Mail Order Mix-Up

“Decision on what?” Garrett choked out.

Roland motioned for his brother to stop, but he must not have noticed, for he plowed right on.

“I can’t see what decision I could make that would affect you ladies.”

Fiona O’Keefe twirled her parasol and cast Garrett a provocative smile. “Why, which one of us will become your wife, of course.”

Chapter Four

“What will we do?” Amanda blurted once they’d reached the sanctity of their room in the boardinghouse.

Pearl scanned the sparse furnishings. “We will have to share the bed, just like in the orphanage.” She pulled open each of the four drawers in the bureau. Though battered, it was clean and free of insects. “There’s more than enough room for our belongings, and our Sunday dresses can hang on the pegs. I will have to do all my planning for classes at the school, but that’s neither here nor there. Yes. We will make do.”

“I didn’t mean that. I meant for tonight. With all of us together, how will I ever make a good impression?”

Pearl settled beside her friend on the rather lumpy mattress, which at least felt like a feather tick rather than straw or horsehair. “You can’t help but make a good impression. My concern is if Garrett Decker made a favorable impression on you.”

Amanda blushed and picked at a thread on her skirt. “He is rather different from his brother, isn’t he?”

“In looks, yes, but we mustn’t judge a man on looks alone.”

“Of course not.” Still, Amanda scrunched her face. “He didn’t seem at all pleased to see us.”

Pearl had noticed that. Rather than answer Fiona’s direct question, he had hurried off on the pretense of needing to return to work at the mill. The glare he’d shot at Roland hadn’t escaped her notice, either. He did not think much of inviting the four ladies to sup with them. She was a little leery, too. Bringing all of them together at once meant just one thing.

“I fear we will be put to the test tonight.”

Amanda blanched. “Will he ask us questions? What should I say about the Chatsworths...and Hugh?”

“Nothing. It’s none of their business.”

“But it would be if we married.”

“Even if you and Garrett are a perfect match, you won’t be getting married tonight. If you ask me, since he is the one who placed the advertisement, he’s the one who needs to do the talking. Once you’re convinced he would make a good husband, then you can reveal more details about yourself.”

“But no man likes to hear that his intended was rejected by another. And then there’s the orphanage.”

Pearl hugged her friend. “If he’s a godly man, those things won’t make one bit of difference. If they do, then he’s not the man for you.”

“That’s easy for you to say. You’re not the one who wants to marry.”

An image of Roland flashed through Pearl’s mind, but that was pure foolishness. He’d made it clear that he would not marry, and she was prohibited from doing so. Restless, she walked to the window, which overlooked the smattering of houses on the sandy streets.

“Do you believe all things will work for the best for those who love the Lord?” Nothing was turning out as planned. Pearl hoped that didn’t extend to her teaching position.

“O-of course.”

“It will work out. You must believe that.”

“I hope so.” Yet Amanda’s shoulders drooped.

Pearl must bolster her friend’s confidence. “You will wear your Sunday dress, and I will ask Mrs. Calloway if she has any curling tongs.”

Amanda sucked in her breath. “If I only had a pretty necklace. Not just this old half of a locket.” She touched the tiny silver pendant hanging around her neck on a silver chain.

“The locket is perfect, for it invites conversation. Garrett will want to know where the other half is, and then you can tell him about your brother.”

Amanda’s eyes shone. “Maybe he will help me search for him.”

“Perhaps he will.”

Pearl smiled for her friend’s benefit, but Garrett hadn’t been the brother to travel to Chicago. Roland seemed more likely to take on such an adventure—provided it fit into his plans. That man was impossible to pin down.

“You don’t think he will.” Amanda’s crestfallen expression told Pearl she’d let her thoughts run wild again.

She mustered another smile. “Everything will work out for the best. Now, let’s get you ready for supper. We don’t want Roland showing up before you’re picture-perfect.”

* * *

“What did you do?” Garrett growled once they reached the mercantile’s stockroom. “Off to Chicago on another one of your larks and you bring back four women who seem to think I’m going to marry one of them.”

Roland struggled to stifle a grin. If this whole situation didn’t threaten to start a war between the men and women, it would be hilarious. Unfortunately, he and his brother were outnumbered and, in spite of Garrett’s current irritation, out-enraged.

“Well,” Garrett demanded. “Spit it out. What do you mean by bringing those ladies to Singapore?”

Roland shrugged, as if it meant nothing. “First of all, Pearl Lawson was hired to teach school. You must have known that.”

Garrett simmered down a bit. “I forgot her name.” He shuffled his feet against the rough plank flooring. “Or maybe I never heard it. It’s not like I’m on the committee that makes the decisions.”

“You sit in on the meetings. We’ve had to bring Isaac and Sadie to Mrs. Calloway so you could attend.”

“That doesn’t explain the other three women.”

Roland slapped his hat onto the hat rack, slipped from his good suit jacket and donned an apron. Three days away meant he’d have a lot of work to accomplish in the store and not much time left in this work day.

“I can’t explain the other three.” Roland couldn’t hide the chuckle. His brother would have his hands full with those ladies. Garrett should have thought of that before placing the advertisement. He looked his brother in the eye. “They seem to have some misguided idea that you are looking for a wife.”

“I’m not, and you know it!” Garrett stormed, his face beet red.

As a child, Roland had enjoyed teasing his older brother until Garrett’s temper blew like a steam whistle. Ma and Pa had frowned on Roland’s shenanigans, but he never got the strap. Now that Garrett was older and beefier, he looked like he could tear off a man’s head. Roland knew better. Garrett subscribed to that turn-the-other-cheek nonsense from the Bible. Roland did not let people trample on him. He wouldn’t mind seeing his brother squirm, though. Garrett needed a wife, whether he realized it or not.

He pulled Pearl’s crumpled newspaper advertisement from his watch pocket and spread it on the counter before his brother. “Maybe you can tell me why you placed this, then.”

Garrett stared at him a moment before reading the advertisement. He hung over it so long that he must have read it ten times. “Where did you get this?”

“Pearl had it. Apparently it appeared in the New York newspaper, but then you know that.”

“I do not.” Garrett backed away from the advertisement as if it had been dipped in poison. “I sure didn’t put it in the newspaper.” He waved toward the clipping with his index finger. “You’re the one who wrote it. Don’t go trying to put the blame on me. This is your problem. You fix it.”

“That’s why I invited the ladies to supper tonight.”

“That isn’t fixing anything—it’s stoking the fire!”

A chuckle escaped, and Garrett nearly connected on a blow to Roland’s shoulder.

“Whoa!” Roland stepped back, hands up in surrender. “I figured we could clear everything up once and for all. Then the ladies can head back to New York on the next boat out of here.”

That quieted his brother for a few seconds before worry returned. “What if they won’t leave?”

Roland rather hoped that would be the case for at least one of the women, though which one suited his brother best was still in question. Thus the supper.

“I’m sure they’re reasonable. Once you tell them that you did not place the advertisement—”

“You did it!”

“I didn’t. But someone clearly did, someone who knew about my little joke. Did you tell anyone about it?”

Garrett flushed. “I might have mentioned something at the mill.”

That might have explained it except that the advertisement followed his joke word for word. No sawmill worker would be able to recount each word, even if Garrett had. “If neither one of us placed the advertisement, how it got there is a mystery. One I intend to get to the bottom of tonight.”

Garrett sighed, resigned. “Should I ask Mrs. Calloway to watch the children?”

“Sure—no.” The brilliant idea he’d had earlier popped back into his head. “The advertisement doesn’t say anything about children. None of them realizes you have a son and daughter. I’ll introduce Isaac and Sadie. You watch each woman’s reaction. You’ll want a woman who loves children.”

The sudden ache in his heart couldn’t be that he feared who that woman would be. Pearl. As schoolteacher, she would have a natural affinity for children.

“You’re forgetting something.” Garrett was scowling again. “I don’t want to get married.”

* * *

As promised, Roland met them at them at the boardinghouse at precisely six o’clock. Pearl commanded the top porch step beside Amanda, whose raven curls far outshone Fiona’s satin gown. The rival had donned a more tasteful sapphire-blue this evening. In comparison, Louise and Pearl faded into the background. Yet Pearl couldn’t help but notice that Roland’s gaze landed first and longest on her.

“Good evening, ladies.”

He headed for Pearl, but Fiona glided down the wide steps to meet him first, all smiles and chatter. Pearl, Amanda and Louise had to trail behind Roland and the talkative redhead, taking care not to snag a hem on the rough wooden boardwalk.

Pearl lifted her brown gingham skirts a couple inches and placed each sturdy boot in the middle of the board. Unlike the wharves, the boards had been laid lengthwise on occasional crosswise planks. Though sand crested onto the boards in some places, in other areas the long boards drooped above the sand, creating an unsteady platform.

Amanda stepped off the edge and teetered precariously before Pearl reeled her back in.

“This is as unstable as the ship,” Louise commented in that soft voice of hers.

That had to be the most Louise Smythe had said since Pearl met her. The woman did have the sense not to drag a book with her tonight, but she, like Pearl, had not worn her Sunday best. That gave Amanda the advantage, especially if Fiona continued to claim Roland’s attention.

At present, Amanda’s face blazed, either from the late-afternoon heat rising off the sand or from embarrassment. Either way, she needed to regain control before they met Garrett Decker. Louise’s comment had been meant kindly, but lately Amanda took everything in the worst way.

Pearl sighed and wrapped her arm around Amanda’s. “It’s better than walking in the sand. Think how that would get in your shoes.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

Pearl eyed the redhead, who now clung to Roland’s arm and leaned closer by the minute. Her laughter and vivaciousness rubbed Pearl the wrong way. The fact that he looked her way repeatedly poured vinegar into the wound.

“They’re not right for each other,” Amanda whispered as she picked her way along the boardwalk.

“I don’t know who you mean.”

“Fiona and Roland.”

Though seeing Roland and Fiona in close conversation hurt more than it should, Pearl focused on what was more important. “All that matters is what you think of Garrett.”

Amanda trembled. “I’m afraid.”

“That’s natural, but remember that this is only a first meeting. It’s your opportunity to determine if he is the sort of man you might consider marrying.” She squeezed Amanda’s hand to reassure her. “You can always decide not to marry.”

Amanda’s lip quivered. “What will I do then?”

That was the question. This town did not appear to have more than a couple of saloons, the hotel, the store and the boardinghouse in the way of businesses. The first would gladly hire a woman of Amanda’s beauty, but Pearl would starve before she let her friend work in a drinking establishment. The hotel and boardinghouse were better prospects, but Pearl hated to think of lovely Amanda as a maid. That left the store, which would give Amanda ample time with the Decker brothers.

Perhaps too much time. What if Amanda fell for Roland? She had been drawn to him aboard the Milwaukee. No. There must be another solution. Amanda was good with the needle.

Pearl latched onto that. “I’ll ask Mrs. Calloway if she knows of anyone who might need sewing or fancywork.”

Amanda brightened. “I’m sure there would be, unless there’s already a seamstress in town.”

Pearl recalled that only one elderly couple had disembarked here. She’d seen no other women aside from Mrs. Calloway. “I doubt there is.”

Roland led them to a two-story building on the wharves leading to the large sawmill. Pearl expected him to walk in the front door, but he led Fiona up a rickety outside staircase leading to the second story. He waited on the landing at the top for the other three to climb.

“Here we are, ladies. Our humble home.” He flung open the door and motioned all of them inside ahead of him.

Fiona entered first, followed by Louise. Pearl waited for Amanda to enter. She felt a hand to her elbow.

“Don’t let my brother’s gruffness fool you,” he said in a low voice. “He has a good heart.”

Her heart sank. Amanda would not bear up under a gruff man. One scowl and she’d start edging for the door.

“Thanks for the warning,” she murmured before stepping through the door.

The interior was dimly lit, and one could hear a pin drop. The three ladies all stared to Pearl’s right. She followed their gaze, and her jaw dropped. The advertisement had omitted one key detail. Garrett Decker had children.

Chapter Five

That was not the only discrepancy in the advertisement. It took Pearl mere seconds to ascertain that Garrett Decker was not wealthy. The rooms were furnished with the barest necessities. Two rather faded stuffed chairs faced the woodstove. A rude bench sat just inside the door, and pegs held jackets and coats and hats. The only fine piece of furniture was a walnut sideboard, but it needed a good polishing. Across the room an unvarnished table was surrounded by six mismatched chairs. That left them two short by her calculations. No curtains or paintings or the slightest hint of a woman’s touch.

Yet before them stood a boy and a girl, both quite young, six or seven she would guess. When had they lost their mother? Her heart tugged her nearer.

“What sweet children.”

They eyed her solemnly and silently. Their father pulled them close.

Gruff was not the word she would use to describe Garrett Decker. Stony. Unyielding. Clearly not pleased to find four women invading his home. He seemed even less pleased that she had approached his children, almost as if he feared she would take them away.

Roland swooped between Pearl and the children. “Miss Lawson is going to be your new teacher this year.” He then shot his brother a glare.

Pearl wondered what that was about, but she was more curious about the children. Their expressions did not change, though they assessed her from head to toe. Not one word or even a sound. They must be shy.

Roland motioned to the boy. “This is Isaac.” He pushed the boy forward a step. “And this is Sadie.”

Pearl dropped to one knee so she would be at eye level. “Isaac, I’m pleased to meet you. What grade will you be in?”

The boy didn’t answer.

“He finished one year,” Garrett said with a defensive snarl.

She turned to the girl, who looked younger. “Have you begun school yet, Sadie?”

She stuck her thumb in her mouth.

Pearl smiled. “I like your doll.”

The rag doll had seen better days. A button eye was missing, half the yarn hair was gone and it hadn’t seen the wash in a long time.

“I had one like that when I—” Pearl halted. They did not need to know she grew up in an orphanage or that she, too, had refused to let anyone touch her Dollie. That rag doll had been her last connection to her parents. She’d clung to it as if that would bring her mama and papa back. Sadie must have suffered similar loss. “I loved my Dollie. Does yours have a name?”

Sadie just looked back with solemn eyes.

Pearl rose, having made no progress. School would be difficult for Isaac and Sadie if they refused to talk.

“She calls it Baby,” Garrett mumbled, his color high.

“Pearl—Miss Lawson—is not here in response to the advertisement,” Roland needlessly pointed out.

Garrett’s gaze drifted to the other three women, and Roland once again swooped into action.

“Where are my manners?” Roland introduced each of the ladies in turn.

Fiona no longer bubbled over with witty comments. Her gaze circled the room repeatedly, and she looked ready to accuse the men of what Pearl had already noticed. The advertisement had misled them. Louise didn’t even look up at Garrett. She hung back and said little more than the children. Pearl walked her trembling friend closer to the prospective groom once Roland introduced her.

“Amanda and I have been friends since we were Sadie’s age.”

Amanda instinctively looked at the little girl and smiled softly. “Would you like me to make you a pretty new dress?”

Sadie’s eyes widened, and she nodded her head while holding out her rag doll.

“Oh, a matching one for your doll, too?”

Amanda had always had a gift with children. Where Pearl loved to see a child learn and grow, Amanda took them into her confidence. As a consequence, children adored her. Already she had made progress with little Sadie.

Her father’s expression had soured, however. “I’m not wasting money on frivolous things.”

That startled Amanda, who stared at Garrett as if he’d just confessed to murder. “A new dress for school is hardly frivolous.”

Pearl could have cheered. While adults might make her friend nervous, Amanda would rise to defend any child. Clearly, Sadie needed some encouragement, which she wasn’t getting from her father. Unless, of course, he couldn’t afford a new dress.

Pearl looked Garrett Decker in the eye. “We will work something out. Amanda can create beautiful things with the needle.”

His set jaw told her she’d meddled where she didn’t belong. Oh, dear, this wasn’t going well for Amanda. Not at all.

“Come to think of it,” Roland interjected, “we’ve got some odds and ends of fabric at the store that I was going to throw away. If you and Miss Porter would like to look through them, I’d give you any that you think you can use.”

Amanda gushed her thanks, but Roland wasn’t looking at her. He sought Pearl’s approval. She had to swallow the lump in her throat. Even though the scraps were probably too small to make a dress, the gesture meant a lot, for it smoothed over the differences that had sprung up between his brother and Amanda.

Pearl couldn’t help but smile. “We are most grateful.”

His trace of sheepish concern vanished in a brilliant smile. “Then we accept, don’t we, Garrett?”

Roland’s brother had not unlocked his jaw, even though his little girl looked up at him with the most hopeful, tremulous expression that Pearl had ever seen. Her heart just about broke. She would do anything to bring a smile to that little girl’s lips. Anything.

Garrett puffed out his breath. “I don’t want to owe anyone.”

“I’ll pay any costs,” Amanda offered.

Pearl stared at her friend. Between them, they had only enough for room and board until school began. Where was she going to get money to pay for thread and ribbon and whatever else she needed?

Roland laughed and clapped his brother on the shoulder. “Isn’t that like you, always counting your pennies?”

A snort from behind Pearl reminded her that Fiona and Louise were also in the room. She turned to see Fiona standing with her arms crossed and a fire brewing in her eyes.

“Pennies?” Fiona said now that everyone’s attention had shifted to her. “Your advertisement said you were wealthy. Now you’re talking about counting pennies? What kind of man are you to lure us here under false pretenses?”

Though Louise didn’t verbally second the sentiment, her dismay spoke volumes. Amanda, naturally, said nothing, but Pearl had never shied from speaking her mind.

“The advertisement did hint that you were a man of means. I believe it said you had a handsome inheritance.” She dug in her bag to find the crumpled bit of paper and came up empty. What had she done with it?

“Now, ladies, I’m sure this little misunderstanding can all be cleared up over supper.” Roland waved them toward the table. “Have a seat, and I’ll be right back with the stew.” He scooted through the door beyond the table faster than a rat abandoning a sinking ship.

“Little misunderstanding?” Fiona shook her head. “This is not a misunderstanding. This is deception, pure and simple. I know better than to throw good after bad. I’m here to make a good match, not marry a pauper. I could have had that in New York.”

Pearl wondered why Fiona hadn’t stayed in New York. A thriving musical career should have brought her to the attention of men of wealth. For her to throw herself into such an uncertain situation, something must have happened.

She didn’t have time to contemplate it, for with a final toss of her head, sending the feathers on her hat dancing, Fiona stomped toward the door. “Come, Louise, Amanda. We can’t let these men get away with this. Stew!” She said the word as if it was the final insult.

Louise meekly followed, but Amanda hesitated, torn between obeying Fiona and staying behind with the children. She looked to Pearl for answers, but Pearl would not tell her friend what to do. Amanda must learn to trust her instincts and the Lord instead of relying on the advice of others.

Amanda looked back at little Sadie, who clung to her father’s hand. “I like stew. Do you?”

For the first time, Garrett Decker’s expression cracked. “She doesn’t talk. Not since...” He stroked his daughter’s head.

Pearl squeezed back a tear. He didn’t have to finish for both her and Amanda to understand. Little Sadie hadn’t spoken since her mama died or left. The vivid memory of watching her father walk away returned with an ache. Be a good girl, Pearl. Her papa’s admonition had carried with it the hope that if she was good enough, maybe then her mama would get well and her parents would come back for her.

They never did.

Roland walked back into the room carrying a pot of stew. “Can you fetch the bowls, Isaac? The spoons, Sadie?”

The children hurried off.

He looked around the room and then at his brother. “You sure do know how to clear out a room.”

Pearl again noted the six chairs. Maybe that had been the plan the whole time.

* * *

Roland’s brother had barely finished saying grace when Pearl began to point out her friend’s virtues.

“Amanda is an excellent housekeeper, and she’s wonderful with children.”

What Pearl said mattered far less to Roland than the charming tilt of her head and spark in her eyes. The two individuals at the center of her persuasion paid the potato and cabbage stew an uncommon amount of interest. Pearl barely touched hers, while the children watched the two ladies with a mix of curiosity and fear.

Most men would find Amanda the prettier of the two ladies, but he preferred Pearl’s chestnut hair and lively green eyes. The fact that her spoon spent more time pointing at Garrett than in the bowl struck him as hilarious. His brother wouldn’t know what to do with a spitfire like Pearl. He, on the other hand... That was foolish thinking. She’d flat-out told him that her teaching contract prohibited marriage, and he wasn’t ready to settle down, Mr. Holmes’s cajoling aside. He had a factory to build.