Wed on the Wagon Train

by Tracy Blalock

  Word spread quickly from there. Everyone seemed shocked as they realized the full import of what had transpired.

  When Mattie suddenly stiffened, Josiah guessed that she’d caught the muttering going on around her. In that instant, she seemed to cling to her sister all the tighter as she faced up to the fact that everyone knew the truth.

  It was only after Rebecca approached with a blanket that Mattie reluctantly let go of Adela.

  Rebecca draped the woolen fabric over Mattie’s shoulders. “Let’s get you back to the wagons so you can change into dry clothes, Matilda. May I call you that?”

  “I prefer Mattie.” She pulled the edges of the blanket closer around her and allowed Rebecca to steer her in the direction indicated.

  The others moved back to clear a path for them. But despite this delay before being called to answer for her actions, it was plain that a reckoning was coming.

  Would Miles and the other men show her leniency? Or had her deception sealed her fate? The thought of a harsh judgment befalling Mattie sent a dart of pain arrowing through Josiah’s chest.

  Was there anything he could do to influence the outcome? Or would all efforts on his part be in vain? No matter the uncertainties, he had to try.

  * * *

  Mattie spared a glance over her shoulder at Josiah before she climbed into the covered wagon at Rebecca’s urging.

  “If you only have men’s clothing, I have some dresses that should fit you,” the older woman offered, apparently calculating with a quick look that Adela’s clothes would be too small for Mattie. “They’re nothing fancy, but much more appropriate than what you’re wearing now.”

  “Thank you, but I have a trunk full of my own things. Dressing in men’s clothing was a late-minute decision,” Mattie explained, and reached to take Rebecca’s hand. “I’m sorry I deceived you, especially after you were so kind to Adela and me.”

  Rebecca squeezed Mattie’s fingers in return. “There’s nothing to apologize for. I believe I understand your reasons, so don’t worry on my account. I’ll leave you now, but I’ll be by my wagon. Come on over when you’re ready. Elias will want to double-check that you didn’t suffer any ill effects from earlier.” She released Mattie’s hand and moved away.

  Adela followed Mattie inside the covered wagon. “I’ll help you find your trunk.”

  As they shifted items, Mattie noticed some felt a little damp. They had likely gotten wet when water splashed over the sides of the wagon. Still, she made a mental note to check the outside for damage or any signs of a leak, after she changed her clothes.

  It took some effort to locate the trunk, but once they’d unearthed it, Mattie pulled out a dark blue cotton dress with cream cording at the collar and wrists. It was badly winkled from being folded away for several weeks, but at least it was clean and dry. And it smelled of the lavender that she’d pressed between the layers of fabric, a fragrance that always calmed her. She also selected a bonnet to cover her short hair, and once she was properly attired, they exited the covered wagon.

  Mattie noted that the last few families were now safely across the river. No doubt they’d already been informed of her scandalous secret. It never took long for word to spread in situations like this. But she wouldn’t let herself think about that just yet.

  She moved to the side of the wagon where the branch had hit. Running her hand over the area, she inspected it for damage. There was a gouge in the wood, but the structure was intact.

  Adela came up beside her. “I was so frightened when you fell in, Mattie. The oxen just kept swimming as you were washed downriver. I didn’t know what to do other than pray. Then, when I saw you were all right, I was just so relieved that I spoke without thinking. I’m sorry! You were depending on me, and I let you down.” Her expression clouded over with worry. “What’s going to happen now?”

  Mattie could only shake her head. She didn’t know the answer.

  Tears shimmered in Adela’s eyes. “This is all my fault.”

  “Don’t blame yourself.” Mattie hugged her sister close for a moment, then released her. “It wasn’t fair that I asked you to keep such a secret. In my heart I always knew it was wrong to deceive the others, but I felt we had no choice.” Taking a deep breath, she straightened her spine. “It’s time for me to face up to my own wrongdoings.”

  Please, Lord, forgive me for acting in a manner that didn’t honor You. Forgive me for not trusting in You to show me the way. I tried to make my own way through deceit and dishonesty, and now I ask Your forgiveness, Lord.

  She felt a weight of guilt lift off her, knowing that her sins were forgiven as she repented them.

  But remembering the expressions on the men’s faces earlier, she’d hazard a guess that they weren’t inclined to be so forgiving. Would they sit in judgment of her, finding her crimes unpardonable and deserving of banishment from their group?

  Although, she could do the job of tending to her wagon and livestock just as well now as she had yesterday, when she was “Matt” to everyone but Adela and Josiah, that might not make any difference to the other men. The simple fact of knowing she was female would irrevocably change their perception of her, and she feared what that would mean for her and Adela.

  As they walked together toward the Dawsons’ covered wagon, she spotted a gathering nearby comprised entirely of men, including Josiah. The mood of the group was serious, and it didn’t take much of a leap to guess that she and Adela were likely the topic under discussion.

  “Wait for me with Rebecca,” she instructed her sister.

  While Adela continued on their previous course, Mattie changed direction and headed toward the men. But Rebecca called her name, stopping Mattie in her tracks. She turned toward the other woman.

  Rebecca waved her over. “Come sit with us.”

  Mattie glanced back at the group of men, who clearly hadn’t waited for her to start their meeting. “I can’t. I need to go—”

  “It’s men only,” Rebecca interrupted. “Women weren’t invited to join them.”

  “But it’s about me and Adela, isn’t it?” At Rebecca’s nod, Mattie continued. “Then I should have a say. It’s our future they’re discussing.”

  Compassion shone in Rebecca’s eyes. “You know it doesn’t work that way. Such matters are for the men to decide.”

  Mattie shook her head in frustration. She’d grown accustomed to being accepted as someone who had a say in the decisions, too. For more than a month, she’d acted like a male—and been treated like one. Now, suddenly she was barred from a conversation when she was the one with the most at stake.

  Didn’t she at least deserve the opportunity to defend herself and her actions? Even a criminal was granted that right. But clearly the men weren’t interested in her explanations.

  Though she wanted nothing more than to demand they hear her out, it wouldn’t help her case to force her way in where she wasn’t welcome. And if she was completely honest with herself, she couldn’t fault the men for refusing to listen to her side after discovering that she’d been lying to them from the start.

  Would Josiah argue in support of her? Or hold his silence?

  Or, even more damaging, would he reveal how she’d rejected the opportunity to come clean with the wagon master when Josiah had presented it to her?

  A knot of foreboding settled in her stomach.

  She felt as if her life had been derailed for a second time in the space of a few weeks, only on this occasion it fell to others to put her back on track. Would she be permitted to continue on to her original destination? Or would they switch the direction she was heading?

  Chapter Nine

  Miles Carpenter glanced around the group of men. “I’m sure no one here will argue in favor of leaving the Prescott sisters to fend for themselves in this wild country, no matter what they’
ve done. But the fact remains that we can’t have unescorted females traveling with us.”

  Josiah shifted restlessly from one foot to the other.

  This wasn’t sounding good for Mattie and Adela. If they couldn’t continue with the rest of the group, what was the alternative?

  The wagon train was traveling through unorganized territory, with no homesteads or towns. Only a few far-flung forts dotted the landscape. Frequented by rough men, the frontier outposts were no place for women alone and unprotected.

  “Surely, you’re not saying we have no other option but to abandon them at a fort?” Josiah protested.

  Assuming the wagon train maintained the same pace as in previous weeks, they would reach Fort John on the Laramie River in a matter of ten days or so. A fortnight at most.

  If the Prescotts weren’t permitted to travel with the wagon train beyond that point, they would be stranded hundreds of miles away from their relatives in Oregon Country. What would become of the sisters, then?

  Worst-case scenarios flooded Josiah’s mind as he was sharply reminded of his childhood, watching his mother struggle—and ultimately fail—to provide for herself and Josiah without the assistance of predatory men. He hastily slammed a mental door against the onslaught of painful memories.

  “No, that’s not what I’m saying,” Miles assured. “What I meant is that one of the single men here will have to take responsibility for the Prescotts by marrying one of the sisters.”

  “Which sister?” Cody Malone piped up, his voice cracking at the end.

  “Never you mind, boy,” his father retorted. “You’re too young to take responsibility for two females.”

  David Linton folded his hands together at his waist. “We’ll just leave the choice of bride for the groom to decide.”

  “Do we have a volunteer?” Miles queried.

  As a married man, the wagon master was out of the running. So too were the majority of the other men standing around the circle. Husbands outnumbered the bachelors in this group by roughly three to one. Besides Josiah, there were the two teenage Malone boys, their widowed father, Hardwick, and just a handful of others without wives.

  Up till now, Josiah had never once turned away when he saw someone in need of aid. And that was true in Mattie’s case especially, as Josiah’s past gave him an undeniable empathy for the elder Prescott’s situation.

  But getting hitched? That went far beyond a simple helping hand.

  Marriage was a serious commitment, and he hadn’t pictured himself ever entering into it. At least not since the woman he loved had married his best friend, William Montgomery. It wouldn’t be fair for Josiah to take a wife when his heart belonged to Georgiana.

  But how could he stand by and do nothing when Mattie’s need was the greatest, praying for someone else to step up, instead?

  “What happens if no one volunteers?” George Baker, husband and father of six, asked the question that was doubtlessly on the minds of most everyone else.

  They looked to the wagon master for an answer.

  Miles cleared his throat. “Then the single men will have to draw straws to determine the groom.”

  “Now, see here,” Hardwick objected. “I have no desire to acquire a wife beneath my station, nor shall I allow my family lineage to be sullied in such a manner. I refuse to take part in this.”

  Elias spoke up as the voice of reason. “In order to be fair, all the men not already spoken for need to be included.”

  Hardwick turned on him. “Why should any other man be made to pay for your brother’s misdeeds?”

  Josiah stiffened in indignation. “What do you mean by that? Just what are you accusing me of?”

  The corner of Hardwick’s mouth curled up in a sneer. “I am surely not the only one here with suspicions regarding the time you spent alone with that woman.”

  “But he didn’t know she was a woman then,” Jed Smith disputed.

  “Did he not?” Hardwick slanted a narrow-eyed glance at Josiah. “Are we to believe that during long hours in her company, he never realized the truth? I, most assuredly, doubt it! He did not appear surprised by this day’s revelation, as the rest of us were. One can only surmise that he has compromised the Prescott chit quite beyond ruin!”

  All eyes turned in Josiah’s direction, and he noted numerous gazes shadowed with suspicion and distrust even before he had a chance to answer Hardwick’s charges. Judging Josiah on another’s say-so, without benefit of a fair hearing.

  Though they’d been strangers when they started out from Independence, Josiah had imagined that after the past several weeks these men knew him well enough to recognize he was an honorable man. Learning that they were so quick to doubt him felt as if a horse’s hoof had kicked out and connected with his chest.

  “Nothing improper happened between us,” he defended.

  Disdain spread across Hardwick’s features. “We only have your word for that. And what worth is the word of a man who acted as willing party to that woman’s deception?”

  Josiah couldn’t refute the last part of that statement without speaking a lie. He scanned the other men’s expressions to gauge their thoughts and found that Hardwick wasn’t alone in his harsh opinion. Skepticism lingered on quite a few faces, in spite of Josiah’s denial.

  He never doubted he could count on his brother. And Elias didn’t let him down, speaking in defense of Josiah. Several others voiced their support, as well; yet, an equal number appeared firmly on Hardwick’s side.

  Their lack of faith stung. But if his childhood had taught him anything, it was that some people were only too happy to believe the worst of those they considered beneath them.

  In this case, however, maybe the doubts were justified. He had lied by omission. And noble intentions didn’t absolve him.

  Only You can do that, Lord.

  “For his part, Dawson must be called to account.” Hardwick’s overdeveloped sense of importance seemed even more inflated now he’d found that others were backing him. He tugged on the bottom edge of his coat and straightened his cravat, taking great enjoyment in this opportunity to lord it over another. “And, thus, he is the man to remedy the situation through marriage. No one else.”

  “He’s right,” one of Hardwick’s supporters seconded.

  “Josiah?” Though Miles hadn’t jumped to judgment against him, the wagon master plainly hoped Josiah would agree for the sake of keeping the peace.

  A wedding would take place—one way or the other. And it seemed as though nearly half the men here were of the opinion that Josiah should be the designated bridegroom, willing or not. But was that right or fair to Mattie? Forced into a loveless marriage, with no hope that it might one day grow into something more. Tied to a man with a frozen heart and limited resources.

  What am I to do, Lord?

  Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. A solution to his dilemma, so simple he should have considered it from the first.

  The marriage need not last forever.

  It wouldn’t be a true joining of heart, mind and body, merely a temporary measure to protect Mattie and Adela until they reached Oregon Country. After that, the union would be quietly annulled. And Mattie would be free to find a husband worthy of her. One who could give her the love and the social position she deserved.

  Josiah wasn’t that man. Could never be that man.

  Mattie would recognize this was a necessary means to an end, not a lifelong commitment.

  That steadfast certainty finally served to silence his conflicted thoughts. “I’ll do it. I’ll marry Mattie.”

  Everyone appeared relieved that the decision had been made, especially the single men who had neatly sidestepped any possibility of being drafted into duty in Josiah’s place.

  “We’ll have the wedding immediately,” Miles pronounced.

&
nbsp; Now it was just a matter of informing the bride about her impending nuptials. Josiah glanced toward the covered wagons and easily picked out Mattie, even though she was attired in a gown and bonnet for the first time in their acquaintance.

  Her altered appearance was striking. The cut of the dress flattered her feminine figure while the navy color contrasted with her skin, giving it the pale luster of a pearl. From the first moment he’d realized the truth, he had recognized she was a beautiful woman. Now, it was plain for everyone to see.

  He searched her face, trying to guess how she would react to the news he’d soon impart. Her gaze was focused in the direction of the men, her expression a mixture of anger and frustration.

  What thoughts occupied her mind? Did she have any inkling of what was to come? Did she suspect that she would be compelled to wed before the day was done? Or was she upset merely because she disliked having her fate decided by others?

  Either way, her disposition wouldn’t be improved by the knowledge that she was obliged to take a husband not of her choosing.

  Josiah didn’t expect meek acceptance of dictates. Not from Mattie.

  But he never doubted she would cooperate. Eventually.

  There was no other option open to her.

  * * *

  Mattie stood with Josiah near the river’s edge, a short distance from the circle of wagons, where they had a measure of privacy as he’d requested. Scanning his face, she searched for an indication of what had been decided, but could determine nothing from his expression. While he didn’t appear particularly content, neither did he seem as troubled as she would expect if the men had come to the decision to expel her and Adela from the wagon train.

  A slight breeze blew across the water and lifted her bonnet strings, setting one fluttering against her cheek. She impatiently brushed it aside. “Well? What’s the verdict?”

  An infinitesimal pause preceded his response. “Marriage.”

  Just that one word. Nothing more.