The Autumn Meadow Of Love: Four Historical Romance Novellas

By Doreen Milstead

Living In A Swamp With Her Cajun Fisherman - A Gaelic woman decides to head for America from Ireland after finding a mail ordered husband. Little did she know how she and a Cajun fisherman in New Orleans would get along, despite language and cultural differences, and his ancient fishing boat that was their only means for making a living.

The Cowboy’s Tiny Treasure - A Little Person who is an acrobat in a circus decides she wants a family and children more than anything else, so she corresponds with a cowboy out west who has children; the only problem is she never tells him that she’s the size she is and when she arrives in California, he is shocked when he sees the beautiful but small woman in front of him.

Inexperienced At Farm Life, A Woman Travels to The Angry Cowboy Farmer In Nebraska - A woman travels to Nebraska to become the wife of a cowboy farmer and once there, finds him distant, angry, and with a neglected ranch and his infant son, too. He lives in the past and all he can think about is his wife who passed away. The mail order bride is determined to take care of his son and win his heart but because of a drought and dwindling resources, it’s a very difficult path to tread. Almost at their wits end and about to move away, the small family digs deep and attempts to climb back to a normal life.

The Unlearned Woman and the Doctor - A mail order bride with little book learning but an inventive mind, travels to her fiancé, a doctor and war vet with one leg, who lives in a little town in New Mexico. This story is full or irony, kindness, and wit and it shows everyone just how much can be accomplished if you simply ask others for help.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Susan Hart
• Release date: Mar 6, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370609147

Book preview

The Autumn Meadow Of Love: Four Historical Romance Novellas

By

Doreen Milstead

Copyright 2017 Susan Hart

Cover photo copyright: subbotina / 123RF Stock Photo

Living In A Swamp With Her Cajun Fisherman

The Cowboy’s Tiny Treasure

Inexperienced At Farm Life, A Woman Travels to The Angry Cowboy Farmer In Nebraska

The Unlearned Woman and the Doctor

Living In A Swamp With Her Cajun Fisherman

Synopsis: Living In A Swamp With Her Cajun Fisherman - A Gaelic woman decides to head for America from Ireland after finding a mail ordered husband. Little did she know how she and a Cajun fisherman in New Orleans would get along, despite language and cultural differences, and his ancient fishing boat that was their only means for making a living.

Muirgen looked down at the pieces of ugly gray cloth laying on the table before her and sighed. She knew this was meant to be a shirt, but the mess in her hands bore no resemblance to a piece of clothing. Sewing had never been high on her list of pleasurable things to do, and her mother despaired of ever getting her beyond sewing on buttons and darning socks.

She found it highly ironic to find herself forced to work in a sweatshop sewing factory day in and day out doing something she’d hated her whole life. She had to stop and wonder if God hated her and this was her punishment for wanting a different kind of life.

She’d endured a few sessions of Catholic school while the nuns tried to drum into her head the proper role for women. Her mother added her own efforts to try and force her into the mold of being a good housewife and cook and all of the other mundane things a woman was supposed to be good at doing. It hadn’t taken her parents long to realize that her father’s love for his only child had subverted all of these efforts even before they’d begun.

Muirgen’s father was a fisherman and a good one at that. He knew the Bay of Galway like a farmer knew his own fields. His currach was handed down to him from his father, who’d received it from his father before him and so on. Everyone in the village agreed that his currach was the most sea-worthy vessel in all of the isles.

In the dusk of the evenings, when the weather was calm, the sea called to him, he said. He’d load up his fishing gear and spend the night fishing under the Cliffs of Moher. When Muirgen was barely old enough, he’d dress her as a boy and bring her along to work with him.

Muirgen’s mother would wake at dawn and watch at the seaside for their return to help him haul in the fish they’d caught. There was always fish to be hauled in the morning. They’d stand on the beach in the cool of the morning and clean the catch, spreading some on the racks to dry and selling or trading others. It was a good life. It was the only life they knew back then.

Muirgen’s father knew better than to take a girl to sea, but the currach was his and he claimed the sin of taking her out was also his alone to bear. There were many an afternoon while the other fishermen were sleeping or mending their nets that the two of them would slip away and ply the waves with the joy and freedom that only those who love the sea can know.

Many times the priest warned her father about the folly of his ways and just as often, her father scorned the superstitions of the others thinking he knew better. The people of the isles were fiercely independent, and her father was even more so in his own way. He was a man before his time and having no sons, saw no point in not sharing his life with his daughter.

Her mother didn’t approve of it, but she was helpless to stem the passion that consumed them both. She stopped trying to make excuses for it long before the villagers ceased their gossip concerning this breach of their traditions.

Muirgen soon found her own rhythm with the sea, and it wasn’t too many years before she was out-catching her father on some of their trips. He claimed she was cheating by talking to the silkies and they were helping her. She just laughed at him and teased him about believing in fairy tales. The two of them were just a pair of old salts at heart, she’d say with a grin. He always had to agree.

Muirgen’s happy life came to an abrupt end when she was seventeen. Her father went out fishing one night without her. She’d wanted to go with him, but her mother was feeling ill and they didn’t want to leave her alone. A strange wind blew across the island all night and Muirgen and her mother didn’t sleep a wink for it.

Both of them were up early and standing on the shore watching for his return. They waited for several hours after all of the other fishing boats had come in and cleared their catches.

The other fishermen whispered tales about the strange winds in the night and the eerie sounds that plagued them from the darkness. Many of the fish they’d caught were dead before they brought them into their boats and had to be thrown back. No one spoke of seeing Muirgen’s father either going out or coming in the next day.

Not knowing what to do, the two women stood on the shore until dark and then turned together to head home. There was nothing to be said. The sea gave and the sea took away. That was the way of it.

The next morning, the two women hurried to the rocky shore and gazed out over the sea, but there was nothing to be seen. The other fishermen were too unnerved by the previous day to even go out that night. Their boats waited empty on the shore.

It took four days before the other fishermen resumed their trips to sea. They saw nothing of Muirgen’s father’s currach and nothing amiss they would speak about to the women. Her mother continued to go to the shore every morning for a week.

Muirgen stopped going after four days. She knew in her heart he was gone and he wasn’t coming back again. She didn’t cry for him. There was no reason to weep for the way things were and the way they’d always been. Her father had never learned to swim, nor had he taught her. They’d always believed that any wave that could swamp the currach would quickly overpower the strength of any man. It was better to drown quickly in such water.

Muirgen’s mother didn’t speak for a month. Without a body, there was no funeral and without her father, there was no income for the two of them. Muirgen could fish from the rocks and keep them fed, but it was not going to be enough and most of their fishing gear had gone down with her father. None of the other fishermen would even consider letting her go out with them. It just wasn’t done, and they drove her away from even asking with harsh words.

One morning, she got up early to find her mother sitting at the table with a small box in front of her. The box was open and Muirgen could only see that it was nearly empty. Her mother reached in and pulled out the little bit of money they had left in the world. She laid it down on the table next to the box. The last thing she pulled out was a locket. She studied it carefully as she considered its value to her and its worth in the world. It wasn’t much in the latter.

She looked up to find Muirgen watching her from the doorway to the bedroom. She studied her daughter carefully as if assessing her value too. She feared the world wouldn’t find the worth in her child that she knew was there.

Aye, child, as much as we knew it could always happen, we didn’t have a plan for this, she began. I’m truly at a loss to know how to go on without him. You don’t have the skills to be a wife or even a maid. The one thing you’re good at is denied ye. I’ve sat here and prayed through the night, but the Lord has kept His own council and I’m bereft of it.

A sudden knock at the door caught them both by surprise. Visitors were few and far between, especially at this hour and most of the villagers didn’t knock. Muirgen stepped to the door and opened it slowly.

The priest from the village was standing there with a strained look on his face. He wasn’t inclined to make house calls at this early hour. He’d felt deeply compelled to come here today and to come quickly. He pretended not to notice Muirgen’s mother hurriedly stuffing things back into the box as he greeted the two women.

They invited him in to sit and enjoy a cup of tea with them to take off the chill of the morning. This was a strange way to start their day and they were anxious to hear the purpose of his visit.

As Muirgen prepared the tea, her mother listened to the priest attempt to make some small talk in order to get the conversation going. She strained to hear his words over the clatter of the cups as she bumbled through what should have been a simple task for a woman of her age. One would think she’d never made a cup of tea before, watching her juggle the cups and spoons.

Setting the tea on the table, Muirgen slid into a chair and folded her hands in her lap. At least it was quiet enough for her to hear him speak now. He’d yet to reveal the reason he’d come to their house and Muirgen could see her mother was getting impatient.

Suddenly, he stopped babbling about the weather and other unimportant things and cleared his throat forcefully. Both women stopped stirring their tea and gave him their full attention.

I know you’re wondering why I’ve come here. I’m going to come right to the point, he stated firmly.

Please do, Muirgen’s mother said drily.

I understand your circumstances and I’d like to offer a possible solution, he said.

Muirgen’s mother carefully hid her surprise and discomfort at his words and said, Go on.

"I have a friend on the main land that helps women go to the new world and start their lives over. You would both be required to work off your passage once you get to America, but once you do, you’re free to move wherever and do whatever you want to do.

He has a ship that’s leaving at the end of the month. All you need to do is be on it.

The two women looked at each other, but neither of them dared to say a word. It was clear to both of them that the Lord had provided a way. The question that stood before them was, did they have the courage to take it. It seemed simple enough. There was no life for them here.

How long does it take to work off our passage, Muirgen’s mother asked.

I think it takes one or two years. It depends on how hard you work and how much you spend to live during that time, the priest said. I’m not really sure of the particulars on that side of the ocean.

That strange conversation over four months ago led Muirgen and her mother to Cork where they boarded a ship headed for New York. There were papers to be signed and hardships to be endured with a bright promise of a new life at the end of it all. The problem they didn’t foresee was the harsh conditions aboard the ship that caused Muirgen’s mother to catch typhus and die mid-Atlantic leaving her daughter alone in the world.

Muirgen wasn’t prepared for this turn of events and she was at the mercy of the men holding the contracts. There was some thought given to placing her in an orphanage due to her being underage, but seeing that she had a strong back and a willingness to work instead, she was placed in a warehouse with the other women and given a job. She didn’t see at this point how her life had gotten any better, as she found herself day in and day out locked away from the sea in a place without windows and where hope was starved out of you with thin gruel and harsh working conditions.

The only bright spot in her new life was her friend, Abby from Sligo. The two women met on board the ship and Abby had tried to help care for Muirgen’s mother. Unfortunately, there was little that could be done and Abby was left with the task of supporting her friend in her grief.

When the ship had arrived in New York, Abby stuck close to Muirgen and helped her to communicate. Muirgen spoke very little English. Working in the factory, this wasn’t much of a concern because there were plenty of Irish and someone was always around to help interpret what needed to be said.

Abby tried to teach Muirgen what she could, but there was little time for such things with the long hours both women worked at sewing. When the women weren’t working or taking care of their personal needs like laundry and such, they only wanted to sleep and try to forget at least for a little while, their situation.

Muirgen was surprised one evening when Abby came over to her bunk and sat down next to her. She watched as her friend pulled a slip of paper from her pocket. Newspapers were a luxury neither of them could afford. Their only access was to pick up whatever the foreman had left lying about and hide it away until they could read it in secret. Muirgen had never learned to read in English so she saw no use for the paper.

Abby showed her the paper and explained that it was an advertisement for men and women looking to find mates. She was trying to find a way to escape from the factory and make a new life for herself elsewhere. There was no future for them here, she explained, as the foreman had ways of making sure their debt was never fully repaid.

Muirgen was horrified at the thought that she might never be able to get out of the city and listened carefully