by Emily Woods
Carol nodded. “They have been through a lot,” she informed Hilda as she tied a bright pink ribbon around Hilda’s middle. “Their father was sent away for over two years during the war. The little boy, Francis, was just an infant, and when Mr. Copper finally returned, Francis did not have any memories of his papa.”
Hilda’s green eyes filled with tears as she imagined Michael bidding farewell to his baby son. “How tragic,” she whispered.
Carol agreed. “The older children missed their papa terribly while he was away. Mr. Copper’s regiment was unable to send out letters, and for many months, the late Mrs. Copper and the older children believed Mr. Copper to be gone forever.”
Hilda shook her head. “No wonder the children are so angry,” she muttered. “Their lives have been in such turmoil!”
Carol pursed her lips. “When Mr. Copper unexpectedly returned home, everyone was shocked! The children had to get to know their father again, but before they could feel comfortable with him, their mother passed away without a warning. It was devastating for the children, and they have been just miserable ever since.”
Hilda looked at Carol, her heart sinking as she imagined the children’s heartache. “Those poor children,” Hilda murmured. “They have been through so much….”
“So has Mr. Copper,” Carol chimed in. “That man has been nothing but a devoted father since he returned from war. His heart was broken when he realized his children did not know him or trust him, and he vowed to do right by them if it was the last thing he did! When his wife passed, he cut his hours at his firm, started taking the children to church twice a week, and sought counsel from some of the women at the church regarding the best way to raise the children.”
Hilda hung her head as she imagined Michael’s deep sorrow. “I only hope that I can help him.”
Carol smiled. “You will!” Carol assured Hilda. “You will be a great help to him. Mr. Copper is a good man and a devoted father, and with you by his side, I know that those children will come around. It won’t be an easy task, but I know that you are the right woman for the Copper children. They will love you. It will just take time.”
“I don’t want to be in your silly wedding!” Kristina cried as Michael tucked her into bed. “I don’t like her, and I hate you!”
Michael sighed as he smoothed Kristina’s hair and kissed her forehead. He handed her a doll, which she tucked under her arm. “Don’t you want to wear a pretty new dress and walk down the aisle? We will have lots of family and friends here, Kristina! It will be a big party! Don’t you want to have a fun part in the big party?”
Kristina turned onto her belly and buried her head beneath her pillow. “It is not a party. It is a wedding! And I don’t want you to have a wedding, because I don’t want her here!”
Michael inhaled through his nose. “Kristina,” he said gently. “Please come out from underneath your pillow. I want to talk with you, and then, it’s time to say our prayers together.”
Kristina did not budge, and Michael removed the pillow from her head. Kristina began to shriek. “No! Put it back.”
Michael tried to give his children grace, but he was growing more and more frustrated with their abhorrent behavior. “No, Kristina,” Michael said sternly. “You do not speak to your father in that tone.”
Kristina began to cry, and Michael’s stomach sank. “I’m sorry, Kristina,” he told his daughter. “Papa does not like to use a mean voice, but Papa is not happy that you were rude to Hilda, and rude to me. You need to act like a young lady, Kristina. Make your mama proud and behave the polite, sweet way she raised you!”
Kristina cried harder, and Michael said their prayers alone. He tucked the fluffy comforter around Kristina’s small body, and kissed her again on the forehead. “I love you,” he whispered to his daughter as he rose from the chair beside her bed. “If you change your mind about the wedding, let me know, Kristina. Carol has gone out and purchased a nice new dress for you to wear if you would like to be part of the ceremony, and I would love to see my beautiful daughter in her beautiful new dress.”
Kristina did not reply, and Michael blew out the candle beside her bed. He left her room, stopping by the boys’ room to check on them. Once he saw them sleeping peacefully, he breathed a sigh of relief.
“Let them adjust to our new family, Lord,” Michael prayed aloud as he ventured to his bedchamber. “Let them learn to love their new mother. Hilda is kind and sweet, and she is so beautiful….”
As Michael entered his bedchamber, thoughts of Hilda danced through his mind. In less than twenty-four hours, he would be entering his bedchamber with Hilda, his new wife. Michael lowered himself onto his bed, imagining the first time he helped Hilda into the comfortable four-poster bed that he had been sleeping in alone for far too long. Michael blushed as he thought of Hilda changing out of her wedding dress and slipping into the bed beside him. He felt a warmth in his belly and a sharp tug of desire as he pictured Hilda’s sparkling green eyes, her long, beautiful strawberry blonde hair, and her womanly figure.
“Hilda, I cannot wait to make you mine,” Michael thought as he lay back against the pillows and stared at the ceiling. “The Lord has brought you to me, and I cannot wait to show you what a good, loving husband I will be….”
Hilda awoke early on her wedding day. The bright Chicago sunlight streamed in through the large windows in the guest room, and as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, her heart began to pound with excitement.
“It is my wedding day,” Hilda whispered to herself as she snuggled into the bed. “Today, I will become Mrs. Michael Copper!”
Hilda did not have long to luxuriate in her bed. Within an hour, Carol was knocking on the door. “It’s time to get you ready for your wedding day, Miss Hilda!” Carol cried out excitedly as Hilda walked over to the door.
“Good morning, Carol!” she greeted the maid as she opened the door to the guest room.
“In a few hours, you will be Mrs. Copper, Miss Hilda! Are you eager to marry Mr. Copper, on this beautiful day?”
Hilda nodded enthusiastically. “I have never been more eager for anything in all of my life,” she replied as Carol beamed. “Let’s begin preparing! I am ready to become a bride!”
It took nearly five hours to transform Hilda into an elegant, Chicago bride, but as Hilda studied Carol’s handiwork, she knew that the time had been worth it. Hilda had never looked or felt more beautiful in all of her life, and she could not wait for her husband-to-be to watch her glide toward him down the aisle.
“It’s all perfect,” she exclaimed to Carol as she looked at her reflection in the full-length mirror. “The dress, my hair, the rouge on my cheeks...I look like a proper lady!”
“You are a proper lady, now,” Carol cooed as Hilda twirled about in her wedding gown, a milky-white puff-sleeved frock that hugged Hilda’s tiny waist. “You are soon to be Mrs. Michael Copper, the wife of one of Chicago’s finest attorneys! You look very much the glowing bride, Miss Hilda!”
Hilda touched her own cheek, in awe at what Carol had done to make Hilda’s pale skin glow. “You have made me into a princess, Carol!”
“That’s what you are today,” Carol laughed as Hilda grinned. “Every bride is a princess on her wedding day! You are a princess of the Lord, and soon, the queen to your new husband!”
Hilda smoothed her voluminous skirts and peered down at the dainty white heeled shoes that Carol had strapped onto her feet. “Every little detail is just perfect,” she breathed as she took a deep breath of the expensive French perfume that Carol had sprayed onto her neck and wrists. “It’s perfect.”
“I think you look ridiculous!”
Carol and Hilda turned to see Kristina glaring at them from the doorway. “Miss Kristina!” Carol cried out. “Miss Kristina, how nice to see you! Would you like to help me with Miss Hilda’s final preparations? I need to put her veil on her head! Would you like to do that, Miss Kristina?”
Hilda watched as Kristina thought for a mome
nt, and then nodded. Perhaps helping me prepare will make her feel included! Maybe we are finally making strides, Hilda thought excitedly as Carol handed the long lace-trimmed veil to Kristina.
“I will guide your hands,” Carol instructed Kristina. “And you will hold the veil in its place while I pin it in Miss Hilda’s hair. Do you understand?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Kristina answered obediently.
Hilda held her breath as Carol guided Kristina’s small hands to the back of Hilda’s head. Hilda’s waist-length strawberry blonde locks had been wound into a simple bun at the nape of her neck, and Carol helped Kristina move the veil to its position just beneath the bun.
“Now, you hold it there, Miss Kristina,” Carol ordered the girl as she reached for a pair of pearl-tipped pins. “Hold it just so, and I will secure it with these pins!”
Kristina held the veil in place for less than ten seconds, but before Hilda knew it, the veil was in two ragged pieces on the floor. “What have you done?” Carol cried out as Kristina smiled smugly. “You have destroyed Miss Hilda’s veil, Miss Kristina! Why would you do something like that?”
Kristina smirked. “It was an accident,” she explained. “I didn’t mean to ruin the veil.”
Before Carol could argue, Hilda bent down to collect the two pieces of her ruined wedding veil. “It’s fine, Carol,” she said calmly as she stared into Kristina’s wide eyes. “I’m sure Kristina did not mean to ruin my wedding veil. It was surely an accident, yes, Kristina?”
Kristina nodded, and Hilda patted the top of her head with her gloved-hand. “Why don’t you run along now, Kristina,” Hilda commanded as Kristina sauntered to the door. “I need to fix my veil, and I would hate to have your father learn about your...accident.”
At the mention of her father’s name, Kristina hurried her pace, sprinting out the door and down the hall. “I cannot believe she did that,” Carol grumbled as she collected a needle and white thread from the wardrobe. “That girl….Miss Kristina looks like an angel, but her behavior suggests something else…”
“It’s fine,” Hilda said as she held up the two pieces of her veil. “We can fix this quickly; I know how to stitch around lace, and I think I can return this to its former glory. It you can just hold it…”
Hilda mended the veil with ease, and she smiled as Carol placed it in her hair. “There!” Hilda said with satisfaction. “The problem is solved! Everything is perfect again, and Kristina perhaps feels as though we were in on something together. Maybe this will bring us closer, somehow. Just maybe…”
Michael’s stomach tossed and turned as the music began, a string quartet placed in the corner of the reception room, playing a wedding march. Michael discretely adjusted his navy blue tie and inhaled through his nose, staving off nerves as he stared out over the crowd of his family and friends who had gathered to witness his second marriage.
“The Lord is with you, Michael,” whispered Pastor Davis, Michael’s beloved family minister as the two men waited at the altar for Hilda to make her entrance. “He is watching over you and your family. I met with Hilda this morning to pray with her and provide counsel, and I am confident that she is the one the Lord meant to be your next wife, Michael. Just relax!”
Michael smiled at Pastor Davis, but his face darkened when his eyes traveled to the first row of chairs. Instead of standing with him at the altar, Michael’s three children were seated with the rest of the guests, their countenances sour. They had each refused to join Michael and Hilda in the wedding ceremony, and Michael’s heart sank as he watched his three children glare at him from afar.
“They will settle down,” Pastor Davis assured Michael. “The Lord is watching you and your children, and He will help you to tame their hearts. For today, just focus on your bride! She will be entering soon, and before you know it, the pair of you will be joined together forever in the covenant of marriage.”
Thankful for Pastor Davis’ advice, Michael relaxed his shoulders and fixed his eyes on the double doors leading into the reception room. The music grew louder, and finally, the doors opened to reveal Hilda, his bride-to-be.
Michael thought Hilda looked like an angel from Heaven. Her long hair was tucked behind her head, and a long, floor-length veil trailed behind her as she slowly proceeded down the aisle. Her wedding dress was trimmed with lace, and it accentuated her figure in a way that brought a deep, red blush to Michael’s cheeks. Her eyes shined as she met Michael’s gaze, and as she turned to face him at the altar, it was like the moment in the train station the previous day, as if Michael and Hilda were the only two people in the entire world.
Pastor Davis read the scripture, and invited Hilda and Michael to exchange their vows. When it was time to give Hilda her wedding ring, Michael was pleased to watch her eyes light up. He knew that Hilda’s upbringing in Alabama had been humble, and he was pleased to lavish her with comforts and luxuries as she settled into her new life in Chicago. Her wedding ring was no exception. Michael had handpicked the ring from the finest jeweler in the city, and he chuckled to himself when Hilda’s mouth dropped open in shock as she examined the new ring on her finger. The large oval diamond sat atop a thin, diamond encrusted band, and Hilda’s initials entwined with Michael’s were etched on the band’s interior. Michael was proud of the ring. The jeweler told him it was a perfect stone, and Michael wanted Hilda to wear it proudly for the rest of her life.
“It’s too beautiful,” Hilda murmured to Michael as she studied the sparkling ring. “It’s too much!”
“Nonsense,” Michael whispered to Hilda. “I want to give you everything, Hilda. This ring is a token of my unending love for you! No matter what, I promise to treat you like the diamond you are, and I will see you as a precious gem, just as precious as the gems you now wear on your finger.”
Michael watched as Hilda’s eyes filled with tears. He took her hands, eagerly waiting for the moment when Pastor Davis would officially declare them to be man and wife. Hilda looked ravishing in her wedding attire, and Michael imagined taking her into his arms and kissing her as soon as Pastor Davis permitted.
“And now, ladies and gentlemen,” Pastor Davis announced as Michael’s heart fluttered. “I introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Michael Copper! Michael, you may kiss your bride!”
Michael pulled Hilda into his strong, muscled arms, wrapping his hands around her tiny waist and feeling the curves of her body against his own. He burned with desire for his new wife, but he controlled himself, gently placing a hand on Hilda’s face and guiding it toward his. When their lips first met, Michael kissed Hilda softly, but sensing her own urgency, and kissed her harder, pulling her tighter into his embrace. Hilda leaned into his arms, wrapping her own arms around Michael’s neck and standing on her tiptoes to better reach his mouth.
They kissed for what felt like an eternity, but even as Hilda pulled away with a smile on her face, Michael did not want the kiss to stop. He was drawn to his wife, and he wanted to explore her body, mind, and spirit with every fiber of his being.
“The bride and groom invite all guests into the dining room for a meal, and then we shall return to the reception room for dancing and desserts,” Carol informed the applauding audience. “Please, ladies and gentlemen, follow me into the dining room!”
Michael’s gaze returned to his new wife as their guests shuffled out of the reception room. “That was wonderful,” he said quietly into Hilda’s ear as she blushed. “Mrs. Copper, but I must say that I very much enjoyed that kiss.”
Michael’s heart pounded as Hilda flirtatiously fluttered her eyelashes. “I very much enjoyed that kiss as well, Mr. Copper. I do hope that we can share in more kisses later?”
Michael took his wife’s hand and leaned in to kiss her once again. “I do hope that we can share much, much more later,” Michael whispered into Hilda’s ear as she shuddered in excitement. “Much, more, much more, my bride.”
5
Married life suited Hilda. She adored her new husband, she enjoyed managing
the Copper household, and she enjoyed her ascension to a position of importance within a home. Hilda relied on her modest upbringing in the south as she made decisions and hired more staff to help in the house, and her past helped keep her humble as she settled into her new life of wealth and status.
Her marriage to Michael was unlike anything she had ever imagined for herself. Hilda grew more and more in love with Michael by the day, and she could hardly stand to be away from him when he left for work each day. The newly married couple were clearly in love, and everyone who saw them smiled at the grown man and grown woman who were conducting themselves like adolescents in rapture for the first time.
“It’s the happiest I’ve ever seen Mr. Copper,” Carol told one of the new chambermaids as they scrubbed laundry. “He looks at the new Mrs. Copper like she hung the stars in the sky! And she is nearly out of her head in love with him! She hardly tears her gaze away from him when he is in the room, and when he isn’t, she looks simply forlorn!”
The only people who were unhappy about the union were the three Copper children. Johnny, Kristina, and Francis refused to warm to Hilda. They would not even sit at the same dinner table with her, and despite Michael’s best efforts, they were still behaving terribly.
“Perhaps this time apart will allow you to bond with them,” Michael murmured to Hilda one evening as they lay together in bed, Hilda’s head on Michael’s chest, and Michael’s arms wrapped firmly around his wife’s bare body. “My business trip will take me to St. Louis for nearly a week. It will be the first time you have been alone with the children, and I have been praying that they will take to you while I am away!”
Hilda snuggled closer to her husband. She was devastated that he was leaving in the morning. They had been married for three weeks now, and Hilda could hardly stand the thought of Michael being so far away. She blinked back tears, but Michael saw her green eyes redden.