by Carré White
“I’m here to see Miss Miller.” She straightened her hat and tried to look as if she had business at a house that was obviously owned by someone who was extremely wealthy.
“Yes, of course. Is she expecting you?”
“No, she’s not. My name is Julia Jordan.”
He nodded briefly and opened the door wide for her. “Follow me please.” He led her back along the long hallway and stopped in front of a door off to the left. Knocking once, he pushed the door open. “Miss Miller? I have a Julia Jordan here to see you.”
Julia was surprised when she saw the young woman. She didn’t even look old enough to have finished school yet! Why would a woman her age be running a mail order bride agency?
Miss Miller stepped forward and shook her hand. “It’s so nice to meet you, Miss Jordan. Are you here about my advertisement?”
“Yes, I am.”
Miss Miller nodded at the butler. “Bernard? Would you be certain that fresh tea and cookies are brought to us please?” After the door closed behind the man, she indicated the couch and took her spot behind the desk. “So tell me why you want to be a mail order bride.”
Julia had been hoping that question would not be asked of her, but she couldn’t answer it with anything less than complete honesty. “I was engaged to be married years and years ago, but my mother contracted polio. I put off the wedding for a year to take care of her, because the doctor told me within a year she would either be fully recovered or dead. I put him off for another year after that. He eventually found a wife, and they’ve had four children. I’ve been taking care of my mother for sixteen years now.” Julia sighed heavily. “She died just three days ago, and I find that I’m all alone in the world. I’m thirty-four years old and have no job interest and no marriage prospects. I just don’t want to be alone forever.”
Miss Miller nodded sympathetically. “Of course you don’t. Who would?” She turned to her desk and flipped through a stack of letters. “I have an idea of a man who might suit you very well.” She found the letter and handed it to Julia turning back to her desk while the older woman read.
Julia glanced at the letter in her hand, surprised there was a possible husband with a letter just lying there. “Dear potential bride, I’m a thirty-eight year old farmer who is seeking a wife. I moved to Kansas to make a go of farming ten years ago with my wife, but she died five years ago. I have no children. I would like a wife who doesn’t mind that I plan on farming for the rest of my life. I have no ambitions to make a lot of money. I just want to work my land. If that idea appeals to you, then you may just be the bride for me. I’d like a woman who is at least thirty. I don’t mind if she’s been married before and looks really aren’t important to me. I need a woman who wants children and isn’t afraid of hard work. If you are willing to take on a farmer in the middle of nowhere, please reply. Sincerely, Edward Allen.”
Julia leaned back in her chair and thought about the words she’d just read. She definitely wasn’t afraid of hard work. If he didn’t care about looks, then her waist being larger than was fashionable wouldn’t bother him. She had been isolated with just her mother for company for so long, she didn’t think living in the middle of nowhere would bother her. She shrugged. He’d do.
She looked up at Miss Miller. “Yes, I think he’ll do nicely.”
The younger woman smiled. “I’m so glad!” She pulled a blank piece of paper from her desk, along with a pen and ink, and handed them to Julia. “Please write him a letter telling him a bit about yourself. I’ll send it out, and we’ll go from there.”
Julia frowned. She’d really hoped she’d be sent out much sooner than that. “How long does the whole process take?”
“It can take months. First, we need to get a letter back from him, which will include train tickets and a small amount of spending money, if he’s interested. Then we’ll make sure you have what you need, and you’ll be off.” Miss Miller smiled sweetly. “My sister was a mail order bride over a year ago. She’s extremely happy with her placement.”
Julia nodded to indicate she’d heard before dipping her pen in the ink and quickly writing out a letter in her perfect script. Once she was done, she folded it carefully and handed it to the other woman. “How will you inform me when you’ve received a response from Mr. Allen?”
“Give me your address, and I’ll walk over once I receive one.” Elizabeth wrote down the other woman’s address with a smile.
“Thank you.” Julia wasn’t sure if she should leave or wait a moment before going.
The door opened, and Bernard came back carrying a tray laden with cookies and tea. He set them down on the small table in front of the sofa. “Thank you, Bernard,” Elizabeth said before turning back to Julia. “Would you care for some tea and cookies?”
“Thank you,” Julia replied. She wasn’t really hungry, but she reached for a cookie anyway, while Miss Miller poured tea for them both. As they ate, they talked about the weather, and the way things are usually done with mail order brides. Elizabeth had a lot of insight into how things worked, not only because she’d run the mail order bride business for a year, but because her sister had been a mail order bride.
“You never know what will happen when you step foot off that train. Our agency has sent out sisters to marry brothers, and they ended up each marrying the wrong brother. When my sister arrived, her fiancé had died, and she married his brother. Anything can happen. We’ve never had a bride go out and not be met at the station, though, so you don’t need to worry about that.”
By the time Julia left, she felt as if she knew pretty well all the things that could go awry in a mail order match up. She didn’t want to wait a month or longer before leaving Beckham, more for fear she’d lose her courage than anything else, but she didn’t see where she had a choice. She walked home and resumed her task of packing her mother’s things. There was a charity that would come get them all in the morning.
Chapter Two
Edward rode his horse into town as he had each week for the past year. Would anyone ever answer his letter to be his bride? He’d gotten a quick response from the woman running the agency a year before, but she’d simply said that she would be working on finding the perfect wife for him.
He went into the mercantile in Abernathy, Kansas with no real hopes of finding a letter waiting for him. He’d keep up the weekly rides for another month, but then he had to get back to his normal routine. He was wasting too much time as it was.
John, the man who ran the mercantile, looked up. “I have something for you.”
Edward eyed him. “New nails?”
John laughed. “I have that letter you’ve been waiting for. Beckham, Massachusetts, right?”
Edward rushed to the counter and held his hand out. He hated that the other man had looked at the return address on his letter, but he’d been there looking for it so obsessively, he couldn’t really blame him. Once he had the letter, he grunted his thanks and hurried outside to read it. If this woman would work, he’d mail out train tickets before he left town.
He quickly read the letter she’d sent. “Dear Edward, You sound like exactly what I’m looking for. I’ve spent the past sixteen years caring for my invalid mother and gave up my only chance at marriage to do so. She has passed away, and I find I’m alone in the world. I’m a hard worker and have extensive experience cleaning house and cooking. I’ve also spent a lot of time gardening and canning. I can sew and mind children. I would love to have children of my own someday. I would be content to move to a small farm in Kansas to be a farmer’s wife if it included the ability to have children and be a wife. I am short and a bit plumper than is fashionable. I hope you’ll consider me. Yours, Julia Jordan.”
Edward read over the letter again, before nodding to himself. He was so pleased to receive a letter that he wasn’t about to be picky. Walking to the train station, he purchased a ticket that would leave Beckham, Massachusetts in two weeks and arrive there in Abernathy a few days later. He went back to
the mercantile and borrowed paper and pen from John, quickly scrawling, “I’d be honored to have you as my wife. Enclosed is a train ticket for your trip here, and some money for your travels. Yours, Edward.”
He then wrote a quick letter and addressed it to the mail order bride agency, enclosing the necessary amount to pay for their services, even though it had taken them a year to find him a bride.
When he was finished addressing them, he handed both to John. “Thank you.” He could see the speculation on the other man’s face, but said nothing more as he turned and headed back out to the farm. Finally, he’d have a bride. No more beans for every meal. No more washing his own dishes when there simply wasn’t another clean pot to cook in. He couldn’t wait.
On his way home he stopped at Leah’s grave and knelt down carefully explaining what he’d done. He felt like he’d given it enough time since her death so it wasn’t a betrayal, but that didn’t make it easier for him. He had been deeply in love with his wife, and although he didn’t love this Julia, marrying her did still seem like it was wrong. He sighed. If only Leah had been stronger and able to withstand the prairie without giving in to melancholy.
~*~
Julia spent the time waiting for a letter crating up everything in the small house. She knew there was no guarantee that Edward would choose her, but she had decided that no matter what happened with him, she was leaving Beckham. She needed a fresh start, and she could get it by selling her parents’ house and moving on.
She was standing in her small kitchen looking around at what she had left when she heard a knock on the door. She had a list of things for sale up at the general store, and it was probably someone coming to look at what she had. She opened the door and stepped to one side, embarrassed that Elizabeth Miller would see her small home when she lived in a mansion. “Come in.”
Elizabeth stepped inside and looked around. “Wow, you’re getting ready to go, aren’t you?” She held out a letter and waited as Julia took it, her eyes lighting up with excitement.
“You didn’t open it?” she asked, surprised.
Elizabeth shut the door behind her. “May I sit?” she asked. At Julia’s nod, she sat at the small table. “The letter is addressed to you in care of me. I’m not going to open your mail.”
Julia sat across from Elizabeth and carefully opened the letter. As she read the words, she slowly smiled with relief. She held up the train tickets for Elizabeth to see. “He wants me to come.”
“Of course he does!” Elizabeth smiled happily. “When do you leave?”
Julia looked down at the date on the tickets. “Tomorrow! He should have given me a little more time.”
Elizabeth looked at the date on the letter. “No, the mail was just slow. He gave you a full two weeks for the letter to be delivered before you leave. That should have been enough time.” She stood up. “What more do you need to do? Are you packed and ready?” She rolled up her sleeves.
“Mostly. I still have to sell my table and chairs and my stove. The beds upstairs. The house sold last week, but they’re giving me a month to leave.”
“I’ll take the table, chairs, and stove. I can be the one to deal with those things, and I’ll forward the money on. Are you packed?”
Julia shook her head. “No, but I’ve purchased everything you said I’d need. I can pack tonight with no problem.” She shrugged. “I don’t think there’s much left to do.”
Elizabeth nodded. “Let me help you pack. Are your things in your room?”
Julia was surprised that the society woman would be willing to help her pack, but she didn’t say anything about it, and instead, led her to the stairs and her upstairs bedroom. “Right through here.”
Elizabeth helped her carefully fold her things and pack them. “What will you wear to marry?”
Julia held up a dress she’d set aside. “I’ll pack this on top, and if he gives me time to change clothes before we marry, that’s what I’ll wear.”
“Most men find a way for you to bathe and change, but not all. If it doesn’t happen, don’t think less of him.”
“I thought that was probably the case. If he lives in the country, we’ll have to marry in town before we head to his farm. You don’t think he’ll want to spend a night in town, do you?”
Elizabeth shook her head emphatically. “If he’s like most farmers, he’ll need to get home to see to his livestock. Just driving to town is a hardship.”
“Sounds like you know a lot about farmers,” Julia said as she folded the last of her underclothes to put in the pile.
Elizabeth shrugged. “My father is a farmer. I know more than I care to about the lifestyle.”
Julia frowned at the younger girl. “If your father is a farmer, how did you end up living in that mansion?”
Elizabeth briefly explained. “After my sister moved to Texas to marry, I was the oldest child, and I understood then why she was always so frustrated with our younger siblings. When I ran into the former owner of the mail order bride business in town, we talked. Last year, when she decided to become a mail order bride herself, I saw her in the post office, and she invited me to have lunch with her. I thought she wanted me to be a bride, but instead, she asked me to take over the agency.”
“Do you enjoy running a business?” Julia wasn’t sure she would ever be able to be a businesswoman. She actually enjoyed keeping house.
“I do. I wanted to get away from my family, but my plan was to become a teacher. This suits me far better. I can still see my family when I choose, but I can stay in town when I want to be away from them.”
“Is your family that bad?”
Elizabeth laughed softly. “My younger brothers and sisters have been nicknamed ‘the demon horde’ by the good people of our church. They’re not exactly people you’d want to spend time with.”
Julia laughed. “Oh, my! No, I don’t think I would.”
They chatted as they finished the packing. Before she left, Elizabeth asked, “What time does your train leave tomorrow?”
“Eleven in the morning.”
“I’ll meet you there if you don’t mind.”
Julia was surprised. She hadn’t expected anyone to be there to send her off. “I’d like that a lot.”
After she closed the door, Julia smiled to herself. How odd that she’d find someone she liked as much as she liked Elizabeth. She had made an incorrect assumption about the other girl and never would have allowed her into her life if not for her business with her. The girl was just like she was in so many ways, though.
At the train station, Elizabeth took Julia’s hand in hers. “I need you to promise me one thing before you leave.”
Julia frowned. “What’s that?”
“Promise me that if Edward doesn’t treat you well, you’ll come back to Beckham. Or go anywhere really, since you do have some money of your own. I just don’t want you to stay in a bad situation.”
“I won’t.” She’d been mistreated enough by her mother. There was no way she was going to stay in a bad situation with a man.
When her train was called, she hugged her friend, thankful to have a place to come back to if everything didn’t work out well. “Thank you!”
“Don’t forget to write and let me know how you are!”
Chapter Three
It was noon on a Monday afternoon in late September when Julia’s train pulled into the tiny station in Abernathy, Kansas. She was tired and more than a little grumpy after sitting up in a train for four days straight while traveling. It was certainly better than traveling by horse and buggy, because it was faster, but the constant motion of the train had left her sick to her stomach most of the trip.
She stepped off the train and stood on the platform waiting, wondering how she was going to recognize Edward. Only two other people got off the train, and one was a man, so it shouldn’t be terribly difficult for him to find her.
She stood quietly waiting, hoping he would hurry. Her train had arrived an hour early, which she was tol
d was unheard of. She finally sat down in the waiting area of the train station, as if she were waiting for another train to arrive. She hoped he hadn’t forgotten her.
When Edward arrived in town ten minutes before the train was due, he immediately went to the mercantile. Trains were always late, and he wanted to get a fair amount of supplies before he picked up his new bride.
When he was finished, he was surprised to see no crowd waiting and the train already in the station. He rushed to the platform, but there was no one there. Finally, he went to the waiting area, hoping to find his new wife and saw her sitting quietly looking quite forlorn. He didn’t introduce himself right away, but looked at her, learning her. She had dark hair and dark eyes. She looked like she’d been a beauty when she was younger, but years and hard work had taken their toll. She wasn’t ugly, but she certainly wasn’t the sort of woman a man fell at the feet of, which suited him just fine.
He walked to stand in front of her, feeling a bit self-conscious. Her eyes drifted up to his. “Miss Allen?” he asked.
She breathed a sigh of relief. It was very obvious to him that she thought he’d left her there. “Edward?”
He nodded once briefly. “Yes.” He leaned down and took the carpet bag at her feet. “Is this all you brought?”
She shook her head. “There’s a trunk over against the wall.”
They walked over together, and he found someone to help him get it onto the back of the wagon. Once that was accomplished, he helped her onto the wagon seat, pleased that she hadn’t complained about waiting for him. “I was planning on going straight to the preacher’s house. He said he’d marry us anytime this afternoon.”
Julia nodded, staring straight ahead. It suddenly hit her at that moment that in a few hours, she’d be sharing a bed with this man who was a total stranger. He’d expect her to lie under him and let him do…things to her that she’d never done. Would she be able to allow herself to do that? Or would she run away screaming into the night?
