Saturday Snippet: How Silly To Agree to This

Today's Saturday Snippet is taken from

Mail-Order Barber

Mail-Order Husbands-Hopeful Husbands, Book 29

by Zina Abbott 

 

Columbia, California – June 8, 1859

Sitting in the chair across the desk from the man who suggested she seek a new husband, Rowena Healy stared at the advertisement in the Sonora Herald. Her mind blanked out the words. Her circumstances of the past three-and-a-half weeks had resulted in her thoughts often straying, as they did now. After leaning forward, she read again.

          Reputable widow with child seeking marriage of convenience to last up to ten years with an experienced barber in exchange for his use of established shop, equipment, and living quarters. He must be willing to train widow’s son to someday take over the barber business.

          She had not worded the solicitation or submitted it to the newspaper. That had been the work of her late husband’s attorney—Marcus Delaney, Esquire. As the man Edward Healy trusted to advise him on his business affairs, he had been one of her first visitors after Edward’s funeral. Sighing, Rowena folded the newspaper in half with the listing visible. After running her fingers over it, she raised her palm as if to sweep across her forehead. Mindful that her mourning black gloves might not show any ink smudges, but they could easily transfer black smears to her skin, she dropped her hand in her lap. How silly for me to agree to this. Why did I ever come here? Even as the thought occurred, she knew why. She was desperate.

          Men were the heads of households. As of the time they married, Edward Healy had been in legal control of their family. It had not mattered that his leaving her and their child behind to gallivant off to the wilds of California had never been considered or discussed prior to their wedding. Once the vows were spoken, she was bound to do as he willed. She still recalled the dismay she experienced when Edward announced his intention to leave their home on the outskirts of Cleveland, Ohio, to find his fortune.

          Before they married, Rowena knew he intended to turn his back on barbering, his father’s life’s work. He refused to jockey for position with his brother over the eventual control of the family business once their father passed. However, not long after their son entered the world, Edward announced he did not like being employed by her father in his apothecary shop, either. Since he had no training in the proper use of herbs and other medicinal concoctions, he could not see any future in working as a clerk, bookkeeper, and all-around handyman. She tried to be supportive when—opposed to working again under his father—he entered into a partnership with another local barber on the other end of the business district. Unfortunately, like many joint ventures, he soon grew disgruntled with said partner and sold his interest.

          Rowena struggled to encourage his efforts to find fulfilling employment. However, she found it shocking when he chose to use the proceeds from the sale of his half of the Cleveland barbershop business to desert his family in order to chase after a dream built on rumors and speculation. ...Untouched by her unhappiness, he gleefully studied several booklets detailing everything he would need to succeed in the gold fields and then went about procuring his steamship tickets and said supplies….

          Before she ever agreed to leave her parents’ home, her husband had assured her that, for a city in a wild, gold mining region, Columbia was fairly settled. That had been a little over two years earlier. After she arrived in the city—rustic though it was—she grudgingly agreed. She had quickly learned there were still rough elements in town, which was why she kept a careful eye on Tobias. She never allowed him outside alone after dinnertime—whether it was dark or still light during a summer’s evening.

          That changed the day Edward had visited Mr. Molior’s assay office to have the gold dust he had accumulated as payment for his barbering services smelted down and converted into small coins in lieu of the gold being sent loose to a government mint. Until she arrived in California, she had never heard of such a thing. However, due to the extenuating circumstances of the remoteness of the region, such a practice was allowed. The coin or ingots stamped with their true gold weight were locally accepted as legal tender.

          While returning home and passing the Douglass Saloon the tragedy occurred. A dispute broke out between two miners inside. One of their stray bullets had flown out the open door and struck Edward in the chest. In spite of Dr. Baldwin’s best efforts to save him, Edward died the following morning…. 

          “What do you think, Mrs. Healy? As you can see, I set the process up so replies will come in care of me. I will hand all of them to you and let you read through them—the ridiculous and self-serving, as well as those that might be from legitimate respondents. If you prefer, I will be happy to review the letters first and pull those I deem totally inappropriate.”

          Blinking, Rowena turned her attention to the middle-aged attorney—slightly overweight and with liberal swaths of gray adorning the temples of his dark hair. Marcus Delaney was one of the few men in Columbia who dressed like a professional—tailored three-piece suite, dress shirt to which he attached a collar, cravat, and derby—no matter the weather. A rush of gratitude for his patience while she worked through this situation filled her. She inhaled and met his gaze. “My preference at this time, Mr. Delaney, is that I do not wish to read inappropriate responses. I prefer you to first look them over and forward those that appear to be legitimate responses. If it will not cost too much, I wish you to advise me if any that appear feasible on the surface contain conditions or offers that are not suitable.”

          “I planned to do that anyway, assuming you approve, Mrs. Healy. Since this advertisement was my suggestion, I feel morally bound to help you avoid difficulties.”

 

My most recent release, Mail Order Barber,  is the final book in the Hopeful Husband's series. It is currently available as an ebook for purchase or at no additional cost with a Kindle Unlimited subscription. To find the book description and purchase options, please CLICK HERE

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Watch for Anthelia Yosemite Bride, coming soon. No link yet.

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