“My gentlemen?” Katie sputtered. “They are not my gentlemen. They’re answers to an ad.”
“But they are yours. The first thing you need to do is relax. You look like your going to jump out of your skin sort of like that spring in the grandfather’s clock that flew across the room when we tried to find out how the clock worked.”
Katie laughed. “I almost forgot about that. I can still see Miss Ethel’s face. I told Benjamin she threatened to send us to a convent. That time she added that the convent was on an island in the middle of the ocean. She never did say exactly where.”
“I was afraid to ask,” Ella Grace said. “Now, open a letter and let’s see who it’s from.”
Katie looked at the three envelopes. One was thicker than the others, and she decided to leave that one for last. She tore open the first one.
“This one is straightforward. Just gives his name, age, and that he’s a hard worker. That’s it except for his address.”
Clara bit her lip. “That certainly isn’t much information if you’re trying to impress someone.”
Katie nodded in agreement and opened the second letter. “This one seems nice. I feel bad about sending him a letter saying I’ve changed my mind. He tells me that he goes to church weekly, works hard at his job, but would like to move out west. Says he’s honest and has carpentry skills and will send a letter from his pastor if I would like to know more about him.” She slipped the letter back into the envelope.
“Maybe I should answer that one,” Clara offered.
“Clara,” Ella Grace exclaimed. “Are you interested in finding a husband?”
Clara shrugged, “Aren’t most women?”
Katie handed Clara the letter, but she gave it back. “I think I’ll wait to see how all of this works out. Remember we still have to find husbands for Miss Ethel and Miss Edie.”
Ella Grace groaned. “I’m not sure how that’ll turn out, but at least it wasn’t our idea. They both asked us to help find each other husbands. Let’s worry about it later. Katie read your last letter please.”
Katie slid her fingernail under the flap of the heavier envelope and pulled out several pages. As she read her expression changed from surprise to concern.
“What is it?” asked Ella Grace.
“I’m not sure I want to answer this man. He wrote that he hates his life and working on his father’s farm. He wants his own life and wife to take care of him. He doesn’t mention any good qualities or church. He goes on and on about how miserable his life is and how moving away is his only chance. His biggest concern seems to be not running his own life currently. He sounds like the kind of man that would be difficult to live with.” Katie involuntarily shuddered and slipped the letter back in the envelope.
Clara suggested, “You should throw that one away.”
“I will, but first I have to answer this man. He has to know I have other plans. I don’t ever want to hear from Mister Eli Warren again.
Ella Grace sipped her tea and placed the cup back in the saucer. “All right, that’s settled. Now, what are we going to do about Miss Edie and Miss Ethel?”
“If you would like my opinion,” Clara said. “I know they are still mourning their brother, but if they’re going to attract any man who comes here looking to marry them, they need to dress the way they did before the mine collapse. I remember the lilac dress Miss Edie liked to wear to church on Sunday. She had that matching hat with the peacock feather in it. Maybe she’s not ready for peacock feathers, but she needs to put away the browns and gray.”
Katie sighed. “I agree. At least they stopped wearing plain black because the younger girls felt sad when they saw them. Maybe Ella Grace and I could suggest they wear brighter clothes because it will help make the younger girls happier. By the time their grooms get here, they might be back to peacock feathers.”
Clara gasped, “What if one gets a beau and the other doesn’t?”
Katie and Ella Grace looked at each other. “I never thought of that,” Katie said.
“Hmmm, since we are going to get the letters and read and answer them, we just have to be sure if one proposes, we don’t allow him to come here until the other one proposes, too. I don’t think we should answer any letter unless they both receive a good prospect.”
The three young women sat silently and thought for a while before deciding that is precisely what they should do. Katie asked Ella Grace if she had some writing paper and Clara hurried off to fetch it. While they sat and discussed the best way to approach the Miss Edie and Miss Ethel situation, Katie made three quick copies of her letter explaining her situation had changed.
Thank you for taking the time to answer my ad. Since I placed the ad, my situation has changed, and I am no longer looking for a husband. I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you and for your kind letter.
Katie read the response to her friends, and they all agreed it was kind and to the point. They believed the men would appreciate knowing that her life had changed. For some reason Katie didn’t comprehend, she placed the letters in her bag instead of tossing them away. Something in her gut told her to hold onto the letters until and if any of the men responded. She worried a bit that they might not all be understanding. With luck, they wouldn’t answer her at all, and she could put this ridiculous idea of sending for a husband behind her. Spending her free time finding husbands for Miss Edie and Miss Ethel was a better plan.
Chapter Twelve
Chicago
Over two thousand miles away, Providence was about to change four lives.
Walt Worthington sat in the nearly empty café sipping his coffee while waiting for his brother Chet to meet him after depositing the day’s receipts from the bookstore the brothers owned on the outskirts of Chicago.
Hurrying through the door waving a sheet of paper Chet Worthington said, “I found it, I finally found it.”
“Found what?” Walt asked as his brother pulled up a chair and sat at the small table across from him.
“A reason to leave the big city. We have been talking about leaving here for the West and a smaller town for quite some time. We even discussed moving to separate towns and opening two books stores as long as we got out of the city.”
“I know. I was there when we had the talks,” Walt grumbled. “Why do you think this is the right time?”
“Since father died we have nothing to keep us here. All we need is an opportunity, and I have one right here in the paper.” He laid the most recent copy of the Grooms’ Gazette on the table in front of his brother.
“Grooms’ Gazette? You want to place an ad for a bride and then what? How does that get us out of Chicago?” Walt answered pushing the paper back toward Chet.
A broad smile crossed Chet’s face. “There are two ads in here placed by ladies looking for husbands in Oregon. At least I think it’s two ladies. The ads sound similar. We should answer them. It would be nice to know someone in a town we might want to move to and if they’re female all the better. You know I’ve wanted to marry for quite a while, but I thought the time had passed. These ladies might be closer to our age. Both the ads say they run an orphanage in Oregon. One says she’s been at it for over twenty years. That might put her close to my forty-six years.” He grinned even wider at his brother.
Walt shook his head. “I’m not sure about the ladies, but I like the idea of moving to Oregon or somewhere away from the city.”
“That does it then. You answer one ad, and I’ll answer the other. We’ll find out soon enough if there are two women or just one. If we’re lucky, there’ll be two and close enough to each other that we can open our bookstore,” Chet said nodding at his scowling brother.
~ * ~
One-week later Ella Grace strolled toward the Inn in the morning sunshine when she noticed Michael walking her way. “Good morning, husband. What are you doing? Hiding from an unhappy guest?”
“No,” he said and kissed her on the cheek. “I was on my way home to give
you this.” He held up a thick envelope from the Grooms’ Gazette.
“A response from the ad we placed for Miss Ethel. This could be from Miss Edie’s future husband. Did Widow Wallace ask about this? How exciting,” Ella Grace gushed.
Michael shrugged. “Not exactly sure. Riley went to collect the mail, and all she asked him was who gets mail at the Inn. He answered, ‘just guests and staff.’”
Ella Grace bit her lip to keep from laughing. She knew how curious Widow Wallace was. “I was coming to see you and to see if I received any mail. I think I’ll check now and then I’ll stop and have a cup of tea with you if you have time.”
“Always for you, my love.” He took Ella Grace’s hand, and they walked back toward the Inn.
A few minutes later, Ella Grace entered the Post Office and greeted Widow Wallace. “Good morning how are you today?”
“I am doing well, thank you. You look happy. Is something special making you smile?” Widow Wallace asked hoping to find a bit of gossip.
Ella Grace shook her head. “No, just enjoying the morning and going to the Inn and have a cup of tea with my husband, but first I wanted to check to see if we have any letters.”
“As a matter of fact, you do. You have two. One from Michael’s mother and the other from the Grooms’ Gazette. The Inn received one from that paper, too. Is something going on?” Widow Wallace pinned Ella Grace with her questioning stare.
“Not that I know of,” Ella Grace voiced the small lie she hoped would keep Widow Wallace from spreading any gossip. She picked up the letters and hurried from the Post Office before her excitement took over and Widow Wallace would know she had a secret. No, she had secrets. How exciting. Two letters. Maybe both Miss Edie and Miss Ethel would each have a husband soon.
Slipping the letters into her reticule, Ella Grace hurried to the Inn to have tea with her husband and then she’d need to find a way for Katie to take time to come to the house and discuss the letters. Maybe she could send Clara to ask Katie for lunch saying she was tired and resting today. Oh my, another lie. Asking God for forgiveness, she knew there would be more small lies, but she felt she’d be forgiven knowing she was doing something good for her dear guardians.
Mrs. Donlinson had tea waiting for Ella Grace in the kitchen when she arrived at the Inn. Michael followed her into the kitchen and held out her chair.
“Did we get any mail?” Michael asked.
“A letter from your mother.” Ella Grace handed him the envelope, and Michael read the letter.
“She’s excited about the baby and is debating whether to come out before the winter snow interferes with train travel or wait until spring. She wants to be with you as much as possible.”
Ella Grace felt tears fill her eyes. Most everything made her cry recently, but the only woman she ever called mother wanted to come and be with her during her pregnancy. “How wonderful. I’ll write her back today and tell her I can’t wait for her to arrive.”
Michael looked at her over the top of his cup. “You want my mother to spend the entire winter with us?”
“Of course, don’t you? I adore your mother, and I doubt your father will accompany her which will mean our lives will be peaceful. Oh, Michael, it’s wonderful. Besides, it wasn’t that long ago that you thought your mother should come here and care for me.”
Michael loved his mother, too but wasn’t as sure spending the entire winter under the same roof was as exciting as Ella Grace believed, but he couldn’t deny her anything. Hoping to change the topic he asked about the letter from the Grooms’ Gazette.
Mrs. Donlinson wanting to allow them some privacy took her cup of tea to the small parlor in the back of the Inn for the employees to rest when needed.
“I haven’t read it yet. I’m waiting to share it with Katie, but I believe it’s an answer to the ad we placed. I also received a response to the advertisement. I haven’t read it either, but I do hope both are letters from a prospective groom for each of them.”
Michael cleared his throat a sure sign he wanted to say something but wasn’t sure exactly how to start. Ella Grace stared straight into his eyes waiting.
“What,” she finally asked.
Michael stirred his tea once more, took a sip, and said, “Please don’t take this wrong. You know I have grown quite fond of Miss Ethel and Miss Edie. Everyone around town refers to them as spinsters and I know once a woman reaches her late twenties or turns thirty they refer to them as spinsters. I understand a woman of thirty wanting a husband, but do you think a woman twice that age truly has a chance?”
Ella Grace snorted her tea and looked at Michael with wide eyes. “What? You think Miss Ethel and Miss Edie are sixty?”
“Aren’t they? They wear those severe buns pulled tightly to stretch out their wrinkles. They dress in dark, drab colors, and except for the occasional unusual hat, they don’t do anything to umm well to make themselves interesting.”
Ella Grace tapped the table with her fingertips and shook her head. “Let me tell you something about my guardians. Of course, when you met them, they wore drab colors. They were in mourning for their brother. I remember when they wore yellow, green, and other bright colors. I have seen them with their hair loose, and except for a bit of silver, their hair is still a beautiful deep brown. Also, they don’t have a lot of wrinkles.
Michael just stared at his wife as she continued. “When Mr. Edward began his plan to head West, they naturally planned on accompanying him. They were only twenty at the time. Two years later, they joined a wagon train heading West. That’s when my parents died, and they took me in. Deciding to raise me and then Katie when she arrived, along with the others over the years, they didn’t think marriage was a good idea. We girls came first. Michael, they just turned forty-five not sixty.”
Michael raised his eyebrows and said, “That may be, but they do look older. I think the biggest hurdle you and Katie have in this husband searching quest is having Miss Edie and Miss Ethel look their age.”
Ella Grace bit her lip in frustration. Michael was right. She and Katie had a lot of work to do.
Chapter Thirteen
Ella Grace opened the door before Katie stepped onto the porch.
“Come in, I was waiting for you to get here. We have letters and work to do. Clara made sandwiches. Are you hungry or should we read the letters first?”
“Calm down,” Katie said. “Whatever has you so excited?”
“I don’t think I’m excited. Well, I am, but I’m also worried. Michael thinks Miss Edie and Miss Ethel are sixty years old and might never find a husband if we don’t help them look their age and the two letters that came today are answers to both ads, but they came from the same address in Chicago but have different names and handwriting. We need to read them now,” Ella Grace gushed and then stopped to catch her breath.
Katie reached for her sister’s hand, “We will. Let’s sit down.”
Ella Grace nodded. “I left the letters on the kitchen table.”
Clara set a cold glass of milk on the table for Ella Grace. Seeing Ella Grace wrinkle her nose, Clara said, “Its good for you and it’ll calm you down. You worry too much.”
Ella Grace shrugged, sat, and picked up a letter handing the other to Katie. “Look at the return address. Both come from Worthington Books in Chicago, but this is from W. Worthington and the other from C. Worthington and the writing is different. I hope this isn’t another conman. We’ve had too many of those since the disasters.”
Katie opened the envelope and read the letter. “This is a friendly response from a man who owns a bookstore with his brother in Chicago. Read the other one.”
“Hmm, this one is nice but very short and to the point and also mentions a brother and the bookstore.”
“Brothers. How perfect,” Clara said before setting a plate of sandwiches on the table. “Brothers marrying sisters is so romantic. We need to make sure this all works out.”
“How?” Ella Grace asked.
“By invol
ving Miss Edie and Miss Ethel without their knowing it’s also for themselves. If they persuade each other to dress differently, they will have to do it themselves. If we convince them the right way, they’ll both look much younger and be ready for a husband,” Katie suggested. “When I go back home, I’ll ask Miss Edie to visit you, and while she’s gone, I’ll speak to Miss Ethel. Now, what do we tell them?”
“I agree,” Ella Grace said. “I’m not sure if this letter meant for Miss Edie is a good match. He reminds me of Miss Ethel.”
“Same here,” Katie agreed. “This Chet Worthington sounds as sweet as Miss Edie.”
“All right, Chet for Miss Edie and Walt for Miss Ethel.” Ella Grace said while rubbing her forehead. “Now, we have to answer them.”
“Now,” Clara insisted. “You have to eat first and think of what to say. You both need to write answers, so the letters have different handwriting. Eat up, you’re going to need the strength to get you through this.”
Katie picked up a sandwich and looked at her friends. “I hope we can do this without creating a disaster.”
“I think the disaster will come on the day those two ladies have to get each other to the train station to meet their grooms. This might work out well though if you can get the brothers to arrive at the same time, both sisters will have to go to the station,” Clara added.
“That’s true,” Katie agreed. “If one has a groom arrive first the other could leave town or something equally dramatic. It’s best if the shock comes at the same time.”
Ella Grace picked up her pen and started to write.
Dear Walt,
Thank you for taking the time to answer my advertisement. I should tell you a bit about myself. I am a twin and forty-five years old. I have brown hair with some silver and am five feet four inches tall. I never married since taking care of the girls at our orphanage took all my time. My oldest ward is taking over the orphanage, and I find myself thinking it is time to settle down. If you think we might suit…
Wanted: Carpenter Page 6