“We’ll make sure you don’t by talking about her whenever you want,” Ada said.
“Will Father feel better? I don’t want him to die,” Rachael said.
“Of course he will. It’s just a small fever and I am sure by now he is feeling much better.”
“Why do you think father doesn’t like it when we’re happy?” Elizabeth asked.
There was a bit of silence and then Ada replied, “What would make you think something like that?”
“Because, whenever he finds us happy and talking, he doesn’t like it. I can tell by the way his face changes.”
“Well, let me put it this way. Grownups are sometimes very difficult to understand. They become so used to doing things in a particular way, and they find it hard to change. Your father wants you to be happy, that I’m sure of. But maybe he has forgotten that part of being happy is to laugh when you feel like and to talk to the people you love.”
Jacob felt tears come to his eyes. Was that how his children saw him? Then in his mind, he saw an image of himself scowling when he heard the three of them giggling. He saw his impatient look when they talked over matters he did not consider important. And he covered his eyes, trying to obliterate those images.
“You don’t think we’re bad girls?” Rachael said.
“What? You are the nicest most wonderful girls I have ever met and I am honored to be part of your lives,” Ada said with feeling.
“What’s ‘honored’,” Rachael quipped.
The sound of laughter reached his eyes and he could imagine the three of them collapsing over the straw in mirth. The image was pleasing and Jacob smiled to himself. Then he grew solemn when he contemplated what he had heard. Surely, the girls did not think that he loved them any less because of instilling discipline in them.
But was it discipline, a voice inside his head asked.
“Mama used to cane us,” Elizabeth said.
Jacob held his breath.
“Sometimes children need to be spanked when they do wrong. Your mama wanted you to grow up to be respectful young ladies,” Ada said.
“Will you be spanking us then?” Rachael asked.
“If you’re very naughty,” Ada said in a teasing tone. “People do things in a different way. You girls are old enough to tell right from wrong. I would rather we sat down and talked about it rather than spanking. If you do something wrong, I’ll tell you and explain to you why you should not do it again.”
There was silence again and then Elizabeth spoke up.
“I like your way.”
“Me too,” her sister said.
Jacob turned and walked away, deeply in thought.
TEN
In Blissful Unity
The window was covered in white flakes of snow and the wind howled and shook the roof of the house. However, inside the kitchen was warm from the stove which had been burning all night, so that now, mid-morning, the whole house was warm.
“Next question,” Ada said, “He was a spokesman for Moses and he went with Moses to Pharaoh to ask for the release of the children of Israel.”
Ada looked at her two daughters and her husband. The girls were lost in thought trying to figure out who the bible character was. Jacob wore a look of amusement.
“I know, I know,” Elizabeth suddenly cried out. “It’s Aaron, a brother to Moses.”
“Correct, well done,” Ada said and then thought of a simpler question foe Rachael. “Who was the mother of Jesus?”
“Mary, it was Mary,” the now six-year-old girl yelled.
“Well done,” Ada said, stifling a yawn.
She was tired from sitting down for so long. Her back ached but she knew it wouldn’t be long now before the child came. The doctor had even said the baby could arrive during the Christmas period. It filled Ada with joy to think that in a few weeks’ time, she could be holding their child in her arms. The girls too were looking forward to meeting their brother or sister.
“I think your mother is tired now. Let’s give her some time to rest,” Jacob said.
Ada was about to protest when a yawn escaped her mouth and the girls erupted into giggles.
“I suppose I am tired. How shameful when it’s mid-morning,” Ada said, grinning sheepishly.
“It’s understandable my dear. The closer the baby gets, the more tired you’ll feel,” he said.
Ada paused for him to continue but he didn’t. She was surprised and pleased that he had finally gotten over comparing her to Miriam. Ada understood that Miriam had been part of them for a long time but it still hurt whenever he implied that Miriam’s way of doing something was better. A year ago, he would have easily told her how active Miriam had been even in the last days before giving birth. But not today.
They had come a long way as a couple and a family.
“Girls, why don’t we go to the barn and see how the calf is doing?” Jacob suggested.
The girls shrieked in reply and Ada hid her smile. She was really proud of Jacob. She had no idea what had happened to change him, but his relationship with his children had altered considerably for the better. He laughed with them and even indulged in a game with them. The girls in turn seem to come out of their shells.
They were full of confidence and their laughter could be heard by the neighbors miles away, Ada was sure.
“Go on and bundle up before you go out in the snow,” Ada said and the girls ran out to get their coats.
She had come to realize that like her, Jacob was not a man of many words when it came to affection. However, he showed her in countless ways every day that he loved her. Like the way he looked at her now. His love was reflected in his eyes. He stretched out his hand and laid it on hers.
“You’re a wonderful mother Ada, and wife,” he said.
“Thank you. You’re a wonderful father too to the girls.”
Jacob looked at her protruding tummy pointedly.
“And to the child we are expecting,” he said.
A shadow seemed to cross his face.
“Are you worried about the birth?” Ada asked, knowing that Miriam had died while giving life to their child.
“Not so much, I know it’s all in God’s hands,” he said. “Besides, I’m happy about those visits to the doctor. Miriam was stubborn and had refused to see a doctor when she was heavy. She said giving birth was natural and she did not need a man to tell her how to go about it.”
Ada was shocked at his confession. These days Jacob never spoke of Miriam much and in the early days, when he did, it was to shower praises on her. It had reached a point where Ada had wondered quietly whether Jacob had been married to a saint. The girls came back then, breaking the moment.
She watched with pride as he held Rachael by the hand and Elizabeth took her sisters other hand. Jacob flung the door open and he and Elizabeth, swung Rachael between them. A gush of cold air entered and she shivered. It grew warm again when the door shut. She could still hear Rachael’s squeals of glee as they went to the barn.
Her muscles ached, but she felt loathe to move from her position at the table, near the fire. Her mind strayed to the workings of God. In addition to forgiving her for all her transgressions, the Lord had worked on Jacob and had softened him considerably towards her, and he had even admitted how much he loved her.
She could not believe that even knowing all about her past, he still loved her. He had forgiven her for lying and also begged for forgiveness for how he had treated her. The day that Ada had known they had made a turning point in their marriage, was when she had gone to their room and found Jacob silently packing away all of Miriam’s clothes from the wardrobe. She had touched his arm, communicating her appreciation and then left him to it.
Ada knew that she would spend the rest of her life being grateful for the family that she had. Who would have thought that God had such a wonderful plan for her, all those years when she was helping Joanna match brides with their grooms?
The sound of a bell from the barn, reminded Ada how c
lose Christmas day was. She had all the presents ready for the girls. They loved presents, Ada thought with a smile, recalling the day when she had finally gathered the courage to give them the gifts of clothes she had brought with her from New York. Their faces had lit up and she would hold that image in her mind all of her life.
Now, she had made more clothes for them and bought everyone new coats including Jacob. Ada had confided in her husband that she had quite a sum saved up from her working days. He had solemnly told her that it was her nest egg for a rainy day, despite her protestations that the money belonged to all of them.
Still, she had time to convince him. She knew he had dreams of expanding the farm and even including sheep. The market for the wool was very good and with her money, Ada knew that the sheep farm would become a reality. As she did with all things, she would continue praying about it and gently leading Jacob to see her way.
Meanwhile, she had two girls to love and raise and another on the way, and a husband to spend the rest of her life with. Thank you my Father, Ada murmured, suddenly overcome by emotion.
The End
15. Pregnant Bride Needs A Cowboy
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ONE
An Ultimatum
Miss Violet Sofia Fielding was very nervous. Unduly so actually. Well at least she thought her anxiety was out of character. She had been summoned to a meeting with her aunt and uncle. She now sat in the family drawing room, chewing her lower lip, wondering what this summons was all about.
“Your uncle has found it in his heart to give you an inheritance to provide you a chance at a good marriage,” her aunt, Eliza Fielding said, her eyes darting all over the four walls of the living room. Violet smiled hesitantly at the news. She did not know how to take the news.
Currently she had no memory of her life, apart for the last six months. She could only assume this kind of generosity was common in the Fielding household. That said, based on the observations she had made, she would have suspected the contrary. She glanced at her uncle, Henry Theodore Fielding. He was a huge, quiet man, who despite his size, seemed to bow down to his wife’s notions all the time. In the last couple of months, with no memories of her past, she had studied the family she lived with keenly. There was just the two of them now, in the big four-bedroom house. They had one child, a young man from her Aunt Eliza’s previous marriage, whom Uncle Henry had raised. Violet had never laid eyes on him, well, as far as she knew.
When she had asked Aunt Eliza about her son, she had been vague about his whereabouts and appeared discomforted by Violet’s inquiries and so she had stopped.
“Thank you uncle, you’re most kind,” Violet said, her hands folded neatly on her lap.
“Your aunt has not told you all of it,” he replied in an embarrassed voice.
They had told her that Uncle Henry was her late father’s brother. In Violet’s lonely moments, when she sat in her big bedroom, staring out the window that overlooked the city, she imagined her father had been as gentle as Uncle Henry. Her Aunt Eliza did not mention Violet’s mother much and she’d deduced that the two women had not gotten along.
Her aunt now cleared her throat and Violet stiffened. This was never a good sign in the Fielding household. Her aunt always cleared her throat when she was about to say something she considerably unpleasant.
“To receive this generous amount of money, you will be expected to be married and off the premises within a fortnight,” her aunt announced.
Violet’s earlier tranquility evaporated. The anger, that seemed her constant companion, started boiling to the surface. Marriage!? Was Aunt Eliza mad? How could she get married when she didn’t even know who she was?
“Married?” Violet echoed.
“Yes Violet, you heard me. The only way to get your inheritance is to get married in the next two weeks. This is what we require of you.”
Why within such a short period of time? Did they want to get rid of her? Violets heart constricted in pain at the thought. Surely not.
She knew no one else, remembered no-one. They were the only family she had, her only safety net in a world of strangers. The choice was obvious to Violet. “Then I don’t want the inheritance Aunt Eliza.”
Her aunt’s mouth formed into a thin line. Violet knew that this meant her aunt was determined.
“Don’t be foolish. Tell her Henry!” Aunt Eliza shrieked, her hands gripping the armrests of her chair. “That stubbornness of yours will do you no good. Mark my words.”
Uncle Henry sighed. He appeared older than usual and he wore a sad an embarrassed expression on his face.
“Where do you think you’ll go then?” her aunt said. “You are twenty years old. Old enough to be in your own home and your uncle and I cannot afford your upkeep,” her aunt continued.
Violet jutted out her chin in defiance. “I’ll look for employment in the mills.”
Eliza Fielding abruptly broke into hysterical laughter, the shrill sound from her throat scratching Violet’s ears.
“Did you hear that Henry?” she asked, wiping her eyes with a white starched handkerchief. She turned back to Violet and replied, “You have had people taking care of you all your life, how do you imagine you’ll manage to work at the mill? You wouldn’t last an hour there.”
Violet’s defiance evaporated at her aunt’s words. If only she knew who she had been before her amnesia. As it was, she had no idea of what she could do, but looking at her soft hands she had to take her aunt’s word that she had always had people to care for her. The only thing she had learned was that she could knit. Her fingers flew over one another, like magic, as she completed warm sweaters and throws for chairs. Other than that, Violet knew nothing of herself. She had tried searching her memory but it was hopeless and she had more or less given up. The isolation and loneliness of her situation had almost brought her to her knees. She soon found herself looking to scripture for solace. The comfort and faith in the Word had kept her going for the last couple of months. Violet read the good book with the thirst of a traveler in the desert who comes across water.
She drank in its contents, soaking in the comforting words of hope. She especially loved the verse from the book of Isaiah. But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
She took a deep breath and let her anger evaporate. It was clear, her uncle and aunt wanted her out of their house for whatever reason. She could not judge their actions, as she did not know what prompted them. Besides, even if she did, she was not the Lord to stand above others. She took a few more deep breaths to ensure no trace of her anger was left.
She had a long way to go, she thought to herself. The scriptures spoke against anger, and how harmful it was. Violet had no idea how to turn off the sudden fury that kept erupting from her unexpectedly. She did not think she was a violent person, but that anger…yes that anger would surface during the most peculiar times. What had made her so, she often wondered. Only unlocking her past would answer those questions.
She turned to look into her aunt’s gray eyes. Something told Violet Aunt Eliza knew more than what she had shared with her. She had told Violet that one morning she had woken up with no recollection of who she was or where she was. That was it.
Did such a thing happen to other people? Violet did not know. Her aunt did not encourage her to socialize with other girls her age, citing Violet’s sensitivity as the reason. She had no one to ask questions or to confide in. Listlessly she looked out the window. Maybe marriage wasn’t such a bad idea after all. She clearly had nothing left for her in this household. Suddenly chilly, she wrapped her arms around herself. She knew no young men, whom would she marry?
“Aunt Eliza, I don’t know an
y young men, let alone one who would marry me in a week,” Violet confessed, her real feelings hidden behind a mask of indifference.
Her aunt’s eyes sparkled with triumph. “I know just the place to get one. There’s this woman called Joanna Hunter who runs the Lexington Mail Order Bride agency. I’m sure she can find a gentleman for you.”
Violet bit her lower lip, her confusion evident in her eyes.
“What is a mail order bride agency?”
“It’s where gentleman from the New Frontier write and requests for a woman to join them out there for matrimonial purposes,” Aunt Eliza explained, her tone impatient.
Violet was very familiar with that tone of voice. Every time she asked her aunt a question, she seemed irritated and answered as quickly as she could in clipped tones. She had ceased asking questions and took to observing instead. She looked at her Uncle Henry, who was busy pretending to tend to the fireplace.
How she wished she could be alone with him to ask him what he thought of her aunt’s idea. With her aunt near, he would just nod and agree with his wife. Away from his wife, her Uncle Henry was almost a different man. He laughed more and did not appear so tense and stiff. She turned back to her Aunt Eliza.
“I don’t have a choice, do I really?” Violet stated softly.
“Of course you have a choice. You could walk out of this home now and never return, forfeiting your inheritance, or you could do the smart thing and have Ms. Hunter arrange for a groom.”
Violet’s eyes shifted to the window, where light rain was softly pelting the windows and shuddered. Never had she thought, her last living family would be this keen to send her packing, all alone, to the other end of the country. So this is what it feel like to be truly abandoned. Sorrow threatened to engulf her but she pushed it away with determination and turned back to her aunt.
“We shall go and see Ms. Hunter tomorrow and you’re to be on your best behavior. Answer her questions honestly and everything shall go well,” her aunt instructed.
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