Mail Order Mix Up (11 page)

Patrick dropped a kiss onto the top of her head.  “I need to go.  I need to get up
early in the morning to let everyone know our plans.”  He tilted her chin up so he
could see her face.  “Are you going to be okay?”

She nodded.  “I’ll be fine.  It’s just a sister thing.”
  She knew Malinda would eventually forgive her, and she knew they’d work it out. 
That’s what they did.

They walked to the front door together, stopping to let Wesley know Patrick was leaving. 
Wesley and Malinda were speaking in hushed tones, and Wesley just nodded.  “I’ll see
you at the house.”

Patrick kissed her goodnight and shut the door behind him.  “I can’t wait for you
to be my bride,” he whispered softly.

“Me neither.”
  She practically floated up the stairs as she thought about how wonderful her life
would be after she’d married Patrick.

Chapter Six

Ellen didn’t wait for Malinda to finish talking to Wesley before going up to bed. 
She knew there was a confrontation coming with her younger sister, but she just didn’t
want to deal with it.  She was getting married in the morning, and she was determined
she was going to be happy about it, no matter how Malinda felt.

She quickly changed into her white summer nightgown.  It was sleeveless and went to
her ankles.  The fabric was lightweight and perfect for sleeping in Massachusetts
in the summer, but she’d found it was a little thin for Colorado.  She’d had to tear
up her winter nightgown for rags at the end of the winter, though, because it was
too frayed to continue wearing
.  She was sure she could get another made before winter set in.

As she braided her hair for the night, she thought about what Patrick had said about
wanting to see her hair down.  Quickly she undid the part of the braid she’d already
done, and stepped in front of the small mirror above his dresser.  She pulled her
curtain of hair over her shoulder and looked at it in the mirror. 
It was longer than even she had realized almost touching her knees.  She thought so
little about it she hadn’t noticed it getting longer.

Quickly she rebraided her hair and slipped between the sheets.  She was ready to sleep. 
It had been a long emotional day, and tomorrow would be another. 

Just as she closed her eyes, the door to her room slammed open, and she propped herself
up on one elbow facing the door.  “Yes, Malinda?”
  No one could make an entrance quite like her sister could.

“Why couldn’t you have just waited a few more days for my decision?”
Malinda yelled.

Ellen lay back with her head on the pillows.  They’d been over this so many times. 
Why couldn’t she just accept it?  “Because I was going to marry him no matter what
you decided.  Why should I wait just because you can’t make up your mind?”

“What am I going to do now?  If I don’t marry Wesley, I have nowhere to go!”

Ellen shook her head.  “You do have somewhere to go.  You can stay in the room you’re
already in.  Patrick isn’t going to care.  Maybe you can just live with us and keep
stringing Wesley along for a year or two.”

“Stringing him along?  I’m not stringing him along!”

“What exactly are you doing then?  You care for him.  You obviously want to marry
him, but you won’t tell him that.  Why not?”

Tears escaped Malinda’s eyes.  “You really don’t understand, do you?”

“No, I really don’t.  I think you’re being unfair to three other people while you
try to decide which is more important.  Love or money.  I assure you, love is much
more important.”  She sighed.  “Are you going to be at my wedding or not?”

Malinda sank down on the bed with Ellen, brushing the tears off her face with the
back of her hand.  “Of course, I’m going to be at your wedding.  I wouldn’t miss it.”

Ellen smiled, grasping her sister’s hand in hers.  “I’m happy to hear it.  For a while
there I was certain you were going to ignore nineteen years of sisterhood over money.”
  Now that Malinda was calming down, Ellen knew they could talk openly and everything
would be fine between them.

“It’s not just that.  I’m scared.  I care about Wesley.  I really do.  But I’m not
sure that I’m ready to be anyone’s wife.”

“I know.  I don’t think anyone is ever sure of that.  You just have to trust your
heart and move on with your life.”
  Ellen sat up with her back to the headboard.

“Aren’t you scared?”

Ellen blushed.  “Sure, a little.  But I know Patrick well enough to know he’d never
do anything to hurt me.  He cares about me.”

“And I know that about Wesley, too, but I talked to Harriett about…well, marital relations. 
She said the first time really hurts.”

Ellen didn’t respond because she knew that Harriett had a very different sort of marriage
tha
n
Wesley and Malinda would have.  She hadn’t been happy at all, and she knew that Malinda
would be.  The way Wesley looked at her told everyone how much he cared for her.

“Aren’t you worried about the wedding night?” Malinda asked.

Ellen nodded.  “Obviously not as much as you are.  When Patrick touches me, I don’t
want him to stop.  God wouldn’t have made the way to make children pleasurable for
just men.  Besides, I’ve had friends who have married and they said only good things
about the marriage bed.  I really don’t think we have anything to be afraid of.”
  She reached out and patted Malinda’s hand, hoping she would be calmer.

Malinda bit her lip.  “Do you think if I married Wesley tomorrow he’d agree to wait
for relations until I felt comfortable with it?”

Ellen shook her head.  “I don’t think you should even ask that of him.  I think if
you marry him, he has every right to expect a wedding night.”
 

“Well, if I marry him and I’m not having relations with him, I’ll still be cooking,
and cleaning, and doing all the other things he needs his wife to do.  I’ll just sleep
in his spare bedroom.”

Ellen let out a short laugh.  “You wouldn’t like his spare bedroom.  Patrick says
the mattress is lumpy and almost impossible to sleep on.”

“Well, I may talk to him about it in the morning before the wedding.  I decided to
go in my wedding dress just in case I decide to marry him tomorrow as well.  It seems
unfair that you and Patrick are marrying before Wesley and I are.”

“That’s your decision, though.  Patrick and I decided we wanted to marry and left
it at that.  You’re the one dragging your feet.”
  Ellen knew the words were unfair as soon as they popped out of her mouth.  She loved
her sister despite their differences.

Malinda stood up.  “I’m sorry I was so mean to you about your decision to marry Patrick. 
I know you care about him, but I know you care about me as well.”

Ellen smiled up at her sister. 
“I’m really glad you’re going to be there when I marry Patrick.”

“How could I miss that?  Of course, I’ll be there!”

Ellen watched as Malinda left the room, and then rolled to her side, snuggling into
the pillow.  She was marrying a wonderful man, and her sister would be there with
her.  What more could she ask for?

*****

Ellen went to the kitchen first thing the following morning as had become her habit.
There were more pots going than Ellen had dreamed possible.  Alice was obviously
going all out as she fixed the special wedding lunch Ellen had requested.
Alice turned from the stove and smiled.  “How’s the bride this morning?”

Ellen felt as if her grin would split her face.  “The bride is excited and nervous
and happy all at once.”  She felt as if she was floating as she skipped into the kitchen
and took the toast Alice had fixed for her. 
She sat at the table in the kitchen and slathered blackberry jam onto the toast. 
“You make the best blackberry jam I’ve ever tasted.  I’m going to have to get some
cooking lessons from you.”

Alice nodded.  “You can cook with me anytime.  Just don’t get rid of me, please.” 
She said it with a laugh, because she already knew Ellen well enough to know she wouldn’t
do anything of the sort.  “My friend will be here in an hour to help you get ready. 
What time is the wedding?”

“Ten.”

“That should work out just fine then.  You can take a nice hot bath and by the time
you’re done, she’ll be here to fix your hair.”

Ellen nodded.  “That sounds nice.  Thanks so much for setting that up for me.”

“It’s no problem.  I’d do anything to help Mr. Patrick get married to a girl who obviously
has tender feelings for him.  I really didn’t like the idea of him marrying Malinda
after I’d met her.”

Ellen sighed.  “Malinda is truly a good person.  She’s just scared of a lot of different
things.  I think she’ll marry Wesley today.”  She finished her toast and stood.  “I’m
going to go get started on that bath.”

“I’ve got hot water heating now.  I’ll carry some up for you if you’d like.”

“Absolutely not.  You have enough extra work to do with cooking the wedding lunch. 
I’ll get it myself.  It’ll make me feel useful for a change.”  The only thing Ellen
was still worried about with being married to Patrick was the amount of free time
she had.  How quickly could she look for volunteer work to do without him thinking
that being married bored her?

Once the tub was full of warm water, she sank down into it.  She washed her hair with
the soap Mrs. Smith had provided, and made sure she was clean from head to toe.  She
had just stepped out and dried herself when there was a knock at the door.  Wrapping
herself in the towel, she peeked out.

“Alice sent me?  She said you needed help with your hair for your wedding.”  The girl
in front of her could be no older than
sixteen or
seventeen.  She was wearing a frayed dress that was as clean as could be. 
Her hair was a bright red, and she spoke with a
slight
Irish accent.

“Come in!  You’re just in time.”  She looked around.  “Would a robe be a good thing
to wear?  I’ve never had anyone fix my hair for me before.”
  She was looking forward to it, though.  It would be nice to have her hair fussed
with.

The girl nodded.  “A robe would be perfect.”

Ellen turned her back to the girl and dropped her towel,
wrapping the robe around her
.  She’d never been overly modest, but undressing in front of anyone went against
the grain.  “Where do you want me to sit?  And what’s your name?”

The girl smiled.  “I’m Angela.  I guess I should have told you that.”
  She looked around the room, and finally pulled the arm chair from the corner
placing it in the center of the room
.  “This will do nicely.”

Ellen sat down while the girl pulled out a brush and some hairpins.  She chattered
away about how much she loved weddings while she brushed Ellen’s hair dry.  When she
was finished, she carefully pinned up section after section. 

“How are you fixing it?”
  She hoped it would be a style Patrick would like.  Not that he seemed overly fussy,
but she wanted an elegant look for her wedding to him.

Angela grinned.  “I want you to be surprised.  I think you’ll like it.”

Ellen bit her lip as she considered.  “Do you have time to do my sister’s hair as
well?”

“Oh, of course.  I have all the time in the world.” 

Ellen had never had anyone fuss with her hair the way Angela was.  She and Malinda
had dressed each other’s hair when they were young, just playing around with different
styles, but neither of them had ever had anyone who knew what they were doing fix
their hair for them.

Finally, Angela pushed the last pin in her hair and moved around in front of Ellen. 
“That’s perfect.  Have a look.”  She gestured to the mirror over the dresser and Ellen
stood to peer into it.

Her hair had been fixed in a style she’d never before seen.  It was as if it had been
rolled from the bottom up all over her head.  She smiled and nodded.  “That’s perfect. 
Patrick’s going to love it.”

Angela looked excited that she’d liked it.  “You’re a lucky woman to be marrying Patrick
Harris.  He’s a good man.”

Ellen nodded.  “H
e really is.  I think I’m very fortunate
to marry him.”  She opened the door and knocked on Malinda’s door across the hall.

Once the door was opened, she could see her sister had taken a bath as well and was
in the process of getting ready.  “Malinda, this is Angela.  She’s just finished fixing
my hair for me, and I thought maybe you’d like her to do yours as well.”

Malinda’s eyes widened and she smiled.  “Oh, I’d love that!”  She grabbed Angela’s
arm and pulled her into the room closing the door in Ellen’s face.  Ellen let out
a half laugh as she went back into her bedroom, knowing she’d been dismissed.

She pulled her wedding dress down from where it hung in the closet, and dropped her
robe.
After pulling on the stack of undergarments she’d laid out for herself, s
he carefully stepped into the dress, although she knew there was no way she’d be able
to button every button.  She’d planned to ask Malinda to help her, but she was ensconced
in her room with Angela, and Ellen was certain she wouldn’t see her again for a while.