Mercy felt a dull pain in her chest at the reference to her parents. She wished so many things; that they hadn’t passed on; that they had had another child… So many pointless thoughts that would never be. Her aunt’s face seems to be shrouded in sadness. Mercy’s father had been a brother to Aunt Beatrice. She too had gone through a huge loss.
Her father and Aunt Beatrice had been the only two of the seven children to survive infantry and to grow to adulthood. Now Aunt Beatrice was the only one of her family alive. Mercy looked at her and knew that she shared the same feelings of loneliness that Mercy did. Except that she had Uncle Brian, a quiet but kind man, as well as the children.
Her instinct was to say no to her aunt but she knew there was no other choice really. Her aunt probably wished for her to have her own family, but more importantly, there was no money for her upkeep.
Her only hope was that the agency lady would not find a suitable husband for her. That way she would get to stay with her aunt here in New York. The alternative was unbearable. Mercy thought of being miles and miles away from her family and friends and wanted to weep. She had settled in so well, getting along with the family and having a best friend.
She couldn’t bear the thought of leaving Amelia. She had become a sister to Mercy and they shared all their private thoughts.
“I’ll contact her and tell her that we’ll go next week,” her Aunt said, interrupting Mercy’s thoughts.
Mercy nodded mutely. She hoped the next couple of days would drag on to delay that moment when she would meet Joanna Hunter. It felt as though the moment she met this Joanna, her life would take on another course that Mercy could not control.
THREE
“Remember to be polite and to answer every question you’re asked properly, alright?” Aunt Beatrice said. “Don’t look so worried, the Lord has started good work and He’ll see you through it.”
“Yes Aunty,” Mercy mumbled.
“You’ll do just fine, and soon, you’ll be off to someplace romantic to get married to a handsome man,” Amelia said, clasping her short arms together, her eyes focused somewhere beyond the four walls. “If only it were me,” she said with a sigh.
“I would give anything to swap places with you Amelia. I feel like a lamb, being taken to the market place,” Mercy said in a forlorn voice.
“You have a very poor attitude Mercy,” her aunt scolded. “It would be much easier on you if you were a little more like Amelia.”
Mercy grated her teeth. “I’ll try.”
Amelia smiled at her in sympathy.
“You look pretty Mercy,” Ann, the eldest cousin, who was seven years quipped.
“Yes, you really look nice all dressed up,” Finnigan, one of the twins added.
Mercy ruffled their hair and gave them a sad smile. She wore a brown woolen dress, long sleeved with a high neckline. It was her best dress, gifted to her by Aunt Beatrice on her nineteenth birthday.
“Are you ready love?” Aunt Beatrice asked, with her own sad expression.
Despite her enthusiasm, Mercy realized then how difficult this whole business was for her aunt, especially knowing that Mercy did not want to get married. With this in mind, she forced a cheerful smile and nodded.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
They said goodbye to Amelia who was to mind the children for the two hours or so that they would be gone. Mercy followed her aunt down the stairs and out into the street. The dress was too hot for summer but it was the smartest she owned, and her aunt was determined that she make a good impression, even if it meant that she would as hot as an oven.
They walked down the streets, her aunt waving to a few people, which made Mercy smile. People were drawn to her aunt’s cheerfulness. It was rare to see her down in the dumps and now watching her march down the street resolutely, Mercy vowed to herself to be more like her aunt. To take things as they came with a good attitude.
It was with this frame of mind that she entered Joanna Hunter’s house, which doubled up as her office. They were led down a short hall to a room on the left by a mouse like girl who introduced herself as Ada Devine, Joanna’s assistant. She was thin as a stick and she walked as though she carried the weight of the world on her small shoulders.
“Good day, you must be Mercy Bohn and you’re Beatrice Bohn. Please come in and have a seat. Ada, kindly bring some tea. It’s a hot day isn’t it?”
Mercy found herself relaxing despite Joanna’s chatter. She stuck out her hand to greet her, and was surprised when Joanna offered her left hand rather than the customary right one. That’s when she noticed the empty sleeve in one hand.
Mercy was shocked at the missing arm and she quickly tore her eyes away.
“It’s lovely to meet you,” Aunt Beatrice said, giving Joanna her most gracious smiled.
It worked because Joanna smiled warmly at her, and helped her to her chair. The office was sparsely furnished with just the two visitor chairs and Joanna’s on the opposite end.
“So you want to get married Ms. Bohn?” Joanna asked.
The abrupt change of topic left Mercy speechless until her aunt nudged her with a foot and glared at her.
“Please call me Mercy. Yes, I do want to get married.”
“Why the west if you don’t mind my asking?” Joanna persisted, pushing her dark long hair back impatiently.
Mercy’s mind went blank.
“You’re a pretty girl and I’m sure that you have young men courting you right here in New York. The west is not for the faint hearted. It’s a rough terrain and most of the comforts you’re used to here are severely lacking out there,” Joanna warned.
“May I ask, do you question all the girls who wish to get married?” Aunt Beatrice asked icily.
Joanna’s whole demeanor changed, and she seemed to slump in her seat.
“Actually no, this is the first time. I had a terrible experience months ago when I sent a girl to Montana and she turned out to have a limp and the man was not pleased at all.”
Mercy’s hands and feet trembled, and she hoped that Joanna would not notice.
“What happened then? Did she have to return home?” Aunt Beatrice asked, her tone betraying her anxiety.
Mercy’s own throat had dried up and no words would have come out of her mouth even to save her life.
“Thankfully, no. The man fell in love with her and saw beyond her limping leg,” Joanna said. “Since then, I promised myself to ensure that I’m sure about the girls I send out as brides.”
Mercy let out a small sigh of relief. Still, a limp was nothing compared to the shameful marks she herself carried. If anything, Mercy would have gladly switched places with the girl.
“They’re happy now?” Aunt Beatrice asked, leaning forward on her seat.
Joanna smiled, revealing a set of very white teeth and dimples on her cheeks. She was truly fetching when she smiled, Mercy thought. She had a captivating face and were it not for the missing arm, she would have been perfect.
Mercy could have sworn that Joanna had no husband, just like herself and Amelia.
“They are truly happy and the girl, her name’s Lilly, is heavy with their first child,” Joanna replied.
Aunt Beatrice looked at her in an expression that said, the same thing could happen to Mercy. Mercy was not hopeful at all, if anything, hearing about Lilly had left her with a tight knot of fear in her chest. She did not want to do this. Tears sprung to her eyes.
“Don’t worry, you’ll be just fine. That was just to show you that these marriages do work. The men in the new frontier are lonely and eager to have someone to love and to start a family with. You’re pretty and any man would be lucky to have you,” Joanna told her soothingly.
“Do you have gentlemen who love the Lord?” Aunt Beatrice asked. “It’s important that Mercy gets wed to a God loving man.”
Joanna’s eyes lit up. “I have just the gentleman. His name is Emil Duval and he owns a sheep ranch in California. He’s a God fearing man and had worke
d hard so that his bride will be comfortable and never lack.”
“Perfect. See what I told you Mercy, the Lord has everything lined up for you.”
They left Joanna’s office a few minutes later, with the promise that Joanna would write to the man and if he found her acceptable, they could make arrangements for Mercy’s travel.
“Did you hear about the girl with a limp? See Mercy, being imperfect does not mean that you have to spend your whole life as a spinster. Besides, we all harbor imperfections, it’s just that some are visible like your scars and others are buried deep inside.”
Her aunt chatted happily all the way back. Mercy could not dislodge the cold fear that lay in her heart like a block of ice. The reality of getting married had hit her. It would mean that she would have to expose her badly scarred body to a stranger. The very thought left her blood cold.
FOUR
Something bothered Joanna about that girl Mercy Bohn. She was beautiful but she held herself separate from the conversation as though it had nothing to do with her. She did say that she wanted to get married, but she didn’t have the excited fear that most girls usually did. It was more of acceptance as though it was her duty.
“How did it go?” Ada asked, walking into the office.
“It went well,” Joanna said, her mind miles away.
She did not voice her concerns because she had nothing to base them on. She dismissed them as just being wary after the experience with Lilly, the girl with a limp. At least the recent marriage between Mary Margaret Lay and Daniel McGraw had gone without a hitch. She hadn’t been sure about sending a novice nun out west, but for some reason Ada had taken to the girl at first sight. When she had beseeched Joanna to make a swift arrangement between the two, Joanna had not hesitate. That said it seemed the last couple of marriages had all been in haste. It was improbable that all such hasty arrangements would always work out for the best. She really hoped the bride and grooms in the coming arrangements would take the required time to correspond properly. Taking a deep sigh, she turned her thoughts to the couple at hand.
“I should write to Emil Duval, he’ll be happy for the news,” Joanna said and for whatever reason, the thought of telling Emil Duval the good news did not excite her.
She felt a little protective of him. In his letters, he spoke often of having someone to shower his love on, and to discuss things with him. Mercy did not seem the talkative type at all, hardly someone you could while away an evening discussing important matters. It was as though she was an empty shell with no deep thoughts or opinions to share.
Emil Duval liked to read books and the scriptures. Mercy seemed like she would be content to spend an evening staring off into space and making no effort at conversation. Joanna had however learned that sometimes, the most unlikely of unions worked and she hoped with all her heart that this one would work.
She tended to get protective over the men from the new frontier who wrote to her. They were desperate and vulnerable and her aim was to ensure that she got them the most suitable bride. The worst part of it all was that with most men, Joanna saw them as perfect partners for herself. Like when she first got Emil Duval’s letter, she had visualize his sheep ranch and herself helping him with the tasks around the farm.
One look at her right arm was enough to wipe those thoughts away, though. Who would want to marry a one armed woman? After Lilly Gable’s success at marriage, Joanna had harbored hopes that perhaps, she too would find a man to love her as she was. Then she remembered her engagement and the accident that changed everything.
Her intended, Tom, had taken one look at her severed hand and he had disappeared, leaving Joanna heart broken. She had learned a vital lesson. Men wanted complete women. Very few men were like Charles Jones, the man who had married Lilly Gable. She recalled the humiliation of having a broken engagement and the subsequent rejection from social scenes where she could have had a chance to meet other young men.
Joanna had closed off that part of her heart, but once in a while when a man resonated with her, her feelings stirred up and reminded her of what she could never have. Her left arm moved to scratch her right finger and stopped midair when her brain seemed to remember that the arm was missing. That happened a lot and she hoped that with time, the urge to scratch would go away.
She fetched a writing pad and a pen, and poised herself to write to Emil Duval.
Dear Mister Duval,
I have good news for you. I believe that I have finally found the right bride for you. Her name is Mercy Bohn and she’s nineteen years old. She currently lives in New York with her Aunt and Uncle, who are God loving people. I met her just today and made the decision to let you know right away.
She is a very pretty girl, with a calm attitude and she carries herself well. I must say that she is not very talkative but that could also be because we are not very well acquainted. If you are comfortable with the information above, I would advise that you make arrangements for her travel and you can send the tickets to me and a letter with instructions so that I can give them to her.
Thank you for trusting out agency and I believe that you will be happy with our choice of bride.
Sincerely,
Joanna Hunter.
In some cases, the men usually wanted to get acquainted with the girl through correspondence by letters before they made the big decision. Emil Duval had said that when Joanna settled on a bride for him, he would make arrangements immediately. Joanna herself would have preferred that the two correspond for a while, but she also understood that a man who had waited so long to find a bride would be eager to have her home as soon as possible.
Ada was putting away documents in a carton by the corner.
“Ada would you kindly post this, I want it to get to Mister Duval as quickly as possible.”
“Yes right away,” Ada said.
She watched Ada’s slim frame disappear through the door. She had been Joanna’s assistant for almost three years and still, Joanna knew very little about her. She spoke little and when she did, she gave well thought out insights that Joanna found very rare in a young person. She never asked Ada about herself.
Joanna knew that the day she would want to confide in her, Ada would. In the meantime, she was a wonderful assistant as well as a house mate. She lived in the second bedroom of the house. She was neat and did not have any visitors. Ada lived her life between the four walls of the house and only ventures out to go to the post and to the market. Joanna turned her mind from Ada and thought of Mercy Bohn again. She hoped that the union would not turn out to be her first failure.
She had brought dozens of couples together in the last three years and it gave her a sense of satisfaction when the happy couple wrote to her. Why, her first matches were still happily married, with three children and a third on its way. This too would work, Joanna thought. If it did not, Emil would be a very disappointed man.
Not to mention the loss that a failed union would incur. The agency fee and the costs of paying for the bride to cross the country— which was no small amount, were borne by the groom and for his trouble, he expected the best the agency could find.
FIVE
Duval Ranch
Oakland
Emil helped to load the last of the year’s wool on the wagon. When it left twenty minutes later, he felt a sense of relief. He turned his eyes to the blue skies. Thank you Father that the shearing has gone well.
Only when the wool left the ranch for the market did Emil celebrate. As long as it was still stored in the barns, waiting for the buyers to pick it up, anything could go wrong.
The Lord had indeed been good to him, Emil thought, looking around his stretch of land. On the pastures, were the younger sheep grazing on the steep slopes and tending their young ones, with two of his ranch hands minding them. It was six in the evening but to look at the bright sun, one would easily be misled to think that it was midday.
His limbs ached from squatting most of the day, holding the stubborn ewes down for
the shearers. His stomach growled a reminder that he had not eaten his midday meal. Emil stretched his limbs then crossed the distance from the barn to his house. On his right was a two room wooden structure, which had been his home for seven years.
It had taken him that long to get the ranch running and realizing a profit and only then, did Emil build the two-storey home. As he designed it, all the while he had visualized himself and his wife living there with a bunch of children to fill the four bedrooms. He admired his new home, constructed from the finest timber, polished to a shine.
However, he had not demolished the two-roomed structure that he had called his home for so long. It served as a constant reminder to Emil, how far the Lord had brought him. He pushed open the kitchen door into the large kitchen bathed with brilliant yellow light from the sun. He imagined his bride seeing this room for the first time.
It was big, fitted with a chimney and a stove with an oven. Emil knew that any woman would be delighted to call it her kitchen. His boots stank of animal droppings and he kicked them out and padded through to the front room in his socks. Sometimes like now, Emil thought that he had overdone the house, with each room occupying a lot of space.
He glanced at his place of pride in the front room, which was a bookshelf lining one end of the wall. It contained several versions of the scriptures and books on ranching and sheep rearing. Every evening after work, Emil’s first task when he got into the house was to check under the front door for any letters. He lived in such a remote area that post would sometimes be given to neighbors to drop off on their way home. Not that he normally received mail. But he had alerted the postmaster that he was awaiting a response to his mail order bride search, so anyone on their way past his ranch might have his coveted letter.
There was one now; someone had dropped off a letter! Right on the rug and he picked it up and returned with it to the kitchen. From the return address on the envelope, he saw that it was from Joanna Hunter and his spirits rose. He sat on the kitchen table and slit it open. His mouth curled into a smile as he read the letter. Finally, the agency had found a bride for him.
Mail Order Bride: JUMBO Mail Order Bride 20 Book Box Set Page 48
