Lilly: Bride of Illinois (American Mail-Order Bride 21) (12 page)

“What about your horse, since you don’t have papers for her?”

“I’m not positive yet. I’ve said different names to her, just to see if she perks up to one of them. So far, she seems to like ‘Britta’ the best,” Lilly confidently replied.

“You okay with meeting my family and neighbors tomorrow? It’ll be a big bunch of people, but they’ll all welcome you. Especially the Hamners.”

“If your brothers and their families are as nice your parents, I’ll be fine. I miss talking Swedish to Isabella, my old roommate, so I look forward to visiting with your Swedish friends.”

“Dagmar’s wife, Cora is from Boston, so I’m sure she’ll have lots of questions to ask you.”

“How did she end up marrying a Swedish man in Kansas?”

“Cora’s family owned the Bar E Ranch where Dagmar was the manager. Cora came for a visit, and asked Dagmar to marry
her
. They are quite a pair, as are their passel of children.”

“Where are we meeting everyone? In town?
They aren’t all coming to the Arrow are they?!”
Lilly’s panicked question, caused the two horses behind her to pull back on their lead ropes before settling back in line again.

“No, we’re meeting at the Cross C, because it’s the biggest house and can hold everyone in this kind of weather; otherwise, we’d have a picnic somewhere.”

Lilly hesitated before asking, “Do I need to make something to add to the meal?”

“We’ve talked about your ability to work with horses, but we’ve never talked your ability in the kitchen,” Seth smiled and winked at Lilly so she knew it wasn’t a requirement to be a fancy cook for him. “You’re the guest of honor, so I think you’d be safe not to contribute to the meal.”

“That’s good because…um…I don’t know your stove and oven yet…and I didn’t bring any recipes with me,” Lilly said without meeting his eyes.

It dawned on Seth that Lilly probably didn’t know a lot about preparing food. She left her mother’s kitchen at age ten, ate scraps at her employer’s table, and lived in a boarding house since arriving in America.

“You can get basic recipes—and my favorites—from my mother. Be sure you ask how to make a burnt sugar cake because it’s my favorite dessert. She’d love to have you spend time with her in her kitchen, or here in the ranch kitchen to help you with this oven.” Lilly’s shoulders relaxed after hearing his mother could help her learn how to cook.

“And the Wilerson brothers’ wives, Swedish twins Hilda and Rania, could give you recipes from your old country. I’ve enjoyed their cardamom buns and kringler on occasion, so be sure you ask them tomorrow how to make those Swedish specialties.”

Lilly stared at Seth a moment then laughed—before saying something in Swedish to her horse. Did she catch on that he knew she didn’t know how to cook? Seth needed to talk to Dagmar about learning some basic Swedish words so he would know what his wife was saying.

He thought “his wife” again…

Seth watched Lilly, easily handling the horses, adjusting to Kansas and ranch life as if she had been born to it. Lilly must have had a hard life in the past, but she consciously decided to be happy with what she had. Would she be happy staying on the ranch with him, or did she still want to move to the Swedish settlement?

What do I want?
Seth closed his eyes for a moment, listening to her singing. He liked the quiet prairie, but now he wanted this woman beside him forever—filling the air around them with her musical voice. Could she love him as the quiet man he was, or only accept his invitation to stay married so she would have a roof over her head and plenty of horses to work?

Better to give themselves time to learn to know each other better, and for her to meet everyone in the community first. Lilly might flee the county after tomorrow’s potluck dinner.

Chapter 11

Lilly couldn’t help fidgeting on the way over to the Cross C Ranch. Seth pointed out things of interest along the way, like the caves of limestone carved in the side of the hill, the history of the people who started the ranches in the 1860s. So far, she’d counted a total of a dozen trees on the buggy ride between the two ranches, but then there were several trees around the huge two–story ranch house they’d pulled up to.

A teenage boy walked up to hold the horse’s bridle while Seth helped Lilly out of the buggy.

“Hello, Micah, are you boys in charge of the horses today?”

“Yes, sir,” the boy nodded before leading the horse and buggy away. Lilly looked over to where the boy was going to see the lineup of buggies and wagons by the barn.

“Oh my! How many people are here?”

“Enough to fill a small village. Don’t worry, Lilly, everyone is friendly and will welcome you with open arms—literally in some cases.”

They walked across the porch and Seth opened the door into a large foyer. The house was full of noise and people. Couples were standing around visiting, some young with babies in their arms, and some Lilly would consider grandparents. As Seth took off Lilly’s coat and added it to one of three coat racks by the door, a menagerie of different aged children ran past them.

“Welcome to a family get–together of the Wilerson and Hamner families,” Seth said close to her ear so she could hear him.

“How do the Reagans fit in with this bunch?”

“Besides being family friends, we brothers have all worked on the Cross C Ranch at some point in our youth.”

“The woman walking toward us has on men’s trousers!” Lilly whispered to Seth.

“Yes, she wears them about all the time. Brace yourself, Hilda Wilerson is about to greet you,” Seth stepped away from her, leaving Lilly to face the woman alone.

“Välkommen till Kansas prärien, Lillya! Jag är Hilda.” Lilly loved hearing the Swedish welcome as Mrs. Wilerson embraced her in a long, tight hug.

“Tack så mycket. Thank you so much for welcoming me,” Lilly tried to keep the trembling out of her voice, but tears were threatening to run down her cheeks.

“We’re happy Seth brought home a bride, even better—you’re Swedish!” Hilda laughed and released her.

Lilly spent the next half hour meeting the adults in the house, going back and forth between speaking English and Swedish.

She panicked when Seth introduced her to his employer, Isaac Connely, but the older man gave her a hug as warm and welcome as the rest of the bunch.

“I hear you’re quite a horsewoman, Lilly. Where did you work in Sweden?” Obviously, Mr. Connely didn’t know why she worked at a Swedish farm, but she wasn’t about to tell him the story of how she came to work there.

“A horse farm near where I grew up, around Jönköping.”

“The Haas Farm by chance? Their stock is famous in Europe. Cate and I visited the farm about six or seven years ago when we toured through Scandinavia.”

Now it was Lilly’s turn to be shocked. This man visited the same farm she had lived on for a dozen years?

“Did you work with their famous stud, I don’t remember his name exactly, but I think his nickname was the Swedish word for King?”

“You’re right, his name is Kung. I was at his birth and took care of him as a colt,” Lilly replied, while stealing at glance at Seth.

Seth looked at Lily like he didn’t know her. “You didn’t tell me you lived on a famous horse farm. You know more about horses than I do then,” Seth’s remark made Lilly uncomfortable. Was he mad at her for not revealing the fact to him?

Mr. Connely turned to Seth, “Will she be working with our horses, too?”

“I…I guess so,” Seth answered Mr. Connely. Lilly was sure her face was turning red now.

“Then I’ll put her on the payroll,” Mr. Connely said. “I hope she advised you which stallions to buy at the Chicago sale, Seth.”

Seth, looked down at the floor rather than meet her or Mr. Connely’s eyes. “Um, yes she did pick out most of the horses we brought home. You’ll have to come over and see them soon.”

“I’ll do that. I won’t take more of your time today, as you have more family members to meet. Again welcome to our community, Lilly. We’re glad Seth found you.”

It was both wonderful and overwhelming to be welcomed into the family fold today. She’d never had that tight bond with her family in Sweden growing up, or on the Haas Farm. Her friends and co–workers at the textile mill were the closest group where she’d ever felt included, but yet they went their separate ways, both at the end of the work day, and after the fire.

Seth faded away from her side after their conversation with Mr. Connely, letting his mother and the Swedish women take over her time at the gathering. He ate with his brothers instead of joining her for the meal, also.

Everyone left as the sun started to drop in the sky. The air temperature was cold, but there was no wind, so she was warm in her coat and boots.

The Hamner family turned off to head over a hill to return home to the Bar E Ranch. Reagans and anyone else who lived in town, or further south, waved goodbye to Seth and Lilly as they started down the road to the Straight Arrow homestead.

“I enjoyed meeting your family and friends today, Seth. Everyone was so nice,” Lilly said, trying to break the silence which was their companion on the drive home.

Seth nodded but didn’t say anything, causing Lilly to worry over what was going on in his mind.

“Did I do something wrong, Seth? I wasn’t expecting you to disappear from my side.”

“You were fine with the Swedes. I’m sure you enjoyed spending the afternoon talking in your native language again.”

“Yes, I did. They are a wonderful group of people.”

“So do you want to go down to the Swedish settlement to live, or are there enough Swedes here to satisfy you?”

Lilly recoiled at Seth’s words, surprised at his tone and his question.
What caused his remark?

It took several minutes for Lilly to find her voice. “What do you mean?”

“You came to Kansas to live with the Swedes,” Seth finally looked at Lilly with sad eyes.

“Yes, but…”

“Or did you marry me so you could work with horses…and have a place to live?”

So, he was upset because she omitted the status of the farm where she had worked. It didn’t matter to her their horses were famous, it was a place she
had
to work.

Another thought dawned to Lilly. Seth knew about Mans, and her yearning to marry the owner’s son. Did Seth think she trapped him into marriage for the same reason? She had mentioned, probably more than once, that Seth must be a rich man to buy her things, and to buy so many expensive pedigreed horses in Chicago.

And maybe you didn’t tell Seth about the Haas Farm because you wanted him to love you for yourself, not for your knowledge of horses.

Yes, she did want Seth to love her, because Lilly was falling in love with him.

So how could she convince—or show him—she wanted their marriage to be real, and forever? But at the same time, if Seth really didn’t want her as his wife, so be it. Lilly was never going to be the peasant girl, or the saloon singer, who was forced to do something she had no say in again. She loved horses and loved to sing, but she’d give up both for the freedom to live safely on her own terms.

Maybe Seth was right. Maybe she should move to the Swedish settlement and start over again. America was the Land of Opportunity and she hadn’t explored what she could do here. She had waited for Mans to arrive to take care of her, and she had expected Seth to do the same.

Lilly glanced at Seth, and he turned his head in the opposite direction so he didn’t have to meet her eyes.
Fine.
She’d take up Mr. Connely’s offer to pay her for training these new horses, then she could pay Seth back for her horse and clothing, then start her new life—without the man she now loved.

***

Lilly stiffened her back and lips after their conversation on the way home Saturday from the Cross C yesterday, and her body hadn’t relaxed since. She was polite, answered his questions if he asked something, and had prepared their simple meals. But she’d brushed her own hair each night, and slept upstairs—and darn it, the cat took sides and joined her—so Seth didn’t have his foot warmer in bed either.

Seth’s ma did the same “polite” thing to his da when she was upset with her husband. And Ma rarely told Da what was wrong when he asked; he had to figure it out for himself.

Welcome to married life, Seth.
You’re in trouble in the first week of your marriage.

Seth introduced Lilly to more people at Sunday’s church service, keeping a hand on her elbow as he squired her around. She was pleased to meet more people, but yet he could tell she was being polite, not asking serious questions like a person who wants to know someone better. Could it be because she didn’t plan to stay in the Clear Creek area?

They stayed in town after church to have Sunday dinner with Seth’s family. He knew his parents were watching their interaction—or lack of it, but they didn’t pull him aside and give him any advice.

Isaac Connely visited the Straight Arrow on Monday afternoon, and Seth felt like a third wheel when Isaac and Lilly talked about horse breeding and the Haas Farm. Lilly asked Isaac if he was serious about paying her for working with the horses and they agreed on an amount and what she was to do, which was to acclimate the horses to the ranch, but also to be sure they were all trained to ride. Which was what Seth did with each horse they bought for the ranch. Seth had deferred to her role for the new horses and worked around the ranch, checking fences, or other winter projects.

Today was Tuesday, November 25th, two days before Thanksgiving. The Reagans always had a big family dinner at his parents’ home on Thanksgiving Day, but he thought he needed to talk to Lilly about this holiday, as well as Christmas. Did she plan to remain here, or was he going to be alone? It was time to talk about their future.

“Thank you for supper, Lilly. I like your stew,” Seth said as he finished scraping the last spoonful out of his bowl. He set the bowl aside and put his elbows on the table, clasping his hands together, wishing he could reach out to touch Lilly’s hands. “Is this a Swedish recipe?”

“No, something I put together with what was on hand. Which, now that I think of it, was how my moder cooked for our meals. Whatever we had to eat, she’d stretch it by making it in a stew or soup.”

All Seth could do was nod, because she’d told him about her family’s meager life.

“My family will celebrate Thanksgiving with a big family get–together, and everyone brings a dish to contribute to the meal. Do you have any suggestions for what we might bring to the meal?”

Lilly looked at her hands a bit before meeting his eyes. “I don’t think I’ll go with you on Thursday. It’s not a Swedish holiday, so I thought to do something on my own.”

Seth was floored because he wanted to spend the special day with her and his family. “Even the Swedes in Kansas celebrate Thanksgiving now. Surely you did in Massachusetts, too.”

“Mr. Connely gave me some advance money, so I’m going to take the train to Lindsborg and spend a few days there. I don’t think he’d mind my taking the holiday and weekend off to see the Swedish community. I’ll be back to finish working with the horses because I still need to pay you back for my horse and clothes,” Lilly put up her hand to keep Seth from talking. “I need to see what jobs and boarding houses may be available down there.”

“I told you those were gifts, you don’t have to pay me back,” Seth shook his head, and wished he could shake some sense into Lilly. Where was the woman who talked and laughed with him for hours during their first days together? Seth hadn’t heard her sing to the animals since Saturday either—and she was ignoring her mare, too.

“Are you unhappy here, Lilly?” He hoped by asking her point blank, they’d talk about what was bothering her.

“No...Yes…I can’t get attached to anything here, because it’s not permanent. It was a marriage of convenience, and it’s time I move on so I’m not a burden to you.”

“I don’t feel that way at all Lilly. In fact, I’d like to talk to you about changing our arrangement into a
real
marriage,” Seth said as he reached across the table, wanting to hold her hand.

Someone pounding on the front door made Seth pause in what he had planned to say next.

“Reagan! You in there? I need help!”

Seth quickly stepped to the door to open it for his neighbor, Gerald Squires.

“What’s wrong?”

“Betty’s having problems with her birthing, so her ma said to get the doctor! She’s been in labor over a day! Can you go to town for me, so I can get back to Betty?”

“Of course! Head back home and I’ll go get help,” Seth said as he shut the door behind his neighbor and headed toward the back door. He stuck his stocking feet in his boots, which were sitting by the back door, then grabbed his coat off a hook on the back wall.

“We’ll finish this conversation when I get back,” Seth pointed to Lilly before opening the door. “You all right here by yourself while I’m gone?”