Ulla's Courage

by Agnes Alexander

  “Oh, Ulla, you have.” She turned to Alton. “Now, dear, let’s head home. I’ll warm up supper for you and Ulla. Claudine and Colton were invited to visit with friends and they’ve already left, but I’m sure you two are hungry. We can have a nice talk about the part I can take in helping you run our store.”

  Ulla reached for her bonnet. “Since I didn’t get to take the money to the bank this afternoon, do you want to leave it here or take it home with you?”

  “I’m going to see that you order a safe to put our money in tomorrow, Alton. Then we can lock up the money before we leave every evening.”

  “You’re right, dear. I’ll order one. I guess we’ll have to take it with us today.”

  Ulla got the cash box from under the counter and put the money in the bag so it would be easier to carry. “I think this is the most money we’ve made all week. It’s a good thing those last minute customers came in.”

  Vida reached for the bag. “My goodness. It is a lot of money. Maybe I should carry it under my shawl. Nobody will see it there.”

  “That’s a good idea, Aunt Vida.” Ulla handed her the money and followed the two of them out of the store. She was pleased with how things had turned out. After tomorrow she felt her life would be on the right track for the first time since her father’s death.

  Chapter Six

  The next day things worked out better than Ulla had ever dreamed they would. Vida decided that since she was going to be running the store with her husband, she was going in to work for the day. “I want to see how things are done and how I might improve them,” she said at breakfast. “Ulla can show me around, then she can take the afternoon off and concentrate on planning her wedding.”

  Ulla didn’t correct her because in a way her aunt was correct. She’d plan her wedding, but it wouldn’t be the one Vida was expecting her to plan.

  Alton looked as if he didn’t dare object to his wife’s suggestion and Ulla was pleased. Of course, Claudine hadn’t gotten out of bed and neither had Colton, so neither of them had yet expressed an opinion of what they wanted to do for the day. Ulla prayed they had plans that would take them out of the house. That way, she could come home and get dressed for her secret wedding with Cord without anyone suspecting what was going on.

  Her prayers were answered. It seemed Colton had promised to take Claudine on a picnic with the new mayor’s daughter and a friend of hers. At the store, Aunt Vida insisted Alton take her to the café for lunch and when they returned, she told Ulla she felt ready to work on her own and her niece could take the rest of the day off. “Alton will be here if I need to ask questions. Now you run along and be sure to work on your wedding, Ulla.”

  “I will, Aunt Vida.”

  And she did. That was why she was sitting in the carriage with Wilbur on the way to the church to marry a stranger. Well, not exactly a stranger, but a man she didn’t really know. She wore her best dress, the yellow one Claudine had wanted. It was a voile with sprigs of ivy scattered around the skirt. The neck dipped low and the bodice fit her tiny waist perfectly. The yellow ribbons and sprigs of greenery she put in her upswept golden hair framed her face and showed off her green eyes. When she had sat back and looked at herself in the mirror in her bedroom, she couldn’t help hoping Cord would like the way she looked. They would be at the church soon and she knew she’d find out how he felt then because she’d already learned she could tell a lot of what he was thinking by the look in his eyes.

  “You look awfully pretty, Miss Ulla.” Wilbur gave her a smile. “I’m sure your young man will be pleased to see you.”

  She smiled at him. “Thank you, Wilbur. I’m sorry your wife couldn’t come with you to the wedding.”

  “She would’ve liked to, but she’s been sick all day. I think this baby is going to give her more trouble than any of the others.”

  “I’m sure everything will be all right in the end and you’ll have a wonderful healthy baby.”

  “I’m sure it will be. Doc says she’s doing good and the children are lending a hand.” He nodded his head. “My whole family was tickled about my new job and they said to thank you for recommending me to the banker.”

  “I hope you’ll like the job.”

  “I know I will. I also know I’ll be treated like a man just the way I was when I worked for your daddy.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yep. When I went by yesterday and told Mr. Roberson that Wingate had let me go, he said I could come in today if I wanted to.”

  “Oh, Wilbur, I’m sorry I asked you to bring me to the church.”

  “Don’t say that. Mr. Roberson understood. He even told me you had asked him to come see you get married and he said he’d see me at the church.”

  “Mr. Roberson is giving me away. You and he have been my best friends since Daddy died. I wanted you both there.”

  “I’m glad you’re giving Pete Nettleton and his wife a chance to start a new life, too. They deserve it.” He turned into the church yard. “Now, let me get close to the steps so you won’t get your pretty dress dusty as you go inside.”

  Stuart Roberson stood at the head of the stairs with a bouquet of yellow and white flowers. He smiled broadly at her. “You look lovely, my dear. I wish your mother and father could see you.”

  “For some reason, I have a feeling that maybe they do.”

  He smiled even broader as she took Wilbur’s hand to step out of the carriage. When she reached the entry, Stuart handed her the flowers.

  She grinned and held the flowers to her nose to smell their wonderful fragrance. “Now I understand why you asked me what color dress I planned to get married in.”

  “Of course. I couldn’t let you say your vows without flowers to match your outfit. It wouldn’t be right.”

  She leaned up and kissed his cheek and he blushed. “Has Mister ..?”

  “Yes, my dear. Your Mr. Dermott is inside waiting for you. So are Mr. and Mrs. Nettleton and three fidgety children. They’re all excited about this wedding.”

  “Then we better get started, don’t you think, Papa Stuart?”

  “Yes, little Ulla. That we should do.”

  Wilbur slipped into the church and took a seat behind the Nettletons. Mr. Roberson held out his arm to her and they started down the aisle.

  For a moment, Ulla wasn’t sure she wasn’t having a dream. The best looking man she’d ever seen stood at the altar with the preacher. He had on a black suit and his dark hair was neatly trimmed. She’d thought him handsome before, but today he topped every thought she’d ever had about him. And most important to her, his blue-gray eyes seemed to sparkle when she started toward him. Then the most brilliant smile she’d ever seen spread across his face.

  ~ * ~

  The first time he had stepped in the general store, Cord had thought Ulla one of the prettiest women he’d ever seen, but today her real beauty shined. She looked like a mixture of a princess and an angel as she headed down the aisle to him. “Oh, Lord,” he silently prayed. “Please don’t let her beauty be only on the surface. I’ve had a wife like that and I don’t think I can take another one. If Ulla turns out to be only half as decent a wife as she is beautiful, I’ll be good to her and hope to love her someday. I know after what I’ve been through, it’ll take a while, and I may never fall in love with her, but I’ll try, God. I promise, I’ll try.”

  Then she was beside him and his heart began to beat faster. He could tell she was nervous. That was all right. He figured most brides were a little jittery before their marriage.

  The preacher opened his mouth to speak, but a little girl’s clear voice rang out, “Is she gonna be my new mama, Daddy?”

  Cord couldn’t help turning to see Ivy trying to shush Becky. “Yes, honey,” was all he could think of to say.

  He was surprised when Ulla said, “Becky, would you like to come up here and stand with your daddy and me while we get married?”

  “Yes.” Becky jumped off the wooden pew and ran to them.

  Cord
watched as Ulla smiled at the little girl. Then she surprised him again when she said, “Why don’t you go back and get Will? He should be a part of this, too.”

  “All right.” She returned to the pew and grabbed her brother’s hand. He toddled to the front of the church with his sister.

  Will held out his hands to his daddy and Cord picked him up because he didn’t know anything else to do.

  Ulla bent so her head was even with Becky’s. “Since you’re standing here with us, I’m going to make you my bridesmaid and a bridesmaid always carries flowers. Would you like to have a couple of my flowers to hold?”

  Becky nodded and Ulla pulled a yellow flower and a white flower from her bouquet and handed it to the little girl.

  Becky beamed and said, “We’re ready now, Mr. Preacher.”

  Everyone smiled and the preacher cleared his throat. The couple turned back to him and said their vows. At the proper time, Cord placed the ring he’d bought in town that morning on Ulla’s finger. He’d noticed the ring in the window of a store that sold a variety of jewelry and the small emerald stones in the gold band reminded him of her eyes. He hoped she’d like it and he was pretty sure she did when she glanced at him and smiled.

  In a matter of minutes the preacher pronounced them man and wife. He ended the ritual with the traditional, “Mr. Dermott, you may now kiss your bride.”

  Cord wanted to take her in his arms and pull her close, but he guessed it was a good thing he had Will in his arms and Becky stood between them. He simply leaned over and brushed his lips with hers. It shocked him at how soft her lips were and how the taste of honey seemed to slip into his mouth.

  She blushed and gave him a smile, then the people in the church crowded around them offering congratulations and good wishes. Soon people began to scatter and Cord whispered to her, “Do you need to go back to town or are you ready to go out to the camp?”

  “If you’re ready for me, I’ll go with you. I’ve taken care of all the business I needed to do in town. I don’t want to go back.”

  He nodded. “Pete said you’d made arrangements for someone to take you to camp.”

  “Yes.”

  Ivy walked up and Ulla said, “Ivy, Wilbur has a buggy to take you and your family to the camp unless you have other plans.”

  “That would be wonderful. Pete said we’d go rent something if we needed to.”

  Roberson walked up. “That won’t be necessary. I have my buggy and I’ll be happy to take anyone who doesn’t have a ride out to the camp.”

  After a short discussion, it was decided that Wilbur would drive the Nettleton family and Stuart would take Ulla and the children. Cord said he’d ride his horse beside the buggy.

  At first Will didn’t want to go with Ulla, but she coaxed him and he soon gave in when he saw his sister would be there, too. Ulla couldn’t help noticing how the little boy seemed to depend on Becky.

  ~ * ~

  When they arrived at camp, they were all surprised to see that some of the emigrants had prepared a simple but lovely wedding supper for them. Naomi and Charlene met them as the buggies rolled in and started singing some song Ulla didn’t recognize.

  Cord dismounted and somebody offered to take care of his horse. He hurried to help Ulla and the children from the buggy. She stood close to him with Will in her arms. Becky stood in front of them.

  “Aren’t they a beautiful family?” Naomi shouted and a cheer went up.

  “For those who haven’t met her, she’s Ulla,” Charlene explained.

  “I know her. She’s the lady from the mercantile,” a pretty middle-aged woman said. “My name’s Beulah Reed. Me and Sam and our sons are in the wagon ahead of Cord. I’m glad to meet you again, Ulla. You sure lucked out getting to marry the most eligible bachelor on the wagon train.”

  “Yep,” a large woman said with a chuckle. “There’s gonna be some girls and women with broken hearts now that he’s off the market. The girls will be upset because you got him and the women will be cross ‘cause their daughters lost out and didn’t get a chance at him.”

  “She’s right. Now maybe one of my sons will have a chance for a woman.” Beulah chuckled.

  “What about her?” A man yelled. “I think he’s a lucky man to get somebody so pretty.”

  “That’s true,” another male voice said.

  “Dale’s right. Take a good look at her and you’ll see he’s the one who had the good luck today.”

  “Okay, folks,” Naomi said. “We’ll have plenty of time to get acquainted later. Now’s the time to have a party. Where’s Rayburn Fields with his fiddle?”

  “Pa’s coming, Miss Naomi.”

  “Good, Judith.”

  Another teenager walked up to Ulla and Becky said, “This is my new mama, Kathleen.”

  “Hello, Kathleen. You must be Charlene’s daughter,” Ulla said.

  Kathleen smiled. “Yes, ma’am. I thought maybe Becky would like to come sit with Esther Guggenheim and me while the grownups dance.”

  “Well, I…”

  Ivy interrupted Ulla. “That’s a good idea, Kathleen. I’m going to take little Will and watch him so Cord can dance with his new wife.”

  Before Ulla could protest, the party began. Raymond Fields arrived and the music started. Several people began to dance, including the bride and groom. At first Ulla felt stiff in Cord’s arms, but he was an excellent dancer and she soon relaxed.

  “You been dancing long, Mrs. Dermott?” he whispered in her ear.

  “I can’t remember the last time I danced, Mr. Dermott.”

  “Good. If I step on your toes, you’ll probably forgive me.”

  She laughed. “It will probably be the other way around. As I said, it’s been a long time since I danced, but I don’t remember ever dancing with a man who did it as well as you.”

  He whirled her around and pulled her closer to him. “Just so you don’t start dancing with other men so you can compare my dancing to theirs.”

  “I don’t plan to do so.”

  “I appreciate that. I know the men will be asking to share dances with you, because you are awfully pretty, you know.”

  She stopped dancing and looked at him. “Do you really think I’m pretty?”

  “Of course I do.” He pulled her back in his arms. “It kind of scared me when you started down the aisle in church today.”

  She frowned up at him. “Why would it scare you?”

  “Well, I guess it was because I thought I was marrying a woman. Then I look up and an angel is headed down the aisle toward me.”

  She blushed. “So you weren’t disappointed in the way I looked?”

  “Of course not. It was hard for me to believe you had said yes to me. I figure the man who said I was a lucky to get you was the most truthful man on this wagon train.”

  She blushed again. “Thank you, Cord.”

  “Don’t mention it.” He edged her away from the dancers. “Let’s get something to eat. I’m hungry and I noticed they have fried chicken and it looks good. I remember how much you like it.”

  “I do and I think I’ll try it since I’m a little hungry, too.”

  They made plates and moved to sit in one of the chairs from their wagon. Becky walked up. “Daddy, Miss Ivy said me and Will were going to spend the night with them. I want to, ‘cause Springer is tied under their wagon and Mr. Pete said we could play with him a little before we have to go to sleep.”

  “That sounds like a good idea, Becky. I’m sure he’s a good dog to play with.”

  “Joe says he won’t bite me. He told me he’s trained not to bark, but I heard him bark one time since we got back.”

  “I guess it’s because of the party. He doesn’t know what’s going on.”

  “Will’s done gone to sleep and I’m going to get sleepy in a little while.”

  “Well, honey,” he started, but he knew if he didn’t spend the night with his new wife the whole camp would catch on to their ruse. “I think staying with the Nettletons
is a very good idea. But I think you need to give me a good night hug and one to your new mama, too.”

  She grinned and held her arms to him. “Good night, Daddy. I love you.”

  He hugged her and said, “I love you, too, Becky.”

  She then turned to Ulla with a grin. “Can I hug you, too?”

  “I was hoping you would.”

  She threw her arms around Ulla’s neck. “I love you, Mama. You’re much better than old Miss Hilda.”

  Ulla smiled. “I’m glad you like me better and just so you know, I love you already, Becky.”

  The little girl giggled, jumped down and ran toward the Nettleton wagon.

  “Thank you for telling her you love her, Ulla. I think I’m the only one who has told her that since her mother died and, like all little girls, she needs to be loved. I realize now what a huge mistake I made when I invited the Lawsons to come on this trip. She wasn’t the right person to look after Becky. Besides, I have to admit, I like you better, too.”

  She smiled at him. “Thank you, but I wasn’t just telling Becky I loved her to make her feel good. I fell in love with your little girl the day you brought her in to buy boots. The way Will clung to your head as he sat on your shoulders that day, made me lose my heart to him, as well.”

  Cord didn’t answer, but he sat his plate aside and pulled her up for another dance.

  The music and the dancing went on for a while and Cord thought it had turned into a wonderful celebration. He was glad. At least if the marriage didn’t work out, Ulla would have a fun night to remember. Not the wedding night he’d like to have with her, but a fun one anyway.

  ~ * ~

  Because the wagon was to pull out the next morning, the party didn’t last much longer. Ulla wanted to call the children back when it was time to settle down, but she didn’t know how to do it without making all her new friends suspicious. She and Cord had agreed that nobody would ever know that their marriage wasn’t one that had been planned for some time. Even the Nettletons thought they’d known each other for a little while, though she thought Ivy might suspect. Someday she might even tell her friend how the marriage really happened.