Mail Order Millie Read online

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  Boston 1880

  Millie walked slowly down the hallway of the orphanage to Mrs. Stanton’s office. She knew what this was about. She was going to be eighteen soon. It was time she made plans to leave the orphanage behind. They were overcrowded and there was no room for her.

  She took a deep breath, wishing she could put off the inevitable, and knocked on the door.

  “Enter!” The voice was brisk, letting Millie know she wasn’t in the mood to be argued with today.

  She walked into the office and stood straight and tall in front of Mrs. Stanton’s desk. “You wanted to see me, ma’am?” Her hands were shaking as she buried them in the skirt of her long dress.

  Mrs. Stanton was a kindly woman in her fifties. She smiled at Millie. “I’m sure you know what this is about.”

  Millie nodded, looking down at the floor. “It’s time for me to move on.” Please say you want me to stay on and help with the children. You know I’m a hard worker. Everyone says I’m the hardest worker they’ve ever seen. Please let me stay. Please.

  Mrs. Stanton sighed. “I wish it were different. We simply don’t have room for all the children we have. The older ones need to find a way to make their own way in the world.” She picked up a stack of five letters from her desk. “These are all letters from men who live out west who need wives. Pick the one you want, and bring the rest back to me. You’ll need to send a letter back to the man, and we’ll see what happens from there.”

  Millie sighed. She’d really hoped the orphanage would find a job for her, but it hadn’t happened and her time was up. “Thank you, ma’am.” She looked down at the letters in her hands. “I’ll go read them now.”

  Her friend, Charlotte was waiting at the bottom of the stairs for her. She took one look at the letters in her hand. “You’re getting the boot, aren’t you?”

  Millie nodded slowly. “It’s time. You’re next, you know.”

  Charlotte sighed. “I’m going to miss you. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had.”

  “I’m not going yet, but soon. I have to pick out a letter to answer.”

  “Do you want help? Or would you rather do it alone?”

  Millie looked down at the letters. “I think it’s something I need to do alone.”

  “I’ll be here if you need me.”

  Millie walked slowly through the old house to the room she shared with six other girls. The beds were all lined up against one wall, with barely enough room to stand between them. She sat down on her bed and began reading. The first letter was from a nineteen year old boy who wanted to marry and get his own homestead in the Dakota Territory. She wanted a man who already had an income, she thought. She didn’t want to ever be in this position again.

  The second letter was from a sixty year old man who just lost his wife the previous year. She wrinkled her nose. She couldn’t imagine having to be the wife of someone that old, but the idea of being in an established home was nice. No. He was too old.

  The third letter sparked her interest. “I’m a twenty-six year old man with four children. I live on a farm in Minnesota. My wife died of a fever a few months back, and I need a new wife to help with four children. Must be over twenty-one and a good cook. Will pay your way here, and send a clothing allowance. Must be a strong Christian.” It was signed simply, “God bless. George Stevens.”

  Millie read the letter once more. She went to church every Sunday. She had helped in the orphanage kitchen often enough that she could cook a decent meal most of the time. She loved children. She pulled out a pen and a sheet of paper and wrote a quick reply. “I think I’m the wife you’re looking for. I’m twenty-two. I work in the kitchen of an orphanage here in Boston, and would like to move out west to be your wife. I love children. I hope you will consider me. I have been a Christian all my life. Millie Brown.”

  As she folded the letter, she told herself the lies she’d told were no big deal. He would be thrilled once he saw her. She was pretty after all. She took the other letters down to Mrs. Stanton. “I’m going to walk my reply over to the post office. I’ll be back in time to help with dinner,” she promised.

  As she walked, Millie dreamed of what it would be like to live on a farm in Minnesota. She would cook and clean, and he would shower her with gifts. She’d be able to wear fine dresses like the ladies on the street. She would never again be in a position of wearing hand-me-down clothes. Life would be perfect.