Mail Order Mix Up (2 page)

They stopped short when they saw the house at the address.  It was a huge
brick house with large white columns in the front.  “Wow.  She’s rich.”  Malinda wanted
to bite her tongue after saying the words, but since she’d only said them to Ellen,
they weren’t terribly rude.

Ellen grinned at her sister.  “Maybe Mrs. Long is the cook.”  She started to walk
up the sidewalk toward the door.  She was nervous, but standing on the street staring
at the house would only add to the nerves.  She had always believed in doing what
needed to be done quickly like taking a big dose of medicine.

Malinda followed her sister up to the door.  “You know as well as I do Mrs. Long isn’t
the cook.”

Ellen reached out and grabbed the door knocker bringing it down twice sharply.  She
put a hand over her stomach to still the butterflies and waited patiently.  Within
moments the door was pulled open.  “May I help you?”  The tall dark haired man at
the door looked like he’d never smiled in his life.

Ellen swallowed hard.  “I’m Ellen Bronson, and this is my sister, Malinda.  We’re
here to see Mrs. Long.”

The man gave one brief nod and opened the door wide.  “If you’ll just follow me, please?”
 

They followed him through the hallway.  There was a staircase leading up to the second
floor, but they walked around it toward the back of the house.  He opened a door at
the end of the hall and said, “Mrs. Long?  There are two young ladies here to see
you.  They are both Miss Bronson.”
 

The woman in the room got to her feet gracefully, walking toward them with a pronounced
limp.  “I’m Harriett Long.  Come in and make yourselves comfortable.”  She had blond
hair and warm green eyes.  Ellen thought she looked like she was in her late twenties,
but she wasn’t certain.

“Thank you.”  Ellen headed toward the couch, leaving the chair behind the desk for
Mrs. Long.  It was where she’d been sitting, and she obviously had a great deal of
work to do, because
the desk
was piled high.

Once Ellen and Malinda were seated on the sofa, and Mrs. Long was in front of the
desk, the man asked, “Would you care for refreshments?”

“Please bring us some lemonade and some cookies if there are some fresh.  Thank you,
Higgins.”  Mrs. Long faced the two young ladies and waited f
or one of them to say something as the man nodded regally and shut the door.

Ellen cleared her throat before beginning.  “We’re interested in your advertisement
in the paper for mail order brides.”

Mrs. Long nodded.  “I’d surmised as much.  How old are you?”

“I’m twenty, and my sister is nineteen.”

“Old enough to marry, then.  Good.  I won’t send out a young lady under the age of
eighteen.  Just one of my own little rules.” 
Mrs. Long
turned to her desk and
set out a piece of paper
and
a
pen. 
After dipping her pen in the pot of ink, she asked,
“
Why do you want to be mail order brides?”

Ellen and Malinda exchanged a look, and Ellen briefly wondered how much of the truth
she should tell.  She wouldn’t lie to the woman, of course, but she didn’t need to
know the whole story did she?  “Our father died two weeks ago, and we have no place
to go.  The bank is going to take possession of the farm, and everything on it in
three days.  We’re only allowed to take our clothing.  Nothing else.”

Mrs. Long nodded, not seeming surprised by the story.  “I understand.”  She studied
the two girls for a moment.  “Do you both want to become brides?”

Ellen nodded slowly.  “We looked for jobs, but didn’t see anything.  We honestly have
no idea what else to do.”  She reached over and gripped Malinda’s hand.  “We’d like
to stay close together if possible, though.”

“That may be difficult,” Mrs. Long began.  “I get letters from all over.  It’s not
common to get two letters from the same area.”  She sat back in her chair as if she
were thinking.  “Wait!  I got two letters yesterday from brothers in Colorado who
are each looking for wives.”  She sorted through different papers on her desk and
found the ones she was looking for.  She handed both letters to Ellen.

Ellen skimmed the first and wrinkled her nose, passing it on to Malinda.  The man
was a banker, and she had no desire to marry someone who would treat anyone the way
she and her sister had been treated that morning.  She glanced at the second letter
and immediately smiled.  This was the letter for her.  “My name is Wesley Harris. 
I’m twenty seven years old and the sheriff of the town of Gammonsville, Colorado. 
The town is at the foot of the Rocky Mountains.  I moved out here with my brother
in 1878 hoping to strike gold, but instead, I ended up being the sheriff and my brother
opened the town bank.  It’s a quiet little town I think any woman would love living
in. 
I’m looking for a woman who has never been married.  I’d prefer someone who was between
eighteen and twenty four, but that’s flexible.  Mainly I want a woman who isn’t afraid
of hard work who will take care of my home.  I want children, so someone in good health
is a necessity.  I look forward to receiving a letter from you, so we can get to know
one another and start a life together.  Sincerely, Wesley Harris.”

Ellen’s smile lit up her face as her eyes met Mrs. Long’s.  “He’s perfect for me. 
I want to marry the sheriff.”
  She loved the idea of marrying a man who put his life on the line every day to help
others.  Wesley Harris was definitely the man for her.

Malinda had finished her letter around the same time and nodded.  “I love the idea
of marrying the banker.”

Ellen made a face.  “You would.”
  Her sister would make a good wife for a rich man.  Ellen was positive the banker
was made for her.

Malinda sighed.  “I don’t ever want to be poor again.  We’re losing the only home
we’ve ever had.  I can’t imagine how anyone would choose not to marry a man with money.”

Mrs. Long smiled at the sisters.  “So do you want to respond to their letters?”
  Her voice and tone told Ellen that even though this was obviously a business for
her, she cared about the women she sent West.

Ellen nodded.  “How long does the whole process take?  We have three days to get out
of our house
.  Is there any way we can leave in that amount of time?”

Mrs. Long stared at them both for a moment before responding.  “Normal process time
is around two months depending on how quickly the men respond and how many letters
are exchanged before you go.  Colorado letters take around three weeks, so we’re looking
at a minimum of six weeks.”

Ellen stood up.  “I think we’re wasting your time.  Thanks for speaking with us.” 
She gave a longing look to the letter she’d set down on the table in front of the
sofa.  She’d liked the man who’d written the letter and would have loved to have been
able to meet him and marry him.  They couldn’t wait six weeks, though.  It just wasn’t
possible.
  They’d have to find something else, and every minute they spent talking to Mrs.
Long was a wasted minute.

Malinda sat looking between Ellen and Mrs. Long as if she were trying to decide whether
to go with Ellen or try to find some way to marry the man who’d written the letter
in her hand. 

Mrs. Long
seemed to think about the situation for a moment as she watched the two girls.
  “I have a proposition for you.  This house is much too big for me.  I have plenty
of space for the two of you to stay with me.  I’ve also got so much work to do with
my business that I’m falling behind.  I’ve considered hiring someone to help me, but
after the month it would take to catch up, there would only be an hour or so per day
of work, and no one is looking for a job for one day per week.  So, if you will, stay
with me and in exchange for room and board, help me catch up my work.”

Ellen bit her lip as she considered.  She knew Mrs. Long was basically offering them
charity, but at that point, she didn’t see any
other
choices.  Maybe they could find other ways to help out as well.  She nodded slowly. 
“We’d be happy to do that.  I think we need to do more than just help with your business,
though.  Is there anything else we could do to earn our keep?”

“Sit down
, and w
e’ll talk about it.  If I run out of work for you to do, we’ll come up with something.”

Ellen resumed her seat on the couch and looked down at the letter.  “He does sound
perfect for me.”
 

Mrs. Long
, who had risen to her feet when Ellen did,
sank slowly into her chair obviously favoring one leg.  “Let’s write some letters
then, shall we?”  She handed them each a piece of paper and a pen, putting a small
pot of ink between them.  “I’d like you to include age, occupation if there is one,
a brief description of yourself, and any hobbies you may have.”

Both
of the sisters put pen to paper and began writing.  Ellen thought
for a moment
after writing the salutation, trying to decide exactly what she wanted to tell him. 
“Dear Wesley, I was thrilled to receive your letter.  I’m twenty years old and live
on the outskirts of Beckham, Massachusetts where I’ve lived my entire life.  I was
raised on a small dairy farm, and enjoy being around animals.  I like the idea of
living in a small town near the Rocky Mountains.  I’ve only ever seen paintings of
mountains and love the idea of seeing one in
person
.
I have kept house for my father since my mother died when I was twelve, so I’m more
than capable of cooking and cleaning for you.  I love the idea of having a houseful
of children.  I’m in good health.  My sister is answering the letter your brother
sent.  We love the idea of being mail order brides, but living close together.  I
enjoy reading and taking long walks.  I hope to hear from you soon.  Yours, Ellen.”

Ellen set the pen down and handed the letter to Mrs. Long.  “Is that what you’re looking
for?”

Mrs. Long quickly read through the letter and then nodded.  “It’s perfect.” 

Ellen watched as her sister wrote quickly trying to finish her own letter.  Finally,
Malinda l
ooked up and handed it to Mrs. Long as well.  “How’s that?”

“Good.”  Mrs. Long folded both letters and set them aside.  “We’ll get them mailed
out first thing in the morning.”  She looked up as Higgins came into the room with
the lemonade and cookies she’d requested.  He set the tray in front of her and she
poured them each a glass, and set the plate with the cookies on it between them. 
“Thank you, Higgins.”

Ellen picked up the glass of lemonade and took a sip of the tart liquid.  She and
Malinda had cut back to cooking one meal per day in hopes they could make the food
last, so she was thankful for the cookies.  She reached out and took one and smiled. 
“These are good!”
  She counted the cookies on the plate and divided mentally by three wondering how
many she could eat without looking like a glutton.

Mrs. Long smiled as Higgins shut the door behind him.  “My cook is wonderful.”  She
took a cookie for herself as the girls settled back onto the couch to enjoy the small
snack.  “Do you girls have what you need to stay at the farm for the rest of the week,
or do you just want to move in here tomorrow?”  She gestured to the pile of letters
on her desk.  “I could use the help.”

Ellen looked at Malinda.  If they went home, they wouldn’t be able to eat.  It made
more sense to move immediately.  “What do you think, Malinda?”

Malinda tilted her head to the side in a way that told Ellen she was thinking about
it.  “I think we should go ahead and move right away.  I don’t want to be there when
they come to take all of our things away.” 

Ellen
hadn’t thought about how hard that would be.  Of course, since she’d been giving
most of the food to Malinda, she was thinking more with her stomach than her emotions. 
She
squeezed
Malinda’s
hand.  “Why don’t we come back in the morning then?  Would that be okay?”

Mrs. Long nodded.  “We’ll be thrilled to have you.” 

Once they’d polished off the cookies and lemonade, Ellen stood.  “We’ll pack our things
this evening and be back around ten tomorrow morning.  Would that be okay?”
  She considered for a moment all the work Mrs. Long said she had for them.  “Is that
early enough?”

Mrs. Long stood and walked them toward the door.  “That would be wonderful.  I’ll
enjoy having company for a while.”

Ellen smiled at the older woman.  “Thank you so much for your hospitality.  We truly
appreciate the help you’re giving us.”  She shook Mrs. Long’s hand.  “We’ll work hard. 
I promise.”
 

“I know you will.  I’ll see you in the morning.”  Closing the door behind them, she
called Higgins.  “We’re going to be having some guests for a while.”

*****

             
Ellen baked the last of the corn bread that evening and as they ate it, they talked
about the letters.  “I love the idea of marrying a banker!” Malinda gushed.  “Just
imagine not having to worry about money.  And he said he has a cook and someone who
cleans!  I’d have all the time I wanted to read books and just keep to myself.  He’s
going to be perfect for me!”
  Malinda’s eyes danced with excitement at the prospect of marrying her banker.