“Well, Ben, aren’t you a bonnie young man? Did you have a cookie yet?” Cook asked kindly.
“Yes, Ma’am. It sure tasted good.”
Cook beamed while Mary smiled. It hadn’t taken long for Ben to find another friend. Her smile faded. He’d need as many as he could get in St. Margaret’s. “Come on, Ben, let’s go see Mother Superior.” At the look of fear in the child’s eyes, Mary bent down to whisper to him. “Don’t worry. I will be right there beside you.”
Ben nodded, reaching for her hand. Together they walked slowly back upstairs. Thankfully for both of them, by the time they arrived, Father Molloy had requested a meeting with the head of St. Margaret’s. Mary was told to take Ben to the dormitory for younger boys. She got him settled for the night with a cuddle and a quick story.
Chapter 4
Mary pushed the kitchen door open to find Father Molloy visiting with Cook.
“There you are, Mary. You are looking rather peaky, child. Don’t you ever get out in the sunshine?”
At Mary’s shrug, the Priest muttered something about having a word with Mother Superior as he fumbled with the pockets in his coat. “I have something here for you. I am not altogether sure why it wasn’t addressed to you here at the orphanage.”
Mary didn’t look at the priest. She didn’t know if Father Molloy knew Mother Superior read everyone’s mail including personal letters addressed to other nuns. She wasn’t about to educate him. The less involvement she had with the woman in charge, the better.
The priest sighed as he produced the letter. “Guaranteed to put a smile on your face. In fact, I am hoping I can convince Cook to pour us a coffee while we enjoy our letter.”
“Our letter?” Mary couldn’t help smiling at the audacity of the priest.
“Your letter, Mary Ryan, but you wouldn’t spoil an old man’s pleasure by denying him knowledge of the contents, now would you? I have a great fondness for Katie, who ran off to New York to visit relatives by way of Colorado Territory?”
Mary took an intake of breath. The priest knew. How?
“Don’t look so worried, child. Young Katie told me herself. She wrote to me to apologize for letting me believe the story she had told her aunt and uncle.” The priest fell silent for a couple of seconds. “I can’t condone the deception, but that doesn’t mean I don’t understand her need to run. I am very happy it all worked out for her. She deserves to be happy, as do you.”
“Thank you, Father. You have been so kind to us.”
“It doesn’t cost anything to be kind to children. God loves them – all of them, regardless of how they are situated.”
Mary resisted the urge to hug the old man as she poured the priest a coffee. Pouring another for cook, she put a plate of cookies on the table and took a seat. Ripping open the envelope, she scanned the contents. She wasn’t about to tell Katie’s secrets, but the first few paragraphs were fit for the priest’s ears. Smiling widely, she started to read.
“Dear Mary,
I so wish you were here to tell you my news in person. Daniel and I have been blessed. We are going to have a baby.”
“Ach, that’s grand. To be sure, she was right to marry that young Sullivan. Fine family.” The priest interrupted Mary’s reading as he dunked his cookie in his coffee.
“How would you know, Father? You haven’t set eyes on Colorado Territory, never mind a member of the family.” Cook tried her best to glare at the priest as he dropped crumbs on the table, but Mary could see she was trying not to smile.
“With a name like Sullivan, he is bound to be a first class citizen. We Irish are a proud people. A nation of saints and scholars.”
Cook, being English, made a noise somewhere between a grunt and a humph. Even though the two were old friends and often allies against Mother Superior, Mary didn’t think it fitting for them to continue along that line of conversation.
“Should I leave you two to have a conversation while I go read my letter in peace?” Mary made to stand.
“Don’t you dare go without telling us all the news. Father here is dying to know.” Cook nodded, her eyes glued to the sheets of paper in Mary’s hands.
Mary went back to reading.
“Daniel is so excited but he has become a real fusspot. He won’t let me out of his sight. You would think I was the first woman to have a baby. Ellen can’t wait to become an Aunty. I am very proud of her, Mary. She has blossomed since we left Boston.
Enough about me. How are you? I hope you are not feeling too sad about Cathy. I know you said she was in a good home and will have everything she needs. But I can sense you are lonelier than you will admit. Now she’s gone, why don’t you come to Clover Springs? We would love to have you. In fact I have…”
“About time Katie suggested you join her.” The priest didn’t look up from his coffee as he interrupted Mary’s reading.
“Of all the things to say Father Molloy. Why would a nice girl like Mary want to travel all that way out west? To be surrounded by heathens and God knows what else.”
Mary laughed at the outrage on Cook’s face. Before she could respond, Father Molloy got in first. “I am telling ya, there are fine people out there in that town.”
“They are that, if you like murderers and bank raiders. Only by the Grace of God, Mary’s young friend didn’t get married to a highwayman.”
Mary’s coffee splashed over the table, her hand was shaking so much from laughing. A highwayman? Cook’s English expressions made people laugh. “Cook, that’s all behind Katie now. Her husband is a businessman. He owns the mercantile.” Mary stood up to take her leave of the two old friends. “If you don’t mind Father, the rest of the letter is rather private so I will say goodnight.”
“You are a fine girl, Mary Ryan, to share your letters with a lonely old man like myself. Now if Cook was any sort of woman, she would be adding a drop of medicine to my coffee. She knows how this weather is bad for my chest.”
“Everything is bad for your health if it’s my cooking whiskey you are after.” Cook muttered, getting up to find the bottle.
Mary giggled to herself, leaving the two arguing over the whiskey. She knew they would both enjoy their evening. Despite their different backgrounds, they were firm friends, united in their efforts to provide the children with as much kindness and comfort as possible. Mary walked as fast as she could to the room she shared. She couldn’t give in to the temptation to run. If she was caught, the letter would be confiscated and she would be stuck.
Relieved to find the only occupants of her room were Laura and Sorcha, she threw herself on her bed and studied the letter. Her heart was beating so fast, she could barely breathe.
“Are you okay, Mary? You are breathing very fast.” Sorcha looked up from her mending. She hated sewing, not least because she kept pricking her fingers. Mary usually did Sorcha’s mending if only to stop everything she touched being covered in blood stains.
“Katie’s written asking me to come to Clover Springs.”
“Is that all? Why are you so worked up over a trip like that? I thought you would like to see your friend.” Laura said, behind the pages of the book she was reading.
Mary’s heart beat so fast she thought the girls might hear it. Taking a couple of deep breaths, she held out the letter. “She wants me to get married. To Daniel’s brother. He wrote, too.”
Laura’s book dropped out of her hand onto the floor just as Sorcha gasped and sucked on her thumb.
“Marry him? Oh no, Mary Ryan. I forbid it. You can’t go off to God only knows where. Not alone.” Laura jumped off her bed and grabbed the letter out of Mary’s hand.
“I won’t be alone. Katie’s there and she vouched for him. Don’t you see, it’s my chance to get away from here. I can be free again.”
Sorcha got to her feet and did a jig. Laughing, she pulled Mary off the bed and they danced around the room. “I’ve been praying for something good to happen. This is it. I can feel it.” Sorcha looked up at Mary. “You deserve t
o be happy. Once you are settled, can you find a husband for me?”
“Sorcha Matthews, you are just gone seventeen. The Nuns wouldn’t let you.” Laura frowned as she read Davy’s letter. “Not the most romantic, is he?”
“No, but that doesn’t matter. I don’t need love but a place to live. A home.” Mary took the letter back and read through it again. She wondered what he was like.
“So, you are going then? Just like that? Without giving it a second thought.” Laura didn’t attempt to hide her opinion.
Mary looked at the letter in her hand. “Yes, I am, and you’re both going to help me.”
Sorcha lay on her bed and sighed. “It’s so romantic. You will meet and fall in love and live happily ever after.”
“Huh, trust you to think like that. It’s more likely he’ll be ugly, smell bad and want a slave not a wife.”
“Laura Murphy. You can be a real witch when you want to.” Sorcha glanced over at Mary but she ignored her. Mary wasn’t bothered by what Laura said. She knew her friend was only trying to be practical, even if she had gone a little too far. Katie wouldn’t let her marry someone that bad. Would she? She picked up some paper and a pencil.
Dear Mr. Sullivan
Thank you for your letter. It was kind of Katie to say nice things about me. She is a fantastic friend.
I have never written a letter about myself before. It’s hard. Let me see. I am almost eighteen and currently living in the orphanage that has been my home since we landed in Boston.
I came over to America on the same ship as Katie. My parents wanted a new life - to be free. They both got sick and died on the journey along with my baby sister. That left Catherine and me.
Mary sucked the end of the pencil. Thinking about Cathy hurt.
Catherine has found a new family. They look after her very well but they aren’t too keen on us staying in contact. They have said I can write so I guess they just don’t like me visiting. I suppose it must upset Cathy as I find it hard. I don’t want my little sister to forget her real family but maybe I am just being selfish.
What else do you want to know? I am not as tall or as pretty as Katie. I have blonde hair and green eyes. I guess I don’t look Irish. The people in Galway used to tease my mother that she must have met a foreign sailor. I can cook, clean a house and look after little ones. I can sew but not as well as Katie.
I accept your offer to become your bride. Like you, I do not expect romance but companionship. I am looking forward to meeting you and the rest of the Sullivan family. Katie has already told me so much about them in her letters.
Yours sincerely,
Mary Ryan
Mary read back over what she had written. Great, I sound stupid. She passed the letter to Sorcha. Laura read it over the girl’s shoulder.
“I think you do yourself a disservice, Mary. You stayed working in the orphanage to be closer to your sister. Your devotion to family and the way you are with the little ones shows you have a good heart.”
Mary’s eyes smarted at the unexpected praise. Laura wasn’t known for her compliments. Tears slide down her cheeks causing Sorcha to rush to her side and cuddle her.
“He won’t be ugly or smell bad. He will be exactly what you need. I am going to miss you, A chara mo chléibh.”
Mary was surprised to feel the tears on Sorcha’s cheeks. The younger girl usually kept her emotions to herself. It was her way of coping with the harsh regime in the orphanage. She hugged her back. “I will miss you too, but I will write. I will send the letters to Father Molloy. He can give them to you when he visits Cook.”
“Mother Superior will be very mad if she finds out.” Sorcha bit her lip as she reluctantly took up her mending.
“Who will tell her?”
Chapter 5
Davy stood by the barn, a cup of coffee in one hand and Mary’s letter in the other. She’d said yes. He wasn’t sure what to think now. She must be brave to agree to marry a man she hadn’t met. Or desperate. Conditions in the orphanage weren’t great from what Katie had told him. It was hard to get a job in Boston too, especially for a young girl with little experience. She didn’t have a family to look out for her either. She was safer coming to Clover Springs. He may not be looking for love but his wife would never go hungry or be stuck for shelter.
Some female company would be good. Lord knows but he was lonesome out here on the ranch. Mrs. Higgins tried her best to fill his Ma’s shoes but it wasn’t a mother’s love he was missing. He was a man who wanted a warm bed. He missed having a woman around to talk to. Share things with. Maybe Mary would make him laugh. He liked the way Katie made Daniel smile. His brother was a lucky man. Not that he would think about Katie in a romantic way. She was like another sister.
He looked around him. He hoped Mary knew what she was letting herself in for. Living out here on the ranch had its own trials. There was rarely time with the chores to take that much time off, although trips to town had to be made from necessity. Maybe Katie could come out to visit Mary here. What was he thinking? Daniel wasn’t about to let his new wife and their baby travel alone out to the ranch. Clover Springs was a nice town but the railroad had brought in a lot of new people. They didn’t know everyone and the business with the Cassidy gang had shaken them all up a bit.
What was wrong with him? Standing around her fretting about someone he hadn’t met yet. She had agreed to come. All he had to do was write back to her enclosing her train fare and a little extra to make sure she was comfortable on the trip.
Chapter 6
Blinking back more tears, Mary hugged a number of the children close to her. She promised to write to them all.
“Will you tell us about Indians and snakes and …”
Mary’s tears threatened to fall in response to Ben’s questions. The six-year-old boy held a special place in her heart and she hated leaving him. He wasn’t likely to be adopted given his bad leg. The other children weren’t always kind to him, but then, they followed the example of the adults in charge. Mother Superior plainly saw Ben as a burden and didn’t bother to hide the fact she considered him useless.
Mary’s heart broke for him. With love and patience, he had eventually opened up to her. Telling her stories of his upbringing and the beatings he had endured before his parents dumped him. Ruffling the boy’s hair she chided him gently. “Ben, you are scaring the others.”
Ben shrugged his shoulders, an obstinate look on his face. “When will I be old enough to go west? I want to be a cowboy. Can I not go with you now? You need a man to look after you. You shouldn’t travel alone.”
Mary hugged the little boy, her voice too choked up to speak. “One day when you are all grown up, come and visit me. You hear?”
Ben nodded, tears glistening in his own eyes. He swiped at his face. “I got chores to do.” He hobbled off as fast as his limp allowed before stopping suddenly and turning back. With a look that almost broke her heart in two, he came back and hugged her with all his strength. “I love you. I don’t want you to leave.” And then he was gone.
As Mary walked to the train station, the image of the child’s face consumed her. Leaving him behind was the hardest thing she had ever done. Since Cathy had left, Ben had become a surrogate for her family. She loved him dearly. Maybe you could send for him? If you could convince your husband? His brother took in Ellen didn’t he? But she was Katie’s real sister. One step at a time. She had to get to Colorado first.
Chapter 7
Katie came rushing out of the store as Davy pulled up outside.
“Slow down, woman, and mind that baby or Martha Sullivan will put you on bed rest.” Mrs. Higgins chided Katie gently.
“I’m fine, really.” Katie said breathlessly. “I have a letter for Davy.” She gave the envelope to Davy who opened it slowly.
“She’s on her way. She’ll be here in a week.”
“Your new bride. Well, praise be. The Good Lord answered my prayers.” Mrs. Higgins smile lit up her whole face.
&nbs
p; A week? Davy struggled to breath. He felt trapped. It was too late now to change his mind and tell her not to come.
“Mary is lovely. You will fall for her as soon as she gets off that train.”
“I told you Katie. It’s not a love match. Don’t you be getting any ideas.” Davy’s stomach hardened as he caught the hurt look Katie threw at him. He stalked off. What the blazes had he signed up for?
Davy was tempted to stop by the saloon. He was in for a scolding from Mrs. H on his way home. He had been rude to both women just now. He wasn’t proud of his behavior but it was easier than talking about his past. Exactly, she’s the past, Mary is your future.
Davy didn’t look up as he walked off his frustration. Katie had nothing but good things to say about Mary Ryan. But nobody could be that perfect. Tilly had seemed perfect but … he didn’t want to think about her. Everyone believed he had been devastated by her death. He had loved her but the devastation she had caused was not by dying. He couldn’t bring himself to tell anyone the truth. It was easier to let them believe he was overcome with grief rather than guilt and shame. He had rejected Tilly when she needed him most and it was his fault she had died. If they hadn’t argued that night, she wouldn’t have felt so alone. So desperate. That was something he had to learn to live with. Five years later, it didn’t seem any easier than that first morning he had found out.
What would Mary Ryan expect from him? She said she only wanted companionship but did she mean it? He hoped she did. He was done with love. Loving someone only led to heartbreak and his heart still hadn’t recovered from the last time. He wasn’t taking another risk.
Mary: Clover Springs Mail Order Brides 2 Page 2