Mail Order Match Maker (2 page)

Sarah shook her head.  “Not me.  I’m happy with Herbert.”  She grinned.  “You just keep placing your advertisements and finding girls that way.”

“
Thank you for the letters!”  She turned and hurried out of the post office.  She was relieved to receive the letter for Emily because she knew the younger woman was planning to come by that afternoon to see if she’d received a letter yet.  She was in a hurry to leave town before her mother remarried, because her future step-father didn’t want her there.

Harriett looked down at the second letter in her hand for the first time. 
A smile touched her lips as she saw the name Maxwell Farmer on the corner.  He’d written her back.  She wasn’t sure if she should be happy or sad about that fact.  It was nice having someone to write to, though, and for now, that’s all he was.  Nothing more would come from their friendship than she wanted, which was a relief to her, because she wasn’t at all sure she was ready to marry again, or even think about it.  Having a friend other than Higgins was a good idea, though.  She’d cultivate this friendship for as long as she could.

She went straight to her office and sat down at her desk with the letter, laying the letter to Emily aside.  She would give it to Emily when she came by.  She didn’t think it was her job to read anyone else’s mail whether it was addressed to her or not.

She carefully unfolded the letter from Max and read the words he’d written.  “Dear Harriett, It was wonderful to receive your letter although I was a little surprised to receive a reply from the owner of the mail order bride company I was writing to.  I’m sorry to hear that your husband died, and I hope your heart will heal enough to allow you to marry again in time.  I truly believe that time can heal all wounds, so I would hope your healing process is well on its way.  How old are you?  You didn’t say in your letter.  And how long were you married?  You have no children?  I have never been married and have no children, but I do have eight nieces courtesy of my older sister Mary.  How one woman can give birth to eight daughters and no sons is beyond me.  I hope to have at least one son someday.  You asked in your letter if I enjoy my work, and I must admit I do.  I spend from sunup to sundown working most days, except Sunday when I go to church.  I manage the men, but I also spend a great deal of time with an axe chopping trees myself.  My job is more than sitting on my backside telling other people what to do.  I’d love to hear more about your life when you write back.  A woman running her own business is fascinating to me.  I hope to hear lots more about it.  Sincerely, Max.”

Harriett smiled slightly and folded the letter neatly closed.
  She’d respond to it later when she had a chance.  It was nice having someone to write to regularly.  Maybe she should form some friendships with some of her brides and write to them as well. 

She didn’t want to become involved in the dinner parties that
wealthy people seemed to have in the evenings.  She was tired of how other people of the “upper class” treated their servants.  If not for one of her servants she wouldn’t be alive, and she would never take another person for granted again as long as she lived.

There was a quick knock at the door, and she looked up.  A tall
, thin man in his fifties with dark hair and brown eyes was standing at the door.  “I noticed you were limping more than usual.  May I bring you a hot towel for your leg?”

Harriett nodded gratefully.  “Thank you, Higgins.  That would help a great deal.”  She hadn’t even realized that her leg was hurting, but now that he mentioned it, she felt the throbs. 
The doctor had been able to move her bones back together to get them to grow correctly, but he hadn’t been able to fix her completely.  He wasn’t a miracle worker, after all.

*****

Harriett smiled at the two young ladies sitting in her office.  The older of the girls, Susan, wanted to be a mail order bride so she could get away from her younger siblings.  She called them “the demon horde.”  Harriett hadn’t met the children in question, but she was more than willing to match the young lady up with a man looking for a wife and hope for the best. 

A knock sounded at the door.  “A letter for you, Mrs. Long.”  Harriett had never been able to convince Higgins to call her Harriett.  He’d been adamant that she was his employer and he needed
to address her with the respect that she was due.  She looked at the letter and placed it on her desk with a smile.  It was from Max, so she’d read it once the girls were gone. 

“I’m sorry, Susan, I haven’t received a letter back from Jesse yet.  It’s very likely there hasn’t been time.  I know you’re in a hurry to get away from your family.  If you’ll check back in a day or two, I hope to have better news for you.”  She included Susan’s younger sister, Elizabeth, in her smile.  The two girls were cute as buttons and Harriett enjoyed their company.  “Would you care for tea and cookies while you’re here?”

Susan shook her head.  “No, we need to get home and get supper on the table.”  She stood up and smiled.  “We’ll see ourselves out.  I’ll come back in two days.” 

Harriett nodded and stood.  “I’ll look forward to your visit.”  She waited until the girls had shut her office door and sat down, picking up her letter. 
She and Max had been writing for a full year, and she felt as if she almost knew him.  She looked forward to each and every letter.

Opening it carefully, she read, “Dear Harriett, I enjoyed hearing from you again.  It sounds like your business is keeping you incredibly busy.  I’m finally at a point with my business where I feel like I can step back and let my manager do some of the work for me.  I know you said at first that you wanted to take your time to get to know someone before agreeing to marry him, but do you feel like we’ve spent enough time yet?  I’m ready to take a bride, and there’s no woman but you I want to marry.  Will you be my wife and travel out here to be with me, sweet Harriett?  If you need more time, I’ll understand, but we’ve been corresponding for a year now, and I think it’s time.  I look forward to your response.  All my love, Max.”

Harriett stared down at the letter in shock.  Yes, she’d known Max was looking for a wife, but she hadn’t realized he was ready for one now.  She took several deep breaths as panic at the idea of being married again consumed her.  Could she do it?  For Max? 

She stood up and paced back and forth in the small space in her office, trying to get up the courage to say “yes” to the man.  She couldn’t though.  She simply didn’t know him well enough to say yes or no.  She needed more time, and she knew it.

She picked up a pen, dipped it in an inkwell and carefully wrote out a response.   “Dearest Max, Thank you for your letter.  I know it seems that I’m dragging my feet, but I have to say, I need a little more time before I can make a commitment to you.  It’s not that I don’t have feelings for you, because you know I do.  I’m just not quite ready to let go enough to travel across the country to marry you.  I don’t want you to marry another woman because I’m taking so long, but I will certainly understand if you do.  Please say you’ll give me a little more time.  Love, Harriett.” 

She realized then she’d signed it
, “love” for the first time.  She did care about him.  Her feelings for Max, sight unseen, were already stronger than the love she’d thought she felt for Arthur.  Would marrying him really be such a bad idea?  She knew he was a good man from their letters, didn’t she?

*****

She could see the face of the man above her staring down at her in anger.  Slowly he removed his belt and doubled it over.  “Harriett, you must learn how to be an obedient wife.  I’ve told you time and again how you must behave, and you never do the right thing.  Why do you make me punish you?”  His blue eyes were fierce as he held the belt aloft, ready to hurt her...again.

She heard her own voice begging as if from a far-away place.  “Please no!  I’m sorry.  I won’t do it again!”  What she wouldn’t do, she wasn’t sure of, but she’d agree to anything to avoid the beating he was ready to give her.  She was already in her nightgown and the belt hurt so much more across her back without the extra layers of fabric afforded by her petticoats and the thick dresses she wore during the day.

After the first of the blows, she curled up on the bed, sobbing while the belt continued to fall.

Harriett sat up straight in bed, stifling the scream that wanted to come out.  No, she couldn’t marry.  Not yet.  She knew Maxwell wasn’t Arthur, but she needed more time.  If Max couldn’t see that, then he would have to just move on.  She couldn’t risk it again
, but for the first time in years, she wished she could.

*****

Ellen came in from the post office and handed the daily mail to Harriett.  Ellen and her sister Malinda were living with Harriett and working for her while they waited for their letters to come back from Colorado, which should happen any day.  Harriett flipped through the letters, noting there were no letters from Colorado for her employees, but there was another from Max.  He’d patiently written to her for another year without saying a word about marriage again.

She waited until she was alone that evening before opening the letter and reading the words Max had written.  “My dearest Harriett, I hope this letter finds you well.  Do you realize we’ve now been corresponding for two full years?  I know you are busy with your business as I am busy with mine, but I must say, I feel like I’ve known you forever.  The last time I asked you to marry me, you made it clear that you weren’t yet ready for a commitment.  I’m sorry if it seemed I was rushing things, but I do feel like it’s been an appropriate length of time to ask you again.  Harriett, I love you with all my heart, and want nothing more than to marry you and live out our lives together.  Will you be my wife?  Love, Max.”

Harriett stared down at the letter in front of her and waited for the fear to overwhelm her as it had done in the past when she’d considered marrying again. When the fear didn’t come she picked up a pen and wrote a quick reply.

*****

Malinda picked up the letter from the top of her pile.  “This is strange.”  Malinda had been catching up on Harriett’s filing while she and Ellen stayed with Harriett. 

“What’s strange?” Harriett glanced up from the ledger she was going over as she carefully tallied
her household expenses.

“You’ve gotten only one letter from this man and no more.  I can’t see where you wrote him back or anything.  Was this letter maybe misplaced or forgotten?”  Malinda held up a letter and handed it to Harriett to read. 

Harriett blushed a deep red, not yet willing to admit she’d been writing to the man for two years.  “This one wasn’t meant to be filed.”  She slipped it into the top drawer of her desk and went back to her ledger, not meeting Malinda’s eyes. 

Malinda didn’t ask anything, but looked at Harriett suspiciously for a moment before going back to her filing.   She was smart enough not to ask questions.

*****

Harriett sipped her tea
, watching her friend over the top of it.  In the two weeks since Esther had sent off her letter in response to a farmer from Kansas, Esther had become one of Harriett’s closest friends.  She felt almost like a young girl who could giggle with a friend again.  “We’re going to start preparing for my move to Seattle tomorrow,” Harriett told her.

A slow grin spread across Esther’s face, one of the few true smiles Harriett had ever seen from the young widow.  “You’re really going to do it?”
  Esther seemed genuinely excited for her.

Harriett nodded.  “I’m nervous, but I know he’s a good man.  It’s time for me to face my fears and board that train.”
  Esther didn’t know her full background, but from the bits she’d been told, Harriett knew she probably had a good idea of what had happened during her first marriage.

“When will you leave?”  Esther took another tiny sip of the tea, obviously working hard to keep the liquid down. 

“I’m planning to leave in August.  Higgins will go out two weeks before me and make sure that Max is everything he claims to be, but I’ll go out there for the answer.”  She paused for a moment.  “I just need to make sure everything is okay before I put myself in a bad situation.”

“What will you do with your house here?”

Harriett shrugged.  “For now, I’m going to keep it just in case.”

Esther shook her head.  “Just in case what?  Once you’re married to him you can’t just leave and come back.”

Harriett’s blue eyes flashed with anger at her friend’s statement.  “If I have to I will come back and I won’t take any time to sit and think about it either.  I’ll come back so fast everyone will think I never left.”

Esther made a face, but didn’t say anything else about it.  “So you’ll leave in August?”
 

Harriett nodded.  “That’s the plan
, anyway.”  She just hoped she didn’t lose her courage at the last minute.

*****

August first, just days before he was supposed to leave, Higgins fell ill.  Harriett spent two weeks at his side nursing him back to health before she realized she’d forgotten to let Max know she would be delayed.  She wrote a letter explaining briefly and sent it off the following morning.