Fiery Bride

by Cynthia Woolf

  She wrapped her arms around her middle. “You don’t understand. I can’t…I won’t take that chance again.” With a sob, she turned and ran from the barn.

  * * *

  Saturday finally came. Maggie had a telegram and her letter ready to send. She hadn’t been planning on telegraphing Sally, but the situation with Caleb demanded she get Miss Jones out there as soon as possible. For the sake of her own sanity. She was much too attracted to him and he wasn’t making it easy.

  He always found ways to be alone with her. To accidently touch her hand when they reached for the same things at the supper table. Or he’d drop his fork, reach down to pick it up and run his hand up her leg, knowing she couldn’t do anything about it. Not that she would have anyway. She liked the feel of his hand on her leg. It made her tingle in places she hadn’t ever tingled before. It was disconcerting and…wonderful at the same time.

  He’d meet her in the barn at milking time and rub her back while she worked. It felt so good just to have another human being touch her. She found herself milking slower than she would have otherwise just to have it continue.

  At night after dinner he’d sit with her in his office while she worked on new advertisements or correspondence. She told him things she’d never told anyone else. About her business and why she started it.

  “My first tenant in the building I now own was a young, single woman named Eliza. She was an honest working woman. Doing whatever she could to stay alive. She was a plain girl and had no living family or, as far as I could tell, any friends. She worked as a laundress for fifteen dollars a month and cleaned offices at night for another ten dollars a month. Edgar charged her ten dollars a month for rent on the small, one bedroom apartment on the top floor of the building.

  “Eliza wanted to get married in the worst way. She wanted a family and children. She longed for children of her own. Deciding that becoming a mail order bride was the only way for a twenty-five year old woman like herself to find a husband, she answered an advertisement.”

  “Is that when you decided to become a matchmaker? When Eliza answered the ad?”

  “No. Later. Eliza’s new bridegroom was a miner in California. She went out on the train and started sending me letters right away. She said her husband was a big, burly man and was generally kind to her but he liked to drink.

  “The letters kept getting shorter. She said in one that her husband didn’t like her writing to me and then he would get drunk and hit her. He was always apologetic the next day and Eliza accepted his apology.”

  “That was a mistake. Men like that don’t change,” said Caleb.

  “I know. But in one of the last letters I got she said her dreams were finally coming true. She was pregnant and expecting in about six months.

  “I was afraid for her. Having lived with Edgar for twelve years I knew how the beatings could go and if Edgar, had been a real drinker instead of a just a sadist, he could have gotten out of control and killed me easily. I often hoped he would. That he would finally put me out of my misery, but he didn’t. He only hurt me enough to keep me to my bed for a few days and he never hit me in the face, only places it wouldn’t show.”

  Caleb came around the desk and knelt in front of her. “Maggie, I’m so sorry.”

  “There’s nothing to be sorry for. You didn’t know me. You couldn’t have changed it if you had. He was my husband. He could do to me what he wanted. It was his legal right.”

  “No wonder you don’t want to get married again.”

  He placed his hand on her knee and she let him keep it there as she continued. It felt safe. “When Eliza’s letters suddenly stopped, I feared the worst. After two months and there still had been no letter, I wrote to the local sheriff’s office for information. The response was as I feared. Eliza had been killed by her husband in a fit of drunken rage. He was to hang for the crime.

  “I decided then and there to do something about it. The mail order bride business didn’t appear to be going away any time soon and I thought women shouldn’t have to fear for their lives when answering these advertisements. So I started Matchmaker & Co in order to help these girls. By checking out the men, ensuring that they weren’t felons, weren’t women beaters, I helped the girls and the women to make good matches and to live their lives in safety. I wanted to make sure that what happened to Eliza didn’t happen to anyone else.”

  Caleb rose and pulled a chair up next to her. “I’m impressed by your fortitude and sense of right and wrong. You saw a wrong and worked to change it. Something not a lot of people would even attempt.”

  Maggie looked down at her hands, now folded in her lap, unused to the praise. “My idea took off. I hired detectives and put advertisements in the local papers in California and the Colorado Territory. Places where there were lots of single men because of the mining operations. Then I placed similar notices in the New York Times, the Herald and the Tribune, advertising for brides. The responses were overwhelming.”

  “I imagine they were. The ladies would have put great stock in being safe, I would think.”

  “They appeared to. Once my business practices became known, business tripled and more. I became one of the most successful arrangers of mail order marriages in the Northeast from New York to Boston. Unmarried women flocked to me in the hope of finding a husband and a better life. I helped the men too, by keeping my standards for the women high as well. I didn’t accept drug users or prostitutes, though I did try to get those poor souls off the streets.”

  Caleb listened to her tell the stories of some of the women she helped and the men, too. He knew she’d arranged the marriages, very successful marriages, of his friends John Atwood and Nathan Ravenclaw. Both couples were happy and in love. They’d had new babies in the last year as a result.

  He thought he could be happy with Maggie but she knew better. She could never be happy with someone who didn’t love her and he’d never once mentioned love.

  CHAPTER 4

  Miss Cassandra Jones arrived on the 1:15 train from Omaha. He and Maggie were both there to meet her. She could have been Maggie’s little sister with the same fiery red hair and a smattering of freckles across her nose. She had clear blue eyes, not Maggie’s green ones, but Caleb couldn’t help but note she was a lovely girl. That was the problem. She was a girl. Maggie was a woman. Cassandra’s slender beauty couldn’t compare with Maggie’s lush, soft curves. She was a pale imitation without the fire.

  “Cassandra,” said Maggie, waving to her.

  “Maggie,” she waved back. “I finally made it. You wouldn’t believe all the things I had to go through. It was awful. I’m never going to make that trip again. I don’t care if my husband wants to go to New York or not, I’m not getting on another train again as long as I live.” She spoke non-stop and Maggie couldn’t get in a word edgewise.

  Finally, she said, “Cassandra! Stop. You won’t have to go on the train again.”

  “Well, good. I was worried for a bit.”

  “I want you to meet Mr. Caleb Black. Caleb, this is Cassandra Jones.”

  “Mr. Black,” said Cassandra, holding her hand out to him.

  “Miss Jones, I’m very glad to make your acquaintance,” he said, taking her hand. “Maggie has told me a lot about you but I’d rather hear it from you.”

  “Please call me Cassandra or Cassie. Miss Jones seems too formal considering we may well be marrying each other soon.”

  “Very well, Cassie. Call me Caleb.”

  She smiled prettily at him. “Caleb, tell me about your home.”

  He perked up at the mention of his ranch. “I own about two thousand acres outside of Golden and run 200 head of cattle. There are ten men working for me and Maggie just hired a cook who came with her mother in tow. I also keep horses, milk cows and chickens. Then, of course, there is my Rachel. She’s my pride and joy. I know you’ll like her.”

  “Oh, yes,” agreed Maggie, “she’s just the sweetest little girl.”

  “It all sounds quite…
large. I’m not used to taking care of so many people,” said Cassandra. “Will it take us long to get to your home?”

  “Actually, it’s going to take several hours. We’re way out in the country. We’ll be home just an hour or so before supper. But you should have time to freshen up a bit after your trip.”

  Maggie watched him. His eyes were actually twinkling. He had something up his sleeve, she just didn’t know what it was. She was not going to give up nor was she going to put all her hopes on Cassandra. Now that she saw her again, she didn’t know if she’d be a good match for Caleb or not. But she’d decided she was not giving up. She’d start a new search. Sally would have other candidates by now. She’d wire her right away.

  “Caleb, I need to send a telegram before we go back home. Sally’s going to have to send me some files.”

  “Home? You said home, Maggie.”

  “Don’t get excited. It’s just a figure of speech. I should have said back to your home.” She brushed by him in the direction of the buggy. Caleb walked with Cassie and helped her into the back seat along with her bag. Maggie sat next to him in front. She supposed she should have sat with Cassie but she wanted to spend the time with Caleb. Even with Cassie in back, they could still have some private time. Much to her dismay she was going to miss spending time with him.

  Cassie talked continuously. Told them about the trip out from New York and how excited she was when they’d finally announced that Denver was the next stop. She barely stopped for a breath the whole way home. But she didn’t seem particularly interested in Caleb, just in being out of New York. Maggie was somewhat relieved by that and that bothered her.

  Three weeks had gone by since Tom began to court Fran. Their courtship was progressing nicely and even though it had been such a short time, Maggie was sure Tom was about to propose. She had no doubt that Fran would say yes. At least they wouldn’t lose a wonderful cook and foreman. They had already talked about it and Fran would move into his little cabin on the lower ranch. Her mother would stay in the bedroom off the kitchen until an addition to the cabin could be built. Tom had started on it but they wanted to marry before it was finished.

  This whole contract with Caleb was a fiasco, but she refused to give up. She’d find him a bride and if it wasn’t Cassie, it would be someone else, but it wouldn’t be Maggie. She couldn’t marry again. As much as she was growing fond of Caleb, she was not the right woman for him. She couldn’t be. Could she?

  No. Thinking like that could only get her in trouble. He’d never mentioned anything about love. Still, he thought he could convince her to marry him but that was not going to happen. She was never going to let another man have dominion over her. And regardless of how much Caleb respected her he would be the husband and she would be the chattel. She would have no more rights than his cattle. She couldn’t live like that.

  “You’re awfully quiet,” said Caleb. “What’s going on in that amazing mind of yours?”

  “Nothing. Just thinking about when we get back to the ranch.”

  He put his hand on her knee and leaned over to whisper in her ear. “You don’t have to find another bride. The one I want is right here.”

  She moved his hand and whispered back. “That’s impossible. You know that. I’m not marrying again. I can’t.”

  “Maggie, I’m not Edgar. Surely you realize that.”

  “I know. It’s not you. I’m sure you would be a kind and gentle husband. If I didn’t feel that way, I wouldn’t be trying to find you a bride. It’s me. I can’t give that kind of control over my life to anyone. It takes a leap of faith I’m not willing to make.”

  She watched sadness replace the sparkle in his eyes. He turned and looked down the road.

  “I’m willing to wait Maggie. I don’t want another bride. You can bring girls out here until the sun don’t shine and I’ll still only want you.”

  She didn’t say anything. There was nothing more for her to say.

  * * *

  Caleb had promised to keep an open mind, so maybe when he got to know Cassie, he’d change his mind.

  “So Cassie, tell Caleb a little about yourself.”

  “Certainly. Well, I was the oldest of three children, but my parents and siblings died of influenza, so I’m by myself now. I was raised on a farm and am used to hard work. I was working as a seamstress in New York City and can sew very well.” As if realizing why she’d come out on this trip she added, “And what about you, Mr. Black. I know you’re a rancher and have a daughter but that’s about all.”

  When Caleb didn’t answer fast enough, Maggie poked him in the ribs. “My daughter is everything to me. My wife, Ruth, died when Rachel was born and I’ve raised her by myself.”

  “I understand. That is a terrible thing to have to go through, losing a someone we love. Losing my family was just as hard, but we both made it, Mr. Black. We cannot live in the past.”

  “Quite right, Cassie. Quite right. So what else do you like to do?”

  Maggie shook her head and rolled her eyes in frustration as Caleb deftly turned the conversation from himself. He wasn’t going to make this easy. But then he hadn’t said he would, only that he would keep an open mind. How did you tell if someone had an open mind about something?

  He was right about one thing; they arrived at the ranch just an hour before supper. She showed Cassie to the small bedroom next to Rachel’s. It was the last available bedroom. She couldn’t bring any more girls out until the situation with Cassie was settled. There was no place to put them and there was no way she could afford to put anyone up in a hotel until they found a husband, if Caleb didn’t marry them. The way he was behaving it would be months or years before he even considered accepting another woman.

  There was a commotion coming from the outside. Maggie could hear yelling coming from the front of the house even though she was in the back showing Cassie her bedroom.

  “Excuse me, I’ll be right back,” she said to Cassie and hurried to the kitchen where the noise was coming from. Once there she heard Fran’s mother hollering at someone and him yelling back. Him? Martin! What was he doing here again? Maggie went outside.

  “There you are. Will you tell this old biddy to leave me alone? I came to see you.” He held up a bunch of flowers and a box of candy. “I intend to court you.”

  “Don’t talk to Mrs. Lamrona like that and you’re being ridiculous. You can’t court me. You’re a married man. Even if you weren’t, I don’t want your attentions. Please go away and don’t come back.”

  “You heard her, old man. Don’t you speak like that to me. You take your pretty flowers and your candy and go away from here.” Maria Lamrona held her ground and didn’t let Martin Butler run over the top of her. If Maggie had been matchmaking for him she would have matched him with Maria. They were quite the vocal pair.

  “You hush up, woman, and stay out of what is not your business.”

  Maria stood on the long porch, hands on her hips and yelled at Martin. “It’s my business when you continue to insult Mrs. Selby with your advances. She don’t want nothing to do with you, you old fool.”

  It was almost comical to watch. The man up on the horse being chastised like a child by the small woman on the porch. Maggie had to stop herself from laughing out right.

  Martin got off his horse and marched up to where Maggie stood on the porch with Maria. “Here.” He shoved the flowers and candy at her. She put her arms around her waist and refused to take them. He frowned at her and then shoved them at Maria. “Give these to her later.” Then he stomped back to his horse, mounted and galloped out of the yard.

  Maria tried to give Maggie the flowers and candy but she shook her head. “You keep them. I don’t want anything from that man.”

  “Good. I like candy,” said Maria while she smelled the flowers. She was humming as she went into the house.

  * * *

  Rachel was running and yelling at the same time. “Papa. Papa. You have to come save Maggie from the bad man.”
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br />   Caleb stopped what he was doing and bent down until he was eye level with his daughter. “What man?”

  “I never seen him aftore. He said he was gonna court her but she said no and he got real mad. I’m afraid for her and came to get you.”

  He’d heard enough. He took off at a run, leaving Rachel to catch up. Rounding the corner of the house he saw Martin Butler gallop away.

  He ran to Maggie, who stood on the porch watching Butler. “Are you alright? Rachel was worried he might hurt you.”

  She shook her head and smiled. “Not as long as Maria is around. You should’ve seen them. Him, Mr. High and Mighty sitting up on his horse and her giving him what for from the porch. I’m surprised you didn’t hear them clear to the barn.”

  He didn’t smile. It wasn’t funny. Butler could easily become dangerous. “This has to stop. I’m going to talk to Sheriff Wayburn. Butler can’t keep this up. His boldness is escalating and he’s scaring my daughter. Eventually he may try something stupid and I really don’t want to kill the man.”

  “You wouldn’t.” She was aghast.

  “If I had to in order to protect you or any member of this household, I wouldn’t hesitate.”

  “Kill him? But he seems harmless enough.”

  “Now, maybe. But he may not stay that way as he gets more and more frustrated. Sheriff Wayburn needs to be aware. I’ll invite him to dinner and we can talk about it. You haven’t met him yet and if you’re going to set up shop in Golden, you should get to know him.”

  “I suppose you’re right.”

  “Of course, I am. Besides, he could become one of your clients. He’s not married.”

  “Since I haven’t had any responses to my advertisements yet, he could be my first client. Tell me about him.”

  He shrugged. “Not much to tell. He’s a good man. Good at his job. Honest. Hardworking.”

  “Sounds like a paragon. Does he have any flaws?”

  “I doubt he’s a paragon of virtue, he is after all a man, but he has the qualities I require from a man. What a woman requires is an entirely different matter, as you well know.”