“I teach a little brides’ school at my home for each set of prospective brides, where we go over the basics of cooking and housekeeping. Being the wife of a Mountie requires a certain amount of fortitude and skill, and I do my best to instill that in each student. Some learn better than others . . .” She trailed off and then shuddered as though reliving a memory. “But most do quite well,” she rushed on. “You already possess wonderful housekeeping skills, my dear, and I have no doubt of your capabilities.”
“When does the school begin? And where do we live while we attend?” That was the heart of the matter—Beth no longer had a home. Mrs. Duesenberry expected her gone by the following morning.
“Why, you live with me, of course. Didn’t I explain? I’m so sorry. Yes, I have a soft, comfortable bed just waiting for you. Class doesn’t begin until Monday, but I would love to take you home with me right this minute. We’ll have a marvelous time—I’ll make hot cocoa, and we can stay up far too late reading scandalous novels.”
Beth laughed despite the worry in her stomach. “I’m not much for reading scandalous novels, Miss Hazel.”
The older woman considered her. “No, I suppose you wouldn’t be, which is what makes you the perfect wife for Samuel. Be that as it may, I would still make you cocoa, and I would love to take you home with me.”
It sounded so nice—an answer to prayer, really—but Beth still wasn’t sure. “So, we attend the classes, and then . . .”
“And then we get on a train for Alberta! I travel with you and make sure you’re safely delivered and wed. You’ll be under my chaperonage until the ring is on your finger. And yes, ‘chaperonage’ is a real word. You don’t have to look so skeptical.”
“I didn’t mean to,” Beth faltered.
“Well, I’m not going to worry about it. I’m sure there’s a dictionary at hand if it comes down to that. Moving on—once you’re married, I’ll come back home to Ottawa, where I shall await my next assignment quite eagerly. They’ve been coming in thick and fast—quite a surprise, I assure you, but a most welcome one. I’ve never had so much fun.” Miss Hazel blotted her cheeks again, then her hairline. “Penguins, my dear. This is becoming my new life’s goal.”
“I wish I could do something for you. I’d offer you a cold drink, but I don’t think we have any ice at the moment.”
“That’s all right. I’ll go home and stick my entire head in the ice box—as long as I don’t freeze my hair to anything, we’ll be fine.” She looked at Beth expectantly. “What do you say? I know this is out of the blue and you probably weren’t even thinking of marriage, but it’s a wonderful opportunity, and I know Samuel will have your best interests at heart. You’d have a home, Beth, and a family.”
Those last words were what decided it. Beth closed her eyes and said a quick prayer, then replied, “Yes, Miss Hazel, I’d like to come.”
“That’s simply wonderful! And will you leave with me now? Do you have much to pack?”
“I have very little. It will only take me a few minutes.”
“Then let’s do it now. We’ll write a note to Mrs. Duesenberry to explain that I’ve absconded with you.”
“There’s just one thing, Miss Hazel,” Beth said, pausing before she left the room.
“Yes, my dear?”
“You said something about cocoa. Won’t that make your hot flashes worse?”
“You’re so good to be concerned about me. I take mine with a great deal of milk.” She gave a wink. “I’ll be all right. You scoot and get your things.”
Beth scooted, her hands trembling as she thought about what she’d just agreed to do. She felt like it was her only option, but it certainly didn’t feel like a trap. It sounded exciting, and Samuel was a good prospect for her. She had always envisioned herself knowing her husband before she married him, but then again, how well do you really know someone even after a courtship? People can hide their true selves when there’s an objective to be met. She didn’t feel foreboding as she thought of it, and she did trust Miss Hazel. She would give this a chance, and if she changed her mind, surely she could back out at any time during this bride school experience.
Chapter Three
“And now we let the dough rise,” Miss Hazel said. “Cover it loosely with a clean dish towel, and you have about an hour to attend to your other tasks while you wait.”
Each prospective bride did as she was told, covering her bread dough with a towel and stepping back. Beth glanced around the room. Sinead had tackled the assignment with her usual determination, somewhat heedless of the flour that she’d spilled all over the table. Claire went about it quietly, doing as she was told step by step, while Molly inserted humor and made things seem less arduous. Beth liked this group of girls very much. If she had to travel such a long distance with people she hardly knew, she was glad she was with them, and she trusted that she’d know them all very well before much longer.
They’d arrived just that morning. Beth had been tucked up in her room for a couple of days now and had learned her way around the kitchen, but the other girls didn’t have that advantage.
“You’ll be arranging your own kitchens the way you like them, never you fear,” Miss Hazel had told them. “Give heed, though, to make everything as efficient as possible. You don’t want to be running across the room every five minutes for your mixing spoon when it really should be kept near your mixing bowls.”
Beth liked the layout of Miss Hazel’s kitchen. It was very serviceable for a school, and for regular cooking as well. She had no idea what kind of space she’d have in her kitchen in Alberta, but she hoped she’d be able to arrange it to be somewhat like this.
“I don’t suppose we could just send our husbands out to the diner every night,” Sinead said on one of the rare moments when Miss Hazel left them unattended. “I hope to be spending most of my time with my patients, not in the kitchen.”
“And you’ll have a million patients, I’m sure,” Molly told the bride who was first and foremost a doctor. “But I’m pretty sure your Mountie will want a home-cooked meal once in a while, won’t he?”
Miss Hazel came bustling back into the kitchen, and Sinead looked a little guilty. “Now, girls, you might think I’m old, but I’m not nearly as deaf as all that. Sinead, yes, you’ll need to cook for your husband. I know it’s not the most pleasant task, but it’s a skill that can be learned just like any other. Suturing a wound wasn’t easy the first time, was it?”
“No, but that’s because I had a dull needle. Once I switched them out, it was much easier.”
Miss Hazel seemed a bit put out that her analogy had fallen flat, but she carried on. “Think of your new knowledge as being like a sharp needle. It’s a tool just like any other. Once you have knowledge, the task won’t be as difficult. Now, while your dough is rising, we’re going to do a bit of ironing. Let me demonstrate.”
***
Miss Hazel wore all the girls out entirely that first day, and it was hard to imagine finishing out the whole course of training. Beth flopped on a chair in a corner of the parlor, not caring if it was ladylike. The other girls took up similar positions around the room, none of them ready yet to climb the stairs to their beds—they were too tired.
“It’s so hard to imagine doing all that work all day, every day,” Claire said. “Yes, I was a maid before this, and I worked hard, but someone else did the cooking and the chimney sweeping and the marketing. I’m starting to think that being a wife is like being all the servants wrapped up in one.”
“Sounds about right,” Molly replied. “I know my mother would agree with you.”
“Molly, you come from a large family, don’t you?” Beth asked.
Molly nodded. “A very large family—fourteen. My mother had her hands full morning, noon, and night.”
“I don’t know if I could have so many children,” Claire said with wonder. “I’d most likely die in childbirth with the first one.”
“Nonsense,” Sinead said. “There’s no rea
son to believe any such thing. A healthy woman who’s treated properly can have any number of children. Just ask Molly.”
Claire’s head swiveled to Molly. “Are you a doctor too, Molly?”
The redhead laughed. “No, but I am a midwife. And it’s true—women are surviving childbirth with much greater regularity now than they used to. It’s sheer stubbornness in my mother’s case. The threat of death has absolutely no impact on her whatsoever.”
Beth laughed along with the others. Yes, she would like living near them. There was a genuineness, a sincerity among them that she knew would last long after this training session.
***
Samuel stood in the middle of his kitchen and looked around, wondering what his new wife would think when she arrived. Nathaniel and Matthew had welcomed the idea of brides rather enthusiastically, Easton rather hesitantly, and now it was a matter of counting down the days. He very much wanted the new Mrs. Murray to be happy here, but he didn’t know what that would entail. Would she walk in, see how simply he lived, and ask to be taken back to the train station? He hoped she’d be willing to see past his shabby chairs and his thin curtains and be willing to dig in and make a home with him. His mother would be scandalized that he didn’t have any tablecloths, but maybe not every woman would feel that way.
He shook his head. There wasn’t a great deal he could do about it now—a Mountie’s salary didn’t stretch much to include fancy things, and he didn’t want to run down to the general store and spend what he had on things she might not like. When she came, she could choose out her own things, and that would be that.
And he couldn’t waste energy on worry. It was nearly time for his shift.
When he reached the Mountie station, he found Matthew there having a heated discussion with Ezekiel Chambers, their resident drunkard.
“You broke three glasses and put a crack in Sam Bonney’s mirror, Zeke,” Matthew was saying, his voice urgent with frustration. “That’s destruction of property. Sam has every right to cut you off if you haven’t paid your bar tab, and you know it.”
“She just doesn’t want me to have any fun,” Zeke whined.
“She’s trying to stay on top of her own bills, and she might even be trying to look out for you. None of us want to see you end up in a puddle on the streets, Zeke. You need to straighten up and get yourself under control.”
Zeke fumbled with a pouch on his belt. “I’ll pay for the glasses,” he said, his tone surly. Samuel could tell from clear across the room that the man had already been drinking that day. What time did he start hitting the bottle, anyway? “How much for that mirror?”
Matthew shook his head. “I don’t know. It’s a big one, and it’s hung behind her bar for decades. Probably worth a fair bit.”
Zeke cringed. “Well, give her this for the glasses, and tell her I’ll see what I can do about the rest later on.”
Matthew pocketed the money. “I will, but you’d be much better off learning how to handle your own misdeeds rather than sending a messenger. I’m doing this for Sam, not for you.”
Zeke nodded. “Understood.” He then shuffled out of the station, and Samuel watched him go.
“Sam Bonney’s a good woman, and I’m not just complimenting her because we share a name,” Samuel joked. “I think she’s been too good to Zeke for too long.”
“I agree. I can’t begin to imagine what sort of tab he’s run up, but it has to be hurting her business.” Matthew grabbed his hat from the peg by the door. “Have a good shift, Mountie. I’ll take this money over to the saloon and grab some food while I’m at it. Sure can’t wait for our brides to arrive—it’ll be so nice to eat something hot when I get home after work.”
Samuel nodded. “I hear you.” He’d be a far richer man when he was married.
Chapter Four
Beth had never traveled such a long distance before. When she and her father took up his parsonage in Ottawa, they’d only moved fifty miles from his previous post. Now she was on a train going more than half the distance of the entire country, and while she trusted Miss Hazel and believed this was a good choice, she couldn’t help but feel frightened at going so far away from everything familiar to her.
She’d been pleasantly surprised to learn that Molly had previously studied to be a nun, and as they traveled, they shared favorite Bible verses. That helped ease Beth’s nerves, and it reminded her that no matter where she went, God was mindful of her and knew where she was.
When at long, long last the train pulled up to the station at Cougar Springs, she felt as though she’d never be able to walk properly again. Her muscles had turned to jelly from inactivity, and she was sure that her nerves also had something to do with her trembling. The other girls were looking out the window and commenting on seeing four Mounties waiting on the platform. Beth glanced out too, but what caught her eye was a strange animal walking along the tree line behind the Mounties. It wasn’t quite a deer, but it also wasn’t an elk or moose . . . Could it be a reindeer? She’d never seen one except for in illustrated stories about Santa Claus. She supposed given how close it was to Christmas, that was rather appropriate, but still, to see one for herself was incredible.
Then Miss Hazel was leading the way off the train, and Beth thought she might be sick. She’d been eager for this journey to end, but now, she wished she could stay on the train forever. She’d put up with the constant clacking sound and the never-ending vibration if it meant that she didn’t have to face whatever was waiting for her ahead.
But that wasn’t possible, so instead, she put on a bright smile and followed the others.
Four tall Mounties waited for them on the platform, as she already knew from looking out the window. What she hadn’t anticipated was just how tall they would be. She’d always known she was shorter than average, but this certainly proved it.
Some of the other girls were already talking to their Mounties. This was happening so fast. Maybe she could catch a ride on that reindeer. She was just about to turn and look for him when a Mountie with auburn hair stepped forward and smiled at her. “Are you Beth James?”
She nodded, although she was giving some serious thought to denying it and saying that Beth had fallen ill and wouldn’t be coming.
“I’m Samuel Murray. I’m so glad to meet you.” He held out his hand, and she took it. She expected to feel tingles zip up her arm or something, but instead, it felt like shaking hands with a brother or a good friend. That was both comforting and disappointing at the same time. “Did you have a good journey here?”
“It was pleasant, but long. We saw some beautiful scenery.” And that was a very boring reply. Molly and her Mountie were already laughing merrily—she wished she had some of Molly’s good humor.
“I’m glad it was pleasant, and sorry there’s nothing to be done about the length of it. You came from Ottawa, didn’t you?”
“Yes, we did.”
He nodded. “You’re very kind to come all this way to put some poor Mounties out of their lonely misery. It looks like everyone’s heading over to the church. Shall we go too?”
Beth swallowed a few times. “Yes,” she managed.
Samuel guided her across the dirt-packed ground and up the steps of the church. The others came with them, Miss Hazel leading the charge with her usual enthusiasm. Sinead and her Mountie had just finished their ceremony, and then it was Easton and Molly’s turn. When they were finished, the pastor looked up expectantly.
“Shall we?” Samuel asked, and she nodded. She’d come to do this, and do this, she would.
The pastor’s service was quite a bit less austere than her father’s tended to be, and it focused on the joy of being married and being of service to each other. Beth smiled. She had always believed her father would be the one to perform her wedding ceremony, and her chest burned with the unfairness that he was gone, but at the same time, these words of comfort and cheer were what she needed at this time, and she was thankful for other pastors who could step in when her fa
ther couldn’t be there.
She pulled her thoughts away from her father and turned them back to Samuel. He was looking at her with a kind expression on his face, and she knew he deserved more than she was currently giving him. She smiled in return, and a few moments later, they were officially man and wife.
Wife. She was actually married.
Samuel squeezed her hand as they walked down the aisle toward the doors of the church. Once outside, he led her over to a bench nearby and invited her to sit. “I know this hasn’t been what every girl dreams of for her wedding day,” he began. “And I know this isn’t the most conventional of marriages. We only met a few moments ago, and I haven’t decided yet if I think your eyes are brown or green. That’s why I’d like to take a little time and court you.”
She blinked. “Court me? What do you mean?”
“There’s a small storage room behind the kitchen in our cabin. I’ve cleared some space and made myself a bed back there. The bedroom is all yours—I’ve even moved out all my clothes and other belongings.” He held up a hand when she began to speak. “I want a godly marriage, Beth, and I believe we should know each other for a while before we introduce a physical aspect to our relationship.”
His cheeks pinked as he spoke, and she tried to hide a smile. He was even more nervous than she was, and she found that endearing.
“All right,” she said, not at all ashamed to let her relief show in her voice. “And what else does this wooing entail?”
“Taking long walks together, sharing our stories, learning about each other. Letting me make you bacon and eggs, which is the only thing I know how to cook.”
She grinned. “You want to cook for me?”
“Well, I was hoping you’d return the favor, but yes, I do want to cook for you. I’ve heard that it’s important for a groom to impress his bride, and I’m rather short on talents, so I’ve got to use whatever I’ve got.”
“I doubt you’re short on talents. Everyone has an abundance of talent whether or not they realize it.”
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