Page 24 of Mail-Order Bride Secret
He grinned and nodded. His eyes flashed a message. Encouragement. Trust. Complete certainty that she would be treated well.
Her gaze lingered a heartbeat longer, soaking up his reassurance then she turned to greet the others. Wally’s descriptions had been so accurate that she would have recognized each of the women without Della’s introduction. Gwen, dark-haired and serene. Honor, blonde with a spattering of freckles. Olivia, probing dark eyes and an air of assurance.
The men were more difficult. The twins—Matt and Luke—were nothing alike. Andy, the youngest, was the blondest of the four, and Riley, the eldest, was thedarkest. She met Della’s mother, a tiny older lady with a gentle quietness to her.
Moments later, she sat at the table, Wally next to her, the twins beside her on the other side, and Jonathan, shy before so many people, on her lap.
Andy offered a blessing and then food was passed around. Mashed potatoes, creamed peas, turnips, pickled beets, roast chicken.
“This is better than anything served at the restaurant,” she said. Such bounty. As she’d assured Ivy and Otis, it appeared they wouldn’t need to worry about where the next meal came from.
Della acknowledged the comment with a thank you. “We are blessed with abundance.”
“Our garden was generous.” Gwen sounded pleased to announce the fact.
“Our root cellar is full,” Honor said with an equal amount of pride.
“Jars in a rainbow of colors line the shelves in the cellar below our feet.” Olivia’s eyes sparkled with enjoyment of the knowledge.
Wally added, “We have a spring house full of meat.”
“Not to mention lots of beef on the hoof if we need more.” The men chuckled at Andy’s comment.
Honor’s fork paused halfway to her mouth. “You worked at a restaurant in Kellom, didn’t you?”
“I did.” She gave the name of the establishment.
“I’ve been there.” Olivia studied Madeline. “I don’t recall seeing you.”
“You wouldn’t have. I didn’t serve customers. I was in the back washing dishes.” Not wanting anyone to feel sorry for her situation, she continued, “The job meant I could keep Jonathan with me. The twins helped the last while by keeping him from being underfoot.” She smiled her gratitude toward the pair, and they beamed at the acknowledgment.
Conversation turned to cows and weather. The main part of the meal over, Della served generous pieces of pumpkin pie topped with mounds of whipped cream.
Madeline savored a mouthful. “This is delicious.”
“You can thank my mother. She made the pies.”
Madeline did so.
“Here we all are.” Something in Honor’s tone squeezed Madeline’s heart. Would they now ask questions she dare not answer?
Honor continued. “Each of us a mail-order bride and all of us except for Della came from Kellom, and we were introduced to our husbands by the work of Mrs. Strong. And yet, it seems, none of us have seen each other before. Doesn’t that seem odd?”
Della chuckled. “It appears this Mrs. Strong cast a wide net. She must have been a busy woman. I wonder how many marriages she’s had a hand in?”
“I’m just grateful she’d been doing such a good job.”Luke’s comment brought nods of agreement from all the men.
Wally patted Madeline’s hand where it rested beside her plate. “God is good. What was it your father used to say?” He directed his question to the Shannons.
Andy chuckled. “You mean ‘It’s because of God’s goodness I am where I am?’”
“Yeah, that.”
“Do you recall how he’d add, ‘And not at the bottom of a lake’ referring to the time he almost drowned?” Luke seemed to find the idea amusing which Madeline thought odd except, of course, it hadn’t happened so perhaps it was simply a family joke.
“Or gored to death by a bull.” Riley turned to Madeline to explain. “He was attacked more than once but always escaped with minor injuries.”
“Might be because of Ma’s prayers.” Andy’s words brought nods from his brothers and Wally.
