Mail Order Mistake (2 page)

Malinda shook her head.  “There has to be! 
Father
wouldn’t leave us destitute.”

Ellen looked at her sister and shook her head.  “
Father
didn’t mean to die.  He didn’t know he was leaving us.”  He’d had a heart attack
while weeding the corn fields, and they’d found him when he didn’t come home for supper. 
Ellen placed a hand on Malinda’s shoulder comfortingly.  “I’m so sorry.”

Malinda felt a moment of sheer panic.  What were they going to do with no money and
no one to make any for them?  They’d have to find a job, but what could they do? 
She’d make a good farm assistant, but there was nothing else she felt qualified for.

“Let’s go make dinner.  We have one more pot of beans left.”  Ellen stood and went
down to the kitchen, not waiting for Malinda to follow her. 

Malinda stared around their father’s
sparse
room for another minute or two
before standing to go down to help.  Ellen was right. They had searched everywhere
there was to search.  What else was left?

She walked to the kitchen and saw Ellen boiling the beans.  “Are we going to have
cornbread with them?”

Ellen shook her head.  “We have only a little bit of cornmeal left.  I thought we
could have beans now and cornbread for supper.”

Malinda nodded sadly.  She hated beans, but she could tolerate them if she had cornbread
with them.  She knew her sister was right, though.  She’d seen Ellen making sure she
took smaller portions so Malinda could eat more.  She’d started to protest, but her
dresses were already hanging off her.  Arguing would be futile anyway.

“After supper, I’m going to take Father’s rifle and see if I can get some meat.  We
have to have something more.”  Malinda looked at Ellen.  “Maybe you could come and
see if you can find some berries.  Between us, we should be able to get enough food
for another meal or two.”

Ellen looked at Malinda skeptically.  “You’ve never shot the gun.  I don’t think it’s
a good idea.”

Malinda sighed.  “It’s better than starving to death.”

It was while they were doing the lunch dishes and talking about how they would survive
that a banker came to the house.  Malinda couldn’t force herself to speak as she watched
Ellen argue with the man.  Father had hated bankers, so at first, Malinda couldn’t
force herself to believe the man’s words, but Father’s signature had been there clear
as day on the bottom of the contract.  They had nothing.  Three days to get out and
they could take their clothes.  Nothing else.

The sisters quickly made a plan to go to town and find jobs.  They hoped they could
stay together because in all of her nineteen years, Malinda had been with her sister
every day.

Malinda stared at the buggies going by on the street as Ellen quickly scanned through
the newspaper’s help wanted section.  Surely there would be some job they could do
where they could be close together.  Maybe Ellen could cook for a family while she
took care of their garden?  That made no sense.  Besides, she’d come to hate being
outside because it reminded her too much of their father.

“Anything?” Malinda asked when Ellen
looked up from the paper
.

Ellen read aloud an advertisement for mail order brides.  What was she thinking? 
How could they possibly be together if they both married and moved off to God knows
where? 

She agreed, because there seemed to be no alternative, and they made the walk to Rock
Creek Road where the advertisement had said to speak with
Mrs.
Harriett Long.  Malinda was in shock when she saw the obviously wealthy home.  She’d
never seen a home that beautiful, let alone had business there.

She let Ellen do the talking again.  She was introduced to a tall dark man,
she assumed was
the butler who led them in to see Mrs. Long.  Harriett was a big surprise for Malinda. 
She was a beautiful young woman.  She couldn’t have been more than thirty.  Her hair
was pulled back in the latest fashion, and her dress must have been silk. 
When she stood, she did so favoring one leg. 

Ellen looked at the two letters Harriett handed her and handed one off to Malinda. 
Malinda read it carefully.  “Dear potential bride, My name is Patrick Harris, and
I’m a banker in the town of
Gammonsville,
Colorado.  I moved here with my brother and was able to strike it rich in the gold
mines.  I’m looking for a woman between
the ages of eighteen and twenty-
four who wouldn’t mind hosting occasional parties for other bankers.  She must be
of good moral character, and as I would like a child or two, I’d like her to be in
good health.  Looks are not terribly important to me.  I myself am tall with dark
hair and dark eyes.  I work a lot of hours, so you must be able to entertain yourself. 
I hope to hear from you soon.  Yours, Patrick.”

Malinda stared at the words.  She could handle hosting a party and had no trouble
keeping herself occupied.  She loved the idea of being married to a banker, not because
she wanted to be wealthy, but because she couldn’t stand the idea of being poor. 
She was terrified of finding herself in the type of situation she was in now ten years
down the road when she had young children to worry about. 

She re-read the letter one more time, making certain she’d missed nothing.  He said
nothing about looking for a good woman to love or caring anything about who the woman
was.  Just that she have good morals, be able to bear children and willing to host
parties.  He sounded easy to please. 

She only half listened as Harriett and Ellen made arrangements for the two of them
to stay at Harriett’s as they waited for their responses from the brothers.  When
Harriett handed her a pen, ink and paper to respond, she got to work immediately.

“Dear Patrick, I’m nineteen years old, and have good strong morals.  I go to church
every week and try to live the way the Bible teaches.  I know you said you don’t care
what a woman looks like, but just so you know, I have dark hair and brown eyes.  I
enjoy reading a great deal.  I’ve recently lost my father and am still mourning his
death.  He was a man every father should aspire to be like. 
I will never stop missing him.  I have no problem entertaining myself and I’m in good
health.  My sister Ellen is responding to your brother’s letter.  I hope we’ll be
able to stay together, because she’s the only family I have left, and I can’t imagine
what life would be like without her in it.  I would be happy to occasionally host
dinner parties for your fellow bankers.  I’ve never done anything like that, but I’m
certain I could learn.  I hope to hear from you soon.  Yours
,
Malinda.”

She read back over her words carefully, making sure she’d spelled everything correctly
and had used good penmanship.  She didn’t want to make a bad first impression on him. 
Finally she handed the letter to Harriett, who read it over quickly and folded it. 

They made arrangements to come back the following morning, and the two sisters started
the short walk home.  They’d have to carry everything they owned through the streets
of Beckham the following day.  The only thing they had to pack their clothes into
was a large trunk.  She shuddered as she thought of the sight they would make, each
of them hefting the edge of a large trunk as they walked through town.
  Maybe they could drive the wagon into town and then leave it at the bank.
  It was the only way she could think to keep from having to carry it down the street.

“It’s going to be strange not living on the farm.”  Malinda couldn’t stand the thought
of having to go somewhere else.
  The farm was the only home either of them had ever known.

“I know, but it’ll be fine.  We’ll get used to it.”  She sighed.  “Do you like the
idea of marrying the banker?”

Malinda shrugged.  “Honestly, I don’t like the idea of marrying at all, but if I do
have to marry, I’d rather it was someone with enough money that I wouldn’t have to
worry about where my next meal would come from.”  She patted her stomach.  “Speaking
of which, we’re having cornbread for supper?”

Ellen nodded.  “I know it’s not much by itself, but we do have a little bit of honey
left that I’ve been saving for when we ran out of beans.  I knew it would make the
cornbread better.”

Malinda smiled.  “And we have that fresh butter I churned yesterday.  It’ll feel like
a feast.”

“Hopefully we can save a piece or two for breakfast in the morning.”

Malinda nodded.  She knew her sister was right, although she was ready to gobble up
any food she saw.
  She told herself she would never go hungry again.  No matter what it took, she would
find a way to feed herself an
d
any children she may have.

During dinner, Malinda looked at Ellen with her eyes twinkling.  “You know what I
think we should do?  Leave the dishes without washing them.  Then the banker would
have all of Mother’s dishes, but he’d have to wash them!”
  She was only half joking as she asked.  If Ellen agreed, she knew she’d jump at
the chance to do it.

Ellen shook her head.  “The banker didn’t force Father to sign the papers.  We’ll
leave the house as tidy as we’d want to find it.”

Malinda sighed.  Sometimes Ellen was so good that she felt like she paled in comparison. 
She so badly wanted to do something mean for the banker, but Ellen would frown at
everything.  Maybe she could hide a couple of eggs under her bed, and they’d start
to smell before the banker got around to doing anything with her room.  She smiled
at the thought, but immediately rejected it.  Ellen was right.  It wasn’t the banker’s
fault they had no money.

*****

They drove the wagon to town the following morning and Ellen and Malinda carried the
huge chest into Harriett’s home, but were stopped when they said they’d take it upstairs
themselves. 

“I’ll see to it.  Mrs. Long is waiting for you.”  Higgins took them back to the office
where Harriett was waiting for them.
  Although Higgins was very polite and formal, Malinda had the feeling he didn’t approve
of her and Ellen being there.

Harriett slowly got to her feet and smiled.  “I’m so glad you’re here.  I have several
things I need to get done today, and I was hoping you’d be willing to get straight
to work.”

Ellen bit her lip.  “I need to take our wagon to the bank, and let the banker know
it’s there.  We couldn’t
bring
our
trunk without it.”

“Oh, that’s fine.  Will you stop at the post office and get my mail while you’re out? 
That would help me tremendously.”

Ellen nodded with a smile.  “I’ll even be able to run the errand faster with the wagon. 
Good.  I was worried.”

“I’m not an evil task-master.  I’m simply thrilled to have company and help for a
while.  Honestly, I’m as excited about the companionship as I am about the work.”

“We’re very grateful for your hospitality and will do our best to make sure that we
don’t take advantage.”  She looked at Malinda.  “You’ll stay here and help Mrs. Long
with whatever she needs?”

Malinda nodded, annoyed that Ellen felt she needed to tell her to work.
  She wasn’t a child and had done her share around the house for years.
  “I’d be happy to.”

Harriett smiled at the by-play between the sisters.  “Please, both of you call me
Harriett.  We’re going to be house-mates for a while, and the formality would drive
me crazy.”  Once Ellen was gone, Harriett sat back down in her chair and indicated
the sofa for Malinda.  “Did you get a good breakfast this morning?”

Malinda shrugged.  “We had some cornbread.”

Harriett made a face.  “I’ll have Higgins bring in some tea and cookies, and I’ll
be certain cook fixes a hearty lunch for us all.  I’m hungry too.”  She started to
stand, but Malinda held up her hand. 

“I’ll go tell them if you’d like.  It’s not a problem.”

Harriett sighed.  “That would be nice.  My leg is bothering me more than usual today. 
It’s probably going to rain tomorrow.”  She laughed.  “I sound like a crotchety old
man predicting the weather with my bum leg.”

“What happened to your leg?”
  Normally Malinda wouldn’t have asked, but when Harriett brought it up, she decided
the subject wasn’t taboo.

A wary look passed over Harriett’s face.  “I fell down a flight of stairs.”

“I’m so sorry.”  Malinda could tell there was more to the story, but she didn’t feel
like Harriett wanted to talk about it so she stood and went to talk to Higgins, who
she
found in the hallway outside the room.
 

When she came back, she sat down on the couch.  “What do you want me to do first?”

Harriett sighed and looked at the huge pile of papers on her desk.  “Would you mind
sorting through these?  On each letter where I’ve already sent a bride out, I’ve put
a check mark in the upper right hand corner. 
I want you to put the letters from the men together with the letters from the women
after I receive them.  There should be two letters from each woman which will be filed
with the letter from the man.  Am I even making sense?”