Mail Order Love (Sweet Mail Order Bride Historical Romance Novel) (Oregon Mail Order Brides) (5 page)

Jared knew his Grammy had a strong mind and was not to be trifled with. When she set her mind on something she was like a hurricane bowling through town. No way to stop her. Still, this was going too far. This was his life she was meddling with. His personal life. His romantic life. It was something he never spoke about to anyone, not even his beloved Grammy.

He shook his head slightly and threw a tolerant look in her direction.

“We’ll talk about this later, Grammy, all right?”

Michael and David found the whole scene pretty hilarious. It was good entertainment after a hard day’s work. They took any chance they could to kick back and have a laugh. The generous meal and multiple beers only increased their good cheer.

After Grammy had gone to bed, the three men pulled up their chairs to the fire. The front room was humming with warmth. The fire crackled merrily in the grate and gave off a comforting smell of wood smoke. It hissed and popped every now and then. Jared put another log on. He shoved the wood into the hot embers and the men watched a cloud of red sparks billow up.

Eric and Fairy loped over. They had a meaty meal in their tummies and were ready for the lie down they had been looking forward to. They flopped down either side of the fire.

The three men sat together for a while, enjoying the pull of the comfortable seats, the ample beer, the fire, the crackles and the smoke. They luxuriated in the soporific feeling of having eaten more than they needed.

Michael and David didn’t often get a chance to hang loose with Jared and relax. Usually they would be working together all day and talk would be about the job at hand.

There was a certain distance between Jared and his men as they sat back and absorbed the glow of the fire. Michael and David were aware that their jobs depended on their good behavior.

“We sure are grateful for this fine food and the warm up, Jared. Your grandma is one great woman,” David offered.

Emboldened by the beer, Michael ventured to ask, “So, looking forward to your new lady wife tomorrow, Jared?”

Jared rolled his eyes and surveyed his workmen.

“Well, maybe she’ll be my ideal girl. I’m due for a blessing from heaven, I think.”

Jared stared at an imaginary horizon as he considered this for a moment. Then he leapt up.

“Flaxen braids arranged like this over her head, she’ll have.” The men laughed as Jared circled his hand around his head. “Rosy round cheeks. Round all over, I think, especially here, and here.” Jared gestured as he conjured up his ideal wife. The men got stuck in laughing fits while Eric and Fairy lifted their heads from their paws and looked up at Jared, dismayed.

“Of course she will be a tall and robust woman with nice strong muscles. The kind of woman you can roll around with. I’ll let her take care of all the work in the house and garden and she’ll do it in a flash. A fine, strong, capable, brisk, buxom, blonde lass, that’s what I’ll expect tomorrow.”

Michael and David stayed a little longer before making their excuses. Tomorrow would be an early start just like every other day.

Hearing the door finally shut behind them, Jared sunk down further into his battered old chair in front of the fire and shoved out his legs. He let out a sigh as he took a cinnamon-colored twist of tobacco from his pocket and used a papery corn shuck husk to roll up a cigarette. He lit it and smoked it slowly, blowing the smoke out direct at the red embers in the grate.

“What do you think then, Eric, Fairy? Good idea?” Jared murmured, staring deep into the glow.

Eric loped over and stretched his chin onto Jared’s thigh, looking up at him.

Jared felt one hot wiry velvet ear and rested his hand on the dog’s head. Eric raised his hairy eyebrows, pulling them together and up toward the center of his forehead. He made a gentle questioning whine as he looked into Jared’s face.

“You know what’s right, don’t you boys? What do you think, should I go tomorrow? I guess I have to, though I’ve no idea how to behave around a woman who’s come to be my bride.”

Jared looked into the fire and for a moment it seemed like the weight of the world was on him. His eyes were dark green in this light, each holding a reflection of the red embers. Jared looked like nothing could shake him out of this state. His face fell a little and the skin between his brows bunched together. He let out a deep sigh.

His dogs watched him anxiously, their eyes on his private face that no one else ever saw. Jared was needing something, that was for sure.

Chapter 9

Ellie was nearing the end of her train journey out west to Oregon State. Although the journey had been long and grueling, it was easier for Ellie than the hard manual work she was used to. She had planned to sleep through much of her journey, but she had felt too excited and restless to slumber. Instead of sleeping she looked out of the window and thought.

As she watched the rolling hills she knew that every mile brought her closer to her destiny. She celebrated within herself with every new variety of tree she saw. The stranger the countryside around her looked, the happier she felt. It meant she was getting farther and farther away from Boston.

Ellie prayed that her new employers would be decent people who would allow her to remain free in heart and spirit. Still, surely anything would be better than Ursula and Gergmins. Her new employers were unlikely to try and marry her off to a monster, and if she didn’t like the job she could leave.

Although Ellie was worried, she felt happier than she had felt since her family had died. She was free at last. Free right now, riding in this train to an unknown situation.

It was shocking how easily everything had slid into place once she had published her advert and got the reply.

Come right away, you will be very welcome. No references required, we trust you. Tickets enclosed from Boston to Oregon.

It had seemed a little informal to Ellie, even eccentric. Was this how people did business in Oregon?

Back in Boston she had awoken before dawn and slipped out as silent as a mouse. It had still been dark when she had left the house and she planned to wait at a teashop in the center of town before catching her train.

She had all her worldly belongings with her in one small trunk. Two spare work dresses, a petticoat and underdress, two bonnets, her Bible, and her lace collars and cuffs for Sunday best. She wore her smartest blue work dress. Around her neck was the only piece of jewelry she owned, the locket her Ma had given her.

She had been overjoyed to leave the house.
Good riddance.
She vowed never to return to the place, and never to set foot in Boston again either. The only regret she had was leaving Briggs, though she hoped that somehow she would see him again one day.

Briggs had prepared a small set of provisions to sustain her through her journey, and had given them to her the night before, carefully wrapped up in wax paper. He had been to the market and got her a treat. A slice of dark pink chewy salted ham. He had packed the ham with some slices of bread which he had spread with hot yellow mustard. There were hard biscuits and some small apples in the package too. They bade each other farewell that night.

“I admit, miss, I am both envious of you leaving and sorry to see you go because I will miss you. Whoever these people are, they are lucky to have you, remember that.”

Ellie was not so sure about that. She had not told a lie in her advert, for she certainly was a good housekeeper. However her body was still weak and thin as a result of the typhoid. She didn’t have the robustness and power needed to manage a large household properly. Maybe she could manage a very small house.

The illness had left her with nerve problems which meant she would drop things unexpectedly, a source of great anger and irritation to Ursula. She had also sustained inner ear damage which meant she would fall over when an unexpected dizzy spell knocked her sideways.

Added to that, she had no idea how to cook. When her family was sick she had tended to their needs, but they hadn’t had much food to prepare. They had survived on bread and scraps.

When she had moved to Ursula’s house, Ellie had eagerly asked if she might take care of the food preparation. Cooking was something she felt drawn to and wanted to do. As a result, she had not been allowed to cook anything. It was as if Ursula had taken a note of her desires and made a point of making sure they would not be fulfilled.

Ellie felt overwhelmingly grateful that there were people out here in the west who were prepared to take her on. They had no assurance of her abilities. She felt every determination to make these folks glad they had chosen her. She resolved to make up for her lack of strength by working longer hours. That is what she had done at Ursula’s house and that is what she would do here.

It had to work out. She had no other option.

Ellie could see from the scenery that they would soon pull into the station and she would meet her new employer. Her stomach started turning somersaults though she showed no outward sign of it.

Her slim pale face was cool and composed, and her brown hair was pulled into a low bun with her bonnet firmly tied over the top. The smokestack on the train had blown a cinder and slightly singed her work dress. She had smothered it out quickly but it had left a small black mark.

Earlier, in private, she had carefully wiped her face with the new white handkerchief she had saved for the purpose. She had checked her reflection. At least there were no sooty marks on her skin.

There were a couple of slight scratches still showing on her face from her tumble into the garden escaping Gergmins. Ellie hoped they were not too noticeable. The main thing was to look clean, neat and presentable. Like a suitable housekeeper.

As the train slowed and pulled to a halt, Ellie spotted a tall young man standing very still on the station with two large intelligent-looking gray dogs sitting at his boots. He looked like he was in another world. Not on a train station at all. Not waiting for a train. Not even noticing it pulling in.

He had an attractive, noble face with a high forehead. His deep-set eyes looked piercing even from this distance, and he had a largish nose set above a strong chin and jaw. There was something peaceful about the way he stood there, motionless, in his big black boots and hat.

Ellie watched him, fascinated. Then she jolted herself back to reality.

This is it. He could be my employer. He most likely is my employer, as he is the only person standing on that platform.

Ellie lugged her trunk, and as the train doors opened, she took her first step into the land of the west.

Chapter 10

Jared had awoken that morning with a groan. What had he agreed to? He had work to do on the farm. Cattle to tend to. His workmen could keep things running while he was gone, but what a waste of time this was going to be.

He could not back out now. The lady would be arriving later on in the day and he could not abandon her and leave her waiting at the station. Grammy had really gone too far this time. She did these things on impulse sometimes. This time she had done it again, and it was going to cause problems all round.

Some tiny part of him wondered if this mail order bride might be the flaxen-haired lady he had dreamed up the night before. He was going to meet a fine lady from Boston who was coming to be his wife.

Jared had got up in one fast bound, shaking the covers off him as if to rid himself of the nonsense thought. He had set his mind on the day at hand and decided to get some extra work done in the time he had before leaving.

Now Jared was standing at the station. He had arrived early and had been waiting there for thirty minutes.

Elizabeth Bates, twenty-one years of age. That was all he knew. No description, no height, no hair color, nothing.

He stood without moving a hair, his eyes fixed on a point far away, thinking of anything but trains. His parents had died in a train crash.

It had been a senseless, stupid, random event. There was no point thinking about it, and he never did, except when his nighttime dreams shoved it back in his face. Most of the time he kept his head on straight, kept working, kept moving forward and didn’t chew over the past.

Right now, standing at the train station, he didn’t want to think about it either. So he mentally counted his cattle, noting their individual markings in his mind.

As Jared stood there tall and poised, Eric and Fairy lay by his feet. They waited patiently, trusting there was a point to all this standing around.

Eric’s ears pricked up and Fairy’s followed suit. There was a distant squeal of a steam train as it wound through the mountains and pulled round toward the town. The dogs hauled themselves up and sat expectantly either side of Jared on the dusty platform.

Jared didn’t move. He didn’t stop counting his cattle.

The train slowed to a halt at the station. Jared kept his eyes fixed ahead, focused on a distant point. A few people were getting off. Gradually the platform cleared. Still he stood, looking ahead. He heard footsteps hesitantly approaching. He could sense someone standing in front of him at a respectful distance. He looked.

A petite woman, or lady he should say, had fixed him with her wide blue eyes and was regarding him quizzically.