Telegraph Bride: Sweet Historical Mail Order Brides of Lowell (3 page)

Read Telegraph Bride: Sweet Historical Mail Order Brides of Lowell Online

Authors: MaryAnn Burnett

Nebraska Territory 1866

The station door banged open announcing William’s arrival. “You have something?”

“Yes. Sarah is on that express train that came through here. I just know it.”

Tricia stayed in the doorway, a look of hope on her face. William came to stand alongside Elizabeth, appeared to be thinking the idea through, then he nodded. “Can we figure out where it is?”

Elizabeth pointed to her scribbling on the paper in front of her. “I already have. The engineer said he was going to push it to get to Wayside by nine tonight. Calculating the speed he’d need the engine to do to travel that distance by then, I figure he’s about fifteen minutes this side of Cary.”

William looked over her figures and nodded.

“William, I can send a wire to the Cary station to put out the flag to stop the train…”

Elizabeth waited while he thought this through. If she was wrong about the girl being on the train, William could lose his job over stopping that train.

He looked up from studying her figure more and stared into her eyes. Elizabeth put her hand on his and gave a light squeeze. “She’s on that train.”

After a moment more, William said, “Do it.”

Elizabeth leapt for the telegraph machine. She sent the alert to see if anyone was manning the machine in Cary. A response came back. She let out the breath she’d been holding and heard William do the same. Then she tapped out her message.

‘Lost girl on train. Halt express at Cary. Due there in twelve minutes.’

They waited for a response. William had risked his job. Would the Cary station master do the same?

Elizabeth looked up and saw several people had gathered into the station house including Mr. MacCauley.

The telegraph machine came to life with a pattern of clicks. Elizabeth started writing the letters down as they came across.

“What’s it saying?” someone asked.

William held his hand up. “Shhh.”

Elizabeth looked at what she’d transcribed. “They put the flag up. They’re stopping the train.”

A whoop went up in the room. Mr. MacCauley twisted his hat in his hands and gave a weak grin. William silently moved closer and pulled her into his arms. Elizabeth leaned her head back against his shoulder.

They waited. More people squeezed into the station house. Elizabeth could see more townspeople on the platform outside.

Elizabeth pulled out her pocket watch and checked the time. “They should have stopped the train by now. They’re searching it.” She put the watch back in her pocket and leaned her head back onto William’s shoulder again.

There was not a sound as they all waited for news.

The clacking of the telegraph machine made Elizabeth jump. It sounded deafening in the quiet room. She grabbed for a pencil and started writing. As she’d transcribed the letters, tears streamed down her face. The machine went silent. Elizabeth handed the note to William. He read it out loud, “Sarah wants her Pa.” He laughed and repeated it. “Sarah wants her Pa.”

The room exploded in noise. Everyone talked at once. William threw the paper in the air, grabbed Elizabeth about the waist and swung her in the air. When he placed her back on her feet, hands were patting her shoulders and back from all sides.

Mr. MacCauley stood in front of her, tears streaming down his face to match her own. “I can’t… How can I…” He grabbed her and gave her a hug. Then he was pushing through the throng of people between him and the door. “Make way. I have to get my daughter.”

Elizabeth laughed and cried at the same time. She turned back to the telegraph machine and sent a message.

‘Thank you. Tell Sarah Pa coming.’

She got a confirmation in reply.

Over the next half-hour, Elizabeth was passed from one person to the next as everyone in town seemed intent on personally thanking her for finding Sarah and saying how glad they were to have her in town. The whole time, William was beaming at her side and either holding her hand or had his arm around her waist.

Elizabeth hadn’t felt so much a part of a community since she’d left her old train station. She felt happy. Part of it was the welcoming into the community. But also a lot of it was the man at her side. They made a good team. But it was more than that. His nearness and breath on her neck caused her insides to melt.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Finally, everyone left and it was just the two of them in the station. William turned to her and took her hands in his.

“Elizabeth, you were wonderful today. You stayed calm and thought through events as no one else had.” He moved his hands to cup her cheeks. “You belong here. This station has become yours as much as it is mine. You were born to run a train station.” His thumb rubbed her cheek. “And you belong here with me. You make me laugh and think. You bring out a protective streak in me that I didn’t know I had. You make me want to be better. I can’t imagine my life without you.”

He wiped a tear that rolled down Elizabeth’s cheek.

“Elizabeth, my dearest, I love you and have since the moment you stepped off that train. I was immediately jealous of Nelson when you asked for him and amazed at how you marched across town to settle matters with him. You came back and I knew I couldn’t let you go. When it turned out you could operate a telegraph, I knew we were destined.”

Elizabeth’s hand went to her throat as William dropped down on one knee.

“Please say you’ll stay in town and be my wife.”

Elizabeth could hardly believe what she was hearing. She remembered back to seeing him on the platform and wishing he’d written that advertisement for a wife. Now here he was asking her to marry him. Around the huge lump that had taken up residence in her throat, Elizabeth squeezed out a single, faint whisper of a word, “Yes.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

Elizabeth walked down the stairs of the hotel on the arm of Sheriff Holt. The flowers in her hand matched the ones Sarah was squeezing and plucking petals from as the little girl bounced down the stairs in front of her. Like most of the town, Elizabeth adored the friendly little girl but Sarah held a special place in her heart as she was the one who brought Elizabeth and William together.

The sun shone through the prism covered windows as most of the town stood in the main room of the hotel. Rainbows danced on all the happy faces turned to see her enter the room.

Then all other faces disappeared as she saw her dear William standing by Pastor Lewis near the fireplace. She patted the watch in her pocket. She knew that Henry would be happy for her. With that thought, she looked to her future and placed her hand in William’s. She gazed into his eyes as the minister made them husband and wife.

-o0o-

Preview the next story in the Sweet Historical Mail Order Brides of Lowell series.
Sheriff’s Bride

Caleb Holt pushed away his empty dessert plate, relaxed back in the chair and sipped coffee as he prepared to listen to the tales of the widow back east read by his sister-in-law, Elizabeth.

In the last letter three weeks ago, it seemed Mrs. Suzanna Langley’s five year old son, Harry, had made friends with a skunk, and unknown to the women of the house, had brought it home as a pet. Caleb could picture the landlady’s shrieks upon finding Harry’s pet in the laundry basket. It reminded Caleb of the pet snake his mother had found in his room when he’d been Harry’s age.

The more he heard about Suzanna and Harry, the more he wanted to hear. Over the months, the letters had become more frequent and longer. Listening to what he referred to in his mind as The Tales of the Widow from Back East, had become the highlight of his week. Caleb felt like he knew Suzanna better than he knew himself, she was that open in her letters. And when little Harry rode a pony for the first time, he’d felt as proud as if he were Harry’s pa.

“I’ve heard from Suzanna,” Elizabeth said from her spot further down the table. “She wired me a telegram.”

An unease began to rub away at Caleb’s anticipation. Telegrams were expensive. Why was Suzanna sending a telegram?

-o0o-

For more Historical Mail Order Bride stories and other historical romances by MaryAnn Burnett, visit –

http://www.MaryAnnBurnett.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

MaryAnn Burnett grew up reading historical and contemporary romance novels and never stopped. She loves history, particularly women’s history, and has tried her hand at many needlecrafts. (A hint from MaryAnn: If you ever want a good workout, make a quilt on a treadle sewing machine…)

MaryAnn wanders through life holding the hand of her best friend and husband. After almost ten years of marriage, strangers still ask them if they’re newlyweds.

MaryAnn and her husband live on a hillside near a small southern town where she writes from her sunroom overlooking the garden. Two cocker spaniels keep her feet warm as she writes and sneak-attack kisses occur if she gets too lost in a story.

A note from MaryAnn:

If you have a moment, please leave a review for this book on Amazon or GoodReads. It will help other readers find this book and it will let me know what you liked and didn’t like.

-o0o-

MaryAnn Burnett/Spanielhill Publishing

Walkertown, NC

www.SpanielhillPublishing.com

Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

Cover Design by AnnieMoril.com

Telegraph Bride/ MaryAnn Burnett
. -- 1st ed.

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