Mail Order Compromise (Kansas Brides Series #5)

by Barbara Goss

  Edith was dressing Sarah’s hair. How she loved having someone brush and style her hair. She and Brock must surely be wealthy to have this lovely house and all these servants. Truly, she’d been fortunate.

  “How did I meet Mr. Vee?” she asked Edith.

  “Oh, ma’am I wouldn’t know. He brought you here after the wedding, and appointed me as your personal maid. I was thrilled with the honor. Me, a personal maid to the lady of the house. I was so excited.”

  “Do you still live at home, or do you live here?”

  “I live in a cabin at the far end of Mr. Vee’s property. He built it for me.”

  That jolted Sarah. Why would her husband build a house for the prettiest servant in the house? Could she have been his mistress? Could she still be his mistress? How could she find out? She couldn’t ask.

  Edith continued as she brushed Sarah’s hair, “That’s not all. He gives me money every month to help with the baby. There isn’t a finer man anywhere than Mr. Vee. A heart of gold, he has, ma’am.”

  “Yes, he does.” Sarah watched her expertly pull her hair up and pin it.

  “There,” Edith said. She held up the mirror so Sarah could see her hair in the back.

  “It’s lovely, thank you, Edith.”

  As Edith began stripping the bed, Sarah asked. “How old is the baby?”

  “She’ll be a year old next month,” Edith said.

  “I’ll bet her father is proud of her,” Sarah said, intentionally prying.

  “Oh, there isn’t a legal father. Just Lindie and me. That’s her name, Lindie Martha.”

  “The cook, Martha?” Sarah asked.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Is there anything else I can do for you before I do your laundry?” Edith asked.

  “No, I don’t think so. Thank you, Edith.”

  After she’d gone, Sarah put her hands to her face and suddenly felt a bit dizzy. She’d just in the past few days realized she was in love with her wonderful husband, and now she finds out he has a mistress

  Chapter 13

  Brock stood just inside the door when he came home from work, and expectantly, waited. Where was Sarah? She always ran to welcome him home. He shrugged, and walked toward the sitting room where she usually sat. The room was empty.

  Ivan walked into the room behind him. “Can I get you anything, Mr. Vee?”

  “Where’s Sarah?” he asked.

  “I think she’s in her room,” he answered. “I haven’t seen her all day so I’m assuming she stayed in today. Perhaps she’s not feeling well.”

  Brock took the stairs two at a time and stormed into the bedroom. He stopped dead in his tracks. The room was empty. He rushed to the closet and felt faint when he saw her clothes had been removed.

  Where could she go? She didn’t know anyone here—except Elaina.

  Brock ran downstairs and out of the house. He had a stable boy saddle his horse.

  When he got to Pete and Elaina’s log cabin, he knocked, using the wooden knocker, and Elaina answered the door.

  “I was expecting you,” she whispered.

  “Where’s Sarah?”

  “She told me to tell you she isn’t receiving,” Elaina said.

  “Not receiving—let me in. I’ll go to her.”

  Elaina blocked his passage. “No. That’s not a good idea. She’s extremely upset, and with her recent injury, I think you should leave her be—just for today.”

  “Has she told you why she’s run away? She was fine this morning. I have no idea why she left.”

  “She hasn’t told us a thing. She’s mostly stayed in her room,” Elaina said. “I’m so sorry Brock. If I find out anything, I’ll send you a message.”

  Brock hung his head. “I’m worried about her. Please keep a close eye on her, Elaina.”

  “I will. She’s in the best—well, second best—place right now,” Elaina said. “Go home and we’ll talk tomorrow.”

  Sarah cried most of the day after she had the stable manager saddle her horse. She asked him to ride with her to Elaina’s for protection, but truthfully it was because she didn’t remember where Elaina lived.

  Elaina had tried to get her to explain, but she couldn’t, not yet. It was too painful to divulge that the man she loved was not only intimate with someone else, but fathered a child with her.

  She touched her stomach. Even now she could be carrying Brock’s child. That scared her. What was she to do? She didn’t know anyone here except Elaina, who was nice, but just a little better than a stranger.

  Finally, she cried herself to sleep.

  When she awoke in the morning and saw the sunshine streaming in the window, she stretched, felt the other side of the bed for Brock, and then remembered; she’d left him. There was little satisfaction in leaving him without his knowing why. Today she’d let Elaina know about Edith, and then at least he’d know why she left. She supposed that would make her feel a bit better anyway.

  She got dressed and fixed her hair before walking out of her room, only to see Elaina at the front door kissing Pete goodbye. It gave her a sick feeling. That should be her seeing Brock off to work.

  When Pete had gone, Elaina turned. “Sarah! How are you feeling?”

  “Good until I saw you and Pete kissing. I miss Brock.”

  “You can go back, I’ll take you home,” Elaina said.

  “I can’t. I found something out. I’d like to confide in you, if I may?”

  “Of course you can. Shall we talk over breakfast?” Elaina said, steering her into the dining room. “Have a seat and I’ll bring you some toast and a muffin. That’s what I eat in the morning. Does that suit you? I could make you some eggs if you’d like?”

  Sarah shook her head. “No, toast and a muffin are fine.” She sat and waited for Elaina. She looked around the room. The house was decorated tastefully and she felt at home there.

  “Here we go,” Elaina said, setting down a tray with coffee, tea, toast and muffins.

  “The muffins look good, did you make them?”

  “Heavens, no!” Elaina exclaimed. She took a seat across from Sarah. “Yvonne made them. She’s my cook and housekeeper.”

  “Do you like having servants?” Sarah asked.

  “I love having her. She’s the only servant we have, but she does everything in return for bed and board. She’s a widow without an income. We also pay her a bit, too. She’s very good at her work,” Elaina explained as she put a slice of toast and a muffin on Sarah’s dish.

  “Tea or coffee?” Elaina asked.

  “Tea, I think. I don’t like coffee, but Brock—” she stopped. “I have to stop doing that, I guess.” She felt her eyes fill with tears, but she quickly blinked them away.

  Elaina poured her a cup of tea. “Now eat, and then you can tell me what the problem is.”

  The two women ate in silence. Sarah planned her words, and she imagined Elaina was dying of curiosity. While they didn’t speak, Elaina would look at her and smile every so often, between bites. Suddenly, Sarah jerked slightly. “Oh!” she exclaimed.

  “What is it?” Elaina asked.

  “I had a vision. It was dim but I saw you sitting on a bed covered with a yellow quilt. Then the vision disappeared,” she said.

  “I had a yellow flowered quilt on my bed for about three years before I came to Kansas. You’re starting to remember, Sarah!”

  “Maybe. You had your hair in pigtails.”

  “I slept in pigtails. Maybe you had a flash of one of the times you slept at my house. Did I have a nightgown on?”

  “It flashed too quickly to see everything,” Sarah said. She noticed that Elaina had pushed her plate away, and she was finished eating as well, so she asked, “Can we sit in the sitting room with our tea?”

  “Certainly. Just leave everything for Yvonne. Come,” she led Sarah into the brightly decorated sitting room.”

  “Your home is beautiful and cozy. I like it,” Sarah said, as she settled on the sofa.

  Elaina sat c
lose by in an armchair. “Thank you. Now, tell me what’s wrong?”

  “Did you know about Brock and Edith when you suggested Brock write to me?”

  “No. I don’t even know who Edith is,” Elaina said. “I don’t recall Brock courting anyone, although, there was a widow in town after him.”

  “Edith is one of his maids. He made her my personal maid when I arrived. She’s very pretty. Brock built her a small cabin on the edge of our property, and he supports her baby.”

  “No!” Elaina set her cup down onto the saucer loudly. “I don’t believe it!”

  “Edith herself told me,” Sarah said. “I liked her until then.”

  “Believe me, Sarah, I had no idea. I just can’t picture Brock doing something like that. He’s a pillar of the town. Everyone looks up to him and his father.”

  “Well, I can’t go back,” Sarah said. “Yet, I don’t know where to go, I have no one.”

  “You have a brother in the Army, a sister who married young, and I don’t know where she is. Your mother is still alive, but you and she didn’t get along at all. Just stay here with us for now.”

  “Brock told me I had no family.”

  “He didn’t want to upset you needlessly. Your home life was not a pleasant experience for you, which is why I wanted you to come to Kansas—besides my wanting to be with you again,” Elaina said. “You often ran to my house to escape things at home.”

  “I guess I’m glad I can’t remember then.” Sarah sipped her tea. “Brock said he and I were going to start Bible studies too. I’m disappointed.”

  “You were? That’s great. I can help you with the Bible,” Elaina said in an excited tone. “I’d love to. We’ll start today.”

  “If you want to tell Brock why I left, I guess that’s only fair,” Sarah said.

  “I’ll tell him if you want me to, but I want to talk to Pete first. He might know something.”

  Brock questioned his whole staff as to what may have happened to make Sarah flee from her home. He especially interrogated Edith, since she was the closest to her.

  “Do you know why Sarah would leave, Edith?”

  “No, Mr. Vee. I did her hair, then she said she didn’t feel well, and she stayed in her room the rest of the day—at least I thought she was in her room. Somehow she got out of the house without anyone seeing her,” Edith folded her hands in her lap. “I miss her, and hope she comes back soon.”

  “That makes two of us, Edith. Jake says she came out to the stable and asked to have her horse saddled, and then she asked him to take her to Elaina Mullins. He said she had a bundle with her that he strapped to his saddle for her.”

  He excused Edith and paced his study. On his way home from work, he’d stopped at Pete and Elaina’s, but she still refused to see him. What could he do? If only he knew why she’d left?

  He sat down and put his head in his hands and tried to revisit that morning. She came down and kissed him goodbye. She seemed fine. Then when he returned home, she was gone. They’d fallen asleep in each other’s arms the night before. That very morning she’d asked to be kissed. What could possibly have changed her mind about him in that short time?

  Some staff member had to have done or said something. But what? And who?

  The following day, Pete came into the bank and asked Brock to meet him at Rusty’s for lunch that afternoon. He agreed. Maybe he had news of Sarah. He hoped she was all right. All morning, he anxiously watched the clock while thinking of what Pete might tell him.

  When they were seated at Rusty’s and had ordered, Pete cleared his throat, and gave him a dark look. “I found out why Sarah left you, and I find it hard to believe.”

  “What? Tell me, please!”

  “Your little secret is out, I’m afraid. Even I never guessed you were having an affair with one of your staff,” Pete said with a disapproving look.

  “What?” Brock felt the blood rush to his head. “What secret?”

  “Edith and the baby,” Pete said.

  “All right, and what about Edith and her baby?”

  “You’re the father! We know about it.”

  Brock rubbed his face with his hands. He couldn’t believe this was happening. “Pete, how long have you known me?”

  Pete shrugged. “Ten years or so.”

  “Do you consider me as a man who’d defile a sixteen year-old girl?”

  “Sixteen? I had no idea of her age.”

  “Edith got into trouble with Harry, our old groom. I fired him when he refused to marry her or support the babe. I felt badly for her. Why, I remember when Edith was born! She’s Martha’s daughter. I would never lay a hand on any woman out of wedlock, but especially not one that young, and who’s practically family.”

  Pete seemed to be thinking. He tapped his fingers on the table. “I wonder how Sarah got the wrong message?”

  “I’d like to know too. I want her back, Pete.”

  “Elaina loves having her and has been giving her Bible lessons. She seems open to learning about God,” Pete said.

  “That’s good. I’m glad. But I want her back. How can I make that happen when she won’t even see me?”

  “I’ll see what I can do,” Pete said, “I’ll tell her the true story.”

  Brock slammed his palm down on the table. “No. Don’t tell her. I want to be the one to tell her. Elaina has to let me in tonight when I stop by.”

  “Maybe you should wait until tomorrow,” Pete said.

  “Why? I want her home now.”

  “I won’t be home to tell Elaina it’s okay to let you in until at least seven tonight. Tomorrow would work better,” Pete said. “I’ll have a chance to persuade Sarah to see you.”

  Brock lay in his large empty bed and prayed. His faith was faltering, and he couldn’t let that happen. Whatever the outcome, something good would come from it; he had to believe that.

  Chapter 14

  Sarah lay in bed thinking of how much she missed Brock. She missed being held by him, kissed by him, and being able to snuggle up to him at night.

  Maybe the affair he had with Edith was over a long time ago. It might have been a one-time slip—he is, after all, supporting the baby. Why would he invite her to Hunter’s Grove if he loved someone else? There was no way he could hide the love he had for her. So why was she here at Elaina’s when she should be home cuddling up to her husband?

  She made up her mind she’d go back in the morning and at least hear his side of the story. She owed him that much. Having made her decision, she finally was able to fall asleep.

  In the morning, Sarah dressed and carefully put her hair up the way Brock always liked it. After packing her things, she went out of her room and looked for Elaina. She didn’t see her in the sitting room or the dining room, so she went into the kitchen.

  “Yvonne, do you know where Elaina is?”

  “Yes, today is Wednesday. She has women’s Bible study at the reverend’s house. She was going to awaken you, but thought you needed the sleep. There’s a luncheon afterwards so she won’t be home for a few hours. She asked me to keep you company.” Yvonne smiled. “What would you like for breakfast?”

  “I’ve decided to go back home,” she said. “I’ll get breakfast there. If I hurry, maybe I can catch my husband before he leaves for the bank.”

  “I believe your horse is in the stable,” Yvonne said. “Do you know the way home?”

  “I think so. Where would I find a sturdy rope to tie my bundle of clothes to the saddle?”

  “Well, I don’t know,” Yvonne said. She scratched her graying head. “I’ve never had need for a rope. Try the stable, if there isn’t any there, check the barn.”

  “All right,” Sarah said. “Thank you.”

  Sarah went out to the stable, and finding her horse, saddled it. She found only one piece of rope but it was much too long and she had no way to shorten it. After searching the stables completely, she ventured toward the barn.

  The double doors to the barn were held shut by
a length of wooden plank. It laid across the doors like a brace, and held in place by metal brackets. The plank was heavy, but she managed to lift it. She walked into the barn, but before her eyes could focus, a black monster of an animal charged her growling and showing sharp teeth. She jumped back, and scoured the barn for a place to run and hide.

  The barn was pretty much empty. Randomly lying around were buckets, tools, and thankfully a ladder, which was leaning against the edge of a loft full of straw. She quickly dashed for the ladder. However, before she could reach it, the dog took a chunk out of her skirt, making her run even faster. She finally reached the steps, and was able to push the dog away with her foot. The snarling demon then bit her shoe.

  She climbed up two steps, but the dog stood up on his hind legs trying to reach her. So she climbed up a few more steps. The sharp teeth within the snarl made her insides hurt. The animal kept taking leaps and snapping at her, growling all the while.

  Sarah thought fast and removed her shoe…unfortunately, as she threw the shoe toward the open barn door, the dog pounced on the ladder causing her to fall to the ground. The last sight she saw was the dog running for the open door. Her last thought before falling into blackness was that the dog would return and maul her to death.

  Brock dressed for work as usual and sat down to breakfast. As he ate, he thought about how Pete said he’d talk Sarah into seeing him. He must have already spoken to her. Why should he wait until tonight? He’d stop at his father’s and see if he could cover for him today. He needed to get his wife back, and he wasn’t going to wait any longer.

  Yvonne answered the door when Brock pounded on it.

  “I’m here to see my wife,” Brock said firmly.

  “She isn’t in just now,” Yvonne told him.

  “Then I’ll see Elaina. Surely she’s here.”

  “No. She went to her Wednesday Bible study,” Yvonne said.

  “Did Sarah go with her?”

  “No. Sarah was here, but she saddled up a horse and left for home. She left just a while ago.”