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“Is he a nice man?” Ann’s voice cracked.
“Yes, he is.” Her head cocked to the side. “But don’t you know that, dear?”
“I’ve never met him.” Ann’s cheeks burned and she turned her head down, knowing full well the woman would soon guess the nature of their relationship. This reinforced why she’d avoided talking to anyone during her travels. She’d been assured that respectable women became mail-order brides all the time, but the idea still made her blush.
“Well, James McCann is a fine man. Any young woman would be blessed to have him.”
Ann’s gaze snapped back to the woman’s face. No judgment or mocking that she could observe. Only a warm smile that creased her cheeks so deep her eyes almost disappeared.
“You said you didn’t know him well,” Ann murmured.
“He doesn’t get to town much. His obligations on his farm keep him very busy. He’s also quiet and keeps to himself mostly, but he’s honest and decent. He’s in church every Sunday, he comes from a fine family, and I know for a fact he pays his bill at the store in full each month.” She wagged her finger to punctuate these last two points.
“And you say that any young woman would be blessed to marry him?” Ann tried to smother feelings of hope. Certainly this woman had no reason to lie? She’d imagined James McCann desired to send away to England for a bride because he had few other choices. She certainly wouldn’t be here if a pretty face and no references could get a servant girl more than a room in a brothel.
“Oh yes. He is—or rather was—a very eligible bachelor.” She bobbed her head in emphasis, and the loose bun on top bounced along with her.
“Might you even say he is kind?” Her voice was plaintive, even to her own ears.
The woman pursed her lips and patted Ann’s hand. “Very kind. Generous, too.”
Ann exhaled at the news. The girls at the agency had guessed right. She’d made an ugly match in James McCann. Most of them had been matched with men living in western America, where she’d been told eligible brides were as rare as the gold the men sought. When she shared with them the news of her future home in Ohio, these girls had smirked knowingly. He’s either ugly or wicked, they’d said. It relieved her to hear he was the former. She’d take an ugly, kind man over a cruel, handsome one any day. She hadn’t entered into this endeavor with any romantic notions. She only desired someone who could provide for her. To expect more would be foolish.
“I never introduced myself. I’m Mrs. Margaret Ludlow. And your name, dear?”
This question could be her chance to make a new start with a new identity! But no. James McCann already knew her by her name of the past eight years. It would have to remain. “Ann. My name is Ann.”
“Nice to meet you Ann—soon to be Ann McCann.”
She’d never thought to test out her new name. The result sounded like a silly joke, and she mouthed it silently for the first time. It possessed a surprisingly pleasant cadence. She liked it, all things considered.
Before she could ask Mrs. Ludlow any more questions, the conductor entered the car and announced their impending stop in Columbus. Her stomach quivered and she immediately regretted eating the apple. Despite misgivings, Mrs. Turner at the agency had allowed Ann to make this journey alone. Moral support proved a powerful thing, and most girls were required to travel in pairs. Clients weren’t happy when the brides they’d paid for got cold feet and failed to arrive. But Ann never intended to back out of the agreement. The orphanage had no more work for her, and her reputation as a servant for the upper class had been forever tarnished. Marrying James McCann was the best chance she had at a decent, stable future. Still, as the train edged closer to the station Ann wondered what would happen if she disembarked at the next station and disappeared into the crowd.
Mrs. Ludlow leaned over and pointed out the window. “We’re almost to my stop.”
“Your stop?” Ann’s heart fluttered. She’d found some measure of comfort in thinking this woman would be with her until her journey’s end.
“Didn’t I say? I’m staying in Columbus with another sister for a few days. Don’t worry. New Haven is only thirty more minutes.”
Mrs. Ludlow moved with excited efficiency, smoothing out the wrinkles in her traveling dress and using her palms to beat away at the dust clinging to the hem. Her haphazard toilet made Ann conscious she’d been traveling all day without so much as a glance at her reflection. She fetched a pocket mirror from her bag and bobbled it on her knee as she repinned her hair at the nape and smoothed the locks around her temples.
Mrs. Ludlow glanced over as Ann tidied herself and nodded approvingly. Ann smiled inwardly under the woman’s gaze. She’d been born into little, but God blessed her with beauty. She could only guess her looks had garnered a premium price as a prospective bride. No doubt the reason the agency accepted her application, despite their initial hesitation.
When the train finally ground to a stop, Mrs. Ludlow hoisted her carpetbag onto her lap. “There’s my sister’s husband,” she said, pointing to a stout man grimacing at his pocket watch. “I’d wait with you until the train departs, but the poor man doesn’t have an ounce of patience.”
“Thank you, but I’ll be fine. It was very nice meeting you.”
Ann ached for her to stay.
“The pleasure was mine, dear. May I call on you sometime?”
The question jarred her. She would soon have a home—her own home—in which she could accept visitors.
“Certainly. Of course. I would like that very much.” Ann stumbled over the words.
“I’ll let you settle in before I do. Every married couple needs time to get to know each other.”
Ann’s stomach turned to ice at the reminder of her approaching wedding night. How much time did she need to get to know a stranger? “I look forward to your visit.”
Mrs. Ludlow repeated her goodbyes several times and stopped at the door and waved before stepping from the train. Her brother-in-law hurried toward her and snatched the bag from her hands in chivalrous impatience.
Ann immediately missed Mrs. Ludlow. It had been weeks since she’d had a real conversation with anyone, and the woman’s kindness had reopened a loneliness Ann had tried hard to deny. Soon new passengers boarded the car and Ann’s heart dropped when the train lurched forward twenty minutes later, and she remained seated alone.
In that moment she would have welcomed even the most irritating of seatmates to distract her from thinking about what lay ahead. A new life in a new country. An intended husband whom she’d never met. After weeks of wondering and waiting, only a train stop stood between Ann and her future.
* * *
James McCann ran a calloused hand along the side of his wagon and grimaced. “I should have brought the buggy, Fred.”
Frederick Renner ambled over, his portly frame casting a shadow over the wagon boards. James had wiped down the seats and swept out the wagon bed, but most of the boards were split at the ends and embedded with the grime of farm work. The entire contraption could have done with a fresh coat of paint.
“Doesn’t look so bad to me,” Frederick offered. “And haven’t we already covered this? She’s going to have luggage. Probably a trunk or two. They would never fit in the buggy.”
“We could have left them with the stationmaster. I could have come back tomorrow with the wagon.”
Frederick chortled. “Boy, are you in for trouble if you think a woman would be content to be parted from all her worldly possessions for an entire day.”
James sighed. His friend was right. The buggy was the more attractive vehicle, but the wagon was the practical choice. The only choice. He wanted everything to be perfect for his bride, but if the pain of losing Emily had taught him anything, it was practicality served one so much better in this world than beauty.
“Besides,” Frederick continued, “if you’re trying to impress her, I’m sure that suit will do the trick.” He jabbed a chubby elbow into James’s ribs.
James tugged at the dark suit jacket, the new fabric stiff and unforgiving. The collar seemed to grow tighter by the minute. He slipped a finger between his neck and the material. A sparse breeze raked over a trickle of sweat and teased him with coolness. If only the day hadn’t turned stifling, maybe his heart wouldn’t beat so quickly.
The puff and clatter of the approaching train rumbled softly in the distance. The small crowd on the station platform buzzed and pushed forward like a swarm of bees, and James moved to join them. Frederick tapped him on the shoulder and held up a large cardboard sign with Ann Cromwell neatly lettered in black paint. “Don’t you need this?”
James waved him off. Like the unnecessary new suit and haircut, Frederick and his cousin Delia had insisted on the superfluous sign. “I’ll know her when I see her.”
“How exactly? You don’t have a picture.”
James exhaled. Frederick was a good friend, but he didn’t understand why James sought a bride from outside New Haven. He’d be flabbergasted if he knew how I expect to recognize her. He pushed the sign back into Frederick’s hands. “I just will.”
The train entered the station and James’s heart quickened. He clenched his fists at his sides, willing them to remain there instead of mussing his hair as he often did when he was nervous. In mere moments he would be face-to-face with his future wife, God willing. A young woman alighted from a third-class car and glanced back and forth across the platform.
It was her! Wasn’t it? His legs carried him forward before he could hesitate. As he strode closer, her features and form grew clearer. Yes, it had to be her. Tall and broad shouldered with mouse-brown hair yanked back into a severe bun. He drew close enough to observe a constellation of pockmarks on her cheeks. Her small eyes darted about before landing briefly on James. He smiled. Her brows pulled into a crease and she glanced away.
His heart fell. The sign! Frederick had been right after all. He recognized his bride, but she clearly didn’t realize he was her groom. His steps stuttered, but only for a moment. He couldn’t very well leave her on the platform while he fetched it. He approached the woman and removed his hat.
“Excuse me, miss?” Did his voice always sound so hoarse?
The corners of her mouth turned down and her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
“Clara! Clara, dear, I’m so sorry!” A thin, middle-aged woman in a blue dress with similar mouse-brown hair and an equally painful-looking bun appeared at James’s side and wrapped the young woman in a tight embrace. “We had the time wrong. I thought we were arriving early, and here you are, poor niece, left waiting all by your lonesome.”
Warmth swept over James’s cheeks as a vise of embarrassment replaced the drumbeat of nerves in his chest. The tall woman eyed him warily over her aunt’s shoulder as he replaced his hat and backed slowly away. He drew a deep breath. Ann Cromwell stood somewhere at this station and he needed to compose himself so he could find her. The crowd quickly dispersed as trunks were carried to waiting wagons and reuniting families finished their embraces. He scanned the thinning platform until two figures caught his eye. Frederick, cardboard sign in hand, speaking with a woman dressed in a dark green traveling dress with her back to James. Frederick’s eyes goggled.
James had no doubt the true Ann stood before his friend. Frederick’s gaping surprise told him everything. He chastised himself for not being the first to greet her. Rivulets of sweat coursed down his back and his shirt clung to every inch of his torso as he rushed over to join them.
“There you are, James,” Frederick said as James approached. “We’ve had a bit of confusion. Miss Cromwell saw the sign and thought I was you.”
“I am so sorry to have kept you waiting, Miss Cromwell.” Her diminutive size surprised him. The agency shared her height, but he never imagined she’d be so...petite. He stepped around the pair and at that same moment, she lifted her face to him in greeting.
“Oh my,” he breathed. His heart stopped and his mouth went dry as a haystack. Golden blond hair framed a delicate face accented by high cheekbones. Her eyes, as blue as a robin’s egg, blinked in the sun and her full, rosebud mouth turned up in a hesitant smile. “Are you the real James McCann?” Her voice held a teasing tone.
It took several beats for James to shake off the shock of finding a beauty instead of the plain, even homely woman he specifically requested. He removed his hat and held out his hand. She placed her impossibly small hand in his. “Yes, I am. Nice to meet you.” Oh no. There’s been a mistake. A terrible mistake.
“Do you have any trunks, Miss Cromwell?” Frederick asked.
“Please, call me Ann. And yes, I have one.”
She handed him her claim ticket, and Frederick stepped away to wave down the nearest porter, leaving James to shift his weight awkwardly from one foot to the other. His heart raced, but no longer from anticipation. The cold flush of panicked sweat threatened to soak through his jacket.
The smile on Ann’s perfectly pink lips slowly faded as the silence between them grew. He had to say something. Anything. “You’re Ann Cromwell?”
Her brows knit. “I am.”
“From the Transatlantic Agency?”
She laughed softly. A nervous laugh. “I gather my picture didn’t arrive.”
“It did...not.” His mind fogged. His hat remained in his hands and he replaced it before the urge to muss his hair became too strong.
“I imagine the post can be rather slow from England to Ohio.”
“Yes.” Words failed him. He couldn’t tear his eyes from her face. His mind skipped like a phonograph needle, playing the same thoughts over and over. Some sort of mistake. An enormous mistake. Thankfully Frederick returned and slapped him on the back. The jolt broke his trance.
“The trunk’s being loaded. Are you two ready?”
James stared at his friend. “Ready for what?”
Frederick smirked. “Didn’t you say you’d made reservations at Donahue’s?”
“Yes, yes.” He would follow his original plans for now. In a few hours he’d be at home and more than a few feet away from this woman and he could think clearly again. For now he struggled to keep his voice steady as Ann looked up at him through impossibly dark lashes. “I thought we could get some dinner in town before going back to my farm.”
“That sounds lovely.”
James offered her his arm, and Ann placed her hand on the sleeve of his jacket. He swore the heat radiated through two layers of material and scorched his skin.
Frederick cleared his throat. “It was very nice to meet you, Ann. Very nice. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
The brim of her hat obscured her face, but he could hear the smile in her voice. Ann’s lilting accent sent a shiver through him. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance, as well, Mr. Renner.”
“Frederick. Call me Frederick.”
“A pleasure, Frederick.”
Frederick winked at him and hurried away as fast as his short legs and ample frame would allow. He disappeared around a corner before James could think of a reason to convince his friend to stay.
Donahue’s stood four blocks from the station, but the journey felt like miles. Ann asked polite questions about each building they passed, and James tried his best to keep his eyes directly forward as he answered. The smallest glance at her face disoriented him, and he couldn’t help but notice how her beauty’s effects extended to passersby. He caught smiles of admiration, eyes slit with jealousy and two men received pointed elbows from their female companions for the mistake of looking too long. Several men outside the tobacco shop sent streams of juice down their shirts in distraction. Every eye in New Haven seemed to be fixed on Ann, save for his. Please, Lord, he prayed during the brief moments of silence. Grant me wisdom.
James couldn’t taste a bite of his two-dollar steak. He dutifully chewed the meat and swallowed, but his brain barely registered the meal. How many times had he walked past Donahue’s Hotel and Fine Dining and wondered when he might have an occasion to eat there? Now inside, he couldn’t be bothered to take in the grandeur of his surroundings or the extravagance of the meal. It all paled next to the beauty of the girl seated across from him.
Even as new rivers of perspiration trickled down his back and his hands trembled when he reached for the salt shaker, she showed no signs of being nervous. No one would guess she’d been traveling for days, let alone recently met the person she thought to be her future husband. Her cheeks were pink, her eyes were bright and her golden hair freshly styled. If only she knew what James had to say. His throat caught at the thought of telling her.
“I hope your steak is as delicious as mine,” she murmured.
Her lilting voice brought his attention to the piece of steak on his fork. How long had he been holding it? James took a bite. It sat as coarse and flavorless as week-old mutton in his dry mouth. “Yes, delicious.”
“Your friend Frederick seemed very nice.”
“Yes, nice.”
“Have you two been friends long?”
“Fairly long.”
Ann pressed her pink lips together and took a long draft of water from her cut-crystal glass. He couldn’t keep her at arm’s length for the entirety of the meal without upsetting her, let alone for the weeks or even months it would take to sort all this out. Yet he knew he couldn’t tell her in the middle of Donahue’s. She was a foreigner in a new land and none of this was her fault. He must be tactful.
“Frederick and I have been friends since we were kids,” he offered.
Her smile returned. “And he lives near you?”
“He lives here in town.”
“Shall we be seeing him in town tomorrow, or is he visiting your home?”
“I’m sorry?”
She cocked her head to one side. “He said he would see us tomorrow.”
Creamed spinach caught in his throat and his eyes watered. He took several gulps of water to keep from choking. “He did, didn’t he?” he croaked.
How could he explain this one? He would have to tell her the truth. At least part of it. “The agency said some couples marry almost immediately,” he blurted.
For the first time Ann’s calm demeanor broke. Her cheeks flushed and her eyes widened. Her hand trembled as she reached for her water glass. “Yes, Mrs. Turner said some choose to marry rather quickly.”
“So I’d made an appointment with Judge Vollrath at the courthouse for tomorrow. I’d planned for Frederick to meet us there and act as a witness.”
Ann bobbled her water glass but righted it before any liquid spilled. “You did?”
