Charlotte's Mail Order Husband (New Montana Brides series)

by Susan Leigh Carlton

  “Absolutely,” she said.

  chapterEleven

  A Marriage

  Sunday, August 15, 1869…

  Zebulon took Lottie’s hand, and said, “I want you to meet our closest neighbors,” and led her over to a couple who looked to be about the same age as they were. “Case, Carrie, I would like to introduce you to Lottie Jenkins. Lottie, meet our next door neighbors, Case and Carrie Jamison. Lottie and I are going to be married after the service today. I would like for you to be there if you can.”

  “Well of course we will,” Carrie said. “You’re new to Montana, aren’t you? I haven’t been here much over two years myself, and I’ve grown to love it. I came from the flat lands of Ohio, so the mountains are a big change for me.”

  “I have only been here two days, and have fallen in love with it already. I came from Baltimore.”

  “If you are nervous about fitting in here, don’t be. They are an open and friendly people. You’ve met Letty? There is no finer woman in the territory. I stayed with them when I first came out. I even wore her wedding dress at my wedding. I was nervous about being a mail order bride, but she made me feel at home.”

  “Is that what we’re called? I’ve never heard the term. I answered an ad in the Baltimore Sun that was placed by Zebulon’s sister, Mary. She interviewed all of the women that answered the ad, and gave me his address. She is just about the sweetest person I’ve ever met.”

  Carrie laughed. “We’re not the only two in the area married this way. My ad was in a paper called The Matrimonial News. It only carries ads for people looking for husbands or wives.”

  “I am a bit nervous. It was a big step, and a long trip, and against my mother’s wishes.”

  “Mine too. Mothers are a strange lot, aren’t they? I want a houseful of kids myself.”

  “Zebulon wants a big family too. I was the oldest of four girls, so I’m used to a big family.”

  “That’s something else we have in common. I was the oldest of five girls. We should compare notes.”

  “I appreciate you making me feel so welcome. I’ve now met two women I would love to call friend.”

  “You’ll like Elizabeth Palmer too. She’s the wife of the doctor. I believe she’s from Maryland also. Rockville, if I remember correctly.”

  The sound of piano music caught Carrie’s attention. “That’s Letty playing the piano, we’d better collect our mates and go in,” she said.

  Preacher Jack Owens made the weekly announcements after the opening hymn. “Thirty minutes after the conclusion of the regular services, I will be conducting the ceremony of Holy Matrimony to unite Miss Charlotte Jenkins and Zebulon Parsons. You are all invited to the ceremonies. Lottie, would you please stand and let all of these good people see our latest citizen?”

  Lottie stood, and turned to face the congregation, feeling as if her cheeks matched the color of her flaming red hair. She sat down, and leaned toward Zebulon and whispered, “I didn’t know he was going to do that.”

  “Jack does that with all newcomers. He wants everyone to feel at home.”

  The congregation stood for a hymn. They both had a hand on the hymnal, and Lottie could feel her breast pressing against his arm. He gave no sign he had noticed as they sang, and not wanting to make him uncomfortable about it, she didn’t move.

  When Zebulon felt the soft mound pressing against his upper arm, he wondered, Should I move my arm? She hasn’t noticed, and I don’t want to embarrass her. Maybe it isn’t what I think it is.

  When the thirty minutes had elapsed, the congregants were seated. Jack was at the front of the church with Zebulon, and Case Jamison. Letty sounded the first three notes of the wedding march and the audience turned and caught their first glimpse of the bride. Lottie was wearing a dark green dress picked out by Mary and included in the recently received package. With her flaming red hair, sparkling green eyes, bathed in the glow of filtered sunlight, she was an ethereal vision of loveliness.

  Step... Step… step and she was at the altar. Zebulon moved to take her hand as they stood before the preacher. Jack read the marriage liturgy from his Christian Book of Rituals.

  They repeated the vows read by Jack, and pledged themselves, each to the other.

  “Charlotte, do you take Zebulon as your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?”

  “I do.”

  “Zebulon, do you take Charlotte as your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?”

  “I do.”

  “By the power vested in me by the Territory of Montana, I pronounce you man and wife.” Jack pronounced. “Zebulon, you may kiss your bride.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Mr. and Mrs. Zebulon Parsons. The congregation stood, and applauded; Letty began playing the recessional as Zebulon and Lottie moved down the aisle, arm in arm.

  They stood by the doorway, and greeted the congregation as they left the church. They went back inside the church to sign the marriage documents, and back outside to receive the congratulations of their friends and neighbors.

  Letty and Jack joined the well-wishers. “Are you still going to be at the Cosmopolitan?” asked Letty.

  Zebulon said, “The house is supposed to be ready today.” Turning to Lottie, he said, “What would you like to do, Honey?”

  “You called me Honey,” she said. “I like that. Why don’t we stay in the Cosmopolitan tonight, and get whatever we need and go home in the morning?”

  “See, I knew she was more than a pretty face,” Zebulon said. “She’s smart too.”

  Carrie and Case joined the small group. Carrie hugged Lottie, and said, “It’s going to be nice having a neighbor. The ranch hands aren’t much for conversation.”

  chapterTwelve

  The Marriage Begins

  “Zebulon, Lottie, since there wasn’t time to plan a reception, Carrie and I would like for you to join us and the Owens’for lunch at the Cosmopolitan, as our guests,” Case said. “I asked Carter and Elizabeth, but Carter had an emergency at one of the ranches, and both are there.”

  “How thoughtful of you, Case,” Lottie said. “Zebulon?”

  “We accept,” Zebulon said.

  “It’s too bad they couldn’t make it. I was looking forward to meeting my fellow Marylander,” Lottie said.

  Lunch lasted over two hours. Conversation was lively and animated. Discussions ranged from the possibility of the railroad coming to Helena, how rapidly it was growing, to life in Baltimore, and in Oxford.

  After lunch, Carrie said to Lottie, “Let’s get together soon.”

  “I’d like that,” Lottie said.

  Everyone left, leaving the couple in the lobby. “Well, Mrs. Parsons, now it’s just us. Would you like to maintain separate rooms, until we get to know each other better?”

  “Let me give you the short answer to that,” Lottie said. “No. The only question is which room?”

  “They are about the same, yours is a little larger,” he said.

  “Then mine, it is,” she said. “Shall we?”

  When Zebulon moved his clothes and personal items to Lottie’s larger room, he found her standing by the window watching the traffic on main street. “Penny for your thoughts,” he said.

  “I was just thinking about how my life has changed in the past six months.”

  “Regrets?” he asked.

  “None. I was considering how fortunate I am.” Eyeing his things, she asked, “All finished, or can I help?”

  “No, this is it. This is kind of awkward. It’s the middle of the afternoon, and I don’t know what to suggest.”

  “Why don’t we go to the store, and decide what we need, and maybe Mr. Farmer can have it ready for us tomorrow morning and we can go home?” She smiled, and said, “I love the sound of that… go home. I feel so blessed.”

  “Oh,” she said. “I have a suggestion. Why don’t you kiss your brand new wife
?”

  “Now, I like the sound of that.” He took her into his arms and pulled her to him. Standing on tiptoe, she touched her lips to his. He moved his mouth over hers, marveling at the softness.

  She felt a delicious sensation as his lips massaged hers. She parted her lips allowing his tongue entry. He was surprisingly gentle in his touch. She drank in the sweet softness of his kiss. His tongue touched hers, and she felt shivers of delight course through her body.

  They broke the kiss. She arched her back and looked into his dark eyes, seeing her reflection in them. “I have very little experience in this, but I must say, I’ve never had feelings like this before.”

  “Nor have I,” he murmured.

  “If you want to go to the store, we had better go, or I won’t make it.”

  “What do you want to do,” he asked.

  “I want you to kiss me again. Maybe the first one was an accident.” Once again, their lips touched. She parted her lips and immediately felt his tongue tracing the outline of her lips before probing the interior of her mouth. She felt her knees grow weak as waves of desire flowed through her body. She felt herself becoming moist in her private area, a feeling she had never experienced.

  Zebulon felt himself becoming firm, as the tips of her breasts burned through the fabric of his shirt. He moved his hand to cover the soft mound that was her right breast. She was moaning softly.

  “Is this what it’s going to be like every time you kiss me?” she asked.

  “I sincerely hope so,

  “He put the lamp out, and said, “Now you can have some privacy.”

  “Thank you. In a house with four girls, there wasn’t much of that.” There was a privacy screen in a corner, and she went behind it to undress as he pulled the curtains to shut out the world.

  He pulled the covers back on the bed and stripped down to his underwear. I’ll turn my back when you’re ready to come out,” he said.

  “That isn’t necessary, Zebulon. What I have is there for you to see.” She came from behind the screen wearing her chemise and pantaloons. She had let her long red hair down. It reached half way down her back. She could see he was in the bed, bare to the waist at least.

  She lay on the bed beside him. He was on his side, propped on his elbows. There was a little daylight coming from around the edge of the curtain. He opened his arms and she moved closer to him. They embraced, flattening her breasts against his chest. I can feel the hair on his chest through my chemise.

  They kissed. He moved his hand beneath her chemise and cupped a breast in his hand, massaging it slowly. She covered his hand with hers, as he lowered from his elbow, placing his other hand in the small of her back pulling her hips toward him. Their private areas touched through the fabric of their underwear. She could feel the firmness of his member pressing against her private cave.

  He slowly pushed her chemise up; they were now breast to chest. She raised up so he could slide it over her head. She gasped as her bare skin touched his. She could feel his movements as he slid his underwear down. She elevated her hips so he could slide her pantaloons down.

  He kissed the tender parts of her neck and kissed a path down to her breast. There was a sharp intake of breath, as she realized he had taken the nipple in his mouth. She could feel the river of her juices as they began to flow. Slowly his hand made its way to the curly hair, now moist, that guarded her entrance.

  First, gently massaging, then slipping inside, probing, searching and finding. She cried out as he found the sensitive and she experienced the first climax in her life, turning her into a writhing, thrusting woman in the throes of passion.

  She sighed once as it passed. She could hear the sounds as he sheathed his member. “Zebulon, it’s the first time, be gentle.”

  “I will,” he promised and entered until he met a resistance.” This is going to hurt,” he said.

  “Do it quickly,” she panted, and then cried out when he pushed through. The pain subsided as he began to move. She moved with him, and experienced her second climax. The speed of his thrusts increased, until she felt his pulsing inside her.

  Their marriage was consummated.

  Both were breathing rapidly, the result of the energy they had expended. “I’m sorry I hurt you,” he said.

  “You couldn’t help it. It was sharp, but it faded. Next time it won’t be bad.” He rolled off her and wrapped his arms around her, her head on his chest. “Zebulon?”

  “Yes?”

  “Do you still want to go to the store?” she asked.

  “I don’t think so,” he said.

  “Me either,” she giggled and snuggled closer within his arms. They fell asleep this way.

  When Lottie awoke, it had gotten dark outside. She could see his outline, as he lay there, propped on his elbows once again. Watching her. “How long have you been awake?” she asked.

  “Not long,” he said. “You are beautiful,” he said, as he ran his fingers through her hair and then toyed with her nipple.”

  “That sends shivers down my back,” she said.

  “What about this?” he asked and took a goodly portion of her breast in his mouth.

  “Those aren’t shivers,” she said and pressed her hips against him.

  Zebulon was a careful and considerate lover. Mindful of her earlier pain, he slowly made love to her again.

  After they awoke this time, the first tendrils of daylight were peeking around the curtains. Lottie got out of bed, and cleansed herself, then got dressed. “It seems a shame to cover all of that beauty,” he said.

  “Would you have me go to breakfast uncovered? I’m starved. I don’t remember dinner.”

  “The cowboys might get a thrill out of it, but I prefer you covered when we go out,” he said.

  They dressed and went down the street to the café they had visited her second day in Helena.

  Minnie came to the table. “How are the newlyweds this morning?”

  “Starved,” said Lottie.

  Minnie laughed. “I’ll bring you a big plate, Hon,” she said.

  “What about me?” Zebulon said.

  “I’ll bring you a bigger one,’ Minnie said over her shoulder as she walked toward the kitchen.

  chapterThirteen

  Going Home

  After they finished breakfast, they walked to Silas Farmer’s store. He followed them as they walked through the store, taking note of what they wanted or needed. When they finished their selections, Silas said, “Give me some time to get this together, and I’ll have it ready for you.

  “So you’re finally getting into your house? He asked Zebulon.

  “Yes, we are, and right in time too. While you’re putting that together, we’re going to Western Union and let our families know about the wedding,” Zebulon said.

  Lottie put her hand over her mouth. “I’m ashamed to say I forgot all about letting them know. I should have written that I got here too, but didn’t.”

  “If we send a telegram today, they’ll get it tomorrow,” so it’s no big lapse on your part,” Zebulon said.

  “Except a telegram will scare Mama to death. I doubt she even knows anyone who’s ever received a telegram,” Lottie said.

  “Just think, she’ll have something to tell all of her friends.” he said. “Silas, we’ll be back in a little while.”

  Zebulon sent Mary a wire announcing their wedding. Lottie did the same for her parents, and Martha. They strolled slowly back toward the livery stable to get their carriage. Back in the store, Silas said, “Everything’s just about good to go. If you start loading that up, I should have the rest of it by the time you finish.

  With his arms full, Zebulon didn’t know she was there until he heard Elizabeth Palmer say, “Zebulon, I’m glad I ran into you this morning. I’m sorry Carter and I didn’t make it to your wedding. He had an emergency, and I went along to help. I did so want to meet Charlotte.”

  “Elizabeth, we missed you. Let me put these down. Lottie is in the store. Come back
inside, and I’ll introduce you.

  Inside the store…

  “Lottie, this is Elizabeth Palmer. She’s the wife of the doctor. Elizabeth, my wife Charlotte, but everyone calls her Lottie.”

  Lottie said, “I’m so pleased to meet you. I understand you’re from Maryland? We were practically neighbors. I’m from Baltimore.”

  Elizabeth took Lottie’s hand in both hers. “I was just telling Zebulon, Carter had an emergency delivery and I went along to help. I’m sorry we had to miss the wedding. I heard it was nice.”

  “I think it was. Everyone was so gracious, they made me feel right at home,” Lottie said.

  “Elizabeth smiled, “They have a way of doing that, don’t they? I’ve felt at home since Carter brought me out.

  “I have to get back home, Carter has a couple of patients coming in this afternoon, and I need to get lunch going.

  “Let’s get together soon.”

  “We’ll do that. Carrie and I plan to have lunch at our place next week, but I’ll see you in church before then. It’s nice to have met someone from back home.”

  The carriage was loaded with their food and luggage. Zebulon helped Lottie onto the carriage, climbed in, picked up the reins and clucked to the horses, and said, “Let’s go home.

  When they pulled up between the house and the barn, Clem came up and said, “I’ll take care of the horses, boss.”

  “Give me a hand with the victuals first, will you please?” Zebulon said. “Everything going okay?” he asked.

  “Finer than frog hair, boss. I think everything’s ready in the house. Whit and the others are out on the south range. My horse threw a shoe and I came in to get another,” Clem said.

  “What’s going on out there?” Zebulon asked.

  “It looks like the Sioux ran off a few head, and Whit wants to get a count to see whether it’s enough to go get them back. I’m going to catch up with them.”

  “Okay, Clem. Tell Whit to let me know if he needs any help.