Sarah had done her best to comfort Maddie, but soon they all were equally distraught. Mae had pointed out that they all were at a disadvantage. In a large city such as New York, there were many wealthy families. Those daughters had connections. Their fathers offered dowries. None of that was available to Jewel or her friends.
Always the practical one, Caroline said, "We need to make our own connections."
Eva agreed. "We've all been praying and I think we need to do something else. We need to find connections somewhere else."
Sarah told about a conversation she'd overheard a while ago but had discarded it. Did it make sense to consider it now? Using The Matrimonial Times to find a husband was indeed a bold idea. At least in Jewel's mind it was. She hadn't been interested in that sort of scheme for herself. At least not at first.
"Marry a stranger? Move out west?" Jewel pursed her lips. "I can't believe you're suggesting it."
"It's not going to hurt to buy a copy," Caroline offered.
"The worst that could happen is that we'd get a letter we wouldn't want to answer," Mae said.
Eva added her thoughts. "No one's going to make us write back."
Jewel remembered that moment of silence. Her best friends together, but thinking separately about how becoming a mail order bride would change her life. Each of them wanted and needed a change. Could this be the right thing to do? Then a harsh reality came to her.
"If we do this, we might never see each other again," Jewel said quietly. "We need to pray on it. What if God has another plan for us?"
"God put the idea in Caroline's head," Maddie said.
"And if it's not a good idea, God will send us a sign that we should stop," Sarah added.
And that was that. The decision was made.
"Everything worth doing is a risk." Mae held her hands out to her friends. "A risk and an opportunity. We don't know what life will be like on the frontier, but it will be a fresh start. And no matter what, we'll remain friends. We'll write. We'll visit. We'll keep each other in our hearts, no matter what."
Jewel, however, still wasn't certain. She left that day with the promise to do as her friends were doing. Mae's words were still in her mind along with some she'd added herself. Risk, excitement, even danger. But what about the chance there might be happiness at the end? Could she ignore that part?
It had to be better than sitting endless hours in the basement of Barnaby's sewing the same flouncy dresses over and over again. Honestly, it couldn't possibly be worse and there was no chance that anything would change if she didn't try something new.
So that was the winding footpath that had led her to the place she was standing right now. Looking into the window of the Downtown News Stand, trying to hold back her excitement and nervousness. Jewel took a deep breath, and with her heart pounding, she pushed the door open....
~#~#~#~
Thank you for reading part of chapter one from Jewel's Dream! Please visit: https://www.facebook.com/AnnieBooneBooks/ to continue reading the full story, or you can download it here. Find out if Jewel's Mail-Order Bride adventure turns out to be all she had hoped and dreamed.
Maddie's Quest (Valentine Mail Order Bride 2) Page 8
