Mail Order Mistake (3 page)

Malinda smiled, delighted.  Harriett had seemed like such a well-organized woman just
the day before.  She saw now she wasn’t really just giving them charity.  She truly
needed someone to help her organize.

She took the three inch stack of papers and started sifting through them. 
Each of the letters had a woman’s name written in the top corner
,
which made them easier to put together with the stack of letters from brides.  She
could see that Harriett had tried to make the system work well, but hadn’t done what
she’d intended.

She felt like she’d barely gotten started when Ellen came in the door.  Harriett looked
through the new letters and had Ellen leave again to go to the mercantile for fabric. 
Malinda sighed.  Normally, she’d be begging to be the one to go outside, but lately
every time she’d stepped foot outside, she’d wanted to cry.  Missing her father was
hitting her hard.

They took a break for lunch and Malinda was thrilled to see the chicken and boiled
potatoes with fresh bread.  They’d eaten nothing but beans and cornbread for weeks,
even before their father died, so she had been almost desperate for something different. 
She was certain she’d never willingly eat beans again.

Over the meal, Harriett talked about her plans for her two new assistants.  Mainly
what she needed was someone to get her files in order.  “But I’m almost finished with
that already.”

Harriett laughed softly.  “I have two more crates full of letters.  And when they’re
sorted, I’ll need you to paste them into a book in a certain order.  It’s going to
be a long boring task.”

Malinda shrugged.  “I don’t mind at all.”

Ellen looked at Harriett.  “Will there be enough for both of us to work on?”

Harriett nodded.  “While one of you works on sorting
,
the other can do the pasting.  You can each work half days and the other half you
can work on your dresses.”

Ellen blinked.  “What dresses?”

“No bride should ever go to her marriage with old worn out clothes.  There’s enough
fabric with what you bought this morning for you each to have two nice dresses for
Sundays and three everyday dresses.  I may even help you sew them.”

“You can’t do that,” Ellen protested.  “You’re already doing too much for us by letting
us stay here.”

“You can pay me back when the men send money for your journeys if you feel the need.” 

Ellen didn’t protest further, much to Malinda’s relief.  She could see that Harriett
truly enjoyed helping people and would like to do more for them.  She hated it when
she tried to help others and they refused her help, so she wasn’t going to take the
joy of helping them from Harriett.  She’d find little ways to return the blessing.

After lunch,
the three women went to Harriett’s formal parlor.  “I thought we could sew in here
in the afternoons.  I won’t need to work into the afternoons with you both here, and
I can enjoy your company while we make your dresses.”

Ellen looked sad at the idea of having to accept the help, but she must have realized
just as Malinda did they needed
it
.  They simply couldn’t do it without
help
, and Harriett obviously had the means to help
them
.

When they were shown to their rooms that evening, Malinda was amazed.  She had never
seen such a pretty room.  It was decorated in soft pastels and had beautifully carved
furniture.  She’d always had a room with old furniture and a faded quilt.  The quilt
had been pieced by their mother, so it held a special place in her heat, but she couldn’t
help but love this room.  She would rather stay there forever than move to Colorado. 
Did she have to get married?

Chapter Two

Malinda carefully pasted the letter Harriett had just received from a new happy bride. 
She loved the way Harriett got so excited each time a bride wrote to her and told
her how happy she was.  This was the third book she’d filled with letters from men
searching for women and happy brides. 

Harriett had decided to take empty bound books and paste the letters she received
into them for her records.  It was impossible to do alphabetically without knowing
how many spaces to leave, so Malinda was doing it chronologically.  Harriett smiled
every time she picked up a book and flipped through to read the old letters.

“Do you ever keep in contact with the women after they send you their second letter?” 
Malinda asked.

“A few.”  Harriett looked up from the letter she was writing.  “There have been a
few brides that I continued to write to, but not all.  Some just seem to touch my
heart more than others.”
  She tilted her head to the side as she watched Malinda, knowing she’d be one of
those who touched her heart more.  How could she not be?  The girl’s sad eyes made
her want to reach out and hug her.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, every woman goes West hoping for something different.  Some are just trying
to escape something unpleasant here.  Some are looking for a place to go.  Some are
looking for true love.  No matter what they’re looking for, they all have something
special to offer.”  She shrugged.  “A few of them find real love when they arrive. 
I tend to keep in touch with those.  I like to watch how their lives develop.  But
honestly?  I keep in touch with the happy ones more, because they write to me more.”
  She sat back in her chair and folded her hands.  “I keep writing to all my brides
as long as they write to me.”

Malinda considered that for a moment.  “I’ll keep in touch with you whether I’m happy
or not.  I promise.”
  Malinda had never had someone far away to write to, but she’d happily write to Harriett
every day in thanks for what she’d done for her and her sister.

Harriett smiled.  “I expect both you and Ellen to keep in touch with me.  I’ve gotten
closer to the two of you than I have to any other brides.  No one else has ever moved
in with me.”

“Thank you for letting us live here.  I don’t know how we’d have survived otherwise.”
  Malinda knew she hadn’t thanked Harriett nearly enough for everything she’d done
for them, but how could she?  How did you thank someone for giving you a place to
live, a job, and somewhere to go when the job ended?  All she could do was offer her
friendship to the lonely woman, and she would do that with everything inside her.

“I was happy to do it.  I’ll tell you, you two have provided so much more for me than
I’ve ever done for you.  Your companionship has been just what I’ve needed.”
  Harriett hadn’t realized until she’d offered the two sisters a home just how lonely
and isolated she’d become.  Her closest friend was her butler, and she spent all her
time either working or responding to letters she received from women who were little
more than casual acquaintances.  She needed to do something to break away from her
quiet life, but what?

Malinda thought carefully about how she wanted to phrase the question she had.  “Why
do you not spend time with other women?  You spend all your time in this beautiful
house.  Don’t you know anyone here?”

Harriett’s eyes looked guarded.  “I moved here three years ago after my husband died. 
For a while, I was in shock and had no desire to be around other people.  After I’d
been here for a while, I started the mail order bride business and I tend to have
all my friendships on paper now.”

“What was your husband like?”

Harriett looked down at her hands.  “He was tall, handsome and extremely
wealthy.”
  She shrugged.  “When I first saw him, I thought he was the most wonderful man in
the world.”

Malinda nodded, sensing there was a great deal more to the story that Harriett didn’t
want to tell her, so she politely changed the subject.  “Our letters should be here
soon, shouldn’t they?”

Harriett glanced at the calendar on the wall.  They’d already been there just over
seven weeks.  “I would say any day now if they responded immediately.  Are you looking
forward to getting married?”

Malinda shook her head slowly.  “I’m actually really nervous.”
  Nervous was putting it mildly.  She had no idea how she was going to live without
her sister and everything she knew.  She was petrified.

“All brides are nervous.  I’m sure Patrick is a wonderful man.”

“It’s not just that.  I don’t feel like I’m ready for marriage.  I mean, I don’t even
know what happens when you marry.” 
She blushed as she said it but kept her eyes on the older woman’s face.

A look of understanding crossed Harriett’s face.  “You mean on the wedding night?”

Malinda nodded and looked down at the letter she was gluing onto the page in front
of her.  It was a letter talking about how happy a woman named Emily was.  She’d apparently
married a wonderful man and had two equally wonderful new step-daughters.  Malinda
wondered if she’d be writing a similar letter anytime soon.  Minus the step-daughters
.
of course.

Harriett took a deep breath.  “Just a moment.”  Walking to the hallway, she said something
to someone out there in soft tones before returning.  She limped back to her usual
chair in front of her desk.  “We’ll work for a few more minutes, and then we’ll talk
over tea.”

Malinda looked at the older woman in surprise.  “You mean you’ll tell me?”
  It had never occurred to her Harriett would be willing to explain that mystery to
her.  She was pretty sure Ellen knew what happened, but Malinda hadn’t wanted to seem
stupid, so she hadn’t brought it up to her sister.

“I wouldn’t knowingly send one of my brides off without them having basic knowledge
of their wedding night.  It wouldn’t be fair to the bride or the man.  My job is to
prepare a bride for her wedding.  If that’s part of the preparation, then I’ll do
it.”

Over tea a few minutes later, Harriett calmly explained the basics of sex.  When she
was finished she asked, “Do you have any questions?”

“Does it hurt?”
  Malinda wasn’t certain if she was relieved to know what would happen or more afraid
than ever.  How would she be able to do that without getting too embarrassed?

Harriett seemed to think about the question for a minute.  “It does the first time. 
I think it depends on the man how it feels after that.” 

“Thank you for being honest with me.  And that’s what makes a baby?”
  Malinda wanted to be certain she understood exactly what would cause a child.  What
if she had twelve?  How would she know to stop if she didn’t know where they came
from?

Harriett nodded.  “Yes, it is.  Do you want children?”

“I do.  Maybe not right away, though.  I’d like a little while to get used to being
married first.” 
Malinda
shrugged.  “What if I hate it?”

“Marriage or intercourse?”

“Intercourse.”

Harriett smiled.  “I’m told it can be very pleasurable for a woman.”  She set down
her tea cup and seemed to be about to say something else, when Ellen rushed into the
room clutching a handful of letters. 

Ellen gave them to Harriett and said, “We got them!”

Harriett gave Ellen her letter back and smiled as she handed Malinda hers.  Malinda
couldn’t tell if Harriett was disappointed or relieved their conversation was cut
short.  She opened her letter and read.  “Dear Malinda,  I’m so happy to hear you’d
like to be my bride.  I’ve enclosed a bank draft for Mrs. Long and  spending money
for you.  I included extra so that you may help your sister during the journey if
need be.  Your train ticket is also included.  You will leave on the fifteenth of
July.  Wesley and I will be at the train station to fetch you both when you arrive. 
We plan on marrying the day after your arrival.  You and your sister will spend the
night in my home, while I spend the night with my brother in his.  I look forward
to our marriage together.  I must say, I’m happy that Wesley and I will be marrying
sisters.  I think it will help us to draw even closer as brothers if that is at all
possible.  Yours, Patrick.”

Malinda stared down at the letter in her hand for a moment before taking out the check
and giving it to Harriett.  The letter had seemed very cold and formal to her.  She
hoped he would be
much more personable when she met him.

Ellen handed Harriett a portion of her money for the trip to pay for the fabric they’d
received.  She glared at Malinda as if telling her to do the same.  Malinda sighed. 
Patrick obviously didn’t think they had enough to pay for the food as it was, so how
would he feel if she gave some of it to Harriett?  She took several of the bills and
offered them to Harriett, just as Ellen did.

Harriett refused to take their money, and Malinda was relieved.  They’d gone hungry
enough.  Did they really need to do it during their trip out West?
  And in the time she’d known Harriett, she’d learned you couldn’t force the woman
to do anything she didn’t want to do.  She obviously didn’t want the money, so she
wouldn’t take it.

*****