by Megan West
“Now why are you sitting all the way over there?” he said, patting the vacant cushion beside him. “Why don’t you come and sit over here with me?”
“I find that I am much more comfortable in this chair,” she replied and attempted a smile.
“But how are we going to get better acquainted with so much distance between us?”
“I do not believe that distance keeps us from talking,” she said as she wondered what was taking her parents so long.
Narrowing his beady eyes at her, he seemed to be practically panting.
“You should know that your father has given your hand to me in marriage,” he said. “As we are going to be man and wife, I do feel that it is important for us to get to know each other better.”
Fighting to keep the panic from her face, Abby suddenly remembered something that she had seen in passing in the newspaper that afternoon. Her mouth quite literally opened and words fell out before she even considered the consequences of her actions.
“I’m quite sure that you must be mistaken about that, Arthur. You see, I am already betrothed to another,” she said quickly.
If she had not been so horrified at what she had just done, she would have been quite entertained by the look on Arthur’s face. It actually seemed to change colors right before her eyes. At first, he seemed to turn rather pale; almost white. Then the color began to return. After going through many shades, it seemed to land on a rather interesting and dangerous fuschia color.
Abby had never seen such anger on anyone in her life.
Abruptly, Arthur got to his feet and glared at her.
“I see,” he managed to say through clenched teeth.
“I’ll just see myself out,” he continued. “Thank you for a most…interesting…evening.”
With that, he whirled around and stalked out of the room without giving Abby a chance to say anything else. She could hear him speaking briefly to her parents before the front door gave a resounding slam. Closing her eyes, she took a couple of deep breaths to prepare herself for what was to come with her parents.
“Abigail!” her father roared as he entered the drawing room. “What did you do?”
“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean, Papa,” she replied in a soft, shaking voice.
“Arthur was livid! What did you say to him?”
“Nothing really. He simply told me that you had given him my hand in marriage and I disagreed.”
“You did what?” Raymond bellowed. “How dare you go against me? Have you forgotten that I am your father! I will decide who you marry!”
Abby didn’t know what had gotten into her but, suddenly, she was no longer frightened of her father. She just angry. Standing up, she pulled herself up to her full height of around 5’8” and stared at Raymond.
“I’m sorry, Papa,” she said quietly. “But you do not get to decide whether I am happy or not for the rest of my life. Arthur Shaw is a hideous little man. I truly do not give a fig how much money he has. He’s horrible, and I cannot believe that you would simply hand me over to him in such a way.”
It seemed that she was to be treated a second time to those fascinating face changing colors. Her father’s skipped the white shade, however, and went directly into a deep red. She supposed it was a defense mechanism on her part to focus on something like that, but she did find it rather interesting that men reacted in this way when they didn’t get their way.
“Abigail,” Raymond said in a dangerously low voice. “I am your father and you will respect me and my decisions. You will also apologize to Arthur. You will marry him. Do you understand me?”
Abby sighed.
“I understand what you are saying, Papa,” she said as she looked him directly in his eyes. “But this is 1867 and I have the right not to marry Mr. Shaw or anyone else that I am not in love with. It causes me pain to know that you think so little of me that you would simply hand me over to someone like him, without a thought or care for my personal happiness. But I will not marry him.”
For a second, Abby was seriously concerned for her father’s health. He looked like a thundercloud that threatened to erupt. That did not mean that she would change her mind. At that moment, it did not matter what Papa might do to her for defying him. She only knew that it would be quite the spectacle if her father were to carry her down the aisle with her kicking and screaming all the way. Idly, she wondered if a marriage could be legal if the bride was screaming “I don’t.”
“You will marry him, young lady, or I’ll know why not!”
“I am happy to tell you why I will not marry him, Papa. I don’t love him and he is a toad. Do you really find me so unappealing that you feel that is the best I will ever be able to do in finding a husband? That hurts me quite a lot, Papa.”
“Now, Abigail, I don’t believe your father meant….” Her mother tried to cut in.
“Stay out of this, Charlene!” her father snapped. “She is my daughter and she will do as I say.”
“Papa, really. What will you do to me if I refuse to engage in this sham of a marriage?”
“If you dare to disrespect me in this manner, you will no longer be welcome under my roof!”
“Raymond!” Charlene gasped, clearly appalled.
“I will not tell you again, Charlene. Stay out of this!”
“I’m sorry, Raymond, but I must speak! You cannot throw our daughter out onto the street!”
“I can and I will if she continues to defy me in this.”
Despite the cramping in her stomach as panic flooded through her, she lifted her chin and looked her father squarely in the eyes.
“Then do your worst, Papa, because that awful little man will never be my husband!”
Staring at his daughter long and hard, he nodded slightly.
“Very well. Have it your way. I want you out of my house tonight.”
“Raymond, no! You cannot just throw her out on the street like that!” Charlene tried to intervene.
Gathering herself up to her full height, Abby looked her father straight in the eyes as she spoke to her mother.
“Don’t worry, Mama,” she said. “I won’t be on the street. I will be just fine.”
With those words, she took her leave of them and stalked out of the drawing room.
“When you’re ready to apologize to me and to Arthur Shaw, you let me know. We’ll forget all about this and you can do what a good daughter does!” Raymond shouted after her.
“Don’t hold your breath, Papa,” she muttered as she headed up the stairs.
Within an hour, Abby was packed and standing on the front porch of her sister Louisa’s house.
Louisa opened the door and stared at Abby in surprise.
“Louisa, may I please stay here for a few days? Papa has thrown me out of the house.”
“Oh no! How could he do something like that?” Louisa cried as she gathered Abby into her arms.
“Of course you may stay as long as you like! Come in and tell me everything!”
It had taken a little over two weeks to organize everything but, finally, Abby sat on the train that was taking her to the other side of the country to meet the man who would be her husband.
Granted, one could always argue the question of why she would refuse to marry a much older ---and unattractive--- man that she was at least familiar with, yet travel all the way across the country to marry a man she had never met. The best way that Abby could rationalize that was that at least this man claimed to be much closer to her own age. He also sounded so nice and intelligent in his letters to her.
His name was Luke Hamilton and he lived in a cabin on the outskirts Deer Lodge, Montana. She had tried to find some information on this area, but she hadn’t been able to unearth very much. It was still a very new town and not a lot was recorded about it. She had heard that it could get very cold there, though. That was something that she was a bit nervous about having lived her entire life in Charleston, where the weather stayed pretty nice all the time. It could
become rather hot during part of the summer but that was a small price to pay to be able to enjoy mild winters.
Abby chose not to dwell on those things right now. It only caused her to feel more nervous. Boarding the train had been hard enough. Both her mother and sister had accompanied her to the train station. Her poor mother was simply a wreck. She wept and clutched Abby to her, begging her not to leave. She insisted that Abby and her father could move past this.
“Mama,” Abby had told her. “The only way that Papa and I will move past this is if I agree to marry Mr. Shaw. I simply cannot do that. I love you and I will miss you. But this is the only choice that I have right now. I promise to write you often.”
That had not really helped, but Abby could not be swayed by her mother’s emotions. She would rather brave harsh Montana winters than marry Arthur Shaw.
The trip had been rather long, but she and Luke had agreed to split the cost of the ticket so she was able to have a seat in the nicer part of the train. As Deer Lodge loomed ever closer, she decided that she would try to freshen up at least a little and she made her way to the private toilet located in this car.
When she returned to her seat feeling much better, she let her thoughts wander once again to Luke. She had so many questions about him. He had told her in his letters about his cabin and that he had helped to settle a small area with a few other families. At the moment, he was the only member of this settlement who did not have a wife. Abby would remedy that situation. They had not had nearly enough communication to learn everything there was about each other but, then, they would have the rest of their lives to discover these things.
As the train pulled into the station, Abby began to gather her belongings and make her way to the closest exit. The porter helped her down from the train and she took note of her surroundings. Luke had said he would meet her train, however she didn’t see anyone that seemed to be him. She noticed several men standing around but all of them seemed to be meeting someone.
“Well, hello there, Little Lady.”
Whirling around, Abby saw a rather scruffy looking man leering at her. He was obviously intoxicated and was headed determinedly in her direction. She tried her best to just keep moving along and ignore him in spite of his persistence. He was also gaining on her every second. Glancing frantically around her for help, she spotted no one that seemed willing to even acknowledge her dilemma.
Suddenly, he grabbed her arm and whipped her around, pulling her up against him. Gasping, Abby felt no small amount of terror.
“Take your hands off of me!” she demanded loudly.
“Aww now, sugar, don’t be so hard to get along with,” the man sneered.
“You heard the lady,” a voice, dangerously quiet, said from the shadows. “Take your hands off of her.”
This did not set well with her attacker. Still not releasing her, he whirled around to peer into the darkness so that he could see who was speaking to him.
“I don’t see as how this is any of your business,” he growled. “You looking for a fight, Mister?”
“Oh that is where you are mistaken,” the voice said. “This is very much my business as the woman that you are manhandling there is to be my wife.”
Abby couldn’t seem to contain a slight gasp. Her rescuer was Luke? She strained to see into the shadows but could only make out the shape of a man standing there.
“Now, let go of her or you and I will have a problem that I don’t see you coming out on the good side of,” the voice continued.
“Come on out here and face me like a man, then,” her captor shouted.
Before she had any idea what was going on, the man did step from the shadows, only he did so very quickly. As if all in one motion, he had grabbed the man and was holding him against the wall of the train station with one hand around his throat.
“That is no way to treat a lady, especially after she has turned you down,” the man said. “Now, unless you are fond of pain, you need to go on your way and leave her be.”
“I was just having a little fun is all,” Abby’s would be attacker whined.
“Clearly the lady did not find it amusing. Now go.”
The man released him and he scurried off in the opposite direction. Then, he turned to face Abby.
“My apologies for your rude reception,” he said. “My name is Luke Hamilton and I assume that you are Miss Abigail Davis.”
“Yes, yes I am,” Abby smiled and offered him her hand. “It is so wonderful to make your acquaintance.”
Taking her hand in his, Luke returned her smile as he took in her appearance. He had to admit that he had been a bit nervous about this whole mail order bride thing but, standing here now looking at Abigail; he felt as if he were the luckiest man in the world. This young woman was tall with a slim and healthy body, which was something that he preferred. Her hair was a lovely light blonde and her blue eyes reminded him of wild flowers.
All of that was nice, but what made her really stand out in a crowd was her smile. Full lips with perfect white teeth and a dimpled highlight. Just one dimple; not one on either side. It was so tantalizing that he almost forgot what he was going to say to her next.
“I am honored that you accepted my proposal, Miss Abigail,” he said, nodding his head slightly at her as he released her hand.
“I do believe that, as we are to be husband and wife soon, it would be perfectly acceptable to call me Abby,” she said as she continued to smile at him.
She couldn’t have been more pleased with what she saw standing before her. Luke was a very handsome man. Well over six feet tall, his dark hair fell to his collar and his green eyes appraised her with honesty. He looked physically fit as well. She was so relieved that he was tall as she had always found it difficult in meeting men that were taller than her. Maybe that was one of the problems in finding an acceptable man back home. She made them all feel less manly. However, she could see that would not be an issue with Luke Hamilton.
“Again, allow me to apologize for that man’s ill behavior. I had hoped to get here ahead of the train but I was held up at the hotel. That is where we will be staying tonight. It is so late to travel back to my cabin. I also thought you may want to get some rest after your long trip. Then we can leave after breakfast in the morning and head to your new home.”
“That sounds wonderful and so thoughtful of you!”
“Ah, it was just common sense,” he said somewhat shyly. “Here, let’s get your bags loaded up onto my wagon. It’s right over this way.”
She was surprised to find that his wagon consisted of covered seating as well as room for hauling things. He lifted her bags easily up onto the cargo area and then helped her up into the sitting area. Once they were settled, he called to his horses and they started their way to the hotel.
He steered the horses slowly through the town. There were lights everywhere, particularly in the hotel and the saloon. She could piano music coming from there. Everything was so fascinating to Abby. This was a new town and it looked it. Most of her nervousness had abated once she met Luke. Now, she was excited about starting her new life here.
Maybe Papa did me a huge favor by throwing me out, she thought.
When he pulled up in front of the hotel, he got down from the wagon and then helped her down. After unloading her bags, he tied off the horses before accompanying her inside of the hotel.
“I’ve reserved two rooms for us tonight,” he said. “I don’t want you to worry about any improprieties. Everything will be appropriate.”
“Oh, that’s very kind of you,” Abby said as she realized that it had never occurred to her that this man would be anything but appropriate with her.
“I’m going to get you settled in your room so that you can freshen up. While you do that, I’m going to see to the horses. When I come back, I would be honored if you would have dinner with me.”
“Why, thank you, Luke. I would love to.”
The room she was given was very clean and even pretty. It was
certainly not anything fancy but she would be very comfortable here tonight. Ducking out of her room and into the bathroom on the floor, she washed her face and adjusted some pins in her hair to take care of the strands that had escaped. She would certainly feel better after a proper bath but she supposed that could wait until morning. The least that she could do was change her clothes.
Once she had returned to her room, she opened one of the bags that she knew contained a nice dinner dress. It was a deep violet color with a scooped neckline and a cinched waist. The sleeves were long and not too tightly fitted. She put her favorite amethyst necklace on to highlight it. Just as she was slipping into her shoes, there was a slight knock on the door.
“Just a second,” Abby called as she gathered a matching shawl for the dress.
Opening the door, she found Luke standing there waiting for her. Even though he was still wearing the same clothes as before, he had obviously washed up a bit. That made her smile because it meant that he wanted to look somewhat nice for her.
“Are you ready to go down to dinner?” he asked.
“I am,” she replied taking the arm that he offered her.
The dining room was mostly empty at this hour so they had their pick of seating. Choosing to sit at a corner table in the back, they ordered the evening special.
The food was quite good and the company was even better. Abby and Luke spent the entire meal chatting with each other and getting better acquainted. She told him all about how she had come to reply to his ad for a wife. He was appalled that her father would actually throw her out of the house for refusing to marry someone she loathed.
“As horrible as that was for you, I can’t help but be a little grateful for myself,” Luke grinned. “I’ve got to tell you that I was more than a little nervous when I placed that ad. Then I was even more nervous that you were going to be, well, not like you are.”
Abby laughed delightedly at him.
“Well, after I had seen my other choice, I figured that you certainly could not be any worse,” she teased.
Their conversation moved on to the little settlement that he lived in just outside of Deer Lodge.