“Time to call it a night,” she told JT. She bent to pat Flax’s head. “You too, old boy. Tomorrow’s another long day.”
“Eli is truly an interesting person, isn’t he?” JT said as they walked back to their wagon together.
“He most certainly is,” she said a bit crisply. She was just beginning to put two and two together regarding Eli. Remembering how he’d mentioned losing a wife and child to smallpox about twelve years ago, which was probably about the same time he’d lived with the Crow Indians, had gotten her to thinking. She’d heard scandalous tales of rough mountain men who’d married Indian women out West. She also recalled hearing reports of smallpox epidemics in the previous decade and of thousands of Indians dying as a result. Yes, she decided as she checked on the chickens, it all seemed to add up. In all likelihood, Eli had been married to an Indian woman.
She was just about to go inside her wagon when she heard something rustling on the other side of Matthew’s wagon. She froze, listening intently, and knew that she was hearing the sounds of footsteps. But not normal footsteps…more like someone trying to be quiet…sneaking around. She wanted to alert JT, but he was already safely tucked into his hammock beneath the wagon. And so she tiptoed to the front of the wagon, and reaching beneath the seat, she quietly slipped out the gun that was wrapped in an old shawl.
Unwrapping the Colt Dragoon her father had given her, she shivered at the feel of the cold metal. She knew the gun was loaded, and holding the wooden grip with one hand, she cradled the barrel in front of her and crept around to peek on the other side of the wagon. Her hand trembled slightly, and she wondered if she really had the grist to shoot another living soul if she had to. But one thought of her sleeping children and she knew that she would do anything to protect them.
But to her surprise, barely illuminated by the lantern inside Matthew’s wagon, she saw two people—a man and a woman embracing. She blinked and then peered hard, trying to determine who these clandestine lovers might be. And then, recognizing the shape of her brother’s hat, she realized it was Matthew! And he was kissing Jess!
Elizabeth let out a quiet gasp and backed up, worried that they might see her spying on them. But as she wrapped the Dragoon back in the shawl, slipping it beneath the seat, she felt anger toward her brother. Certainly, she had suspected that he was attracted to the girl. But to meet her in the night like this? What did Matthew think he was doing? And why was Jess sneaking around like this in the middle of the night? Tomorrow Elizabeth would have to give Matthew a big-sister scolding. Perhaps she would have a word with Jess as well.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
When Elizabeth found Matthew the next morning, he was just coming back from the river with a pail of water in one hand and a bundle of branches and twigs in the other—and he was whistling a happy tune.
“I need to speak to you, little brother,” she said in a stern tone.
His eyes widened. “Something wrong?”
She nodded, placing a hand on his forearm. “I want to keep this private.”
“What is it?”
So she confessed to having spied on him last night. But when she finished, he simply laughed, as if such displays of impropriety were perfectly acceptable. “Matthew Dawson!” she scolded. “What if someone else saw you? Can you imagine what Gertie would say? And Jess is such a nice girl. At least I thought she—”
“Jessica is a very nice girl!” He scowled.
“Yes, yes, I’m sure she is. And that’s exactly why you should respect her more than to sneak around at night like that.”
“I had to sneak like that, Lizzie. Otherwise someone would see us and start gossiping. I asked Jessica to meet me behind my wagon because I really needed to speak to her—in private.” He glanced over his shoulder to where the Bostonian girls were carrying water from the river and giggling. “Do you realize how hard it is to have a private conversation around here?” he said quietly.
“But it looks bad, Matthew. And what about JT and Ruth?” She lowered her voice too. “What would they think to see you and Jess, well, behaving like that? Can’t you see, it’s just not right?”
He frowned. “Then how else was I going to ask her to become my wife?”
Elizabeth blinked. “You asked Jess to marry you?”
He nodded with an expression that reminded her of when he was a little boy—right after he’d gotten away with something big.
“Matthew, are you serious?”
“Dead serious. And Jessica has agreed to be my bride.”
Elizabeth was stunned speechless. How had this happened so quickly? How could he be so certain? He’d only known her for a couple of months, and part of the time he’d assumed she was a boy.
Now he looked slightly dismayed. “Don’t tell me you don’t approve.”
“No.” She shook her head. “I’m just shocked, Matthew. Genuinely shocked. Are you truly engaged?”
“I asked and she accepted. She still needs to tell Ruby, and I want to tell Ma and Pa.”
“So you honestly plan to marry her then?”
“Of course I do. I already told Brady, and I planned on telling the whole family this morning—unless you’ve already tattled on me.”
“No, no, of course not. I haven’t told a living soul. I wanted to speak to you first.”
“So now you’ve heard it from the horse’s mouth,” he said as they walked back to camp.
And then Elizabeth admitted to how frightened she’d been last night. “I heard that rustling sound back between our wagons and started to imagine I might have to shoot an Indian,” she said quietly. “Do you know how unsettling that is?”
His expression grew grimmer now. “I’ve done guard duty a few times. Trust me, sis, I’ve given that some thought myself.”
“It would be awful, wouldn’t it?”
He shrugged. “Not if you were protecting your family. You’d do what you had to do, Lizzie, especially if you thought your children were in danger.”
She sighed and nodded. He was probably right. But now they were in camp, and Clara and Ruth looked to have breakfast well under way. Brady and JT had just finishing hitching her team.
“Where’s Pa?” Matthew asked Clara.
“Still meeting with the captain.” She shielded her eyes from the smoke as she turned the sizzling bacon.
“Here, Mother, let me do that for you,” Elizabeth offered.
“We might as well start to eat without him,” Clara told them. “I’ll save him a plate.”
As usual, because the wagons were already loaded and set to roll, they ate their grits and bacon and cold biscuits standing. They were just finishing up when Asa arrived. “Here’s your plate,” Clara told him.
“Sorry to be late,” he said. “The captain was a bit long-winded this morning. But he said he’ll give everyone an extra thirty minutes before starting today.”
Elizabeth filled a cup of coffee for her father and then glanced over at Matthew.
“I, uh, I have an announcement to make.” Matthew’s tone was serious enough to get everyone’s attention.
Clara looked worried. “Is something wrong, son?”
Elizabeth couldn’t help but smile as she began washing the breakfast dishes in the water they’d heated earlier, but she didn’t say a word.
“Nothing whatsoever is wrong,” he assured them. “In fact, something is very right. As you know I’ve gotten quite found of Jess—I mean once I figured out she wasn’t really a boy.” He chuckled. “And Jess—I mean Jessica—is quite fond of me as well. Probably even more so after our little dip in the river. Anyway…last night…” He cleared his throat and paused. “Well, last night I asked Jessica to be my bride, and she has agreed to marry me.”
“Oh, Matthew!” Clara clapped her hands. “That’s the most wonderful news ever!”
“Jess is going to be part of our family?” Ruth was dancing around the campfire. “Kind of like a big sister?”
“She’ll be an aunt to you,” Elizabeth
clarified. “Now come over here and help to dry these dishes, Ruth.”
Everyone, including JT and Brady, took turns congratulating Matthew.
“Jessica and I decided that we’d like to be married as soon as possible,” he explained eagerly. “We talked about it last night. After that day in the river, we both realized how time and life is precious. We don’t want to waste a single day not being together.”
“How soon do you mean?” Asa asked.
“Soon,” he said urgently. “We know we love each other, Pa. We know this is right. Do you think this Saturday is too soon?”
Asa rubbed his chin. “If you’re certain this is what you both want…that it’s the right thing to do. And as long as Ruby is agreeable to this news. Is she?”
Matthew’s forehead creased. “I don’t see why she wouldn’t be agreeable. It’s not as if she and Doris have done much to help Jessica prepare herself for life or marriage.”
“Ruby left everything behind just to accompany Jess on this trip,” Clara reminded him.
“And Ruby loves Jess like her own child,” Elizabeth added as she rinsed a tin cup and handed it to Ruth.
“I know,” he admitted. “But Jess has told me some things…well, the kinds of things that make me question Ruby’s sensibilities.”
“Best not to pass judgment, son.” Asa winked at his wife. “Especially when it comes to your in-laws.” He chuckled. “They come with the package…even if they turn out to be outlaws.”
Clara laughed. “Yes, you can’t blame your bride for her family, Matthew. There’s always the chance you’ll find a horse thief somewhere, even in the finest of families.”
He nodded. “I suppose you’re right.”
“What matters most is that you love each other,” Elizabeth told him. “That’s what counts. Besides that, you know your family is very fond of Jess too.”
He brightened now. “So, do you think it’s all right then, Pa? I mean if we plan to get married this coming Saturday?”
Asa shrugged. “If Ruby approves, I don’t see why you two can’t be married whenever you like, son. Frankly, I’ve never understood long engagements myself.” He grinned at Clara. “As I recall, we got married just a few weeks after I asked your Pa for your hand.”
“Three weeks to be precise,” Clara told him.
“You could probably get married in Fort Laramie,” Elizabeth suggested to Matthew. “It’s still a week away, but surely that’s not too long to wait.”
“I reckon we can wait a week,” Matthew agreed.
“But I’ve heard Fort Laramie is a lot like Fort Kearney.” Clara frowned as she handed Elizabeth an empty plate. “I’m not sure a busy settlement like that is the best place for a nice wedding. Of course, you might not want a real wedding celebration. Maybe you just want a justice of the peace for this, Matthew.”
“No, I want a real celebration,” he declared. “I think Jessica does too. Something like this is worth celebrating, don’t you think? But why couldn’t we hold a nice wedding right here on the Oregon Trail? It would be something to tell our children about someday.”
“We could have a gathering similar to the birthday parties.” Clara put Asa’s plate in the dishwater. “Only better.”
“And since Mr. Taylor’s a preacher man, we thought maybe he could marry us,” Matthew said. “I mean, legal-like.”
“I don’t see why not,” Asa agreed. “And if Mr. Taylor can’t, I expect the captain can since he’s the law around here.”
“But you need to discuss these details with Jess and Ruby,” Elizabeth told him. “They might have ideas of their own.”
“You’re right,” he conceded. “I don’t want to take over.”
“Tell Jessica I’ll do anything I can to help,” Clara said. “And let her know that we think a real wedding would be nice.”
“I’ll gather flowers for you,” Ruth offered.
“And if you waited until after Fort Laramie, perhaps the Saturday after that…then I might be able to get some eggs for a cake,” Clara said hopefully. “And maybe we’d find some other things to make it more festive too. Surely a two-week engagement wouldn’t be too long, would it?”
He shrugged. “I’ll talk to Jess—I mean Jessica—about it.”
By the end of the day, it was decided that Matthew and Jessica would be married on the Saturday following their stop in Fort Laramie. Ruby and Clara were in charge of the wedding plans, and Jessica asked Elizabeth to help her put together a wedding outfit.
“Aunt Ruby offered to let me go through a trunkful of dresses she brought with her,” Jessica told her as they walked to the river together the next evening. “I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but I want something more proper than a dance hall dress. Do you think I’d have any luck finding a decent dress in Fort Laramie?”
Elizabeth dipped a bucket into the water, waiting for it to fill. “If it’s much like Fort Kearney, I’d be surprised if you could find anything appropriate for a wedding there. Well, unless you care to wear a buckskin dress. I noticed a pretty one when Ruth and I bought our moccasins from the Indian woman. It was white and fringed, with ornate beadwork.”
“It might make for an interesting keepsake, but I don’t think it’s what I want for my wedding. And really, I don’t think it matters so much whether I have a fancy dress or not. Marrying the man I love is what’s important. Don’t you think so?”
Elizabeth set the full bucket aside and turned to Jessica. “I’m so happy that I’m getting a sensible sister-in-law.” She didn’t know whether Matthew had told Jessica about his previous fiancée, Violet Lamott. But compared to that silly flibbertigibbet, Jessica was like a breath of fresh air.
Jessica dropped her bucket in the river and then pulled out the skirt of the blue calico dress Elizabeth had given her. “I think I’ll be married in this dress. It’s certainly pretty enough.” She chuckled as she pulled the filled bucket back up. “It’s a sight better than the men’s trousers and jacket I used to wear.”
Elizabeth pursed her lips as she dropped her second bucket. “But what if we can do better than that?”
Jessica tilted her head to one side. “I can’t let you give me any more of your dresses, Elizabeth. Someday you’ll want them for Ruth. Really, what would be wrong with wearing this dress? I truly do love it. And it’s what I was wearing the day Matthew rescued me from the river.” She sighed. “It will always be special to me.”
“As my future sister-in-law, do you think you could trust me on this?”
Jessica shrugged. “Of course.”
Elizabeth grinned as she waited for Jess to pull out her second pail. “Then let me see what my mother and I can do.” As they began to walk back to camp, she got an idea. “Would you mind if we invited your aunt and Doris to help with the dress too?”
“My aunt’s not too handy with a needle, although Doris is. But I’m sure they’d both love to be involved.”
“Maybe Flo and some of the others would like to help too. If everyone did a bit of the sewing, sort of like piecework, we might get it done in time.”
Jessica laughed. “Even if my gown ends up looking like a quilt, I will wear it proudly.”
They parted ways at Ruby’s wagon, which was nearer the river, but to Elizabeth’s surprise, Will Bramford joined her now. “Can I help with that?” he asked, and before she could say no, he’d taken one of the buckets.
“Oh, that’s not necessary,” she told him. “Besides, that puts me out of balance with just one pail to carry.”
So he took the other bucket. “Is this better?”
Now she was embarrassed, keeping her gaze straight forward as they walked past the other wagons because she sensed that others were watching with interest. “To what do I owe this unexpected help?”
“Just being a good neighbor,” he said lightly.
“I truly don’t mind carrying water,” she admitted. “It took some getting used to. But now that my hands are good and calloused, it’s not so bad.”
“I know how much Lavinia appreciates it when I give her a hand with things like this, although I do try to get my girls to do their part in bringing water to camp.”
“Your girls are wonderful at helping,” she told him. “Belinda and Amelia are both such dears.”
“Thank you.” He smiled. “Well, I suppose by now you’ve heard that the announcement of Matthew and Jess’ engagement is breaking a few hearts.”
She laughed. “I do hope you’re jesting.”
“Only partly. In some ways it’s helped a bit too.” He lowered his voice. “At least Evelyn isn’t feeling jealous that Jeremiah was pining for Jess. And Julius will probably start paying Belinda more attention again.”
“I heard that those two are expected to get married someday.” She paused by her wagon now, waiting for him to set down the buckets.
“That was something Belinda’s mother and Lavinia cooked up when the kids were babies. After that they paired off Evelyn and Jeremiah. But I think that since these kids have grown up together, they probably think of themselves more as cousins by now.”
She reached for a bucket. “Don’t be too sure.”
“Yes, I suppose you’re right. What with Jess and Matthew’s announcement, I’m guessing romance will be in the air for all the young people.” Now he gave her a shy smile. “Perhaps for some of us older ones too.”
She felt her cheeks blush as she reached for the other bucket. “I thank you for your help, Will.” Then with the bucket in hand, she turned too quickly, sloshing some of the water out, but she continued moving toward the holding barrel on the side of her wagon, determined to gracefully empty it. But struggling to heft the bucket high enough to pour it out, she knew it was futile without a stepstool. And now even more water slopped out, dousing her boot.
“Here.” Will reached over her shoulder to take the bucket. “Let me help. That’s too heavy for you to lift that high, Elizabeth.”
Westward Hearts Page 27