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Chapter One
Constance groaned as she heard the pounding on her door. She must have missed the rooster’s crow again. She hated mornings with a passion, but her mother insisted she be up as soon at dawn so she could have breakfast and do her chores.
The door opened. “Constance Jane Dailey! You’ve overslept again. Why are you so lazy?”
Constance didn’t argue with her mother because she knew it would be futile. She did tell herself she wasn’t lazy though. Sleeping later than most didn’t make you lazy. No, it was sitting around doing nothing that made you lazy. And Constance was always doing something to contribute. She just wished her day could start a little later. She didn’t see the crime!
“I’m getting up,” Constance said, swinging her feet to the floor. “I’ll be out in a minute.” She thought for the millionth time that she needed to marry, but she needed to marry a man who thought days should begin later than sunup. Not that she’d ever met that sort of man or even believed he existed.
Her mother shut the door, and Constance yawned. She put on her everyday dress and headed outside to the outhouse.
When she was back inside, she sat down to breakfast. Her two younger siblings were already there, most of their meal gone. “This looks delicious. Thanks, Ma.”
“How late were you up last night?” her pa asked, frowning at her.
“I went for a walk late. Probably shortly after midnight.”
He shook his head. “Why would you stay up so late, knowing you were needed up at dawn to help around the farm?”
Constance looked down at her food, shrugging. “I just feel like I’m on a time clock different than everyone else’s. You all look so happy in the mornings, and I want to throw rotten eggs at anyone who speaks to me. Late at night is glorious. The world feels so pure, as if there are no people around to mess it up. You know?”
Her ma took her spot at the table. “You need coffee.”
“I don’tlikecoffee,” Constance told her mother for the millionth time. “I do as much work as everyone else. I just start a little later and work a little harder.”
“Not under my roof you don’t.” Pa glared at her.
“Yes, sir,” Constance replied, knowing full well they’d be having the same conversation again. Soon. She wished there was someone who understood her need to stay up late and sleep later in the day.
As soon as breakfast was over and Johnny and Mary were off to school, Ma handed Constance a basket and a list. “Walk into town, buy everything on the list, and check at the post office for our mail.”
Constance nodded. “Yes, Ma.” She really did like shopping days because she could wander along the road, thinking about things as she moved. She loved walks in the same way she loved staying up all night.
The walk that morning was heavenly. It was spring, and the flowers were blooming all around her. Summer was coming, and though Constance didn’t hate winter the way some did, she was happy it was spring. It meant the whole world was renewed and there would be baby animals.
Once she reached town, she went straight to the general store, getting everything on her ma’s list. Ma was always very meticulous as she explained exactly what she wanted on her lists. It amused Constance to find the things her mother wanted.
After putting the supplies on her father’s account, she walked to the post office. A woman she had heard many things about stood in line ahead of her. “Are you still sending mail order brides out west?” Constance asked without forethought. She hadn’t planned to ask, but now that she had, she realized it may be her way out. She could go west, marry a stranger, and perhaps she could even find one who didn’t mind sleeping late.
The woman—Elizabeth Tandy—nodded. “I am. Are you looking for a husband?”
“Not hard enough, according to my mother.” Constance grinned. “Any chance there’s a man who works at night and wouldn’t mind if his wife slept in til eight?”
Elizabeth smiled. “I just got a letter from a man yesterday who drives a freight wagon in his local area. He’s in South Dakota, and he works odd hours. He said he needed a wife who didn’t feel the need to adhere to a rigid schedule.”
“That would be me. Tell him that’s me, would you?”
“You should tell him yourself. Do you have time to stop by on your way home?” Elizabeth asked.
Constance shook her head. “No, my mother thinks all work for the day should be completed by noon. Can I come by after lunch?”
“Of course. Any time you can find to come by within the next few days would be great.”
“Thank you so much!”
Elizabeth took her turn receiving mail and then Constance was requesting her family’s. “Anything for Dailey?” she asked.
The postmistress handed Constance two letters. “Thank you.”
