Or maybe he was looking for a new housekeeper or a workhorse.
She shook her head and laughed softly under her breath. A wealthy man wasn’t going to need a wife to be a workhorse. He could pay anyone he wanted to do work for him. She debated whether she wanted to tell her family. Should she warn them that she was leaving? Surely, she couldn’t just disappear. She had to tell them. She had to tell them tonight.
She helped her mother prepare dinner and even set the table for the family. While she set the plates down, she noticed her mother watching her. She stopped and looked at her. “What is it, mother?”
“You are very helpful tonight. Is everything okay?”
Caroline smiled. “Yes, of course.” She shook her head and went about what she was doing.
When the family was all seated and they gave thanks for the food, her mother stood to fill the plates.
Caroline debated when she should tell them – before or after they ate. They seemed comfortable, free from the problem that was haunting them. She waited for the right time.
The time came when David spoke up, revealing what they were all thinking. “Dad, have you thought anything more about our financial problem?”
The family fell quiet. Dottie moaned a little and lowered her head, sitting back in her chair.
“I think I have a solution.” Caroline spoke up. They all looked at her. Dottie’s eyes were wide. She looked at them all and tried to smile. “I have answered an ad for a bride to go to the West. There is a wealthy man there who placed the ad I responded to.”
She recognized shock on their faces. Her announcement had rendered them speechless.
“I know it’s a surprise. I didn’t even think of such a thing until I saw the ad in the paper today. I…think it’s the only thing we can do at this point.”
“But…we’ll never see you again,” Dottie said, her voice weak. Caroline could see she was about to burst into fresh tears.
She got up and went to her sister, who stood up to meet her. She wrapped her arms around Dottie and held her close.
“Of course you will,” She said. “He has a lot of money. I’ll come back often. And if I am able, I will ask him to help our restaurant.”
The rest of her family got up and surrounded her.
“It’s going to be all right,” She said, softly, feeling surrounded by their love. “You will see.”
Chapter Three
Caroline read the letter from the man, George O’Doyle, as she rode on the train. He sounded very businesslike. She wondered if he had a kind heart. She wondered if he was interested in what was best for the bride he had sent for or if he was just trying out something new.
Marriage was serious business. She felt it was, anyway. It was a bond between a man, woman, and God. She wondered if he felt that way, too. She hoped so. There was no mention of his religious beliefs in the letter. He described his house, which was apparently massive and mentioned that he owned a casino and several restaurants in the state. He traveled a lot, to keep track of his businesses. The post was not fast enough, he remarked. Plus, he wanted to see how the businesses were being run with his own eyes. He wanted to know all of his employees and make sure they were being rewarded for hard work.
Her eyes stuck on the word “restaurants”. She was impressed that he took the time to comment that he wanted to know his employees were taken care of. That was how her father had always run his business. He gave incentives to his employees so that they would stay and work hard for him. In her initial letter, she had said that she worked in a restaurant and as a secretary without saying that it was her father’s restaurant. That might have given him more of a reason to choose her. It had apparently worked.
She did tell him her family owned a business and that she was looking to start a new life. She wasn’t sure what else to say. She glanced to the side and looked at the newspaper sitting beside her on the bench. More headlines about the president. His first month in office had been a success so far. He was liked.
She looked back at the letter, scanning his handwriting. It was elegant and legible. She had no trouble reading it. That had to be from all the business he wrote. She lowered the letter to her lap and looked out the window at the passing scenery. It would be a while before she got there. She decided a nap would be best so that she wouldn’t be too tired when she got there. The motion of the train would help her sleep, she was sure.
A few hours later, she woke with a start, opening her eyes wide awake. She pushed herself up from the cushion she had put under her head and looked out the window. It certainly didn’t look like Virginia.
“Do you know where we are?” She asked one of the other passengers in a soft voice. He looked up from his book.
“I believe we are in Arizona. Where are you going?”
“Flagstaff.”
“That should be the next stop. Good thing you woke up.”