Mail Order Mix Up (4 page)

Ellen smiled at Malinda who was clutching her own train ticket.  She’d always wanted
to go on a train, but their family had never had enough money to be able to do it. 
“Are you excited?”
  She loved the spark in her younger sister’s eyes at the idea of a train trip.

Malinda nodded with a smile.  “I can’t wait!”

Ellen looked at the money in her hand for the trip.  Harriett had loaned them both
money to make some dresses before the trip, and though she was thankful, she’d hated
taking anything more from the sweet woman.  She counted out the money and handed Harriett
a little over half of what she had.  She could eat less on the trip so she’d have
the money to pay her back more.

Malinda made a face, but counted out some money for Harriett as well.  “Thank you
for buying the fabric for us so we could make our dresses.  I’m thrilled we’ve gotten
as much done as we have,” Ellen told her.  “There’s no way we would have been able
to make wedding dresses in the three days we have before we leave for Colorado.”

Harriett pushed the money back into their hands.  “It was payment for all the work
you’ve done.  Both of you have done a wonderful job here.”  She looked at Ellen as
she said the words.  Ellen had looked for work every day while Malinda had found reasons
to take breaks. 

“I can’t accept that.  You gave us food and a place to live!”  Ellen offered the money
again.

Harriett shook her head.  “Absolutely not.  I won’t take it.”  She paused for a moment
with a serious look on her face.  “I really want you to keep it.  I’m always worried
when I send one of my brides off that they’re going into a bad situation.  I want
you both to promise me something.”

Ellen’s brows drew together.  “What’s that?”
  She’d promise her first born child to Harriett for all the help she’d given her. 
She’d never met such a selfless woman in her life.

“If you’re treated badly at all once you arrive, you’ll use that money to come right
back here.  You can live with
me
while we find you a job or something you can do.  You never have to stay in a relationship
where you’re being mistreated.” The look on Harriett’s face told Ellen she was serious
about it.  Ellen couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to make her so worried
about her brides.

Both of the sisters agreed they wouldn’t stay in a bad situation.  “We’ll be close
to each other, though, and I’m sure we’ll be able to help to one another,” Malinda
told her.

Nothing more was said about the subject then, but Ellen woke in the middle of the
night, and when she went downstairs to get some warm milk from the kitchen, she overheard
Harriett and Higgins talking.  “They got their letters today.  They’ll be leaving
for Colorado on the
eighteenth
.  I’m going to miss them.”

Ellen smiled as she head Harriett’s voice.  She was glad they hadn’t been a burden
on the kind woman.
  She’d been worried that Malinda would have annoyed the woman with her constant breaks,
but it sounded as if Harriett had simply enjoyed them both. 

“They never should have been here in the first place,” Higgins told her.  “We don’t
want anyone here to know what happened.  It could ruin your life here if people found
out.
  What if one of them had overheard us talking?
”

Harriett sighed heavily.  “I know it could.  It would be worse for you than for me,
though.  I hate the idea of anyone finding out that you killed him.  Even though the
jury found you not guilty, the stigma would be enough to cause people to treat you
badly.”

“I
shot him
in defense of you.  If I’d known it was happening sooner, I’d have killed him sooner. 
It’s good it happened like it did, because I was able to claim I was protecting you. 
I’d have killed him in cold blood otherwise.”
  Higgins voice was loud and clear as it rang out throughout the room.

“I appreciate your feelings.  I’m just glad you were there that day.  I think he was
about to kill me.”
  The obvious fear in Harriett’s voice sent a chill through Ellen.

Higgins voice was bleak when he said, “He crippled you for life.  I would like to
kill him again when I think of how
I felt as
you bounced down those stairs.
  I promised your father I would protect you, and I didn’t.
”

“That’s enough.  Let’s not speak of it.  I need to get to sleep.”  She yawned audibly. 
“I know you’ll be pleased when the girls are gone, but I’ll miss them.
  They’ve been good friends to me.
”

“I wish we didn’t have to hide what happened.  Then you could have friends around
you more often.”

Ellen had heard enough.  She hurried up the stairs without her milk.  She stared at
the ceiling through the night as she hurt for her friend.  She’d known Harriett was
a widow, but when the other woman didn’t want to talk about her husband, she didn’t
press things
assuming she was still mourning him
.  Now she knew why she didn’t want to talk.  Poor Harriett.  Ellen hoped that someday
she’d find love.

*****

On the morning of their departure, Ellen and Malinda thanked Harriett repeatedly for
her hospitality.  Ellen had said nothing about what she’d overheard the night they’d
received the letters, but she found herself observing Harriett more than ever.  It
seemed hard to believe the sweet woman had lived through the type of marriage
she’d overheard her talking about.

Harriett walked with them to the
train
station, providing them each with sandwiches to make it through the first day.  “You’ll
have to buy food after today, but I can at least help with the first day’s meals.”

“I want to tell you again how much we appreciate you helping us find husbands and
giving us a place to stay until it was time to leave.  I don’t know what we’d have
done if you hadn’t helped.  You were our guardian angel.”  Ellen walked slowly beside
Harriett, making sure her stride was matched to the lame woman’s.

Malinda smiled sweetly.  “Yes, thank you so much.  I don’t think I could ever tell
you how much you’ve helped us.”

At the train station, they all hugged goodbye and
Malinda and Ellen
promised to write as soon as they arrived in Colorado.  The worry in Harriett’s eyes
as they left was obvious.  Ellen would have wondered why if she hadn’t overheard the
conversation she did, but she understood now.
  Harriett worried about anyone going into a marriage.  Ellen wondered why she’d gone
into the mail order bride business if she was so worried about abusive marriages.

“We’ll write soon and often,” Ellen promised.

“I’ll miss having you two with me.  I’m going to have to work hard to keep up with
all my work without my special helpers.”

Their train was called then and Harriett watched them board.  If they’d turned around,
they’d have seen the tears in her eyes as she watched them go.

Chapter Three

Ellen stretched in her seat, rubbing the back of her neck.  “I’m so glad we’re almost
there.  I feel like we’ve been on this thing for years.”
  The two sisters sat next to one another taking turns watching out the window.  Malinda
had brought some books for them to read, but they’d both found that reading while
the train was moving caused them to become queasy.

Malinda nodded.  “I thought riding on a train would be some grand adventure, but really,
it’s just a dirty place.  I’m ready to be there.”
  She leaned her head against the window, because it was her turn to look out, and
she wanted to see every last detail of the state that would be their new home.

“Are you nervous about meeting Patrick?”
Ellen asked.

Malinda shrugged.  “A little, but not terribly.  I know I’m going into the situation
I need to be in.  I mean, what more could I ask for than a man with a lot of money
who can take care of me for the rest of my life?”
 

Ellen sighed.
She could see her sister truly believed there was nothing more important in life
than having enough money to live well.  She knew Malinda would eventually learn better,
and she hoped it would happen soon.
“You could ask for a good kindhearted man who helps others.  Like the one I’m getting.”

“You can have the good man.  I want the rich one.”
  Malinda didn’t even turn her head from the window as she made the pronouncement.

“Do you have any idea how you sound?”
  Ellen was appalled that her sister could even talk that way, let alone believe what
she was saying.

Malinda sighed.  “You know I don’t mean it.  I just can’t stand the idea of being
in the kind of situation we were in before
w
ith no money and nowhere to go.  That really scared me.”

“I know.”  Ellen squeezed her sister’s hand.  “It scared me, too.”
  She hoped her sister would be able to refrain from making the kind of statement
she’d made to her over and over since they’d begun their journey in front of her future
husband.  She didn’t want him to think Malinda was only marrying him for his wealth.
  “You should be really careful what you say around Patrick, you know.  He may think
you’re only marrying him because of his wealth.”

Malinda nodded.  “You’re right.  I’ll watch what I say.”

The train began slowing down, and the conductor called out their stop.  The sisters
waited for the train to stop moving before they stood to get off. 
Ellen
wondered how they’d find
the right men
, but
decided they’d figure it out once they were off the train.

They slowly went to the front of the passenger car and down the steps.  Standing on
the platform, Ellen scanned the crowd hoping she’d see the men they were waiting for. 
She reached out to squeeze her sister’s hand to give them both a bit of confidence
as they waited to meet the men they’d spend the rest of their lives with.

After a minute two tall dark haired men approached them.  They were each wearing slacks,
white shirts and vests.  Ellen’s eyes zeroed in on the slimmer of the two men.  As
their eyes met, she felt a tingle in her belly. 
That must be Wesley.
She stepped forward, offering her hand to him.

“I’m so glad to finally meet you
,
”
she said.
His hand gripped hers, not too hard, but solidly.  She couldn’t believe how drawn
she was to him.  His brown eyes seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. 

He smiled.  “It’s nice to meet you.  I’ve been looking forward to your arrival.” 
He tucked her hand into his arm and walked with her toward the buggy.
Wow
, he thought.  He wasn’t sure what he’
d expected, but the beautiful woman walking beside him passed his every expectation.

She walked with him, forgetting all about their trunk.  After a moment, she stopped
short.  “Our trunk!”
  He would think she was silly, forgetting something so important because she’d been
lost in his brown eyes.

He laughed.  “I guess it should have occurred to me that you’d have luggage.  I was
so lost in your beauty, I wasn’t thinking straight.”

Ellen blushed.  She’d never been called a beauty before.  Was he just trying to flatter
her or was he being sincere?  She pointed toward the platform.  “I can see they just
unloaded it.”
  She walked back toward the platform, still clinging to his arm.

Ellen
could see Malinda off in the distance being helped into a buggy.  When they reached
the platform, he put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a coin.  “Would you be
willing to deliver that to the black buggy over there?” he asked, indicating the buggy.

The uniformed man nodded.  “Right away, sir.” 

Ellen and the man walked slowly back toward the buggy.  “
I’m glad you were able to get the day off to come get us,” she whispered.
  She’d never seen a man as handsome as he was.  He was dressed immaculately, and
his brown eyes seemed to dance as they looked down at her.

He smiled.  “I wouldn’t have missed it.”

Once they reached the buggy, he handed her up into the front seat beside him.  She
could see that Malinda was already sitting happily in the back seat.  Ellen turned
and smiled at the man sitting beside her sister.
  Just because he was a banker didn’t mean she should treat him poorly.
  “You must be Patrick.”

The man blinked twice then laughed.  “I’m Wesley.  You’re sitting next to Patrick.”
  He shook his head.  “Please tell me you’re Malinda.”

Ellen blushed.  She’d been so focused on the man she hadn’t bothered to learn his
name, just immediately assuming he was Wesley.  She looked at Patrick.  “You’re Patrick? 
I’m Ellen.”  She bit her lip.  Now what?  She’d come out here not necessarily thinking
she’d meet a man she was attracted to, but certain love could come on its own.  Now
that she’d met them, she knew she didn’t want to marry Wesley.  She wasn’t attracted
to him at all.  The shocked look on Malinda’s face told her she felt the same way
about Patrick.