Chapter Nine
After getting to know Claire better, Susannah found it rather upsetting that they were going to have to part ways once they arrived in San Francisco.
Claire was a wonderful woman, full of her ideas about how the world ought to work.
She wasn’t sure that Claire would have done well in a marriage in Washington, D.C.
, where they were all expected to support their husbands no matter what.
There were a few exceptions, but very few.
And Susannah knew that she wouldn’t have fallen into any of those.
They had only one day left before they arrived in San Francisco. Claire was in the dining cart, and Susannah had left to fetch something from her valise. Finding her friend sitting alone hurt a little, but that was easily fixed.
“Did you find what you were looking for?”
“I did,” Susannah said. “I’ve never really felt so inclined before, but I feel that we’re becoming good friends. I’d like to stay in touch once I get to Bakersfield. Do you know your new address yet?”
Susannah now held out what she had gone to get from her valise: a sheet of paper and a pen. Claire smiled widely.
“I’d love that, too. Maybe I can come to the wedding if it goes that way.
San Francisco and Bakersfield are not that far from each other,” she said with a smile.
“Perhaps a day or two by stagecoach, but I’m willing to go the distance if it means that I get to see you married to a man you talk so highly about already.
I’m sure Mr. Montgomery speaks highly of you as well if he’s sent you the money to do this. ”
With that, Claire took the pen and paper and wrote her address down for Susannah. Since she wasn’t quite sure where she would be staying upon arriving in Bakersfield, Susannah decided she’d write to Claire first.
Claire got off the train at her scheduled stop and headed directly to the man who was waiting for her. Thankfully, Susannah had said her goodbyes on the train, doing away with any inclination for drawn-out goodbyes once the train had stopped.
Meanwhile, Susannah carried her valise to the far end of the train station, where a man with a buggy was waiting.
“I’m heading to Bakersfield,” she said to the man. “Can you point me to the stagecoach station, sir?”
“This is it. We don’t have much here. And the coaches themselves are further out, but I can get you to them,” he said. “Hop on in. Just the one valise, ma’am?”
“Just the valise, yes,” Susannah replied as she got up into the buggy.
The ride out to the stage coaches wasn’t long.
With the option of two stagecoaches, she boarded the one that was not filled to capacity.
With her valise on her lap, they were off on the final leg of her journey.
It didn’t take her long to realize that this was going to be a much harder form of travel, as the roads were rough.
She sighed softly. A week like this. She hoped that she’d survive it because there was no other option.
To get to Bakersfield, she had to take the stagecoach.
As the week passed, she did her best to interact with the couple sharing the stagecoach, but it was clear they had no interest in interacting. They were all heading to Bakersfield, and that was where any connection ended.
At the end of the week, Susannah was glad to see the stagecoach station in Bakersfield coming into view.
She had been ill with motion sickness throughout and would have no fond memories of the trip.
Thankfully, the coach had traveled through the night most nights.
Otherwise, this could have taken much longer.
“All right! All off. We’ve arrived at Bakersfield,” the driver said when they stopped. “I’ll get the luggage off the roof of the stagecoach.”
Susannah got out first, helped by the men who were waiting for their arrival.
With her valise in hand, Susannah’s next task was to find Mr. Montgomery.
He was supposed to meet her here, but based on the size of the crowd, there were more coaches expected tonight.
Or soon, at the very least. Among the crowd, she didn’t see anyone who fit the description she had been given of Mr. Montgomery.
“Hmm. Well, this is somewhat concerning,” she muttered as she found a place to sit down.
She was a little despondent that she had not been met on arrival. If she were here long enough, someone would take pity on her, she was sure.
After only ten minutes, someone did approach her.
“You must be Susannah Peterson?” he asked hopefully.
She nodded as she stood up.
“Mr. Wesley Montgomery, then?”
He nodded. At least he had come.