Roberta: Bride of Wisconsin (American Mail-Order Bride 30) (11 page)

Roberta fussed with the ham before putting it into the oven, wiping her sweaty palms on her apron over and over. "What if she thinks my cooking is terrible? What's she like?"

Jakob sighed. "I've told you, I met her for only five minutes. My brother thinks a lot of her though. He says she's beautiful, smart, and a wonderful cook. I swear if the woman were any more perfect he would suggest that she be declared a saint."

"I'm intimidated, and I haven't even met her yet. Oh, I hope the boys are on their best behavior."

Squirt chose that moment to come bounding into the kitchen to attack Roberta's shoe. He apparently thought she should always be barefoot, so he attacked her shoes whenever she wore them in the house.

"And what will we do about Squirt? Should I lock him in the spare bedroom? Or should I let him run around and offend everyone?"

Jakob shrugged. "You need to calm down, Bobbie. I'm sure she's not as perfect as my knucklehead of a brother claims she is. No one could be." He grabbed her into his arms and kissed her madly. "What does her opinion matter anyway? You have two boys that love you and a man who thinks you are the most wonderful thing to ever walk into his life. So what if the puppy misbehaves? We'll just tell the story of how you wandered out into the night to find a stray cat who had lost a litter of kittens to nurse him
—
Why, that story will tell her that you are not to be messed with!"

She laughed. "You make me sound like I'm so much more than I really am. I'm just a woman who loves her family."

"Who has made so many shirts the local store can't take any more, and you have donated every dime of that money to the orphans' home the next town over. You, Roberta Muller, are a very special woman, and you'll never convince me otherwise. If my brother starts bragging on his wife, I'll just tell him how wonderful my wife is. How perfect she is." He bit the side of her neck softly. "How delicious she is."

Lukas chose that moment to wander into the kitchen, and he immediately started making retching sounds. "Do you two ever stop kissing? If you keep it up, pretty soon your lips will fall off."

Bobbie laughed, chasing Lukas around the kitchen and smothering his face with kisses. "And now you have frog-
mutter
germs all over your face! Your uncle will know you've been kissed, and he will think you are girl-crazy!"

Lukas scrubbed at his face as if it burned. "You can't tell! Stop kissing me!"

Jakob laughed. "Someday you'll want kisses from all the girls."

"Maybe I will. But not today! And not from my frog-
mutter
!" Lukas stomped out of the kitchen. "Squirt!"

Bobbie grinned at Jakob. "He likes me."

"Who wouldn't?"

She went back to the pile of potatoes she'd started peeling earlier. "Do you think I should serve sauerkraut? I have some in the basement just in case."

"No! I would feel the need to eat it."

She laughed. "What if your brother's wife likes sauerkraut and tells me I'm a terrible German wife?"

"She won't. He said she's Irish."

"Oh, my best friend was an Irishwoman." She sighed. "You know what, I'm feeling terribly nostalgic today. I think once I have everything under control in the kitchen, I'm going to go and write a letter to Sarah. I miss her so."

"That sounds like a good plan. Do you have all the presents wrapped for tomorrow morning?" His brother and his new wife were going to spend the night in their spare room that night, and stay for Christmas morning.

Bobbie loved the idea of having company, but she was nervous about meeting her new sister-in-law. She wanted to become friends with the girl, but it was so hard to know what she would be like when even Jakob had barely met her.

"I do have everything ready. I even have a new recipe I'm going to try for breakfast in the morning."

"That'll be nice. Where did you get it?" He fully expected her to say it came from Sarah, because her friend was always sending her new recipes to try.

"My new friend Bertha from the train. She came over a few days ago, and she gave me several new recipes to try."

"Oh good. I'm glad you got to know her. I've met her once or twice, but don't feel like I know her well at all. Maybe she can teach you to cook German food like a good wife should."

She made a face at him. "There's actually something I wanted to talk to you about before our Christmas company arrives."

"We're not getting any more pets!" They already had Dog-
mutter
, Squirt, and they'd just gotten two new bunnies in a pen in the back. He felt like his whole world was being overrun by animals.

"No, no more pets for now. But how about something small and new to love anyway?"

He frowned at her for a moment, and then his face lit up in understanding. "You're having a baby?"

She nodded, grinning. "I saw the doctor just yesterday. I wanted it to be a Christmas surprise, and I was going to tell you tomorrow morning, but I decided I should tell you when we don't have guests in the house."

He laughed. "That might be for the best." His gaze dropped to her stomach. "When?"

"The doctors says it will be around the first of September. I hope it's a girl this time."

"You don't like boys?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's not it and you know it! We already have two boys, and I'd like a girl. I want to teach her to cook and sew. I want to make her frilly dresses to wear. I'd be happy with a boy, but a girl would thrill me."

He nodded. "I can't imagine having a girl, but after two boys, I wouldn't complain." He grabbed her to him and hugged her tightly. "Either way, I'm going to be the happiest man alive, and that's going to be one lucky baby."

"Because it has you for a father?"

He laughed. "I was thinking of who its mother would be."

While she waited for her new brother-in-law and his bride, Bobbie removed the letters she'd been saving from the pocket of her apron. Every letter she'd received during the month of December, she had saved to read on Christmas. It would feel as if she and her friends were together, and she would miss them less. She hoped.

She pulled out the first one from Hope, who had gone to New Jersey to marry.

Dear Roberta,

Your letter was most welcome. I can
’
t believe how much I miss our days at the mill. The work was hard, but the friendships were precious to me, and I think about you and the others often.

My new home here in New Jersey isn
’
t at all what I expected. I had planned for a small, modest home with a flower bed and maybe a cow. Instead, Hazelbrook is a sprawling estate, spread over several acres. I go on walks nearly every afternoon and still haven
’
t seen all of it.

Mr. Edwards, the man I
’
m to marry, is a curious sort. At times, he
’
s serious, and at others, he shows a good sense of humor. I
’
m not sure what to make of him most of the time. We aren
’
t married yet because he says he wants to be sure I
’
m truly happy here first. He seems to doubt that I could actually be happy here, but that
’
s quite silly. It
’
s a lovely home, and I have no doubt that we
’
ll get along.

The child I care for, Addie, is a dear little thing, bright and full of curiosity. Her education has been neglected, mismanaged by governesses who thought her stupid, but we
’
ll soon get that set to rights.

I
’
ll write again when I know my wedding date. I
’
m so glad for you
—
you always have been talented at business, and I know you
’
ll be successful in whatever endeavor you undertake.

Yours,

Hope

Bobbie's initial plan had been to read them throughout the holidays, but after reading Hope's she couldn't wait. She wanted to read more and more. Her next letter was from Constance, who had never said much. Bobbie said a silent prayer for each friend as she went through their letters.

Dear Roberta,

I wanted to thank you for helping me find myself. Oh, I know you probably don
’
t remember me. I hid in the shadows and was practically afraid of my own, but when I came by to get the Groom
’
s Gazette, you told me something that helped me change.

You said,
“
You
’
ll be fine, Constance. The Good Lord put a spark of courage in everyone. I hope you find yours.
”

I am happy to tell you that I found my courage on a sailing vessel named Journeys End. The captain had told me he named the ship after Shakespeare
’
s line
–
Journeys end in lovers meeting. I am happy to say that I married Drake Ferris. He loves me, and I couldn
’
t be happier.

Sincerely,

Constance Penny Ferris

P.S. Oh, I forgot to tell you. I haven
’
t told Drake yet, but I believe we are expecting a little one next year.

The letter from her friend Patience had her laughing so hard, the boys came to check on her, and Squirt buried his face on her lap as if to comfort her.

November 15
^th
, 1890

Dear Roberta,

Since you’ve been gone, Mercy and I have dearly missed your precious friendship and our lively Sunday afternoon literary discussions. Neither I nor my sister has been successful at finding a suitable position since the factory burned. As when you were here, none of the other factories are hiring. Worse, we’ve made a muddle of each job we found. I’d say through no fault of ours, but Papa and Mama feel otherwise. In fact, we were almost sued—twice.

Mercy secured a job as a housemaid at the home of the Millard Lamptons. Mrs. Lampton was kind enough, but Mr. Lampton must view young women in his employ for his personal amusement. The third week she was there, he backed Mercy into a corner with lecherous intentions. She grasped a fireplace poker and told him to keep his distance. Apparently, he thought she was playing a game and lunged for her. She hit him and broke his arm. Papa had to exert all his powers of persuasion to convince the odious man the notoriety of a lawsuit would not show him to good advantage.

Do you remember the Harmon’s large mansion on Wilcox Street? I found a job there as a maid and enjoyed working in such lovely surroundings. They have a luxurious bathing room (the first I’d seen), but also keep a chamber pot under the bed for nighttime use. One would think Mr. Harmon would have better judgment than to grab my derriere when I had the soiled container in hand, but that would not be true. When he accosted me, I jumped and turned to face him. He reached for other parts of my person (use your imagination, Bobbie). I did warn him, but he seemed to feel “no” was only a tease that meant “yes”. He learned a valuable lesson when I emptied the contents of the chamber pot over his head. You would have laughed to see him wearing the ceramic container on his head and the vessel’s decoration of a large pink rose where his nose would be. Unfortunately, no one else saw the humor. Once again, Papa had to reason with a former employer who threatened to sue our family. Thankfully, the lawsuit did not come to pass.

Other positions ended similar to those I mentioned above but with less disastrous results. Perhaps Mercy and I are suited only to work in a factory with other women who do not make rude advances. We don’t appear to be navigating our way through the world of commerce in good order, but we feel certain we can find suitable jobs and help our parents save to someday educate our younger brothers at a university. Tomorrow is Monday, and we will once again make the tedious rounds looking for employment.

Mercy and I admire your bravery for accepting a groom sight-unseen. We often speculate about your situation. Please write and let us know how your life has changed and whether or not you’re happy. We hope your groom turned out to be Prince Charming and that you have the happiness you deserve.

Fondly,

Your friend, Patience Eaton

She chose a letter from Poppy next, excited to hear from her former roommate.

My dearest Roberta,

Oh, how I’ve missed you, my dear friend! I must thank you for thrusting that copy of The Groom’s Gazette into my hands before you left Lawrence. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be sitting in a fine hotel room in Seattle, waiting to set sail in the morning for…Alaska! You know better than anyone my fascination with the great wild north because you gave me a scrapbook for all my clippings.

In the paper you handed me that day, I found a match that seems perfect for me. Matthew Turner is a respected doctor who will be hanging out his shingle in Sitka. He is pleasant enough, though I sense there’s much more to him than meets the eye. I have already lined up work for myself, so you needn’t worry about my welfare, though I suspect you will anyway.

I will write again when I am settled so please continue to send letters to my mother’s address. I’m desperate to hear news from my sweet Roberta!

Love always, Poppy

The next letter was from one of the sweet ladies who worked with her at the factory.

Mary, Branna, Fiona, Keela, Thomas, and Raymond.