Giovanna: The Cowboy's Calabrese Mail Order Bride (Sweet Land of Liberty Brides Book 1) by Lorena Dove Page B
Authors: Lorena Dove
Ads: Link
charmed by Giovanna’s sad eyes and beautiful smile. Her heart ached for the lonely young woman so far from home, working hard to raise her daughter, and yet grateful and honest.
~*~*~*~
Unable to get Giovanna and Rosa off her mind, Mrs. Forsythe took it upon herself to visit them. Giovanna and Rosa lived in a cramped but clean room above her brother-in-law’s store in a neighborhood where many had come from Calabria and other regions in the south of Italy.
Giovanna was a busy young woman who used her many skills to eke out a living. She cooked, cleaned, sewed, baked and did chores all while raising a well-mannered daughter without complaint.
She did her best to be a good hostess, making Mrs. Forsythe some tea and offering her a slice of lemon cake out of several she was planning to sell that day. Rosa played quietly nearby with a cloth doll and Pearl curled up on her lap.
“This is delicious, thank you!” Mrs. Forsythe said. “You must be wondering why I’ve come. I’m worried about Rosa.”
Mrs. Forsythe could see that Rosa was a weak child with a cough that racked her thin body, but Giovanna was unable to find the money for anything besides food and the rent her brother-in-law insisted she pay. Rosa needed to see a doctor, as Giovanna feared her illness would only make her weaker unless diagnosed and treated. Some even said that Rosa was infectious and should be kept locked inside the house, away from other children. This made Giovanna’s black eyes flash with anger, but she kept Rosa away from other children to spare her strength.
“I worry, too,” Giovanna said. “She’s all I have in the world since Frank has gone. We had such plans for our family—a house of our own to raise Rosa in, send her to school, keep her happy …. Now, I just wish for her health and money for the rent,” she said quietly.
“You deserve all that and more,” Mrs. Forsythe said. “Don’t you wish for a man who would take care of you and love you?”
A shy smile crept over Giovanna’s face as she looked at the reflection of her twenty-nine-year-old face in the adjacent glass door. “I do wish for a husband,” she said. “But only if that means Rosa will be happier too.”
“Of course she would be!” exclaimed Mrs. Forsythe. “Find yourself a man of means who will take care of both of you.”
“Who would want to marry a dull-looking widow like me, when Clarksburg is full of beautiful young girls ready for marriage?” cried Giovanna in dismay.
“Then you must go where there aren’t so many eligible women. Besides, you’re not so dull looking as you believe, if you could get some decent rest.”
Mrs. Forsythe shuffled some papers up out of the large bag she carried. “Every week letters arrive at St. Rupert’s Church from preachers out West containing excerpts from the matrimonial newspaper in San Francisco.” she said. “My own sister answered one, and moved to Kansas City to be married last year.” She paused in her excitement, scanning Giovanna’s eyes for any sign of interest. Unsatisfied but not dissuaded by her blank expression, Mrs. Forsythe plowed ahead.
“Here look, I’ve brought you some letters. The light is poor where you’re sitting, so I’ll read them to you.”
Giovanna nodded slightly, and lowered her eyebrows as she strained to listen, grateful that Mrs. Forsythe so tactfully skirted the fact that she couldn’t yet read English.
First Mrs. Forsythe read a letter from her sister telling how happy she was as the wife of a man who owned the largest livery in town.
“Now, Giovanna, we’re going to read through some of the rest of these and see if there is anyone acceptable,” Mrs. Forsythe said. Most were unsuitable to either Giovanna or Mrs. Forsythe, until they came to one that said:
“258 – A gentleman of 32 years, 5 feet 10 inches, owns a farm outside of town. Desires the companionship of a loving, intelligent and responsible woman between 20 and 28, to take care of his
~*~*~*~
Unable to get Giovanna and Rosa off her mind, Mrs. Forsythe took it upon herself to visit them. Giovanna and Rosa lived in a cramped but clean room above her brother-in-law’s store in a neighborhood where many had come from Calabria and other regions in the south of Italy.
Giovanna was a busy young woman who used her many skills to eke out a living. She cooked, cleaned, sewed, baked and did chores all while raising a well-mannered daughter without complaint.
She did her best to be a good hostess, making Mrs. Forsythe some tea and offering her a slice of lemon cake out of several she was planning to sell that day. Rosa played quietly nearby with a cloth doll and Pearl curled up on her lap.
“This is delicious, thank you!” Mrs. Forsythe said. “You must be wondering why I’ve come. I’m worried about Rosa.”
Mrs. Forsythe could see that Rosa was a weak child with a cough that racked her thin body, but Giovanna was unable to find the money for anything besides food and the rent her brother-in-law insisted she pay. Rosa needed to see a doctor, as Giovanna feared her illness would only make her weaker unless diagnosed and treated. Some even said that Rosa was infectious and should be kept locked inside the house, away from other children. This made Giovanna’s black eyes flash with anger, but she kept Rosa away from other children to spare her strength.
“I worry, too,” Giovanna said. “She’s all I have in the world since Frank has gone. We had such plans for our family—a house of our own to raise Rosa in, send her to school, keep her happy …. Now, I just wish for her health and money for the rent,” she said quietly.
“You deserve all that and more,” Mrs. Forsythe said. “Don’t you wish for a man who would take care of you and love you?”
A shy smile crept over Giovanna’s face as she looked at the reflection of her twenty-nine-year-old face in the adjacent glass door. “I do wish for a husband,” she said. “But only if that means Rosa will be happier too.”
“Of course she would be!” exclaimed Mrs. Forsythe. “Find yourself a man of means who will take care of both of you.”
“Who would want to marry a dull-looking widow like me, when Clarksburg is full of beautiful young girls ready for marriage?” cried Giovanna in dismay.
“Then you must go where there aren’t so many eligible women. Besides, you’re not so dull looking as you believe, if you could get some decent rest.”
Mrs. Forsythe shuffled some papers up out of the large bag she carried. “Every week letters arrive at St. Rupert’s Church from preachers out West containing excerpts from the matrimonial newspaper in San Francisco.” she said. “My own sister answered one, and moved to Kansas City to be married last year.” She paused in her excitement, scanning Giovanna’s eyes for any sign of interest. Unsatisfied but not dissuaded by her blank expression, Mrs. Forsythe plowed ahead.
“Here look, I’ve brought you some letters. The light is poor where you’re sitting, so I’ll read them to you.”
Giovanna nodded slightly, and lowered her eyebrows as she strained to listen, grateful that Mrs. Forsythe so tactfully skirted the fact that she couldn’t yet read English.
First Mrs. Forsythe read a letter from her sister telling how happy she was as the wife of a man who owned the largest livery in town.
“Now, Giovanna, we’re going to read through some of the rest of these and see if there is anyone acceptable,” Mrs. Forsythe said. Most were unsuitable to either Giovanna or Mrs. Forsythe, until they came to one that said:
“258 – A gentleman of 32 years, 5 feet 10 inches, owns a farm outside of town. Desires the companionship of a loving, intelligent and responsible woman between 20 and 28, to take care of his
Similar Books
