Waltz in the Wilderness

by Kathleen Denly

  Daniel squeezed her gently and nodded to Pa. “Thank you, sir.”

  Uncle Henry cleared his throat. “Speaking of sleeping arrangements, Alice and my wife are anxious to return to civilization, and I can’t say I relish the idea of spending another night camping in the snow. I think we’d better head out now so we can get far enough down the mountain to leave the snow behind before nightfall.”

  Eliza leaned against Daniel. “But you’ve only just arrived. Must you leave so soon?”

  “I’m afraid so, but there is one thing I’d like to discuss with Daniel before we go.”

  Daniel straightened beside her. “Yes, sir?”

  “I’ve recently purchased a hotel in San Francisco that needs a lot of polish to bring it up to my standards. The building itself needs trim work and there isn’t a stick of furniture left in the place. I need someone I trust to oversee the project and make sure everything runs smoothly. I want this to be a place people go home and talk about and then come back and stay again.”

  Daniel shifted to face her. “What do you think? I know you were thinking of moving back to Oregon.”

  She shook her head. She’d had a lot of time to think after Daniel left, and God helped her see that her dream of returning to Oregon had been about reclaiming the familiar to maintain her illusion of control. She didn’t need that anymore. She had God.

  And He’d given her Daniel.

  “Oregon’s a beautiful place, but anywhere you are, I can be happy.” She laid a hand on his chest. “What about your family? Doesn’t your father need your help?”

  Alice cleared her throat. “If you’ll forgive my saying so, I believe your mother has been exaggerating the situation, Daniel.”

  Daniel sighed. “I suspected she might be.”

  “I’m sure once Benjamin finishes his house, he’ll be able to handle whatever your father can’t take on.”

  “And perhaps someday we can visit.” He brushed a loose strand from Eliza’s face, tucking it behind her ear. “Still, I know you weren’t fond of San Francisco.”

  “That’s true.” She faced her uncle. “Would we need to live in the city?”

  “Not necessarily. I have some property on the edge of town you might like. A real pretty spot that wouldn’t leave you with too far of a ride into the city every day.” He widened his stance “Some days—like when he’s working on the furniture—Daniel could even work at home, if he likes.”

  Pa’s shoulders sagged, then he shrugged. “There’s not much work for a carpenter out here. It’d be a shame to waste talent like you and Henry say Daniel has.”

  Daniel stroked her arm. “We can come back and visit every Christmas, but it’s up to you. I don’t want to live anywhere you aren’t happy.”

  She surveyed the people watching her, then faced her uncle. “We’ll come, but not until after Ysabel has her baby. I want to be here for that.”

  Her uncle threw his hands up. “I suppose I can find another project to keep me busy in the meantime.”

  She let go of Daniel and hugged her uncle again. “Thank you.”

  “Anything for my favorite niece.”

  After her aunt and uncle left with Alice, everyone sat around the table, drinking coffee and discussing plans for improvements to the cabins and the property around them. Among other things, it was agreed that a room would be added to Pa and Ysabel’s cabin as soon as possible.

  After a hearty dinner, they moved to the yard and Pa got out his harmonica. Andrew tapped a beat on the base of a bucket and Daniel asked Eliza to dance. She readily agreed. As the afternoon passed, the men took turns playing and whirling their wives about the yard.

  Eventually, the setting sun urged them back inside where Maria served everyone a stew that had been simmering all day. When everyone had finished, Daniel stood and took her hand. “Come on.” He lifted a candle from the mantle and led her outside.

  As they walked toward Pa’s cabin, her stomach somersaulted. She loved Daniel with all her heart, but everything had happened so fast. Was she ready for this? What did she know about being a bride? Pa never spoke of such things and she’d never braved asking Cecilia. All she knew were the bits and pieces she’d overheard while living in the mine camps. It seemed a very pleasurable thing for men. Plenty of them shelled out their last dime to spend time at the brothels, but she’d never seen a woman from there who seemed truly happy. The few wives she’d seen in the camps had seemed miserable—though that could have been a result of the mining conditions and have nothing to do with the matrimonial bed.

  Eliza blinked. Ready or not, they were at Pa’s cabin. Lord, help me.

  Daniel opened the door and held it for her.

  She peered at her skirt as she entered. She stopped next to the table, staring at the wall. Behind her, the door scraped closed. Daniel’s boots thumped across the floor. Shadows flickered across the woven rug as he set the candle on the table beside her. He grasped her arms gently and turned her to face him.

  “Don’t worry, darling.” He whispered though they were alone. “I love you and want to make you my wife in every sense, but I know this has happened fast. We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”

  Her muscles unfurled like sails caught in the wind. “Thank you.”

  He rubbed her arms, smiling down at her. She rested her cheek on his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his waist. Incredible peace filled her. They stood holding each other for a long while as he rubbed her back. She listened to his heartbeat.

  Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful man. Daniel would love and protect her and always consider her needs and wants. Lifting her face, she held his gaze. “I love you.” The words felt so inadequate.

  “I love you, too.”

  Though they stood wrapped in each other’s arms, she wanted to be closer. Needed to be closer. She raised her lips and he lowered his head to meet her. Their breath mingled and she melted into him. The kiss continued and her hands roved across his back, pressing him closer still. His arms tightened around her as she moved her own to circle his neck and run her fingers through his hair.

  I can’t believe this wonderful man is my husband. And I’m free to love him, deeply, openly, for the rest of my life. How am I so blessed?

  His lips left hers and trailed kisses along her jawline and down her neck.

  “Daniel.” Heat raced through her.

  He tensed and pulled back, “I’m sorry. I—”

  “No.” She placed her palms on either side of his head, pulling his lips back to hers.

  He combed his fingers through her hair.

  Her hands slid down his chest and slipped around to his back. She pressed her body against his. Suddenly she understood what the Bible meant when it spoke of husbands and wives becoming one. She wanted to be one with Daniel.

  She pulled back to hold his gaze. “Daniel, make me your wife.”

  His gaze searched hers. “Are you sure?”

  She took his face in her hands. “Yes.”

  He stooped to lift her into his arms. Then he carried her to bed.

  Eliza surveyed the sprawling city of San Francisco from the deck of the Goliah as it dropped anchor in the bay. It was incredible how much the city had grown in just the short time she and Daniel had been away.

  Living in such close quarters with Pa and Ysabel these past four months while sharing a bed with Daniel had been awkward, to say the least. Thankfully, they worked it out so that each couple had enjoyed time alone.

  Noisy shouts from sailors as they secured ships, the rumble of drays running along the docks, and the chatter of busy people hustling to and fro, reminded her of how different their life would be from now on. She’d forever cherish the time she and Daniel had spent living in those peaceful mountains. Her bond with Ysabel had deepened, while Pa and Daniel grew to be great friends as they built the addition to the cabin.

  A month ago, Ysabel delivered a healthy baby boy, whom Pa joyfully named Ashur. Eliza praised God for the love and happines
s He had brought into their lives.

  It had been difficult saying good-bye, but as the Goliah’s gangplank lowered, she found herself raising onto her toes.

  Daniel chuckled beside her. “I thought you weren’t fond of this city.”

  “I’m not, but since it’s to be your place of business, I’ve decided to at least try to like it.” She squeezed the handle of her carpetbag. “But that’s not why I’m excited.”

  “No?” The twinkle in his eye told her that he knew exactly what made her so eager to disembark.

  She looked back toward the end of the dock. “Do you think he’s arrived yet?”

  “He’s probably been waiting for hours.”

  “I hope you’re right. I can’t wait to see him.”

  Seconds later, the gangplank was in place and Eliza hurried down its rickety boards, Daniel on her heels.

  As Eliza and Daniel reached the end of the wharf, her uncle hailed them from his carriage. She waved back as he jumped down and rushed to embrace her.

  Uncle Henry offered Daniel a hand. “So glad to have you back, Daniel.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “The drayman’s already loaded your things in the wagon and I’ve sent it ahead to the house.” Henry gestured toward the carriage where Cecilia waited. “Shall we?”

  Eliza turned to Daniel, but he was staring at the post office. He’d not received a single letter in San Diego. Might there be any waiting here? She nudged him. “Go on and check. I want to say hello to Frank.”

  Uncle Henry regarded the post office, then waved Daniel on. “Certainly. Go. We’ll wait for you.”

  Eliza hurried toward Frank as Daniel strode toward the post office.

  Heedless of the onlookers, Eliza threw her arms about Frank in a quick hug. “It’s so good to see you again.”

  “Good to see you, Miss Brooks.”

  “It’s Mrs. Clarke, now. Remember?”

  “Mm-hm. I still think you done lost your senses in that shipwreck.” Frank assisted her into the carriage. “You was fit to spit spark that night he come to dinner. How’d you wind up married to him?”

  Eliza laughed. “God, Frank. It was all God’s doing.”

  “Well, so long as you’re happy, I guess.”

  Daniel strode up to the carriage, a stack of letters tucked under his arm and one already open in his hands.

  He climbed onto the bench beside her.

  She pointed to the letter. “Good news?”

  He grinned. “It’s from Alice.”

  “How is she?” Eliza rubbed her dress where it pulled tight over her swollen belly. If she didn’t let out the waist soon, she risked popping a seam.

  “She’s married.” He skimmed the letter, then slapped his leg. “I knew it. Benjamin proposed the second she stepped on shore. But they waited a month to give the families time to prepare for the ceremony.” He laughed. “She says there’s an ounce of gold in my name waiting at the Wells Fargo Office.”

  Eliza chuckled. “Does she sound happy?”

  “Very.”

  Thank you, Lord.

  Frank clicked to the horses and they set off down the muddy streets, leaving the stench of the wharf behind.

  Daniel folded the letter. “What about you, Mrs. Clarke? Are you happy?”

  The carriage jerked to a halt and Frank clambered down to dig their wheel from the mud.

  Her aunt scowled at her uncle. “I told you we should have taken the other route. This one always turns impassable after a storm.”

  Eliza tipped her head onto Daniel’s shoulder. Her aunt may not have changed and there was no guarantee Eliza wouldn’t face loss in the future, but she was forgiven, she was loved, and she was in the hands of her Heavenly Father.

  She stretched up and pressed a kiss to her husband’s lips. “I couldn’t be happier.”

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  From the author

  Dear Reader,

  Waltz in the Wilderness is a work of fiction, and any names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. However, there are bits of history sprinkled throughout the story which many readers will find interesting.

  The Ladies Protection and Relief Society was and is a real organization, established in 1853 by wives of influential citizens, that really did (among other things) aid women in distress by arranging comfortable homes and work situations with respectable families. I love that this organization is still around and doing good today. Please note: the names, personalities and motivations of those associated with The Ladies Protection and Relief Society as portrayed in Waltz in the Wilderness are entirely fictional.

  The scene at the San Francisco Post Office was based on true accounts of its operations during the 1850s. Accounts such as an 1858 Hutchings’ California Magazine article and a USPS document describing the history of the ladies’ delivery windows that were in use from about 1830 to the early twentieth century were especially inspirational. While the San Francisco Post Office at this time had many windows for men, women were given a special window from which to retrieve their mail. If a woman was unable to retrieve her own mail, a designated male could stand in the women’s line and retrieve the mail for her. However, the etiquette rules that I have Eliza taking advantage of in chapter two were based on actual expectations: any gentleman standing in the women’s line was expected to give his place to any woman that arrived after him. So I have to imagine it would take a male much longer to retrieve a woman’s correspondence than if she fetched it herself! In any case, it was very common for a person to wait hours in line at the post office.

  One of my favorite people to include in this story was Lieutenant George Horatio Derby, a soldier, cartographer, cartoonist and humorist. Derby went by many pen names, including Squibob, which Uncle Henry mentioned in his conversation with Daniel in chapter three. While Lieutenant Derby was officially stationed in San Diego to head the project for diverting the San Diego River by building a dike, he also spent some time running the San Diego Herald in the temporary absence of the paper’s owner. This term as editor of the local paper caused quite an uproar in the small town since his political views didn’t exactly match those of the owner, but my favorite story is of the time he sent several tongue-in-cheek suggestions regarding the new design of the army’s uniform to Secretary Jefferson. Unfortunately, Jefferson did not share Derby’s sense of humor. To learn how things turned out and see images of Derby’s uniform illustrations, you can visit my blog post here. And in case you are wondering, yes, Derby really did rent that two-story white house from Don Bandini (also a real historical person).

  While the Virginia was not the name of a ship which sailed the California coast during this time period, the steamship, Goliah (not a typo), which was mentioned near the end of chapter thirteen and again in the final chapter, was a real ship which serviced the California Coast in various capacities from 1851 to 1898. Of particular relevance to Waltz in the Wilderness is that the Goliah aided in the recovery of passengers and cargo following the wreck of the Yankee Blade off the Santa Barbara coast in the spring of 1854. At least one account tells of crewmembers becoming confused, resulting in the loss of a lifeboat filled with 21 passengers, 17 of whom perished. The Goliah took as many of the wreck’s survivors as it could hold to San Diego before returning to retrieve the rest who had been left on shore.

  In contemporary accounts, the captain of the Yankee Blade was painted in a very unflattering light which helped to inspire my unethical (fictional) Captain Swenson. (You can read more about the wreck of the Yankee Blade here and here.) The events of the shipwreck in Waltz in the Wilderness were inspired
by the events of the Yankee Blade’s wreck, combined with the events of another wreck involving a ship (one of many) stranded on the Zuniga Shoal near the mouth of the San Diego Bay and Point Loma. At least one of these San Diego wrecks was also aided by the Goliah. In case you were wondering, the Zuniga Shoal is located near the mouth of San Diego Bay, and is a natural bar of land, which is sometimes below and sometimes just above the surface of the water. It acts as an obstacle which makes navigating the mouth of the bay tricky enough to have required detailed instructions during the nineteenth century. You can see a map of the shoal’s exact position here.

  The novel Eliza reads while waiting for Mrs. Swenson, Woman in the Nineteenth Century, is a real book. It was written by American journalist, editor and women’s right advocate Margaret Fuller. Along with some ideas about the origins of depravity, the book presents ahead-of-her-time views on the treatment of Native and African Americans as well as the equality of men and women. While Fuller’s ideas may not fully align with a Christian worldview, the tones of cultural defiance and female independence would have appealed to Eliza. You can read the full text of the book here.

  The Playa mentioned in the novel, is also known as La Playa. It was a collection of ramshackle buildings that primarily served as storage sheds for the cowhides awaiting export. Although there were a very few other businesses there, they often sat abandoned for lack of customers to sustain them.

  George Tebbetts was a real man who actually ran The Exchange Hotel in San Diego in 1854. However, my portrayal of him and his wife are entirely fictional. Also, it is interesting to note that there is some debate regarding the correct spelling of his last name due to inconsistent spelling in local historical records.

  With one minor exception, all of the buildings mentioned as being in San Diego, were in San Diego in 1854. I have described them as historically accurate as possible. The one exception is the store where Eliza and Daniel purchase their supplies. While there were stores in San Diego, this particular store (while based on the true stores there at the time) is entirely fictional and is run by the family of my heroine in Sing in the Sunlight. Sing in the Sunlight will be the second novel in the Chaparral Hearts series. (BTW—I can’t wait for you to see how Richard Stevens meets his match!)