by Tia Siren
He didn’t respond. He took her hand and began to walk through the house toward the back. She lifted her eyebrows and went with him.
They walked through the hallway and to the kitchen. He took her through the rest of the house and pushed open the back door to the yard. He stepped back to let her through first. Her eyes opened wide when she stepped out into an unrecognizable yard. There were pretty colored lanterns hung all around, with beautiful colored paper strung around the roof.
A small table had been set in the middle of the porch area. Two long candles had been placed in front of each plate. They glowed softly. There were two plates, wine glasses with red wine in them and a covered plate in the middle of the table.
Caroline’s heart melted. She couldn’t help it when her mouth fell open and she gasped.
“Oh, my!” She breathed. “This is so beautiful, George. Oh, George!” She looked at him with misty eyes. It was obvious that he had the same feelings she had. She sighed and went to the table to look closer at its beauty. She sat when he pulled the chair out and scooted forward to sit comfortably.
He sat across from her.
“Before we have dinner, we need to talk. I would like to ask you something.”
She was surprised when the words came out of his mouth that she’d had every intention of saying herself.
“You would?” She asked.
“Yes.”
She pressed her lips together. “I also have something I want to ask you.”
“Who will go first?”
She smiled. “You can.”
“Okay.” He put out his hand and held it flat on the table. She placed her hand in his. “I have come to the decision that asking for a bride through the mail was the best thing I could have done. I believe that God has brought you to me. I am impressed with you as a woman and a person. You are a beautiful lady. I’m glad you’re here with me. I hope you are planning to stay. How has it gone for you? Do you like it?”
She nodded vigorously. “Oh yes! I am extremely happy here.”
“Do you miss your family and Virginia?”
She tilted her head and gave him a smile. “I do, of course. But I don’t mind it as much as I thought I would. I will write to them. And perhaps someday we can visit them.”
“We can definitely do that.” He nodded and his smile betrayed how happy he was that she was pleased to stay.
“I believe it is not very hard to fall in love with a woman like you,” He said, his deep voice soft. She sighed quietly.
“I feel the same about you,” She whispered, her cheeks red.
He was quiet for a moment, looking at her. “I have something for you.”
“Oh?”
He reached forward and took the cover off the dish in between them. Instead of a plate of food like she expected, there was a soft bed of lettuce with radishes lining the outside. In the very middle of the lettuce sat a silver ring. She was stunned.
She picked it up and looked at it. It had a large diamond in the placement with tiny red stones surrounding it in the shape of a heart. She pulled in her breath all the way and held it.
He took it from her fingers and took her hand. “I would so love it if you would marry me, Caroline. You are sent from God, I’m sure of it.”
“Oh, George!” She couldn’t hold tears back from her eyes. “This is a beautiful ring. Of course, I will marry you!”
He smiled wide and sighed hard. “That’s wonderful!” He slid the ring on her finger. Excitement and nervousness ran through her. She stood up and he did too, pulling her into a tight hug. She felt so comfortable in his arms. She rested her head against his chest, smiling contentedly. When she pulled away, she looked up at him feeling better than she had in a very long time.
“Now didn’t you have something to ask me?” He said. “They will bring us our food in a little while. We have time to talk.”
She sat back down and he did, too, leaning over the table toward her.
“Well,” She hesitated, again worried about what he would think. “I told you before that my parents own a restaurant. That’s how I know what to do when working there.”
He nodded. “Yes and you do a good job. Even in business matters, I’ve noticed that you make good decisions.”
“Thank you. That’s my father’s influence.”
“Your father must be a good teacher.”
“He is. And I followed him around all the time.” She laughed, thinking about her father’s acceptance of his young daughter trying to be just like him. “I admire everything about him. But before I came here something tragic happened to my family.”
“And what was that?”
“Well…” Again, she hesitated, looking down.
“Caroline, don’t be anxious about what you have to say. If we are to be married, we must be open and honest with each other. Go ahead.”
She knew her cheeks had filled again. She decided to just get it out. “My father’s business partner stole all the profits from the restaurant for the past several years. He has bankrupted our family…or it will happen and we will lose everything unless something happens fast.”
George sat back with a serious look. She instantly feared he suspected her affection for him was only because of the money. When he spoke, she felt a deep sense of relief.
“What? That is horrible! Yes, that is a dreadful thing for your family!”
“I would like to help them if I can. If you are willing to help them, I will work off every cent you give, in the restaurant or casino. I will do whatever it takes to pay you back.”
George was quiet for a moment and she wondered what he was thinking. Was he angry with her for asking? Did he know that she truly felt love for him?
“Let me ask you something, Caroline,” He said, leaning toward her again. Her breath caught. “Do you truly have feelings for me? Can you love me?”
She lowered her head. “I already do,” She whispered.
He reached out and took her hand. “I believe that, Caroline. I see how you look at me and it fills my heart. I don’t need you to pay off every cent in the restaurant or casino. I don’t need you to pay it back at all. I have money. What I want is love. I don’t mind using that money to make someone I love prosper…or her family, in this case.”
“Oh, George!” Caroline began to cry, her relief flowing through her. Her mother and father and siblings would be safe. The restaurant would continue to be profitable. He stood up again and gathered her in his arms.
“I love you, Caroline. I want you to be happy. Please don’t worry or hesitate to ask me for anything that you need.”
She looked up into his eyes. “You are an amazing man, George. I can’t thank you enough for caring enough about me to help my family, too. Thank you!”
She moved into his waiting arms. “I love you, too.”
*****
THE END
A Baby for the Bride – A Clean Western Historical Romance
Chapter One
Joyce sat up in bed, stretching her arms up toward the ceiling and letting out a long breath. It was supposed to be one of the most beautiful days of the year, and she was excited about it. She and her aunt had a picnic on Glade Hill planned for the afternoon. She couldn’t wait. She hadn’t been able to sit down with her aunt Grace and have a talk for several weeks.
She slipped out of the bed and pushed her feet into her slippers. She pulled on her robe and stepped over to her desk to get her brush and tooth cloth. Her mother had told her when she was a child that if she brushed her hair every morning and night and rubbed her teeth with a small cloth, they would stay cleaner and look healthier. She had practiced those two traditions every day since she was ten years old when she and her family migrated from Ireland.
She pulled back her thick red hair after brushing it thoroughly with 100 strokes and tied it behind her head in a large bun. She pulled on her bonnet over it, then pulled it off and decided she was going without today. She didn’t have to wear a bonnet if she didn�
�t want to.
She put on her clothes and left the room, leaving the house with fifteen minutes to walk to the sewing shop in town where she worked. It wasn’t far from her room in the boarding house. On the way out, she picked up a ham biscuit from the kitchen. Each morning, one of the other tenants fixed ham biscuits and left them warm for anyone who wanted one. She delighted in them since they were the only meat she got until dinnertime.
Today would be different. Her aunt was sure to have ham or turkey biscuits, with some corn and cabbage on the side and possibly a few other tasty delights. Her aunt, Grace, made the best sugar cookies she’d ever eaten. They were another thing she was looking forward to today.
Joyce smiled as she walked down the side of the street. There didn’t appear to be many people on the road this morning. No horses, buggies, carriages, or wagons passed her on her way. She thought that was a bit strange but after a moment forgot about it.
Her coworkers were already in the shop, sitting around in comfortable cushioned chairs with their sewing work on their laps and their sewing baskets set either at their feet or to the side.
“Good morning, Joyce!” Several of them called out a greeting to her, and she smiled at them.
“Good morning, ladies.”
“Did you have a good sleep last night?” One of them, Ann-Margaret, asked curiously. Without waiting for an answer, she continued. “I didn’t. I heard a dog howling in the middle of the night, and it woke me up. I couldn’t get back to sleep! Can you imagine? Letting your dog howl all night long when other people are trying to sleep.”
Joyce went to a shelf and took down her sewing basket. “Did you go out and say something about it to your neighbor?” She asked as she strolled back to her seat.
“I wanted to, let me tell you that.” Ann-Margaret was shaking her head. “But I don’t like to wander about at night by myself. You don’t know who might be lurking in the shadows.”
“Yes, because there are so many wild dog or Indian attacks here, right, Ann-Margaret?” One of her other coworkers winked at her. The rest of them laughed. Ann-Margaret gave her friend a smile.
“It’s dangerous whether you like to believe it or not, Jane. I could have been attacked by a wild animal. You just never know!”
“Or a mosquito could have bitten you!” Jane said, continuing to tease her. “How tragic! How awful!”
They all laughed, and Ann-Margaret joined in. “Oh, it may be silly to you, Janie. But I just don’t like it. I could even trip or walk into a hole and break my ankle.”
“Well then you would be useless as a horse with a broken leg, wouldn’t you?”
“All right now.” They heard the sound of their boss, Jack Carrigan, come from the back room. He stepped out and smiled at them all. “You can’t get work done if you are sitting around teasing Ann-Margaret about her fears.”
The women greeted their boss jovially.
“Good morning, Jack.” Joyce nodded at him. “I’m not late today, am I?”
He shook his head, moving into the room to survey the work his employees were doing. He was a large, round man with a pleasant demeanor and a quick hand to help anyone who needed it. Like his employees, the woman who worked for him were treated with a great deal of respect and encouragement. He paid them a decent salary and never tried to withhold any money from them. They did good work, and he liked to reward them for their efforts. “Not at all, Joyce. You just didn’t get here early!”
He grinned at her and she returned his smile, sitting to begin her work. She enjoyed the job and had been saving her money for some time now to do some traveling. She wanted to get out of the small Virginia town that had become her home after coming over from Ireland to New York. Her mother had detested New York and moved them South as soon as she could.
The morning went by quickly, as Joyce had hoped it would. She was pulling on a light shawl and heading out the door before she knew it.
Glade Hill was on the other side of the street and down just a bit from the sewing shop. She stopped on the way and took an apple from a cart, flipping the vendor a coin as she went. He snatched it from the air and grinned at her.
“Thank you, Joyce!” He called out, holding the coin up in the air. She nodded at him and took a big bite from the apple.
When she reached Glade Hill, she pulled open a small white iron gate that surrounded the bottom of the hill and went through. A stone path would lead a winding way up the hill, and she set about going up it, looking to the left and right to see where her aunt had decided to sit. She soon spotted her and left the path to walk over the grass to the blanket Grace had spread out for them to sit on.
“Good day, Joyce!” Grace stood up and approached, her arms spread out for a hug. They met, and Joyce hugged her mother tightly.
“Hello, Auntie!” She greeted her.
“How has your day been at the sewing shop?” They took the few steps back to the blanket and sat down. Joyce made herself comfortable and happily took a small bottle of Coca-Cola out of her aunt’s basket.
“It’s been fine. We’ve gotten a lot of work done. But I’ve been waiting for this picnic, auntie. I’m so glad to be able to see you and talk to you again. I’m glad you’ve come back from visiting.”
Grace nodded. “I must do what I can for our Irish old-timers, Joyce. Visiting them seems to bring them great joy, so I keep doing it.”
“Yes, I know, Grace. You have a very strong sense of loyalty.”
Grace smiled wide. “It is an Irish thing. You possess that quality, too. You just have different things you are loyal to.”
Joyce happily took a turkey and cheese roll from her aunt. “I do? Such as?”
“You are very loyal to your job. When was the last day you didn’t go to work?”
Joyce gave her a look. “If I don’t work, I don’t make any money. How will I save and get ahead then?”
“You are loyal to yourself as well.” Grace chuckled. “You want what you want, and you’re going to get it, are you not?”
“That is my plan. I must get out of this little town.”
“You will miss me?”
“I will.” She leaned forward and put her hand on her mother’s arm. “You are going to be the person I miss the most, auntie. You know that.”
“Your brothers and sister have missed you in the last month or two. You should go visit them.”
Joyce laughed. “Before I leave this place, I will visit them. Until then, they know where I am! And since they have their families now, I would only be intruding if I just went over there. Robert would think I am only there for a meal!”
The women laughed softly.
“I do have something I wanted to show you and discuss with you, Joyce. Something you might want to consider as you think about traveling and leaving here.”
“Oh?”
“Yes.” Grace reached back into her basket and pulled out the newspaper from a larger town some distance from them. It was one of the towns she had visited where they had relatives. They had relatives all over town and all over the state of Virginia, who had migrated down from New York to escape the blistering cold of winter and the crunch as people from around the world flooded into the main streets there.
Grace looked through the paper, snapping it open and folding it so that a particular page was displayed. “Look at what this says here.” She pointed to a small ad in the middle of the page.
Joyce read through it. “Auntie, are you suggesting I travel to the West to become this man’s bride? Why would I want to do that?”
“There are several good reasons why this would be for you, Joyce. First, I have been praying for a sign, something that will help relieve you from the burden of being in a place you don’t want to be in.”
“Auntie, I’m perfectly content…”
“Let me finish, my girl. Second, this man is wealthy. He will take good care of you, and you won’t have to work in a sewing shop for the next ten years, saving money to be able to go somewhere else where
you will have to work again. And third, you have a chance to have a family of your own. I know you want that, do you not?”
“I do. You know I would like to have a family soon. I’m almost 22, and I need to start my life. I know a lot of girls my age who have been married for several years. I don’t want to be a spinster.”
Grace laughed and shook her head. “A beautiful woman like you does not have to worry about that, Joyce.”
Joyce snorted. “How can you say that, Grace? I have not had any marriage proposals before. Not in my life!”
Grace blew a quick breath through her lips as if to dismiss the words Joyce had just said. “The only reason you haven’t been receiving any is because you have three protective older brothers, and there are too many relatives here. You have almost a dozen cousins here, and that’s almost all of the population your age that aren’t already married.”
Joyce nodded. “That is a good point, Grace.”
“At least, consider this proposal. You can have so much more, so much freedom being married to an older, rich man.”
“It doesn’t say he’s older.”
“Do you expect him to have wealth at your age?”
Joyce contemplated that thought. “I suppose not. But what if he’s very old?”
“You won’t know unless you write to him and find out.” Grace tilted her head and gazed at her niece. “Will you consider it? Will I be sending you on a train heading West any time soon?”
Joyce was quiet, thinking about the possibilities in the West. Things would be so very different. The climate, the population, even the way people talked and dressed. It would be quite a change. A completely different and new life.
“I will.” She nodded and her aunt grabbed her in a tight hug.
“I’m so pleased! I will come over after you are home from work and help you write back to him if you like.”
Joyce smiled. Another chance to see her mother so soon was always welcome. She wasn’t going to be seeing her at all in her future.
Chapter Two
The train ride was long and boring for Joyce. She readily remembered the trains she had been on as a youth as they traveled through America going South. She knitted for an hour or so but was frustrated with it quickly. It reminded her of the sewing she had done for so long and didn’t want to do much of anymore. She had enough scarfs and shawls. Everything she’d owned fit into three large luggage trunks.