RNWMP: Bride for Theodore (Mail Order Mounties)(33)
JoAnn tossed her long hair back over her shoulder with a hand. “I’m perfectly ready to work and work hard.”
Miss Hazel nodded, acknowledging her. “Well, then let’s get going. I’ll show you to your rooms. This will probably be your last opportunity to have your own bedroom your entire lives, so I gave you each a different one. Follow me.”
Evelyn frowned. “Aren’t we waiting for one more?”
“Yes, we are, but that one more needs to learn that life waits for no woman. She’ll be here soon, or she will lose out on this opportunity.” Miss Hazel led the way up the stairs, her voluminous skirts rustling about her legs. She still wore the full skirts that were in fashion ten years ago, which JoAnn found odd. Everyone knew she had enough money for whatever wardrobe she wanted, so maybe she just liked their comfort.
JoAnn stepped into the bedroom that she was to have for the next two weeks, and she walked over to the bed, sitting on the edge of it. “This will do nicely. Will it be a problem if I practice my violin late?”
Miss Hazel shook her head. “As long as you don’t get to rowdy with it, I have a feeling it will help us all to sleep.” She started to close the door, but stopped short. “Be downstairs in twenty minutes, ready to work. I’ll teach you how to bake fresh bread today.”
JoAnn smiled, setting her things down and placing her violin on the dresser—in a place of honor. She loved her instrument. More than she loved most of the people she knew, if the truth were told. Her instrument never let her down, not like humans did. She sighed, glad the door was closed for a minute to leave her to her maudlin thoughts.
She changed her clothes, putting on an apron that covered her linen dress. Her mother wanted her to wear silk at all times, but why would someone wear silk if they were about to play in flour? Bread was made with flour, wasn’t it? Truthfully she wasn’t terribly concerned about learning to cook. If she had trouble, Jess would help her. She couldn’t wait to see her friend!
Hurrying downstairs, a short while later, she saw that the other girl had arrived. She was a stranger to JoAnn, who studied her closely. She had red, flowing hair, and she wore a blue dress with puffed sleeves. She wasn’t wearing an apron, but Miss Hazel handed her one. JoAnn couldn’t help but wonder why the girl had been so late.
Miss Hazel demonstrated making bread, and taught the girls how to knead it. She promised to send them with exact recipes of all the different things she’d teach them to cook, and at that point, JoAnn quit listening. She was a perfectly competent reader, after all. She could follow simple directions.
While the bread was rising, Miss Hazel taught them to make a simple stew, and then they all helped to clean the kitchen. JoAnn didn’t particularly enjoy touching the raw meat. It was disgusting to her, and she knew her mother had never touched raw meat. No, that was something for the cook to do, not the lady of the house.
JoAnn cringed at the thought. Soon, she would be not only the lady of the house, but the cook and the maid as well. There was so much for her to learn. Why couldn’t she just skip over this time and move to British Columbia to marry her Kendall. Already she thought of him possessively.
When she finally fell into bed that night, it was from utter exhaustion. She’d thought she’d have time to play for a bit before bed, but the day had been filled with baking, cooking, cleaning, eating, manners, and finally conversational ideas. JoAnn had some of the things—like manners and conversation—down better than the others, but she was sorely lacking in cooking and cleaning. Rose offered to help her get better, and she could tell the other girl was going to be a good friend to her.
As she drifted off to sleep, she pictured a man in a Mountie uniform, strumming a guitar while she stood with her violin tucked under her chin in perfect playing position. They would wow all the people in the West with their skills. How could they not?
She yawned, a smile on her face as she slept. Soon she would be in British Columbia with her new husband, ready to start their lives together.
*****
Miss Hazel woke JoAnn up the following morning with a knock on her door. She slipped into the room and sat on the edge of JoAnn’s bed. “I know this is a lot for you to learn all at once.”
JoAnn struggled to wake up. She was never at her best first thing in the morning. “It is,” she said as she sat up, her back against the headboard and the covers tucked under her arms. “I can do it, though. I just have to put my mind to it.”
“I think you can do it, but yesterday, you didn’t seem to care to put you mind to it. You seemed very distracted. Do you want to tell me what that was all about?”
JoAnn shrugged. “I’ll try harder today. Everything you taught me yesterday…well, I just kept thinking that it didn’t matter if I learned now, because Jess would happily teach me again when I got out West. And then we’d have more time that we’d be able to spend together.”
Miss Hazel shook her head. “I can’t send you out there unless you know how to bake bread and make a simple meal. I know you want to spend a lot of time with Jess when you get there, and you’ll be able to, but you have to be able to stand on your own two feet first. I want to know that when Jess is big with my first grandbaby that there will be a friend who can help her out.”
“I’ll do better. I promise.” JoAnn felt ashamed of herself. Sure, Jess could help her, and Jess would be happy to do it, because they were friends. But she shouldn’t have to.