The napkin in Hettie’s hands was nearly ripped to shreds before she noticed she was pulling it apart. She stopped, felt her cheeks flush and looked around to see if anyone had noticed. She licked her lips and looked back out the window at the passing scenery. She was leaving everything behind, her father, brother and uncle, her best friend and her dream of being the schoolteacher for the town she grew up in.
She was nervous but knew what needed to be done. The man she was going to meet and marry had given her father enough money to get the store out of the red and into the black. She needed to be strong and accept that things had to change.
At 24, she had never expected to leave her home and travel across the country to marry a stranger. But it was apparently her lot in life. God must have decided this for her or she wouldn’t have felt as compelled to go when her father mentioned it. He’d shown her the ad and asked if she would be willing to make that kind of change. The war had put an economic strain on their small town, and the store was beginning to fail. Although her family were all supporters of President Lincoln, it didn’t put money in their accounts.
James Banks had placed the ad. He was Sheriff of the town of Elko, in Nevada, and was looking for a bride. He was willing to help them financially if she would agree to travel there and marry him. She had accepted.
It was four weeks ago that the prospect of this adventure was placed before Hettie. Her mother had died when she was only twelve; she barely remembered her. She had grown up in the loving, firm care of her father and uncle, her mother’s brother. Her older brother of two years had also vowed to protect her throughout her life and had held true to that statement, keeping her safe from harm whenever it approached. And it had.
Hettie was fully aware of the methods of men. She had sometimes been accused of being too rough, though she was a small, fit young lady, with long blond hair that waved around her petite face. Her eyes sparkled an aquamarine blue and were framed by long dark blond eyelashes. She had small red lips and high cheekbones. She certainly didn’t look rough on the outside.
She wondered what James was like. A Sheriff. She guessed he might have a lot of rough characters he had to deal with regularly. She hoped he wasn’t a big, tough man. She didn’t want to be fighting for the rest of her life. That sounded miserable.
She was working herself into a frenzy. She pulled in a deep breath and relaxed her muscles. She would have a headache by the time she got there if she wasn’t careful. That was the last thing she needed.
“Are you all right, dear?” the elderly woman sitting next to her leaned forward and looked up into her eyes. Hettie gave the woman a smile and nodded.
“I am, thank you.”
“You look very nervous. Is this your first time on the train?”
“I did a little traveling with my father when I was younger,” Hettie confessed. “But this time, I am traveling alone. I’m not a little girl anymore. But I feel like one inside.”
The woman nodded emphatically. “I can understand that, sweetie. You are off on your own adventure then?”
“Yes, I’m going to the West to start a new life.”
“Oh, my. Leaving all you knew behind, are you?”
“Yes.”
The woman nodded, put a hand forward and rested it on Hettie’s “I’m Ester Canaberry. What’s your name?”
“Hettie Longfield.”
“Well, it’s good to meet you, Hettie. Do you know where you will be living when you get to the West?”
“Elko. I’ll be wed to the Sheriff there.”
“How interesting.” Ester nodded, taking her hand back and resting it in the other small wrinkled one on her lap. The knitting needles she had been using clinked when she set her hands down. “Do you know how to knit?” She asked, glancing down.
“I do.” Hettie nodded.
“Would you like to do some with me while we travel?”
Hettie had to smile again. She nodded without a word and lifted her hands to receive the work Ester had been working on. She inspected it. “Is it a bonnet?”
“It is. It’s for my great grand baby girl, Mona. I am also traveling to Nevada, but not Elko. That’s where my daughter lives now. She went there in the same fashion as you.”
Hettie’s eyes opened wide. “Isn’t that a coincidence?”
Ester tilted her head. “Yes, it does seem so.”
Ester’s stop was before Hettie’s, so she spent the last hour riding by herself. She had finished the bonnet for Ester, who praised the work vehemently, making Hettie blush furiously. She was relieved to hear that her stop was next and gathered her bag in her lap, retrieving her coat from where she had set it next to her. She certainly didn’t need it. The air was very warm and dry.
She patiently waited until she was given permission to depart. She looked out through the window at the platform outside. It was deserted. She pulled in a deep breath, stood up and walked out of the cabin.