by Zoe Matthews
“Good afternoon,” the woman greeted Mrs. Porter, but she was looking at Katrina. Katrina could immediately see that this woman was pleased that the Porters had taken her in. She had a kind face and her gray eyes sparkled with delight.
“This is Mrs. Coleman, our housekeeper,” Mrs. Porter introduced the woman to Katrina. “This is the orphan we are taking in as our own, Katrina. She will need a bath and new clothing immediately.”
Mrs. Coleman nodded. “I will take good care of her.”
“I expect dinner to be served as usual and that Katrina be dressed appropriately,” Mrs. Porter instructed the housekeeper. “I am going to retire to my room for my afternoon nap.” She then disappeared as quickly as Mr. Porter had up the stairs and soon Katrina heard a door close.
“Welcome, Katrina,” Mrs. Coleman said, smiling at her. “I hope you will be happy here.”
Katrina did not dare say anything, but nodded her head at the housekeeper’s words.
“Come, I will take you to your room and get a bath started for you.”
Katrina followed Mrs. Coleman up the set of stairs Mrs. Porter had climbed and into the most beautiful room she had ever seen. The room had been decorated for a younger girl, but Katrina loved it at first sight. It had pink and light green tones throughout. There was a large bed, big enough that if Anna and Serena were with her, all three could have slept on it comfortably. There were two large windows that Katrina saw which looked over the front lawn and the two maple trees outside. Under one window was a cushioned bench that Katrina immediately knew she would sit on when she wanted to read. On one side of the room, many toys had been arranged which would have been more appropriate for a younger girl. Katrina could tell that the Porters were expecting to adopt a much younger child than herself. For the first time, Katrina wondered if she was really wanted here.
The next few hours were, all at the same time, wonderful and chaotic. A bath was quickly prepared in a nearby room and she was scrubbed from head to foot. Katrina felt very embarrassed that the housekeeper insisted on bathing her, but the warm water did feel good on her skin and it was wonderful to have someone wash her hair. After a large fluffy towel was wrapped around her, a maid came into the room with an armful of dresses.
“One of these should fit her, ma’am,” the girl said to Mrs. Coleman in an Irish accent. Katrina tried not to stare at her. The girl had the reddest hair she had ever seen in her life. It almost looked like fire, it was so red. She had bright green eyes and a spattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks.
“Thank you, Molly.” Mrs. Coleman indicated that the girl should place the clothing on a bed. “I will help her dress. Please go to the kitchen and make sure the soup is cooking properly.” The girl dipped a small curtsy and left the room.
“You will have a dress fitting tomorrow, but one of these dresses should do for now,” Mrs. Coleman informed her as she held one of them up in front of Katrina as if to judge the size.
Katrina looked at the pile in amazement. “These are beautiful. They should do fine.”
“Mrs. Porter will most likely not agree. These dresses were collected from surrounding farms in Maple Grove to be given to the poor.”
Katrina watched as Mrs. Coleman discarded the dress she had held up and chose a light blue one. “This one will do for now.”
Mrs. Coleman helped Katrina dress. It was a little small for her, but Katrina instantly fell in love with it. It had some lace around the collar and around the sleeves at her wrists. There were small white buttons that went down the front of it, and the blue fabric had small white flowers scattered on it. She had worn gray dresses for so long, she was grateful for the opportunity to wear a different color. It did not matter to Katrina that the dress was a bit tight through her arms and chest.
“Why don’t you lay down for a short rest,” Mrs. Coleman suggested. “I am sure you are feeling overwhelmed with your new circumstances. I will come and wake you in an hour.”
Katrina did not dare say what she was thinking. The last thing she wanted to do was take a nap like a small child, but she was learning very quickly that things were done a certain way in this house, and it would be smart to do as she was told. What she really wanted to do was explore her new home and the surrounding grounds. She hoped that she would get a chance to before long.
CHAPTER 3
Almost 9 Years Later
Katrina sat in front of her dressing mirror with her back straight while her maid, Molly, brushed her curly blond hair and arranged it on the top of her head. Her adoptive parents were having a formal dinner this evening to officially introduce her to their nephew, Joshua Porter. She had met him before about a year ago, but had not realized the importance of this man until a few days ago.
She had not really minded living with the Porters. All her needs had been met. In fact, she was given many things she really had not wanted. The Porters had showered her with gifts and clothing. What she really had wanted, but had not received, was their love.
Thankfully, she had been able to stay in close contact with Anna and Serena, although she always knew Mrs. Porter had not totally approved of her friendship with them because they came from “working” families. Mr. and Mrs. Porter, who were from Massachusetts, had moved to Maple Grove because a close family member had pretty much guaranteed the job of mayor to Mr. Porter over ten years ago. No one else who lived in Maple Grove seemed to want the job.
Mrs. Porter tried to live as they would have if they had stayed back east. She had insisted a very large house be built, the largest in Maple Grove. She dressed like she had in Massachusetts. Most of her dresses were quite a bit fancier than the dresses the other ladies wore in Maple Grove. Mrs. Porter seemed to enjoy showing off that she had money. The Porters had hired a housekeeper, a few maids, and a grounds keeper for the large yard around the house.
Most people in Maple Grove accepted them and their eccentric ways because Mr. Porter was willing to take on the job as mayor, and he had done a great job in helping Maple Grove grow. In fact, he was the one who was able to convince the railroad company to provide a stop in their town.
The Porters had told her when she first came to live with them that she was their daughter. Mrs. Porter had told Katrina once that she had chosen her because of her blond curly hair and blue eyes. Mrs. Porter also had blond hair and eyes that were more gray than blue, but she insisted Katrina looked just like her. Privately, Katrina had never thought she looked like Mrs. Porter, except for the matching color of their hair, although Mrs. Porter’s was now starting to show some gray. She was a stocky, large-boned woman and Katrina had grown into a small petite young girl.
Living with the Porters had not been all bad. For the most part, she had been happy. When she finished school at the age of 16, Mr. Porter had asked her what she desired for a graduation gift. Katrina had requested that she further her education and receive her teacher’s certificate. Mrs. Porter had been very against this idea because Katrina would need to move away for a few years, but eventually Mr. Porter had put his foot down and allowed Katrina to go over Mrs. Porter’s objections.
“It will keep her busy for the next few years until she is old enough,” she remembered Mr. Porter saying. Katrina had no idea what he meant, but at the time she did not care. She was thrilled she would be able to teach. Two years later, she moved back to Maple Grove and had been teaching the younger children at the town school ever since. She loved her job and loved teaching the young children.
When Molly finished her hair, Katrina thanked her. She then dismissed her, wanting some time to herself before the dinner started. After Molly left, she walked carefully to the rose padded chair in front of her desk and sighed. She was not looking forward to the evening. She now knew that when Mr. Porter had meant that going away to school would “keep her busy until she was old enough.” Mr. and Mrs. Porter expected her to marry their nephew, Joshua Porter.
Joshua was also from Massachusetts. Mr. Porter had made the decision to retire from being the mayor of Ma
ple Grove. He had decided his older brother’s youngest son would do the job well. Katrina was puzzled as to why the people of Maple Grove were willing to let an outsider be mayor of their small town, but she knew that since Mr. Porter had done such a great job, they probably figured that his nephew also would. Katrina was not impressed with the young man. He was overbearing and pompous, and had very definite ideas as to what women could and could not do.
Katrina remembered the conversation she had had with Mr. and Mrs. Porter approximately a week ago. She had been asked to come into Mr. Porter’s study right after dinner because they had some “exciting news” for her.
She had followed them into the stuffy dark room with apprehension. She had always hated the room. All along one wall were shelves of books, but Katrina had never been allowed to read any of them, which always disappointed her because she loved to read. The room was decorated with dark oak trim. There was a dark maroon carpet in the middle of the room with a few matching padded chairs on it. In the past, when she had done something Mr. or Mrs. Porter had not liked, she was always asked to come into this room for a lecture. Katrina soon found that the coming conversation would be her least favorite.
“We have some great news for you,” Mr. Porter announced with a rare smile on his face. Mrs. Porter had nodded her head with excitement.
“My nephew, Joshua Porter, is coming to Maple Grove. He will be staying with us for a few months.”
“A few months?” Katrina had repeated. Her mind immediately went back to the time she had first met Joshua approximately a year ago. He was ten years older than she was. She had immediately disliked him. He had been patronizing to her and she had the distinct impression he resented the fact that the Porters had taken in an orphan.
“Yes,” Mrs. Porter had informed her with delight. “We are hoping he will take over the job of mayor next winter.”
“Oh, that’s nice,” Katrina replied because she knew a response was required of her. She did not know what to say to this news.
“We are telling you this because we feel he would make you a fine husband,” Mr. Porter had announced.
Katrina had been frozen with disbelief. Did they mean she was expected to marry the man?
“I…I am not sure I want to marry him,” Katrina had stammered and was dismayed to see Mr. Porter’s face start to turn red like it often did when he was angry.
“What do you mean, you don’t want to marry him?” he thundered. “Joshua is fine man. Most women from back east would love to marry him.”
Well, then let them marry him, Katrina had thought, but was wise enough to keep quiet.
“You do remember when we made your adoption official when you were 15, you are to inherit quite a bit of money when you turn 21,” Mrs. Porter had jumped into the conversation. “We don’t want that money to leave the family. When you marry Joshua and have children, that money will stay within the Porter Estate. You do understand that we did not have to officially adopt you, but we did it out of the goodness of our hearts. We took you in and cared for you and even allowed you to earn your teacher’s certificate. It is now time to do your duty.”
With these words, Katrina had understood what they were saying. Because they had taken her in as an orphan and given her every advantage, she was now to pay them back. She was expected to marry their nephew. They were not giving her a choice.
Katrina had tried subtly to talk them out of their decision, but in the end had given in. At least she acted as if she was giving in. She had requested that they allow her to turn 21 years old which at that time would have been in six months, in October. This would allow her to have some time to get used to the idea and to get to know Joshua better. She would also be able to finish her final teaching term. They agreed, mainly because Mrs. Porter did not feel it would be appropriate if she were engaged to be married while she was teaching.
It was now midsummer. She had officially turned in her resignation from teaching, although she had not explained why she was quitting. Joshua had arrived from back east and she had the summer to “get to know him.” Plans were already being made for the engagement party in October. Mrs. Porter wanted them to plan to be married by Christmas.
While all these plans were being made, Katrina quietly made plans of her own. Anna had left a little over a year ago to be a mail order bride to a man who owned a large ranch in Montana with his two brothers. She had married Alex last summer. Soon after her marriage, she had sent a letter to Serena and informed her that Alex’s brother, Paul, was also interested in a mail-order bride. Anna wanted to know if Serena would be interested. At first, Serena had not wanted to be married to someone she hadn’t met, but after writing to Paul all winter, she decided to accept his offer. Serena planned to travel to Montana the beginning of June.
In that same letter, Anna had told Katrina that Alex’s other brother, Luke, was offering her a teaching job if she wanted it. He was planning to build a small schoolhouse on their ranch since the nearest schoolhouse was so far away in the nearest town, Pine Valley. He was building the schoolhouse for his young daughter and for the children of his workers and for any children who lived close by on other ranches.
At the time Katrina had first heard of this offer, she had not been interested. She liked teaching at the Maple Grove school and was not interested in a change. But since she found out the Porters plans for her to marry their nephew, she changed her mind.
Secretly, she wrote a letter to Anna accepting the job. She then told Serena that she was planning on going with her, but wanted to wait to leave until late summer. She wanted to leave right before her birthday so by the time she turned 21, she would be legally an adult, and they would not be able to force her to marry someone she did not want to marry. Once Serena had made her decision to marry Paul, she had wanted to leave immediately, but Katrina talked her into waiting without letting Serena know of the reason. Together, they arranged to leave the beginning of September.
Katrina wanted to tell Serena what the Porters wanted her to do, but she was so afraid that word might get back to them about her plans to leave with Serena, that she decided it would be best to keep things quiet until the threat of being forced to marry was gone. News traveled fast in Maple Grove.
I only have to get through the next few weeks, Katrina told herself. I have to act as if I am happy with the plans that are being made. I have to act like I actually like Joshua. She sighed at this thought. It was going to take a lot of practice and effort to pretend she liked him, while in truth she detested him.
Katrina walked to the bench under one of her windows and carefully lifted the cushion. Under the cushion where part of the bench’s wood was loose, Katrina had hidden all of Anna’s letters. She suspected Mrs. Porter searched her room regularly when she was teaching at the school and she did not want these letters about Anna’s life in Montana to fall into Mrs. Porter’s hands. After retrieving the letters, she sat down on the bench and looked carefully through each letter, although she had most of them memorized.
Anna had described the Big Springs Ranch as an almost idealistic place. It was one of the largest cattle ranches in their area and was doing well. Anna talked about the beauty of the land, especially of the mountains “that almost seemed to reach to heaven.” She had described her new husband, Alex, and his two brothers, along with Sage, Luke’s young daughter. She explained how the schoolhouse had been built and was “waiting for its first class.” Katrina knew that Anna really wanted her “sisters” to join her in her new life.
There was a knock on the door. “Mrs. Porter wants you to come down for dinner,” Molly announced through the closed door.
Katrina gasped as she noted the time. She was to have been down there five minutes ago. She had to get her emotions under control or the Porters were going to know something was up.
“I’ll be right down,” Katrina called out as she put Anna’s latest letter away in her hiding place. She quickly looked in the mirror to make sure every strand of hair was in place an
d her dress was nice and smooth and then she headed to the dining room.
CHAPTER 4
Katrina walked into the parlor where Mr. and Mrs. Porter were seated on a long sofa. Joshua was standing next to the fireplace with his arm leaning against it. As Katrina waited for the others to notice her presence, she looked carefully at Joshua. He was a handsome man. She could tell he had dressed himself with care. He had on a dark gray suit and was wearing a blue bow tie. He had dark brown hair that had been combed to be in the exact style Joshua kept it in. He never allowed his hair to be out of place.
“Hello, my dear,” Mrs. Porter said and lifted her face for the expected kiss Katrina was to give her. The older woman did not say anything to her about her tardiness, but she looked at her carefully, and Katrina knew the subject would be brought up later. Mrs. Porter hated tardiness.
Katrina started to sit down on a chair when Joshua beckoned her to stand beside him. Katrina hesitated, wondering if she could get away with pretending she did not see what Joshua wanted, but when she quickly glanced at Mrs. Porter, she knew the woman had seen, as she looked pleased that Joshua wanted Katrina to come to him.
