“Look,” Rosie murmured, her voice barely a thread in the fabric of the night. The candlelight beckoned, an ember of hope in the vast sea of their uncertainty.
Ana’s fingers reached for her sisters’, their grasp a silent oath. They were entwined, not just by blood, but by the shared resolve to create a different future for themselves. She felt the weight of their trust as she guided them toward the light.
They moved to the general store, each of them saying a silent prayer that they would find what they needed. A place to go. A future. They sat on the bench in front of the store, looking at one another, wondering what they should do next. They were near the train station, but they had to wait for the ticket office to open.
Hours later, they spotted a familiar face. Elizabeth Tandy had grown up on a farm near their father’s, though they’d known her younger siblings better than her. When she saw the three of them there, she stopped.
“You’re the Winslow triplets, right? You’re the only triplets in the entire area. What are your first names?”
Ana smiled. “I’m Anabelle, and these are my sisters, Isabelle and Rosabelle.”
“It’s good to see you all again. I heard about your mother. I’m so sorry for your loss,” Elizabeth said softly.
“Thank you,” Ana replied.
“What are you all doing here in town?” Elizabeth asked. She knew the triplets were rarely allowed to go into town as well as everyone else in town did.
Ana looked at her sisters for a moment. “Our father is not a kind man. Mother kept us safe, but as you know...” Her voice trailed off. She couldn’t yet admit out loud that their mother was dead. It hurt too much.
Elizabeth narrowed her eyes for a moment before nodding. “Come with me.”
Rosie was the first to stand, but then Ana and Izzy followed suit. “Where?” Ana asked.
“To my home. I have an idea on how to keep the three of you safe. But I have a feeling being in the middle of town is a place your father will easily spot you.”
Ana sighed. “We have money for train fares...” And they did. Mother had given them money from selling her wedding ring. She’d known she was going to die, and she said there was no reason they should die with her.
“Do you know where you’ll go?” Elizabeth asked, raising an eyebrow.
When the three sisters all shook their heads, Elizabeth said again, “Come with me.”
They walked with her through the quiet streets of Beckham until they reached Elizabeth’s house on Rock Creek Road.
They stepped across the threshold, and Ana felt as if there was safety closing around her.
Elizabeth led them to the back of the house, to the last door on the left. She moved behind the desk in the room, and they took seats on the sofa that faced the desk.
The room was cluttered but it was an organized clutter. It was obviously a room that was used for work, and slightly messy out of necessity. Ana sat between her sisters, holding their hands and watching Elizabeth, wondering exactly what she had in mind for them.
Elizabeth smiled. “I don’t think any of you know what I do for a living.”
The three sisters looked at one another, shaking their heads in unison. “No, we don’t,” Rosie said softly.
“I’m a matchmaker. I send women west to marry men who are looking for wives.”
Ana’s eyes narrowed as she realized what Elizabeth was thinking. “You want us to become mail-order brides.”
“Only if that’s what you want,” Elizabeth said softly.
“We have to be together,” Ana said. “We’re stronger together than apart.”
“I have three letters from men who all live in the same town and decided to write me together. Would you be willing to read them and then make your decision?”
Ana looked at her sisters, who both nodded. “All right. We can do that.”
Elizabeth handed the sisters three letters. They each took one and read it carefully. “I have yours,” Rosie said to Izzy.
“I think I have yours,” Izzy replied.
