by Kari Trumbo
Meg tried to smile, but it faltered. He pulled her hand slowly out of the water and took her direction to wrap it. She wouldn’t be cooking or lighting fires for a little while.
“Do you want me to get Rose to help you?” Jax offered.
“No, she’s been staying home now about a week, she’s been too tired to help much. Just let her be.” She protected her hand against her chest.
He finished lighting the stove for her and Margot came in from outside in time for Jax to order her to begin with supper so Meg could go rest.
He led Meg to her room and opened the door to her room, motioning her inside. She laughed at him, and his eyes sparkled back at her.
“Jax, it’s only my hand. I can walk just fine.”
“Boss-lady, I can’t seem to trust you to ever lay down when you’re told. At least if I see you lay down, I’ll know you were there for at least a minute.” He was teasing her and it felt like it was before the drive.
“Fine, I’ll rest for a while, but I’m sure Margot will need my help before long.”
“We’ll see. Rest now.” He closed the door.
~~~
Jax went to check on Margot, who assured him she’d certainly learned enough to make a meal and he shouldn’t worry. He had the dubious thought as he left that she couldn’t possibly cook a meal any worse than the bunkhouse cook.
He trudged back outside to start where he’d left off when he saw a rider coming up the way. He waited to see who it could be, because he didn’t recognize him right off. The rider tipped his hat to Jax.
“Are you Augustus?” the rider asked.
“Nope, I’m his foreman. What can I do for you?” Jax rested his hands on his hips close to his gun belt. Not a direct threat, more of a hint.
“I have a message that is to go to Augustus Whitte.” The man dodged Jax’s question.
Gus came out of the stable, and Jax waved him over. He made his way to the rider.
“Evenin’.” Gus touched his hat.
“Are you Augustus?” the rider asked, all business.
“Yes, I am.”
“A telegraph came for you today, Sir.” He handed Gus a small slip of paper and turned his horse to ride away.
Gus opened the seal and unfolded the paper. He didn’t bother to stop the courier from leaving. Handing the note to Jax, he read,
Not with me. Find her or I come home.
Jax raised his brows. Like Gus needed another threat.
~~~
At dinner that night, choking on potatoes that were barely cooked, biscuits that had the consistency of rocks, and gravy that was more lump than liquid; Meg, her father, and Jax discussed what their next steps were to find Lizzy. They were coming up empty-handed.
Gus asked what happened to Meg’s hand. She told him what had happened and it made her remember the missing newspaper.
“Margot, did you take that paper to your room?” Meg asked.
“No, I really don’t have much interest in reading the newspaper.” She pushed her potatoes around her plate, trying to mash them softer without letting Margot know.
“I’m confused. It’s like it disappeared and it’s bothering me. I wanted to read that article and there were some ads I wanted to keep. Some were even funny. One was a man near Canada looking for a wife…”
Gus put his head up. “An old ad in the paper you say, looking for a wife?” He sat thinking for a moment. “The newspaper chap said a young woman came in the morning Lizzy disappeared and asked about an old advertisement in a newspaper. He told her to go further north.”
“Father, do you think it could have been?”
“It is looking more and more like it. She isn’t in Europe, and she is nowhere in town. It would seem like that’s the option left to us, at least our only lead.”
“I’ll go.” She rubbed her wrapped hand. “I feel like this is my fault. If I’d gotten out of bed when I heard the horses go by, I could’ve stopped her.”
“No.” Jax cut her off. “I can’t let you go alone, it’s dangerous.”
“No more dangerous than my sister faced alone.” Meg argued, rising to her feet and slamming her palm on the table making her wince in pain.
“Just because she’s foolish doesn’t mean we should invite more foolishness.” He also got to his feet, and took an authoritative stance.
“Are you calling me foolish?” She raised her voice.
“Both of you, stop now.” Gus yelled loud enough to cut across them. “Meg, Jax, sit down. We need to talk about this with cool heads.” He looked at Meg. “My dear, although I think you’re doing a wonderful job with the ranch, you cannot take over without a husband and that’s not going to happen while you’re in mourning.” Meg thought she caught her father look briefly at Jax. “I’m taking back control of the ranch for now. I’m not kicking you out, or changing your ideas. I want you and Jax to go find your sister. Like it or not, you need him Meg. You know I’m right.” He turned his head and looked squarely at Jax. “Jax, will you take care of Meg and help her find Lizzy?” He looked right at Meg, “Meg, will you allow me to take my ranch back for a while?” he sounded like a preacher saying vows.
“Yes, Father,” she said, the anger she’d just felt melting to contrition. “It doesn’t look like I’ll ever have my ranch anyway.” She turned to leave. Giving up her ranch, even to her father had never been part of the plan.
“I suspect you’ll have it back before you know it, my dear,” Gus called after her. “Margot will take care of me here. Though, I might ask someone from town to come out and cook for us.” he laughed.
Chapter Eighteen
Lizzy, wove in and out of the mingling passengers, glad that the day after Thanksgiving was a popular day to travel. She boarded the train bound for Minnesota. It was to be a week-long trip with many stops along the way. She had found a nice young man in town to bring her trunk to the station and give it to the baggage carrier for her.
Now to think about how she would convince her new husband he must move with her back to Kansas to take over her ranch. Surely the wealth would be more than what he currently had, if the ad was any evidence of his education. He must help her have a male heir. Then he could move right back to his northern wilderness and she could hire people to work the ranch for her. If Meg could manage it, she could manage it better.
A young man who looked to be in his late-twenties entered the door to the car in which she was sitting and, looking over all the seating options, strode to the seat across from her. His face was solemn and maybe even sad. She looked out the window to avoid talking to him. Her mood was anything but sad and she didn’t need him bringing her down. Odd though, his bright red coat should have made him look more cheerful. It was certainly a bright, lively red.
“Good morning, are you traveling alone?” He asked, sounding concerned, looking up and down the aisle.
“Yes, I’m going to meet my husband.” She turned back to the window to make him leave her alone. She flattened her skirts like her mother did in an attempt to look important.
“I’m surprised one who cares about your safety wouldn’t arrange for someone to come with you. You never know who you will meet on the train.” His kind words softened his eyes.
Lizzy sighed. People never seemed to worry about married women traveling alone. She couldn’t wait to be married and go where she wished without permission.
“Forgive my manners. My name is Robert Stewart.”
“Lizzy Whitte,” she replied in a clipped tone, angered that he wasn’t leaving her alone as she wished.
“Lizzy, that must be short for Elizabeth. You look much more like an Elizabeth than a Lizzy.”
Lizzy wrinkled her nose, she hated the name Elizabeth. “Yes, Elizabeth is my given name, though I would prefer Lizzy.”
He smiled softly, “Elizabeth, tell me about your husband. What kind of man is he? What does he do? We are going to be sitting together on this train for a long time. We might as well keep each other company.”
“How do I know you are not one of the people I should be protected from?” Lizzy asked, giving him a sweat smile.
Robert laughed, it started in his throat but made its way up his face then the lines erased from his forehead. It changed his look completely. He turned from sad and somber to incredibly handsome.
“You can trust me because of my coat.” He touched his chest with a slight air of pride. “I am part of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police of Canada. I’ve recently visited some family but I‘m headed back north now. It would help me to not miss them so much if I had someone to talk to.”
“Oh…so you would be quite safe then.” She nodded. “As to my husband, I don’t know yet. I haven’t met him.”
“You haven’t met him? What do you mean?” he asked in alarm. “I only ask because many old trappers in my purview put ads in the paper for brides, woman to work hard and live harder. One trapper in particular has sent for three brides and we haven’t seen any of them since he took them home.”
“Well,” she replied unable to check the defensiveness in her voice. “I am answering an ad in the newspaper. I’m sure the man I’ve responding to is not such a man.”
He sighed, “Miss, I would caution you. Many of those people who place such ads are…the people you should be protected from.” He looked at her with more concern than she’d felt from anyone. “Promise me you will be very careful?”
“I’m sure the man who placed this ad is just fine, lonely, but fine. You mentioned you have family in Kansas?”
Lizzy wanted to change the subject and her attempt worked. For the next week as the train lumbered north she got to know Robert. He was kind and worked tirelessly patrolling the Minnesota and Canadian border, specifically a small area called Fort Frances on the Canadian side of the Rainy River. He also patrolled the Minnesota side, in the small village of Koochiching, but only when they needed him. He had a good rapport with the Minnesotans.
~~~
“Robert, I’ve enjoyed traveling with you to St. Paul. The trip has gone too quickly. From here, I need to travel by stage to Duluth. I’ll have to ride with cargo to Koochiching.”
“Cargo? That will be a difficult trip for you. Perhaps I could help you with that leg of your journey.”
“I don’t think I’ll need your help. I never told you about how I found my way here. There was a new newspaper man in town who didn’t know where the ad for my husband had originated. I hadn’t wanted to travel so far from home without any idea of where I had to go. So, I searched out the old newspaper man, the one who still had the original request. I found him and he told me what the best route would probably be. I had to take a later train, but the information proved invaluable.”
“While I would agree taking a later train so you got to sit here with me was a wonderful turn of events. Riding alone with many male strangers on the back of an ox cart is not safe.”
“Robert, you tell such interesting tales.” She regarded him with a warm smile.
“Those are not simply tales, Elizabeth. Life in the North isn’t easy. I don’t know if you have any idea what you’re getting into.”
“If my safety bothers you so much, I will relinquish my insistence to finish the trip alone.” He doesn’t need to know that it’s because I enjoy his company so much.
“I think that’s a good idea. I can see the man who will marry you, make sure he will treat you well. Will you listen to me if I tell you he isn’t?”
Lizzy, already beginning to think of herself as Elizabeth, thought for a few minutes. She had to find a husband and fast. If the man in Koochiching was not who she needed him to be, did she have time to consider other options? The truth was, she didn’t. “No, I am resolved to marry that man. No matter what.”
“You may change your mind. I just hope your stubborn nature doesn’t make you realize it too late.”
The time on the train passed too quickly for Elizabeth. Next, they were to ride in a loud, cold stage to Duluth, Minnesota.
“Is that shawl all you have, or do you have a warmer coat in your trunk?” He eyed the thin garment pulled tightly around her arms. The train had become chilly the further north it traveled.
“Yes, what of it? It is lovely isn’t it?”
“Lovely, yes. Practical, no. Here in the north, for you have officially reached the North, fashion comes second to freezing.”
“I don’t think I could ever let that happen.” She pulled the shawl tighter around her shoulders.
“Let me take you to a little clothing shop here in Minneapolis. It is close to the Red River Ox Cart Station so we won’t miss our coach.”
“I don’t usually turn down a shopping excursion, but ready-made?” She wrinkled her nose.
“You will just have to trust me.” He smiled at her scrunched face.
Robert led Elizabeth along the busy street. Holding her cold little hand under his where she held his arm. She had to admit, she adored having this man lead her around and she prayed for a man like him to meet her once they made it to the border.
The shop, warm and inviting, drew her in. He tried to lead her right back to the coats, but she would have none of it. She observed the dresses with a critical eye.
Making a cursory glance of the warm weather dresses as she walked by them, she frowned. Most of them would not suit her taste even if they were for the proper season. They were about two seasons behind European fashions and the fabrics looked rough and uninviting. Then she saw it, a beautiful blue dress. It was a dark blue suit that looked a bit like a riding habit. Before she could go and take a better look at it, Robert took her arm gently and guided her back to the coats.
“We don’t have much time until we must meet the coach.” He reminded her.
“A few extra minutes shouldn’t matter,” she hissed.
“It will take you more than a few minutes to pick out a proper coat, which is why we are here.”
“You assume I will chose one.” Elizabeth stomped her foot.
“I am so sure you will need one that I will insist. If you don’t purchase one, I’ll purchase one for you.”
“Are you always so stubborn, Robert?”
“Yes, it comes with the job.” He laughed.
“If I must pick one out, then this rich blue wool pea coat should suffice.” She touched the soft wool.
“It is about the warmest pretty coat you could find.”
“Does that mean you finally approve of something I want?”
“There is a first for everything.” He patted her hand on the crook of his arm.
They approached the coach station. Elizabeth conceded to herself the walk to the station was much more comfortable than the walk to the store had been after the purchase of the coat. They’d paid a porter to bring their trunks from the train depot to the coach station which had already been loaded when Robert and Elizabeth arrived. They boarded the coach in a hurry and only just got settled in when the driver took off.
They reached Duluth, when Robert walked over to a farmer with a covered wagon. She couldn’t hear what they talked about, but the farmer became very agitated. After a few minutes, Robert walked back toward her. His eyes were a stormy grey.
“The farmer has been paid well by the R.N.M.P. to carry myself and my trunk to Koochiching. He balked at an extra rider and trunk, but in the end I convinced him.”
Elizabeth wasn’t sure what to say. She’d never thanked people for what they had done in the past. She nodded at him. “I need to send a message to the Koochiching newspaper man. I will be ready to leave shortly.”
“I wouldn’t advise keeping him waiting too long.” Robert waited by the entrance.
Somehow, during the trip, she’d become less enthused about this marriage. Talking to Robert had been delightful and enlightening so far. She was frightened by some of the situations Robert had told her of, not to mention it would be unseemly for her to remain friends with him after she married and she enjoyed his friendship. It would be a lie to say otherwise.
Her male friends all seemed less impressive in light of Robert, both her friends in Little Springs and even in Europe. She’d determined weeks ago she wasn’t made of the same stuff Northern Women seemed to be made of.
During the wagon ride, tucked under a blanket on the rear bench seat, Robert asked her a question she had never considered. “That ad was months old. What if your man has filled the position of wife before now?”
“Well, I don’t know. I’ve come all this way to get a husband. I never really considered he might not be available.”
“Another thing you might want to think about. You keep mentioning you are coming to get a husband, but the fact is, you are answering his ad, are you ready to become his wife?”
“Whatever do you mean? Wives go to town and chat with friends. They have tea and talk about how it is raising their children or how they want to become mothers. I should think it would be easy. He is the one that will have to change for me.” She sat up straight and looked at him like he was daft.
“I highly doubt that, dear Elizabeth.” He smiled. “I sincerely hope this frigid country doesn’t break your spirit. But I fear it will, or it will grow you up a bit.”
“I am grown up enough, thank you.” Her chin jutted out at a stubborn angle.
They arrived in Koochiching a day later, tired and bitter cold. It snowed lightly and Elizabeth snuggled deep into the warm coat Robert had insisted she buy. An enormous, grubby man waited at the post office. Since there were few other buildings in the tiny village, she assumed this was her future husband. Looking at him made her tremble in fear. Should he get unruly, she couldn’t do anything about it.
“Elizabeth, that man’s name is Axel and he is the one I warned you about now you see why I warned you. I know of a Doctor, just across the river at the Fort. He is looking for someone to help him. He would offer you safe room and board until you could go back home.” Robert worried, put his hand over hers where she held his arm his hand felt protective and it fortified her.
“Robert, I’ll be just fine. I do hope this isn’t the last time I see you though. How can I find you if we are to live so close to each other?” She hoped etiquette was different here. The idea of this horrible man taking her somewhere and having no one here to speak to was terrifying.