by Lynn Donovan
They finished breakfast and moved to their public seats. Anticipation of arriving in Billings crackled in the atmosphere. Ginger was even more bubbly than usual. Dot’s thoughts moved into retrospective anticipation of an unknown. The Lovelorn had suggested this was just what she should do. She hoped it was truly what she wanted. A sting of pain pinched in her heart. She missed her father, Mr. Green, and the university. It was the only life she had known.
Lifting her chin a notch, she pursed her lips. This new life was an opportunity for companionship, happiness, and acceptance. She would make the best of it, no matter what.
As if on cue, the steward entered their car on his way through to the next. “Billings, next stop. Billings, Montana, next stop.”
This was it! Dot drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. She tugged on her gloves and waited for the train to stop completely, before she gathered her carpet bag from the shelf above her head. Ginger squealed. Dot knew how she felt as the train slowed to a crawl.
No one moved until the steward opened the doors and invited the people to disembark. Dot waited in line with the others, slowly stepping forward, step by step. She could smell the western city. The air was moist but not salty like the Boston Harbor. Bending to look out the windows, she searched for anybody who might be waiting for her to disembark.
Would he be holding a sign? Would he just look for whoever looked out of place or lost? She tried to allow her face to look as lost as possible. After all, she was. Except that Ginger had mentally prepared her for everything she was about to see. The depot, next to the Billings Hotel, which had a diner on the corner. The General Store across the street and two saloons on either side of that. A barber, then a dentist. Mrs. Talulah’s Dress Shop to the north and a Tanner’s shop to the south. A lawyer then the sheriff’s office and jail house. Next to Mrs. Talulah’s was her sister’s haberdashery shop where Ginger preferred to get all her ribbons and buttons. The miller next with all the lumber you could possibly imagine in one place.
Dot occupied her mind with recalling the town’s layout, while she inched toward the platform. At last it was her turn to exit. She stepped out of the train and looked over the dozen or so people and Billings, Montana. Her new home. It was beautiful! A curtain of mountains gave a hazy backdrop to the town’s wood and brick structures. The big blue sky was clear and crisp, clean air filled her nostrils. It was so much more beautiful than what Ginger had described as Wide Open Montana Sky.
The steward offered his gloved hand and Dot accepted, moving to step down. No one rushed up to her, so she perused the crowd a little better. She did not see anyone holding a sign with her name… or even Brilliant in Boston? Now what?
She moved away from the train and toward the platform where luggage was being off-loaded. She found her trunks and stood with them, as other’s took their luggage and loaded them on wagons and in buggies. The Houndsmans hesitated near a carriage. “Are you sure you’re all right, dear?” Mrs. Houndsman asked.
“Well, I know he knows I’m coming. He bought the tickets after all.”
“Perhaps we should wait with her,” Ginger pleaded.
“No! I’m fine,” Dot insisted. “You go on home. I’m sure—”
The train pulled away. Dorothy turned to watch it move further down the tracks. She turned back to the Houndsmans’ anxious faces. “I’m all right, really.”
Mr. Houndsman nodded. “If your benefactor does not show up soon, the sheriff can direct you to our house. You are welcome anytime.”
Dotty nodded with a smile, trying to appear confident to wait alone. She waved as they too pulled away. She stood alone with her two trunks. They were too heavy to pull by herself, so she just waited. Had she misunderstood? No. Mr. Orchid had sent her the money, he had purchased the ticket. There was no way she had done anything wrong. He must be delayed.
Eventually a mule-drawn wagon pulled up to the depot. A well-groomed man with a closely-trimmed beard held the reins, a girl in her early teens sat beside him and three boys sat in the bed of the wagon. The boys jumped out as the man reined the wagon to a halt.
“Are you the brilliant teacher from Boston?” He called out.
“Yes?” She let her gaze rake over the children. Were these some of her students? “I’m Dorothy Bladdenwart… from Boston.”
“Bladdenwart? Huh? I’m sorry we are late. We had a last minute— well anyway, we are here now. Shall we load your things?” The youngest boy hung his head in shame. Whatever had delayed their arrival, he had something to do with it. Dorothy smiled at him, hoping he noticed and felt her forgiveness.
“Uh. Yes, please.” She moved away from her trunks as two of the boys approached her and heaved them none too gently into the wagon.
The man climbed down and shook her gloved hand. “I’m Aidan Orchid. These are my children. Gavin, Anna Beth, Cole, and Jackson. They are part of the class you will be teaching. Let’s go to the courthouse and sign papers then I can take you to the mining camp where your schoolhouse is and get you settled in.”
Dot looked the children over. All three boys were the spitting image of their father. The girl must favor her mother. “All right.”
He helped her onto the bench seat while the children climbed back into the wagon and sat on top of her trunks. They pulled over to the courthouse. It was a brick building with a colonial feel about its design. What paperwork did she need to sign? Employment papers? A teaching contract? And why at the courthouse?
Mr. Orchid assisted her down from the wagon and walked her into the marble floored building. The children trailed along behind. They entered a dark-mahogany wood-paneled office.
“Ah, Aidan. I see she has arrived. Good.” The man with lamb chop sideburns stood instantly behind the desk. He pulled out a folder and opened it. “I have the paperwork right here.”
Aidan shook the man’s hand. “Thank you, Judge Haws.”
The judge nodded. “Now we can perform the ceremony and sign papers or the other way around whichever you are most comfortable with, my dear.” The Judge’s eyes bore into Dot’s. He was speaking directly to her. “Sign… what paperwork?”
“These papers, hon.” He held the folder out to her. “So you can go with Mr. Orchid.”
She looked down and then took the folder. Across the top of the document she was being asked to sign read in huge, fancy scripted letters. Document of Matrimony.
“Matrimony! Am I getting married? … to Mr. Orchid?”
The judge blustered and sputtered. “Well, yes. What did you think you were doing?”
She paused. Glaring at the two men. Were they serious? “I thought I was being hired to teach in a one-room, private classroom.”
“Yes.” Mr. Orchid stepped up closer to her. “You are. But I also asked you to be my wife. Turtle Dove has made it very clear that I’ve made the children go long enough without a mother’s hand. It will be a marriage of convenience until you settle in and feel you want more.”
Dorothy stared at Mr. Orchid, slacked jaw. “A-a mother’s hand? Turtle Dove? Who’s-who’s Turtle Dove? I-I don’t understand.” She jerked her reticule open and pulled out his letter. Opening it, with trembling hands, she read over the print. “Where does this ask me to marry you? It doesn’t say anything about marriage!” Her eyes landed on the words. “…an opportunity to take my wife’s place.” Dot lifted her gaze to meet Mr. Orchid’s. “Is that what you meant by take your wife’s place?”
He nodded.
“Oh, dear me.” She swallowed. “I misunderstood. You see, no one wants to marry me. I’m too educated to be suitable for marriage. My only expectations about coming out west, to-to Montana, was to teach. Support myself as a teacher. I-I’ve never even been courted, Mr. Orchid.”
“Miss Bladdenwart, I assure you. My intentions are honorable. This marriage is a marriage of convenience, nothing more, if you wish. I don’t expect nothing from you, except to help me with the children and see to their education. I-I need someone highly educated, like you,
to carry on with these children’s studies. They’re pretty darn smart on their own, my-my late wife was a school teacher and had a fine education.”
“She don’t want ta be our momma?” Anna Beth whimpered. “Well, who said we wanted her to be our momma anyways?”
Mr. Orchid turned to his daughter. “No, honey. It’s not that. I’m sure it’s not. Miss Bladdenwart was just caught off guard. Daddy wasn’t clear with what we had in mind for her to do when she got here.” He turned to Dorothy with pleading eyes. “Please Miss Bladdenwart. I’m sorry for the confusion. I assure you! My intentions are honorable!” He fidgeted with his hat.
She stared at him, dumbfounded. “You… want to marry me, without even knowing me?”
“I tell you what.” The judge broke in. “I’ll perform the ceremony today, so you can go on out to the Orchid Mining Camp. You get a feel for what’s going on out there and whether it’s right for you. I’ll send the paperwork with Aidan, and if you decide it’s right for you, you can sign the papers when you are good and ready. How’s that sound? That way, we’ve got your reputation covered, and you still have the freedom to change your mind. So long as…”
“That’s fair to me.” Mr. Orchid nodded.
Dot’s eyes darted to the children. Their hurt faces broke her heart. She focused on them. “It’s not that I don’t want to be your mother. I-I just didn’t realize your father was asking me to marry him. I thought he was asking me to be your teacher. You look like wonderful children. Anyone would be lucky to be your mother.”
She settled her gaze on Mr. Orchid. “I-I suppose keeping the paperwork to sign later would be best…”
The judge turned his head toward his door. “Mildred! Could you come in here?” He yelled.
A woman rushed in, patting her hair. The judge stated matter-of-factly, “We need a witness.”
“Oh.” She mouthed and took her place next to Dot. The children straightened into a line behind Dorothy and Mr. Orchid. Anna Beth crossed her arms over her chest and looked away. Dotty had some making up to do with that girl. She hated that her confusion had hurt the child’s feelings.
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…”
He went on. Dorothy’s mind was swimming with questions without answers. She had no idea she was going to get married today. Or ever. Ginger had been right! She was a mail order bride! How did she know, when Dot had no idea? Was this something they would laugh about over tea the next time she saw her new friend? She was wrong about one thing. Here was a man who wanted a highly educated woman as his wife. How different he was from the gentlemen callers she knew in Boston.
Sight unseen, even, he just wanted a well-educated wife so his children would get a good education. She respected that. It was a shock, but she appreciated his concern for his children’s education. Somehow, the Lovelorn was right about her probability to marry out west also. Wait ’til her father heard about this!
Father! Did he know? Was he aware she was accepting a mail-order bride arrangement? Why hadn’t he said anything? Perhaps he did not know? She would certainly ask him in her next letter. How could she have been the only one who was completely unaware of what she was getting herself into here? Perhaps she wasn’t quite as brilliant as she had given herself credit for. She shook her head.
“I’m sorry. Are you indicating, ’No?’” The Judge stopped talking.
Dorothy gasped. “Oh, dear me. No! I didn’t indicate anything. I was just thinking… to myself. Uh, please… go on.”
He did and soon she agreed to love, honor, and obey. She hoped that didn’t come back to haunt her down the road, the obey part! Just exactly what would she be expected to obey from Mr. Orchid? As long as she did not sign those papers, she wasn’t yet officially married. This was just a ruse, a formality. It was the paperwork being filed in the courthouse that made it real. It wasn’t real. Not yet. She didn’t have to obey this man if he expected something from her that she didn’t want to do.
“I now pronounce you Man and Wife.” The Judge concluded. He shook Mr. Orchid’s hand and then hers. The woman, Mildred, returned to her station outside his office with barely more than a mumble of congratulations. Dorothy and Mr. Orchid walked out to the wagon, loaded up the children, and headed out of town.
Done and done. On to her new life.
“So, is she our new momma, Pa?” Anna Beth asked.
“Well,” Mr. Orchid smiled. “She is definitely your new teacher, we don’t know yet if she will be your new mother. Now remember what we talked about. Give her some space to get to know us and we will see how it all works out.”
All of the children’s eyes remained on Dorothy. She smiled awkwardly and turned to face forward. Everyone knew about the marriage, except herself. A hollow sensation gnawed in her gut. What else did she not know?
Chapter Four

The trip to the Orchid residence was a precarious but lovely drive. From a relatively flat town the mule climbed a road that took them into forested mountains. Aidan told her his story as they rambled up into the mountain and the children sat quietly in the bed of the wagon.
“I settled up here to be a trapper. My first wife, Sheila, and I built a small cabin and we trapped all spring and summer into the late fall. Then we hunkered down for the winter and waited til the next spring. She gave birth that winter to Gavin and Anna Beth. They are twins. The next spring we set out our traps but discovered an outcrop of copper. So we trapped for furs and gathered copper too, only to find that we could make more money bringing in the copper ore than selling hides. Cole was born that next winter and then Jackson the next.
“Turtle Dove Two-Rivers came to work for us as a housekeeper and cook that next spring and her husband, Drake, became a hired hand around the grounds. Sheila taught the children their schooling. The copper mining was enough to employ others and that’s when we built more cabins to accommodate more workers and their growing families. The children joined Sheila in our home for schooling. We added on to our original trapper’s cabin which became known as the Big House. Sheila’s class became too big for the dinner table so we built a schoolhouse. It was so much more convenient than to send the kids to school in Billings.”
Aidan took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. “Sheila caught the fever and died last spring. And I just haven’t been able to open my heart to the possibility of another wife. But Turtle Dove is pretty determined that it’s time and the children need a mother. I know they need a teacher. Anna Beth and Gavin have been tutoring the younger ones, but it’s not fair to them to be responsible for an education they themselves haven’t even finished.”
Dorothy spoke for the first time. “That’s why my education is more important to you than… my domestic skills?”
He glanced up at her with a sheepish grin. “Yes. I have a housekeeper and cook, what I need is a school teacher. It don’t hurt none that you are as beautiful as you are, though, Miss.”
Dorothy’s cheeks flushed with heat. “Well, thank you.”
They rode in silence for a ways, letting his tale settle in her thinking. So this wasn’t just a residence, it was a mining camp, a community. At last she spoke again. “You know, I make a really tasty molasses and raisin muffin. It was my momma’s recipe and some people call it my ‘signature muffin.’” She smiled and turned to look at Anna Beth. “I’ll be pleased to make them for all of you. And teach you the recipe, if you want.”
The boys nodded happily. Anna Beth shrugged. Dorothy would take that as a maybe from the girl.
The mix of Ponderosa pines and fresh, pale green budding trees filled the view as far as her eyes could see. Up, up, up the mule trudged until they crested the top. Then Dorothy could see out across the valley, the town of Billings and the Yellowstone River. It was beautiful from up here. A clearing in the trees indicated a trail down which the mule turned and soon they came to a clearing. There was one fairly large ranch-style log home and several outbuildings. One appeared to be a typical schoolhous
e with a peaked roof and several windows. Another smaller building straddled a creek, was it a spring house? While yet another looked to be a smokehouse with a flu billowing sweet-smelling smoke into the air. A barn and a rough-hewed fence formed a corral, where horses and mules munched on piles of hay. Smaller houses spotted the forest like a small village. Were these the other families who had their children in this school, too?
“There’s the schoolhouse.” Mr. Orchid indicated with a nod toward the building. “There’s a room in back for you until you are ready to move into the Big House. Assuming you ever want to, that is.”
“Oh, all right.” Dorothy swept the property, taking it all in. “May I have the complete tour before I decide?”
“Of course.” He grinned. The children piled out of the wagon. Anna Beth went directly to the Big House. The boys unloaded her trunks and carried them into the schoolhouse. She watched them disappear through the front doors. “They seem quiet.”
“Oh, just give them a chance. You’ll find they have a voice.” He chuckled.
“You say their mother passed last spring?” She waited for him to answer.
He stared at her, swallowed hard, then nodded.
“Who has been conducting classes?”
“Like I said, the older children tutor the younger. It’s better than nothing, I suppose. But I feel better knowing someone with a formal education is leading the lessons.”
“I see. Well, I hope the older children will be relieved to have me take over and they can go back to being students.” She smiled at him.
There was still sadness in his eyes. “Anna Beth has been more of a mother to the younger boys but it’s Turtle Dove who has been overseeing their day-to-day. They are smart, like their mother. I’m confident they will catch up under your guidance.”
“I’ll do my best. Th-thank you for having so much confidence in me. You don’t even know me.”
He smiled wryly. “Miss Baldwin had confidence in you. I trust her.”