Chapter 3
The early morning sun streamed through the open curtain and Elizabeth blinked against the sudden light. Turning over on her side, so she her back was to the sun, she burrowed her head further in to the pillow. Suddenly she sat up and gazed around her. Where am I?
Elizabeth sat there for a moment and let all the memories of yesterday drift back. I am married, but how did I end up in this room? Something crunched under her hand and her eyes drifted down to see a piece of paper lying on the bed sheets.
She grabbed it and held it up to read it. I didn't want to wake you, so I made myself and Anna breakfast. She is outside with me in the barn doing chores. I will be in when they are finished. It was simply signed Will.
Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she stood, and walked over to a small mirror that was hanging on the wall. Peering at her reflection, she found her hair was everywhere. Lifting a hand, she tried to smooth it down somewhat, until she could find where her trunk was.
Making her way to the door, she opened it, and stepped in to the kitchen. Looking around she found her trunk sitting by the door. Flipping the lid open, Elizabeth rummaged through for a clean dress, and her hairbrush. She grabbed a calico print dress, her hairbrush, and walked back to her room.
After she had changed and tied her hair back in a bun, Elizabeth walked in to the kitchen. There was a stack of dirty dishes lining the counter and tabletop. Running her hand along the table top, her finger came away with a thin layer of dust. I wonder when the last time the kitchen was really given a good cleaning.
Elizabeth found a large pot and set it on the middle of the stove. She turned around at the sound of footsteps running and found Anna toddling towards her. Kneeling down to her level, she gave the little girl a smile. "Good morning Anna."
The little girl reached out a hand and grasped Elizabeth's dress. Grabbing her hand, Elizabeth found that it was covered in dirt. "You are supposed to wash your hands when you come into the house, sweetie. Let's go and clean you up." Picking her up, she walked over to where the basin of water was sitting by the door.
Dipping Anna's hands in to the water, she grabbed the towel, and washed them. The little girl, reached her hands in the water again, and giggled when water splashed everywhere. Elizabeth pulled her back and settled her on her hip. Anna gave a cry of protest, but soon was chatting away.
"Good morning, Beth." A voice said from the doorway.
Elizabeth spun around at the sound of his voice and gave him a smile. He gave her a small smile in return and moved to wash up.
"Where is the well located? I need water to start dishes."
"I will go and haul some in for you. If you ever need to get water by yourself and I am not here, the well is just outside the front door." He dried his hands and grabbed the pail sitting by the door.
Elizabeth carried Anna back to the kitchen and settled her in to a chair. Picking up a doll, she found on the floor, Elizabeth handed it to the little girl. A few minutes later she heard Will's footsteps again and turned around to see him carrying two pails of water.
He set one on the floor and dumped the other one in to the pot sitting on the stove. He added a few more logs to the fire and stepped back to look at her. "Did you eat anything for breakfast?"
She shook her head. "No I didn't."
Will stepped over to the side table and smeared some jam on a piece of bread. He handed it to her and urged her to eat. She hadn't eaten the night before and he didn't want her fainting on him. He watched as she ate the bread and offered her thanks.
"I will be spending the day outside plowing the fields for planting. Before I go, I will show you where the cellar is." Making sure Anna was secured in her chair; Elizabeth followed Will out to the cellar. "Mrs. Reynolds canned most of this for me. There is a variety of food to choose from."
She followed him back up the stairs and in to the house. He lifted the steaming water of the stove and dumped it in the tin tub.
"Do you want me to bring you lunch later or will you come to the house to eat?"
"I will come to the house." He said and walked over to give Anna a kiss. Will turned his gaze to his wife and gave her a nod.
Elizabeth watched him walk out the door and sighed. Turning back to the dirty dishes, she put all of them in the now bubbly water. Plunging her hands, she attacked the dishes, letting her thoughts wander. It seems that he doesn't want a true marriage. He barely talks unless I ask him a question. I want to find out why he picked me, instead of marrying a young lady from town.
She grabbed a dry dish towel and dried the now clean dishes. Looking through the cupboards, she tried to find where everything belonged. After all the dishes were finished, Elizabeth dumped the dish water outside and refilled it with clean water. Putting a small slice of lye soap in with water, she searched around for a brush to clean the table and counters.
She finally found one sitting beside an old rag and dipped it into the water. Making sure it was clean, Elizabeth stated scrubbing the counters until the dust was gone and they shone. She spent the next two hours cleaning the kitchen and talking to Anna. The little girl didn't know many words, but she enjoyed talking her own language.
Chancing a glance at the clock, she realized with a start that it was half past eleven. Drying her hands, she turned to Anna, and smiled. "What would you like for lunch Anna?"
Anna banged her hand against her little table and giggled. Elizabeth picked her up and together they headed to the cellar. She thought about finding some fruit and serving the rest of the bread with jam. Walking down the stairs, she looked around her. Everything was labeled and she grabbed a few jars of different fruit and some dried apples.
Walking back to the house, she set Anna on the floor and let her play by her feet. She set the jars of fruit on the table and went to cut the rest of the loaf of bread. I will have to bake more bread tomorrow. Maybe Will likes pie? I could make one to go with supper.
She finished cutting the bread and set it on the table along with the jam and fruit. Elizabeth grabbed the dried apples and set them on the counter out of the way. She would get started on a pie when lunch was finished and Will went back to work.
Elizabeth had just settled Anna in her chair, when she heard the front door open and close. Looking up, she saw that her husband had stopped in the doorway, and was staring at her. She blushed under his gaze and moved to hand Anna her bread and glass of milk.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Will sit down in his chair. Turning to the stove, Elizabeth grabbed the coffee pot and poured both of them a cup. Settling in to her own chair, she started eating her own lunch. "Can I ask you a question?"
Will raised a brow at her and answered, "If you would like."
"Why did you advertise for a mail order bride, when there must be young ladies in town? You could have married someone that you actually knew."
He whipped his mouth with his napkin. "Most of the young ladies in town want to marry someone who is well off and can buy them things. As you can see, I can't do that. I spend most of my time outside in the fields. Thank you for the lunch."
Will stood from the table and headed back outside. She watched him go before turning back to her own lunch. She had finished two slices of bread, but moved around the fruit with her fork. Right when I think maybe he would open up, he abruptly leaves.
Anna had dozed off and Elizabeth pushed her plate away. Standing to her feet, she lifted the little girl out of her chair, and walked to her room to put her down for a nap. She spent the next few minutes straitening up the room she had slept in the night before.
She had about two hours before she would start on the pie and decided to go outside and explore. Grabbing her bonnet, she stepped out in to the sunshine, and looked around. A large barn stood about a hundred feet from the house, with a corral to the left.
First she decided to head to the barn. The barn door stood open and she peered inside. A few horses poked their heads over their stalls and she continued forward. Walking up to the first horse, Elizabeth rested her hands against the stall door.
She didn't want to get too close. Ever since she was ten, Elizabeth had been afraid of horses. Her uncle had been trying to teach her to ride and she had fallen off. Ever since then she couldn't and wouldn't get on another horse.
Backing away from the stall, she walked back outside. Stopping in front of the house, she noticed that there were no flowers growing in front of the house, and she decided to buy some seeds. It was her home now and she wanted it to look like a home. Ambling along towards the side of the house, Elizabeth found some wildflowers growing in a small meadow.
Kneeling down, she picked a few, and would put them on the table with supper tonight. Standing back up, with the flowers clutched to her chest, she slowly walked back to the house. Setting the flowers in a jar, with some water, she moved to the cupboards to find the ingredients for her pie.
Mixing the dough, she spread some flour on the table, and set about rolling it in to a thin crust. Searching through the drawers, she finally located a pie tin, and set the crust in it.
Elizabeth quickly finished the pie and set it in the oven to bake. Anna's cries telling her she was awake drew her to her bedroom. Picking the little girl up, she walked back out in to the kitchen, and settled her at the table with a cookie.
While the pie was baking, she went back to the cellar, and grabbed some carrots, potatoes, and a jar of canned meat. Once she was back in the kitchen, she peeled the potatoes and carrots, throwing them in a pot for stew.
She rinsed the meat off, to get rid of the extra salt, and threw it in the pot. Stirring it together, she moved it to the center of the stove to heat. Elizabeth opened the oven and checked on the pie. It was almost finished, but not quite.
She checked on the stew and turned to check the time. It was almost six o'clock and she wondered what time he would be in. She mixed together flour and water for gravy and poured it over the stew, stirring it every now and then.
"Whatever you are making smells good."
For the second time that day, Elizabeth spun around, and saw her husband standing in the doorway. Waving her spoon at him, she asked, "Do you ever announce when you come in to the house?"
"Do you always wave a spoon at someone who sneaks up on you?" he countered.
She blushed and set down the spoon. Turning her back on him, she grabbed the pie out of the oven, and set it on the counter to cool. She heard noises from behind her and looked over her shoulder to see Will putting Anna in her chair.
Turning back to the stew, she tasted it, and was satisfied with the results. Moving the pot to the back of the stove, she turned to grab the three bowls, and found Will standing in front of her with them. Taking one from him, she spooned stew in to it and handed it back to him.
He walked over to the table and set it in front of Anna. Handing the spoon to her, he turned back to the young woman standing at the stove with a puzzled expression on her face. Why is she looking at me like that?
Grabbing another filled bowl, he set it at his place on the table, and reached to grab the last one. She let him have it and followed him to the table. Sitting down he bowed his head and said grace, "Thank you Lord for this food on our table and for bringing Elizabeth in to our lives. Amen."
Elizabeth said a quiet amen and dug in to her meal, keeping her head down. Why did he decide to help with supper?
"After supper each night I will bring out the Bible and we can read together. You did a really nice job with cleaning the kitchen. I have been busy the last few months since Anna came to live with me and I haven't been able to keep up."
She raised her head to look at him. It was the most he had spoken to her at one time. "Thank you for helping with supper."
"You are welcome." He reached over and handed Anna a small piece of bread.
"I would like to go in to town tomorrow and purchase some seeds for flowers and a vegetable garden."
"I don't have time to drive to town tomorrow. We can stop at the mercantile on Sunday and purchase the seeds you want."
She raised her chin and looked him in the eye. "I would like to plant the flowers tomorrow. Can't you find time? There isn't much to do here after I cleaned the house and I would like to do something outside."
"I said we would go Sunday. I need to finish plowing tomorrow and I can't take a day off." He watched as her eyes flashed and changed color. I wonder if she knows her eyes change color when she is angry. They make her look more beautiful. No, don't think about that. Remember you don't need her entering your head and distracting you.
"I know I said I would obey when we married, but I don't get a say in how I spend my day."
"No," he said with finality and finished his supper.
Elizabeth pushed her empty bowl away and walked over to the counter. She cut the pie and gave Will the smallest piece. It probably wasn't the best way to handle her anger and frustration, but it was the only thing she could think of.
She didn't take a piece for herself. Instead she cleaned off the table and started on the dishes. She didn't see the way his eyes lit up when he saw his favorite kind of pie. Plunging her hands in to the soapy water, Elizabeth took her frustration out on them. Does he not care what I have to say?
"I washed Anna up and put her to bed."
Hearing his retreating footsteps, she bowed her head and took a deep breath. Soon he would be back and want to sit down with the Bible. I just need to get through the next hour and then I can go to be and not have to see him for the rest of the night.
He came back a few minutes later as she put away the last plate. Drying her hands on the towel, she sat across from him, and listened quietly as he started to read. Her anger soon subsided and she was left feeling tired.
Will stopped reading and gently closed the book. No matter how hard she tried to stay awake, she couldn't fight it any more. Standing to his feet, he walked to the side of her chair, and swept her in to his arms again. This is the second time I have done this, but I am not going to get used to it. She pushed herself to hard today.
He laid her on the bed and pulled the blanket over her. "Good night, Beth." Tomorrow will be anew day.
