Mail Order Hannah

by Cheryl Wright

  What was she meant to do with all that money? It wasn’t hers to keep, but on the other hand, she may need it to set Rosie up at their destination.

  She couldn’t take much with her – the carriage of course, her clothes and diapers, blankets, as well as her bottles and some toys.

  Apart from that, she would have to leave everything else behind. She couldn’t even take the crib. There would be no way to manage all that, along with her own belongings on two trains.

  If she didn’t have so much to do before leaving here, Hannah would have sat down and had a good cry. Get her distress out of her system.

  They began their stroll to the post office, and Rosie slept most of the way. Mr Richardson lived a little way out of town, but not so far she couldn’t walk there.

  When they finally arrived, she handed over her correspondence. “How long will it take to get there?” she asked the postmaster.

  He scrutinized the address. “It could be a day or a month,” he said nonchalantly.

  “A month!” It had to get their sooner. Mr Delbert needed to know before her arrival.

  “Sorry Miss,” he said. “Look on the bright side, it might arrive by the end of the week.”

  She prayed for the best case scenario.

  Hannah left the post office feeling more than a little despondent. She didn’t want any surprises for her potential groom when she arrived in Grand Falls.

  Everything had been carefully planned – they’d been writing to each other for some months, and had seemed to be compatible. There had not been mention of children, but she’d assumed that would be something for their future.

  What Cecil Delbert would think of her bringing this little surprise package with her, goodness only knew.

  She decided to return home a different way, a more scenic way, since this was the last time she would venture out here. She spotted a wooden seat in a park not far from town.

  Hannah sat down and breathed in the brisk afternoon air. She checked in the carriage to find Rosie still sound asleep, so closed her eyes and began to pray.

  She’d done a lot of praying over the past two days – including prayer for the soul of Mr Richardson and his cousin who had been taken far too soon.

  She also prayed Rosie would be accepted by Cecil Delbert and the people of Grand Falls. Then she prayed for their future.

  When she opened her eyes, Hannah felt far better. She could have done her praying at the church, but it was on the other side of town, and she had a lot to do before departing for her new home.

  Feeling as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders, she began the trek home again.

  Such a tragedy for poor Rosie. First her mother, then her father. Hannah felt as though the loss was hers to bear. The sooner they got away from Idaho Falls the better in her opinion.

  The circumstances of the past two days were starting to get to her.

  “PLEASE STOP CRYING Rosie.” Hannah patted the baby’s back. They’d survived the first leg of the train trip without too much hassle, but now she wouldn’t stop crying.

  Hannah was sure there would be complaints from the other hotel guests. It wasn’t like Rosie to cry like this – she was such a good baby. She’d been fed, her diaper changed, and she’d even had a warm bath.

  Laying the baby down, she checked her diaper again. It was dry. What on earth was wrong with her?

  She would take her for a walk except it was dark outside. Besides they were in a strange place, and she had no idea how safe it was.

  Perhaps they could stroll up and down the corridors. She wrapped Rosie tightly in her blankets, she seemed to like being tightly wrapped, then placed her back in her carriage. She rocked the carriage slightly and she began to settle.

  It seemed she’d become used to the rocking on the rickety train. Hannah had found herself drifting off on more than one occasion and had forced herself to stay awake. She wasn’t going to risk someone either taking Rosie, or her reticule with Mr Richardson’s money.

  She decided since it was becoming dark, it must be near supper time. Then it hit her, perhaps she was hungry for solid food. Hannah was so stressed over the events of the past few days she wasn’t thinking straight.

  She continued to rock the carriage and headed for the dining room of the hotel. She just hoped the prices weren’t out of her reach – that money was for the necessities, not for her to indulge in a high-priced meal.

  The dining room was near empty by the time she arrived there. A waitress, who said her name was Mary, came over and handed her a menu. “I’m sorry Miss, but we’re almost out of food. I can give you a hearty beef soup with a bread roll if that will help quell your hunger.”

  She looked apologetic, and Hannah felt sorry for her. “Thank you, that sounds lovely,” she said graciously. After their trip and all that rocking, she didn’t feel like much anyway. In fact she felt rather squeamish. Hopefully food would help to settle her stomach down.

  “I have some stewed fruit if you’d like it for the little one?” She glanced at the baby in the carriage. “It’s on the house. She won’t eat much.”

  “Oh no,” Hannah said, I couldn’t do that. I’ll pay.” The waitress shrugged and returned to the kitchen.

  Hannah had enough money to pay her way, and would ensure she did. The hotel was not overly expensive, not to her mind anyway, and the money Cecil Delbert had sent her had proven to be far more than she needed for the trip.

  The woman soon returned with the food. Almost at the same time, Rosie began to cry again. She rocked the carriage, but it didn’t work this time.

  “Eat your food,” Mary said. “I’ll look after your baby.” By this time, the dining room was empty.

  She lifted Rosie from the carriage and began to feed her from a small spoon. She immediately stopped crying. It was a blessed relief. The past few days had been more than a little trying.

  Chapter Three

  “You look frazzled, Cecil,” Joe Hartley, the town tailor, told him.

  Cecil looked about the store, then leaned in. “My bride is arriving later today.”

  Joe stepped back. “Bride? You’re getting married?” He slapped Cecil on the back. “Congratulations! Getting married was the best thing I ever did.”

  Cecil dug into his pocket and pulled out a photograph, handing it over to Joe. “She’s pretty enough,” he said quietly.

  “What’s wrong with you? She’s beautiful!”

  “I guess.” He picked up a broom and began to sweep out the store. “Can’t have her coming here to a messy store,” he said, a grin on his face.

  “Well, congratulations again,” Joe said. “I’d better get back to it.”

  Cecil looked down at his pocket-watch. Only an hour and she would be here. He’d already made arrangements with Pastor Devon so they could be married before the end of the day.

  He was too nervous to do much of anything, so Cecil wandered around the store and inspected the shelves. He wiped down anything that was dusty, straightened products that were out of place, and fixed price tags that were falling off. He also filled shelves that were almost empty, bringing boxes out from the storeroom.

  He couldn’t remember having been so anxious before.

  He checked his pocket-watch again. Only fifteen minutes until the train was due to arrive.

  Was he still presentable? Did he need to wash up after cleaning down the shelves? He really wasn’t sure, so instead of taking a chance, he put up the closed sign and went out the back to the residence.

  He went straight to the bathroom and stared at himself in the mirror. The first thing he noticed was the apron that still hung around his neck.

  It was gone in an instant.

  He gazed at his reflection then washed his face with a cloth. He’d been covered in dust. Cecil combed his hair and dusted down his white shirt, put on a tie, then added a jacket over the top.

  Now he was ready to meet his new bride.

  He snatched up the apron he’d earlier discarded, th
en headed to the kitchen to retrieve the bouquet of flowers he’d arranged for her. He didn’t like the thought of arriving at the train station with nothing for her, and flowers would be a nice touch.

  At least Cecil thought so.

  He wrapped the flowers as best he could with the tops of the flowers still showing, took a deep breath, then let himself out the main door of the residence.

  The train station wasn’t far from town, and he was able to stroll there in less than ten minutes. He received a few strange looks from the towns folk, mostly those who knew he would normally be in the store at this time of day.

  He was certain at least some of them wondered about the flowers too.

  Entering the large pavilion leading onto the platform, the smell of soot offended his senses. He could only wonder how Hannah Wilson must be feeling. She would be surrounded by this offensive odor.

  He’d been there just a few minutes when he heard the train whistle blast. It wasn’t far away. His heart thudded. Soon he would be a married man.

  A small crowd waited on the platform, and most of them moved forward in anticipation. Cecil moved closer too.

  It was all hustle and bustle on the platform now with porters bringing trolleys full of luggage, conductors helping women down the steps, and gents helping their wives with baby carriages.

  Children were running from one end of the platform and being admonished by the conductor. This was no place for games – it was far too dangerous for that.

  And then he spotted her. Joe Harkley was right – she was a beauty. Even after such a long and arduous trip, she looked the picture of perfection.

  He watched as she instructed the porter to place her luggage on a trolley, then made his way toward her.

  “Miss Hannah Wilson? I am Cecil Delbert,” he said, his heartrate betraying his outward demeanor.

  She glanced up at him. “Good to finally meet you,” she said, but she looked harried and anxious. “I, I...”

  He handed her the flowers and she blushed. “Thank you.” She looked even prettier with her cheeks so pink.

  “I’ll take care of your luggage,” he said, and handed the porter a small tip.

  “Good,” she said quickly. “You got my letter about Rosie.”

  Now he was confused. “Letter? Rosie? Is this the letter to say you were coming? I did get it, that’s why I’m here now.”

  She stepped aside and the baby carriage was in full view. His eyes opened wide. What sort of tomfoolery was this?

  “I didn’t agree to a baby!” he almost shouted. How dare she spring a baby on him? There had been plenty of time to tell him about the child but she had cleverly omitted that fact.

  “I can explain,” she said, obviously distressed. She blinked trying to fight back tears, and she turned her face away.

  He was angry. Beyond furious. This was not what he’d agreed to. Was this another one of those tricks he’d heard some mail order brides pulled on unwitting grooms?

  “I sent an additional letter – a few days ago, when I found out.”

  His hands fisted by his sides and his spine stiffened Cecil was ready to walk away. He turned in his fury and began to go back the way he came. “I got no letter,” he said over his shoulder.

  “Mr Delbert,” she shouted after him. “The baby is not mine.”

  Not hers? “You expect me to believe that?” What would she come up with next?

  “You have to believe me. Both her parents are dead.”

  Dead? Both of them? That was a little hard to swallow.

  He stared into her face. She was exhausted, and now he’d verbally attacked her and caused her distress.

  It gave him reason to pause and think.

  She’d traveled for several days to get here – surely she wouldn’t have done that if she set out to deceive him. She would have taken his money and run.

  The baby began to cry, and distressed herself, Hannah leaned down and picked her up. “She’s hungry,” she said. “And she’s wet.”

  He got a glimpse of the baby – she looked to be a sweet thing.

  She pleaded with her eyes for him to listen. “I’ll just change her over there on the bench seat,” she said.

  “No!” he said urgently. “You can’t do that out in public.” What would people think? That he had fathered this child? And now the mother had run to him?

  He scrubbed his hands through his hair.

  He was still angry, but now he’d got a glimpse of the tiny cherub he wasn’t sure what to do. “We’ll go back to my place where you can change her. Then I’m putting you back on the train.”

  He watched as she straightened her shoulders and stiffened her back. “If that is what you wish,” she said. “But I am not leaving today. Or even tomorrow. I’ve spent the last few days traveling, and I’ve had enough.”

  She had backbone, Cecil would give her that.

  He nodded and they headed toward his store.

  NOW THAT ROSIE WAS changed, she settled a little, but she was hungry. Cecil Delbert looked impatient, not to mention annoyed. Hannah couldn’t blame him.

  The carriage sat in a corner of the room, but she held Rosie in her arms. Perhaps if he saw her properly, and understood what a good baby she was, he wouldn’t be so irate.

  “It all happened so quickly,” she said quietly. “One minute I was waiting for her father and his cousin to return so I could leave to come here, and then...” She felt like she would burst into tears at any moment. That was the last thing Hannah wanted.

  She swallowed – hard. “And then the police were on the doorstep telling me Mr Richardson and his cousin were dead and I had to bring Rosie with me or they’d put her in an orphanage.”

  “An orphanage? You can’t be serious?”

  “There is no family to take her in.” Rosie hiccupped and Hannah put the baby to her shoulder and patted her back. She was hungry and needed to be fed.

  “Do you have any stewed fruit or vegetables? Or even some bread and milk?”

  He jumped up from his chair. “I have some stewed apple. Would that do?”

  Finally, some good news.

  She’d begun to panic, but now that his anxiety had subsided, she felt calmer. “Here, can you hold her while I sort out her food?” Instead of waiting for an answer, she handed him the baby and left the room.

  This was going to be far harder than Hannah had ever imagined.

  Cecil stared down at the baby in his arms.

  How did it come to this? One minute he was prepared to marry a young spinster, and next he was being asked to become a father with an instant family.

  He shook his head. It wasn’t going to happen. The moment the child was fed, he would ship them over to the hotel, and in a couple of days would be rid of the pair of them when the train left Grand Falls.

  He turned toward the kitchen. Cecil could hear Hannah, Miss Wilson, fixing the baby’s food. He was startled when tiny fingers reached up and patted his cheek.

  Glancing down was the worst thing he could have done. She was smiling at him.

  He didn’t need this – he was a businessman with the need for someone to help out in his store. His request most certainly did not include a child, especially one this small that would require constant attention.

  He opened his mouth to call Miss Wilson, to ask her to hurry up. The moment he did, tiny fingers reached into his mouth and held tight to his teeth.

  Cecil tried to pull his eyes away from the tiny creature he’d had forced on him, but it wasn’t happening. Her big brown eyes shone and she giggled at him.

  “You really are quite sweet, aren’t you?”

  “She really is,” Hannah said, watching him from the doorway.

  He turned toward her, embarrassed at allowing himself to be taken in by the giggling child. “Ow! That hurt!” He reached up to released her fingers from his slightly too long hair, but she had a firm grip.

  Hannah laughed. “That’s one of her favorite things to do,” she said. “Apart from snatchi
ng spectacles, that is.”

  She looked even more beautiful when she laughed. It was the first time he’d seen her so much as smile. Previously she’d been far too distressed to do anything but scowl.

  It was more than obvious to Cecil that she would make an excellent mother for any children they might have.

  Not knowing where that thought came from, he inwardly shook himself.

  She sat opposite him and pulled out a clean diaper to put on the baby’s front, ready to feed her.

  He began to hand her back. “Would you mind?” she asked. “It would be far easier if you hold her.”

  What could he say? That he wouldn’t do this small thing to help her out? “Of course not.”

  Little did he know more food would end up on him and his floor than in Rosie’s mouth. “What’s her name?”

  She glanced at him curiously. “Rosie. Didn’t I tell you that?”

  “Her real name, I mean? Is it Rose?” He had no idea why he had even asked. In two days they would be gone from here, and he’d still be single and running the store alone.

  “Rosemary. Her full name is Rosemary. Her father called her Rosie for short.” She swallowed and a sadness crossed her face.

  “Did you know him well? Her father I mean?” He really knew nothing of the father, and very little of his demise. And what of the mother?

  “I have acted as temporary Governess for Rosie for the past few months, but I knew the family from our mutual church.” She put another spoonful of stewed apple in the baby’s mouth. “Her mother died in childbirth, and Mr Richardson, Rosie’s father, arranged for a wet nurse who took care of her for the first two months.”

  She wiped the baby’s face, then cleaned up her hands as best she could without a wet cloth. “I was brought in for the three months until Mr Richardson’s cousin could take over. Now they’re both dead, and Rosie has no family. No one who cares about her.”

  She looked distraught again. He could imagine the past days must have been quite traumatic.

  “Except you,” he said. “It’s very obvious you care about her.”