Chapter Three
After going about her day as usual, Susannah found herself exhausted.
Again. And she found it no longer surprised her to be exhausted and ready for bed directly after dinner.
That was something she hadn’t anticipated becoming a reality.
However, with as much as she had to do in a day, she supposed that it was only normal to feel that way.
It had been about a month since she had written to Mr. Montgomery, and she was starting to worry that she would never hear back from him. She knew she had written as plainly as she could so everyone could read it. She wanted to hear back from him. So why hadn’t she gotten a letter yet?
As she trudged down to the kitchen, she stopped by the table in the entry hall where a stack of mail lay that hadn’t yet been sorted through.
She wondered if there was anything in there.
By the height of the stack, it was probably a few days’ worth of mail.
If there was ever a place for a letter to have gotten lost, that was the most likely one she had access to.
She quickly flipped through the letters, looking only at the middle of the envelopes to see the intended recipients' names. It didn’t take her long to find one addressed to her, and it was from California.
Her face lit up. He had written back to her!
Perhaps there was something to the system after all, even if she wasn’t entirely convinced it was the right way to go about this.
Not yet, at least.
She took the letter with her to the kitchen. Sticking it in her apron pocket to protect it, she quickly ate her food. Even Judith appeared exhausted this evening, so there was no conversation to be had.
She stole up to her room when she was done. Susannah sat on her bed, and she opened the envelope. By the light of a single candle, she read the letter that Mr. Montgomery had sent her.
To Miss Susannah Peterson,
I must admit that you are among one of many women to write to me since I placed my advertisement in the Matrimonial Times.
However, you are the only one who hasn’t begged me to write back and who does not appear to be in dire circumstances.
You are in less dire circumstances, but I admire your tenacity, doing your best to better yourself, even if it means moving across the country.
I must apologize for not putting my job description in my advertisement.
It is something that I know a lot of women would want to take advantage of, writing to me only because of the prospects for themselves if they knew.
Please forgive me for not wanting to share what it is I do just yet.
I want to be sure that you won’t be looking for a way to exploit it if you come.
As for what I look like, there is not a tintype photographer nearby.
I can give you a description, though. I have sandy blond hair and eyes that shine like jade, I’ve been told.
I’m tall and appear to be the tallest in the town.
If there is someone taller than me in Bakersfield, I have yet to meet him.
I suppose that is just how it worked out, but there is always the chance there’s someone taller than me here.
I have a slim build. Never did develop much muscle, and I don’t need it for the job I have. So I suppose that gives you some insight. I hope this gives you enough to know there’s not much money in what I do. Not yet.
I would love to hear more about you and how, as an orphan, you write so well.
Your writing is immaculate, Miss Peterson.
I must admit that I find it hard to believe you are an orphan, but I will take your word for it until you give me a reason not to believe you.
Please write back soon. I’m most intrigued.
Cordially,
Mr. Montgomery
Susannah had to read the letter twice to fully understand what he was implying.
However, she appreciated that he was ready and willing to help her out if they got along well enough.
She wasn’t exactly looking to better her life.
She just wanted a chance to be able to achieve her dreams of getting out of Washington, D.C.
If that was worth admiring, she was glad to learn he could admire her for it.
“Well, Mr. Montgomery, I’m exhausted, so I’ll write a response in the morning, should I have the time,” she muttered as she put the paper on her writing desk. “Working with children all day long is hard. Please forgive me for not being able to pen a response within a day.”
She crawled into bed and blew the candle out. In the dark of the night, she quickly fell asleep.
The next morning, Susannah woke up about a half hour earlier than normal.
She took that time to write a response to Mr. Montgomery and address the envelope.
She took the time to describe herself in some detail, and even to describe what it was like to grow up in the orphanage and to share how she had learned to write as well as she did.
He had been right: she hadn’t learned from those at the orphanage.
She’d been privileged to learn how to write from a young lady who took pity on her.
When the orphanage encouraged her to go out into the world each day to learn something as a young teen, she went to the general store.
The owner’s wife had taught her much about what to do in life, and she was forever thankful for the woman.