Mail Order Mistletoe (Brides of Beckham Book 17) Read online

  He'd go visit Olga and their son later, and tell her of his plans. He knew she'd understand, though. How could she not? She knew he needed a son.

  He would plead her forgiveness, even as he told her he was marrying another. He loved her too much to ever care for another. She would understand that.

  Chapter Two

  It was Meg's last day teaching at the school outside of Beckham. A replacement had been found, and this time they'd found a male teacher who was known for not sparing the rod, or the ruler as the case may be. He would do much better with the unruly demon horde, she was certain.

  She hoped Bernard came for her soon, because she had enough money to stay at the boarding house in town for two weeks, but after that, she wasn't certain what she would do or where she would go.

  Maybe she should look for a job as soon as she got off work. Surely someone in town needed a cook. She was one of the best cooks around, thanks to her mother's tutelage. She'd also make a wonderful nanny to anyone who didn't have the last name Miller. Why she'd even work for the demon horde's older sister if it came to that.

  She'd spent most of her extra money for the past month working on new clothes that were more suited to a farmer's wife than the ones she wore. Her school clothes were all the latest style, and they certainly weren't right for anything but going to church for a farmer's wife in North Dakota.

  North Dakota. It might as well be the North Pole. She hadn't dared tell her parents she might be leaving her post as a teacher to travel across the country and marry a stranger. No, it would be better if she wrote them after the fact. They wouldn't be pleased. Not even a little bit.

  After she'd dismissed school for the day, thankful to see the backs of the demon horde for the last time, she swept the floor in the schoolroom and erased the blackboard. She meant to leave the school as neatly as she'd found it.

  She was just finishing up when she heard the door open, and she turned, expecting one of the demon horde to have returned to torment her one last time.

  Instead it was Bernard Tandy. "Mr. Tandy! Does this mean my letter came back?"

  He smiled as he extended it to her. "It did. Elizabeth said I should wait for you to read it, in case you needed a ride into town."

  "I need a ride into town, no matter what this says. Today is my last day of work, and I need to get my things out of the house provided for me, and move into town tonight. I've quit my job rather than lose my mind."

  "I understand. I hope the letter holds good news for you."

  Meg moved to her chair to read the letter, trying to ignore the large man prowling the room.

  "Dear Margaret,

  You sound like exactly the type of woman I am looking for. I've enclosed a train ticket for you, leaving Beckham, Massachusetts on Saturday, October 31st and arriving at the station in Mandan, North Dakota on November 6th. I'll be waiting for you in Mandan, and we will make the drive to SunSet to marry.

  I look forward to your arrival.

  Your future husband,

  Lars"

  Meg did her best to contain her glee. One night in a boarding house wouldn't be nearly as taxing on her finances as a week would. "I have a train ticket for eight tomorrow morning."

  "Oh good! I'll give you a ride to town. Why don't you stay the night with us rather than wasting your money on the boarding house? We have plenty of room. Of course, you'll sleep better in the boarding house, because there my son won't keep you up all night."

  Meg's face lit up at the news of the baby. "Oh, congratulations! I'm so happy for you. What did you name him?"

  "Benjamin. Shall I follow you to your house?"

  "It's no longer mine, but yes, please. And I'd love to spend the night. I would prefer not to spend the money on the room, if that's really all right with you."

  "Of course. We've had several brides stay with us, sometimes for as long as a month. It's not a problem."

  "Thank you!" She finished up the last of her tasks and picked up her bag. "Let's go to the house. I am all packed and ready to go." She had only two bags, so she could have easily carried them to town, but it was already getting very cold, and she didn't want to be out past dark.

  They walked next door to the teacher's house and got her two bags. She closed the door of the house sadly. It had been her first place to live alone, and she'd gotten a taste for independence. She would miss the house and the freedom it had brought.

  She didn't say much on her ride to town, having little to say to the man beside her. Instead, she watched the scenery as she passed it, wondering how different North Dakota would be. She'd been raised in Boston and had never lived outside Massachusetts.

  When they got into town, he drove straight to Rock Creek Road and she went in. Elizabeth wasn't in the room she'd first met her in, and instead she was in a parlor at the front of the house, holding the baby.

  Meg was the youngest of the children in her family, so she had no experience with babies. She knew the basics of how to take care of one, of course, but she'd rarely had the chance to hold one. She walked into the room where Elizabeth sat on the sofa, taking a seat beside her. "Thank you for allowing me to stay here tonight. It will help me a lot."

  Elizabeth frowned. "You're welcome to stay here as long as it takes for your train to leave. Bernard wasn't supposed to offer for just one night."

  "My train leaves first thing in the morning," Meg said with a grin. "He's a handsome baby." She peered at the little boy on Elizabeth's lap.

  Elizabeth trailed her finger along Benjamin's cheek. "I think so. I'm so happy he's finally here, and I can hold him."

  "Do you want more children?"

  "I want a dozen or so, but I'll be content with whatever God gives me." Elizabeth's eyes met Meg's. "I promise I will not let them act like the demon horde. I couldn't imagine."

  "I was quite happy to see their backs leave my classroom for the last time today. Honestly, I've never been so happy." Meg shook her head. "I have never dreamed children that poorly behaved existed. How did you turn out all right when your siblings were so awful?"

  Elizabeth shrugged. "The oldest four were raised differently. I'm the second eldest. Most of the younger ones are actually good people now that they're out from under my parents' influence. There were fourteen of us total. Mama had two more after my oldest sister was already married."

  "I'm the youngest of seven, and I can't imagine acting like that."

  "I know. I don't think most people can. I really am sorry. I hate it when people realize we're all related."

  "Well, I promise not to think less of you for it," Meg said with a grin. "I'm actually very impressed with your business and very thankful that you found me a place to go and a man to marry. He sounds like he's a very good man."

  "I'm sure he is. I have a network of matchmakers around the country and we are always checking out the men for each other, making sure they'll treat the women well." Elizabeth looked down at the baby. "Usually when I match a woman, I go to the train station with her and talk to her about marriage. I need you to know that if your husband hits you or hurts you in any way, you don't have to stay. You have the right to leave, and you would have a place back here, if only until you get back on your feet."

  "Does that happen?" Meg asked, surprised.

  "It could, so we tell our brides about the possibility. It hasn't so far, because we investigate each groom before sending a bride out to him."

  Meg nodded. "I see. Well, thank you for the offer." She really couldn't see coming home with her tail between her legs, but she couldn't see staying in a situation where she was being abused either. She'd have to think about that when and if the time came.

  "I won't be able to go with you in the morning, because I just had the baby last week."

  "That's fine. I can walk. It's not far from here."

  "Did you bring a lot with you?" Elizabeth asked. "Because Bernard would take you if you had a lot of things."

  "Oh, no ma'am. I have two carpet bags and a small bag of teac
hing supplies. I don't know why I'm even holding onto them, but I guess it's so I can teach my own children some day. It sounds like the farm is way too far out for there to be a school near."

  "That's probably true. If you want Bernard to walk with you anyway, he certainly will. He's done it many times when I couldn't for whatever reason."

  "You must place a lot of brides."

  Elizabeth laughed. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Why, I once placed a couple dozen women all at once, because of a factory fire. It's amazing how quickly we can find places for people when we really need to."

  "I do admire the work you're doing."

  "I'm pretty proud of my business. I inherited it from the last matchmaker who ran it. She herself went West and married. I'm still in touch with her quite often, but mostly I'm on my own now."

  Meg stood. "I'm sure I'm keeping you from more important things. Where am I staying?"

  Elizabeth gave her directions to her room. "We'll have supper in about an hour. Bernard and I would love for you to join us."

  "Thank you. I will." Meg walked up the stairs and found the bedroom Elizabeth had sent her to. It was small, but very luxurious. She had never stayed anywhere so nice in her life. She wondered if she'd spend the rest of her life wanting to go back to Beckham, just because of the memory of it.

  She looked through her things, wondering if she was taking too much, but really she had three dresses for working around the house, and three for Sunday. It was a lot more than she'd ever dreamed of having. She only had one apron, but she'd bought fabric for another. She could sew on the train. Why, it would help her stay busy.

  There was a knock on the door, and a woman's voice called that supper was ready. Meg jumped up and hurried down the stairs, happy to be included. She'd had a lot of lonely nights in the teacher's house.

  *****

  The following morning, Meg was up well before the sun as was her habit. She dressed and made sure she had everything together for the train trip for the fourth time in the past twelve hours. It felt so unreal to her. How could she be leaving everything she'd ever known to get on a train and marry a man who was a stranger to her?

  She arrived at the train station with her bags in hand at quarter before eight, praying she was ready. She'd never done anything quite so rash, so she wasn't certain how she'd handle things. She had no idea what the man looked like or who he was, but she would be his bride in just seven days. What kind of thinking human being agreed to something like that?

  The woman who sat beside her waiting on her train, smiled at Meg. "You seem nervous. Have you never been on a train before?"

  "I have been on a train, but only once. I'm nervous because I'm going to be on a train for seven days, and then I'm going to marry a stranger. I don't know what I was thinking to agree to do this!" Meg stood up, looking around for an escape. She sat back down a moment later. She couldn't go back to her position as a teacher, because it had already been filled. She wouldn't anyway. The demon horde was not made up of children. They were beasts.

  The older woman laughed. "You never really know a man until you've been married to him anyway. You'll be fine." She patted Meg's hand. "I was a mail order bride back in 1867, right after the War Between the States. My father died in the war, and my brother couldn't support all of us, so I went out West as a bride. I settled in Minnesota, and married a kind, loving man. We've been married for almost thirty years."

  "Oh, that's wonderful! Is he with you?"

  The woman's eyes grew sad. "No, I was here because my mother grew ill. She died two weeks ago. It's not good news that she died by any means, but it does mean that I can now return home to John. I've been here for three months taking care of her."

  "I'm so sorry about your mother."

  "Thank you, dear." The woman forced a smile. "I'm Gertrude, by the way. My friends call me Gertie."

  "And are we friends?"

  "We're about to have a long train ride together, so I certainly hope we are going to be!"

  Meg laughed. "I'm Margaret, but my friends all call me Meg."

  "Meg. I like that. It suits you well."

  Their train was called then, and they both stood. "I'm not sure I'm ready to be on a train for this long." Meg was almost as nervous about the long train ride as she was about the marriage.

  Gertie smiled. "Trust me, it's better than being on a wagon for that long. You have to get out and walk beside the wagon, and when it's your turn to drive, your bottom gets so sore. No, this is a much better way of traveling. It's so much faster!"

  Meg nodded. "I shouldn't complain about riding on a train. I know it's so much better than what people did even sixty years ago. This new age we live in is simply amazing."

  "It is. I'm glad you can recognize that."

  They found seats beside each other, and Meg settled into the trip. She pulled out the pieces of the apron she'd cut out and a needle and thread, determined to keep busy for at least a portion of the trip.

  "While you work, tell me what made you decide to be a mail order bride. That's not something every pretty young lady just gets up and does."

  Once Meg started talking, she couldn't seem to stop. She told about working hard to get her teacher's certificate, and how proud she was. Then she talked about her first school, there outside Beckham. "The children were mostly well-behaved, but there were these four children from one family..." Meg realized she had a captive audience, and she detailed every prank the children had played and every fight they'd fought. When she got to the part where the oldest of the demon horde had laid the Grooms' Gazette on her desk, Gertie gasped.

  "I've never heard of such horribly behaved children. I hope you got your ruler out and took that boy to task!" Gertie said, fire in her eyes.

  "I considered it, but he was seventeen. He was at least six inches taller than me, and he was used to farm chores. He would have hurt me!"

  Gertie shook her head. "It's not right that you were expected to deal with children like that on your own. What did the parents say?"

  "I never could get them to come in and talk to me. I considered going to their house after school, but quite frankly, I was afraid to." Meg shook her head. "I never thought I'd admit that I was afraid of my students, but I was. And I could only imagine the parents being much worse. I mean, they were the ones allowing them to run wild that way."

  "I don't know what you'd have run into there. So you went to their older sister?"

  Meg finished up her story and sighed. "I haven't even had the courage to tell my parents that I'm off to North Dakota to marry a complete stranger. I know they wouldn't be pleased with me."

  "No, they probably wouldn't. Why I'd be furious with my daughter for doing the same thing, even though I was a mail order bride myself. It just doesn't seem like something my daughter should do. Back then it seemed the ultimate adventure. I don't know how safe it would be in today's world." Gertie frowned. "When you get to North Dakota, and you meet your Lars, you send me a letter straight away so I know you're there and you've arrived safely, and he hasn't hurt you or anything. I don't want to get home and worry about you nonstop."

  "I promise!"

  Gertie immediately wrote her address on a piece of paper, giving it to Meg. "May I help you make something?" she asked, eyeing Meg's project.

  Meg shook her head. "I only brought enough fabric for one apron to work on. I should have gotten more."

  "That's all right. We can chat while you work."

  By the time Gertie got off the train six days later, Meg had not only finished the apron, she had written long newsy letters to her parents about what she'd done and she had written each of her siblings. She had read two books and spent many hours staring out the window.

  As Gertie's stop was called, Meg got to her feet, hugging the older woman tightly. "I'm so glad I got to know you. I will write as soon as I know he's not planning on murdering me in my sleep. I hope you don't mind having a pen friendship with me."

  "Mind? I insist! You're
a special young lady, Meg. Don't let anyone ever tell you differently."

  Both women had tears in their eyes as they parted ways. A woman who had watched the two of them for a couple of days from the vantage point of the seat across from Meg, asked, "Was that your grandmother?"

  Meg laughed. "She's my new friend I met just before we got on the train in Massachusetts."

  "I could have sworn you were related by how close you were."

  "We were strangers a few days ago." Meg frowned. "I feel like she's always been a part of my life now, though."

  Chapter Three

  Lars sat in his wagon, waiting for the train to arrive. He was nervous, and he didn't want to be. There was no reason at all for him to be nervous when he didn't plan to have feelings for the woman. She would be a partner of sorts, a woman to keep his house, cook, and warm his bed. Emotions were unnecessary between them.

  She'd said her name was Margaret, but he had no idea what she was like other than that. He hoped she was pleasing to the eye as well as a good cook. A good cook was more important at that point. He'd lost a great deal of weight since his wife had died.

  He frowned as he thought of Olga, thrusting her from his mind. He couldn't think of her when he was about to meet his new wife. It wasn't right, no matter what the relationship he would have with his new bride.

  The train pulled up and he strained, trying to see his new wife. Only three people got off the train, two women and a man. The man took the older woman by her elbow and led her off, leaving a young slender woman with long dark hair and dark eyes standing alone on the platform.

  Lars jumped down from the wagon and approached her, watching her closely to see if she seemed to be looking for someone else. He stopped in front of her, his heart in his throat. "Margaret?" he asked.

  Meg looked up at the man in front of her, liking what she saw. His hair was a darker blond than she'd expected from a Norwegian man, and his eyes were a slate gray. "Yes. You must be Lars."