by Faye Sonja
"Come," Benjamin said, grinning as he reached for Rosella's hand. "I've got something to show you."
"What is it?" she asked, as Benjamin began to gently guide her out the front door. Clearly it was something outside. "Oh, you haven't taken on yet another horse?" she teased, good-naturedly. Since their good luck with Ruby, Benjamin had practically flooded their farm with new horses, all of whom they were taming, and teaching to behave.
Rosella let out a gasp as she saw what Benjamin wanted to show her.
“Is that...Ruby? In with the other horses?” She could barely believe her eyes. After months of being isolated, Rosella had never thought the mare would be able to mix with the others without being aggressive. But there the horse was, right in front of her eyes, docile and content, as she grazed on her feed with her head down.
“Can I...can I approach her?” Rosella asked. There was a reason she was double checking, as she had to be extra careful these days, in her new condition.
Benjamin nodded. “Yes, just be a little cautious.” He stopped and grinned. “But there’s no need to worry too much. She is like a different horse these days.”
Rosella stepped away and walked towards Ruby, who lifted her head gently and gazed at Rosella with her big brown eyes. All the wildness of the early days was gone, and now her true nature shone through: she had a kind, gentle nature, which had just needed the right person to bring out. There was silent love exchanged between them.
“Hey girl...” Rosella murmured. Ruby immediately responded to her voice, lifting her head, wanting to get closer to Rosella, to make physical contact with her.
Rosella glanced down at her stomach and took a cautious step forward. Benjamin was right though: there was no risk now. A different horse was standing in front of her now.
“I guess there really can be second chances...and opportunities to start over...” Rosella mused, as she petted the horse. “Both of us have a new life now. A chance to start over.”
She said goodbye to Ruby and headed back to Benjamin, who was watching her with pride.
“I knew you had it in you, Rosella, to be a magical horse whisperer.” He chuckled a little as he said it. “Sorry, I don’t mean to tease you.”
He placed an arm around her shoulder. “ I could see your strength, and your beauty, from the first moment I saw you.” He stopped and took a good look at his beautiful wife, taking her face gently in his hands. “From the moment I received that first letter from you, I had faith that you would make a great difference to my life out here. To the farm, and to the animals. And I was right. Rosella, I’m so glad you’re here, that you’re my wife. I’m more grateful for that than I’ve ever been for anything. And I will remember to thank God for this every night in my prayers, for the rest of my life.”
She was quiet for a second, as she watched the animals. Finally, she had to ask, what was in her heart. “And you’re grateful that I speak now?”
He heard the uncertainty in her voice, and he turned her face up to look at his. “I’m grateful, of course, yes. But even if you never spoke, I would still be just as grateful for you. And love you just as much. Being able to speak is just a bonus.”
She smiled and put her head down gently, glad to hear the words he had spoken. As they stood and watched the animals on their farm, Rosella reached down and put a hand on her rapidly expanding belly. They watched the horses gently frolic, and the cattle in the distance, and Rosella was glad that she was going to bring their new baby into such a happy environment, filled with so much life already. They were taking on and caring for lots of animals – sometimes more than she thought they could deal with, but she put faith in God that they were not sent more than they could handle. It was her and Benjamin’s vow to not give up on any of them, nor on each other.
“I don’t want to put down any animals because of their bad temper....” Benjamin noted. “I’m so glad we didn’t give up hope with Ruby, and I never want to get that close again.”
“I agree,” Rosella replied, softly. At times she still had trouble speaking, and she had to trust someone before she could fully open up to them. Strangers, she was still silent around – at least, until they earned her trust. But with Benjamin, and the animals, and her friend Mr. McGillicuddy, she was able to open up. Slowly, she was putting her past behind her, and the terrible memories haunted her less and less. "I don't want to give up on anyone ever again."
Benjamin reached round and placed his own hand over Rosella's protective hand on her belly. "Never again," he reassured her. "Not the animals, not each other, and not on hope. Especially with our baby on the way."
Rosella turned her body around to face him, and, gazing up at her husband, spoke the most important words she had ever wanted to say, the words that didn't always need to be vocalised, but that sounded all the more sweeter when they were.
"I love you."
"I love you too, Rosella."
* * *
THE DEAF BRIDE & THE SENSIBLE TEACHER
MAIL ORDER BRIDES OF
WESTERN ROMANCE
BOOK 3
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b o o k 3
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"She didn't tell you...that…I’m deaf. It's alright. I can tell you're very shocked." Luanna is DEAF and today she becomes the wife of Nicolas- a school teacher, a sensible one. And he wonders who is more unruly - his school children, or his new wife!
Can Luanna ever become the perfect, sensible wife she believes Nicolas wants?
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1
Luanna
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“ No. They were real. Someone
wanted to marry her,”
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Chicago,
1851.
"Luanna, can you stop day-dreaming for a second, and get over here to help!"
But Luanna Adams was a million miles away, staring at the scene in front of her. A horse-drawn wagon was pulling into town, and in the seat was the most beautifully dressed woman she'd ever seen in her life. "Oh, who is that..." she murmured. Beside her, her best friend Mary placed a hand on her arm and turned Luanna to face towards her, the only way for Luanna to understand what she was saying.
"Luanna, I need your help with getting the supper ready, come on," Mary said, waiting to make sure Luanna had read her lips, and could understand what she was saying. She understood well enough, but she couldn't bear to tear herself away from the sight in front of her.
"Who is that?" she asked Mary, temporarily ignoring her pleas for help with the supper. "In the wagon?"
Mary shrugged her shoulders a little, her gingham dress bouncing up and down. "Looks like a bride to me."
"Oooh, a wedding," Luanna murmured. "I can't think of anything more exciting. Do you think we could follow along for a little, see who it is?"
"Someone very rich by the looks of it," Mary replied, sternly, pulling Luanna's head back towards her so that she could lip read. "Now, come on, we've got more important things to be getting on with. There's no time for your wild imaginings."
She sighed. "You're right. We've got dinner to be getting on with. Far less glamorous, but far more necessary, I suppose."
* * *
As Luanna peeled the potatoes, Mary had to wave a hand in front of her friend's face to get her attention. "Still a thousand miles away? You're not still thinking about that bride, are you?"
Luanna dipped her head, a little embarrassed that her friend had read her thoughts so easily. "I was just thinking about how beautiful she looked. How excited she must have felt. Even with all my powers of imagination I can't feel what that must be like." Her voice had turned a little sad and Mary felt bad for bringing the subject back up. The kitchen of the family was a long way away from a glamorous bridal ceremony.
"
Of course," Luanna said, turning her voice more sensible. "I don't need to worry about any of that."
Mary tried to smile. "Yes, I suppose there's no sense trying to imagine things we are never going to experience."
"Oh, but those are the very best things to try to imagine, don't you think?" Luanna asked, dropping the knife. "Not much fun imagining something that you can experience every day. Or dreaming about what you do in your everyday life. What's the point of that?"
Mary shrugged, picking up Luanna's discarded knife. "I go to sleep dreaming about peeling potatoes."
"Oh, but that's just because it's all we ever do, so it fills your thoughts. Come on, Mary, don't you every imagine something a bit more...romantic?" Luanna's voice turned soft again and the look on her face said she was lost in her own thoughts, once again.
Mary blushed. "No, of course not. Do you think I imagine getting married? At my age, twenty-nine? Same for you, Luanna. Sorry to say so, but you and I are old maids."
That brought Luanna firmly back down to earth. She sighed and reached across for her knife, taking it from Mary's hands. "I know, you're right. I'm just being silly. Besides, even if I was a young girl, who would want to marry someone who was deaf?"
Mary reached across and patted Luanna on the arm. "I don't think that makes any difference."
"It does," Luanna replied. "Anyway, you're right, I am too old to marry now." She busied herself in chopping potatoes, working so quickly that the knife became a blur in her hands. "I wasn't being serious, anyway. Of course, it was just nice to look at the bride, to imagine what she might be feeling. That's not the life God has planned for me though. I know that. Don't worry, Mary."
* * *
That night, with the rest of the household quiet, Luanna had time to dream again, and to get lost in her own thoughts.
"It's hard to admit, but I have never given up hope of finding true love...does that make me foolish? I fear it does." She crept up the staircase as carefully as she could, but as she couldn't hear she wasn't sure how noisy she was being. She didn't want to wake anyone, not at that time of night. She intended to walk up to the top room and look out at the stars for a while. Her little private ritual, on nights when the sky was clear. It wasn't much of a view from the attic, but she loved to sit alone and stare upwards, letting her mind wander.
On this night her thoughts were a little heavier. She sat her candle next to her on the small attic table and looked outside. "Twenty-nine is not so old, is it...?" she wondered, staring up at the dark blue sky. "How silly it is that at twenty-nine we women are considered spinsters, old maids, when men can marry at any age." There were many things about the world she didn't understand, and a whole lot more that she would change if she had the chance. But she was resigned to her small life in the Jenkins' kitchen. Not just an old maid, but a maid. As far as she could tell, there was no way out of the life she had; no other path to take, no other options.
"If only I hadn't gotten ill when I was a child. Then maybe I wouldn't be deaf, and someone may have wanted to marry me," she thought, bitterly. This was a dark idea, and she rarely let herself think such things. Luanna believed firmly in God, and her faith told her that God had a plan for her. There was no sense in regrets, wondering what might have happened if things were different.
"This is my life, and I need to appreciate the good in it," she reminded herself. After all, though Luanna was far from rich, she wasn't poor either, and she knew many people had it far worse than her. She looked up at the attic roof and reminded herself to be grateful that she had shelter, and this place to come and gaze at the stars. And in a moment, she would have a warm bed to return to in her servant's quarters, in the room she shared with Mary. Those were blessings to be thankful for.
Before she returned to her room, she bent her head down and prayed, giving thanks for all these things and several more. She didn't ask for anything, at least not in her prayers, besides the safe keeping of the Jenkins family and Mary. But in her heart, there was something she was longing for, and she wondered if God heard this silent, unspoken prayer.
She wanted love, and she wanted to marry.
But were these things just wild wishes? Or could God possibly have a plan in mind, a plan that Luanna couldn't possibly imagine?
* * *
Life can change in an instant, often in the most unexpected of ways. For Luanna, it was when she received a letter in the post on one chilly Chicago morning. Turning it over in her hands she noted that it was post-marked "Gold Creek, California." Her heart started racing a little. "It must be from Rosella," she thought, not waiting to sit down to open it, but instead ripping it open on the spot.
She was surprised Rosella still thought to write to her, after all this time. It had been a year since Rosella had left to move to Gold Creek, when she'd left everything she'd ever known to marry a man she'd never met. A mail order bride.
Luanna found the entire idea quite romantic - to take a chance like that, to put all your faith in God, to marry a stranger and make a new life for oneself. She was eager to hear how Rosella was getting on out there, and to read about her tales of life in the Wild West. Rosella had such an interesting way of writing, and Luanna loved to read. She knew she ought to save the letter for when she had time to savor it, but patience was not one of Luanna's virtues.
She scanned the letter quickly at first, to check for any big news, or any bad news. There was only good: Rosella had given birth to a baby girl, and was settled and happy in her new life as the wife to a horse whisperer.
"Oh, how exciting..." Luanna thought, reading over the letter, enthralled at every word. Gold Creek sounded like a wonderful place. If only she could travel out there to visit Rosella! But it was on the other side of the country, and the coach ride took weeks. It was the kind of trip you only took once in your lifetime - only if you were moving there and not coming back.
When Luanna turned the paper over she got an awful shock. At first she couldn't believe what she was reading, and she had to stop, take a deep breath, and read over the words again. She felt like she could hardly trust her eyes, and wondered if she wasn't simply making up the words on the paper, imagining them.
"He's a wonderful man, Luanna - a school teacher! Kind, gentle, well-loved by his students. And he is looking for a wife, just like you. I have told him all about you, explained to him how wonderful you are, and how you would make a perfect wife..."
Luanna dropped the letter onto the street below her.
"A perfect wife'?
A wife? She shook her head. The events of the day before must have seeped into her mind, and now she was just making things up. This must be one of her waking dreams, or else she was hallucinating. Probably she just needed to eat. She was feeling a little faint.
The wind began to blow the letter away, and Luanna shook her head to bring herself back to reality, and chased after it. She couldn't lose it - she needed to double check that what she had read was real.
Someone wanted her to be his bride.
A wonderful man. A school teacher! In California.
She chased after the letter, almost getting knocked over by a horse and cart as she went. Without noise to warn her, she was used to getting in close scrapes, just narrowly making a narrow escape from accidents. In fact, sometimes she didn't even make a narrow escape.
She grabbed the letter up and turned straight to the back, reading the most important part. She closed her eyes and opened them again, checking, one final time, that the words hadn't disappeared before her.
No. They were real. Someone wanted to marry her, and Rosella was going to arrange the whole thing. All Luanna had to do was make the decision.
It was time to take a seat. She wasn't sure her shaky legs could support her much longer. "This is the biggest decision I've ever had to make. But can there really be much to deliberate? I've already realized that there's no option for me to marry here in Chicago. That my secret dream of doing so must remain just that - a dream. And, oh, I do so
want to be a bride. To feel like that woman in the wagon must have felt. This is my chance.
"I can't hear people talking. But I hear God speak to me. And he's telling me to follow Rosella's lead to Gold Creek. A new adventure awaits me there!"
* * *
2
Nicolas
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“ No. They were real. Someone
wanted to marry her,”
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Gold Creek,
One Month Earlier.
Nicolas Williamson steadied himself as he stood outside the door of the Gold Creek school house. The paint on the outside was still fresh, barely dried, and he could smell the fumes, as he stood there, taking a deep breath.
Nicolas had faced many things during his life: outlaws, gunslingers, some real bad guys. But a classroom full of six to sixteen old children seemed more terrifying than all those things combined. "Come on Nicolas," he said to himself out loud, giving himself a little pep talk. "This is nothing you can't handle. You've witnessed far worse things than this."
But first days can bring out the nerves in even the toughest people, and the first day teaching at a brand new school was trying Nicolas’ nerves, that's for sure. Nicolas braced himself for what he was about to face. His new job couldn't be further removed from what he was used to, from the life he'd lived before he moved to Gold Creek. The total opposite, in fact. He'd once been renowned across the land as one of the wildest cowboys in California. But that was a different lifetime, and a different Nicolas.