Mail Order Mix Up

by Kirsten Osbourne

  Mail Order Mix Up

  Book Four in the Brides of Beckham

  By Kirsten Osbourne

  Copyright 2013 Kirsten Osbourne

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  When Ellen and her sister, Malinda, are forced out of the only home they’ve ever known by a local banker after the death of their father, they answer an advertisement placed by Harriett Long for mail order brides. Ellen chooses to marry the sheriff of a small town in Colorado while Malinda agrees to marry his brother, a banker. When they arrive, each sister is immediately drawn to one of the brothers….too bad it’s the wrong one!

  Chapter One

  June, 1885 Beckham, Massachusetts

  Ellen Bronson washed the last dish straining her mind to come up with a way to get money to come up with more food. She and her younger sister, Malinda, were down to their last pot of beans. There was just enough corn meal for one more pan of corn bread, and then they had nothing.

  When their father had died just two weeks before, they’d been convinced that they’d find where he’d hidden the money he’d saved, but the more they searched the more despondent they became. They’d finally come to the conclusion that there was no money to be found. They’d always lived a good life, albeit a simple one living on the outskirts of Beckham, Massachusetts on a small farm. The two sisters had continued to milk the cows that kept their dairy farm afloat, but the dairy told them they’d already paid their father in advance for the entire month. It was the fifteenth, and they had no money, and as far as Ellen could see, no way to get more.

  Malinda put away the bowl and put it in the cupboard. “What are we going to do?”

  Ellen shook her head despondently. “I have no idea. Dad always kept up with the money. He never even discussed it with us, always just saying it wasn’t something we should be worried about.”

  The two sisters were both slim with dark hair. Ellen’s hair was a medium brown, while Malinda’s was so dark it was almost black. Ellen had grey eyes, exactly the color of a dark cloud just before a storm. Malinda’s eyes were a brown that always seemed to be filled with laughter. The two sisters were only eleven months apart, with Ellen being the elder.

  Because they had lost their mother at a young age, they had grown closer than most sisters and tended to do most things together. Ellen was the natural leader between them, not only because she was slightly older, but because she actually enjoyed doing the work around the farm. Malinda would rather curl up with a good book than clean the house, but she always helped when asked. Together they’d worked to keep the farm going since their father had died. Just a couple more weeks and they would have some money again, and be able to buy more food. They could make it. They just had to tighten their belts a bit.

  “I know. But now I’m getting worried. Should we go see the man at the bank and see if he had some money there for us?” Malinda asked.

  “He always said the safest place to keep your money was in your own house. He didn’t trust bankers. There’s no way he’d have had a bank account and not told us about it.”

  Malinda leaned against the cupboard drying her hands on her apron. “I know. I just don’t know what else to think.”

  “I don’t either.” Ellen sighed heavily, looking around the kitchen. “I guess we need to find something to sell. I’ve looked for a job in town, but it takes both of us to get all the milking done. We only need to be able to find enough money for food for the next two weeks, and then we’ll get paid again.” Ellen rested her hand against her stomach, which was still hungry despite just having eaten. There was so little food left, she tended to take small portions for herself claiming to not be hungry, so Malinda wouldn’t have to go without.

  Malinda looked out the open window with the blue checked curtains that fluttered in the June breeze. “There’s someone here in a fancy black carriage!”

  Both sisters removed their aprons and stepped outside. Ellen brushed her hair away from her face and looked up at the tall middle-aged man in front of her. His salt and pepper hair was groomed immaculately. “May I help you?” she asked.

  “Are you Ellen and Malinda Bronson?”

  Both girls nodded. “Yes, sir,” Malinda answered.

  “I’m Jacob Baxter.” He brushed some dust off of his immaculate black suit as if he were too good to even be standing on a farm.

  They stared at him blankly for a moment. He seemed to think they’d know who he was so Ellen said, “I’m sorry. I don’t know who you are.” She did know he wasn’t someone she liked, though. He obviously thought he was much better than she and her sister.

  “I’m the manager of the bank in Beckham. Your father never mentioned me?”

  The sisters exchanged a quick look. “Never,” Ellen responded. What is he doing here? And how did he know my father? He surely would have mentioned if he’d had business with the bank in town.

  “I was afraid of that. Your father took out a loan a few months back to buy some more cattle. Did he mention that to you?”

  “No, sir.” Ellen looked at the man skeptically. “Do you have proof?”

  He pulled a document out of the briefcase on the front seat of the carriage. “Everything is right here. You’ll see he signed it at the bottom.”

  Ellen skimmed over the document which said the farm and everything on it would revert to the bank in the case of John Bronson’s death. Why would he sign this? Her eyes met the bankers. “Everything reverts to the bank? What about our house? Our furniture.” Our mother’s things.

  The man shrugged. “It all belongs to the bank now, and has for two weeks. We’ve allowed you to stay so you had time to make other arrangements. I gather you haven’t done that?” He looked disgusted that the two young women hadn’t done anything to plan for their future.

  Ellen shook her head. “We had no idea we should make other arrangements. May we have another week or two?” What they could do in that amount of time, she had no idea, but it would be something.

  Mr. Baxter sighed. “I’ve already given you longer than I should have.” He looked around at the rundown farm. “I’ll tell you what. It’s Tuesday. You can have until Friday to find somewhere to go, but then I’ll have to take possession. I’ll even let you keep your clothes. Nothing else, though.” He climbed into the buggy to leave, obviously not caring how they felt about having three days to leave the only home they’d ever known.

  “Three days isn’t enough time!” Ellen cried in exasperation.

  “It’s all you have. Good day.” He picked up the reigns and drove back toward Beckham.

  Ellen looked at Malinda. “What do we do now?”

  Malinda sighed. “We need to find jobs and a place to live. We’re old enough to work for wages.” She kicked a rock toward the house. “I don’t want to lose you!”

  “You won’t lose me. We’ll find a way to stay close enough to see each other.” Ellen took a deep breath to prepare mentally for the task at hand. “Well, there’s no time like the present. Let’s go change into our Sunday dresses and go to town.”

  “Where will we go? What’s the best way to find a job?”

  Ellen stepped back into the house. “We’ll go to the mercantile, because there are often notices for employment there, and we can pick up the paper. Maybe there will be something there.” She paused after climbing the stairs a
nd looked at her sister. “I would like us to find something we can do together if possible. I don’t want to lose the only family I have left.”

  Malinda hugged her sister. “I don’t either. We’ll find something together. I know we can.”

  Both quickly changed and washed their hands and faces before making the short walk into town. When they reached the mercantile, they went to the back of the store where the notices of people trying to sell things and people looking for employees were posted. The two sisters scanned through all the notes and found nothing.

  They picked up a copy of the free paper and took it out to a bench in front of the store sitting on the boardwalk and watching the wagons and buggies drive by on the unpaved street in front of them. Ellen found the help wanted section of the paper, and since it was only two columns, read it silently, planning to read aloud if she saw something helpful. She reached the end of the column and sighed. “There are no jobs. Only one thing that may be helpful, but I don’t think so.” She made a face, not wanting to really consider the one thing.

  “Well, something is better than nothing. Read it, and we’ll decide together what to do.” Malinda looked at her sister eagerly, obviously hoping for something wonderful.

  Ellen looked back down at the advertisement and read softly, “Mail Order Bride agency needs women who are looking for the adventure of their lives. Men out West need women to marry. Reply in person at 300 Rock Creek Road. See Mrs. Harriett Long.”

  Malinda looked at Ellen in surprise. “Mail Order Brides? Papa said we shouldn’t marry until we were twenty one!”

  Ellen nodded. “I know, but I don’t think we have a choice. Let’s go talk to Mrs. Long and see what she says. I don’t see how she could possibly find us somewhere to go in just three days, but we’ll see what happens. It’s better than sitting here wondering what to do.” Ellen really had no desire to be a mail order bride, because she was sure she couldn’t find a man who would let her bring her younger sister along.

  The sisters stood and walked to Rock Creek Road talking about the possibility. “We can’t stay together if we become mail order brides!” Malinda protested.

  “I thought of that, but maybe there will be two men in the same area looking for wives. If we live within an hour or two drive of each other, we’d at least be able to see each other on occasion.”

  “What do you think the chances of that are?”

  Ellen laughed softly. “Probably next to nothing, but it’s worth a try. Anything is worth a try, right?” Ellen’s voice was desperately as she pled with her sister to at least try to talk to the woman from the ad.

  They stopped short when they saw the house at the address. It was a huge brick house with large white columns in the front. “Wow. She’s rich.” Malinda wanted to bite her tongue after saying the words, but since she’d only said them to Ellen, they weren’t terribly rude.

  Ellen grinned at her sister. “Maybe Mrs. Long is the cook.” She started to walk up the sidewalk toward the door. She was nervous, but standing on the street staring at the house would only add to the nerves. She had always believed in doing what needed to be done quickly like taking a big dose of medicine.

  Malinda followed her sister up to the door. “You know as well as I do Mrs. Long isn’t the cook.”

  Ellen reached out and grabbed the door knocker bringing it down twice sharply. She put a hand over her stomach to still the butterflies and waited patiently. Within moments the door was pulled open. “May I help you?” The tall dark haired man at the door looked like he’d never smiled in his life.

  Ellen swallowed hard. “I’m Ellen Bronson, and this is my sister, Malinda. We’re here to see Mrs. Long.”

  The man gave one brief nod and opened the door wide. “If you’ll just follow me, please?”

  They followed him through the hallway. There was a staircase leading up to the second floor, but they walked around it toward the back of the house. He opened a door at the end of the hall and said, “Mrs. Long? There are two young ladies here to see you. They are both Miss Bronson.”

  The woman in the room got to her feet gracefully, walking toward them with a pronounced limp. “I’m Harriett Long. Come in and make yourselves comfortable.” She had blond hair and warm green eyes. Ellen thought she looked like she was in her late twenties, but she wasn’t certain.

  “Thank you.” Ellen headed toward the couch, leaving the chair behind the desk for Mrs. Long. It was where she’d been sitting, and she obviously had a great deal of work to do, because the desk was piled high.

  Once Ellen and Malinda were seated on the sofa, and Mrs. Long was in front of the desk, the man asked, “Would you care for refreshments?”

  “Please bring us some lemonade and some cookies if there are some fresh. Thank you, Higgins.” Mrs. Long faced the two young ladies and waited for one of them to say something as the man nodded regally and shut the door.

  Ellen cleared her throat before beginning. “We’re interested in your advertisement in the paper for mail order brides.”

  Mrs. Long nodded. “I’d surmised as much. How old are you?”

  “I’m twenty, and my sister is nineteen.”

  “Old enough to marry, then. Good. I won’t send out a young lady under the age of eighteen. Just one of my own little rules.” Mrs. Long turned to her desk and set out a piece of paper and a pen. After dipping her pen in the pot of ink, she asked, “Why do you want to be mail order brides?”

  Ellen and Malinda exchanged a look, and Ellen briefly wondered how much of the truth she should tell. She wouldn’t lie to the woman, of course, but she didn’t need to know the whole story did she? “Our father died two weeks ago, and we have no place to go. The bank is going to take possession of the farm, and everything on it in three days. We’re only allowed to take our clothing. Nothing else.”

  Mrs. Long nodded, not seeming surprised by the story. “I understand.” She studied the two girls for a moment. “Do you both want to become brides?”

  Ellen nodded slowly. “We looked for jobs, but didn’t see anything. We honestly have no idea what else to do.” She reached over and gripped Malinda’s hand. “We’d like to stay close together if possible, though.”

  “That may be difficult,” Mrs. Long began. “I get letters from all over. It’s not common to get two letters from the same area.” She sat back in her chair as if she were thinking. “Wait! I got two letters yesterday from brothers in Colorado who are each looking for wives.” She sorted through different papers on her desk and found the ones she was looking for. She handed both letters to Ellen.

  Ellen skimmed the first and wrinkled her nose, passing it on to Malinda. The man was a banker, and she had no desire to marry someone who would treat anyone the way she and her sister had been treated that morning. She glanced at the second letter and immediately smiled. This was the letter for her. “My name is Wesley Harris. I’m twenty seven years old and the sheriff of the town of Gammonsville, Colorado. The town is at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. I moved out here with my brother in 1878 hoping to strike gold, but instead, I ended up being the sheriff and my brother opened the town bank. It’s a quiet little town I think any woman would love living in. I’m looking for a woman who has never been married. I’d prefer someone who was between eighteen and twenty four, but that’s flexible. Mainly I want a woman who isn’t afraid of hard work who will take care of my home. I want children, so someone in good health is a necessity. I look forward to receiving a letter from you, so we can get to know one another and start a life together. Sincerely, Wesley Harris.”

  Ellen’s smile lit up her face as her eyes met Mrs. Long’s. “He’s perfect for me. I want to marry the sheriff.” She loved the idea of marrying a man who put his life on the line every day to help others. Wesley Harris was definitely the man for her.

  Malinda had finished her letter around the same time and nodded. “I love the idea of marrying the banker.”

  Ellen made a face. “You would.” Her sister would make a goo
d wife for a rich man. Ellen was positive the banker was made for her.

  Malinda sighed. “I don’t ever want to be poor again. We’re losing the only home we’ve ever had. I can’t imagine how anyone would choose not to marry a man with money.”

  Mrs. Long smiled at the sisters. “So do you want to respond to their letters?” Her voice and tone told Ellen that even though this was obviously a business for her, she cared about the women she sent West.

  Ellen nodded. “How long does the whole process take? We have three days to get out of our house. Is there any way we can leave in that amount of time?”

  Mrs. Long stared at them both for a moment before responding. “Normal process time is around two months depending on how quickly the men respond and how many letters are exchanged before you go. Colorado letters take around three weeks, so we’re looking at a minimum of six weeks.”

  Ellen stood up. “I think we’re wasting your time. Thanks for speaking with us.” She gave a longing look to the letter she’d set down on the table in front of the sofa. She’d liked the man who’d written the letter and would have loved to have been able to meet him and marry him. They couldn’t wait six weeks, though. It just wasn’t possible. They’d have to find something else, and every minute they spent talking to Mrs. Long was a wasted minute.

  Malinda sat looking between Ellen and Mrs. Long as if she were trying to decide whether to go with Ellen or try to find some way to marry the man who’d written the letter in her hand.

  Mrs. Long seemed to think about the situation for a moment as she watched the two girls. “I have a proposition for you. This house is much too big for me. I have plenty of space for the two of you to stay with me. I’ve also got so much work to do with my business that I’m falling behind. I’ve considered hiring someone to help me, but after the month it would take to catch up, there would only be an hour or so per day of work, and no one is looking for a job for one day per week. So, if you will, stay with me and in exchange for room and board, help me catch up my work.”