His Rainbow After the Rain
Page 32
The first of Lorna’s return letters came and she read it with much squealing to Macie in bed late that night. The two young women talked it over at length, trying to read between the lines. The second suitor sent a photograph of himself and Lorna debated his best features at length.
As the weeks went by, Macie began to doubt she’d ever find someone from the Elmswood part of Texas. Maybe there were enough women there that men weren’t looking to bring in wives from the east. Her memories didn’t reveal any particular female deficit and she began to tentatively consider broadening her horizons.
And then, one day in February, she came across an ad from a young man in Elmswood itself!
“Lorna!” she cried, glad that her aunt was out of the house for the morning. “Lorna, look at this!”
Macie flew across the parlor to where her cousin sat, carefully penning a letter to one of her potential grooms-to-be.
“What? You made me smear my ink,” Lorna scolded mildly.
“Look here in the Marriage Courier,” Macie held out the magazine dedicated to helping men find their brides. “Here’s someone in Elmswood looking for a wife! ‘A bachelor, aged 22, wishes to correspond with a young lady with a view of matrimony, ages 18-24. Must be adventurous.’”
Lorna clutched the newsprint pages, needing to read the words for herself. “Sure enough, the address is the Elmswood, Texas post office. Why do you think he wants an ‘adventurous’ wife?”
Macie’s stomach clenched, but whether it was with excitement or nerves, she didn’t bother to analyze. Was this the advertisement she’d been hoping for? Could the man on the other end be her husband-to-be?
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