Lily scrubbed herself clean, washed her hair and tried to make her clothes look more presentable – mostly, pounding the dust out of them. She never realized a stagecoach could get so dirty until she’d ridden in one.

She dressed, put up her hair and, rather than wait for Oscar in the room, wandered downstairs to the lobby. She found the blind hotel clerk fascinating and wanted a chance to speak with him again.

But it wasn’t the blind man that greeted her from behind the hotel counter when she descended the stairs, but a woman. “Oh, hello – you must be Oscar White’s mail-order bride.” She went to the bottom of the stairs and offered Lily a hand. “I’m Ada Brody. I help manage the hotel with my husband Lorcan. You’ve met him, of course.”

“Yes, earlier. Your husband is a remarkable man.”

Ada smiled, glanced at the ceiling and sighed. “That he is. He’s upstairs playing with our daughter right now.”

“A daughter? Do you have any other children?”

“No just little Aideen.”

“Little? How old is she?”

“Barely three, but going on thirty,” Ada said with a laugh.

Lily laughed too. It was nice to be able to talk with another woman. There had been a few female passengers here and there along the stage route, but she would never see any of them again. Which made her wonder… “This is such a lovely hotel – does the railroad plan to come here one day?”

“One day, I suppose. But who knows when? It’s not like we’re really on the way to anywhere except Portland and Oregon City – and neither one is what you’d call a big town.”

Lily glanced around the beautiful lobby. “It does seem a shame more people can’t see this place.”

“Oh, don’t think that we don’t have guests. We have over half a dozen staying with us now, aside from you and Oscar. They’re having tea in the dining room.”

Lily couldn’t resist the urge to peek past her to the room’s wide entrance. Sure enough, she saw most of the tables were full of people enjoying tea. “Seems to me you have a lot of guests.”

Ada gazed into the room as well. “Oh, that. Well, most of those folks are locals.”

Lily blinked a few times – had she heard her right? “Locals? For teatime?”

Ada laughed. “I always love the surprise on people’s faces when they find out. I guess Oscar hadn’t told you yet – a lot of Clear Creek’s settlers came from England.”

Lily took a few steps toward the dining room, curious now. “You don’t say.”

“Would you like a cup of tea? I’ll tell Oscar where you are when he comes in. Lorcan told me he went to speak with Preacher Jo and Annie.”

That drew Lily’s attention. “Annie? Preacher Jo?”

“Rev. Josiah King, but no one around here calls him that. And Annie is his wife – you’ll like her.”

Lily nodded, then studied Ada a moment. “You’re not Irish, are you?”

“No, not at all. I came to Oregon as a mail-order bride myself, just like you. Lorcan and I were married in Oregon City.”

“You were?” Lily said in surprise.

“Oh yes. Out of curiosity, where are you from?”

“Charleston, South Carolina originally.”

Ada’s eyes lit up. “How lovely – I have an aunt and uncle there! My my, we will have to have a good long chat if there’s time.”

“Yes,” Lily agreed, and glanced at the dining room once more. She wondered how she’d missed the voices that drifted into the hotel lobby – there were definitely some British accents in the mix. “I think I will have a cup of tea, if you don’t mind?”

“Go ahead and take a seat anywhere. Mrs. Upton will see to you.”

Lily nodded, unsure if she should indulge herself. After all, she had no money and didn’t know how much this was going to cost Mr. Wh … Oscar. Speaking of which, he ought to be along anytime now. Maybe she should just wait in the lobby a little longer?

Ada noticed her hesitation. “Go on.” She motioned toward the dining room. “Oscar isn’t going to mind you having a cup of tea.”

Lily blushed, nodded and headed for the dining room.

When she entered, the folks sitting nearest to the entrance smiled at her. Soon everyone took notice and nodded in welcome. She studied the dining room’s patrons with interest – a mix of ranchers, farmers, a few obvious businessmen. Some of the women were well-dressed, while others wore simple homespun. Their ages ranged from schoolchildren to old and white-haired.

One of the latter, a well-dressed, wiry gentleman, got up from a far table and made his way to her, a smile on his face. “Well, bless my buttons, you must be Oscar White’s mail-order bride,” he said in a dry nasal tone that screamed Boston.

She stared at him, unsure for a moment what to say. Did everyone in town know who she was? “How do you do?”

“Very well, thank you,” he said. “Allow me to introduce myself – I’m Cyrus Van Cleet, your host.” He turned and waved to his table, where a petite older woman sat with two other, younger couples. “Please, come join us.”

She nodded shyly and followed him to the table. The two remaining men stood and she smiled to herself, immediately feeling more at home. Ah, gentlemen.

“Everyone,” Mr. Van Cleet said as he motioned to her. “May I introduce Oscar White’s mail-order bride.” He suddenly turned to her. “My word, I didn’t get your name.”

The older woman rolled her eyes, but with a smile. “He gets more forgetful every day.”

“That’s all right. I’m Lily Fair Olson.”

The two gentlemen bowed. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Olson,” one of them said. “I’m Harrison Cooke, and this is my wife Sadie.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Sadie replied, catching Lily off-guard. Mr. Cooke’s accent was British to the bone, but his olive-skinned wife sounded like a Southerner – no, a Southwesterner. Texas, maybe, or even Mexico?

“And I’m Harrison’s brother Colin,” the other gentleman added. “And this is my wife Belle,” he concluded with a wave at the woman on his right.

“Welcome to Clear Creek,” Belle chimed in.

Another Bostonian – heavens, Clear Creek seemed to draw people from all over! Tiny though it was, the town was almost as cosmopolitan as Charleston. Lily wondered if she’d turn around to see a Negro couple wander in next, or a French trapper, or some minor European aristocrat. “It’s a pleasure to meet you all,” she finally said.

Mr. Van Cleet pulled out a chair and motioned for her to sit. “Here you are, my dear.” He glanced around the dining room. “Oh, Sally? Might we have some more tea, please?”

Sally Upton hurried to their table, smiled at Lily, snatched up the teapot and headed for the kitchen.

“Now,” Mr. Van Cleet said. “Are you excited about your nuptials?”

“To tell you the truth, I’m mostly nervous,” she said.

“That’s understandable,” said Sadie – or was it Belle? Oh heavens, she must be more nervous about her impeding wedding than she thought. She was already forgetting who was who. “You are about to get married.”

“Yes indeed,” Lily said with a smile. “Thank heavens everyone keeps telling me this is normal, or I’d be worried.”

The table erupted in laughter. “You’d be nervous whether you were a mail-order bride or not,” the other woman said. Belle, that was it – Belle from Boston, Sadie from the South. That would help her keep them straight. “I, for one, am glad I wasn’t a mail-order bride. You’re much braver than I.”

Before Lily could respond, Mrs. Van Cleet chimed in. “Tell us, dear, where are you from?”

“Charleston, South Carolina. By way of Denver.”

“What brought you to Denver?” one of the Englishmen asked – Harrison, she thought.

She put her hands in her lap and stared at the tabletop. “The war,” she said simply.

Apparently it was enough. The couples glanced at each other and nodded sagely.

Sally returned with a fresh pot of tea and set it on the table. “Will there be anything else?”

“No, Sally, thank you,” Mr. Van Cleet said.

Sally smiled did a quick study of the rest of the patrons, then her eyes suddenly lit up and her smile broadened. “Well now, you’re just in time!”

Everyone turned to see Oscar strolling over, grinning like the cat who’d stolen the cream. “Well, well, if it isn’t Oscar!” Mr. Van Cleet said happily. “Come join us, son.”

“‘Fraid I cain’t just now, Mr. Van Cleet.”

“Whyever not?” one of the Englishmen asked.

Oscar’s stiffened, but the grin remained. “On account me and Lily Fair here are gonna go get married.”

* * *

Oscar watched his future bride turn white as a sheet. Maybe he should have waited until they were in private to say that. But darn it, he was as ready as he’d ever be and wanted to get this done. He was becoming more nervous by the minute and feared he’d do something foolish.

It was bad enough some folks, folks who didn’t know him, thought he was dumb as an ox based solely on him being about the size of one. Even now, he recognized the glimmer of judgment in several men’s eyes – strangers, guests of the hotel. Some looked like they’d be more at home down in Mulligan’s Saloon, but he knew better than to judge on appearances.

Oscar focused on something more important to him than the opinions of strangers – his bride. “Unless of course you’re too tired?” he tried as Sally poured her a cup of tea.

Lily Fair looked up at him. “I’m fine.”

He sighed in relief. Maybe she wanted to get it over with too.

“Jolly good!” Colin Cooke said with a huge smile on his face. “You don’t mind if we serve as witnesses, do you, Oscar? It’s not every day we have a wedding in town, you know.”

“Unless you wanted a private affair,” Sadie Cooke quickly added. “We don’t want to impose, but we would love to join you.”

Oscar looked at everyone at the table, all of whom were looking hopefully back. Oh, why not? he thought. “If it’s all right by Lily Fair, it’s all right by me.” She might want to keep their wedding small, after all.

She too glanced around the table. “I … I think it’s fine.”

Cyrus Van Cleet clapped his hands and rubbed them together in anticipation. “Wonderful! We’ll go to the church, you two can get married, then we can celebrate with a wedding supper – my treat?”

Oscar laughed at the older man’s enthusiasm. “Like I said before, it’s all right by me if it’s all right by her.”

She gazed up at him and smiled. “Yes, I think I’d like that.”

Good, he thought to himself. The poor thing didn’t even have a wedding dress, but he could at least give her a few guests and a wedding banquet. And maybe she would make friends with the Cooke women and Mrs. Van Cleet and Annie King … who knew?

Cyrus jumped to his feet. “Wonderful! I’ll go let Sally know what’s afoot and we can be off.” He hurried toward the kitchen.

“My,” Lily Fair said, her hand on her chest. “I think he’s more excited than we are.”

“That’s ‘cause he’s not as nervous as we are,” Oscar pointed out.

The Cookes laughed as Harrison stood, came around the table and slapped Oscar on the back. “Congratulations,” he said. “After the wedding, Colin and I would like to speak with you about something.”

Oscar nodded, but didn’t ask what it was about. At this point, he was so nervous that whatever Harrison said would likely go in one ear and out the other.

The rest of the party got up and prepared to leave just as Cyrus popped out of the kitchen. He went straight to Oscar. “All right, it’s all arranged. Let’s go have ourselves a wedding!”

The little group left the hotel, Oscar leading the way. He held Lily Fair’s hand rather than escort her arm-in-arm. He liked the feel of her small hand in his, and thought the less formal gesture might relax her. Their guests trailed along behind, laughing and talking, lending the walk a festive air. He hoped Lily liked it.

Speaking of which … “Do ya mind if I call you Lily Fair? Or should I just call ya Lily?”

“I don’t mind either way. Most folks simply say Lily.” She looked up at him, but only for a moment.

Worry pricked him. “Everythin’ all right?”

She swallowed hard and nodded.

He squeezed her hand lightly. “I’m jumpy as a junebug myself.”

She turned to him in surprise. “You are?”

“‘Course I am. Maybe more than you, seeing as I ain’t never been married before. At least ya have some practice.”

“Yes, I suppose.” She sounded sad, and stared at the ground.

Oh darn, had he done it again?! He knew she was a widow and her husband had died in the war, but that was it. Maybe he hadn’t been such a good husband, or he had and she still grieved for him. To Oscar, her past was just that, the past. He could leave it that way if she could. But maybe he’d better ask her about it sometime.

He was discovering there was a whole lot about marrying a woman that nobody’d told him. Every time he opened his mouth, it was like walking through a cow pasture – he really had to watch where he stepped.

When they reached the church, Oscar glanced over his shoulder and noticed they’d picked up a few extra wedding guests – Wilfred and Irene Dunnigan (he should’ve figured on them showing up), Patrick and Mary Mulligan who owned the saloon, and Doc and Grandma Waller, one of the town’s founding families and oldest souls. He stopped to let them catch up.

“Thanks for waiting,” Doc said happily when he reached Oscar. “Me and Grandma wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

“Land sakes, Oscar,” Grandma Waller said, “why didn’t you tell us you were getting married today?”

Oscar shrugged. “To tell ya the truth, Grandma, I didn’t know ‘til half an hour ago myself.” He looked at Wilfred and Irene. “But being as how this is Clear Creek, news travels fast.”

“I didn’t say a word to anyone!” Wilfred said in his own defense. “Preacher Jo came into the store and asked Irene and me to be witnesses. You know as well as everyone else in town that I’m always a witness.”

Oscar chuckled to himself and looked at Lily. “Wilfred never misses a weddin’ if he can help it, so Preacher Jo finally made him the official witness for all ceremonies.” He turned to Wilfred. “I did mean to ask ya earlier – I just forgot.”

“Aw shucks, Oscar, you don’t have to ask. You know I’d be there for you anyway.”

“That’s mighty nice of ya, Wilfred – thanks. You too, Irene.”

Irene squinted up at him. “Don’t mention it.”

Oscar gave Lily’s hand a reassuring squeeze as he led her into the church, their little company following along behind them. Patrick Mulligan had slipped into the sanctuary ahead of them and was speaking with Preacher Jo. He briefly wondered what they were talking about, then pushed it aside. He needed to concentrate on saying his vows correctly when the time came. He hoped he didn’t get tongue-tied.

He tried to distract himself by admiring his future bride. “There’s Preacher Jo,” he finally said. “Real nice fella.”

“Is the woman at the piano his wife?”

“Yep. That’s Annie. You’ll like her.”

“I’ve liked everyone I’ve met here so far,” she said softly.

“We don’t get to town often, but when we do we have a good time.” Oscar felt a pang of guilt that Lily Fair wouldn’t see them again for quite a while, and then only if she came to town with him for supplies. That, of course, depended on how busy they were at the stage stop and if Ma could spare her.

She looked at him and smiled weakly, but said nothing.

He’d have to manage it somehow – he couldn’t very well deprive his new wife of the company of women friends. True, plenty of women passengers came through the stage stop, but you couldn’t make friends with someone who was there for only a night. Ma was willing to settle for just passing acquaintances, but that didn’t mean his new wife would be. “What I mean is, go ahead and make friends today if ya can. We’ll see them again. I promise. And ya can always write letters in the in-between times.”

She smiled and nodded, looking over at Sadie and Belle. “I’d like that.”

He let go of her hand and nodded in their direction. “Go ahead, talk with them. Looks like Mr. Mulligan’s still speakin’ with Preacher Jo anyhow.”

She glanced at the front of the church where the two men stood talking. “Thank you. I would like to speak with them. It’s just that I… I’m not sure what I’d say.”

Oscar shrugged. “Whatever comes to mind, I guess. I know Sadie and Belle are both good cooks and belong to the ladies’ sewing circle in town. Maybe ya can find out when the next meetin’ is.”

Her eyes met his, their soft brown sympathetic as if to say thanks for trying. “But what good would it do?”

“Well, Willie the stagecoach driver can deliver instructions from them. Ya can sew quilt squares or whatever they need and he’ll bring them to town. That way ya can still be involved.”

Her eyes brightened at the suggestion. “Hmmm. I hadn’t thought of that before.”

“Willie’s kinda our connection to the world. How else do ya think we know what’s going on in town?”

Her face broke into a warm smile. “Thank you, Oscar.” She turned and went to join the other women.