Isaac nodded and kissed her, feeling happier than he’d been in years. “Absolutely. Marriage is about prioritizing different things than I’m used to, and that means you.” He smiled. “Besides…I really don’t want your sister to get that money.”
THE END
Montana Mail Order Bride Madeline
Charity Phillips
Montana Mail Order Bride: Madeline
Providence, Rhode Island – 1882
After being employed as a nanny for a family in Providence for over three years, young Madeline’s world is turned upside down after a house fire tragically takes the children that are in her care away from her. Haunted by memories of those she cared so dearly for, she soon longs to escape Providence in the hope that doing so will allow her to heal and feel whole once again.
While browsing through the Providence Daily Post, she happens upon a series of ads placed by men from Montana who seek brides to join them on the new Frontier. All of the ads quickly begin to sound the same when suddenly, one stands out. Though skeptical, she decides to muster the courage to respond to a man named Mr. Adam Black who seeks an intelligent woman, not just a pleasant woman to keep his home tidy.
Upon her arrival, Madeline meets the dashing Mr. Black and is quickly swept off her feet when he gives her a tour of his lavish home and all that lies within. Her hopes are quickly dashed, however, when he reveals to her that in truth, he’s only really looking to settle down to please his father, hoping to continue living his bachelor’s lifestyle.
Although Madeline agrees to go along with Mr. Black’s peculiar arrangement, she can’t help but feel the palpable chemistry between them. Will Madeline settle for a picture perfect, yet hollow marriage arrangement, or does Mr. Black share the same feelings, turning her daydreams into a real life fairy tale?
Chapter 1
The children played merrily in the field, so excited to venture out after a multitude of days stuck inside, escaping the unusually scorching heat of July. Madeline had promised the youngsters a picnic outdoors just as soon as the worst of the heat passed, and today she'd made good on that promise, filling a basket with simple foods for her charges and heading out together into the field behind the house. They skipped through the long grass, skimming their tiny fingers along the tips of the blades.
Suddenly, the scorching heat returned—so hot, it set the blades up ahead afire. Madeline called to the young boy and girl, but her voice came out strangled, muted. She ran toward them, but the faster she moved, the further away they became. The blazing grass raced toward them but the children remained oblivious despite the heat engulfing the field. Panic flooded through every fiber of Madeline's body as she stood there, helpless, powerless; her every effort thwarted by some force conspiring against her.
Madeline awoke abruptly, her heart pounding, sweat dampening her brow; the panic that she had felt in her dream turned to heartache. The children she'd cared for and loved as her own, were gone. She'd left to visit a friend for a few short days, and upon returning, found her entire world had been turned upside down. The family who had taken her in when she'd had no family to call her own had perished in a devastating house fire. She'd been employed as their nanny for three years, and young George, four years old at the time, and his two-year-old sister Charlotte had welcomed her with open arms.
Madeline's lot in life had forced her to be strong and she wasn't easily prone to tears. But the moment she discovered her young charges' lives had ended so suddenly, so tragically, tears streamed down her cheeks. She'd stood silent in front of the burnt ruins for so long, her legs had grown numb from their burden. She couldn't force herself to leave, frozen, somehow waiting for her bleary eyes to clear and find the house standing in all its prior glory, and George and Charlotte running out the front door to greet her. Finally, as night had begun to fall, some neighbor took her by the shoulders, guiding her away from the mound of ashes and rubble.
The next several days passed by in a blur, Madeline still too much in shock to move forward. Eventually, she found temporary lodging and then work as a housekeeper, knowing her meager savings wouldn't sustain her for long. She had tried to pick up the pieces of her life in the weeks that had followed her return to Providence, but normality, peace, were nowhere to be found. She saw George and Charlotte everywhere and in everything she did. Just yesterday, she had woken late, and out of habit, rushed out of bed to fix the youngsters breakfast. Coming awake as she hurried, Madeline had stopped herself mid-step, remembering that she was not in the home she'd known for years nor were her children there waiting anxiously to bid her good morning. And later, rifling through her only suitcase of belongings, she came across the book she'd been reading to the children the night before she'd left; she'd tossed the book across the room in frustration. “I should have finished the book with them,” she thought irrationally, as if having done so would have assuaged the pain somehow.
Sitting at the small table now with her breakfast growing colder by the minute, she browsed through the Providence Daily Post, looking for something that might occupy her thoughts, even for a few moments. But, the news was disturbing—or dull at best—nothing there to distract her from her sorrow. Opting to turn one more page before abandoning her effort, something caught her eye: men from Montana, looking for brides to join them there. It wasn't anything she would have ever considered before. In truth, the matter of men and women, complete strangers, coming together in matrimony to better one's position, to procreate advantageously; it all seemed too absurd to Madeline. If she ever married, she'd been determined that it would be for love and nothing else. Not that the prospect had ever been very likely. Sure, Madeline was beautiful—long, fiery tresses, vivid emerald eyes, a thin, feminine frame—but she was also a near-penniless orphan who, until recently, kept company with children.
But now, the prospect of escaping Providence to some foreign place with no memories to haunt her at every turn, it seemed worth abandoning her prior determination. It couldn't hurt to take a look, she thought. And so, she read through the column of advertisements filled with men seeking women for marriage, rolling her eyes as each one sounded nearly identical to the next:
“A bachelor of 48 seeks a wife. She must be under thirty years of age, amiable and well-versed in maintaining a home,” the advertisements read.
Of course. Every old farmer there wants a young, attractive woman to do his bidding and keep his house clean, she thought dryly, finding less and less appeal in the prospect. And then she came across one advertisement that captured her interest:
“A bachelor of 32 years seeks an intelligent, amiable wife to join him in Montana.”
It wasn't very often she'd heard of a man in search of an intelligent woman, and it certainly made him stand out. And so, on a whim, she responded to his advertisement, writing him a letter—an honest letter—about herself. Madeline saw no benefit in exaggerating the truth or hiding the dirty laundry; she'd rather him reject her now than after she'd gone and moved across the country. She did, however, make her urgency clear, wanting to be away from Providence as soon as possible. Before she could change her mind, she sent the letter off and endeavored not to think of it again. After all, it would be weeks before she received a response, if the man was even interested.
But as the weeks passed, Madeline thought about the man from Montana a great deal; every time Providence haunted her, she longed for the escape. A time or two she'd even wished she'd elaborated a little in her correspondence, making it more likely she could hope for a response. So, four weeks later, when she'd all but given up, it came as quite a surprise to find a letter addressed to her, posted from Montana. She'd learned about how these things worked a little during the past few weeks; lengthy written exchanges back and forth, each party taking their time in determining whether the match was a good fit. And so, it came as an even greater surprise to find a brief note from the man in Montana, along with a train ticket:
Please join me in Montana. I have made travel arrangements
for you, and expect that we can deal with the matter of matrimony upon your arrival.
Sincerely,
Adam Black
He isn't exactly the chatty type, is he? Madeline thought, but it didn't matter; she held her key to escape in her hands. In just a few short days, she could leave Providence and, hopefully, leave behind some of the heartache that the city held for her now. For the first time in so many weeks, she smiled, darting around her tiny lodging, collecting her few belongings and tidying the room. In just twenty minutes, she was packed and ready to leave...with three days to spare. “Arghhh!” she fumed aloud, wanting to be on her way already, but she could be patient just a little longer.
Madeline spent the remaining days saying goodbye to the place she'd called home for her entire twenty years, and on the last day, visited the burnt down home she'd avoided all these weeks. She wandered around the mound of rubble to the field behind where she'd spent so many hours with her charges, playing games, reading stories. She could see each scene so vividly that she almost reached out to touch the characters playing in her imagination. “Goodbye, my dear George. Farewell, sweet Charlotte,” she said simply instead, a lonesome tear escaping as she turned away, walking back to the road and away from that sad chapter of her life forever.
Chapter 2
The sun rose early in the sky, and Madeline was already awake, tidying her small space for the last time. Her suitcase sat near the door and her eyes kept darting to it, waiting for the moment it would be time to leave. She couldn't remember ever being so anxious for something in her life, and given that she was leaving to some great unknown, it surprised her that she wasn't more fearful of her coming adventure. But even as she closed the door behind her for the last time, carrying her small suitcase down the stairs to the street below, she didn't suffer a moment of trepidation. Regardless of what Montana held in store, it could be no worse than remaining in Providence.
She stepped onto the train an hour later feeling no less confident, but Mr. Black surprised her once again. As she handed her ticket to the conductor, his eyes widened briefly before offering his arm to lead her through the cars as he signaled another man to carry Madeline's luggage behind them. They passed by a multitude of passengers and empty seats along the way, making Madeline weary that perhaps the conductor intended to walk her right back off the train, but a moment later, he brought them to a halt as he opened the door to an empty car. She surveyed her surroundings, impressed by the spacious and comfortable looking area in front of her. Looking up at the conductor quizzically, he motioned for her to step inside, holding the door and then entering behind her.
“I hope you'll find everything satisfactory, Miss. Please let me know if you have any need of my service while you are aboard,” he finished, nodding his head in a curt bow before leaving through the same door they had entered.
The man with her suitcase placed it gently on the ground, nodding before leaving as well. “Sir, wait,” she started. “Is there some reason I've been sequestered here?” she asked, not certain why she'd been deposited into an empty train car.
The baggage man gave her a curious look. “The car has been reserved for your use alone, Miss, but of course you are free to come and go as you please.” He smiled kindly before heading back out into the preceding car.
There must have been thirty or more passengers on each of the cars they'd traveled through, and here she was with an entire car all to herself. What had Mr. Black been thinking? Had he intended to sway her with an impressive show of wealth? Her decision would had to have been made already before boarding the train, so it could not have helped to sway her. Did he not know that? Wonderful, I've chosen marriage to an idiot, she thought silently, and then immediately felt guilty for presuming to judge the man's character so quickly; so Madeline took a seat, relaxing in the privacy of her very own train car, determined to enjoy the trip.
Her excitement rose as she felt the train begin to pull out of the station. There was no turning back now. She watched out the window as Providence became nothing but a blur in the background, and determinedly turned her thoughts to what lay up ahead. She'd read about Montana and the other Western territories briefly; largely inhabited by farmers, miners and prospectors, there was a definite shortage of eligible ladies suitable for marriage. Funny that it hadn't occurred to Madeline to research more about her prospective new home when she'd sent the letter to Mr. Black, but she never put much weight in receiving a response, so the task seemed unnecessary. Besides, a brand new adventure in a foreign place wasn't the worst thing in the world.
Madeline spent the remainder of the trip thinking about what her new life may have in store for her. At first, she'd presumed Mr. Black would be a struggling farmer or miner, but it seemed unlikely that a struggling man in any trade wouldn't have been able to secure an entire passenger car for a virtual stranger. Perhaps he'd been there long enough that he'd become rather prosperous. Or maybe he was already wealthy and he'd headed out west in search of something new. She wasn't sure why, but that notion excited Madeline and heightened her interest in meeting Mr. Black. The prospect of an exciting and adventurous husband certainly held more appeal than the straight-laced, boring sort of men she'd had the opportunity to become acquainted with thus far in her short life.
Chapter 3
Her musings kept her so occupied over the next several days that Madeline hardly noticed time going by, and before she knew it, the train was pulling into the station in Helena, Montana. For the first time, she felt nervousness course through her body as she stood at the door of the train car, willing her legs to propel her forward. Finally, her determination won out and she stepped off the train, her eyes surveying the crowd. She realized she had no idea how she would identify Mr. Black, nor how he would recognize a woman he'd never seen.
Her attention was momentarily drawn elsewhere; a particularly handsome man stood out to her from among the rest. He was tall, standing at least half a foot above Madeline's tall frame. His dark hair was cropped short, and his crystal clear, blue eyes were the most remarkable eyes she'd ever seen. His suit had to be expensive and the man wearing it was obviously fit, his broad chest and muscular build obvious even through the impeccable clothing. He turned and his eyes found her, meeting her gaze unwaveringly, and then he started toward her. Madeline's brow furrowed in confusion; she knew many men in Montana were desperate for wives, and perhaps this one had decided he'd sweet talk a woman right off the train. Indignation welled within her, but Madeline did her best to rein it in, figuring it would be indecent to make a scene in the middle of the train station. The man continued toward her, stopping less than two feet from where she stood.
“Good afternoon, Miss Swan. My name is Adam Black,” he began, smiling at her politely and instantly lightening his previously unreadable expression. “And now, I believe we have been formally introduced.”
She nodded, thrown to discover that the incredibly handsome man was in fact the man she'd come here to marry.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Black,” she replied cordially, finding her voice.
“If you'll come with me, I'd be happy to escort you to your new home while we take the opportunity to get acquainted.” He offered his arm and she took it without question. Her mind was busily absorbed trying to figure out Mr. Black: He is obviously wealthy, and definitely attractive; what need did he have to seek out a woman in this way? she wondered.
“You have questions,” he stated as they walked away from the station, reading her silence perfectly.
“I apologize for being so forward, Mr. Black, but I admit I'm quite confused. You are certainly not what I had expected. A struggling farmer or miner of average looks and intelligence, perhaps. But already it seems unlikely that you have had troubles finding a potential wife,” she confessed as they approached an impressive-looking horse-drawn carriage. A man there opened the door and Adam helped Madeline inside. Once seated, he looked at her silently, as if he were contemplating his next words. She sat quietly as the
carriage began to move, waiting.
“I suppose I should be up front with you, Miss Swan, as you were with me in your letter,” he sighed. “It is true that I have had marriage prospects aplenty—my father ensures a steady stream of them, desperate to see his eldest son settled in the confines of matrimony, but, even had I been inclined to take a bride, those simple-minded girls would have driven me mad; all clamoring to climb the ranks of society, even if they must relegate themselves to surviving halfway across the country. Even more, a woman who enters into marriage in the usual way expects a certain degree of...fidelity, and I have yet to find a woman who could occupy my thoughts for long. So, you see, this arrangement of ours is an ideal situation: you have escaped your prior home to an elevated status in a new place, and I have satisfied my father's desire for his son to settle down,” he finished.
Madeline was quiet for a moment, processing this new information. No part of this had gone as she had expected. “So, in truth, it is not a marriage you are seeking, but rather a union on paper to satisfy your father?” she asked, though it was more a statement, reviewing her thoughts aloud, rather than a question. And then another thought came to her, “A marriage to a poor orphan; will that not irk your father more than satisfy him?”
Adam smiled devilishly and Madeline's heart skipped a beat. No wonder he had no interest in settling down; this man could make any woman swoon with a smile like that.
“My father may not have anticipated my particular choice, but I believe it is suffice to say that I don't feel it is any of his concern,” Adam finished curtly, though the defiant light in his eyes told Madeline he was more than pleased by the turn of events.
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