Poppy: Bride of Alaska (American Mail-Order Bride 49) Read Online Free PDF Page A

with. And Roberta had always watched out for Poppy at the factory, especially when she first started three years earlier.  
    She could have told the mill owner, Mr. Brown, that Poppy was late for work one day, but the fading yellow bruise on the side of Poppy’s face convinced her to not only cover for her, but to invite her to share a cramped apartment with her and her roommates. Poppy would be forever grateful.
    “I’ll find work in no time with the glowing letter of reference Roberta gave me. Maybe I’ll even get an apartment of my own, this time.”
    Roberta smiled kindly, but doubt infused her face. Sarah and Gabrielle’s mirrored those feelings. They all knew finding work had been an uphill battle for the former employees of Brown Textile Mill. There were too many of them looking for jobs at the same time, and too few open positions.  
    Her three best friends in the world gathered Poppy in their arms, and she wished they’d never let go. For all her bravado, she was more worried about her future than she would ever let on. But more than that, she was devastated to lose her friends. They were the first people to ever treat her like she wasn’t gutter trash, like she had potential for…more. The pain cut so deep that she couldn’t even bear to walk them to the train station.
    “Take this,” Roberta choked through her tears, thrusting a rolled up newspaper into her hands. “Just in case.”
    Poppy didn’t even need to look at it to know it was a Grooms’ Gazette . So many of the single female workers from the factory had responded to ads in the paper seeking mail-order brides, but Poppy wouldn’t even consider it, no matter how much they urged her to.  
    Hoping it would ease Roberta’s anxiety, Poppy smiled, stuffed the paper in the pocket of her threadbare coat and waved goodbye as the trio walked toward the train station. Only when they were far down the street did Poppy allow herself the luxury of letting a tear slip down her cheek. Losing the independence that her job provided was bad enough, but losing her handful of close friends was almost unbearable. The only way she was going to survive her new circumstances was if they wrote.  
    Often.  

    Poppy had only received one letter before she left her parents’ flat. It brought the tragic news that Gabrielle’s mother had passed away, and that she, too, would be joining the ranks of mail-order brides from Lawrence, Massachusetts. Later that same day, Poppy’s fate was sealed.
    But she didn’t want to think about that.
    Spotting a post office, she ran in and bought four envelopes and stamps. Right now, the need to connect with her friends was more important than replacing her old coat. In her letters, she told of her change of heart, and how she was about to fulfill her dream to sail for Alaska the next day with her new husband. Only for Roberta did she leave out that it was a ‘name only’ marriage, otherwise the poor dear would worry.
    At the bottom of each letter, she included the address Mr. Horton had given her for the missionary school in Sitka. Until she heard from them, Poppy had no choice but to send the letters to Elizabeth Miller, the matchmaker who published The Grooms’ Gazette . Hopefully she would forward them to her friends.
    The final letter was to her mother. Old Mrs. Johnson had died years earlier, so Ma would have to find some other literate neighbor to read it to her, but Poppy was sure someone would help. Just so long as it wasn’t Pa.

    Dearest Ma,
    I arrived safely in Seattle yesterday. You would be so pleased with my new husband. Matthew Turner is a true gentleman and he comes from a fine Boston family. He’s also a doctor, which I know you will be happy about.
    We set sail for Sitka in the morning, and I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to be setting off on this adventure. I think about the long hours you and I spent looking through my scrapbook, reading all about Mr. Muir’s exploits and discoveries. I’ve