Betsy's Hope (Mail-Order Brides Of Prairie Meadow 2)

by Maggie McCloud

She paused and added, “Why not take your letter out on the porch to read before supper. Then you can tell us all about your bride-to-be.”

  For just a minute there, John had been startled and thought that Emily knew about the note he had signed giving ownership of the farm to James Calder. He’d been mighty relieved when he realized that wasn’t what she was referring to.

  The letter from Betsy McIntyre convinced John that she was the right woman for him. She said she was used to hard work and was looking forward to life on his farm. The fact that she was eager to move as soon as he was able to send her a ticket and some expense money was a welcome message to him.

  After reading the letter, Emily and Henry both thought that perhaps he should correspond with her for a while longer before making such a big commitment. “After all John, you hardly know anything about her yet.”

  “No, Sis, I’ve waited long enough to get married. Now that I’m back home, I want to get settled right away. And there’s nothing like a wife to settle a man down, ain’t that right Henry?”

  “You’re sure right about that John. You just can’t beat having a good woman to look out for you,” said Henry, smiling fondly over at Emily.

  The very next day, John made a trip into Prairie Meadow to make arrangements for a train ticket for Betsy. He wrote her a final letter asking her to let him know when she would be arriving.

  Except for the secrets he was keeping, John was a contented man.

  Chapter 3

  As the train pulled into the station at Prairie Meadow, Betsy looked nervously out of the window. Like most of the places where the train had stopped, there was almost nothing to Prairie Meadow. After living in Philadelphia for her entire life, she hadn’t thought that such tiny places even existed. She wondered what she had gotten herself into. ‘Too late for that now,’ she thought, standing up and taking a deep breath before grabbing her bag and making her way to the exit.

  The conductor took her arm and helped her down the steps.

  “They’re unloading the baggage at the far end of the platform, ma’am. That’s where you’ll find your trunk.” Tipping his cap he added, “Have a nice day now.”

  “Thank you,” she replied. She could see where her trunk had been unloaded so she made her way towards it.

  Just then a tall, dark-haired man approached her. Taking off his hat, he said, “Excuse me ma’am. You wouldn’t be Miss Betsy McIntyre, would you?”

  Betsy took a moment to look the stranger over and decided she liked what she saw. “Yes I am. And you must be Mr. John Masterson?” she asked.

  “Yes Miss, that’s me.”

  They stood there awkwardly for a moment not sure what to say or do next, until John said, “Welcome to Prairie Meadow.” Ducking his head, he added, “I’m glad you’re here.”

  “Thank you. I’m glad to finally be here.”

  Looking over her shoulder, John noticed a trunk sitting at the far end of the platform.

  “Let’s go and collect your trunk and then we can head on over to the boarding house. I thought you might like to freshen up before we got hitched, so I asked Mrs. Gregson to get a room ready for you.”

  “I would like that very much. I don’t think I look my best right now,” Betsy said shyly.

  There were two other people standing off to one side while John introduced himself to Betsy. He motioned to them.

  “Betsy, I’d like for you to meet my sister Emily Parker and her husband Henry. They came into town to witness our marriage.”

  Emily took the hand that Betsy had extended and said, “It’s so nice to meet you, Betsy.”

  “Likewise, I’m sure” Betsy replied. “Nice to meet you too, Henry.”

  Henry tipped his hat and said, “Welcome, Betsy.”

  Putting her arm through Betsy’s arm, Emily turned to the men and said, “We girls are going to go ahead to Mrs. Gregson’s, while you two go and get Betsy’s trunk. I’m sure there are things Betsy is going to want out of there before she gets married.”

  They made their way over to the boarding house with Emily chattering away. Betsy was glad she didn’t have to say anything. She was feeling slightly overwhelmed.

  Just before they entered the boarding house, Emily said, “I know you are probably feeling like everything is happening too fast. But I do want you to know how happy I am that you are marrying my brother. He hasn’t had the easiest time and he has been lonely for longer than he even realizes. I hope you will be happy here.”

  Mrs. Gregson had a room all ready for Betsy. She’d already had her helper Joe fill a tub with steaming hot water. As soon as she’d greeted Betsy, Mrs. Gregson brought her upstairs with a cup of tea to sip while she took her bath.

  “I’ll have the boys bring your trunk upstairs for you. When you finish bathing and getting ready, just come on downstairs. Emily and I will be waiting.”

  “I don’t know how to thank you for this,” said Betsy. “When I thought about getting off of the train here in Prairie Meadow, I never dreamed I would be made to feel so welcome so soon.”

  “Think nothing of it. I enjoy doing it, and I admire you mail order brides for your courage in leaving home and ending up in a strange place away from everyone and everything that’s familiar. Now enjoy your bath and take your time,” said Mrs. Gregson putting the cup down on a table and closing the door behind her. “Call us when you’re ready.”

  The bath was so warm and comfortable that Betsy found it hard to stay awake. Her eyes were closing when she jolted awake with the thought that she was about to get married. Quickly she finished up and dried off. Opening up her trunk, she took out the dress that she’d been saving and laid it down on the bed. She put a comb through her thick black hair and twisted it up in a bun.

  Opening up her handbag, she removed the bag that held the earrings that had been a gift from her mother and the necklace that her grandmother had given her for her sixteenth birthday. They were her most valuable possessions and as she put them on, tears sprang to her eyes with the thought that her family wouldn’t be there to see her get married. The gold coins that her mother had secretly given her when she’d left were at the bottom of the bag. She knew if worst came to worst, at least she would have some money to fall back on.

  For the thousandth time, she wished she hadn’t been so stubborn. Her father had been right to banish her from the family, but that didn’t make her miss them any the less. Once she got settled, she planned to write to her mother. She prayed that she would hear back from her.

  A few minutes later, Betsy made her way downstairs where Emily and Mrs. Gregson were waiting for her.

  “Right on time, dear girl. Your husband-to-be will be wondering where you’ve gotten to,” said Mrs. Gregson.

  “My brother is a lucky man!” said Emily with a smile.

  John was waiting along with Henry, who was going to be his best man, over at the church. He took Betsy’s hand and tucked it into his arm as they faced the preacher, Mr. Johnson. The ceremony was over in a matter of a few minutes. John leaned over and gently kissed his new bride to make it official.

  “You look beautiful, Mrs. Masterson” he whispered.

  Betsy blushed and replied, “Why thank you, Mr. Masterson.”

  The small group returned to the boarding house where Mrs. Gregson served coffee and cake. Then it was time to leave.

  “Congratulations, Mrs. Masterson. Now Mr. Masterson, you be sure to bring your bride back into town real soon for a visit,” said Mrs. Gregson.

  Henry and John went on ahead to get the wagon and load up Betsy’s trunk. Emily waited along with Betsy for the men to return.

  “I hope you won’t mind, but we thought it might be nice if you and John stayed with Henry and I for a few days, so we could get to know each other. We don’t live that far apart, but once harvest starts everyone will be too busy to spend any time together.”

  Betsy was relieved. She hadn’t been sure how she was going to learn how to do all the things a farm wife should be able to d
o. She weighed it out in her mind and decided to confide in Emily.

  “That sounds wonderful, Emily. You know being from the city, there are some things I’ve never learned to do. I was hoping you could show me so John isn’t disappointed.”

  If Emily was surprised she kept it to herself, promising to help Betsy as much as she could.

  The trip to Henry and Emily’s place passed quickly with John and Betsy using the time to get acquainted.

  Chapter 4

  They ended up spending close to a week with Henry and Emily. John used the time to help Henry get the harvesting equipment and the wagons ready. Betsy thought she must have driven Emily crazy with all of her questions when she thought back over the week.

  At one point Emily had grabbed her hand and told her to relax.

  “It’s obvious that you are a hard worker and that you mean to do everything in your power to be a good wife to my brother. You’re doing just fine.”

  “But there is so much I don’t know.”

  “That may be true but I’m not going anywhere. You can come over anytime you need help.”

  Emily continued, “John came back too late to start a garden this year. So I planted extra for him. Now that you’re here, you can come and help me with the canning. That will kill two birds with one stone. You’ll learn how to preserve the produce and I’ll have the help I need to put it up.”

  She and Emily had gotten quite close during their time together. The most embarrassing thing Betsy had to admit to was not knowing how to cook or bake beyond the basics.

  “Back home, we always had servants for that. So I never had to or even could learn. When I went off on my own, I lived in a worker’s residence where the meals were provided and they took care of the laundry.”

  “You don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to,” said Emily hesitantly. “But why did you decide to leave home and move out here where life is so much harder, when you had such a good life?”

  “As you might have noticed,” said Betsy ruefully, “I have a bit of a stubborn streak. My pa wanted me to marry someone I wasn’t the least bit suited to. I wasn’t ready to settle down, so I moved out and took a job in a restaurant supposedly as a hostess. But I ended up washing dishes. Pa had told me that if I moved out I was shaming the family and I wouldn’t be allowed back.”

  Betsy sighed. “To make a long story short, my friend Martha and I decided to apply to be mail order brides. We thought it would be a big adventure. But in the end, Martha just couldn’t leave her ma on her own. So she stayed and well, here I am.”

  Emily said, “Oh dear. What a predicament for you.”

  Betsy looked over at Emily. “But I don’t want you to think that I chose your brother just to get away from my job and the city. I want you to know that when I read your brother’s letter, I felt a connection with him. It seemed like it was meant to be. And I intend to be the best wife I can possibly be.”

  “Thanks for telling me all that,” said Emily. “I have to admit that I advised John to wait and find out more about you before making the commitment to send for you. But after what you’ve just said, I’m very glad he didn’t listen to me.”

  The two exchanged a long hug to seal what they knew would be a real friendship.

  When John and Betsy finally left, they had a cow tied to the back of the wagon and a few laying hens in the back. Betsy had learned how to milk the cow and how to gather the eggs so as not to upset the hens too much. She could also bake bread, even if the loaf was often lopsided, and make a few simple meals.

  The wagon ride to their own farm took longer than she thought it would. She had been led to believe that the two farms were fairly close together. During the entire ride home, Betsy tried to talk to John but he was very preoccupied and responded with only a quick nod of his head or a simple yes or no. When they had been at his sister’s place, the conversation had flowed quite well, Betsy thought. She was bewildered by John’s behavior now.

  Unexpectedly, John brought the wagon to a halt. Looking around, Betsy couldn’t see any buildings.

  “Why are we stopping here John?”

  Turning to face Betsy, John put down the reins and took her hand.

  “I have something to tell you Betsy and you might not like it. I wasn’t totally honest with you in that letter I wrote about the farm. I don’t want you to be disappointed, but the farmhouse I told you about isn’t there any longer.”

  “What do you mean John?” asked Betsy bewildered. “Your sister didn’t tell me any of this and we did a lot of talking.”

  “That’s cause she didn’t know what I told you in my letter.” John cleared his throat. “The farmhouse you were expecting was my parents’ house. But while I was out west, the house burnt to the ground. The barn was saved along with what was in it. When I let Emily know I was coming back home, Henry and a few of the neighbors built a small cabin for me to replace the house.”

  John was looking everywhere but at Betsy. “I’m sorry Betsy. I should have told you before you moved out here to marry me. But once I got your letter I didn’t want to take the chance of losing you.”

  “Oh John,” Betsy said. Gently she touched his chin and forced him to meet her eyes. “I don’t care about any of that. To be honest, you didn’t get quite what I made myself out to be either.” And Betsy told him what she had related to Emily about her life before she became a mail order bride.

  They shared a good laugh about how they had tried so hard to impress each other.

  “So, Mrs. Masterson, are you ready to see your new home?”

  “Yes, I am Mr. Masterson. I just have one question though. I thought you said that your farm was close to Henry’s place. If so, how come it took so long to get here?”

  “Well,” John said, “Let’s just say we took the scenic route.”

  “Scenic route?” Betsy asked.

  “Around and around, with a little bit of zigzagging thrown in for good measure.”

  John pointed off to one side of the wagon, “Emily’s place is not far that way.” Then he pointed off to the other side of the wagon, “Our place is just over that way, not far. To go directly from their place to ours is about ten minutes by wagon.”

  “How about we agree on no more secrets, John?” Betsy teased.

  John went pale for a minute thinking about the biggest secret he was still hiding. But he just was not ready to tell Betsy yet, so instead he said, “Close your eyes now Betsy. I want this to be a surprise.”

  Betsy did as he asked. It was only a few minutes later that he pulled up the wagon and told her she could open her eyes. John looked over at her expectantly waiting for her reaction. Even though John had prepared her for the missing farmhouse, Betsy was dismayed when she got her first glimpse of her new home. It was so small and there didn’t seem to be any windows. But she had to hide her reaction from John.

  “It’s not so bad John. The way you were talking, I was picturing a shack.”

  “Truly Betsy? I know it’s pretty small but we can add on in the spring. There’s a good-sized stand of trees about a day’s ride north of here. Once the harvest is in I thought I could go and cut some and haul them back to use for the house.”

  “That’s a fine idea, John. Well, aren’t you going to show me around the place?”

  It didn’t take long. The barn was the biggest structure by far. It had a few stalls for horses and a hayloft above. The cow would also have a stall in the barn.

  Right now, the horses were mainly feeding off grass in the paddock, along with a bit of grain. But in the winter, the hayloft needed to be full of hay and straw for bedding. That was one reason why this harvest was so crucial. There just was not enough money to buy feed and bedding for the animals, and John didn’t want to accept a handout from his brother-in-law. Henry and his sister had done enough already.

  Besides that, there was a small chicken coop. John had made sure that it was completely secure. Once the hens were installed in their new home, the coyotes would c
ome sniffing around. They couldn’t afford to lose their small flock.

  John also showed Betsy where the garden was going to be, starting next year. It was located between the house and the barn. The only things growing there now were some old berry bushes, which were woefully overgrown.

  He also showed her what crops he’d planted in the fields. It had been a good season weather-wise so far and the harvest was promising to be plentiful, but there was always the threat of damaging storms.

  Finally, John walked with Betsy to the front of the cabin, pointing out where he would build a porch and where he hoped to add on in the spring. Then he led her up the steps and into the cabin.

  It was as small as it looked. There was only the one room. The bed was on one side. A few nails in the wall were for hanging clothes, and there was a small chest of drawers at the foot of the bed. On the other side of the room there was a table and two chairs. Beside the fireplace, which doubled as a cook stove, there were a couple of shelves for dishes and utensils. And that was it. Betsy wasn’t sure where she would even put her trunk. She felt like crying, but knew she couldn’t. John was watching and she refused to let him see her disappointment. She was determined to be a good wife and she figured there was no time like the present to start.

  So turning to John, she said, “It’s fine John. I can use my trunk as a kind of table to put things on when I’m cooking.”

  John’s smile of relief at her words made her glad she’d spoken carefully.

  Chapter 5

  The next few weeks passed quickly as the newlyweds worked together to get things organized. Slowly they fell into a routine. First thing in the morning, Betsy made coffee and breakfast while John went out to the barn to feed and water the horses and the cow. At first, he milked the cow that they named Sweetie, but with harvest fast approaching, Betsy knew she would have to take over that chore.

  She assured John that Emily had shown her how, but she was secretly worried about it. When John offered to help her, she didn’t refuse. She actually enjoyed having him sit close behind her while he helped her get used to milking. Putting his strong hands over hers, he showed her how to gently coax milk out of Sweetie’s udders. For his part, John quite enjoyed teaching Betsy.