by Sky Winters
Before he could reply she had jumped out of the chair and kissed the old man before running out of the door and into the street.
She had to find James. She just had to.
There was a rumble of wheels on the road behind her and she looked around to see the evening stagecoach starting to leave.
Running alongside the carriage she jumped up to the window trying to spot James. The coach was full and in the fading light it was impossible to see.
“James, James!”
Her voice was lost to the sound of the coach rumbling away.
The horses were gathering speed and she was almost out of breath trying to keep up. Waving her arms she managed to attract the attention of a man sitting next to the window and eventually he pulled it open.
“Is James McArthur in the coach?”
The man cuffed his ear as if he hadn’t heard her properly. It was too late, the carriage was at full speed and she stopped in the road; gasping for breath as she watched the horses pull further and further away.
Suddenly there was a shout and the coach came to a halt. The door opened and a slight figure jumped down before the horses continued on their way.
All was quiet; only two figures remained on the road, walking slowly towards each other.
James stopped halfway and she ran crying into his arms.
They would never be parted again.
THE END
A LOVE FOR LUCY
Chapter 1
Lucy had spent the majority of her young life living in an orphanage run by the Sisters of Mercy in Denver, Colorado. The building was old and a bit run down, but Lucy had grown to love the orphanage and the people who ran it. They had saved her life in more ways than one. When she was a young girl, she had lived on a small homestead a hundred miles south of the city with her parents and her siblings. One night, fire had torn through their little home, stealing her family from her and leaving her with scars across a third of her body, including the right side of her face. A local doctor had kept her stable and, as soon as she had been declared fit to travel, she had been sent to the nuns and their orphanage. It was there that she had truly begun the healing process and she was eternally grateful to the nuns for working around the clock to save her life.
She was even more grateful for the orphanage because it was the one place where nobody ever looked at her scars with either horror or pity. Outside of the walls of the orphanage, complete strangers often gawked and stared at her. In those walls, she was safe and free to be herself. It was for that reason that she had not taken an apprenticeship with a seamstress or laundress at an earlier age and left the nun's care as many of the other girls had. She, instead, stayed until her 18th birthday, helping the sisters to take care of the younger children.
As her birthday approached, she knew that she had a difficult decision to make. The options for a woman in the west were limited to begin with. Most had the choice of marriage, joining the church, or some sort of manual labor or maybe working as the teacher at a one room school house in one of the most remote towns if she was lucky. Lucy, while educated enough to teach, did not want to expose herself to the teasing of children about her scars. She had had enough of that in life. Her thought had always been that she would join the nuns and stay at the orphanage. She knew that it would be hard work, but it would be no harder than any other job she might find and she would have the peace of mind of knowing that she was working for a cause very dear to her heart.
She had never considered marriage for herself, not since the fire. She had no illusions about romance. She thought that no man could look past her scars and so she had out her dreams of a love and family of her own away. It was only her friend Jana who did not accept that. They had been close since they were very young. Jana, 2 years older than Lucy, had watched over her since she came to the orphanage. At 17, she had left to marry a young man who worked in the bank just down the street from the orphanage.
Now, she was pregnant with their first child. Though Lucy was so joyful for the blessings in her friend's life, she had missed her deeply. Weekly, though she went to her little house for tea and to talk about all the changes in both of their lives. It was on one such visit that Jana pushed her about the choices that lay ahead of her. She made it very clear what she thought, that Lucy should do all that she could to have a family of her own, even if it meant that she needed to consider live as a mail order bride to a groom living in some of the most remote regions of the West. It shocked Lucy that was so adamant in her opinion and her first instinct was denial.
“Jana, I can't,” she said, nearly dropping her tea cup in shock at her friend’s suggestion.
“Lucy, you deserve a life of your own, not one of servitude to others,” Jana insisted, cradling her pregnant belly as she spoke.
“And what do you think I will do as a mail order bride, be the lady of the manor?” Lucy teased, trying to lighten the mood. She had never even considered marriage at all, let alone allowing herself to become a mail order bride.
“My dear friend, I am afraid that there is no easy road for you, but at least if you try to find a husband you will not go through it alone. Besides, at least then your hard work will be for the benefit of your own family,” Jana insisted, her eyes locked on Lucy’s as she spoke.
“Family? Those men do not see mail order brides as any more than a hired hand,” Lucy said, unwilling to tear open the old wound of her desire for a family. She had shoved those dreams aside and giving herself the hope that she could have them was only the road to more pain.
“Maybe not, but your children will not see you that way. Someday, you will be a mother,” Jana countered, knowing her friend well enough to see the desires of her heart.
“That dream is not for me,” Lucy answered, fighting tears.
“But it could be. I have watched you with the younger children at the orphanage. You are so nurturing. You should be a mother my dear,” Jana said tenderly, wrapping her arm around her friend as she spoke.
“Children should come from love. Otherwise they will end up like us, alone in the world,” she answered, thinking of all the children at the orphanage who were not there because of loss, but because their families had dissolved and they had had nowhere else to go.
“We are not alone. We have each other and those children will have you,” she pointed out, trying to make Lucy see what Jana had always known, that she deserved to live a full life.
“But who will my husband be?” she asked, beginning to allow herself to consider the possibility, as scary as it was to her.
“Does that really matter?” Jana asked, unable to suppress a laugh as she spoke.
“I think it might,” Lucy said with a smile as she sipped her tea. Leave it to Jana, who had been head over heels for her husband since the first day she saw him, to think that such a thing did not matter.
“You are so strong. You can endure anything. Besides, he might be the love of your life,” Jana said with an excited smile that told Lucy that Jana was sure that she would find not only a husband but also a love. Her own doubt that that was possible stung as she shook her head.
“No man could love me,” she said stoically. She had no illusions about her scared face and she could not afford to develop them as she prepared to take the next step in her life.
“You do not know that.” Jana argued.
“Yes I do. Look at me,” she said, with sadness in her eyes as she gestured to her ruined face.
“Lucy, you have a beautiful soul and your features are lovely. You cannot help that they are covered in scars,” Jana said, angry that her friend could not see her own beauty.
“I dare you to find a man who will see it that way,” Lucy answered with a sad smile. She could not and would not allow herself to believe that such a thing was possible because she knew how much it would hurt to let herself believe it only to lose hope once again.
“And I dare you to see yourself as I see you,” Jana pushed, unwilling to allow sadness and fear to rule
Lucy’s future.
“If I take out an ad, will you leave this alone?” Lucy asked in frustration. Though she did not think for a moment that any man would answer an honest ad, it might at least get Jana to give up on her quest.
“Will you really?” Jana squealed in excitement, wrapping her arms tightly around her dearest friend.
“Yes and I will be painfully honest about myself. When no man writes to claim my hand in marriage, I will take it as a sign from the heavens that I should join the convent or seek another position, maybe at an orphanage or a hospital run by the church,” she said, confident that the Lord would help to guide her to the right path.
“I accept your deal my dear,” Jana said, smiling as though she had won a great victory.
“Whatever path I choose, I will miss you terribly,” Lucy said, tears threatening again. They had never been apart for more than a week. The thought of being any real distance from her friend, the closest thing to family she had left, was the greatest pain she had felt since she lost her family.
“I will never be more than a letter away,” Jana said, clearly also very emotional at the thought of their pending separation.
“You are my family, blood or not,” Lucy said, hugging her friend close and trying to memorize the feeling of being in her presence.
“And you are mine,” Jana said confidently.
Chapter 2
Lucy did just as she promised Jana. She put forth an honest ad, seeking a man who would accept her for who she was. It had said simply:
18 year old hard working, God fearing woman seeking husband
Dark brown hair, blue eyes, scarred face
All responses should be addressed to the Sisters of Mercy Orphanage, Denver
She had written it quickly and honestly and sent it off to the local mail order bride office. Some of the girls in the orphanage had taken the same path so she had no trouble getting the address. She had done it believing in her heart that it was a futile effort, that she would not get any response at all and that she could then move along in her life. The orphanage had allowed her to stay on in her old room, helping out as she always had until she made her choice. She saw the ad only as a formality.
She was completely shocked a month later when she received a response in the mail. It was from a miner in his late twenties named Terrance. His letter described a homestead with animals and fields that needed tending while he worked in the mines. He needed a partner, someone willing to work hard in exchange for a roof and meals, plus the safety and freedom that marriage provides to a woman.
His letter was written bluntly, with no flowery language or promises of a loving life together. He simply offered a life of honest, hard work. There was something in the way that he wrote it, in the way that he did not try to sell her on an idealistic future that she found appealing. She was shocked to find herself considering his offer. He lived in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. She had never imagined leaving Denver, let alone the state of Colorado. Still, the thought of a new life was not something she could easily dismiss.
After a week of reading and rereading his letter and staring at a map of California that she had found in the library at the orphanage, she shocked even herself by writing him back and accepting his offer. Soon enough, she bought her train ticket and packed everything she owned in to an old trunk that the nuns gave to her. She shared a tearful goodbye with the women who had raised her and with Jana, the only family that she had left. Then, alone, she made her way to the train station and, from there, towards California.
The trip took days and she experienced every emotion possible as the train chugged along towards her new home. On the last day, though, her predominant emotion was fear. Primarily, it was a fear that Terrance would not be standing there on the train platform when she arrived. She disliked being in public much. She hated to have her scars stared at and she hated to have to speak to strangers, let alone make her way alone in a strange town.
As the train approached the small platform near the tiny town that Terrance had told her to buy her ticket for, she was relieved to see the figure of a young man perched on a wagon to the side of the station. He was keeping himself separate from the rest of the waiting crowd, which suited her just fine. As she departed the train, she gathered her trunk and fought her way through the small crowd, keeping her face shielded to avoid the stares she was often met with in public.
She saw him swing himself down from the seat of his wagon and move to meet her. He was nearly 6 feet tall, with dark hair and deep brown eyes. He had a short beard that obscured the lower half of his face, but it could not hide his strong features. Though he did not smile, he seemed relaxed enough, which put her at ease.
“Hello,” she said gently, unsure what one should say to their future husband upon their first meeting.
“Welcome. That your only trunk?” he asked as he lifted it from her hands. She felt him looking her over, but he did not stare at her face. Instead, he seemed to be looking over her form. She suspected that he was trying to determine if such a petite girl could do the work that he needed his wife to do. She knew that she would have to prove herself to him, but she had no doubts that he would soon be pleased with her. The one thing she had always been most confident in was her ability to work hard.
“Yes. I'm Lucy,” she said awkwardly.
“I know from your ad,” he said bluntly, still not smiling at her.
“Oh yes, I suppose you do. Sorry,” she said, still feeling a bit uncomfortable. He seemed very closed off, but not unkind. That, she thought, she could live with well.
“The wagon is this way,” he said as he turned and walked away from her, carrying her trunk. He was clearly eager to get back to his homestead and she was anxious to leave the crowd of the train platform behind them. The thing that she had missed most since she had been forced to move to the orphanage in the city, was the sounds of nature that one heard out on a remote piece of land. The thought of returning to such a quiet life had been a large part of why she had decided to accept Terrance’s offer.
“Alright,” she said, more to herself than to him. She squared her shoulders and walked after him. While he loaded her trunk in the back of the wagon, she swung herself in to the seat, not waiting for his assistance. He looked up at her and seemed pleased with that. He quickly joined her in the front of the wagon and took the reins in his hand and pushed the horse forward towards their new life.
“I hope you meant what you said about not having a problem with hard work,” he said as they pulled away from the small town of Silver Flats.
“Hard work is all I have ever known,” she said honestly, giving him a small smile to show him that she was not intimidated by hard work. In truth, she was eager for it. The awkwardness of traveling and meeting him for the first time had taken her far outside of her comfort zone. All she really wanted was to roll up her sleeves and get to work. Then, she knew, she would feel more at home in her new life.
“Then we will get along fine,” he said, nodding his head and returning to his silence. He did not even look over at her, instead keeping his eyes locked on the trail ahead of them. She, for her part, was happy to be off the train. She could not get enough of the beauty surrounding them as he continued to pilot the wagon.
The trail kept getting rockier and rougher, but it did not bother her to be jostled around. She simply held on tight and looked at all the amazing landscape that would be her new home. After nearly an hour in the wagon, he veered off the main trail and soon enough they arrived at a small farmstead nestled between the mountains.
“This is the homestead,” he said as he jumped from the wagon and grabbed her trunk. The place was obviously well cared for, though there were no touches that made it feel at all like a home. The main house lay before her and it seemed soundly built and all of the outbuildings seemed to be in good repair.
“It's lovely,” she said, looking around. It was clear that he put no stock in the small touches of such a place, but she coul
d see the potential in what he had built and she knew that she could make it a home for the both of them and that fact warmed her heart.
“Follow me,” he said stiffly, moving towards the house.
“Yes, of course,” she said, wishing that he had let her carry her own trunk. She was not used to people doing such things for her and it made her slightly uncomfortable.
“This is our house. Over yonder is the livestock barn and past that is the chicken coup and grain storage. Beyond that is our garden and the field where our wheat is grown. I work from dawn to dusk in the mines to pay off the loan I had to take to buy this place. Your job is to keep things running here while I am working. You will tend the garden and the animals, plant the wheat field and you'll have to harvest it to when the time comes. You'll cook, clean, and do the laundry and mending. If any of that sounds like too much for you, I'll take you back to the train right now,” he said without any sort of sugar coating. His forthright nature would suite her just fine, she thought. All she wanted was a place where she could work hard to make a life for herself and her family and she had no further doubts about this homestead being that place.
“It is not a problem at all,” she said, hoping that he understood how serious she was about that fact.
“Fair enough. The preacher will be here this afternoon to perform the wedding then. I do not go to town any more than I have to and neither will you,” he said bluntly. It seemed odd to her that such a young man would keep himself so separate from the society around him, but she was glad for it. She wanted only to keep to herself and she had no desire to have to tell the story of her wounds to a new town of people. She did not want to be known here as a woman who had lost everything. She simply wanted to be a wife and a partner to Terrance.
“Alright,” he said, looking as if he did not entirely believe her. It did not bother her though. She knew that she would show him quickly how much she meant what she said.
“I'll give you the tour of the inside of the house now,” he said as he moved away from her.
