Mail Order Megan (Widows, Brides, and Secret Babies Book 11)

by Elissa Strati

  His face crumpled slightly. “You are rather different from your letters, too, Miss Maddux. The Megan I got to know was a very lighthearted romp and here you are now, acting the matron with a child in tow. I am not quite sure what to believe.”

  “You must know,” she whispered, “that I fell in love with you from your letters. They were so full of poetry and awareness of the beauty around you that I felt you must have a sensitive soul.”

  “And you were a breath of fresh air from home,” he replied somberly. “You reminded me of everything I was missing and that I wanted here with me, conversations, and plays, and entertainments. Or at least someone who enjoyed those things and could appreciate the strangeness of life here and, perhaps, help me rediscover myself in these new and rather foreign circumstances.”

  Megan seemed to relax her posture just a tiny bit, although it was as erect as her deportment teacher could have required. Her forefinger was tapping lightly on her lower lip as she gazed at him thoughtfully.

  That . . . lovely, succulent lower lip. Startled at where his thoughts were leading him, he straightened his own posture to the awkwardly over-erect demeanor he’d shown when he first approached her at the train station. Surely it hadn’t been above half an hour ago?

  “Could, errhmmm, could we sort of start over?” he pleaded?

  She smiled over at him brilliantly. “Yes, let’s do.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE – Starting Over

  Ted arose and, reaching for her hand, bowed formally. “How do you do, Miss Maddux; you look as enchanting as your picture!”

  Confusion filled her face. “I never sent you a picture!”

  “No, your brother did. He said it was his favorite one of you and showed your true personality.”

  She knew instantly which one it was. The photographer had posed her sitting primly, ankles properly crossed, hands folded just so across her bible, chin at just the right angle, and then her brother, Paul, had made a naughty gesture from behind the photographer and she had been laughing with her head flung back when the photograph had been taken. Her parents had insisted he take another in which she had again assumed the proper demeanor, although her brother swore there was still a twinkle in her eye in the one they had framed and kept in the sitting room. But Paul had seen the laughing photo and bought it, keeping it with him at school, and another copy in his room at home.

  Ted was fascinated by the play of emotions flashing across her face. “Mr. Bristol,” the stiff and reserved engineer and businessman, had fled as he thought of that laughing imp. Her letters had bewitched him but the photograph had made him fall in love with her. And here she was, more beautiful than ever and clearly that woman, the joyful girl, not the shattered image he’d imagined when his anxieties had overcome him at his first sight of the infant.

  He inwardly cringed at the thought of the emotions that had flooded him, the disillusionment, and feelings of worthlessness, despite his knowledge of the man he’d become. The tongue-tied and teased boy he had once been had instantly believed the worst of her, having so often been disappointed by others in the past.

  But here she was, full of life and evident humor as she flashed him the grin from the photograph and he fell in love all over again.

  “Oh, dear, we seem to have gotten off track again,” she blurted.

  “Oh, no,” he drawled languidly, “I think this time we got it exactly right!” And he raised her hand to his lips as he bowed over it, and kissed it firmly. She could feel the flush running up her arm and overwhelming her as she suddenly wished for a fan.

  That fan arrived in the form of Sra. Suarez, bustling in with a tray upon which rested an elegant and ornate sterling coffee service and a pair of beautifully decorated porcelain coffee cups. Setting the tray on the table beside Megan, she smiled at the two of them and whisked back out of the room, after reassuring Megan la preciosa had eaten and was now asleep.

  Ted realized he was still holding her hand and, giving it a brief squeeze, released it. “Will you do the honors . . . Megan?” he asked, pointing at the tray with his chin.

  She smiled a bit tremulously but quickly busied herself in the familiar routine, adding two lumps of sugar and just a dash of cream, as he had described in his letters. Having tried it that way at home, she’d decided that it was quite delicious so prepared, and taken to enjoying the same blend. She marveled at the richness of the flavor, somehow tastier than she recalled from home.

  Ted had retreated to the chair across from hers. She’s right, if the preacher doesn’t show up, she really cannot stay here. But I wouldn’t feel comfortable having her stay at the hotel without at least a maid, if at all. That means I would have to stay there! He grimaced internally.

  “So tell me what you have learned of the baby’s father and his whereabouts,” prompted Ted.

  Megan filled him in as best she could, sharing what Moses had known and speculated, as well as some of what she’d gleaned from the letters and journal during the train journey.

  As they relaxed in each other’s company, the ease with each other that had developed in their correspondence became replicated in person and their smiles became more frequent. Megan even found herself flirting a bit, as if at a soiree with an eligible beau. She caught herself, realizing that she was, in fact, engaged to be married to the man sitting across from her.

  ~~~

  The front door knocker rattled and they could hear Miguel talking to the visitor, followed by the clomp of boots on the hall floor.

  “Esta aqui, el padre,” announced Miguel as he opened the door with a flourish and Father Rubio, in full cassock, strolled in.

  “La señora me dijo . . . perdóname,” he continued in English, “Mrs. Suarez explained you were in need of my services. I just learned that Reverend Bates has been delayed.”

  Sra. Suarez came bustling back in. Really, that is the only way to describe her abundant energy, thought Megan.

  “You dress now! I help!” she smiled at Megan, moving to help her up from the settee.

  “Just one moment, please.” Ted had arisen when the priest walked in the room, and now placed his arm on his housekeeper’s. Turning to the priest he smiled.

  “Father, you don’t know how much I appreciate your offer to help. But there is a question that needs to be asked first.”

  He smiled broadly, again, at each of them, then turned back to Megan who was watching, bemused. She’d managed to set down her coffee cup and now sat, hands folded in her lap, ankles crossed, much in the same pose as the photograph.

  Reaching into his vest pocket, he dropped to one knee and opened the box now resting in his left hand, then reached for her left hand with his right.

  “Miss Megan Eugenia Maddux, would you do me the very great honor of becoming my wife?”

  Eyes brimming with tears of joy—it all felt like a fantasy!—she smiled at him, nodding her head, and responded softly, “I would be ever so delighted to marry you, Mr. Theodore Alexander Bristol.”

  He kissed her hand again—was it only a few minutes ago he’d done so?—and withdrew his fingers briefly, to pry the ring from its box, and slide it onto her finger. She stared in awe at the small but exquisitely cut clear yellow stone. It fit a bit loosely but she vowed to wrap a bit of yarn about it to keep it snug. She raised her glowing eyes to his.

  “This was my mother’s ring. It is a yellow diamond. I understand they are rather rare. She wanted me to give it to someone whom she would be proud to call daughter. I believe that someone is you.” He kissed her hand once more, then stood up.

  “Señora, you may now assist the bride in her toilette. Father, would you like some coffee while we are waiting? Miguel, are there any more of these delicious cakes your mother makes?”

  Smiling broadly, Father Rubio sat on the settee Megan had just vacated and helped himself to coffee, accepting the clean cup Miguel had brought in with him along with some of the pasteles.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN – Gossip

  Ted took a sip of his c
offee, closed his eyes, and sighed in satisfaction.

  “No one makes better coffee than Señora Suarez.” Reopening his eyes, he turned to the priest. “I trust you will be staying to dine with us after the ceremony?”

  “You think it will be that long before the ladies rejoin us?”

  “If Miss Maddux takes just half as long as my sister does to dress for anything, we will have a long wait.”

  “Then it is good the señora is such a fine cook because I will have built up an appetite.”

  “Oh, I think we can trust Miguel and his aunt to provide us a small nuncheon while the ladies prepare.”

  “Señora Ortega is here?” Father Rubio’s eyes brightened. “She is even a better cook than her sister!”

  “I don’t know. Which of her sisters just had a baby?”

  The priest rolled his eyes up as he contemplated. “Well, Rosita had a boy about six months ago, and Sylvia a girl, hmmm, almost a year since, now. I wonder if she is expecting again. And Claudia—yes! Claudia Ortega had a boy about five weeks past. And I understand Miss Maddux has brought a child with her which needs a wet nurse. So that would be the one.”

  “How do you know about the child?”

  Eyebrows raised, Padre Rubio laughed. “How long have you been here now? Almost a year?”

  True, the gossip vine here seemed to grow at the speed of light. He hoped for Megan’s sake her reputation had not suffered.

  Taking pity at the sight of the forlorn face before him, he reassured Ted. “Señora Suarez took one look at your fiancée and the baby and knew the child wasn’t hers. And she may have inadvertently overheard,” the good father winked at him, “that the mother died and Miss Maddux is searching for the father. For a single woman to take on such a task in the face of gossip, many of the women already think she’s a saint!”

  And they’d been at such pains not to discuss things publicly!

  “Well as fast as tales travel here, has anyone found the father yet?”

  The padre shrugged his shoulders. “Even by stage, Tombstone is still at least five hours from here. The negros, the friend of Miss Maddux and her miner, stopped to see me to be married, as they were leaving Benson. They will be fortunate to arrive in Tombstone before nightfall. It is good that the days are still long.”

  A little stunned by all the revelations of the day, the fact that her companion from the train had been black nearly slipped by without notice. Besides, like many Pennsylvanians, his grandparents had proudly offered their farm as shelter to help escaped slaves reach freedom.

  “I can only hope it will be as simple as that, finding the father. As I understand it from Megan, apparently Tom McNeel and his partner Randy Evans hit a motherlode. Shortly thereafter Tom disappeared. According to Moses O’Henry, the fellow whose wedding you just performed, Tom was heading east to fetch his wife and new daughter. Now we just have to find someone who saw him get on the train so we know when he might have arrived.”

  “I will also enquire among my parishioners in Tombstone. Gossip is everywhere and perhaps we can sift some gold from the dross to locate Mr. McNeel. Mr. O’Henry is already most anxious to help. From some of the things his new wife said, she is quite a woman, your Miss Maddux!”

  “It’s funny, if I showed you her letters you would probably write them off as light fluff, and yet she has a remarkable joie de vivre and kindness that shine through. That alone is quite exceptional.”

  “Just remember marriage is for life. If you are having any second thoughts, you still have time to change your mind. No one here knows Miss Maddux so it is unlikely her reputation would be harmed.”

  “But are not all marriages a leap of faith that each person will endeavor to make the relationship work?”

  “You are counting on good will from both parties, my son. I’m afraid I’ve seen too much of human nature to have that expectation. But from the little I’ve come to know about your fiancée, I suspect you may, indeed, have found a pearl.”

  “Thank you, Father.”

  ~~~

  Upstairs, Mrs. Suarez had already unpacked her trunk and pulled out the gown Megan had brought to be her wedding dress. She’d known it wouldn’t be a fancy church wedding with reception of which she’d attended so many, but she wanted to be able to remember her day with pride and joy.

  Before heading upstairs, she’d asked to see Camellia and was delighted to see the child nursing comfortably, clearly well-cared for and happy. Mrs. Ortega was as cheerful as her sister, with the same take-charge attitude. She only hoped the women would come to an accommodation with her when it came to managing the household. She had the feeling, however, she might be the one to do the accommodating.

  But that was a future concern. For today she need only spend the next few minutes making herself beautiful for her husband-to-be.

  A few minutes? Don’t kid yourself. It will take a full fifteen minutes just to lace the corset sufficiently to fasten the gown’s buttons. What would you have done if you’d had to dress alone? her inner devil tormented her.

  Yes, but I knew from his letters he had staff.

  But no personal maid! You are lucky the housekeeper is willing to help you!

  She shook her head to clear her thoughts as she followed Mrs. Suarez upstairs.

  To her utter surprise and delight, a hip bath had been set up, with a sweetly scented soap. A young girl, maybe 14 or 15 was standing by to assist.

  “This Maria, my oldest. She your lady maid.”

  “How do you do, Maria? Mucho gusto.”

  “I am speak English!” Maria beamed at her. Well, I was right that I’m one who’ll be managed, but they are all so nice and helpful!

  Easing her travel-weary body into the tub she gave in to the sensation of being pampered as the dust and dirt of the trip were scrubbed off and her hair washed. She worried about the delay wet hair would cause.

  “No worry, dry fast. Make special style for wedding. Need hair wet to start.”

  Sra. Suarez had been speaking the truth about how quickly things dried in the heat! She felt gentle hands tugging, twisting and braiding as an elaborate coronet was created to support her mother’s veil. Mrs. Ortega, who had brought up a fed and cleaned Camellia, now sleeping peacefully in the cradle set in the corner of the room, had helped her sister create the corona of hair she now wore.

  It seemed no time at all before she was standing in front of the mirror having her gown buttoned as she retrieved her mother’s pearls from the bag she’d kept sewn into her bustle. As the ladies oohed and aahed at the beautiful picture she made, a soft knock at the door made them start.

  “Is Miguel. I have un regalito from el señor.”

  Maria opened the door but a crack and accepted the package from her brother, then brought it to Megan. In the box Ted had sent up were a pair of pearl and yellow diamond earrings which matched her new ring and now made a set with the necklace. Enclosed was a brief note:

  My father gave these to my mother on their wedding day. I know she’d be pleased for you to wear them.

  Despite the earlier ups and downs, today was becoming a fairy tale. She thought her face must break from all the smiling she’d been doing.

  Feet buttoned into heeled slippers, veil pinned atop her hair, gloves eased into and buttoned—she was a fairy tale princess and ready to wed her prince.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN – With This Ring

  Father Rubio stood with his back to the fireplace. Ted was next to him, watching as Megan came into the parlor. He stepped forward and held out his hand which she grasped tightly as he turned and they faced the priest. Miguel was standing near Ted, and Sra. Suarez had come up next to Megan and reached for the bouquet of delicate, white, desert poppies Sra. Ortega had presented to Megan just before they descended the stairs. Camellia was also in attendance, in Maria’s arms; the party was all assembled.

  “It is my pleasure to bring together in holy matrimony a couple that has traveled far to be together. The wedding ceremony is a blessed
sacrament from God. I see your hands are already joined together so let us begin.”

  The beautiful words of the traditional vows were spoken and they declared their faithfulness to each other and to God. Looking fervently into each other’s eyes, each decided this was indeed the person the letters had brought to light.

  Megan had moved Ted’s pledge to her, the yellow diamond ring, to her right hand before coming downstairs, Megan now received the consecrated gold band on her left ring finger, that from which the blood flowed directly to her heart. Ted bent and kissed her ringed finger before transferring his mother’s ring next to her new wedding band.

  “I now pronounce you Husband and Wife. You may kiss your bride, my son!”

  Their hands had remained clasped nearly throughout the ceremony but now Ted lifted his left hand and softly touched her face. They gazed deeply into each other’s eyes and he gently tilted her chin up as he bent down to kiss her for the first time upon her lips. He could feel them tremble beneath his as his mouth claimed hers. Her own hand had crept up and her fingers were curved around the back of his neck, teasing the hair above his collar. A warmth seeped through him as he lifted his head to look at her, blinking, surprised at his physical reaction to her touch. Her own eyelids fluttered and her cheeks had colored prettily as a soft smile beamed up at him.

  Padre Rubio cleared his throat just a bit to recapture their attention, his face beaming its pleasure. He gestured for them to face their guests as he announced, “It is my pleasure to introduce to you Señor y Señora Bristol.”

  ~~~

  The wedding feast was merry and Megan was introduced to chiles rellenos, salsa verde, and a number of other amazing new foods. Everyone enjoyed a good laugh at the bride as she turned red and grabbed for her wine glass when one of the dishes proved a bit too spicy for her, but her own delight in herself for being so bold as to try all these new things had her laughing along and quite pleased to feel the warmth and inclusion from all in her new home.