Roberta: Bride of Wisconsin (American Mail-Order Bride 30) Read Free Page A

sweet wife was killed less than a year ago. I hope you can help his eyes lose their sadness."
    Bobbie blinked a couple of times. Lumber baron? Less than a year since he lost his wife? She'd just learned more about her intended groom than she had from his advertisement and his letter put together. "I hope so as well."
    "So what made you decide to be a mail-order bride? I can't imagine doing something so bold!"
    "It wasn't so much a decision as a necessity. You see, I was the manager of a clothing factory back in Lawrence, Massachusetts." She went on to tell the whole story starting from when she realized the books were off until the rocks were thrown through the window of the factory. "I felt responsible for all the ladies who worked there, so I checked around, and went to see a matchmaker in nearby Beckham. She had just received a shipment of her first ever copy of a new newspaper she was putting out, called the Grooms' Gazette . I took fifty papers back to Lawrence to share with others from the factory."
    "So all of you are going to be mail-order brides?"
    Bobbie shook her head. "No, a few of us decided to be mail-order brides. Some are going home to live with their parents. Some have other plans. I wanted to make sure no one felt like she had no way to survive."
    "Do you blame yourself for the fire?" Bertha asked, her brows drawn together. "You're not at fault, you know."
    "I do blame myself. I feel like I should have seen what he would do. I thank God every day no one was killed in that fire. It could have been so much worse."
    "I'm surprised it wasn't." Bertha leaned forward and patted Bobbie's hand. "You did a good job getting all of those women out of there."
    "I suppose. I wish I could have found them new jobs, but it wasn't possible. I tried to get backers to build a new factory, but no one was willing to take on a factory managed by a woman. Especially not after the fire. I don't really understand, because we were making a tidy sum, but I guess I don't have to understand."
    "It's still a man's world. I think women are making great strides, though. Why, I think we'll even be able to vote before too terribly long!" Bertha leaned forward, as if to impart a secret. "I've heard they're considering giving women the right to vote in Wyoming Territory right away!"
    "Oh, they're probably just doing that hoping women will move there! It's almost all men right now." Bobbie grinned as she said it. She had no idea why they were giving women the right to vote, but she'd heard others, more politically savvy than she was, give that explanation, so she would as well.
    Bertha laughed. "Can you blame them? I'm sure they're all missing the comforts that come with women being around."
    "I'm sure." Bobbie yawned. She and Sarah had been awake most nights, not wanting to miss a moment of the little time they had left together.
    "Oh, you're tired! You sleep. You've been on a train for a long time." Bertha put a small pillow against the window and rested her head against it. "I believe I'll sleep as well. You remember me when we get to Superior, though. We need to keep in touch."
    "I will." Bobbie closed her eyes. Maybe she could sleep the rest of the way to Superior and not worry about who her husband would be.

Chapter Two
     
     
    Jakob, Konrad, and Lukas drove to the train station in their buggy. Jakob wanted to impress his bride, because he wanted her to go through with the wedding and stay with them. The boys had done their best cleaning, but they were boys, after all. The house still needed a great deal of work, and he didn't want her to run as soon as she saw it. He really should have hired a housekeeper to come in as soon as Erna died, but there were so few women in the area, he hated to ask them to take time from their families.
    "You will both be on your best behavior today, ja?"
    "Ja," Konrad echoed, looking out of sorts as usual. The boy was not excited to meet the new mother he had written to. He wanted the house clean and better