Two Sisters and the Christmas Groom (

by Zina Abbott

  ~o0o~

  As Kate exited the boarding house, she recalled the instructions Annie gave her regarding the safest routes for walking around Jubilee Springs. She knew when walking to the train depot to avoid the saloon and several businesses catering to men that lined half of Telegraph Street. She turned right in the direction of the livery, the school, and the River Valley Inn.

  Kate’s footsteps slowed as the bridge crossing the river came into view. Annie explained she would soon live in one of the houses on the other side of that bridge. Through bare tree trunks and shrubbery branches, she could see white, box-shaped structures evenly spaced in what appeared to be two rows. Especially with the river flowing through the gorge several feet below the level of the street surface on either side, they struck Kate as being isolated from town and terribly spread out—so different from lower east Manhattan where tenements were built three to five stories high, and neighbors often felt piled upon each other.

  Kate continued walking until she crossed Telegraph Street and turned toward the railroad terminal. If Annie was right, when she reached a point between the back of the brewery and the side of the River Valley Inn, she might be able to view the house that would soon be hers. Perhaps, she could also see the house next door where she hoped to find a friendly neighbor.

  A whistle from one of the men who worked for the brewery prompted Kate to turn away. She ignored the man’s laugh in response to her snub as she continued on her errand. She hoped the man she planned to thank for helping her responded with politeness. Although she finally felt like her usual self, she did not relish the idea of dealing with an obnoxious flirt. Then again, Annie had mentioned Mr. McAllister had treated Annie politely. She needed to approach him with a positive attitude and the expectation he would behave properly with her, too.

  Kate walked through what appeared to be the door entering the depot waiting room from the street side. At the sight of a pair of men standing next to the coal heater in the room, she slowed her footsteps and searched the room for the ticket window. She jerked her head back as, out of the corner of her eye, she watched a man break away and approach her. She felt herself tense as she studied the grin he wore.

  “Hello, miss. It’s a rare treat to see a young woman about. I have several hours until my train for Gunnison arrives. May I escort you to dinner somewhere?”

  Kate shook her head. “No, thank you, sir. I’ll be conducting some business with the ticket agent, then I’m off to preparing for my wedding this weekend.”

  “Wedding, huh? You one of those brides they’ve been bringing in for the miners here?”

  “That I am, sir. Now, if you’ll be excusing me…”

  “You’re not married yet. You sure you won’t come to lunch with me?”

  Annie had warned her that due to the shortage of women in town, men were eager to meet any women they thought might be available for company—courting, or spending time in less-acceptable activities. She thought she had left behind fending off unwanted attention from men when she boarded the train to travel west, but obviously not. Kate emphatically shook her head. “Thank you, but no.”

  “May I help you, Miss Flanagan?”

  Kate turned to the man in the black wool coat covering a maroon vest over a white shirt. She turned from watching him straighten his string tie to glance at the open door to an indoor room in the direction from which he must have come. The sign above the window next to the door told Kate he was the ticket agent she intended to visit. Although she knew she had never met him before, somehow, he seemed familiar to her. Then it dawned on her; he knew her name. “Certain, I’d be appreciating a few minutes of your time…Mr. McAllister, is it? Might there be someplace we could be discussing it privately?”

  “You’re turning me down, yet you’re willing to go off with him?”

  “I’ll be discussing business with the ticket agent.” Kate lifted her chin as she faced the stranger who now wore a disgusted expression. Relief flooded her as Mr. McAllister, a sternness to his voice, addressed the man.

  “Aren’t you one of the construction crew? If you need a p-place to warm up, they should have a fire going inside the maintenance building.”

  “They do, plus a bonfire over by where they’re working on the tracks. You have any idea how many men are crowded around trying to stay warm?”

  “I don’t begrudge you the heat, but I’ll not t-tolerate you bothering others who come here regarding p-passenger or freight business. Miss Flanagan arrived in town to be married. She does not want to be approached by s-strangers.”

  Kate stepped back, ready to flee. She suspected from the way he tripped over his tongue, her presence made Mr. McAllister nervous. Perhaps she should express her gratitude in a letter. Yet, she did not want to leave this man who looked so familiar to her. She felt a wave of relief as Mr. McAllister turned to her and gestured toward his office. “Please s-step into my office where it is a little more p-private, Miss Flanagan. I’ll leave the door between my office and the t-telegraph operator’s office open for p-propriety’s sake.”

  He stutters, Kate realized.

  Kate preceded the ticket agent into his office and waited while he closed the door and window to the lobby.

  He then opened a door on another wall and spoke to someone in the next room. He moved a chair to seat her on the opposite side of the desk from him.

  “How may I assist you, Miss Flanagan?”

  Kate pressed her fidgeting fingers in her lap to still them. “I’m wishing to thank you, Mr. McAllister, for doing all you have for me. It was a kindness, sure, you helping my sister write her letter to me. Then, after me near freezing to death after the train went flying into the snow, it was Annie telling me you were the one finding me and bringing me to her. It was a grand and heroic act on your part, and I can’t be thanking you enough.” Kate watched Garland blink as if her words surprised him.

  “I was happy to help you, Miss Flanagan. S-Seeing to the safety of our p-passengers is p-part of my job.”

  Kate’s eyes lit in a teasing manner. “Even for those passengers getting themselves in trouble because they’re not doing what they were told?” She sighed and again grew serious. “I’ve been hearing an earful from Lizett…Mrs. Millard…of the bridal agency, over my going back to the passenger car. It was hanging at a bit of an angle, sure, but the stove was still bolted to the floor and putting out heat. I was getting so cold waiting outside for help, I decided it was better waiting next to the stove away from the wind blowing. From what was being said, Lizett wasn’t noticing me missing until Mr. Bainbridge made it through, planning on taking us into town in his sleigh. She said someone went looking for me.”

  As Kate watched Garland reach in his pocket for a handkerchief which he then used to wipe his nose, she noticed for the first time the reddened skin on his face. She guessed he battled illness, perhaps something he contracted while rescuing her. She waited to see if he would respond. She wondering if he would add his criticisms about her actions to those already heaped upon her.

  “When I found you, the s-stove was barely warm to the t-touch, and you were asleep—probably in the early s-stages of freezing to death. All you had wrapped around you was a lightweight cloak, certainly not s-suitable for this kind of weather. What happened to your blanket?”

  “My blanket?” Kate licked her lips, knowing she sounded like an idiot. He was far from the first person to raise the topic. Truth was, more than once since she arrived she had already been chastised about not having a blanket with her. “Lizett’s letter had a long list of things I was needing for the trip, including a blanket for on the train, but there was no blanket at home to spare, now was there? With my da losing his job, and my family needing the money sent me, I couldn’t be buying a new one. By finding a seat next to the stove, I was staying warm enough—until the train went crashing into the snow.”

  “Mrs. Millard knows we recommend our p-passengers bring a blanket for winter t-travel. S-she didn’t offer to loan you a blanke
t for the t-trip up here?”

  Kate’s gaze never left Garland’s probing stare as she slowly shook her head. Knowing he no doubt considered her stupid for not bringing a blanket and warmer clothing, thus causing him a great deal of trouble, she suddenly wished she could sink through the floor into the ground below. “There was no asking and no offering. I was doing the best I could. It’s how we’ve been living my whole life. Sorry I am for inconveniencing you and…and for you needing to risk your life for me.” Kate jumped to her feet. “Thank you, again, Mr. McAllister, for your kindness and extra effort rescuing me that night. I need to be going now.”

  “Miss Flanagan, wait.”

  Instead of fleeing out the door as she intended, Kate paused and turned. She waited while Garland stood and walked around his desk until he stood next to her.

  “You coming by to s-say thank you means a lot. I considered it my job to s-see to the welfare of the p-passengers. S-Still, I appreciate when p-people like you make an effort to acknowledge my efforts.”

  Kate swallowed and tightened the cape around her. “Being poor doesn’t mean I’m not knowing my manners, Mr. McAllister. It was a grand thing, you helping me like you did. I was wanting you to know, what you did saving my life wasn’t going unrecognized.”

  “Thank you, again. And, I understand congratulations are in order for this coming Sunday. Word gets around a s-small town like this. I was t-told you weren’t married last S-Sunday with the other bride who came on the s-same t-train with you because you wish to be married in the Catholic Church. Mr. Bainbridge seemed very p-proud that he managed to p-persuade the p-priest to come up to Jubilee Springs a week early to celebrate both Christmas and your nuptials.”

  “That he was. A grand event, having a wedding on Christmas day, now, isn’t it?” Kate looked away, no longer able to bear the gaze of the man before her. Her wedding should be a glorious day. So, why did she not look forward to it more than she did? When Garland spoke again, she wondered if he could read her thoughts.

  “I’m happy it worked out that you decided to come here, Miss Flanagan. I know when your s-sister asked me to help with her letter, she expressed concerns that you might choose the other man to whom you were writing.”

  Kate glanced at Garland, and then stared at her feet. “There was no choosing one way or the other on my part, now was there? He ended up choosing another.” She waited through several seconds of silence, but once again, she gazed in Garland’s eyes when he responded.

  “Then, I hope things work out well for you with Mr. O’Hare. I don’t know him well—only enough to greet him by name in p-passing. However, from everything I’ve heard, he’s a good man with a s-solid reputation.”

  “That he seems to be, sure. Only, I’m wondering, now he’s met me, if he’s really that happy about marrying me.” Kate watched Garland tilt his head. She guessed he chose his next words carefully.

  “Mr. O’Hare has offered you marriage. An honorable man will live up to his commitment.”

  “What if it’s turning out he’s preferring to marry another?” Embarrassed that she blurted out the worry that had plagued her since Sunday brunch, Kate turned away. As much as the concern had occupied her thoughts these past few days, she could not believe she had voiced such a sensitive subject before a total stranger. All right—he was not a total stranger. He had helped Annie write a letter to her which made him privy to several details she would not want people in town, especially her intended, to know. Then, there was the matter of him rescuing her from a frozen death. Still, they did not really know each other. If he shared her fears with others, and it got back to Michael, it would do irreparable damage to their future marriage.

  “Miss Flanagan, I’m s-sure Mr. O’Hare understands his obligation to wed you after asking for your hand and making arrangements to bring you here for that p-purpose. No matter his opinion of you now that the two of you met in person, he will live up to his commitment. If anyone puts a s-stop to your marriage, it will have to be you.”

  Kate wrinkled her forehead in confusion. “I’m not understanding your reasoning for saying that.”

  “In our society, a man is in a better position than a woman to pursue a mate of his choice. Convention expects a lady to wait until a prospective groom shows interest in her and requests permission to court her. Therefore, if a man enters into an engagement, and he has given the lady expectations of marriage, he is honor-bound to follow through. Especially after a lengthy engagement, if the man breaks it off, it might leave the woman in a position where she is considered too old to be desirable to other suitors. It could cause her to lose her opportunity to marry. That is why the woman or her father has legal recourse in those situations if they can establish the breakup took place without proper cause and was not by mutual agreement. It is also why, if either party to an engagement wants to end an engagement and avoid negative consequences, it must be the lady who does so.”

  Kate blinked several times. “I’m not sure I’m following you, Mr. McAllister.”

  “It’s a matter of law, Miss Flanagan. Since an engagement with the intent of marriage is considered a contract, whether it be written or verbal, the injured party has legal recourse against the one who broke the agreement, especially if a transfer of real or personal property was also involved.”

  “I’ve never heard such a thing. How are you knowing all this, Mr. McAllister?”

  “I read a lot. In case you haven’t noticed, I have a tendency to s-stutter, which becomes more p-pronounced when I get nervous. I find I like to s-spend much of my time alone. I fill a great deal of it by reading.”

  “I see. I’m hoping I’m not one to be making you nervous, Mr. McAllister. I’m sorry to be burdening you with my nonsense. It’d be a kindness if you’d forget what I was saying and not be repeating it to others.”

  “Of course not, Miss Flanagan. It is like I told your sister when I agreed to write the letter to you. If there is one thing I do well, it is keep a confidence. I consider it a compliment that you trust me enough to speak freely. I assure you, nothing you have told me will be repeated.”

  Something about Garland McAllister told Kate she could trust him. “I’d be pleased if you’d consider coming to my wedding, Mr. McAllister. I can be finding out the time the priest usually is holding mass and letting you know. It would be directly after.” Kate did not expect him to accept her invitation. Still, she felt disappointed as she watched him shake his head.

  “I’m afraid I must decline, Miss Flanagan. I have other p-plans for that day. However, I will share with you that another interest of mine is cooking. I’ll be moving above a small s-storefront a couple of doors down from the boarding house where your s-sister is s-staying. Beginning New Year’s Day, I’ll s-serve a weekend menu Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons. P-Perhaps, after you and your husband get s-settled, the t-two of you might wish to come by for a meal sometime.”

  “Thank you. I’ll be keeping it in mind. As much as I enjoy cooking myself, it’s sometimes nice eating a meal fixed by someone else, now isn’t it?” After a brief farewell, Kate hurried out of his office. A look at the clock told her that if Annie made it to their room during lunchtime, she needed to be there if she wished help marking the length of the blue gown.

  As Kate turned to exit the door leading to the street, she felt better now she had properly thanked Garland McAllister for his help. She wondered at his words regarding the legal, as well as the moral, obligations involved with being engaged. Did he speak the truth, or did he repeat someone else’s misguided opinion?

  Kate stopped as a thought occurred to her. During the time he explained how engagements and breaking engagements worked, he had not stuttered. Either that, or she had been so engrossed, she had not noticed.

  Kate set her concerns about her engagement aside. They must amount to nothing more than pre-wedding jitters. She took comfort in Annie’s assurance: once she and Michael married and learned more about each other, they would fall in love. Over time,
they would find happiness together as husband and wife.

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  Chapter 17

  ~o0o~

  December 23, 1881

  M ichael slowed his steps as he approached the front door of Howard Boarding House. He had come at his usual time to visit with Kate, yet it was with Annie he wished to speak. How could he persuade her to meet with him alone without her bringing Kate in the room with her?

  Michael realized his best option involved recruiting some help. He retraced his steps and walked around to the rear of the house. He silently sighed with gratitude when Clara Howard answered the back door. Knowing she resisted allowing her boarders to help in her kitchen, he suspected he could get in through the back without Annie being aware and sending Kate down. “Mrs. Howard, I have a favor to ask. I’m here to see Kate, but first I’d like to talk to Annie alone. Would you mind asking her to come down by herself?”

  Michael knew his request puzzled the kind landlady, but she agreed.

  Michael made his way to the public parlor where Clara said she would bring Annie. He sat on a sofa on the far side of the room while he waited. He tapped his fingers on the tops of his knees until he caught himself and squeezed his hands into fists. In an effort to decide how he wanted to word what he felt he needed to say, he ran sentences through his mind. What he wanted to discuss was too important to leave to chance. It affected his entire future.

  Painfully aware he had asked Kate to marry him, Michael knew he had an obligation to honor his word to her. However, as his wedding day grew closer, he became more convinced he could not go through with it.

  “Michael? It’s you wanting to speak with me?”

  Michael stood, but did not walk over to Annie. He did not want their conversation to be overheard. He motioned for her to approach him.