by Natalie Dean
She imagined helping to run a ranch would be similar in many ways. There would, perhaps, be more manual labor involved.
When Lizzie thought about that, she did worry that her soft, plump body might become a detriment.
Her curvy frame and thick brown hair were made for an eastern city. Not the Wild West.
However, she had always been quick to acclimate to her surroundings.
Yes, she could not help but feel a sense of contentment when she realized that she would, once again, be running a business. And, if marriage to Bill Porter was the price of a share in that business…well…that was perfectly fine.
She realized, of course, that this was not the most romantic way to describe one’s future husband but, she’d never been one for unnecessary sentiment. She had loved George. Any man who came after him would simply not compare. No matter how many good qualities he possessed.
Not to mention, the fact that she was barren would certainly put a deterrent in any attempt to make this marriage feel like the beginning of a family.
And, the fact that this thirty-one-year-old Billy Peters seemed perfectly fine with her inability to have children told her that he was looking for a business partner and not a romantic one.
This, while not ideal, would suit her perfectly.
The sense of contentment dissipated somewhat when the carriage moved over a log in the road rustling the passengers within.
The lawyer was shoved into Lizzie who, in turn, felt crushed against the window.
She had never thought much of her larger than average girth before moving west. However, in the past few days, since being shoved into a small carriage with four other passengers, and riding for hours with few stops, she was beginning to see her own body as a hindrance.
The lawyer’s elbow against her side forced Lizzie to turn to the window. Here, after hours of seeing nothing but open fields and mountains, she saw her first glimpse of civilization.
“I take it we are approaching Laramie,” she told the other passengers decisively.
“And about time too,” the lawyer’s wife said primly, straightening her dress. “I am not certain I would be able to stand another moment in this carriage. If you ask me, the sooner they finish the railroad west, the better.”
“I’m afraid that will take longer than expected, my dear,” the lawyer said. “At the rate the government works, it could be a decade or more before we see any progress on that front.”
Lizzie’s eyes wandered back to the town.
It was, certainly, much smaller than those she was used to. Each of the buildings; the bank, the general store, even the church had a hastily constructed look about them. As though someone had recognized too late the need for a town in that area.
The carriage finally came to a halt beside the hotel. Lizzie’s anxiety vanished the moment a familiar face crossed her line of vision from the carriage window.
“Lizzie!”
Her sister-in-law Bernadette cried excitedly as Lizzie climbed down the carriage steps.
Before Lizzie could say a word, the smaller woman had her enveloped in a huge hug. A moment passed before Lizzie, surprised, returned the embrace. When she did, Bernadette’s small arms moved so tightly around Lizzie’s waist that she began to worry that the smaller woman might squeeze the life out of her entirely.
Just when she was about to run out of breath, Bernadette pulled back, a bright smile on her face.
“I am so glad to see you,” Bernadette said genuinely.
“I’m pleased to see you as well, Bernadette,” Lizzie said. “You look well.”
This was not merely a platitude. When Lizzie looked her sister-in-law over, she could not deny that she looked a good deal healthier than she had when she’d left Pennsylvania.
The shadows beneath Bernadette’s eyes that had appeared after Frank’s death were now gone. Even her pale skin looked brighter. Perhaps it was the fresh air.
“I am well,” Bernadette said taking Lizzie’s arm and pulling her towards the hotel’s front doors. Here a tall, stocky man with tan skin and a little blonde haired babe resting in his arms met them.
“Lizzie,” she said pulling her towards them. “This is my husband, Mattathias. Matt, this is Lizzie Dixon. My sister-in-law.”
“Pleased to meet you, ma’am,” he said shifting the sleeping child from one arm to the other so he could take Lizzie’s hand in his.
“You as well, Mr. Jacobs,” she said. “And, I assume this is Amelia.”
“Your niece,” Bernadette said. She reached out her arms to hold the baby. Amelia let out a small sleepy cry of protest that quieted immediately when Mattathias placed the little girl safely in her mother’s arms.
The cries of protest turned into little noises of settled contentment as Bernadette held the baby out for Lizzie to see more clearly.
As Lizzie inspected the child, she could see that she had inherited her mother’s blonde hair. She imagined it would be as thick as Bernadette’s when she got older.
The nose, though, was all Frank. The mouth, likewise, reminded Lizzie of her late brother-in-law.
A small, sad ping resounded in her heart when the little girl scrunched her face, and she could almost see a ghost smiling back at her.
She tore her eyes away from the child and looked back up to Bernadette.
“As glad as I am to see you, Bernadette,” she said. “I was hoping to meet my fiancé here. I imagined he would greet me at the door.”
Lizzie thought she saw her sister-in-law’s face fall just a bit. A hint of a blush covered Bernadette’s cheeks as though she were about to reveal something embarrassing.
A moment later Bernadette affected a bright but entirely false smile. Lizzie recognized this as the smile Bernadette tended to use when she was trying to hide some secret.
“Billy’s just inside,” Matt answered before Bernadette could respond. “He’ll be out in a moment to grab the bags.”
“Well, that is quite gallant of him,” Lizzie said, surprised. “But, surely the hotel has a porter for that.”
“They do,” Matt said, his eyes now narrowing in confusion. “Billy. He’s been working as a porter at the hotel for the past few months.”
Lizzie’s eyes widened, and she glanced to Bernadette who was now bouncing the baby on her hip and looking determinately away from Lizzie.
“I was…under the impression that Mr. Peters helped to run the hotel,” Lizzie said. “When he wrote to me, he implied that he assisted with the bookkeeping and front desk duties.”
Matt let out a short chuckle.
“I’m afraid you may have gotten the wrong impression then,” he said. “Billy’s a hard worker, don’t get me wrong about that. But, he wouldn’t know how to balance an account even if he could read what was written in it. Mrs. Matthews handles all of that.”
Lizzie’s heart sank as she turned her eyes to Bernadette who was keeping her eyes as far from Lizzie’s glare as possible.
“I am sorry, Mr. Jacobs, I don’t quite understand,” she said. Though she addressed Matt, her eyes remained firmly locked on her sister-in-law.
“If Mr. Peters is incapable of reading, how was he able to write letters to me?”
Matt’s eyes now landed on his wife. His confusion now turning to understanding.
“Mrs. Matthews and Bernadette took dictation from him,” he said. “I thought Bernadette would have told you that.”
Lizzie saw Bernadette’s blush deepen when she looked up at her husband.
“I did not see the need,” Bernadette said with more than a hint of defensiveness. “The words were Billy’s even if he didn’t write them. And, frankly, I don’t think you give the boy enough credit, Matt. Billy is perfectly capable of reading figures even if he doesn’t do it often.”
Lizzie was about to remind Bernadette that, in her initial letter about Bill Peters, Bernadette had led her to believe that he was not simply ‘capable’ of reading figures.
In that initial letter, Bernadett
e had gone on and on about Bill Peter’s head for business matters. She’d told Lizzie how intelligent and thoughtful he was. That he had a business plan for his ranch already mapped out.
In short, she had made him seem the perfect partner.
Before Lizzie could remind Bernadette of these false promises her sister had given, a loud noise from inside the hotel caused the little group to jump and turn.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here as soon as the carriage arrived,” a young man said hurriedly, running a hand through his messy brown hair in a futile attempt to straighten it.
“You must be Lizzie. Your picture doesn’t do you justice! But, then, I guess photographs never seem to. I only have the one of me, and I don’t think it’s a very good likeness at all. I’m Billy. Though, I suppose you’ve gathered that by now.”
He said all this very quickly before proudly sticking his hand out as though he were greeting a business partner or male colleague.
He was young. Much younger than Lizzie could have ever expected.
When she took in his stature and bearing, she realized the boy could not be older than twenty-five.
She had come here prepared to meet a thirty-one-year-old business man.
Lizzie glanced to Bernadette before extending her hand to the boy as gently as she could.
“I’m pleased to meet you, Mr. Peters,” Lizzie said quietly. Billy gave a slight chuckle.
“I’ve never gone by Mr. Peters, Ma’am,” he said. “Reminds me too much of my Pa. Billy’s fine with me.”
“Billy then,” Lizzie said throwing a slight glare to her sister-in-law. This talkative young man was hardly the mature, business savvy gentleman Bernadette’s description and Bill Peter’s letters had painted.
“I’m sure you’re tired, Lizzie,” Bernadette said quickly, clearly sensing the animosity coming from Lizzie. “Why don’t we go inside and get you settled?”
“I’ll take your bag,” Billy said eagerly, reaching down and grasping the large case Lizzie had brought with her.
“Thank you, Mr.…Billy,” she said correcting herself.
“No trouble at all,” he said giving her a smile that caused his bright brown eyes to crease at the edges. That one smile almost made Lizzie think that this whole arrangement might not be so bad after all.
But, that smile also served to make her future husband look much younger. Which, in turn, reminded her just how much older than this boy she appeared to be.
Billy took both Lizzie’s bag and the cases of the other patrons inside. Matt followed him a moment after.
Bernadette, her face still burning from having been discovered went to follow her husband, Amelia still squirming in her arms but, before she could, Lizzie pulled her back.
“Apparently, Mr. Peter’s letters were not as accurate as I had assumed them to be,” Lizzie said immediately to her sister-in-law, whose face flushed.
“They were accurate enough,” Bernadette protested; though the way she bit down on her lip and moved her eyes to the side told Lizzie that even she did not quite believe this lie.
“You lead me to believe that he was a gentleman around my own age who was well educated with a firm plan for his own business,” Lizzie reprimanded.
“He does have a firm plan for his own business,” Bernadette said. “The house on the ranch is nearly complete. He already has a head of cattle purchased.”
“It will be difficult for him to run that ranch without being able to read or write,” Lizzie said, her arms crossed, glaring down at Bernadette. Bernadette’s face colored again as she looked back to the ground.
“I may have exaggerated his better qualities a bit,” Bernadette admitted finally.
“As well as his age,” Lizzie said now blushing herself. She knew she was no longer in the spring of life. A man as young as Billy should have been looking forward to starting a family. Now, he would be saddled with a barren, thirty-three-year-old widow.
“Lizzie, he is close enough to your age. You are not so old as you seem to think.”
“I am old enough for people to talk,” she said. “Besides that, I am not certain that I feel comfortable having a better education than my husband.”
“Education is not always indicative of intelligence,” Bernadette reminded her. “You of all people should know that.”
Lizzie opened her mouth to contest the point but found that she could not. As a woman of few means who was largely self-taught, she’d experienced the same prejudice she now seemed to be placing upon this poor boy. As she was about to give some sort of conciliatory answer, Bernadette heaved an impatient sigh.
“Lizzie, the wedding is still nearly two weeks away,” she said finally. “Just…promise me you will take that time to get to know Billy. I am sure you will find that you are well suited to one another.”
“And if it turns out we are not?” Lizzie asked.
“Then you will not have to go through with the wedding,” Bernadette said firmly. “If that is your decision at the end of two weeks, I will speak to Billy. You won’t have to confront him yourself.”
Lizzie tried to think of some flaw in this plan. She could only find one.
“There’s no need for you to deliver my messages for me, Bernadette,” Lizzie said. “If I am certain this arrangement will not work, I’ll tell the boy myself.”
“But, you’ll wait two weeks first?”
“I will wait one,” Lizzie said firmly. “I would not want to break off an engagement with only one day before the wedding. Best to give the bad news a week to settle in.”
“I suppose that’s fair,” Bernadette said. As soon as she did, Amelia awoke and began her cries of protest once again.
“She’s hungry,” Bernadette said.
“I can’t blame her,” Lizzie admitted. “After several days travel, I am as well.”
“Best go inside then,” Bernadette said. “Mrs. Matthews will have supper ready for us in less than an hour, I am sure.”
Lizzie allowed Bernadette to lead her into the hotel with only a slightly guilty feeling in her stomach.
Though she would stay one week, as promised, for Bernadette’s sake. She knew that a week from now, she would be on a carriage bound, once more, for Pennsylvania.
Chapter Four
Lizzie woke the next morning to an excited knock on her bedroom door.
“Lizzie!” the high-pitched male voice called through the door. She recognized it immediately as Billy’s. The boy had talked so much at dinner the previous night that she had become very familiar with his voice and all its intonations.
“Mrs. Matthews wanted me to tell you that breakfast is ready,” he said. “I must warn you, she gets a might testy when guests are late for meals. After that, you had best dress in your travel clothes. I’ve got something special planned.”
The excitement in the young man’s voice was palpable. Once again, he spoke so quickly that Bernadette was hardly able to make out what he had said at all. It was as though Billy were perpetually a child on Christmas morning.
“Tell Mrs. Matthews I will be down shortly, Billy,” Lizzie called back through the door.
“I’ll let her know,” he said. “Only, hurry as much as you can. I don’t want the sun to get too high before we start out.”
Lizzie heaved a sigh and pushed herself out of bed.
At dinner, she had to admit, Billy’s constant excited tone had been a bit endearing. This morning, however, she found the brightness of his voice both annoying and disheartening.
After a full several days of traveling, she hardly had the energy to move. And, no matter what her sister-in-law had promised, she knew that she would in no way be able to keep up with this young man.
Slowly, she dressed, as requested, in her easiest traveling clothes and made her way down the stairs.
Bernadette and her husband had made their way back to the ranch the night before. Only Billy and Mrs. Matthews sat at the breakfast table.
“The lawyer and his wife hailed a carria
ge bound for their destination early this morning,” Mrs. Matthews, a woman slightly larger than Bernadette, more than a bit older and much more talkative said in explanation. “It’s a shame really more people don’t settle in Laramie. It really is the best town in these parts for settling down. Everyone is so friendly, and you hardly have any of the trouble that plagues many of the other towns out West. But, I suppose it’s just as well that we remain a small community. Would you like tea or coffee, Mrs. Dixon?”
Mrs. Matthews spoke just as quickly as Billy did, and Lizzie, though appreciative of the sentiment, found it just as off-putting.
“Coffee is fine for me,” she said carefully. “Thank you, Mrs. Matthews.”
Lizzie sat down next to Billy as Mrs. Matthews searched for coffee cups and saucers. She talked all the while, and Lizzie found herself hoping that she herself had not been quite as…intrusive of her guest’s personal lives when she owned a boarding house as Mrs. Matthews was now.
“I’m so glad you’ve come here,” Mrs. Matthews said as she poured hot coffee from the stove into a large mug. “Billy here is such a sweet young man. It’s about time he settled down. Oh! Billy that reminds me! You must take your young lady to see the ranch! You will be astounded at the land Billy has picked out to start his business, Mrs. Dixon. It truly is the best parcel in these parts.”
“Well,” Billy said with a red-faced glance between Lizzie and Mrs. Matthews. “I suppose the surprise I had planned for today won’t be as much of a surprise after all.”
Mrs. Matthews face fell only slightly when she set the steaming mug of coffee down in front of Lizzie.
“Oh, I am sorry, Billy, dear,” she said sounding only slightly regretful. “I didn’t realize you already had plans for the day. Although, I suppose I should have assumed. Seeing as you’ve only just met. I must admit, having only two weeks to get to know one another before being married still seems a bit strange to me.”
“It worked out well for Matt and Bernadette,” Billy said genially. “No reason it shouldn’t work out for me and Lizzie too.”