Lone Pine Bride (The Brides of Lone Pine #1)(5)

There would be little money over but he did get a bit of an income from the cheese he made which was one thing his mother had taught him to do. He also sold eggs and the produce he grew on his farm, quite a bit of it in Independence where he would travel each week. He would now have two mouths to feed instead of one but Rachel said she sold some of her knitting to make money and also said her needlepoint was very popular. That would make added income though, of course, he wouldn’t ask her to do that. If a man couldn’t support his wife he had to be pathetic.

He put on his hat and surveyed himself from a few angles. Would Rachel think he was reasonable looking or would she prefer the older, more dapper men who wore bowler hats? Some people called them derby hats, his mother had told him. Rachel said she didn’t mind what his appearance was like but surely all women did, or so Jason said. However, there were quite a few pretty women in the community who had husbands who were no oil paintings so maybe he had a chance.

He made his way outside to where he had earlier put out the small carriage he had hired for a week from a neighbour and jumped into the driving seat. She was no horse rider, Rachel had told him in one of her letters, but she was looking forward to him teaching her to ride. That would at least be one thing he would know better than her and it would be nice to teach her. He had already chosen out a horse she could regard as her own which was gentle and easy to ride.

He was an hour early but it was best that way, he had decided. The coach might come in early and there would be nothing worse than Rachel arriving and him not being there. The minister of the church, the Reverend Jonathon Barnsley, would be there with his wife, Linda, to meet the ladies, as would the other men who were meeting their brides. At least Rachel had not had to come alone because seven in all were coming. He made his way to the point where the coach would arrive and was the first to get there.

He looked around appreciatively while he drove. The track on which he was driving was some way from the mountains which stood starkly and beautifully a few miles away. But at one point he had to go through a gully which had high cliffs on either side and where he had sometimes tried climbing up them. Would Rachel like climbing rocks? What a stupid question. Of course she wouldn’t. She was a lady in every way and ladies didn’t do that kind of thing.

But it would be nice if she enjoyed walking and once she could ride a horse he would show her around the country though he could also do that with the cart. It would be very different from Boston, he was sure, because Boston was a big place. He had been to San Francisco but that was his only connection with large towns or cities.

The other men who were expecting brides arrived about thirty minutes later and some of them, he rather felt, were nervous. They twisted their caps, they shifted from leg to leg, they talked too loudly He knew how they felt but did not say much.

They were a bit of a motley bunch. He felt guilty the minute he thought that. If they were he was part of it. There was another Seth, a man he assessed to be in his mid thirties who was on the Reverend’s committee. Of course he would be because he was respected. He was balding, not very tall and hopefully his wife would not be tall either. He was quite well off but then he had more years under his belt to acquire money. When Seth was his age he would be rich himself.

And then there was Henry Platt, a nice young man but very shy around ladies. Hopefully his new bride would instil confidence into him when she arrived.

The other five he assessed to be in their late twenties or early thirties and one man he knew was just over forty. How Seth hoped all their brides would be happy with them. How he hoped Rachel would be the same with him because he was no better than them, even if he was the youngest.

Rev. Barnsley walked over to talk to him after he had greeted the other men, with Mrs. Barnsley next to him.

“How are you, Seth?” he asked.

“Fine,” Seth lied. Fine? He was a bundle of nerves.

“You’ve prepared your house for your future bride and have everything in order?”

“Yes. It’s spotless. Even my mother would be proud.”

“Good. You know to take things slowly at first? It is a big step for a young lady to meet someone she hasn’t seen, even though she knows you from your correspondence.”

“Yes. I will be very discreet.” Seth looked at his watch. Nearly ten fifteen and would they be very late? They would have called in at Lone Pine first, passed through Middle Pine but it wouldn’t take long to come to Lower Pine from there. He felt his nerves couldn’t take it. Even as he thought of it the thunder of wheels sounded ahead of them and he knew it had to be the coach.

He had met his mother on stagecoaches and always anticipated her visits with pleasure. But this was different. This was something that would change his life. This was the doorway to future happiness and marital bliss. This was terrifying.

It was a large stagecoach and pulled by four horses. He had never been in one himself but had heard they were reasonably comfortable, if a bit bumpy sometimes depending on the terrain. The horses pulling this particular coach were white which was a good touch, he felt, because it was carrying very precious cargo. They had been travelling for well over a week altogether but not necessarily just on this coach. Today they had travelled from Independence.

There was talk of a railroad coming near to Lone Pine and it was a pity it wasn’t already built because that would have been quicker than the stagecoach. However, they were now here so their travel had been safe and he would make up to Rachel for the long journey, Seth thought as the horses slowed down and stopped near to him.