Virginia took it and they shook hands, smiling at each other.
Mrs. Kline showed her around the orphanage. There were several large rooms for play, study and eating, as well as many rooms for sleeping. There were more children than beds, so they bunked together as much as they could. Virginia looked around, adoring the looks of awe on the children’s faces as she passed. In her lacy, colorful gown she imagined that she must appear as quite a sight to them. She had brought along her best dresses because she wanted to be attractive for Archie, but now she realized that she was indeed going to need some new clothing.
****
One glorious thing that Virginia soon discovered while she was working at the orphanage was that someone had donated a sewing machine. They only had one, but she was free to use it in her spare time. How funny, she thought. It did not take me long to get back to sewing.
She started out mending tears in the children’s clothing, but she enjoyed it so much that she started voluntarily making new clothes for them. It was a lot of work for one person, of course, but she took her time in doing so. The children soon knew her as “Miss Virginia who made the clothes.”
Were it not for the cost, Virginia might have asked Archie for a sewing machine at home so she could continue her work there. As it was, she made do while she was at work. It was quite gratifying to see the children dressed in new, better-fitting clothing. She got to know each of them a bit more when they came in to be measured. There was one little boy who stood out to her immediately and made her heart throb with a desire to help him.
His name was Nicky. He had deeply-tanned skin and jet black hair, and the most beautiful almond-shaped chocolate brown eyes. Virginia was struck by how he looked.
“Oh, Nicky?” Miss Kline said one day when she asked about him. “He is of Indian parentage. Some tribe called the Nukiy.” She looked thoughtful. “He was found abandoned and we took him in when he was about six years of age. We don’t know his date of birth, but I’d say he’s about ten now.”
Virginia contemplated all of this information. They called him Nicky because he was from the Nukiy tribe. She wondered whether that was the same tribe that liked to harass Archie and his ranch.
“He seems like such a good boy,” she said.
Miss Kline nodded. “He is. Most people don’t ask about him because of how he looks and his age. There always seems to be one reason or another.” She sighed a bit.
Virginia went back to the children’s study room and she found little Nicky sitting at a table, working on his letter comprehension. He was a student at the little red schoolhouse next door. “Do you like it here?” she asked him, straightening the color of his shirt that she had made for him.
Nicky nodded a little. “Yes, it is very nice,” he said in a tone of voice which betrayed that he had been instructed to say such things. Virginia’s heart went out to him. She wondered if she could bring him up to Archie. Would her fiancé understand?
“You let me know if you need anything at all, alright?” she asked Nicky. “I do not just make clothing for you. I am here for you.”
Nicky looked from the paper to her and tilted his head a little. She noted that he could use a haircut. He could use so many things. Number one on the list was a family who loved him. And, Lord help her, she was beginning to have all kinds of ideas about that.
****
The morning of the wedding arrived faster than Virginia had anticipated. Working at the orphanage did well to pass the time and make the days go by. She decided to wear her white dress with delicate yellow flowers on it, believing it to be a better choice over one of the dresses she wore to work. Marion the housekeeper tutted at her as she helped Virginia get ready. “You have spent so much time making clothing for all those children,” she said, “that you never stopped to make a dress for yourself.”
Virginia smiled at that. “Oh, but it is much more useful to make clothing for the children. You should have seen them when I arrived. They were practically in rags.”
They rode in a small carriage together and arrived at the chapel. When Virginia slowly made her way up the aisle, she saw Archie beaming at her. He was so handsome, dressed in a smart suit that she had never seen him wear before. She supposed that he had been saving it. Soon, she thought, I will make clothing for him and myself. Once all of the children had been properly dressed.
The minister started the ceremony with the usual aplomb. Virginia and Archie smiled at each other. It felt as though she was marrying her friend, and she believed that was as it should be. He was so supportive of her; so interested in what she enjoyed doing. It felt very much like a partnership, and that helped her know that they were going to thrive and be endlessly happy together.
“Virginia Frances Campbell, do you take Archibald Joseph Monroe as your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, to honor and obey, in sickness and in health, forsaking all others as long as you both shall live?”
Nodding to the minister, she beamed at Archie. “I do.”
Archie smiled at her, biting his lip a little bit. They were holding hands and she could feel his shaking slightly, so she gave his hands a gentle squeeze for encouragement and comfort.
“Archibald Joseph Monroe, do you take Virginia Frances Campbell to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, to honor and protect, in sickness and in health, forsaking all others as long as you both shall live?”
Archie gazed into Virginia’s blue eyes, nodding as if only to her. “I do,” he said. It sounded like a sweet nothing when it came from him, something only for her. Something that went straight to her heart.
“Then, by the power vested in me by God and the great town of Missoula Mills, I now pronounce you husband and wife.” The minister smiled at each of them, first Virginia and then emphatically at Archie. “You may kiss the bride.”
Archie brought his hands around her haltingly, as if he was afraid she might break or disappear, then gently kissed her lips. Virginia felt like she might very well melt. It felt like Heaven to be there in his arms.
And, oh, what Heaven it was to be his wife at long last!
****
That day, their happiness was unfortunately short-lived, however. As soon as Archie and Virginia arrived back at the ranch, they found that the place had been ransacked. Drawers had been turned out, the sofa had been cut open, and papers were scattered everywhere.
“Oh, God,” Archie said. “Oh, not again!” He rushed out to his stables and barn to check on the cows and horses. One of his cows was missing, which was no small loss for a cattle rancher.
Virginia covered her mouth with a hand, shocked and horrified that the Indians had returned to harass them—and on their wedding day, of all days! It was as if they had been waiting for such an occasion where the house was left unattended. It had only been a few short hours, but it had been enough.
“Oh, heavens,” she said sorrowfully to Marion. “But we could not have been in two places at once…”
She sank onto the couch, trying her best to place the stuffing back into the cushions. Marion came and sat beside her, rubbing her back. She was frowning.
“If only I had been here,” the housekeeper said.
Virginia shook her head at her. “No, that would have been worse! How dangerous that would have been for you!”
Archie slowly came back into the house, rubbing the back of his neck. He looked hurt and angry. “I don’t know what these Indians have against me,” he said. “I never did anything to them.”
Virginia pouted a little. She stood up and gave her new husband a hug. “What can we do?” she asked him. “We should not have to live like this.”
“I am going to speak to my friend Phillip Bradford. He’s the sheriff in these parts and he helped me when this happened before,” Archie explained. He gave her a kiss on her forehead. “I am sorry, my love. I promise I shall be home soon.”
He called on some of his ranch hands to come and watc
h over his wife and his home while he was away. Virginia thought it was such a shame that they all could not enjoy one day away together without catastrophe striking.
It was not too long, fortunately, before Archie returned home. He had the aforementioned sheriff with him, a tall and ruggedly handsome man. The sheriff did not speak much to her, but he went around the land and examined the evidence as well as the damage that had been done. Virginia watched as the two men shook hands and then Sheriff Bradford left.
“What did he advise?” she asked him. She felt so silly, sitting there on the torn sofa cushion in her wedding dress and holding flowers. The sheriff must have thought she was a pitiful sight.
“He is going to try and set up a meeting with the Indians,” Archie answered, looking a bit annoyed. “I don’t quite know what he expects to gain from talking to them. They don’t seem to understand things like we do. We own this land and they have their own land.”
Virginia furrowed her brow a bit. “I wish that I could be of some help to you,” she said. “But I am not familiar with all of this.”
Archie came and sat beside her. He gently stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. “And I hope that it stays that way. I don’t want you involved in all of this ugliness.”
She placed her hand on top of his on her cheek. “Oh, but I want to be involved,” she said. “I am your wife. This is now my life, too. It’s our life together.”
He sighed sadly. “Some life.”
Virginia felt such sorrow for him. She knew that it was devastating for him to work so hard at tilling the land and raising the cattle, only to have it stolen and destroyed by those savages.
Savages… Like Nicky.
****
Virginia went to work the next day, feeling rotten for not being able to be of much help to her husband. She was so happy that she was married, with a sparkly new ring on her finger and a new, wonderful last name that belonged to Archie… But she felt like she could have been a great deal more helpful to him if she had just been able to think of something.
She felt a bit awkward when she first arrived at the orphanage that morning and saw Nicky. He had practically become her main case, even though she did not actually handle the casework as much as the childcare. At first, she did not even want to look at him. His people had ruined her husband’s land for at least the second time. His family had caused her husband anguish and sorrow.
But then Virginia looked upon the little boy’s sweet face and realized that those people were not his family. They had abandoned him and had given him anguish and sorrow, just as much as they had hurt Archie. Actually, it was far worse for Nicky. He was left with nothing and no one—except, of course, the generous souls at the orphanage. And Virginia was one such generous soul. She immediately felt remorse for ever laying the blame on Nicky.
While working there that day, she was amazed to look over and find her friends Margaret and Dorothy. They were working alongside each other, practically as if they still lived together.
“What on earth!” Virginia cried. She waved hello to them and then rushed over. “How long have you been in town?”
Her friends beamed at her and hugged her. “A few days,” Margaret answered. “We travelled together, if you can believe that. And look!” She held up a hand and displayed her sparkly engagement ring.
Virginia grinned and showed Margaret and Dorothy the two rings on her finger. “I beat you to it,” she said with a laugh.
“Ohh!” both girls cried out in shock and delight. “How wonderful!” Dorothy exclaimed. “I suppose I shall be the last of us who is married…”
“How about Eliza?” Virginia asked. “Have you heard from her or seen her?”
Her friends shook their heads. “Either she is busy elsewhere with her beau or she did not move quite as close to town as we thought.”
“Oh,” Virginia said. She missed Eliza, her dear old friend, but of course she was glad enough to have Dorothy and Margaret back in her life. She had hoped that this would happen! “Well, no matter. I am sure our paths will cross with hers eventually. Now tell me all about your beaus.”
Her friends regaled her with stories about the gentlemen in their lives. Dorothy was the assumed fiancée of a general store owner who had two children of his own already. Margaret was engaged to the town doctor. Virginia was quite happy to know that her friends were doing so well for themselves. “It sounds like you have both been lucky,” she said, impressed.
“What about you?” Dorothy asked her. “I cannot believe you are married!”
Virginia smiled a bit, though she wished that her tidings were happier to share. “Yes, I am Mrs. Archie Monroe now. Oh, but it is not as simple as it seems. My poor husband’s ranch is under attack by Indians.”
Both of her friends gasped.
“I think I might know of a solution…or a sort-of solution, anyhow,” Virginia continued. “Maybe you two can help me? You see, there’s a little boy here named Nicky…” She explained the story of everything that had been happening to Archie with the Indians as well as the story that Mrs. Kline had told her regarding the child.
The three friends agreed that perhaps the best way to solve both predicaments was to bring the little boy into Archie Monroe’s life and help them both heal together, as well as heal the pain or suffering that was causing the Indians to lash out.
“There is no need for such violence and devastation,” she said. “I mean to put a stop to it, and sooner rather than later.”
****
As soon as she got home that afternoon, buoyed by the support of her friends that she had missed so much, Virginia sat on the sofa and waited for Archie to come back inside. While she waited, she took a needle and some thread and began to stitch up the holes in the cushions. She had told the housekeeper not to bother with them; she wanted to help tidy things up and bring things back in order. Archie came inside and found her there, methodically stitching like she was born with a needle and thread in her hand.
He smiled and put his hands on his hips. “You have become the hardest working wife,” he said. “It pains me to see you putting your poor little hands to work all the time.”
Virginia smiled back at him. “Oh shush,” she said. “I am your wife, not a doll. I want to help you. It makes me happy.” She finished up and put the thread away before fluffing up the cushion and patting it for him to come and sit beside her, which he did. “Speaking of wanting to help, I am afraid that I have been keeping something from you, but it’s something that I think will be of major assistance.”
Archie took her hand and then raised an eyebrow at her. “What do you mean? What is it?”
Virginia sighed a bit, hoping that she would not falter or lose courage now. “There is a little boy at the orphanage,” she said. “His name is Nicky. He is ten years old, and he is part of the Nukiy tribe.”
Archie’s eyes widened and he let go of her hand. “No…” he said softly.
“I think it would help relations if perhaps we adopted this child.”
“No,” Archie said, more firmly this time. “I cannot have one of those savages in my house. I appreciate what you might be thinking. You think it will help, but it won’t. Do you truly think they will stop attacking us because we adopt one of them?”
He sounded shocked and angered that she was bringing up such a thing. Virginia looked down at her hands in her lap.
“We don’t even know what they want from us,” she said softly. “I am sure they are not just attacking us and taking our things for no reason. Perhaps Nicky can help bridge the gap between us and them. Perhaps he can translate—”
Archie looked at her as if she was talking nonsense. “You are putting a lot of faith into a child. A child cannot help here. This is war between us and them. A war that is certainly going to get bloody before it ends.”
He stood up from the sofa then and moved back towards the door, as if he was planning to hunt the Indians down right then and there.
“Does the she
riff recommend starting a war?” she called after him, standing. “Does the sheriff think that you should fight for your land?”
Archie stopped walking and closed his eyes. Sheriff Bradford was a calm, peaceful man. He never supported violence of any kind. If it was up to Archie, there would be a search party and targets on the back of any Indian who dared come back to the land. There was a treaty in place. The Indians knew that they were not allowed to trespass on the lands of the Missoula Mills citizens. Yet here they were.
Archie sighed. “Bring this boy home with you tomorrow,” he said at last. “But I am not making any promises.”
Virginia nodded to him, smiling a bit in spite of herself. She did not want to get her hopes up, but she felt like she had won a big victory just now. It was likely not an easy solution. After all, she did not know for sure if Nicky was from the same tribe as the one that kept destroying the Monroe land, but it was worth a try. She firmly believed that they could come to some sort of agreement with the Indians if they exercised some compassion.
****
The following day, Virginia worked on sewing some new clothes for the children, still wishing that there was a way to be more productive about it. She spent some more time with Nicky, helping him with his reading as he had asked for her assistance.
“Would you like to come home with me today?” she asked him with a friendly smile. “I would like to introduce you to my husband Mr. Monroe and show you our horses. Do you like horses?”
Nicky’s eyes widened as he smiled at her and nodded. “Yes,” he said. “I would like that very much, Mrs. Monroe.”
He spoke very well, and though he had a slight accent which halted his English a bit, he was easily understood. Virginia thought that he would be a welcome guest at the house. She had faith that once Archie met Nicky, he would not be able to deny that her ideas had merit. She did not want to get the sheriff involved if they did not have to. And she certainly did not want any more violence or destruction of their property.
Annie: A Bride For The Farmhand - A Clean Historical Western Romance (Stewart House Brides Book 3) Page 37