Mail Order Millie (3 page)

By the time Michael was back with the milk, she had everything on the table. She’d gulped down a biscuit since she hadn’t eaten since the previous evening, and it had turned out fine. It was a little heavy, but it was certainly edible and didn’t taste bad.

“Do you know what time your pa will be back?” she asked Michael as he put the pail of milk in the basin.

“He was in the barn. It should be just a minute or two.”

She poured milk into the cups, hoping George was okay with drinking milk with his dinner. She didn’t see anything else she could make for them. He didn’t own a coffee pot, and she wasn’t a coffee drinker anyway.

George walked in the door and stopped short. The house wasn’t spotless, but at least the kitchen was clean and the dishes were done. “You’ve worked hard today,” he said. He went to the basin that still had water in it from the dishes earlier and washed his hands. He carried the water to the back door and threw it out the door.

She nodded smiling at his compliment. “Supper’s ready. Go ahead and sit down and I’ll serve us all.”

The children scrambled into their seats, and George took his seat at the head of the table. She went to the stove and carried their bowls of hot stew to everyone. Once she was seated, she picked up her spoon. The children stared at her with wide eyes.

“We wait to thank God for our meal before we eat,” George said. His voice was calm and even with no censure.

She dropped her spoon, her face turning red. She couldn’t believe he’d corrected her like that in front of the children. She bowed her head and waited.

“Thank you, Father, for this meal you’ve provided for us. Thank you for sending Millie to us to be a part of our family. Amen.”

As they lifted their heads, she picked up her spoon. “Did you get a lot done in the fields today?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Not as much as I would have liked with going to town and all, but I got some done. I’m trying to get as much plowing done as I can while the weather is nice.”

“What do you grow here?”

“Corn and wheat. We have some pigs and two cows for our own needs. I usually butcher two or three hogs every fall for some extra money. Martha always put in a kitchen garden, and you’ll need to do the same.” He paused as he broke a biscuit in half. “Mainly we make our money from the corn and wheat.”

She took a bite of the stew and had to fight to keep from spitting it out. It was too salty. She hadn’t added a single bit of salt. Why was it too salty? She took another bite, hoping she could get used to the taste.

George spooned up a bite of the stew and she mentally cringed, waiting for him to complain. He made a face. “Stew is too heavy on the salt.” He said it in a mild voice, but Millie felt as if she’d been yelled at. She knew the stew was terrible.

“
I know, but I didn’t even add salt. I don’t know why it’s so bad.” She stared at her bowl with a confused look on her face.

His eyes widened. “It’s salt pork. Did you wash off the meat before cooking it?”

She shook her head. “I just put all the meat from the jar into the pot.” Millie had never heard of salt pork. In Boston, they rarely had meat, and what they did have was purchased from the butcher the day they cooked it.

He sighed. “Have you never cooked with salted meat before?”

She shook her head. “No. I didn’t know anyone did.”

“From now on, when you cook with meat from one of the jars, make sure you wash off the meat. That will get rid of the extra salt.” He stood and took a lantern outside.

Millie stared down at the food in front of her. The children were eating the biscuits happily, but no one was touching the stew. When George came back, she apologized immediately. “I’m sorry I ruined supper.”

George set a jar of jam on the table. “Strawberry jam fixes everything. You made more biscuits than we’d eat with a meal. Now we can just put jam on them, and we’ll all have full bellies. Next time, you’ll know how to fix the stew.” He paused. “I’ll mix the stew with the hog feed and the pigs will have a great dinner. We won’t let it go to waste.”

Millie walked around the table, picking up each of their bowls of stew and dumped them into the big pot. “I’ll leave this here for you then.”

She sat down and saw the children were enjoying her biscuits with the jam. At least she’d done something right.

After dinner, she asked Michael to fetch another pail of water from the well. She heated it on the stove and immediately got the dishes washed. It only took a few minutes when she wasn’t doing a week’s worth of dishes. George came back in after a few minutes with an empty pot. She scrubbed that out as George put the children down to bed. She carried the old wash water out to the yard and dumped it. She sighed heavily. She’d only been here a few hours and she’d already done more work than she had to do in a week back in Boston.

When he was finished, he asked Millie to sit at the table with him for a bit. “It wasn’t my decision to send off for a mail order bride.” He wasn’t sure the best way to start this conversation, so just jumping right into it seemed like a good way to him.

She stared at him in astonishment. “You weren’t? Who decided to do it then?” Who else could have decided to send for her?

“The ladies from church have been bringing us our meals since Martha died. They got tired of doing it and had a bake sale to raise money for me to get a mail order bride. I’m not ready to be married yet.”

She nodded. “How long ago did you lose Martha?”

He sighed. “It’s been about eight months now. The ladies from church came out and canned for us for the winter, but I don’t know how to cook, and neither does Patience. I needed someone who could cook and clean and take care of the little ones. They came to me and asked me to write my qualifications for a wife in a letter.” He paused. “That’s why I asked for a woman who was at least twenty-one.” He eyed her skeptically. “How old are you, Millie?”

She swallowed hard. “I was eighteen a couple of weeks ago.” She couldn’t meet his eyes as she admitted to the lie, and she stared at her tightly clenched hands on the table.

“I thought you were young. Why did you answer my ad?”

She tried hard to come up with an acceptable answer. Finally she decided the truth was the only answer that could possibly make him understand. “I was raised in an orphanage, and there’s no room once you turn eighteen. They give you a bit of time to find somewhere to go, but even before I was eighteen I was handed a stack of letters for men who needed brides. I picked you.”

He nodded. “Why did you lie to me about your age?” His green eyes seemed to stare straight through her as he waited for her answer. She wanted so much to give the right answer, but knew there wasn’t one.

She flushed. “I didn’t think you’d want me if you knew how old I really was. I figured once you saw me, you wouldn’t care that I’m only eighteen.” She knew she sounded vain even as she said the words. This man wanted a lot more from a wife than a pretty face. He wanted someone who would help him by taking care of his home and his children while he worked. “The other men were either too old or too young. I didn’t want to be stuck in a bad situation.”

“But you didn’t care about what kind of situation you put my family in?” He folded his arms across his chest. “You’re not really a Christian either, are you?”

“No, I am a Christian. I’ve gone to church every Sunday my whole life.” How could he even question whether she was Christian? Everyone she knew was a Christian, most of them church-goers. Of course she was a Christian.

“But you were willing to lie to get what you wanted. That’s not the Christian way.”

She sighed. “I know. I just didn’t know what else to do.” She should be sorry for it, she knew, but she wasn’t. She’d done what she needed to do to put herself in the best position she could. It was just a little lie. Why did he care so much?

“And it didn’t bother you to lie? To the man you were to marry? It didn’t bother you to sin against God?” His kind eyes seemed to look right through her.

She shrugged. “I had to.” She wished she could explain it in a way he’d understand, but he seemed to see everything as either Christian or not Christian. She’d lied, so she wasn’t a Christian? What about forgiveness?

He watched her for a moment, seeing she obviously didn’t get what she’d done wrong. She’d lied, which was a sin, but she thought it was okay, because it was what was best for her. “I’m not going to send you back,” he said. “We’re already married, and I won’t divorce you. God’s word says once you’re married, you’re married for life.” He stared down at the table, which was cleaner than it had been since his wife died. “I want your promise you won’t lie to me anymore. About anything.”

She looked down at her lap. “I promise.”

He nodded. “Good.” He stood and took a Bible down from a shelf against the wall. “I’d like for us to read the scriptures together before bed every night. I’m sure eventually you’ll understand our ways, and we’ll be able to live together happily.”

She nodded. He opened the Bible after sitting back down beside her. He opened it to the book of Matthew. “I want to start by reading the gospel with you. I’m not sure what you’ve learned over the years, but I want you to learn about Christ and what he’s done for us, so you’ll want to always do what’s right.”

She listened as he read the first chapter of the book of Matthew. She didn’t know if anyone had ever taken the time to actually read the Bible with her before, but she didn’t object. Maybe it would help him to see she really was a Christian.

Millie forced herself to get up before the sun the following morning so she could get an early start on the day. There was so much needing to be done and a limited amount of time to do it in. She didn’t know how other women did it. She dressed in the dark and went out into the main room to start a fire.

Grabbing the lantern, she went out to the hen house and hunted for eggs. They’d raised chickens at the orphanage, so coaxing the chickens off the eggs without getting pecked was old hat to her. She was able to collect twenty, and carried them into the house in her apron. She went straight into the kitchen to start cooking. She hoped everyone liked scrambled eggs, because they were the only kind she knew how to cook. Due to the lack of flour, they’d have to eat only eggs. There would be no bread or toast to go with them.

George was in the kitchen when she got back with the eggs. “I’m going out to milk the cow. I’ll be back with milk in a few minutes. Are you going to get started on breakfast?”

She nodded at him tossing a smile over her shoulder. “I hope eggs are okay?” She put the large skillet onto the middle of the stove to heat it.

“Sounds good. Wake the children and have them get dressed before you start cooking, or they’ll never be to the table in time.” He walked out the door without waiting for a response.

Millie woke Patience first, so Patience could get Grace ready for breakfast. She called upstairs to the boys who shouted down they were getting up.

Back in the kitchen, she broke the eggs into a bowl and beat them. She’d never made eggs on her own, but she’d watched it done enough that she felt comfortable doing it. She added a bit of milk as soon as George came back in with it, and poured the eggs into the pan. She added some salt and pepper to the mixture and stood guard over it ready to scrape the eggs from the bottom of the pan to keep them from burning.

“How long ‘til they’re ready?”

“Just a few minutes.” She stood guard over the eggs not really sure how long they took and not wanting to risk them burning. By the time they looked ready, the children had gathered and Patience had set the table. “Please let them be edible,” she mumbled under her breath as she set them on the table in a large bowl.

Once they were seated, she bowed her head along with the others while George prayed softly over their meal. She served them all, and held her breath as George took the first bite. He smiled. “Good eggs.”

Millie exhaled deeply. “Thank you.” She picked up her fork and took a bite of her own. They
were
good. She could make eggs! “I’m sorry I couldn’t make anything else to go with them. I’m hoping to have time to bake some bread today.”

George looked at her steadily. “Why wouldn’t you have time?” He couldn’t fathom what else she had to do.

“I need to take back all of the dishes that belong to the church ladies and go to the store in town. I also need to do the washing.” She didn’t mention the scrubbing the entire house needed. She’d be playing catch up on housework for days to come.

He nodded, realizing the sense of her words. “Why don’t you just go into town for the essentials today, and we’ll take the dishes back on Sunday morning when we go to church?”

She didn’t like the idea and nodded reluctantly. He was her husband, and she needed to obey him, but she was looking forward to meeting the church ladies one by one instead of all at once. “I’ll do that. May I take Patience and Grace with me?”

“Sure. The boys can work in the fields with me.”

As soon as they were finished eating, George gave her a few coins to pay for what they needed from town. “Don’t buy anything we don’t absolutely need. We need to save every penny.”

She nodded. “We just need some basics for cooking.”

“That’s fine then. I’ll go hitch up the team, and you can leave when you’re ready.” He looked at her for a moment. “We’ll work close to the house today, so you just have Patience shout for us when you have lunch ready.” He headed outside with the two boys trailing behind him.

Lunch. Oh no. She hadn’t thought about lunch. What could she possibly make? There was no way she’d have the bread ready in time. “What can I make for lunch?” she asked Patience.

Patience shrugged. “There’s some fruit in the cellar. We eat fruit for lunch a lot.”

Millie thought about it for a moment. She could do the fruit today, and then plan on making enough for dinner every night they could have what was left for lunch the next day. If her dinner hadn’t been such a disaster the night before, maybe she could have done that today. She went outside and around the house. She found a jar of applesauce and several pieces of dried meat. She wasn’t sure what kind it was, but it was better than just having fruit for lunch.

She had put a large pot of water to heat on the stove before sitting down for breakfast, so she washed the dishes and wiped down the table as quickly as she could. She set the dishes to drying on the table rather than distract Patience from Grace by having her dry them.

“Are you ready to show me the way to town?” she asked as soon as she finished.

Patience nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I know the way.”

Millie picked up Grace and carried her out to the wagon. Once Patience was seated, she put her on Patience’s lap and climbed in. She’d never driven a team of horses before, so this was an experience for her. Hopefully she’d watched it done enough that it would seem like second nature.

She drove slowly at first, but as she got the hang of it, she sped the team up. It took them forty-five minutes to reach town. Going more than once a month would probably take too much time from her chores, she thought.

Patience stayed in the wagon while she went inside to choose her purchases. She went to the counter and handed the shopkeeper the list she’d made before going to sleep the night before. He read over the list and nodded. “It’ll take me a few minutes to get all this together,” he told her.

She watched as he put flour, sugar, brown sugar, salt, baking powder, pepper, lard, and corn meal onto the counter. She eyed the penny candy, thinking of the children, but thought about what George had told her about saving every dime, and didn’t get any. She needed to make some dresses for the girls soon, but she’d have to wait until she had the household chores caught up, and she knew she should talk to George about it, so didn’t even look at the bolts of cloth.

The shopkeeper carried the items to her wagon after she’d paid for them. “Thank you so much,” she said as she climbed in and picked up the reins.

They drove along in silence with Patience pointing out the way anytime there was a fork in the road. When they were almost back to the homestead, Millie asked, “Would you mind gathering up all the laundry for me, please? Especially the bedding. None of it looks as if it’s been washed in months. We’ll get everything washed up and the beds made, and the house will be sparkling in no time.”

Patience nodded. “We should be able to get the washing hung up before lunchtime. Papa will be happy to come home and see it on the line.”

Millie smiled. “I’m sure he will.” Maybe then he wouldn’t feel like marrying her was a waste of time.

As soon as they were home, Millie put a pot of water on to boil with Grace at her feet, while Patience gathered all the dirty clothes and bed linens. Millie showed Patience how to wash the clothes with the scrub board and they hung them on the line together. Grace happily played in the yard while they worked together.

As soon as they were finished, Millie went inside to put lunch on the table, while Patience called the men in for lunch. George raised an eyebrow at the simple fare on the table, but didn’t say anything. “Looks like you were busy this morning.”

She nodded. “Would you mind unhitching the team and bringing in the supplies I bought in town before you go back out to the fields? I’d like to get the bread started.”

“I can do that. I’m going to leave Jacob with you this afternoon when Michael and I go back out to the fields. Jacob still needs a nap.”

“That’s fine. I’ll be spending the afternoon inside cooking and doing some more cleaning.”

“That’ll be fine.” He gave her a quick smile to let her know she was doing well before heading outside to do as she’d asked.

After they’d finished the lunch dishes, Patience put Grace down for her nap while Millie sent Jacob to the loft for his. The little boy was fighting to stay awake, and was very reluctant to nap at all.

Millie found her recipes and pulled out the one for bread. She carefully mixed the ingredients, making sure to show Patience what she was doing as she worked. When the dough was mostly kneaded, Millie asked, “Would you like to take a turn kneading the bread?”

Patience’s face lit with excitement. “Mama always said I was too young to help with the bread.”

Millie smiled. “Well, you’re older now. I really am glad I have such a good helper.” Millie was happy to use this as an opportunity to get the little girl to open up and trust her more. She was going to be her mother for a long time, and they would do better if they had a good relationship from the beginning.

Patience worked hard kneading the bread, making sure she did it just as Millie had shown her. After a few minutes, Millie said, “That’s just right. Thank you for your help.” She laid a cloth over the huge mixing bowl, and went to work cleaning up the flour that had spilled.

She took out the medium sized pot and started dinner in it. This time she was careful to rinse off the salt pork before adding it to the pot. She found some carrots and potatoes in the cellar, and she and Patience peeled them and added them to the pork, adding some water as well. She’d thicken it right before serving. Everything had seemed fine the night before except for the salt, so hopefully she was doing it right this time.

Once the stew was cooking, she got a bucket of water, a scrub brush, and some lye soap, and went to work on George’s bedroom. Even the log walls were filthy, so she washed them as well. Patience watched over the stew and listened for the young children while Millie worked. It took her two hours, but by the time she was done, George’s room sparkled.

She walked outside to check the dryness of the sheets and quilts, and smiled. The winds were stronger here, and the bedding had dried faster than expected. She carried in George’s bedding first, and got his bed made up with Patience’s help. “There, how does that look?”

“I’ve never seen a room look so clean!” Patience said in awe.

Millie smiled, looking down at her hands which were red and almost raw from the work she’d been doing. She knew within a few weeks they’d be callused like the other women’s, but right now, they hurt. She rubbed them together and went on, knowing nothing could be done for the pain.

“We’ll do our room tomorrow,” she told Patience. “I’m going to go get the bedding in, and we’ll make up the other beds as soon as our two sleepy-heads wake up from their naps.”

Patience and Millie carefully folded the sheets and quilts carrying them inside. As if on cue, Grace let out a wail to let them know she was ready to get up, so they carried the sheet and quilt for their bed in as they got her up. Patience changed Grace’s diaper while Millie remade the bed.

When she turned around from making it, she saw Jacob leaning against the wall watching her. She smiled down at him and ruffled his hair. “I’m going to climb up to the loft and get your sheets on now, okay?”

He nodded. This family certainly didn’t talk as much as Millie was used to. Hopefully when she started to teach them all, it would be better.

She climbed the steep ladder into the loft, only holding on with one hand as she held the sheets and quilt in her other. Looking around the tiny space, she saw the boys only had room for a bed and a small dresser. She looked in the dresser drawers. There was nothing left. She’d washed everything the family owned today, except what they were wearing. It looked like each of them had two changes of work clothes, and one change of clothes for good.

All the children were growing out of their clothes, and she knew she had some long hours of sewing ahead of her this summer, but the girls’ dresses need to be the first priority. Neither girl had a dress that came much past her knees and it wasn’t proper for them to go out in public that way, even at such a young age.

Once the bed was made, she went back down the ladder and checked on the bread. It had risen beautifully. She made a mental note to write a letter to thank the orphanage’s cook for the recipes.

She slipped four loaves of bread into the oven and stirred the stew. She tasted just a bit to make sure it wasn’t too salty this time. She smiled. It tasted good! She mixed a little flour with water, and added that to the pot, and stirred it a bit more, then moved the pot to the corner of the stove. They’d eat well tonight.

“Patience, where’s the cream?”

Patience looked up from where she was playing with Grace. “Papa pours if off the milk and puts it in a jug in the cellar every morning. He dumped it out before you came yesterday so it would be fresh.”

Millie smiled. She’d noticed the butter churn in the corner. Tomorrow, they’d all make some butter, and they could have fresh butter on their bread. That would be a treat.

It was six before George and Michael came back from the fields. Her perfectly baked bread lay on cloths on the counter, and the stew was ready. She served everyone a big helping, and set the bread on the table. After the prayer, they all watched George as he took the first bite. “This stew is delicious. You did a good job. I guess you remembered to wash the meat this time?” He had a twinkle in his eye as he teased her about her mistake from the night before.