by Zoe Matthews
I have included some guidelines to follow if you should choose to continue in becoming a mail-order bride. The first step is to fill out a questionnaire about your likes and dislikes. The men fill out the same questionnaire. Then I will match yours with a man to help you both have the same interests.
You should also write an introductory letter, which I will give to the man I think will best fit you. If you both like what you read about each other, then you can write each other.
I do have some guidelines that you must agree to follow.
1. If you start to write a man, and then change your mind, you must write to him and let him know of your decision immediately.
2. I advise that you both exchange at least two letters before you decide to meet each other.
3. The man should agree to pay for any expenses for you to travel to where he lives. Each man should agree to not expect reimbursement from the lady, even if the end result does not bring about marriage.
4. If you make any promises to the man you are writing in letters, you must keep them. Be honest. If you don’t know how to cook or plant a garden, don’t tell him you can.
5. If you have a child, make sure the man knows about him or her and agrees to provide for their care.
6. If you choose to meet, you must agree to not marry for at least 30 days. This time should be used to get to know each other. I do not approve of instant marriages.
7. If, after the 30 days are up, you choose to not marry, you should depart from each other with no hard feelings.
8. If you do choose to marry, it must be performed in a church of your choice, in front of a licensed minister.
9. All applicants should be living a good Christian life.
If you are willing to agree to these requirements, please fill out the questionnaire and write an introductory letter, then mail them both to me. If I am able to match you with a man, I will be in touch.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Victoria Hilton
Owner of Mrs. Hilton’s Matchmaking Services
In the Denver Colorado area
Kimberly couldn’t believe what she was reading. If she wasn’t mistaken, she would be thinking she had just read a letter just out of the 1890s. It was written in beautiful calligraphy handwriting. In fact, it looked like it had been written with real India ink. It wasn’t written on paper that she was familiar with. It was heavier than the typical paper she would have used to write a letter. In fact, she would have expected a typed letter, not a written one.
She looked up and noticed Nicky and Justin were watching her, so she wordlessly handed it to Nicky. She was no longer hungry, but forced herself to finish her meal. She didn’t know what to think of the letter.
Nicky read through it, her eyes widening more and more as she read the entire letter. She then handed it to Justin, who had silently held out his hand for it.
“This is a scam, Kimberly,” Justin announced as he tossed the letter on the table. “Surely you know that.”
“Maybe,” Kimberly admitted. But why did she feel disappointed that it might be? Did she really want this to be real?
“I agree with Justin,” Nicole said as she stood up and held out her hand to Garrett. “Come on, buddy. I just bought you a new video game you might like.”
Garrett whooped out loud his excitement and left the room with his aunt. Kimberly could hear the TV turn on and soon could hear the sounds of the game.
“I hope you are going to throw this away,” Justin sounded suspicious as if he suspected Kimberly’s thoughts.
“Don’t worry about what I am going to do,” Kimberly glared at him. “I can make my own decisions.” She jumped up and started to clean up the kitchen, refusing to look at him. She eventually heard him leave the kitchen muttering to himself.
She sighed with relief and continued her chore. She wished she could reread the letter, but knew that if she showed any interest in it, Justin would be right back in to bug her about it. She quickly slipped the letter and questionnaire back in the envelope and tucked it under a stack of papers that had been on the corner of the counter for weeks. She knew it would be safe there until she could retrieve it. It was one of those stacks where she and Nicole would put mail that looked important but really wasn’t.
Kimberly enjoyed the rest of the evening with her friends. They watched Garrett play his new game and then they watched a new movie Nicky had rented from a nearby Red Box. Kimberly spent her time drawing with her colored pencils. She considered herself an amateur artist, but loved to draw anything she could. She loved to draw people, but she also did landscapes and other nature scenes. Drawing soothed her and calmed her when she felt stressed. That evening, she enjoyed drawing Garrett as he learned how to play his new game. Nicky and Justin were used to Kimberly drawing whenever she had some free time.
She was glad neither Nicky or Justin brought up the letter again, although she knew Nicky thought that since she disapproved of it, that Kimberly would follow her lead and assume it was a scam. Nicky tended to expect that everything be done the way she wanted it to. When it was Garrett’s bedtime, Justin left, and Nicole went to bed shortly after.
Kimberly waited for a few minutes until she was sure Nicky had retired for the night, finishing up her drawing of Garrett. Then she pulled the letter out from its hiding place, went into her room, and quietly locked the door. She settled herself on her bed and reread the letter. As she did, she suddenly realized she very much wanted this to be real. She couldn't explain why; who knew what kind of man she would end up with? She wasn't even in a big hurry to marry. But, she felt a pull towards this idea, and maybe, just maybe it would bring happiness to her life. She wanted to fill out the questionnaire and write the letter. But she knew if she did, Nicole and Justin would give her a hard time.
Could she just answer the letter quietly? No, she whispered to herself, vetoing that idea. She didn’t want to do this behind their backs. She didn’t care if they agreed with what she wanted to do. She just wanted them to support her.
Suddenly, she made up her mind. She sat at her desk and quickly filled out the questionnaire. It was just a basic one. Would she be willing to relocate to an area far away from where she lived? If not, how far was she willing to travel? Did she have any children? Did she want children? Would she be willing to live on a farm or ranch, and if so what skills did she have? Kimberly always had wanted to live in a rural part of the country. She had always hated living in the city. Sometimes she felt so closed in and she felt she didn’t have space to breathe, to just be. But she didn’t know what skills she had that would contribute to living in the country, so she left that question blank. The last question was, would she be willing to travel and live near the man she was considering to marry for at least 30 days? She answered in the affirmative to that question, even though she knew she would need to take a leave of absence or even quit her job.
After she finished the questionnaire, she wrote her introductory letter. She described herself and wrote that she was a nurse. She enjoyed being out in nature and drawing. She didn’t have any immediate family and she wrote a small paragraph about Nicky and Justin.
When she had finished her letter, she put both papers into an envelope and sealed it, and then went to bed.
Chapter 4
The next morning, Kimberly woke up late. She could hear Nicky in the kitchen and remembered that it was Saturday, so there was no school. Kimberly also had the day off and she suddenly knew what she was going to do. She was going to drive and find the address of this mail-order bride company. She wanted to see if it was a real address. If it was, she was going to mail in her application.
One thing she didn’t count on was that Nicky insisted she go with her. When Kimberly announced over a bowl of cereal what her plans where for the day, Nicky looked at her as if she was crazy.
“Why would you want to do that?” she questioned. “I thought we decided this was a scam and you were going to throw it away.”
Kimberly shook her h
ead warily. “No, you and Justin decided that it was a scam. If you remember, I didn’t say a word.”
“I don’t understand you. Are you really thinking this could be real? Even if it is, why in the world would you want to be a mail-order bride?”
Kimberly decided to try to explain her feelings to her friend, although she didn’t think she would understand. She had already made up her mind about it, and in her way of thinking, the discussion was over.
“I just have this feeling that I want to try it. It’s not going to hurt anything. I haven’t agreed to marry anyone yet.”
Nicky stared at her for a long moment. “Well, I am going with you. There is no way I am going to let you drive to some obscure address by yourself.”
“I think I’ll be okay,” Kimberly protested. She wasn’t sure she wanted Nicky to come along. “I’ll be fine on my own. I just want to make sure it’s a real address.”
“I want to go with you. Afterwards, we can go to that new mall that just opened up.”
Kimberly knew she wasn’t going to be able to leave without Nicky, so she finally agreed. A few hours later, she used her GPS and pulled up to the address. It was a large old-fashioned Victorian home. It had been located in an old part of Denver, just like she had suspected. It was built with different colored grey stones, with a wraparound porch on the left. Separating the porch and the front door was what looked like an indoor gazebo. Kimberly's gaze followed the tall white windows up to the roof, which had white molding emphasizing all of the sharp edges. Tall trees bordered the house, showing the age of the home more than the house itself; someone must go to great lengths to ensure this house was well kept.
She sat in the car with Nicole beside her, staring at the home, and she made an instant decision. “I am going to see if anyone is home.”
“Oh, no you don’t,” Nicole tried to argue with her as she grabbed Kimberly’s arm. “You just agreed to see if it was a real address. Well, it is, but it’s someone’s home, not a business. You can’t just go up there and…”
Kimberly pulled away and opened the door. “You can stay here if you want. I’ll be right back.” She grabbed her small purse which had her application in it and got out of the car.
“Kimberly, you are acting crazy,” Nicky yelled as Kimberly shut her door.
Kimberly admitted to herself that she was acting a bit strange. She usually was very reserved and didn’t make spur of moment the decisions like this. She usually took many days to make a decision, looking at all the angles, making sure the decision she wanted to make was the correct one. For some reason, she just knew she needed to pursue this. She just didn’t know why. She felt as strongly about this as she had when she decided to go to college to be a nurse.
She walked up the beautiful sidewalk. The yard was impeccably groomed and there were many spring flowers all over, with a thick green lawn. She heard a car door slam and Nicky calling, “Wait for me! If you are going to follow through with this, I better come along.”
Kimberly smiled to herself. She knew Nicky wouldn’t be able to just sit in the car by herself, wondering what was going on. She always needed to be in the middle of things. She could see out of the corner of her eye that Nicky was more excited about this idea than she was willing to admit.
Kimberly stepped up on the smaller porch that framed the front door and searched for a doorbell, but couldn’t find one, so she just knocked. After a few moments, she raised her hand to knock again, but the door opened.
“Yes? May I help you?” It was an older man dressed in a fancy suit. His hair and clothes were impeccably taken care of. He held himself stiffly like he had a board down his back, and looked at Kimberly without a smile, although his eyes looked kind. He had a strong English accent.
“I was wondering if this was where I can find Mrs. Victoria Hilton,” Kimberly stammered. The man intimidated her a bit.
“Yes,” was all the man said.
“Is there a way I could speak with her? I am Kimberly and this is my friend, Nicky.” Kimberly introduced them to the man, trying to keep her voice steady. “I know I don’t have an appointment, but I would like to meet her.”
The man looked at her for a moment, and then nodded his head. “Please come in, and I will see if she is available for visitors.” He held the door open while Kimberly and Nicky entered the home.
What Kimberly saw amazed her. The main entry showcased a large, gorgeous staircase made of dark oak. The walls were painted a clean white, keeping the room light and spacious. There was a thick arch that wrapped around the ceiling, and led halfway down the walls framed by molding that looked hand carved and extremely intricate. What seemed to be old family pictures lined the walls. The man bowed to her slightly. “I am Collins. I will inform Mrs. Hilton you are here.” He then left, walking stiffly down a hallway and into a room off to the left.
Kimberly heard a snicker from Nicole. “He acts like an old-fashioned butler. You know, the ones that are shown on old English movies?”
Kimberly smiled at her friend and nodded her head in agreement. “At least we know that there really is a Victoria Hilton.”
“We haven’t met her yet,” Nicky whispered to her as she reached out to touch a large bouquet of spring flowers that sat on a nearby table. “Just be on your guard. Don’t agree to anything until we can talk about this. I don’t want you to make a big mistake.”
Kimberly didn’t say anything. She didn’t want to agree to Nicky’s terms until she met Mrs. Hilton. She heard footsteps and turned to see the stiff man returning. He stood at attention and said, “Mrs. Hilton has agreed to see you. This way, please.” He walked away and Kimberly and Nicky followed him down the hallway and into the room he had first disappeared to.
As she stepped into the room, Kimberly saw an older lady sitting behind a large fancy desk. She guessed the woman was in her sixties. Her hair was done up in a sweeping bun and not a hair was out of place. She was dressed in a long sleeved maroon dress that had a neckline all the way up to her neck. The collar came up about an inch above the neckline, and was lined in gray lace that came all the way down to her belly. The same lace also lined the hems of the sleeves. Kimberly had seen dresses like she wore in her research of the 1890s. She smiled kindly at Kimberly and Nicky, but did not say anything. The stiff man introduced them.
“Ma’am, may I present Miss Kimberly and Miss Nicky. They have requested to meet with you. Kimberly and Nicky, this is Mrs. Victoria Hilton.”
"I am so please to meet you both,” Mrs. Hilton stood and then indicated for them to sit down on some chairs in front of her desk, which they did. She turned to the man who was standing nearby. “Collins, would you be so kind to ask for some refreshments to be brought in?”
Kimberly thought she saw the man look disapprovingly at her and Nicky, but that expression quickly left his face as he turned to his employer. “As you wish, ma’am.” He turned and left the room. Kimberly could hear his shoes on the hardwood floor until they faded in the distance.
“What can I do for you ladies?” Mrs. Hilton asked as she sat back down on her chair behind the desk.
“I saw the ad that you placed in the newspaper a few weeks ago. I sent for some information and received a letter yesterday,” Kimberly explained.
“Yes, I do remember your letter and I was the one who sent you the information on becoming a mail-order bride,” Mrs. Hilton confirmed. “I don’t remember your last name, though.”
Kimberly hesitated. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to give out that information yet.
“We are here because we think this is a scam,” Nicky blurted out.
“Nicky,” Kimberly hissed. “Let me handle this.”
“What do you mean, a scam?” Mrs. Hilton looked confused at the word.
“That you are just trying to collect people’s money. There is no such thing as mail-order brides today,” Nicky continued. “Unless they are from Russia.”
Kimberly laid her hand on Nicky’s arm to quiet her. “I j
ust wanted to meet you.” She felt good about the woman now that she met her. She had kind eyes and had greeted her as if she was expecting her to come. She hadn’t made Kimberly feel foolish for making sure she was real.
She reached into her bag and pulled out the envelope with the questionnaire and introductory letter and handed it to the older woman.
“I filled this out last night,” Kimberly said. “Can I just leave it with you?”
“What?” It was Nicky’s turn to hiss as glared at Kimberly.
“Yes, you may,” Mrs. Hilton accepted the envelope. “If you don’t mind, I will look through this now. I have a man in mind for you, but I want to read what you have written before I make a final decision.”
“That would be fine. We can wait,” Kimberley agreed, ignoring Nicky’s continued glare, accompanied by an eye roll.
Mrs. Hilton turned her attention to Nicky. “I can see you care deeply for Kimberly. Please know that nothing will happen to your friend.”