Mail Order Love (Sweet Mail Order Bride Historical Romance Novel) (Oregon Mail Order Brides) (17 page)

Ellie’s mind ranged back over last night and her heart began to beat more quickly. What had happened? How had she got back here? She couldn’t even remember putting herself to bed.

Jared’s steady gaze was still in her mind. Had he really been watching her dance? Surely not. But his countenance had looked so calm, so knowing, so … adoring.

Ellie racked her mind, trying to remember what had happened next. She could remember drinking lemonade, watching the dancers underneath the stars. She remembered the jostling crowds, the hanging lamps, the bales of straw, a haystack.

More pieces of memory began to filter back into her awareness. Jared had been there … she remembered being close to him … the jolt of the buggy. Could he have taken her home?

She turned back into her room to get dressed and ready for the day. Her eye alighted on a small piece of parchment paper on her dresser. She felt as if she were still dreaming as she lifted the paper with the finger pads of both hands as if it were a delicate gold leaf.

There was Jared’s clean, balanced handwriting:

What a wash out!

You fell asleep before I danced with you.

Your Jared

Ellie breathed in as her spirits soared higher, and let out the air in a snuffle of a laugh.

My Jared? He wanted to dance with me? He is my Jared?

She checked herself. No, she should not read too much into it. It was just a note, dashed off quickly in his usual friendly manner. She must have fallen asleep, and poor Jared had been tasked with taking her home.

It must have been a deep sleep then, to last through the whole journey home in the buggy. Ellie smiled as she raised her eyes to the mirror and shook her head at herself. What a thing to happen.

Ellie rinsed her face, cooling her warm cheeks with the cold water. She bent at the waist and brushed her hair a hundred times, working her energy out until her hair shone like silk. Then she started a braid on the left side by her temple, taking in pieces as she braided down and along until all the hair was in the braid by the ends. She curled and pinned the braid up, selected small pink daisies from the vase on her dresser, and pinned them into the coil.

Ellie took a dress she had not worn yet. A pink and powder blue dress of checks, each check so large it was the size of a handkerchief, with the bodice of the dress decorated in pink gingham ribbon. She put on her petticoat and pulled the dress over her head. Then she laced up her brown work boots and skipped down the stairs, humming a tune from the night before.

“Good morning Grammy, let me get you your coffee. I am up a little later today, do excuse me.”

Grammy twinkled at Ellie. “Ah, it’s you at last! From the moment I opened my eyes this morning I’ve been desperate to know how you enjoyed your spring dance. Did you make the boys weep?”

“Oh, for sure when I stepped on their toes I did. Two left feet I’ve got, Grammy.” Ellie started up the coffee, making it in her own special way that Grammy loved.

“You must have been the prettiest girl in the room. I bet they queued up to get their toes stepped on, if they had any sense.” Grammy had a look of innocence on her face. “Jared see you, did he?”

“Oh Grammy, it seems I fell asleep and I think he had to take me home. I’m feeling rather bashful about it actually."

“I’ll come clean, I know all about it. Jared told me earlier. Just wondered how much you remembered, that’s all.” Grammy fixed Ellie with a happy eye. “He’s gone out early today, he said he had business up out in Northcote. Takes a while to get there so he left before dawn.”

Ellie tended to the coffee, unsure of how much she wanted to show her feelings.

Grammy helped Ellie by fetching the milk and the sugar bowl. She seemed unusually sprightly this morning. “But I do believe he’ll be talking with you later, as your one month is up today, so it is.”

Ellie looked at Grammy and pushed her coffee toward her. Grammy regarded Ellie as she took a sip.

“And you are not to worry, my dear, you understand? I can’t even remember what it was like before we had you here, and I’m not letting you go in a hurry.”

“Oh Grammy. You don’t know how happy that makes me.” Ellie looked into Grammy’s eyes and glowed.

“Enough of that now dear. I wouldn’t dream of you going anywhere. As for today, there are some sewing things I need for a job I am doing. Can you take the second buggy into town with the old horses and pick up what I need? Michael has checked over the buggy and it’s working fine.”

“I’d love to, Grammy, I enjoy driving. It would be a welcome thing today, I feel as if I have more energy than I know what to do with.”

Ellie hitched up the horses and set up the old buggy. With her bonnet and shawl, and her basket for the items she was to buy, she climbed up and set off for town.

Ginger and Treacleface steadily clopped along on the trail. Ellie enjoyed the solitude and rest. This was easy work after her usual occupation of attacking the household tasks. She felt an excited tickle in her stomach as if she were going too fast over a hill. It was a feeling of excitement and anticipation.

Ellie thought again of the note, hearing its contents in her mind, the words already tucked away in her heart.

What a wash out! You fell asleep before I danced with you. Your Jared.

Mine. How I would love for that to be true. Could I have a chance, maybe?

Ellie’s mind ranged back over the night before. It had been the deepest sleep. A sleep that was impossible to wake from, where things had been happening around her but she could not rouse herself. She had felt the touch of a creature or an angel, a warm brush against her cheek. Some kind of dream.

Grammy said there is every reason for me to stay on as housekeeper. This is everything I ever wanted. A chance for a new life.

Ellie jiggled her legs in time with the buggy. She couldn’t keep still. The anticipation of this afternoon was too much. She felt that things were working out so well, it was almost too perfect. A part of her worried that something would happen to bring her down from this height.

Chapter 34

Ellie arrived in town, secured the horses, and walked to the general store. Along the way, she passed the saloon, the blacksmith’s, the leather tanner, and the rickety old medical supplies shop. As she walked along the dusty main street, taking in the view of the buildings, she wondered if she would be here for many years hence. Whether she would grow old with these shop fronts and they would be here to witness it.

It was a slightly cooler day today. The spring wind lifted tendrils of her hair and tickled her neck with them. She looked down to check her dress and shawl were set straight. She felt self-conscious but exhilarated to be in town on her own. It was the first time she had been out by herself. It was a good feeling. It was independence.

Ellie ascended the steps into the general store and examined the list that Grammy had given her. Twists of silken thread - white, brown and black; five medium needles; three feet of dark blue calico; one piece of chalk for marking. Ellie made her purchases and laid them in her basket.

As she left the store she looked around and her eye rested on the local saloon. It was constructed from warm redwood with a large rectangular false front. A pair of cream sun-bleached deer antlers were set over the entrance.

It was a decent enough place, compared to the saloons in most towns. Jared had told her that it served as a meeting place for folks from miles around. People could stay over for a night or longer if they wanted to. They were plain rooms with just a narrow bed, jug and bowl, but they were clean.

The saloon served plain honest meals as well as beer and liquor. Of course, it could be rough at times like any saloon. Maybe boisterous was a better word. Most of the men in there only wanted a jest.

In the daytime, it was acceptable for a lady to visit the place for a light meal. It wasn’t the kind of thing she usually did, but Ellie felt excited and free today. She wanted to do something different. So she decided to have a small refreshment at the saloon before making the journey back home.

As she entered, she heard her name being called out.

“Ellie!” A short, jolly looking man with polished red cheeks and a rotund figure fitted into a striped shirt and waistcoat gave her a welcoming smile from behind the wooden bar. He evidently knew who she was.

Ellie stopped at the entrance and regarded him timidly. “Hello?”

“Come on in, Ellie, you are welcome! You are the new housekeeper up at Jared’s house are you not? The boys who come in here have been talking about you. Seems you were quite a hit at the spring dance yesterday.” He winked at her over his spectacles in a comfortable, fatherly kind of way.

“Oh! Excuse me, I mean, pleased to meet you.” Ellie lost her poise a little, surprised to be known by a stranger. Still, it was nice to meet a new face, and such a friendly face too. Even if he was a little over-familiar.

Ellie flushed at the comments people had made about her. She hadn’t realized that anyone had noticed her at the dance.

“I’m William Brownstone, just call me Bill, everyone else does. I’m lucky if they don’t call me worse.” Bill offered his hand to Ellie.

Ellie laughed and shook his hand. “I’ll call you Bill then.”

“Don’t worry about what I said, everyone thinks you seem like a good girl. Nice girl like you, won’t you be getting married soon? You’ve got lots of boys to choose from, you know. A great many men around here are in need of a wife. They’re desperate for one! Fine girls like you are in short supply, you’re going to have to fend them off with a bat.”

Ellie looked down, not knowing what to say.

“Oh, don’t mind me,” Bill chuckled, “I’m just a busybody, always sticking my nose into everyone else’s business. Now, what would you like? There’s a private section over there to sit in if you like. It’s for ladies only. A bit more private in case no-good cowboys come in.”

Bill motioned to a cubicle-like structure to the side. It was made of wooden walls with a narrow gap to enter.

“I would like a tea please Bill, and maybe a bun if you have one?”

“Sure enough, coming up right away young Ellie. So you are liking your job then, at the Ford house? Treating you well are they? How long are you staying?”

“Yes, I am very happy. I do not know how long I will be staying, but I hope it shall be a long time.”

“Good, good, glad to hear it! Now make sure you come back to check up on your Bill every time you come to town, you hear? You promise?”

“That I will, Bill,” Ellie had only just met him but she already liked his comfortable familiar charm.

Ellie went to sit down in the cubicle. It was a pleasant place to relax in comfort away from prying eyes.

Bill must be a good businessman. He has a meeting house, a guest house, a restaurant and a drinking house all in one. And he has thought of how to get lady customers in during the daytime.

Ellie had a small view out onto the dusty main street. She could see the people outside without being seen by them as they passed by.

Bill brought her steaming hot tea in an elegant white teapot, with cream in a small jug and an extra pot of hot water. On a matching spotless white plate was a shiny-domed caramel-brown bun with black currants dotted within, and there was a little dish with a small piece of fruitcake.

Bill beamed at her. “Your tea, Miss Ellie, and your bun. And a taste of the fruitcake my old Ma made. I’m terrible at cooking so sometimes she rustles something up to serve the customers. I like to have new offerings for them when I can.”

“Thank you Bill, and thank you for the cake. It looks delicious. May I pay you now?”

“You sure can. And tell me what you think of Ma’s fruitcake later.”

Ellie paid using the coins from the small collection she kept with her for emergencies. She reclined against the wooden enclosure and unwound, slowly enjoying her tea, bun and cake.

She watched as an elderly man in an overcoat tentatively picked his way along the street, balancing a brown paper bag of provisions at each elbow.

She wondered how Briggs was doing. It wouldn’t be wise to contact Briggs in case Ursula or Gergmins somehow found out her whereabouts, but Ellie knew that one day she would seek him out.

From around the corner, Michael burst into view with two men walking alongside him. They appeared to be in high spirits, talking loudly and interrupting each other. They walked directly past Ellie and turned into the saloon.

Should I make myself known, say hello?

Ellie decided against it. The men looked like they were having a fine time together. They were ready to drink and let loose. It wasn’t appropriate for her to intrude on their group, and in any case, she had not met the other men with Michael before. She would finish up her tea and slip out as soon as she could.

Chapter 35

It was difficult to ignore the sound of Michael and his friends. They clattered into the saloon, the heels of their boots knocking against the hard wooden floor. They greeted Bill and it sounded as if they were standing at the bar together. They talked in excited raucous voices, ordering double whiskeys all round.

Ellie paid attention to finishing her tea, not wanting to hear a conversation not intended for her ears. She tried to think of other things, but it was difficult because Michael was talking so loudly.