Page 4 of The Preacher's Wife
“What was that?” Mrs. Aland pointed a finger at her.
“What was what?” Prudence tilted her head, coming back to the moment and out of her thoughts.
“You shuddered.”
“Do you know what kind of minister he is?”
“Does that matter?” Mrs. Chapman leaned closer, as if that would make confiding in the stranger any easier.
“I … There must be a way to encourage people to love the Lord without shouting at them all the time, as if they were errant toddlers.”
“Underwood. Under … wood.” Mrs. Aland stretched the name out, making a humming noise before suddenly clapping her hands together. “Are you Dennis Underwood’s daughter?”
Prudence couldn’t help but shy away, suddenly feeling trapped. Her eyes roamed over the room, wondering how many people in the building knew exactly who her father was, andwhich ones would run to report to him. She nodded, swallowing hard around the lump in her throat, fear stealing her voice.
Mrs. Chapman ignored her mother’s question, her eyes moving from Prudence’s face to her bag and back once more.
“Hubert Fitzgerald is thirty-one years old. He recently settled in a small town in Colorado. His father is a Methodist minister in Omaha, and his wife is a pillar in the community. I do not believe that his service to the Lord much resembles your father’s ministry.”
“And he wants a wife?” Prudence whispered.
“And he wants a wife.” Mrs. Chapman nodded. “Are you able to leave town today?”
“I would need to gather my belongings, but there is nothing to keep me here.” Prudence glanced out the window. With a silent prayer for protection, she continued. “I don’t know how matchmaking works, but my father will be home soon. Is there any way that this could work?”
“Of course!” Mrs. Chapman pulled coins from her coin purse and set them on the table. “When does the next stage leave, Mamaí?”
Mrs. Aland lifted the pendant around her neck and checked the time. “There is a stage that leaves in three hours. You shall be on it. We can walk over and get your ticket and an itinerary for you. I’ll send a wire to Mrs. Fitzgerald, and someone can notify Hubert. He can meet you in Omaha.”
“Just like that?” Prudence couldn’t believe her luck. No, it wasn’t luck. It was God’s provision, but she had long given up hope that her Heavenly Father was still providing for her.
“Just like that.”
“Come along. Once Ingrid has decided something, there is no changing it,” Mrs. Aland whispered loudly, before linking arms with Prudence. “She gets that from her father.”
Hope built in Prudence as she thought about the adventure ahead. Her father would never forgive her, but she wouldn’t be here to listen to his tirade.
Chapter Two
February, Sterling, Colorado
Reverend Hubert Fitzgerald had just left the Sterling boarding house when he heard the shopkeeper call out to him.
“Hey, Rev! You’ve got a letter!” Joel Easton stood on the front step of his mercantile, frantically waving a white envelope in the air. Hubert, who was walking on the opposite side of the street, caught sight of Joel’s gestures and quickly glanced both ways before crossing over to the Easton Mercantile.
Who would send him a letter? He didn’t get letters apart from the monthly letter his mother sent. He’d already received hers for February. With a sudden feeling of dread, he stepped onto the porch and reached for the envelope that Joel held out to him. As Hubert traced his name written in his mother’s delicate script, it felt as though time stood still in the small town. He leaned against the hitching post, watching the mail coachdisappear as he opened the note. It couldn’t contain good news.
He took a deep breath and read her words. As he read her message on the linen paper, his eyes widened with shock. The words seemed to blur together at first, but after a few attempts, he could calm himself enough to fully comprehend what she had written.
Needed at home.
I received a telegram saying that your bride is arriving. Before I could write to you, she arrived.
You did not tell me you were getting married, Hubert Montgomery Fritzgerald!
x Mother
He folded up the missive and shoved it in his coat pocket before bowing his head.
