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After the prayer, she nodded to Constance. “Constance Berry recently came here from Massachusetts to marry Leonard Berry. She’ll be joining our sewing circle, and she is of course, now part of the huge Berry clan that seems to be taking over our part of South Dakota.”
Everyone laughed, and Constance smiled. “Thanks for the introduction, Mrs. Abrams.”
They went in a circle and each woman gave her name and told one thing about herself. Most said things related to their husbands. “I’m a farmer’s wife,” or “I’m Doc Braddock’s wife.”
When it came time for Constance to say something, she mentioned Leonard and told how she’d come to town as a mail-order bride. Many of the women seemed intrigued at the idea.
“I’ll be asking you more about that later,” Abigail said.
“I’m happy to answer any questions.”
After that, they mostly talked to their neighbors. “Are you happy here?” Abigail asked.
“I’m afraid to answer that prematurely,” Constance said. “Leonard is a good man, and I think I will be happy, but I don’t know just yet.”
“I hope you love it here. I still don’t know how I feel about South Dakota. I miss my home and family so much.” Abigail’s hand went to her burgeoning belly. “Especially now.”
“We’ll have to decide and let each other know the answer.”
After the quilting circle, Constance went to the butcher to pick up meat for the next couple of nights. She’d decided on a beef stew for that night, knowing it would please Leonard to have beef again. It was a good thing he made good money, because his love for beef wasn’t as economical as she would have chosen to eat.
When she got home, she started the laundry. She knew it would be better to do during the day, but these were her hours to work, and she was going to take care of her wash.
By the time Leonard was home from work, the stew was ready, and she was very tired. Her mother had always handled the wash, and she’d helped. It had never been her chore before, and she realized that day how hard it really was. Washing, then rinsing, and then hanging everything on the line had her exhausted before she’d even started to cook their midnight meal.
Leonard came home to the smell of beef stew, and he let his nose carry him to the kitchen. “That smells absolutely delicious. I don’t know how you manage to make something good every single night.”
She smiled, going to the table with their bowls of stew. “I probably won’t be up terribly late tonight. I did the laundry today, and I’ve never done wash by myself before.”
“Are your arms sore?” he asked. He knew his mother had always had sore arms after doing the wash.
“Yes, they are. I’ll be all right though. As long as I can go to bed early.”
“Then that’s exactly what you should do.”
Chapter Nine
As the next few weeks went by, Constance was more and more attached to Leonard, but she kept a part of herself distant as well. He had such strange ideas about her adopting his family as her own that she wasn’t sure if they could be completely compatible…but whether they were or not, she knew she was in love with him.
A note was delivered to their door shortly after they woke up on a Thursday and when Constance read it, she couldn’t help but smile. “My friend, Abigail, had her baby. The midwife wants her to rest as much as possible for a few days, so I’m going to go over and help her with her cleaning and cooking. I’ll take care of my chores here first, but I’ll spend a lot of time helping them.”
Leonard frowned. “It’s good to help a neighbor, but I like knowing my wife is here waiting for me.”
“I promised I would help if she needed me. You don’t want me to break my promise, do you?”
He shook his head. “No, but next time you should check with me before you promise something like that.”
Constance bit her tongue, which had become a common practice in the time she’d been in South Dakota. She simply gathered the things she would need to help, and prepared to go.
Leonard sighed. “You really don’t think you need my permission, do you?”
“To help a neighbor and do my duty as a Christian? Not at all. You may be my head, but God is yours, and I follow him first.”
He frowned at her. “You really shouldn’t speak to me that way.”
Constance raised on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “I’m taking the buggy out to their place. I’ll be home in time to make our midnight meal.” She walked out the front door then, carrying the things she’d need.
Leonard stared at the door for a moment before following his wife. “I’ll hitch up the buggy for you.”
