Katie: Bride of Virginia (American Mail-Order Brides 10) (3 page)

“Mother!” Daniel cried.

“I'm a mail-order bride,” Katie said quietly. “I answered your son's ad in the Grooms' Gazette.”

The woman took a deep breath and clutched her chest. “Oh...oh, my medicine, my medicine,” she gasped. “The scandal. You're bringing more scandal on us. What were you thinking?”

Daniel grabbed a bottle and a spoon near his mother and poured her dose of the tonic.

“I'm not expecting,” Katie said, stunned at her reaction.

Why did his mother think this was scandalous? What had they done that was so wrong? They were married. She'd insisted before she would even come to his house.

All her life she'd fought poverty, doing everything right and yet because she worked in the factory, men thought she was easy and now her husband's mother thought she was a loose woman.

Placing her hands on her hips, she stared at the gray-haired lady whose heart obviously no longer knew love.  “Your son, wanted a bride, and I choose him and he accepted me. I truly hope we can become friends. He specifically asked for help with his mother in his ad and I want to help you however I can. I know this is a shock, but I'm now your daughter and you're my mother.”

“Ah,” the older woman cried and reached out to Daniel. She made gasping noises and flicked her hands like she wanted Katie to leave.

Daniel turned and frowned. “Maybe you should wait for me in the other room.”

The excitement and the joy of meeting his mother seemed to drain from her. “I'll light the lamps,” she said walking out of the bedroom.

What had she gotten herself into? He'd been right to caution her about his mother, even now she could hear the older woman ranting at Daniel through the bedroom door. The woman was a tyrant, but Katie had faced tough obstacles before.

Everyone, well almost everyone, she eventually won over with kindness. And if anyone needed a gentle touch and a nice word, it was this woman.  Her work was certainly cut out for her, but she could do this.

#

Katie walked into the main room and fumbled around until she found a lamp. Quickly she turned it on and a warm glow filled the room. When they arrived, she hadn't been able to see much of the room in the darkness, but it was filled with worn furniture and old rugs that needed cleaning.

The house had a great structure, but needed a woman's touch to make it into a home. She dreamed of this. In fact, she couldn't wait to get started.

Strolling through the house, she lit lamps until the house was filled with light. The kitchen was in much the same disarray. It needed a thorough cleaning. Warmth filled her and she even felt excited about turning this house into a home.

Daniel hurried out of his mother's bedroom and came toward her. “I'm sorry. But you see why I said it could be a challenge.”

She reached out and touched his arm. “It's okay. I understand. I've faced tougher battles.”

Adjusting to life in the orphanage taught her how to adapt and change. But through it all, her mother's voice was with her, reminding her to smile. She knew she would have to become accustomed to her husband's way of life, but she would not lose her values or her sense of humor.

“I see you lit the lamps.”

“Yes, the house is beautiful.”

He glanced at her like she was crazy and she realized he had no idea what and where she had lived before. Working in the factory she'd made barely enough to survive.

“I'm glad you like it.”

“The layout of the house was well thought out.”

Nodding, he took her by the hand and together they walked into the kitchen. “I need a glass of wine.”

When he opened a door, she saw there was a staircase. She followed him into a cold basement. Racks with barrels of what she assumed was wine lined the walls. There were shelves of labeled glass bottles. Daniel choose one and turned to her.

“The barrels are this year's crop of grapes. Soon I'll be doing a second racking on the wine. After one more racking, the wine will be ready for bottling and corking.”

She didn't understand what he was saying, but soon, very soon she would know more about how to grow and harvest grapes. This was a new adventure.

“I would love for you to show me the vineyards and explain to me how it works.”

“One day we'll spend time in the vineyard so you can see,” he said seeming closed off once again. Taking her by the hand, he led her up the stairs.

“Is that carpetbag all you brought with you?”

She laughed. What did the man think, she had a trunk full of clothes? A factory worker didn't make enough for fancy dresses. Most of her clothes she'd purchased at a secondhand shop. Her blue silk chiffon, she'd made herself, but even that could be expensive with the cost of fabric.

“A girl like me doesn't have much,” she said, not for sympathy but so he would realize she had very little. She didn't need much. And gazing around the house, she had more than she ever dreamed was possible.

“Tomorrow, we'll make space for you in the armoire,” he said as he dropped her hand, picked up a bottle opener and two wine glasses. “Let's sit in the parlor.”

Following him into the room, she noticed the broadness of his back. He'd worn a dark jacket with a white cottonshirt into town. The color of the jacket brought out the darkness of his hair, which shone in the gas lamplight.

Her husband was more than she'd dreamed of and suddenly she wondered why he'd never married. Soon she would ask him, but not tonight.

While the girls in the orphanage had talked about what to expect on your wedding night, she'd never known what was real and what was fabricated. Sure she'd experienced men trying to have their way with her, on more than one occasion, but she never had a man court her.

And now she was a married woman, about to experience lying with a man for the first time with no prior knowledge of what really happened between a man and a woman.

All she hoped was that she would please her husband. But she didn't know what to expect.

He pointed to the lumpy sofa and she took a seat, her heart beating rapidly. He pried the cork out of the bottle, poured the dark liquid into the glasses and handed one to her, then picked up the other. She'd never seen such fancy drinking glasses and for a moment she stared in awe at the beauty of the glassware.

“To our life together,” he said and raised his glass. She lifted hers and he clinked the edge. She'd heard of people toasting, but never participated and she couldn't contain the smile his words filled her with.

She took a sip and thought she was going to spit the horrid liquid out. If this was how wine tasted, why were people so enamored of the drink. Quickly she swallowed and tried to school her features to hide her feelings, but it was too late.

He grinned at her. “I see I don't have to worry about you drinking up all the profits.”

“What?” she said confused. “It has an unusual taste.”

He laughed. “You'll soon grow to enjoy the flavors. I'll teach you.”

“I don't like the taste of coffee either,” she said taking another sip. This time the wine warmed her pallet all the way down, spreading heat through her, leaving a luxurious feeling behind. “Oh.”

“What's wrong?”

“I feel kind of warm “ she said gazing at Daniel. If they had children, she hoped they'd have his beautiful sapphire eyes. “Maybe it was the combination of Frank’s champagne and now the wine.”

“I think one glass tonight will be quite enough,” he said taking the glass from her, his gaze staring at her, making her heart pound like she'd been running down the street.

She was married. Her knees started knocking.

Placing the beautiful crystal on a nearby table, he pulled her against him and his lips covered hers, gently at first and then more pressing. She'd been kissed before, but nothing like her husband was doing. No man had ever ran his tongue over her mouth, sending tingles all over, then slipped in between her lips.

At the convent, they'd taught that girls were to be obedient to their husbands, but the nuns never warned about how it would feel when a man consumed her mouth into his. And then his hand touched her breasts and she pulled back and stared at him, her heart beating rapidly.

“I know we're married,” she said breathing heavily, “but I have to tell you, I've never done this before. The nuns only told us we were to submit to our husbands.”

Daniel reached out and traced his fingers along her jaw and then rose from the sofa. “Come to bed, Mrs. O'Malley, I think it's time you found out what it's all about.”

Katie swallowed, looked at her husband and then took his outstretched hand.

Dear God, she was a married woman about to experience a man for the first time. Part of her couldn't wait and the other part was terrified.

Chapter Three

T
he next morning, Daniel knew he hadn't given his new wife the kind of wedding night she deserved. He was kicking himself for not taking things slower, but the woman was beyond gorgeous and just one look at her creamy skin and all that long silky hair trailing down her back and he raced like a race horse around the track reaching the goal before she was out of the gate.

And then he listened to her softly crying herself to sleep. What kind of man did that to his wife on their wedding night?

This morning, he would try to make it up to her. Somehow he'd explain that sex between a man and a woman could be beautiful and loving. It was just he hadn't had a woman in a long time, and she was so damn beautiful that he'd forgotten himself. A twelve-year-old boy could have done a better job.

She rolled away from him last night and curled into a little ball, making him feel like he'd been so bad. She recoiled from him.

As the first rays of dawn lit the room, he rolled over and touched her. Her body tensed and he knew she was awake.

“Good morning, Katie,” he said softly.

“Good morning,” she replied.

Her voice sounded tired.

He sighed. How did he begin this conversation. How did he explain to a virgin that he knew he'd been too quick and rough last night and that if only she'd give him a second chance it could be better.

“About last night,” he began.

She jumped out of bed. “Let's not talk about it.”

“Give me a chance to explain,” he said.

She darted to the washbowl and poured a bowl of fresh water. “No explanation needed. What do you want for breakfast, Mr. O'Malley.”

Last night she'd been happy and this morning, she seemed to have thrown up a huge wall, not giving him access. “Normally, I just fix coffee and then go out into the fields. Mother likes toast.”

“Do you have eggs?” she asked.

They weren't having an argument, she refused to talk about what had happened last night. At least with a disagreement, he would have a chance to explain or make things right. She wasn't giving him a chance. She only wanted to discuss breakfast.

“Yes,” he said. “We have chickens. Martha usually comes over and fixes Mother lunch and also our dinner.”

“Fine. I'll fix breakfast and then maybe she can show me around the kitchen. I can cook if I need to.”

He watched in fascination as she pulled on her dress. “Katie, I promise you, the next time will be better.”

She glared at him in the darkness. “Who said there would be a next time?”

With that, she walked out the door, leaving him to stare at her retreating figure. Cursing beneath his breath, he hauled himself out of bed. They were married. Of course, there would be a next time.

But their situation was different from most married people. They'd met and married on the same day. There had been no courting, no warm-up. And a woman like Katie needed time. He'd do his best to convince her to give him a second chance to show her he could do better, but all he wanted was to pounce on her once again.

He'd been delivered a beautiful woman to become his wife and already he'd made her angry. That didn't take long.

#

Katie reached the kitchen just about the time the first sun rays brightened the room. Quickly she found the coffee pot and beans. Tears prickled her eyelids. What was she crying about?

Sure, she'd dreamed the first time she lay with her husband would be wonderful, but the reality had been it lasted maybe fifteen minutes and most of that time had been him grunting and groaning after he'd rammed into her. Then he'd tried to apologize this morning and she didn't want to hear his excuses.

Her first time should have been special. She didn't know what to expect, but surely lying with a man was more than someone on top of you shoving into your body. If not, she didn't want to experience it again.

He was her husband, and she would bend to his will, but the marital bed was someplace she would avoid as much as possible.

When he walked into the kitchen, she handed him a cup of coffee. “What time will your mother wake up?”

“She'll roll into the kitchen when she's ready. Just fix her some toast and give her either a cup of coffee or tea. That changes with her mood.”

After last night, the thought of spending time alone with her mother-in-law was daunting. She had to remember to treat her with kindness and to ignore her nasty comments. Maybe she'd be better this morning since she'd had time to sleep on the fact that her son had married.

“What time will you be back from the vineyard?”

“I'll be back for lunch,” he paused and gazed at her. “I promise you it will be better the next time.”

Katie wasn't going to give him the pleasure of a response. For years she'd dreamed about what her wedding night would be like and yet last night was nothing like what she'd imagined.

“Mr. O'Malley, I thought I would take a drawer in the armoire and hang my clothes in the wardrobe. I'll also spend some time with your mother today,” she said, keeping her back to him.

She didn't want to look at him. She didn't want him to see that last night her childish girlhood dreams of how it would be between her and her husband the first time had been a huge disappointment.

She didn't expect much out of life, since everyone she'd ever loved or cared about had died. She learned early on that you have to absorb the losses, move on, and continue smiling. But whenever she was hurt, it always took time before the voice of reason would have her smiling once again. She needed that time.