When she bent to pick it up, she saw the ads. That was exactly what she needed: help-wanted ads. She turned, promptly paid for the paper, and walked the short distance home with it under her arm.
Once home, she put the kettle on for tea, steeped it, and sat at the kitchen table, blowing lightly on the hot tea. She opened the newspaper and scanned it, but something didn't seem right. They weren’t job ads—they were matchmaking ads!
She shrugged, sipped her hot tea, and read them, promising herself to go out into the street to buy a proper newspaper after she'd drunk her tea.
The ads were quite amusing. One, in particular, made her laugh: Chance for a Spinster—A young man in Creekview, Montana is seeking a wife. I am eighteen, with all my teeth, and have several acres of land. I have ten pigs, fourteen calves, and a decent farmhouse. I need a woman to cook, clean, and help on the farm. No good offer refused. Sonny Howard, Box 121.
Hannah sipped her tea and flipped the newspaper over. A large, framed ad caught her eye from HART, Box No. 160, Hunter’s Grove, Kansas.
Something about the ad stirred Hannah. The gentleman had written the ad in such a way that she knew he was highly educated and definitely refined, but would she fit his qualifications?
Chapter Two
Hannah wrote to the man at box number 160 in Hunter’s Grove, Kansas. She even took a walk to the library to see where Hunter’s Grove was on the map. It was almost in the center of Kansas. That was a long way from Chicago.
Cameron Hart wrote letters that were so perfect that Hannah wondered if he might be a teacher, too. His second letter told her he was an attorney, which impressed Hannah. Despite the formal wording of his letters, she sensed he was trying hard to sound personal. He hadn’t pulled it off yet, and Hannah began reading ads from the matrimonial newspaper again. Perhaps she wasn’t right for Cameron Hart. He sounded high-brow. She wanted an educated man but not one who was more cultured than he was sincere. Still, his letters kept coming, and each one seemed warmer and more down to earth than the last. He also often sounded desperate to make a match.
After about six letters, he suggested they exchange photographs. The only one Hannah had was three years old. In it, she was sitting on the back of a hay wagon with her friend, Edith. She wrote neatly on the back of the photo that she was the one on the right.
Cameron’s next letter included a photo of him from a newspaper. He’d won a murder case. Hannah was impressed with his accomplishment and thought his looks pleasing, if a bit serious looking. His hair was dark, and he had a small, neatly trimmed mustache.
In between letters, she made arrangements to sell the house and its furnishings. It broke her heart to part with objects that reminded her of her parents, but she vowed to keep the small things. As expected, the house sold for nearly what she owed in back taxes and bills.
She packed her things, grabbing as many memories as she could, and moved into a small flat above a barber’s shop.
She hadn’t heard from her brother, Will, in ages. She sat down and wrote him a letter, explaining what she had to do. His education was secure as her parents had a trust fund for him, which he drew on for his education. She gave him her new address and posted the letter.
After six weeks of corresponding with Cameron, he finally asked her to become his wife. Now, she had to make a life-changing decision. She’d have to pray about it. One of the best things her parents had left her was a love for God and the Church. Despite all her woes, she knew God had a plan for her life. She just needed to decide if it was Cameron Hart or staying in Chicago to find work somewhere.
Cam didn’t seem to get anywhere with his letters, so he took them to his partner. Joe Simmons would know what he was doing wrong. The picture Hannah had sent him gave him hope. She was lovely, and he wondered how she’d become a spinster. She’d told him she would turn thirty in November. Cameron was thirty-two, so their ages should make them more compatible. He felt as if a younger woman might be too giddy, and he needed a mature, sensible woman. Hannah was perfect.
In the photo, it was hard to tell the color of her hair, but it looked to be somewhere between dark blonde or light brown. She also had a beautiful smile. Hannah was perfect except that she had no children.
Simmons read over the letter Cam planned to mail the next day and laughed.
“What’s so funny?” Cam wanted to know.
“This letter sounds like a legal brief. That’s not how to woo a woman. Soften it up.”
Cam scratched his head. “Like how?”
Simmons took his pen and started editing the letter. “Here, this is what a letter to a woman should look like.”
Cam took the marked-up letter and read it. “She’ll like this?”
“I think she will. You need to step out of your attorney’s shoes and put on the shoes of a man looking for a wife.”
Cam shrugged. “I guess I was trying to impress her with my proficiency with words.”
Simmons shook his head. “Look, you’re courting her with these
