Finding Her Way (Wildflowers)

by Leah Banicki

  "In your luggage are several hiding places. A book I gave you as a gift has two pages glued together in the middle. Also the medicine pouch has several things that will help you, there are remedies for an upset stomach and several vials of oils for scrapes and bug bites. In the bottom there is a pocket with two buttons, inside you will find some paper money. Your stocking may have a surprise or two, as well. I have hidden enough money for you to purchase passage on a wagon train and support yourself for a long time. I know you want to say no but before you protest, let me explain. I know that money can help buy a woman safety. If something were to happen to me, you will be taken care of, or Lord forbid, we get separated. This is a dangerous and long journey. If for some reason you need the money it's there for you. If we reach the end of this journey and you have no need for it you can return what you haven't earned with your duties as my companion. My wish is that you are safe and happy. My Aunt would call me foolish and Andrew would probably flog me if he found out about this but in all sincerity, I will sleep better knowing you have provisions." Corinne reached her hand out for Angela to strike the deal.

  "Corinne, if I do need the money? How can I pay off the debt?" Angela's look was comical, her eyebrow rose. She doubted Corinne had a plan for that.

  "Well I will hire you of course. I have my own plans Angela. Somehow we will make it work. Ok let’s get back to work before Andrew arrives." Corinne looked about for something to move around. She stood up straight as she remembered another detail. "Oh yes, I have stashed two of my altered dresses for you. You will enter your new life in the West dressed as my equal. Because, in my opinion it's true." Corinne got back to work moving bags and Angela sniffed again a time or too, but Corinne let her be. Sometimes a girl needed a moment to cry alone.

  Andrew’s booming voice sounded about twenty minutes later. Corinne and Angela made their way to the back of the wagon and opened the flap. The morning was bright and crisp and the wagon was dusty from them moving the bags around.

  "Lunch will be in an hour. Miss Fahey, you are under Reggie's charge now and Mrs. Temple..." he paused with an annoyance in his tone "You will talk to me if you need her services. Otherwise she will have her daily duties that will include tending your needs, as well as what is needed by Cookie and Reggie."

  Angela quickly jumped down from the wagon and joined Reggie over by the chuck wagon, her head down in perfect submission. Corinne’s heart broke for her.

  * * * * *

  "Mrs. Temple, come meet our team handlers." Andrew called her down from the wagon. Corinne just wished he would stop calling her Mrs. Temple. The way he said it made her feel like he owned her. Her memory recalled him saying this was only a marriage of convenience, to be annulled at the end of the journey. She started to believe he enjoyed bossing her around. She thanked her good fortune lately that he didn’t want to stay married to her for she would truly be miserable then. She admitted he was handsome in looks, but he had only charm for those he deemed worthy. Everyone else was just an unlucky soul in his path. A sudden fear shot through her. What if he changed his mind about the annulment? Forever with Andrew would be ... a nightmare.

  "This is Jimmy Blake and his brother Joe. They are the drivers, you have six oxen for your wagon. " Andrew pointed them out.

  They were both healthy, thin young men. They both bowed and said, "Howdy ma'am," in unison. They were definitely twins.

  "I will be in charge of all the men so you needn't worry about a thing. Just stay out of the way and they will know how to keep you and the wagon safe. I hired Jim and Joe in September when I got word from your Father. I sent them ahead to get us fortified with wagons and oxen. They did a great job." Corinne knew he wasn’t really talking to her anymore, just talking to himself. Andrew patted them on the back then returned his gaze to her.

  "Come along." Corinne followed him like the puppy dog he wanted her to be. Andrew introduced her to a nut-brown mare tied to the back of her wagon complete with a glossy saddle.

  "I will want you to ride most of the day. I know growing up in Kentucky you know how to take care of her. Joe and Jimmy will assist you too. I don't want you walking on foot unless your horse needs a rest. You are a lady, I expect you to be an example of that even in the wilderness."

  "Riding every day is not what I expected. I will need to adjust my wardrobe. I am glad I won't be traveling sidesaddle, at least. Thank you for sparing me that." Corinne knew she probably didn’t sound very grateful but was frustrated at his ability to bark orders and he expected her to just accept everything he said as the 'gospel'.

  "The wardrobe issue should be easy to figure out. Mrs. Temple, please don't make me figure it out for you." Andrew sighed and held his head in his hands. Corinne paused and looked at him slowly, contemplating a way to knock him down a peg or two. Her mind drew a blank so she kept her angry glare short. He looked at her as though her existence caused his head to ache.

  If I give him a headache now just wait until I smack him silly. Corinne thought to herself. She realized violence was inappropriate and wrong but the visual made her feel better.

  "I will be bothering Reggie for an escort into Independence then. I will need a few more petticoats. I have enough dresses for the journey but the adjustments will require a few more layers. I have only one riding gown. I suppose I am boring you with my dreary life details." His bored look said it all.

  Within a few minutes Corinne was escorted back to town and after a short shopping trip she was ready to go. Back at the wagon she finished arranging the wagon box to her liking and made a pleasant sleeping area and working area. She examined her traveling garments and picked a few to make the necessary adjustments.

  The night passed quickly with the masses of people around her doing the same preparations as their outfit. Cookie announced dinner and Corinne was given a plate. She saw Angela sitting by the fire with Reggie and Andrew, everyone quietly eating. Corinne saw two empty stools and sat in one.

  "Corinne I will need you to join me this evening for the train meeting. Your signature will be needed for the train agreement. Our boss will be Mr. Corbin Walters; he is a levelheaded man who has made the journey six times. This will be a large group of over a hundred wagons. We will be safe in this large a group."

  "Just let me know when we need to go. I'll be ready." Corinne ate and watched the sky. She thought of a few things to discuss with Reggie and proceeded to ask him about the laundry and chore schedule. She needed to know when she was expected to help. Andrew quickly chimed in.

  "Corinne, you will not be doing laundry or any chores beside starting the fire in the morning and making coffee. Reggie will have the firewood and kindling stored in the wood box of the chuck wagon." Andrew said it very matter-of-factly. He finished his plate and sat back down on his stool and waited for Corinne to finish.

  "Mr. Temple," Corinne said calmly. "I am not a China doll. I was raised to not be a burden to my household. My Father was wealthy, but I learned from him a strong work ethic. I will not burden the staff when my hands are fully capable of helping the wagon outfit." Corinne was proud she has spoken to him as an adult, without her nerves failing her.

  "Mrs. Temple, you are not in your Father's house now, are you? This is my outfit and you are my wife until I say otherwise. You pick herbs and draw pictures to your heart’s content but I will not endure you doing the staff's work. I hope I am understood." Andrew stood and removed his hat, shook it out and placed it back on his head. He seemed annoyed that he had to converse with her at all. Corinne felt like a disobedient child.

  "Finish up your meal Corinne. We need to go." Andrew watched her eat her last few bites. She considered tossing her plate into his hands but calmly returned it to the chuck wagon and resumed her position behind him as she followed him through the crowd.

  The wagon boss wasn’t handsome but he appeared agreeable enough to Corinne. She read through the wagon train rules. The train was a well-oiled machine with the scouts and captain and his assigned leaders who m
ade the final decisions about which paths they would take. The contract we had to sign was simple. We agreed to let the wagon boss and his assigned leaders make the decisions. Any disagreements would be decided by the wagon boss and if you disagreed you would be removed from the wagon train. Any game killed by scouts would be distributed with a fair system. Fighting and large consumptions of liquor would not be tolerated. Corinne smiled as she read through the rules. They were all things she could live with easily. The leadership was experienced and that was all she needed. She was putting her life in their hands. After a quick prayer in her head she signed the contract.

  She and Andrew headed back to camp. "Andrew, could I please talk to Angela this evening? I won’t keep her long. She is my companion and I was hoping she could stay with me in the wagon." Corinne used her sweetest voice.

  "I am sorry Corinne but your Aunt warned me about the attachment you have for your maid. While in my outfit she is in my charge. She will sleep in the chuck wagon. Cookie and Reggie will be in a tent next to it. I do not want to see you speaking with her. Otherwise I will have her sent back to Independence or hire her out to another family. I will tell her so tonight as well. Sometimes young people do not understand the differences between the classes. It's my job as your husband to better educate you." Andrew's word was final.

  I was completely alone. Under the rule of a snobbish dictator. Corinne's thoughts were with her friend that night as dusk fell. In the morning they would be leaving. Her only duties were to make a fire and coffee. To be followed by long days in the saddle with no one to talk to. Her friend Angela no longer had her protection. If Corinne even tried she was certain Andrew would not hesitate to fire her. He had no real need for her besides an extra hand to do laundry and help if anyone fell ill along the trail. Corinne would have to work at keeping her spirits up. As the sky grew dark she headed into her wagon. She was awkward at changing inside the wagon still. It rocked a little as she stepped out of her petticoats. She set out her riding clothes for the morning and put on her warmest nightshirt. The night’s temperature was falling fast under the clear sky above. Corinne crawled into her bedding and had fitful prayers. She fell asleep after a few tears.

  Chapter Six

  April 12 1848

  Corinne awoke early and dressed in minutes. She felt freer without her required corset and reveled in her traveling clothes. It was impractical and dangerous to wear a corset while in the wilds and Corinne had all her practical clothes made to fit her natural form. She knew on the ferry and the train that Andrew would have a fit if she attempted this but he could not have a fit now because they were leaving in a few hours. Corinne grabbed her long wool coat, scarf, bonnet, and climbed out of the wagon. Andrew already had a fire going and the coffee pot was settled on the grate over the fire.

  Drat. One point to Andrew. "It's not even six a.m. Andrew. I thought I was to get the fire started." Corinne's only job for the whole day was already done. She wanted to growl.

  "I was excited and woke early. It was no trouble." Andrew pointed at the stool next to him. He seemed in good spirits. Corinne took a deep breath to calm down and tried to convince herself to behave. The breakfast routine started. Everyone gathered around the chuck wagon at seven a.m. and wordlessly got their plates. They ate their meals either sitting or standing near the fire. Jimmy and Joe gathered the animals from their grazing spot and got them prepared to leave.

  Corinne's horse was delivered to her saddled and ready. Yesterday, Corinne had purchased a few dried apples in town while getting more petticoats and stowed a large bag of the fruit in her wagon. She had a small piece to share with her mount. Corinne cooed and talked to the brown mare for a few minutes. She shared a piece of dried apple and stroked her horse calmly. "I will call you Clover. I hope we will be friends." Corinne tied Clover to the back of the wagon and warmed by the fire until the time to pull out. She listened to the sounds around her, sounds of harnesses jingling, complaining animals, a few shouts and women instructing children.

  Angela approached Corinne with a simple request. "Your laundry, miss?" Corinne nearly cried. They were reduced to master and servant again. It was worse than at her Aunt’s because in Boston there were doors and privacy. At night they would hide in her room for hours at a time.

  Corinne gathered her dirty laundry and handed it over to her friend. Corinne grabbed her hand under the pile, gave it the briefest squeeze, and felt her friend squeeze back. It was all they had. Corinne returned to her spot by the dying fire and wiped away a few stray tears. No one seemed to notice her there until Reggie came by a few minutes later to inform her they were pulling out soon. He handed her a bundle to tie behind the saddle.

  Corinne examined her bundle, a rubber tarpeline, and tied it neatly behind the saddle. They were leaving! Her heart flipped and she pulled up images in her mind of her father. He was waiting for her.

  Jimmy helped her into the saddle and Corinne clicked a bit to get Clover's attention. Corinne and Clover were a good team. Clover was a responsive but gentle mount. Corinne watched Reggie kill the fire and Angela put away any last second items Cookie had left behind. The sound of wagon harnesses jingling and wagons creaking filled the air. Yells and hoots were ahead of them as the team handlers got the oxen moving. Within ten minutes the Temple outfit was rolling. The sun was out, the day was new and the adventure had begun.

  Andrew rode in next to Corinne as the wagons pulls out. "Are you comfortable on your mount, Mrs. Temple?" Andrew smiled at her. Corinne grinned her society smile. It was the best she could do after the last few days of bickering with him.

  "Why yes, Clover and I get along well." She gave Clover a loving pat and turned to her husband. "And how are you fairing? Are you ready for a long day in the saddle?" Somehow she knew he would be fine.

  "Yes, Drake and I will make do. I will be checking in with the scouts during the day today. I want to learn as much as I can from them. Stay near the outfit and if you have any trouble Jimmy and Joe will be able to help you, I'm sure." Andrew smiled and waved as he rode off. Corinne smirked again at his back as he rode away. At least she would not have to deal with him today. She took a deep breath and concentrated on her mount and her surroundings as the morning rolled by. Noon came and the wagon boss, Mr. Walters, rode by, Corinne noticed all the wagons were halting ahead. Mr. Walters’s gruff voice announced that they were breaking for lunch. Cookie had bread and cheese prepared with a cool mug full of water to wash it down. One o'clock came and the wagons were on the move again. Once the wagons were stretched out, Corinne rides over to Reggie, who was driving the jockey box of Andrew's wagon.

  "I will be nearby checking on the local flora to see if there is anything to add to my collection. I'll be within shouting range."

  She rode by Angela who walked behind the wagon and gave her a wink and a wave. Angela smiled back and then eyes forward continued her walk. Corinne knew everyone including herself, would be sore from all the traveling tonight. She felt several muscles starting to mildly protest, not being in the saddle this long for years.

  She was still living with her father the last day she had spent in the saddle, she thought to herself. No time to be sad now. Corinne dismounted long enough to relieve herself behind a large bush with the shade of a tree behind her. It was the best she could do now. The lack of privacy was a growing concern. The land here was lush with trees and the ground covered in rocks, but several hundred miles would change that. Corinne would deal with that when the time came.

  * * * * *

  Clover nibbled the green grass shoots nearby and Corinne held his lead while walking for a few minutes looking for anything useful on the ground. This reminded her of times spent with her mother and grandmother hunting through the woods for mushrooms or wildflowers. She learned so much about nature from them. She was so grateful for those years and memories.

  She came upon a few young children nearby playing. Corinne looked up and realized the wagon train spread out sideways pretty far. She was only a f
ew hundred feet away from them now.

  "Whatcha looking for, Ma'am?" A young lady with blond braid sticking out from under her bonnet asked. All the children kept glancing at the wagons to make sure they stayed within a safe distance.

  "I am looking for good healthy plants. I make medicine out of certain ones." Corinne smiled and picked a nearby thistle. "See this thistle. This is a pretty common flower. But its cousin, Milk Thistle, grows in Europe is a wonderful medicine." She thought for a second and continued. "If someone gets poisoned, milk thistle seeds or parts of the plant can be used to make them better." Corinne gave the thistle to the girl with the braids.

  "Well what kind of plants grows here that make medicine?" The girl’s interest was real, Corinne could tell.

  "There are hundreds of plants that make medicine here. Even some we haven’t discovered, yet. That's why I'm looking around. I will draw pictures of the plants I don't know and send them to Boston or maybe show them to Indians we might run into. Indians know a lot about making medicines, too." Corinne watched all the children grow wide-eyed when she mentioned the Indians.

  "Can we help you miss? I can look for plants too. That will be fun." A little boy's shy voice finally spoke. Corinne guessed him to be around eight years old.

  "That's sounds like a deal. I am Mrs. Temple. You know how to find the Temple wagons?" All the kids nodded. "Then bring me plants that look different than the normal thistle, clover and grass that grow around here. I have peppermint candies and hay-pennies for really good plant samples." The smiles were broad at the mention of candy and money.

  The blond with braids raised her hand as if she were in school. Corinne nearly giggled at their enthusiasm. She nodded at the girl to speak. "Can we tell our brothers and sisters too?"

  "Yes, you may. Just tell them to get me the whole plant if they can. I don't need any poison ivy either." They all giggled. Corinne's heart melted a little. "You need to be careful of wasps and snakes too okay?"