Eva's Vision (Valentine Mail Order Bride 6) Read online

  Eva’s Vision

  Valentine Mail Order Bride Series, Book Six

  By Jackie Marie Stephens

  Copyright 2016 Jackie Marie Stephens

  Digital Edition, License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient.

  If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite online ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Eva’s Vision copyright © 2016 by Jackie Marie Stephens

  Stephens, Jackie Marie (2016-02-07). Eva’s Vision. (Valentine Mail Order Bride Series Book 6) Kindle Edition.

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  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1 – Tears, Tears, Tears

  Chapter 2 – Finding A Way

  Chapter 3 – Tears, Blood and More

  Chapter 4 – A Bad Beginning

  Chapter 5 – Wright’s Homestead

  Chapter 6 – Dinner Fireworks

  Chapter 7 – Half of the Dream

  Chapter 8 – Green-Eyed Monster

  Chapter 9 – Farewell

  Author’s Note

  Bonus First Chapter - Angie’s Hope

  Chapter 1 – Tears, Tears, Tears

  New York City, 1898

  “Eva… Eva, where are you?”

  Molly’s voice broke through and roused Eva. She bent her head and used the front of her skirt to wipe away her tears. This was supposed to be a happy day and here she was, crying again at the back of her school’s building.

  The last time had been Valentine’s Day, just a few weeks ago. One more time, Valentine’s Day had come and gone, taking its promise of love with it. This year she had spent the day in a state of near misery at her desk in class. The typewriter was the only thing feeling any love as she worked diligently to do well in a crucial grading test for her typist’s course qualification.

  Other girls in class had a few special deliveries from their sweethearts. Chocolates and bunches of flowers with cards that spoke of undying devotion and love attached to the gifts borne by delivery boys. The sight of each gift and the smiling girls had just added to the misery that tightened her heart until she left after finishing her test and hid, crying behind the school’s building.

  And now, here she was again. More tears. More to worry about.

  “Eva, there you are! I’ve been searching for you all over. I collected your Typing Certificate for you.”

  Eva watched Molly walk towards her, two certificates in hand. Tears welled in her eyes again, overcome with love and gratitude for her dear friend.

  Molly was her best friend at typing school and she and Eva were amongst a few of the girls in class that did not have suitors, who got nothing for Valentine’s Day. She was also the first friend she had made when she started her typing course.

  “Eva, why are you crying? You should be happy we’ve finally finished this tough typing course!”

  Molly wiped away the few tears that were escaping Eva’s eyes again and hugged her friend.

  “It’s just that I’ve already received three rejection letters to applications I put in.” Eva took the folded envelopes out of her purse and handed them to Molly.

  “Each company said I was very qualified but that they preferred to hire men because young ladies like me always end up married and pregnant!”

  “They are just backward, Eva. The world is changing. You will find a job. You have to, or I certainly won’t and I don’t want to be cleaning houses much longer.”

  Eva and Molly giggled. That was another thing they both shared right from the start. They both cleaned wealthy women’s homes. In fact, that’s what led Eva to meet Molly in the first place.

  Eva and her mother had both been struggling when her father died. Alcohol abuse led to a long sickness of the liver and he had finally passed in his sleep a few months back. The extra medical bills during his illness forced them to both take additional washing and housekeeping jobs for well off women to help make ends meet.

  While she was cleaning for one of the upper-class ladies, Eva overheard her employer berating his daughter for wanting to take up a job as a typist. Upset, the girl tossed the flyer into the trash bin and Eva, being the good housekeeper, had taken the paper from the trash… and immediately smoothed it and slipped it into the pocket of her dress.

  With what little money she had saved for her grand getaway, she paid for her typist course tuition and took the late afternoon class after her housekeeping jobs finished for the day. And met Molly with whom she’d become fast friends.

  “Eva, stop daydreaming and listen to me.” Molly was clicking her fingers in front of Eva’s face and grinning at her. Eva playfully batted her fingers away.

  “Ok, Missy, you have my undivided attention.”

  “Good. It’s about time because it’s important!” Both girls settled back and stared up into the tree as they usually did when discussing plans for their future. It helped take the strain off their necks after long hard hours of typing.

  “I heard some of the girls talking about going to celebrate with Lucy this morning before you came. Maybe there is a way out of here, a way to find husbands and new lives.”

  “I’m getting so old, Molly. You’re a little younger and much prettier than me. Soon you will find a husband and I’ll be left all alone growing old, lamenting being an old maid, with one or two of my Bible Study friends writing me letters to tell me about their children and grandchildren if I’m lucky.”

  “No, that’s what I’m trying to tell you. I was talking to Lucy before you came this morning and she told me about a man who has found her a husband. She’ll be leaving next week.”

  “Lucy is getting married?”

  “Yes, so I asked her to tell us about this agency man after the test. We’re to meet her in about twenty minutes to find out all the details, before she goes off to celebrate with her friends.

  At last Eva felt her heart lighten for the first time that day. She blew her nose one final time into her hanky and hugged her friend.

  “Molly, that’s the best news ever. You always know just how to cheer me up!”

  “I’m going to see if Lucy is finished her test yet. You stay here and relax and I’ll bring Lucy back here so we can all talk in peace.”

  “Ok, I’ll wait here. My face is probably too much of a mess to go back inside when everyone’s still there now anyway.”

  “Your face is fine. Nothing a good rinse won’t fix but I’ll bring Lucy back here so we can get all the juicy details.” Molly got up and winked before striding away.

  Eva also got up and went to rinse her face over by the outside pipe attached to the building. She walked around in the wintry sun a bit, pushing up her face to feel its warmth enfolding her.

  Alone with her thoughts again, Eva stared at the school cat lying under the low table outside the school shed. Her kittens were contentedly suckling and Eva wondered how good it must be to be a cat and not have to worry about finding a job nor a husband.


  Eva was twenty-three, considered an old maid now with no husband and no children to love and take care of. If she was really unlucky, she might also find herself with no job.

  This was one of the reasons she worked so hard to get her typist’s certificate. From what she had seen, there weren’t many jobs available for typists, and those that were specified that males were preferred for the job.

  Eva always huffed at the newspaper want ads as she and Molly pored over them at least once a week. They both knew either one of them could do a better job than any of the men.

  Eva’s teacher had said she was an excellent typist and should have little trouble getting a job with a newspaper. Still, she knew she had to be even better. Better than all the male job applicants to combat being a woman in a man’s world, so she worked and studied and practiced until her fingers felt like they’d drop off.

  Eva wanted to find someone to love, who would love her in return. But not here. Not in this small-minded city where only men were given the jobs that a woman could also easily do. She wanted love but she also wanted to work too. To use the talents God gave her.

  Eva knew she needed to move to another place. A new place where there were less male typists to compete with. That would be the only way she would have a chance to be hired based on her qualifications and performance, not her gender.

  But these were high hopes. A huge, maybe impossible dream that needed money to help it come true. Money that neither Eva nor her ailing mother had.

  Eva’s mind jumped to the happy evening celebration with her Bible Study friends a couple weeks ago. She had been daydreaming and worrying about her prospects to find both a job and a husband then too.

  “Eva… Eva are you listening?” Caroline’s voice had broken into her daydreaming.

  Her group of friends sat together at two joined tables at Mrs M’s. They were celebrating both Sarah’s and Caroline’s departure to be married the next day. They were all full from eating their favourite chowder and Eva was supposed to be enjoying these special last moments with the girls.

  It all started after another disastrous Valentine’s Day that year. Afterwards, all the girls decided to look through ads from the Matrimonial Times to find a good husband prospect to write to. Eva kept going through each week’s issue but couldn’t find anyone even barely interesting.

  Both Mae and Maddie hit the jackpot early along with Jewel and all three of her best girl friends were happy mail order brides now. Then Sarah and Caroline left after that last get-together at Mrs M’s. They made five, five of her closest friends gone far away, out West. Only she and Angie of their tightknit study group were left and Angie was about to leave too. Eva couldn’t stop more tears from falling. She still had no prospect in sight.

  Well, enough tears. I’ll have to wash my face all over again so Lucy won’t see I was crying.

  Just in time, Eva finished washing and drying her face when both Molly and Lucy turned the corner and walked towards her behind the school building.

  “Lucy, here’s Eva. Now you can tell her your good news!”

  “Hi, Eva. We keep missing each other in class. I only get to see you during tests!”

  “Hi, Lucy. That’s because I’m always running off to help Ma at home since she’s been feeling poorly. Thanks for taking the time to tell us your good news. I hear congratulations are in order,” Eva grinned.

  Lucy grinned back at her. “Yes, it’s all very exciting. Abe’s a lovely man, though I’ve not met him yet, but he writes the most romantic letters.” Lucy was practically gushing with joy.

  “Lucy was just telling me that she heard about her Abe from an agency, Eva.”

  “I didn’t know they had agencies to help women get married. What’s the name of the agency, Lucy and how did you find out about it?”

  “Oh, in the Dollars and Cents section of the paper!” Lucy said, “They’re called the Monroe Romance Agency. They do a dating service as well as mail order brides.” She saw the look of hope flare in Eva’s eyes.

  “How does it work?”

  “Well, you sign up with them, take a questionnaire that helps them match you with someone and then they give you a few options for your future husband. You can pick one and he’ll pay for you to go to him.”

  “Where are these men from?” Eva asked.

  “From all over the country. Mine’s in Montana where he owns a farm. I even have a picture of him…” Lucy pulled out a picture of a handsome young man. Eva took the picture carefully, not wanting to damage the photograph.

  “He’s a good looking fellow.”

  “Yes, Abe’s dreamy, isn’t he?” Lucy said as she took the picture back and sighed, swooning over her husband to be.

  “He certainly is.”

  Lucy tucked the photograph back into her reticule. “I’m sorry I have to run off but some of the girls are waiting for me. Go and find someone, Eva and you too, Molly. I hope everything works out for you just as it has for me.”

  The girls walked back with Lucy to the front of the school so she could meet up with her friends, hearing even more about Montana and the new life she was about to begin with her darling Abe.

  Eva and Molly left too. They were both exhausted from working at their housecleaning jobs and then taking their final test.

  “Molly, what do you think?”

  “I think you need to go to the agency and check it out. I’m not ready yet but if it works out, I’ll either come out to join you wherever you are or I’ll sign up with the agency too. I would just prefer to be close enough to see you often, if I don’t end up exactly where you are, Eva.”

  “Ok, I want that too, Molly.” Eva mulled a bit then made up her mind. “I am going to go tomorrow afternoon after work since we’ve finished classes. We’re going to make this work, Molly. Thank You so much. I feel like I have a plan now and that’s all because of you.”

  “Let me know how it goes, Eva. Here’s my bus!” And off Molly went after giving Eva a quick hug.

  Eva eagerly caught her own bus home. She now had a way to get out. To start a new life in a new part of the country out west somewhere. She was determined to find a way to find love and use her new found typing skills to create a happy life.

  Chapter 2 – Finding A Way

  The next afternoon after work, Eva strode with purpose down to the small office of the Monroe Romance Agency that sat above the local butcher’s shop on Little George Street.

  The office was a single room with a small cluttered desk. A dying potted plant sat upon a side table that was nestled between two small and uncomfortable looking wooden chairs. The plant looked like it was in the wrong spot to survive another day without sunlight.

  Behind the desk were three filing cabinets. All were overstuffed to the point of not being able to be closed properly. A man in a poorly pressed suit was trying to shove yet another folder into one of the overstuffed drawers, cursing the cabinet with each shove.

  Eva cleared her throat. The man’s head snapped up and he looked sheepish. He tossed the folder on to the desk, where its contents cascaded over the side and down on to the old carpet.

  “Oh, damn it.” he exclaimed as the paperwork settled in a new mess on the floor.

  “Sorry, Miss. Welcome to the Monroe Romance Agency. My name is Franklin Monroe. How may I help you today?” He stood behind the desk, his ill-fitting suit bunching up slightly around his waist.

  “I’m looking for a husband,” Eva informed him, trying to force her nerves out of her voice. The gentleman grinned.

  “Well, you’ve come to the right place!” He gestured to one of the two chairs that she noticed on the way in. “Take a seat and we’ll get started with the questionnaire.” She took a seat while he rummaged through one of the drawers to find a sheet of printed paper then sat opposite her.

  “So, Miss…?”

  “Lewis, Eva Lewis.” She watched as he wrote down her name.

  “So tell me, Miss Lewis, why are you seeking a husband?”

  �
�Well, I’ve had little to no interest in the fellows around town, Mr Monroe, and I fear my prospects are not good to find a husband. I’m twenty-three and I live with my widowed mother.” Eva looked down at her hands, fidgeting nervously.

  “You do understand, Miss Lewis, that if you do find a husband you will be moving away from your family, your life here?” he asked her, his eyes taking on a serious light.

  “I know. I’m prepared to move. In fact I feel my only path to happiness is to get out of this town. Honestly, there’s very little for me here, other than my mother, but she knows I need to find myself a good husband. Almost all the single men are taken here and those that are left, I don’t see myself with, nor are they good husband material.”

  “Very well, what skills and hobbies do you have?”

  “I am a good cook. I work as a housekeeper, so I have cleaning skills. I’m good at sewing and I have my Typist’s Certificate.” Mr Monroe nodded as he wrote down the information.

  “And is there anywhere specific that you might like to live, if we can arrange a husband for you?”

  “Colorado, preferably.”

  “All right, that’s it for the questions. We just need your five dollar processing fee and we can get you started.”

  Eva grew pale. She had barely enough money for her lunch that day, let alone five dollars!

  “I’m afraid I don’t have that kind of money, Sir.” Tears welled in her eyes.

  Mr Monroe smiled sadly. “Well, I’m afraid I can’t help you, Miss Lewis.” He stood up and gathered the papers to begin to tear them up.

  “Wait!” Eva said, her hand reaching out beseechingly to him. “What if I tidy up your office? Do your filing? I’m sure you’d prefer to have all this typed up rather than in your handwriting? I can even teach you to type if you like?”

  Mr Monroe looked at the young woman, desperate to get out of New York. Then he looked at the terrible state that his office was in. It was cluttered, messy and cramped. He hated it.