Mail Order Celeste

by Elissa Strati

  “Just set them on the pew next to you,” suggested Miranda, adding, “We’ve gotten Mother’s favorites.” She nodded at the bouquets set carefully on a side table. “That way she can be here with us.

  The church was crowded to overflowing, with a number of somewhat scandalized parishioners anxious to be part of the novel joint wedding. There had been a spate of “mixed” marriages of late with all the new mail order brides, but they’d each chosen a single church at which to worship instead of going back and forth.

  The Flanagans

  Those few close friends back east who were aware of the Belden sisters’ present location had been sworn to secrecy. Among them were the Flanagans, who had been instrumental in helping set up the matchmaking scheme of which they were now so proud, even though the end result was far different from that initially contemplated. It didn’t take much discussion for Frederick and his sister Bridget to decide, when invited, to attend the Kansas wedding, he to support his friend Sylvester, and she to support both sisters.

  Frederick Flanagan and his wife Mary Elizabeth happily left their growing brood in the care of Nanny, but Bridget and Brennan only had TJ (Thomas, Jr.) and didn’t care to let him out of their sight. At least not too far. Their nursemaid, Susanne, traveled with them. Bridget and Celeste had joked about TJ and Samantha one day becoming betrothed but agreed to let the children form their own attachments. Meanwhile, as toddlers they were getting along like a house afire and Susanne was kept busy running after both of them.

  Bridget and Celeste had debated mightily about whether Samantha, and therefore TJ, should attend the wedding. Miranda offered her own doubts they could sit still long enough, but the deciding vote came from Chip.

  “Of course I want my new daughter there!’ he declared.

  Susanne didn’t really mind. At least she’d be able to attend the wedding, and would be the envy of all the other staff when they returned. And Cindy Lou would be there, too, to watch over Samantha.

  More Guests

  The biggest surprise arrived the day before the wedding. Mrs. Flowers, now Mrs. Williams, and her new husband, Henry, had agreed to accept train tickets from William to come see their two darling girls get married. Both ladies wept with joy and apologized for their dismissal.

  “But, my dear, I thought you knew, I thought that Henry explained to Miranda, that we had planned our retirement for some time,” said Mrs. Williams with some concern.

  “As soon as both you girls were wed, we were to retire. We intended to train our replacements during the wedding preparations since that would have the added benefit of increasing staff for the event, and then bringing the numbers back down with our departure. Of course,” she sighed, “when Mrs. Belden became ill we put our plans on hold so as to take care of all of you.”

  Henry hung his head. “Well I didn't quite explain it that way, my love.”

  Looking at Miranda, he said softly, “I wanted to make sure you got on that train and got here safely. I would have told you anything at that point to get you out of the house and away from that crazy woman. As you did for your Penelope, we made sure each of the other staff members was carefully placed before acting out our own parts. Your father set it up this way.”

  “Father has always like to control things,” commented Miranda dryly.

  “A trait both of his daughters honor,” laughed Mrs. Williams.

  “Well, I, for one, am hugely relieved to discover I was not the cause for your dismissal!” Celeste said, eyes round with sincerity. “I feared that was why I had not been made privy to your intended nuptials.”

  “Oh, my dear! I know how sensitive is your conscience and must apologize myself that you ever felt responsible in the slightest for events that were well beyond your control.”

  Miranda added, “I, too, was unaware of their intentions to wed until a dozen hours or so before the event. I felt so honored to be able to share the occasion with them and wished you there to attend as well, but was at the same time was relieved you and Samantha were safely gone.”

  A great deal of hugging and a few tears cleared the air and lifted everyone’s spirits.

  “We are so thankful you were able to be here. You’ve always been such a large part of our lives.”

  Which speech engendered a few more tears and embraces, but occasioned great happiness for all there.

  EPILOGUE

  The wedding was beautiful, the ceremony especially touching. But all agreed the highlight came when both clerics gave an interwoven sermon expounding the joys of brotherhood and unity. At one point they alternated reading appropriate verses from Genesis, Galatians, First Corinthians, Romans, and more, expanding from the theme of unity of husband and wife to the broader concept of unity of community. Their styles were strikingly different and they even used that to their advantage to emphasis the unity of their message.

  Years later, mention of the Unity Sermon would still cause heads to be bowed in tribute, not only to a wonderful feat of oratory but, in a nation where brother had fought brother and resentments still abounded, to the strength of the message of Love.

  ~~~

  William had discussed with the editor at the River Times the need to keep the names of the brides out of the paper for their protection. However, a sermon of such magnitude and magnificence must receive its due, and it was reported in great detail, with large parts of the text quoted in full. Ultimately, a bound pamphlet of the entire text was created, with the cooperation of the participating clergy, who also elected to remain anonymous. As the Times said, “All parties involved requested anonymity that the Message be the focus, not the messengers.”

  Years later, one of the guests, talking of the impact on himself of the sermon, turned to Chip and asked, “Were you there, too?”

  And Chip replied with a gentle smile, “Oh, yes, I was in attendance.”

  ~~~

  And they lived happily ever after! All of them!

  The End

  PLEASE POST A REVIEW

  https://www.Amazon.com/review/create-review?&asin=xxxxxxxxxxx*

  NOTE: Link is currently not active; however, if you go to the page from which you purchased the book, review information is toward the bottom of the page. THANK YOU

  ~~~

  Why, you ask, are authors always asking for reviews? Well, mainly because it helps people find our books. You don’t have to say much. “I liked it because . . .” or even just “I liked it!”

  Of course I hope you liked it! But do feel free to share with me what I could have done better (you’ll find all sorts of links below), or if you’d like to see someone else get her (or his!) own story.

  And, thank you for reading!

  ABOUT THIS SERIES

  The Widows, Brides, and Secret Babies series presents Mail Order Brides with a twist—a secret baby, whose existence was not mentioned in any correspondence.

  My volumes are scattered through this multi-author project, each novel standing alone. Here’s where you can find the rest of the series:

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084WYL1QX

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  The more stories I write, the more I realize that it's not me you're interested in but my friends whose stories I share. A lot of times they are total strangers when they come knocking on my brain, but by the time I've written 20 or 30 thousand words about them, we are pretty close.

  So, I have attached a list of places you can find me. Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. Feedback is always welcome--I can't fix it if I don't know about it.

  Thank you for taking the time to read my story. I hope to be talking with you soon.

  ~~~

  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElissaStratiAuthor

  Twitter: Betababe [@AvenueAntiques]

  Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Elissa-Strati/e/B077GLWD94

  Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17307510.Elissa_Strati

  BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/elissa-strati

 
Sweet Promise Press: https://sweetpromisepress.com/authors/strati

  AllAuthor: https://allauthor.com/author/elissastrati

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  (And More Than You Ever Wanted To Know About My Upcoming Books)

  No man is an island. This makes my eleventh published work of fiction and the list of folks who’ve helped me along the way continues to grow. (I keep counting to keep track myself.)

  I might never even have started this journey without the encouragement and support of author Melissa Storm, founder of Sweet Promise Press. At that time she had been invited by Amazon to create a Kindle World known as First Street Church. I wrote three books for that world, starting with Love’s Odds.

  ~~~

  It was among the First Street group of fellow authors that I met Jane Lebak and delved into the world of Gothic Romance—okay, maybe a little bit of Horror (but it shouldn’t keep you up at night!)—and together we wrote Hunger. I hadn’t realized collaboration could be such fun!

  ~~~

  In my earliest days as a published writer, another author, Barbara Goss, also reached out to me on Facebook and has guided me through some of the arcana of (shudder) publicity. You see, we “independent” authors are responsible for the entire process from writing, to editing, to proofreading, to publishing, and then to publicizing! That’s one of the reasons for the “review” plea above, and why we are all so grateful when you share books you like with others.

  ~~~

  Cheryl Wright, when she invited me to write for her Christmas Rescue series (set in the late 1800s in the west), became and remains another major mentor. I next joined her in her Widows, Brides, and Secret Babies series, of which this book is a part. The series is enjoying tremendous success, as title after title opens as a Best Seller or #1 New Release. And more projects are in the offing!

  Cheryl also introduced me to Virginia McKevitt of Black Widow Books who does all of Cheryl’s covers, and has now done most of mine. Virginia has an uncanny knack for finding exactly the right model to represent the heroine in each book. You know just by looking at her that Celeste will cause mischief and mayhem!

  ~~~

  For the Yours Truly: The Lovelorn series, Marie Higgins brought inspiration with her “Dear Abby” concept with a 19th century twist. I must admit to being very fond of both my heroines in this series.

  ~~~

  All of these incredibly talented people, and many others, both from the past and currently, have provided a stunning amount of backing, ideas, and assistance, helping out with all manner of tricks of the trade. This amazing camaraderie, I have come to find, is not unusual—authors just seem to be warm, creative, and generous folks. Each of you has my undying gratitude.

  ~~~

  Additionally, my friends and family, especially my husband, my chief supporter to whom I have dedicated this story, have continued to abet my desire to pour my thoughts out on paper and its modern substitutes. They have to put up with my everyday whims and requests, so deserve special recognition for their patience and love.

  ~~~

  For this story I reached out for research help in areas with which I was unfamiliar, and want to add especial thanks to Rose Hale and Temperance Johnson for their assistance. And my husband and his friend Peter Crist rose to the occasion and beta read for me to help keep things in order!

  ~~~

  But most of all, you, the reader, make it worthwhile to share my thoughts and dreams as expressed by the characters who whisper in my ear. Thank you.

  Elissa Strati

  August 2020

  AUTHOR’S NOTES

  Doing research to avoid anachronisms is actually one of my favorite parts of writing. Thanks to the internet and access to millions of resources at the flick of a finger, it is possible to verify data rapidly and with a degree of accuracy, although there are times when an old-fashioned paper dictionary is what is truly wanted. Did you ever stand at an unabridged Webster’s on a stand and just browse the words on a page? Amazing!

  I love learning and hope that you have enjoyed this trip into yesteryear. And please share with me if I’ve let inaccuracies creep in! Sometimes I get so wrapped up in the story my characters are telling me I forget to go back to be sure they got the details right.

  ~~~

  Both Union and Confederate gold disappeared during the Civil War, and there has been a great deal of speculation on what became of it. Real mysteries always make a good basis for a storyline!

  ~~~

  The Secret Service was founded in 1865:

  The Secret Service's initial responsibility was to investigate the counterfeiting of US currency, which was rampant following the American Civil War. The agency then evolved into the United States' first domestic intelligence and counterintelligence agency. Many of the agency's missions were later taken over by subsequent agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and IRS Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI).

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secret_Service

  ~~~

  Although the 19th Amendment passed on August 18, 1920, it didn’t become law until August 26, 1920, making August 26 Women’s Equality Day and this year, 2020, its 100th anniversary. But the suffrage movement was in full swing by the time of this novel and women were striving in many areas for recognition and equality.

  I come from a long line of strong, independent women, so tend to use them as my heroines. Miranda’s goal of passing the bar was not, in fact out of reach, as can be seen from the timelines for women in law, below.

  ~~~

   1869 -Arabella Mansfield became the first female lawyer in the United States when she was admitted to the Iowa bar.

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_women_lawyers

  ~~~

  Wikipedia also lists these milestones:

   Jennie Mitchell Kellogg (1880): First female lawyer in Kansas

   Marie Elizabeth Simpson Degeer Gilmore (1887): First female lawyer admitted to the Kansas Bar Association

   Lutie Lytle (1897): First African American female lawyer in Kansas

   Lyda Conley (1902): First Native American (Wyandot) female lawyer in Kansas

   Nellie Cline Steenson: First female lawyer to argue a case before the Supreme Court of Kansas

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_first_women_lawyers_and_judges_in_Kansas