Mail Order Promises

by Julianna Blake

  “Upset? I’m furious!” he shouted. “I’m going to be the laughingstock of Helena! Bad enough they’ve been jawing about me marrying a girl I don’t know from back East—what do you think all the old biddies will say once they find out my new wife fooled me into marrying her, and she’s carrying another man’s child? A criminal’s child!”

  “What’s the meaning of this?!” Clay strode out of the back room, red in the face and ready to pounce on Jake Morgan.

  “Clay, it’s alright.” Madeline held up a hand to stop him. “Mr. Morgan is just upset—”

  “I don’t care what he is!” Clay maneuvered around Madeline and pushed Jake back. “No one comes in here and intimidates my wife—my expecting wife! She’s under enough stress right now, in her condition. She doesn’t need you comin’ in here bullying her.”

  “Well, maybe she should have thought about that before she swindled me. I’m going to tell the whole town that she’s nothing but a fraud!”

  Behind Morgan, on the floor, Grace began to whimper, watching the two adults with a look of distress.

  “Who do you think you are?” Clay shouted, outraged. He clenched his fists and leaned in, but Madeline stepped between the two of them—awkwardly, with her burgeoning belly—and gently pushed the two men apart.

  “Stop it! You’re both upsetting Grace. There’s just been a misunderstanding, Clay. He’ll calm down now, won’t you, Mr. Morgan?” she asked, pointedly.

  Jake took a deep breath, let it out, glancing over his shoulder at the little girl. He walked away, then turned toward them again, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Yeah. Yeah, fine, I’ll calm down. But I ain’t happy about this. I’m stuck in a terrible position now, and it’s not fair.”

  Madeline glanced at Grace, ready to scoop her up and comfort her, but she’d already gone back to chewing on her doll.

  Clay spoke through his clenched jaw. “Morgan, you’re just lucky I consider you a friend, or you’d already be laid out flat on the floor.”

  “Enough, Clay. He has a right to be upset. Apparently—and this goes no further than this room, do you both hear?—Lilly is with child. Three months with child.”

  Clay’s anger drained away as he gaped. “You’re kidding!”

  Madeline shook her head. “I think I need to sit down.”

  Clay jumped to take her elbow and guide her to a chair. It annoyed her—she was perfectly capable of walking three feet to the chair behind the counter—but she let him do it, as she knew it was a comfort to him.

  “I’m just so shocked,” Madeline said. “I spent two days with Lilly before the wedding, talking about all manner of things. I had no inkling whatsoever that she had loose morals.”

  “She claims it wasn’t by choice,” Morgan muttered. “That she—that the man committed outrage upon her.”

  “Oh! Oh no, that’s awful! Poor Lilly.” Madeline covered her mouth in horror.

  Clay put his arm on her shoulder, then looked at Morgan. “You don’t look as if you believe it.”

  “I don’t know what to believe.” Morgan took off his hat and came behind the counter without asking, plopping down into the other chair, beside Madeline. “I was really starting to have feelings for her. I think—I think I was falling in love with her. Then she drops this in my lap.” He looked up at Clay. “What am I supposed to think? She claims that she had no idea she was with child, but how could that be? And even if it is, she knew it was possible. Seems to me like she was just looking for some sucker to take care of her and her bastard child.”

  “Mr. Morgan!” Madeline snapped. “Lilly has been through something…something…” she tried not to let her mind go back to that day when she had almost succumbed to a similar fate, before Clay had rescued her. She took a deep breath. “…something unspeakably awful. No one can understand what she must have gone through. Perhaps she didn’t make the best decisions, and certainly she shouldn’t have kept it from me. I can only imagine she must have been terribly frightened. And to be honest, I wouldn’t have accepted her as a potential bride, had I known—not unless she was willing to be open about her condition with any potential suitors.”

  “That’s the thing that bothers me the most—I might have considered her, anyway, if she had just been up front about it. It’s hard to say for sure…but I would have thought about it, at least. Instead, she chose to start our marriage with a lie.”

  “Are you going to turn her out?” Madeline was almost afraid to ask, but she needed to know.

  He was silent for a minute.

  Madeline could feel her husband tense up again, beside her. She knew that Clay, being the generous man he was, would never have done such a thing, no matter how angry he was. In fact, he’d told his sister—when he thought for a time that Madeline might have actually been the victim of outrage herself—that he would be willing to marry her and provide for her. And that, in spite of the fact that, at the time, he didn’t want to be married again. He had been deeply afraid that he’d lose another wife to Death’s cold, callous grasp.

  “I guess I can’t do that.” Mr. Morgan spoke at last, with a sigh. “She’s my wife, and when I said for better or worse, I meant it. I only divorced Sadie because she steadfastly refused to reconcile with me. I just didn’t think that the ‘for worse’ part would come along so soon, and in such a devastating way.”

  “I’m sorry you have to go through all this. I’m just beside myself. I feel responsible. You can be assured that I will refund the fee you paid me, and I’ll reimburse you for Lilly’s expenses, just as soon as I can.”

  “I appreciate that, Mrs. Porter. I could really use the money from the fee I spent, to move us to a new apartment as soon as I can. One with an extra bedroom…for me.” He stood up, grim-faced. “But you can keep the money for the train expenses. It sounds like she fooled you and Mrs. Gardner every bit as much as she fooled me, so I don’t see why you should bear the whole financial burden for her mistake. And I won’t go telling anyone that you’re at fault either. I’m sorry I said that.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Morgan. And please, just be patient with her. She made a mistake—a big one—and she’ll have to earn your trust back. But give her a chance.”

  “I said I’d keep her—I didn’t say I’d ever trust her, or look at her the way I did before.” His voice was cold once again. He pushed his hat onto his head and walked toward the door. “No offense, Mrs. Porter, but I don’t think I could ever trust another woman again.”

  Chapter 17

  Jake strode up the street, propelled by his anger. When he got to Dr. Archer’s office, Doc’s buggy stood out front, and the door was open. Jake walked right through, pushing past Dr. Foyle and walking into the open examination room, where Doc hunched beside an open white steel cabinet.

  “Well, what do you have to say for yourself?” Jake stood, feet apart, arms folded.

  Dr. Archer looked up at him, then returned to pulling items from the cabinet and placing them carefully in a small wooden crate. “I assume she told you.”

  “Oh yeah, she told me, alright. Unlike you, who I thought was my best friend, but who just lied to me.”

  “I didn’t lie. Everything I told you was the truth. She was tired, she was hungry, and she needed rest.”

  “Oh yeah, and she is pregnant with another man’s child! You left that part out by accident, did ya?”

  The doctor brushed off his hands, stood up, and locked the cabinet. “Jake, I’m a doctor. It’s my job to treat patients, and to keep their confidences. The patients need to feel that they can tell me anything, and trust me to keep it private. Otherwise, they’d hide things from me—important things that I need to know, otherwise I can’t help them.”

  “I thought we were friends. She’s my wife.”

  Doc shook his head. “In this case, I’m not your friend. I’m your wife’s doctor. If you didn’t want me to keep her confidence, you shouldn’t have brought her to me. But I can assure you, any other doctor would have done the same thing.�
� He picked up the box and carried it out of the room.

  Jake followed, with irritation. “So that’s it? No apology? Nothing?”

  “What am I supposed to apologize for? I did my job.” Dr. Archer called over his shoulder as he passed Dr. Foyle and carried the box outside. “When I showed up, you begged me to take over from Dr. Foyle.” He reached the buggy and set the box on the floor, then turned around and lowered his voice. “I didn’t care to step in like that, in the middle of a consultation—it’s not respectful—but I did it for you. For my friend. So that your wife got the best care possible. Now you want to complain because I did what you asked? She didn’t want me to tell you. She wanted to tell you herself, at home. I respected her wishes. Besides, a thing like that should come from your wife, not me.”

  Jake pounded the side of Doc’s buggy, then leaned forward, bracing his hands on it. “What the heck do I do now?

  Doc patted him on the shoulder. “Go home and be a good husband to your wife.”

  “How can I do that? She betrayed me! She lied to me!”

  “She didn’t lie. She omitted the truth. Admittedly, that’s not much better. But put yourself in her shoes.” Doc lowered his voice even more, and glanced around. Wagons clattered by, and a couple walked down the sidewalk across the street, but no one seemed near enough to hear them. “She was attacked, Jake. A man forced his attentions on her, and she had no way to fight back.” He leaned over and slid the box he was holding under the seat of the buggy.

  “If she’s even telling the truth about that,” Jake countered. “And how do we know she didn’t entice him? What if she led the poor sap on, then changed her mind?”

  Dr. Archer stood ruler-straight, leaned back against the buggy, and crossed his arms. “How many women have you met who have had outrage committed against them?” He snapped. “Hmm? I’ve seen it enough to last me a lifetime! And that’s just the women who have the courage to be treated in the first place, or whose families care enough to have them treated! Usually they just sweep it under the rug, pretend it never happened. Like Lilly’s family did.”

  “What?” Jake was shocked. “What do you mean?”

  “She told me the whole story, Jake. Not the details, of course, but most of what happened after the event. Didn’t she tell you? What happened to her was unspeakable—but what her family did afterward was just as shameful.”

  “What—no, she didn’t say—that is…” he sighed, frustrated with himself. “I guess I didn’t give her a chance.” Jake folded his own arms and leaned back against the buggy, beside Doc. “What did they do?”

  “That’s not a question for me, Jake. It’s a question for your wife.”

  Jake covered his mouth, not knowing what to think. “How do you know she’s telling the truth?”

  “Because I recognized the look in her eyes. I’ve looked into the eyes of dozens of girls, and saw that same haunted, terrified look. Dozens. No, scores of them. And as I said, that’s just the ones who seek treatment. This sort of thing happens far more than society wants anyone to know about. It’s unseemly to even speak of it, and most of the time, unless they are caught in the act, the perpetrators go free, only to commit the same atrocity over and over again, to other girls. Sometimes even to young children—girls and boys.”

  Jake swallowed back the bile that threatened to rise in his throat. “I had no idea.”

  Dr. Archer shook his head. “Most people don’t. They don’t want to know. A girl who has this happen to her, she doesn’t just lose her purity—she loses her identity, her future, sometimes, as with Lilly, even her family. She has no prospects, no hope. And if she is found to be with child? Her future is even more bleak…and so is that of the child. What Lilly did may not have been right, but what other choice did she have? To abandon her child to an orphanage? Or force the child to live in squalor? To sell herself on the streets? Tell me, Jake, what should she have done?” Dr. Archer’s voice was a strident whisper now, his irritation showing clearly. “And if you still doubt the veracity of her story, tell me this—how was your wedding night, Jake?”

  “What? That’s—that’s private—”

  “Was she frightened? Was she nervous—more so than you expected? More than Sadie was, on your first night together?” He paused, letting it sink in. “Did she shake? Was she tense? How was she the next time you were together? Did it take multiple nights together, for her to relax? Has she even relaxed in bed, yet?”

  Jake could feel color come into his face, and he didn’t answer. Lilly had relaxed…eventually. But it was only the last week that he felt she fully trusted him in bed. How could I have missed that? I thought it was just the normal wedding night anxiety…

  But Doc wasn’t finished. “I don’t blame Lilly one bit for what she did, even though it’s made a mess of your life. I’m sorry for you, and for what scandal you may face. It’s truly not fair to you. But she isn’t Sadie. She didn’t betray you. This happened long before she married you, and yes, she should have been honest. But as sorry as I am that you’ve had this thrown at you, I’m also happy for her, that she’s found a good man to care for her and give her the life that she deserves.”

  Jake felt sick. He hadn’t realized just how much Lilly might have been through. He hadn’t even given her a chance to explain. He’d been so wrapped up in his own pain and his own fear that he didn’t think for a moment of hers.

  “What do I do? You’re right. I know you’re right. But it still hurts that she didn’t trust me—two whole weeks, she’s slept by my side, and she didn’t trust me enough to tell me. How can I ever forget that?”

  “With time,” Dr. Archer said. “Time and patience—both hers and yours. How do you feel about her—or how did you feel, before yesterday?”

  “I feel—I felt—like I was falling in love with her.”

  “Because you’ve come to know her, and care about her, and respect her?”

  “Yes, but—”

  “There is no ‘but’. Trust your instincts. I trust mine, and I think she’s a good girl who had something very bad happen to her. We all make mistakes, though. Even the best of us.”

  “But how can I trust my instincts? I trusted Sadie, and look how that turned out!”

  “Did you really trust her, though? Did you never see any sign from her that something was amiss?”

  “I…I don’t know. I thought I trusted her. I surely never suspected she was fooling around on me, right under my own roof.” Jake sighed. “But I guess…there were some things. She was always…I don’t know…restless. It got worse after she lost the babies, but even early on, I felt like…like maybe I wasn’t good enough for her. Like maybe she settled for me.”

  “Jake, I’m going to tell you something you’re not going to like hearing, but I think it’s high time I told you.” Doc took a deep breath, and huffed it out. “I never liked Sadie.”

  “What?” Jake was shocked. He’d never had any sense of that. “Why?”

  “Because I didn’t trust her. There was something off—and I think, looking back now, it’s the very same thing you felt. As if she was restless—the way one waits for a train to arrive, which is overdue. I wouldn’t have been surprised in the least if her eye had only wandered a bit—seeing what other women had, and wanting it. She seemed dissatisfied. But what she did?” Archer shook his head. “That, I never saw coming.”

  “That makes two of us.” Jake heaved a sigh.

  “Don’t let your experience with Sadie color your life with Lilly. I think you two could really be happy together…if you give her a chance.”

  “I’ll try.” Jake stuck his hands in his pockets. “Why can’t things just be easy? Why can’t they stay like they are in the beginning?”

  “You’re asking the wrong man,” Doc laughed. “There’s a reason why I’m a lifelong bachelor. Didn’t have the patience for courting the ladies. Got in the way of my reading.”

  Jake laughed right along with him. “Remind me, then, why I’m listening to you about
any of this?”

  “Because you’re a fool who doesn’t recognize a good thing when it’s right in front of him.” Doc winked. “You’re just lucky you’ve already married Lilly, and she’s young enough to be my granddaughter. Otherwise I might reconsider my bachelor ways.”

  “I wish the other people in this city would feel the same way. I’ve already decided that Lilly stays—and I’ll do the best I can to be a decent husband, although my heart won’t be in it. But what will the other people in town say? How hard will it be for her? She’ll be a walking pariah.”

  “Bah, forget them. Think of your own happiness, and hers. Dress her in fuller skirts, and when she starts to show too much, take her on an extended trip until after the baby is born. Tell people the baby was born a month early—it happens, and the babies can survive it, if they’re strong. Then you don’t come back until the baby is a few months old. By then, it’s harder to tell, and people will assume the child just takes after you—you’re a tall, strapping man. It’s an easy assumption to make. People might suspect that something is amiss, but there won’t be enough proof for them to say anything, publicly. Besides, we both know there are more than a few girls around here who gave birth to a healthy seven-pound baby two months ‘premature’, don’t we?”

  “That’s true. And the plan is a good one—but I can’t afford that, Doc. It took almost all I had saved to bring Lilly out here.”

  “If it comes down to it, I’ll fund the trip, myself.”

  “Absolutely not! I pay my own way—”

  “I won’t be paying your way anywhere, boy. I’ll be paying hers. For once, I don’t feel helpless—I can do something for one of those poor girls. Let me do it.”

  Jake sighed, wondering if he could stand the hit to his pride. Then he thought about how horribly he’d treated Lilly, and nodded. “I’ll think about it.”

  “Good enough.”

  Dr. Foyle poked his head out the office door. “Do we have everything we need, Dr. Archer?”