“How dare you!”
“It all needed to be said. Do you have money for a train ticket to Texas?” Albert asked.
“Of course, I don’t. If I had money, I wouldn’t have shown up on your doorstep, now would I?”
“I’ll buy your ticket.”
“To where?” Mary asked shrilly. “I have nowhere to go! No one wants me. Mama and Papa are dead!”
Albert shrugged. “Where am I taking you then? If not to the train station?”
“I don’t know. I just had to get away from that…woman you married.”
He sighed. “Maybe there will be someone in town who will hire you to do…something.”
“Are you now implying that I’m not good for anything?”
He shrugged. “I’ll let you make that decision.” He stopped because they’d reached the mercantile. “Maybe someone will be advertising for something you can do.”
He jumped down and waited for Clarence, but left her to get down on her own. He didn’t like how she’d talked about his wife. The woman was a real pain in his behind, and he wasn’t going to mess with her any longer. He walked into the mercantile and called to Samuel. “Anyone looking for a woman to do some work for them?”
Samuel shook his head slowly. “No one that I know of. I know a few of the men around town are thinking about sending off for mail order brides, though. You got someone you’re trying to get rid of?”
Albert grinned. “My first wife’s sister needs somewhere to go. She’s unhappy at my house, and she has nowhere else. Any suggestions?”
Samuel took a piece of paper and calmly made a list which he then handed to Albert. “There’s a list of men that I know are looking for brides. Go talk to them. Maybe one of them will take her off your hands.”
Albert let out a low laugh. “That’s what I’m looking for.” He glanced down at the list. “No one closer to town? I want to dump her and go back home.” He sighed. “It’s going to be a long day.”
Clarence looked at him. “Pa, why does Aunt Mary hate Mama so much?”
Albert shook his head. “There are just some people in this world who have no love inside them. I think Mary is one of those.” He strode toward the wagon with Clarence trailing behind him. Mary was still sitting on the seat of the sleigh.
“I see you finally remembered me.”
Albert shrugged. “We’re ready to go on. There are no jobs for women in town, but there are several men around looking for a wife. We’ll go visit them and see which one will take you.”
“Take me? You make me sound like a terrible burden you can’t wait to be rid of. Albert, how can you treat me this way?”
He ignored her question as he tipped his hat at a friend as they drove south out of town. There had to be someone who wanted sex so badly, he’d marry a shrew like Mary, didn’t there?
It was an hour before they arrived at the first man’s house. Albert jumped down, telling Clarence to stay put. He wandered around for a moment hoping he could find the man, and he wouldn’t be out on the range. Finally he spotted his friend, Eli King, coming out of the barn. He raised his hand in greeting.
Eli walked toward him eyeing the sleigh. He held his hand out for the other man to shake. “Good to see you, Albert. You doing all right?”
“I have a slight dilemma. I sent off for a mail order bride a few months back, and she’s here and the best wife I could have asked for. A few days ago, my late wife’s sister showed up, widowed, thinking she could keep house for me. She spent her last dime on train travel.” Albert shrugged. “I don’t really know what to do with my former sister-in-law, but she’d like to marry again. You in the market for a wife or a housekeeper?”
Eli looked at the sleigh and saw the pretty woman sitting in the front. “What’s wrong with her?”
Albert laughed loudly. “What makes you think there’s something wrong with her?”
“I know you, and I know you’d keep her if there was any way it was possible. Why can’t she stay at your house?”
Albert sighed. “Because she’s mean and lazy and is doing her best to make my wife’s life difficult.”
Eli shook his head. “Thanks but no thanks. I’m sure someone will take her, but I don’t need no crazy woman in my life.”
“She’s not crazy!”
“Sounds crazy to me. Thanks for thinking of me. If you get a good woman in, look me up.”
Albert grinned. “I’m kind of glad you said ‘no,’ but I felt the need to ask you first. Some men are willing to put up with anything for regular sex.”
“I’m not one of them. Bring me back a good one.”
“I don’t get women in every day.” Albert walked back toward the sleigh with Eli beside him. He introduced his friend to Clarence and Mary. “This is my former sister-in-law, Mary, and my new son, Clarence. Clarence is more help around the ranch than I ever imagined an eight year old would be.”
“Nice to meet you, ma’am, Clarence.” Eli tipped his hat politely. He turned to Albert, and they clasped gloved hands together. “I’d love to meet your new wife. Invite me over for a good home-cooked meal sometime, will ya?”
Clarence smiled. “My mama’s the best cook around.”
Albert nodded. “She is. Why don’t you come over for Christmas dinner? We’ll eat around two so you can get home before dark. I’d love to introduce you.”
Eli grinned. “I can’t wait to meet the woman that put the sparkle back in your eye.”
Albert climbed back into the sleigh, and the three of them drove off. He looked at his list and headed to the man who was closest. Hopefully he’d be more interested in Mary than Eli had been.
“Where exactly are we going, Albert?” Mary asked finally.
Albert looked at her. “I’m trying to find you a place to stay. Either a man who needs a wife or a housekeeper.”
She looked over her shoulder. “Why not him?”
Albert shrugged. “He didn’t want you.”
Mary stared at him in shock. “What do you mean he didn’t want me?”
“He said he doesn’t have the patience to put up with a woman like you.” Albert shrugged.
“He didn’t see me before he said that, though.”
Albert laughed. “He saw you just fine. He just doesn’t want a woman who won’t work and put him first. There’s a man that will. We just have to find him.”
It was almost suppertime when they finally found a man who would take her. Albert had begun to worry he’d never find anyone. He’d been through over half of his list at that point. He pulled up in front of Frank Rivers house and jumped down, thankful he wouldn’t need to hunt this man down, because he should be home for supper.
Frank wasn’t a particular friend of his, so he didn’t mind if he decided to take Mary on, but he wouldn’t lie to him either. He went to the door and knocked while the other two sat in the cold sleigh. If Frank didn’t want her, he’d have to drive home and try again in a couple of days. He needed to get some work done before he could lose another full day.
Frank came to the door and looked at him oddly. “Hello, Albert. How can I help you?”
Albert smiled. This was one of the men who had been in the mercantile and had made rude comments about him taking a new wife. “My first wife’s twin sister came to town. Her husband died, and she thought she could keep house for me. I didn’t need a housekeeper, because I have a wife, so I’m looking to see if someone around here could use a wife or housekeeper.”
Frank’s eyes widened. “Your first wife was a beauty. I’ll look at her for sure.” He looked at Albert suspiciously. “You don’t want to keep her for a bit? Have her help your wife with chores?”
Albert shook his head. “My house is too full as it is. I know you’re looking for a wife, so I thought you might be interested.”
“Can she cook?”
Albert shrugged. “She hasn’t cooked for me in a good fifteen years. Why don’t you ask her to come in and cook something for you? See how it goes?” He
hoped he and Clarence could get a meal out of it as well. It was suppertime, and they’d had to share their lunch meant for two among three people.
“That’s a good idea. Get her in here.” Frank watched as Albert went to the sleigh and invited Clarence and Mary to come in. Frank’s eyes widened as he saw the woman in question. When she was close, he smiled his biggest smile, showing off the wide gap between his front teeth. “Can you cook?”
Mary nodded emphatically. “I’m a wonderful cook.”
Albert said nothing as the man invited the three of them inside. He took the seat that was indicated and sat beside Clarence at the table while Frank crossed his arms over his chest. “Cook then. Cook for all four of us, and if I like what I taste, then I’ll consider marrying you.”
Mary gasped with surprise. “You’re making me audition to marry you?”
Frank shrugged. “Looks like you don’t have much of a choice, now do you? Cook, and I’ll see if I want you around.”
Mary spun away from him, tears pricking her eyes. She rummaged for some food and came up with almost nothing. “How do you expect me to cook when you don’t have any food?”
Frank waved to the trap door in the floor. “There’s food down there. Fetch it and cook.” He took a seat beside Albert and waited for the woman to do as he’d told her.
Mary huffed as she grabbed a lantern, opened the trap door, and went down into the cellar. She came back up the stairs with her arms full of potatoes, bacon, and a basket of eggs. Not one of the men moved to help her, and she glared at them.
She hurried to the stove, using a bit of lard to melt in the frying pan, while she peeled the potatoes and cut them up.
She fried the bacon and potatoes and then added eggs. Within minutes she had a good meal cooked, and the four of them gobbled it down. When he had wiped his mouth with his sleeve, Frank said, “Yeah, she’ll do. I’ll keep her, Albert.”
Mary glared at him. “Don’t you think you should ask me first?”
Frank shrugged. “I don’t guess so. Albert doesn’t want you, and from what I can tell, no one else does either.”
Mary looked at Albert. “Are you going to make me stay here and marry this man?”
“I don’t know what you want me to do, Mary. There are no jobs available in town. You don’t want me to put you on a train somewhere. You won’t help my wife around the house. You either stay here and marry him, or figure something else out. I’m done.” Albert looked at Frank. “You mind if Clarence and I spend the night here? I don’t think we can make it home safely this late at night with the snow.”
Frank nodded. “That’s fine. I’ve got a couple of spare rooms. No sheets on the beds, but Mary can take care of that after the dishes are done.”
“You expect me to do the dishes? I just cooked dinner!”
Frank laughed. “I expect you to cook and do dishes three times a day and keep the house clean. If kids come along they’ll be your responsibility too. Get on it, woman.”
Mary reluctantly walked to the basin and washed the dishes, grumbling all the while. When she was finished, she made both of the beds. “Where do I sleep tonight?” she asked, her voice sharp with anger.
“In one of the spare rooms. I’ll have you all to myself tomorrow night.” He leered at her, and she ran from the room, choosing one of the rooms and slamming the door hard.
Albert looked at Frank. “You’re not going to mistreat her, are you?”
Frank shook his head. “Course not. She just needs to know I’m boss from the beginning. Kinda like when you’re training a horse.”
Albert chuckled. “You two are going to have an interesting life together.”
*****
Clara didn’t expect them back for lunch, but when it was almost supper time and the two were still out, she became worried. She served supper, but kept glancing out the window every few minutes to see if they were home. She put two huge portions of dinner in the oven, and watched as the girls did the dishes. When it was time to put the children to bed, she was almost shaking with fear, but did her best to not let the girls know it.
“Mama, where are they? Do you think something happened?” Natalie asked.
“I’m sure everything is fine. They probably realized it was too dark to come home, so they stayed in town.”
Natalie eyed her skeptically but didn’t argue. She got into bed without another word and waited while Clara kissed first Gertie and then her. “Good night, Mama.”
Clara turned at the door and smiled at both the girls. “Good night. Sleep sweet.”
She closed the door behind her, hurrying down the stairs to continue her vigil. What would she do if something happened to them? She couldn’t run a ranch by herself. She sat in her chair at the table and knitted, knowing she had to do something to take her mind off things. Finally, when it was well past midnight, she went to her bed.
She lay awake in the darkness with tears streaming down her face. She couldn’t imagine what life would be like without either of them. Albert…how had she come to love the man? She’d promised herself she wouldn’t love anyone the way she’d loved Nathan, and yet here she was. Lying in the dark crying over him.
She slept for less than an hour and woke early, her stomach more than a little upset. She wasn’t sure if it was from lack of sleep, or from worrying about her men, but she knew something was making her sick. She fixed breakfast, automatically making the same amount she made for all six of them and laughing at herself. She forced herself to eat a small amount of dry toast, but she vomited it almost immediately. Both of the girls knew how worried she was and watched her carefully.
*****
Albert woke later than usual the next morning in the room he was sharing with Clarence. He could hear pans being banged around in the kitchen and assumed Frank had told Mary to get out of bed and feed them all. He smiled. He’d solved his and Clara’s problem, but it looked like Frank was going to be able to handle Mary after all.
He went down to breakfast and ate the pancakes Mary had made. She hadn’t exaggerated. She was a good cook. She wasn’t Clara, but she was almost as good. He put his hat on after breakfast. “Clarence, it’s time for us to get home. Your ma must be worried sick.”
Mary hurried to the door. “You can’t leave me here. Can’t you at least go to the wedding? I don’t think I should stay here with a stranger that I’m not even married to.”
Albert let out a loud sigh before nodding reluctantly. He could see the problem with being alone with a man she barely knew. “We’ll follow the two of you into town.”
She shook her head. “No, I want to ride with you.”
“We either follow you and Frank into town and stay for the wedding, or we go on home now. Either way would be just fine with me.” He hoped she’d be angry with him and just tell him to go.
Mary looked like she was about to cry. “Follow us into town, then. My sister would not be happy with you, though.”
Albert laughed. “Your sister knew you for who you were. She wouldn’t care one lick.”
He waited until the couple was ready, and he and Clarence followed them into town. They witnessed the wedding, and Albert couldn’t help but laugh when Mary stomped on Frank’s foot after the ceremony. As soon as they were pronounced man and wife, Albert shook hands with Frank. “I hope you two are happy together.”
Frank shrugged. “We will be.”
Albert led Clarence to the sleigh, and they turned toward home finally. He looked at his pocket watch. It was going to be afternoon before they got back. Poor Clara would be worried sick.
*****
As the day progressed, Clara did her best to keep to her normal schedule. She baked bread as soon as the dishes were done and did the laundry, including all the linens, hanging it in the basement. She even stripped the curtains off the windows and washed them so she wouldn’t have to think about anything. The physical labor kept her mind off her worries.
As she was cleaning off the table after lunch, she heard t
he horses and rushed to the window. She sighed with relief. There they were. She threw the door open and rushed outside into the cold. She wore no shoes or coat, but she didn’t care. She needed to know her family was fine.
“Everything all right?” she called.
Albert nodded. “I need to see to the horses, but then I’ll be right in.”
Clara went back into the house and pulled the remains of lunch from the oven, setting the table for the two of them. She was so relieved they were all right she had tears rolling down her face. She’d never take anyone for granted again.
When they came back into the house, Clara didn’t wait for Albert to remove his coat, and instead threw herself at him, hugging him tightly. “I was so worried.”
Albert wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. “I’m sorry. Mary was…difficult. She didn’t want to go anywhere and demanded I find her a place to live in town. I didn’t feel right about sending her back to Texas with no family there, so I took her to some of the ranches around town, trying to find her a job as a housekeeper, or find someone stupid enough to take her as a bride.”
Clara nodded. “I should have guessed it was something like that.”
Albert rubbed the back of his neck, shrugging out of his coat. He walked to the basin and washed his hands, before taking a seat at the table. He continued his story, while she served lunch to both him and Clarence. “It was late before I finally found someone who would take her as a bride, and I didn’t think it would be safe to travel home. So I stayed the night with Frank, my friend who married her this morning, and thought to come home first thing this morning. Of course, then she decided that she couldn’t be alone with the man until they were legally married, so we followed them back into town and stayed for the wedding.” He shook his head. “I should have just dumped her in town, but she looks so much like Sally, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.”
Mail Order Motherhood (Brides of Beckham) Page 11