The Farmer's Bride

Charlotte wants nothing more than to get away from high society in New York City where she can never say the right thing or act as one of her station should. When she hears of mail order brides, she knows it's her one chance to finally find a suitor who will actually accept her for who she is.
Joshua has worked hard preparing his new homestead and now he just needs a wife to help take care of his home. The advertisement for Charlotte promises the perfect fit, and he is excited to meet his new wife.
Life in the west isn’t as easy as Charlotte expected, and each day brings a new challenge. Joshua is everything Charlotte could have ever imagined, and his neverending patience is more than she feels like she deserves. Will Charlotte give up and return to the home she loves? Or will Joshua show her that she has everything she needs right there?

 Charlotte glanced at the servant woman and wrinkled her nose. It must be so awful to be the one who had to scrub the floors every day. Especially since Charlotte was the one who usually made the mess. Perhaps she should stop running through the muddy fields to get back from the stables. 

“Sorry for the mud.” Charlotte pulled
off her boots. It was better to walk through the hall with bare feet anyway.

“It’s all right, ma’am. I’d have to
scrub the floors anyway.” The servant glanced up and then went back to
scrubbing. The tile floors glistened in the candlelight where she’d already
cleaned.

Charlotte shook her head, ashamed for not thinking of the mess she’d make by walking through the halls. Again. “No,vit’s not all right.” 

The woman stopped and leaned back. “Are you well, ma’am?”

“Yes.” Charlotte hadn’t realized she
was staring. She blinked away the memories from the ball that night. “No, no I’m not. I was just rejected by New York’s finest suitor for saying the wrong thing.”

“Oh dear. One must learn to control
their tongue.” She gasped and looked down at her hands. “I apologize. I shouldn’t have spoken out of turn.”

Charlotte smirked. “You just said what everyone else has told me more than once. I’ll never be married at this rate.”

The woman finally met Charlotte’s
eyes. “If they don’t like you as you are, they are not worthy of you, ma’am.”

“Naomi, I’ve told you a thousand
times. Call me Charlotte.”

“I know, ma’am. But your mother says
otherwise.” She went back to scrubbing. “Does this mean she will be home from the ball soon?”

Charlotte nodded and stood. It would
be better if Mother didn’t find her slouching on a chair in the hallway. She was in enough trouble as it was for speaking out during dinner. “Yes. If you don’t mind, I’d like to change. Do you think you could get my nightgown?”

Naomi stood. “Yes, I’ll do that for
you right now.”

“Thank you.” Charlotte walked to her
room. 

The woman’s fingers were quick and
sure as she undid ribbons and buttons. “What was it this time if I may ask?”

Charlotte sighed as she pulled on her
night gown. “It was awful. And not entirely my fault, though Mother will see it that way. Mr. Edwards was telling one of his companions a joke, and I thought it was funny. I laughed rather . . . loudly . . . while Stephen was talking to me about his riches, and he took it as an insult. It was bad timing, really.”

Naomi laughed and shook her head. “Not very ladylike for sure. You should compose yourself in a suitor’s presence.”

“What about Stephen? He wasn’t exactly quiet when he told me I wasn’t fit for a wife. But people seemed to applaud him.” Charlotte dropped into a chair.

“It’s just the world we live in ma’am.
You must follow the rules you were raised with.” Naomi’s smile was kind as she hung Charlotte’s dress.

“Do you think I’ll be a spinster,
Naomi?” Charlotte propped her chin on her hand.

Naomi chuckled and picked up a
hairbrush. “If you stay here, yes. You have a sharp mind and a quick tongue, and those in high society don’t like that.”

“No, they don’t.” Charlotte leaned
forward and propped her chin on her hand. “But what other choice do I have? Mother insists that I’m waited on hand and foot, so I have no skills to share. And the men here bore me.”

Naomi leaned close and whispered. “So, leave.” 

Charlotte blinked. “I can’t do that.” 

Naomi grasped Charlotte by the
shoulders and pulled her back so she could brush her hair. “They’re looking for women to go out west. You could do that.”

“What?” Charlotte’s eyebrows shot up as she  met Naomi’s gaze in the mirror. “What do you mean?”

Naomi was silent as she began to braid Charlotte’s hair. “It may just be gossip, but there was talk at the last party your parents held. The men in the west need brides. Women can put an advertisement out and men could choose you to be their bride. You would get land and a few
other benefits.”

“That’s . . . that’s barbaric. What
woman would allow a man to buy them?” Charlotte stood and paced. The very thought that someone could do that. She paused and turned to Naomi. “Who told you this?”

“No one, ma’am. People don’t pay
attention when I’m around, so I hear many things.” Naomi waited for Charlotte to sit so she could braid her hair. “It may be inaccurate. You know how gossip is.”

Except that it didn’t feel like
gossip. Usually it was more about who was courting who or who lost their fortune. This was different. Charlotte tapped her fingers on the vanity table in front of her. It was an . . . intriguing idea.

Charlotte shook her head. “I couldn’t
possibly do something like this. As I said before, I have no skills to offer.
If men want a wife, it’s to help them around the house. I’m not the one they’d want.”

“The only way for you to learn is to
throw yourself into it. I could help you with a few things before you leave if
you decide to go.” Naomi set the brush down. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I must go finish scrubbing the floors.”

Charlotte nodded and stood. “Mother
should be home soon, so you’d better hurry. Thank you.”

Naomi curtsied and left the room.
Charlotte sighed and went to go find Father. If anyone knew about the brides it would be him. He stayed up to date on all events that were happening, and this seemed like the type of thing that would stand out to him. Charlotte went straight for his office to find him. After dealing with social events, that’s usually where he’d go to hide out for the rest of the night.

Charlotte paused, wondering if she
should ask him. The mocking looks from the ball guests that night came back to her. She knocked at his office door and opened it before she could change her mind. She needed to leave this place. 

Father looked up from his parchment
and smiled. “I thought you were still at the ball.” Father folded his hands on the desk.

“Stephen rejected me.” Charlotte ran
her hand along his desk. “But then you probably knew he would.” 

Father leaned back in his chair. “I
actually thought he’d be the one.”

Charlotte raised an eyebrow. “No, you didn’t.”

“I hoped.” Father chuckled. “I hate
seeing you alone. Your mother and I want nothing more than to see you happily married. It doesn’t matter who it is.”

“Do you mean that?” Charlotte asked, surprised. 

Father stood and came around the desk. “I know that we’ve been hard on you the last couple of years. We’re trying our best. We just wish you wouldn’t throw away every suitor that comes along. Surely one of them was good enough.”

Charlotte ticked names off on her
fingers. “Would it be Thomas who wanted nothing but your money? Or Edward who never bathed? Ever. Or was it Zachariah whose eyes seemed to wander whenever we spoke? Those are the ones I rejected. All the others chose to walk away.”

“Very well. I suppose you’re right.”
Father folded his arms over his chest. “But you didn’t come here for us to talk about failed suitors. What is it that you really want?”

Charlotte bit her lip. Maybe she
should wait and find out more herself. No, she wanted to know now. “Tell me everything you know about men needing brides out west.”

***

The post office was filled with customers when Charlotte arrived early the next morning. She should have worn a large hat to hide her face. There were most likely people who would recognize her, and
she didn’t want them to see her when she filled out the application. Perhaps she should come back later . . . 

“Next.” The man’s voice made Charlotte jump.

Everyone else had already gone through the line, so Charlotte moved to the counter. “Hello, I need to put my name down for a mail order bride.”

The man pulled a book out from under the counter and flipped it open. “Here’s the application. You can stand over there and fill it out. That is, if you’re sure you want to do this.”

Charlotte took the paper from him.
“I’m sure.” 

Mother had not been thrilled that
Charlotte was going to do this, but she’d been supportive. Charlotte filled out the application like they’d decided on together and checked to make sure everything was correct. When she was satisfied, she took the application to the postmaster.

“Here you go.” 

“Thank you. I’ll take care of the rest.
Good luck to you.” He smiled at her and wrote something in the binder.

Charlotte hurried out to the carriage
where her parents sat waiting and climbed in. “I did it.” 

Mom frowned. “And you’re sure this is what you’d like to do? I’m sure there are still other suitors here. Somewhere.”

“She’s made up her mind, dear. Don’t
force us into more balls, please.” Father patted Mother’s shoulder.

Charlotte suppressed a smile and
stared out the window. Hopefully her ad would be answered soon.