack medicine company. The company ran off with his money and left my father looking like an idiot. Because of this, many businesses didn’t want to work with him anymore. The reason people flocked to my father in the first place, was the fact that he seemed to be a genius when it came to trade. He always knew the deals to make and he knew which ones were going to fizzle and which ones were going to be successful.
The second he lost that credibility, he lost all of his partners. He took it hard and never recovered. He closed the business down when the collectors came around and retreated into his office where he drowned his sorrows in liquor. It was so hard to watch and I did my best to keep him going but it was no use; he was too far gone. My sisters were off living their own lives and soon my mother left as well. I don’t know where she went, but my father and I were alone.
This was how I finally got my wish. No one wanted to marry me because of the debt hanging over my father’s head, and even if I did find someone crazy enough to marry me, I couldn’t take them up on their offer. I had to take care of my father. He was far too sick to be on his own.
A few short years after my mother disappeared, father passed away due to his alcoholism. It was a sad day, but I had very little time to mourn. He owed so much money to the banks that the second he died, they took the house and everything in it. I managed to sneak away with some of the cash daddy had hidden away, but it wasn’t much. It was barely enough to feed me and keep an inn roof over my head.
I soon found out what it was like to be one of the working girls I used to long to be. I started washing down tables in the bar under the inn, hoping to make enough money to sustain myself. I managed for a while, but soon the inn keeper didn’t want me around anymore. My pretty red hair and sapphire eyes weren’t alluring enough to make up for my reputation.
I was out on the street again before I knew it and I had nowhere to go. I stayed with one of my sisters under the condition that I wouldn’t be there long. One evening I found myself sitting in front of the fire, holding a piece of crumpled newspaper. A robe was drawn around my pale shoulders and my cheeks stained by tears.
Margret came to sit beside me and gently put an arm around me. “I wish you could stay, but you know how Mark is,” she said quietly.
Mark was her husband and he didn’t much care for me hanging around this home. He didn’t want to be known as the man housing Sara Blanche. I was quickly becoming a social pariah and I was nearing twenty-one. I was unmarried and had nothing of value to offer in a relationship. It seemed that my life in society was over.
“I know. I know it’s not you,” I whispered weakly, my voice shaking.
The paper crinkled in my hand and my sister looked down at it, her brows furrowing together a bit. “What is this?” she asked, taking the paper.
“It’s an ad,” I said softly, looking over at her.
Her brows furrowed and she looked down at it. “An ad? For what?” she murmured, flipping it over.
“It’s a mail order bride ad. I was walking through the market and a gust of wind swept it up and it dirtied my last clean dress. It felt like a sign,” I said, looking back over at it.
Margret’s brow furrowed and she looked at me. “You’re going to go out west?” she asked, her eyes wide as if she didn’t believe me.
“What choice do I have?” I asked, covering my face with one hand. “No one here is going to marry me. You see the way they look at me,” I whispered, tears starting to sting my eyes. I pulled my hand away and took a deep breath. “There’s nothing for me here, sister. I love you and I love Chloe, but if I stay here I’m going to end up on the street.”
The
re was a moment of silence between us and Margret finally wrapped her arms around me and held me close. “It’s going to be alright baby sister,” she whispered in my ear, taking a breath and pulling away. She put her hands on my shoulders and then my cheeks. “This might be good for you. You’ve always wanted adventure. The West is the wild unknown. You won’t just be settling down to be someone’s wife, you’ll learn so much out there and I think you’ll be happy. This isn’t a last resort, my darling Sara, this is what God intended for you.”
I smiled weakly and looked down at the ad, nodding slowly. Maybe she was right. Maybe I needed to stop looking at this as the end of my life and start looking at it as an opportunity to get what I had always wanted.
Margret patted my head and leaned down to kiss my cheek. “I’ll even make you fresh cookies for the trip.”
Chapter Three
I wasn’t really sure if I was ever going to feel better about going west. I was trying to convince myself of all the things my sister had told me. I wanted to feel better about the whole situation, but I didn’t know if I was actually going to get there. When I thought about leaving New York, fear and dread filled me to the core.
I sent out a few tentative letters, though I was hardly expecting a response. I didn’t try and sell myself because I didn’t actually want to end up on a farm somewhere. The more I thought about it, the more stupid I felt for ever wanting an adventure.
