Clara suggested, “You should throw that one away.”
“I will, but first I have to answer this man. He has to know I have other plans. I don’t ever want to hear from Mister Eli Warren again.
Ella Grace sipped her tea and placed the cup back in the saucer. “All right, that’s settled. Now, what are we going to do about Miss Edie and Miss Ethel?”
“If you would like my opinion,” Clara said. “I know they are still mourning their brother, but if they’re going to attract any man who comes here looking to marry them, they need to dress the way they did before the mine collapse. I remember the lilac dress Miss Edie liked to wear to church on Sunday. She had that matching hat with the peacock feather in it. Maybe she’s not ready for peacock feathers, but she needs to put away the browns and gray.”
Katie sighed. “I agree. At least they stopped wearing plain black because the younger girls felt sad when they saw them. Maybe Ella Grace and I could suggest they wear brighter clothes because it will help make the younger girls happier. By the time their grooms get here, they might be back to peacock feathers.”
Clara gasped, “What if one gets a beau and the other doesn’t?”
Katie and Ella Grace looked at each other. “I never thought of that,” Katie said.
“Hmmm, since we are going to get the letters and read and answer them, we just have to be sure if one proposes, we don’t allow him to come here until the other one proposes, too. I don’t think we should answer any letter unless they both receive a good prospect.”
The three young women sat silently and thought for a while before deciding that is precisely what they should do. Katie asked Ella Grace if she had some writing paper and Clara hurried off to fetch it. While they sat and discussed the best way to approach the Miss Edie and Miss Ethel situation, Katie made three quick copies of her letter explaining her situation had changed.
Thank you for taking the time to answer my ad. Since I placed the ad, my situation has changed, and I am no longer looking for a husband. I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you and for your kind letter.
Katie read the response to her friends, and they all agreed it was kind and to the point. They believed the men would appreciate knowing that her life had changed. For some reason Katie didn’t comprehend, she placed the letters in her bag instead of tossing them away. Something in her gut told her to hold onto the letters until and if any of the men responded. She worried a bit that they might not all be understanding. With luck, they wouldn’t answer her at all, and she could put this ridiculous idea of sending for a husband behind her. Spending her free time finding husbands for Miss Edie and Miss Ethel was a better plan.
Chapter Twelve
Chicago
Over two thousand miles away, Providence was about to change four lives.
Walt Worthington sat in the nearly empty café sipping his coffee while waiting for his brother Chet to meet him after depositing the day’s receipts from the bookstore the brothers owned on the outskirts of Chicago.
Hurrying through the door waving a sheet of paper Chet Worthington said, “I found it, I finally found it.”
“Found what?” Walt asked as his brother pulled up a chair and sat at the small table across from him.
“A reason to leave the big city. We have been talking about leaving here for the West and a smaller town for quite some time. We even discussed moving to separate towns and opening two books stores as long as we got out of the city.”
“I know. I was there when we had the talks,” Walt grumbled. “Why do you think this is the right time?”
“Since father died we have nothing to keep us here. All we need is an opportunity, and I have one right here in the paper.” He laid the most recent copy of the Grooms’ Gazette on the table in front of his brother.
“Grooms’ Gazette? You want to place an ad for a bride and then what? How does that get us out of Chicago?” Walt answered pushing the paper back toward Chet.
A broad smile crossed Chet’s face. “There are two ads in here placed by ladies looking for husbands in Oregon. At least I think it’s two ladies. The ads sound similar. We should answer them. It would be nice to know someone in a town we might want to move to and if they’re female all the better. You know I’ve wanted to marry for quite a while, but I thought the time had passed. These ladies might be closer to our age. Both the ads say they run an orphanage in Oregon. One says she’s been at it for over twenty years. That might put her close to my forty-six years.” He grinned even wider at his brother.
Walt shook his head. “I’m not sure about the ladies, but I like the idea of moving to Oregon or somewhere away from the city.”
“That does it then. You answer one ad, and I’ll answer the other. We’ll find out soon enough if there are two women or just one. If we’re lucky, there’ll be two and close enough to each other that we can open our bookstore,” Chet said nodding at his scowling brother.
~ * ~
One-week
