Mail Order Mix Up (14 page)
He ran his hand over her shoulders and held her while she slept. He was so happy
to have this precious woman in his life. How could a man ask for anything more?
*****
Because Alice took Sunday
s off, Ellen slipped out of bed early the following morning. She wanted to start
her
first
full day of marriage off right and have breakfast ready when Patrick came down the
stairs. She hurried around the kitchen frying bacon and getting out eggs, and only
then realizing she didn’t know how he preferred them cooked. Deciding scrambled was
probably the best bet she pulled down a bowl and beat six eggs with milk.
When Patrick walked into the kitchen, she had two plates ready to go. She’d fixed
bacon, scrambled eggs and toast with butter. Thinking he may want jam on his toast
she put that on the small table in the kitchen as well. Not ready to meet his eyes
after their night together, she asked if he was hungry.
He walked across the kitchen and tilte
d her chin up with one finger kissing her softly. “Good morning.”
“Good morning.” She put the plates on the table and poured them each a cup of coffee.
“I hope you like scrambled eggs.”
“Sure. I’ll eat them however you make them. I just prefer them not to be raw.”
She laughed. “I don’t tend to serve them raw.”
She walked across the kitchen to the table and sat down in the chair she’d eaten
breakfast in every morning all week.
He sat down opposite her. “Why are we eating in the kitchen?”
She shrugged. “I’ve been eating breakfast in the kitchen all week. I guess we can
move to the dining room if you want to. I’ve just enjoyed talking to Alice while
I eat.”
She hadn’t thought about how it might seem strange to him to eat in the kitchen
instead of the dining room.
“That’s fine.”
“Are we going to church this morning?”
He nodded. “Of course. We’ll go to the same church we married in. There aren’t
any others in town, I’m afraid.”
She moved her eggs around on her plate with her fork. “What will we do after church?”
She couldn’t wait to spend her first full day with him. A lazy Sunday together
sounded like a perfect way to start their marriage.
He sighed. “I’m afraid I’ll have to go into work after church. I didn’t get some
work done that I was supposed to do yesterday. I’ll have to catch it up today.”
He seemed genuinely annoyed he had to spend the day at work.
She frowned and looked into his face for the first time that morning. “Do you usually
work on Sundays?”
There wouldn’t even be any servants at home to talk to. Her sister would be spending
the day with her new husband. What was she going to do with her day?
He shook his head. “I try not to. I have some paperwork I need to catch up on.
I meant to bring it home so I could work on it here, but I forgot it at the bank in
my rush to get everything organized yesterday. It’ll be easier to just do it there
than bring it home.”
“Will you come home for lunch first?”
She could fix him something quick and delicious and have him in awe of her cooking
skills.
“I’ll grab something there. I keep crackers and jerky in the office for when I need
to skip meals to get things done.”
She sighed and looked down at her plate. She couldn’t believe their first full day
as husband and wife would be spent apart. Why had she pictured days and nights full
of him when they’d talked about marriage? She knew he had a business to run, and
she shouldn’t be upset. “That’s fine. I’ll make sure I fix something for dinner.”
He nodded absently. “I should be home by six or six-thirty.”
She put the breakfast dishes in the sink to soak before going back upstairs to dress
for church. She’d have plenty of time to do them later.
After church, he walked her home, and with an absent kiss on her cheek, he walked
back toward the bank. As she watched him go, she wondered if her life would always
consist of being alone while he worked. Had she made the right choice?
She made herself a light lunch, and boiled a chicken that she could debone for the
chicken and dumplings she planned on making for dinner. Then she tackled the dirty
dishes in the sink, and though it didn’t need it, she got down on her knees and scrubbed
the kitchen floor.
She went upstairs and stripped the bed as well as the bed her sister had slept in
while she was there. Changing both sets of sheets, she washed the dirty and hung
them on the line. Once that was finished, she stood and looked for something to do.
She hated sitting around idly, but on Sundays, even the servants were off, and she
was completely alone. She thought about going over to visit with her sister, but
she didn’t think Wesley would welcome her presence so early in their marriage because
it had gotten off to such a rocky start.
Finally she curled up in the parlor and read a book on banking she’d found in his
study. Maybe if she understood his work better, they could talk about it in the evenings,
and he’d be more willing to share his day with her. She was only a few pages in when
she realized that it was so dull there was no way she could make herself concentrate
on it.
Wandering around the house, she explored every room, something she hadn’t yet bothered
to do. It was a pretty house, and she liked it. There were five bedrooms upstairs,
and she knew that there were two servants’ quarters in the back of the house where
Mrs. Smith and Alice lived. Alice had mentioned a
gardener,
who worked there, and she’d seen him a few times, but he didn’t live on the property.
As she looked around, she searched for something she could clean, but the house was
already immaculate. What was she supposed to do with her time?
She wandered back to the kitchen and removed the chicken from the stove. She’d wait
until it was cool before deboning it and making the dumplings. She lifted the chicken
out into a bowl and washed the pot. Usually, she’d just use the pot for the dumplings
without washing it, but she was so desperate for something to do, she decided to wash
it instead.
She wandered out into the back garden, looking for weeds she could pull. Certainly
there was something outside she could do to make the house look nicer. She spotted
only one, and pounced on it excitedly, pulling it with a vengeance. Ellen looked
carefully
but
couldn’t find another. She’d so hoped there would be something more to do there.
Finally at five, she deboned the chicken and mixed up the dumplings. She washed the
bowl she’d had the chicken in during that time and remained in the kitchen as the
dumplings cooked.
The dumplings were done at exactly six, and she was glad they were ready on time.
She slipped the pot into the oven to keep them warm, because he could be as late as
six-thirty.
Curling up in the parlor with another book, this one a novel by Mark Twain, she waited
for Patrick. Glancing at the clock every five minutes didn’t speed up his arrival
she found. She became entranced in the story of a young boy who manipulated people
into doing what he needed, but still waited.
At seven, she glanced at the clock again, and he still wasn’t there. She was thankful
she’d had the foresight to put their meal in the oven, but wondered just how late
he’d be working. Finally, at
just after
eight he came into the house, looking tired.
She didn’t say a word about how late he was but couldn’t help but wonder if things
were always going to be this way. It wasn’t a good way to start their marriage.
“I’ve got chicken and dumplings keeping warm in the oven.”
He nodded. “I’m hungry. Thanks.”
He automatically went into the dining room and sat down, so she removed the pot from
the oven and served them each a plate, taking it to him there. She gave him water
to drink, because she wasn’t sure what he’d want. She couldn’t help but wonder why
she’d been in such a hurry to start a marriage when he was so much more attentive
when they were just courting.
She took her seat to his right and picked up her fork. “Did you get your work done?”
He nodded. “I finished up the project I told you about, but then remembered there
was something else I was supposed to have done before tomorrow morning, so I did that
as well.” He took a bite of the chicken. “This is good.”
She hadn’t really eaten anything yet that day, but found her appetite was gone once
again. What happened to the man who had been in a hurry to hold her hand and kiss
her on the porch?
“I’m glad you got it all finished.”
He sighed. “Well, not all. I’ll need to go to my study for a little while tonight
and do the last of it.” He reached out and squeezed her hand as if realizing she
was there for the first time. “How was your day?”
She simply shrugged, not willing to tell him she’d been bored out of her mind and
had descended to cleaning things that were already clean so she’d have something to
do. “It was okay. I missed you, though.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to be here today. Things happen sometimes and I need to
take care of them.”
After dinner, he wandered off to his study, and she took care of the dishes. She
wondered if he would always be that way. She hoped not, but she didn’t feel like
she had the right to complain. She’d chosen him, and that was that.
After she finished the dishes, she looked in on him in his study, and he was bent
over his desk, writing madly. “I’m going to go on up to bed,” she said. “It’s been
a long day.”
A long boring day.
He didn’t even glance up from his work as he said, “I’ll be up soon.”
She changed into her nightgown and climbed between the sheets staring at the dark
ceiling for what felt like hours before she finally drifted off.
*****
When Patrick finally finished his work, he glanced at the clock and saw that it was
already after midnight. He sighed. It wasn’t the way he’d wanted to start his first
day as a married man, but sometimes work had to take priority. He walked up the stairs
and tiptoed into his bedroom, doing his best not to wake Ellen.
Would it be wrong to wake her up?
He sighed, deciding it would be wrong. He’d practically ignored her all day, and
she was sound asleep. There was no way she’d want to make love to a man who would
do that on their first day married. He undressed and slipped into bed beside her,
pulling her against him and kissing the top of her head. Tomorrow he’d find more
time to spend with her, he promised himself.
Chapter Eight
Ellen was up before the sun as was her habit the following morning. She was as quiet
as possible as she left the room, careful not to wake Patrick. She hadn’t even noticed
when he’d finally gotten in bed, so it must have been very late. She went to the
kitchen to talk to Alice for a moment like she always did. She sat at the table in
the kitchen as the older woman worked.
“You didn’t have to do the dishes. I always do the dishes from the weekend on Monday
mornings.” Alice turned from the stove and gave her a scolding glance.
“I didn’t really have anything else to do. And I hate to see dishes sitting in the
sink. It always makes me feel like I’m neglecting my duties.”
She shrugged, half embarrassed that she’d done them, but glad the woman hadn’t noticed
she’d scrubbed the kitchen floor as well.
Alice smiled. “Around here if you leave dishes in the sink, you’re just doing what
you’re supposed to do which is leave them for me to take care of.”
Ellen shrugged. “I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do all day. I mean, I don’t know
anyone, so I can’t exactly go visit people. You do all the cooking. Mrs. Smith does
all the cleaning. There’s a gardener to take care of the outsid
e of the house. What’s my job?” She was getting desperate for something to do, but
she tried to keep the anxiousness out of her voice when she asked the question. She
thought again about volunteering at the orphanage, but would Patrick have a problem
with her doing that so soon after they were married?
Alice laughed. “I can see you’re not cut out to be the wife of a wealthy man. Maybe
you could go visit your sister? Or you could find some volunteer work to do?”
Ellen bit her lip. “Patrick showed me where Wesley’s house is. I guess I could wander
over there this morning and talk to Malinda.”
She paused for a moment looking at the older woman. “Do you think he’d mind if
I started volunteering so soon after we got married?”
“I think that’s a good idea.” Alice glanced at the clock. “I’d wait a couple of
hours, though. Your sister isn’t exactly an early riser.
And no, I don’t think he’d mind at all if you started volunteering right away.
Surely he realizes there’s little for you to do at home.
”
Ellen laughed. “No, she isn’t
one to get up at the crack of dawn
.”