Love in Independence (Holiday Mail Order Brides) (17 page)

She burst into tears. “Yes!”

“Wait a minute!” Someone called from the crowd. It was Mrs. Caulder. “I thought you were courting Eva Brock!”

“No
, ma’am,” Luke told her. “I was never courting Eva Brock.”

“But you can’t just up and propose to someone you hardly know
; why, it’s indecent!”

“Well, the thing of it is, Mrs. Caulder, Miss Longfellow here just happens to be my
mail-order bride.”

The crowd, as one, gasped.

But that was nothing. Mercy Vander let out a high-pitched squeak, and fainted.

“Mercy!” the mayor cried as she slumped to the ground.

Mr. and Mrs. Tindle then came on the scene. “Good heavens!” Mrs. Tindle cried.

Luke looked at the mayor as he fanned his wife’s face, then at the crowd. “It seems my announcement is causing a stir.”

Winnie put a hand to her mouth to stifle a giggle. Before she could say a word, Maude pushed her way into their midst, followed by the Vanders’ maid. “Mercy!”

Betsy took one look at all of them and smiled. “
Merrrrrcy!” she laughed, turned on her heel, stepped back into the crowd, and disappeared out of sight.

Mercy
Vander’s eyes fluttered open. “What happened?”

“You done swooned!” said Maude with glee. “I tell you, this is so exciting!”

“Since when is my wife fainting exciting?” asked Mr. Vander.

“Not that! Pastor Luke asking his
mail-order bride to be his wife!”

Mr. Vander gave her a bemused look. “How would you know
she’s a mail-order bride? You just got here.”

Maude and Martha exchanged a quick look. “Ahhh … well …”

“Because they’re the ones who sent for her,” Luke said as he stood.

“WHAT?” boomed Mr.
Vander. Mrs. Vander moaned, swooned again, and landed on the ground with a small thud. Mr. Vander, too exasperated and busy staring at Luke and Winnie, didn’t even notice. Martha quickly knelt at her side and took up the fanning. “Are you saying
my wife
got you a mail-order bride?”

“And mine,” added Mr. Smythe.

Maude turned pale, paler, and once she got to palest, joined Mercy on the ground in a heap. Martha waved her hands faster.
Oh no, oh no, oh no!

Mr. Tindle stepped to where the bodies lay. “Well?” he asked his wife as she furiously fanned away. “Are you going to join them?”

Martha looked up at her husband. “How … how did you know?”

“It wasn’t hard to figure out,” he said and turned to Winnie and Luke. “Was it Pastor?”

Luke shook his head, a huge smile on his face. He pulled Winnie closer. “No, it wasn’t. She would have had to stay with someone, and you three were exceptionally accommodating.”

“
Oh,” Martha said in defeat. “But … but what would have happened if you found out she was your mail-order bride when she first got here?”

“Luke laughed. “My dear Mrs. Tindle, of that I have no idea. All I know is that you did me the biggest favor I could ask, and
have also given me something I didn’t realize I needed. Thank you.”

Martha’s jaw went slack. “You mean … you’re not upset with us?”

“How can I be upset with you? You’ve brought me a beautiful bride!”

A cheer went up from the townspeople, and some began to slap Luke on the back to congratulate him. “I knew all that talk of
Mrs. Brock’s was just gossip and rumors,” called out Mrs. Gelsinger.

Mercy and Maude began to come around, and Martha stopped her fanning. Their husbands helped them to their feet, and brushed grass from their skirts. More laughter erupted at the bewildered looks on their faces, as Mr. Tindle helped Martha to
her feet.  The three women stared at their husbands. “Well, now; that turned out well,” said Mrs. Vander in a small voice. Mr. Vander glared down at her.

“Yes
; didn’t it, though?” added Maude.

“You have to admit,” Martha said as she stared at her husband. “I
t would be a lot worse to have to listen to Mrs. Brock talk her way through the rest of summer and into harvest time about Eva courting Pastor Luke.”

Mr. Tindle shook his head, smiled,
and then took his wife in his arms. “You’re a handful, my dear. But I still love you.”

She smiled in relief, and looked at her counterparts, who still stood, looking very tense.

“You mean to tell me, you three are the cause of this man’s happiness?” Mr. Smythe attempted to scold.

Maude gave him a hint of a smile, and nodded. “Guilty.”

Mr. Smythe laughed. “You silly woman! I would have agreed; it was a fine idea! Wish I’d thought of it!” She sighed in relief and stepped in to his arms.

Mercy stood, her head low, and took a step back. “Oh
, no, you don’t!” boomed Mr. Vander. “You’re going to come here and get what’s coming to you!”

She looked up at him
, and audibly gulped. “Now Horace, remember what the doctor said!”

“Doctor! I’
m remembering what the preacher who married us said! I vowed to love you in sickness and in health, but I’m still trying to recall the part where he said I had to love you whenever you cooked up some crazy scheme!”

She looked
at him, a shy smile on her face. “You forgive me?”

“Of course
; how can I argue with love? Though, I never did get to the best part of my speech!” He glanced around and lowered his voice. “I figured if I talked long enough, Mrs. Brock wouldn’t take the stage like she did last year.”

Mercy, Martha, and Maude giggled.

“Hey, wait a minute,” said Luke as he looked around, his eyes finally landing on Winnie. “Where
is
Mrs. Brock?”

She
, too, glanced over the crowd. “I don’t know.”

* * *

“The nerve! Why, I’ve never been so humiliated!” Mrs. Brock shouted.

Eva sat behind the pastor’s desk and sighed. “It’s no one’s fault
, Mother. I closed the door, but how was I supposed to know it would lock?”

“You should have known! Even now, I can hear …” she snapped her mouth shut. “Oh
, no! This is worse than I thought! I don’t hear anything!  Mayor Vander must be done with his speech!”

“The mayo
r was done with his speech over an hour ago,” Eva commented flatly.

“Well, the very idea!” She went to the door leading outside, and banged on it for the thousandth time. “Let us out! How dare anyone lock us in here!”

“Mother, nobody out there locked us in! I told you, I closed the door and it just… locked!”

Mrs. Brock spun to the door on the opposite side of the room, the one leading into the sanctuary, and looked about to charge at it like an angry bull, when the distinct sound of a key being inserted caught her attention. There was a decisive click, and the door opened. “Merrrrrcy! Why Mrs. Brock, Miss Brock,
whatever
are you two doing in here?” Betsy drawled.

“This idiot locked us in!” Mrs. Brock screeched as she indicated her daughter with a toss of her head. Her h
at slid off to one side from the action, and several huge feathers came loose and floated to the floor.

Betsy
expelled an exaggerated gasp. “Why, you mean to tell me you’ve been locked up in here all this time? That’s terrible!”

“It certainly is!” Mrs. Brock huffed as she made to shove past.

“Yes, ma’am. You done missed it. Pastor Luke proposed to Miss Longfellow.”

Mrs. Brock stopped dead in her tracks. She turned to Betsy, murder in her eyes, before she aimed it at her daughter. “See what you did? You ruined it! See if I
ever
try to help you land a man again! You’re hopeless! HOPELESS!” She spun on her heel, and stomped from the room.

  Eva let out a weary sigh. “Well, I’m glad that’s over.”

“Mmmhmm,” added Betsy. “Your nerves must be made of iron, child. There’s no way I could have stood being locked in here with that woman. No, sir.”

  Eva got out of the chair she occupied, and came around the desk. “That’s the difference between you and me, Betsy. I’ve had a lot of practice.” She reached into her reticule, pulled o
ut a key, and handed it to her. “Here, you’ll need this to unlock the other door.”

Betsy smiled. “
Mmm hmm, I’ll do that. If you hurry, you’ll catch the pie-eating contest.”

Eva smi
led and glanced at Betsy over one shoulder. “So tell me, was my sacrifice worth it?”

“Oh
, yes; it certainly was. “Pastor Luke and Miss Longfellow will be married just as soon as they can find a preacher.”

Eva took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’m so glad. She’s going to make a wonderful pastor’s wife.”

“What about you, Miss Brock? Don’t you fancy getting married one day?”

Eva turned to look at her. “To who
m? All the men around here are terrified of my mother.”

“Who says it has to be to a man from around here?”

“What are you saying?”

“I done help
ed get Miss Longfellow out here, maybe I can help you get …
somewhere
.”

Eva smiled. “Do tell
!”

Betsy smiled. “
Mmmhmm.”

The End

About
the Author
:

K
it Morgan, aka Geralyn Beauchamp, has been writing for fun all her life.
When writing as Kit Morgan
,
her books are whimsical, fun, inspirational
,
sweet stories that depict a strong sense of family and community. When writing as Geralyn Beauchamp, her books are epic, adventurous, romantic fantasy at its very best.

Love in Independence is the sixth installment of the Holiday
Mail
Mail-
Order Bride Series.
Be looking for the seventh installment,
Love at Harvest Moon,
which is
coming in August!