Mail Order Devastation (Montana Mail Order Brides, Book 4) by Julianna Blake Page B

Really .”
    “ I apologize, Mrs. Porter.  I just got carried away.  I told Miss Quinn my surprise—I bought us a house already.”
    Mrs. Porter ’s eyes widened.  “Oh, Mr. Jamison…” her eyes flicked to Mollie.  “That’s a lot of pressure to put on a young lady.  It’s pressure enough on the girls that the men have taken on the costs of the journey here!  I told you both, either one of you is free to call things off if it doesn’t feel right.  And now you’ve bought her a house…”
    “ It’s alright, Mrs. Porter,” Mollie interrupted.  “I don’t mind.  Really, I’m glad.  I had already decided that if Mr. Jamison was ready to marry me, then I was ready too.  The house doesn’t change anything.  I’m very eager to become Mrs. Noah Jamison.”  She smiled at him.
    “ Really?” Mr. Jamison appeared relieved.  “I’m so glad to hear that.”  He turned to Mrs. Porter.  “I was going to wait until I walked you across the street, after dinner, but…I’d really appreciate it if we didn’t have to dilly-dally with the wedding preparations.  I know enough about Miss Quinn to know she’s what I’m looking for.  I knew that from her letters.  All I needed to learn was what her demeanor and moods were like…whether or not they matched up with her descriptions of her personality.”  He smiled at Mollie.  “And they exceed her descriptions.  I’m very pleased with this match, and I don’t want to waste any more time, when I already know she’s the one.”
    “ Oh!”  Mrs. Porter looked back and forth between the two.  “I don’t know…”
    “ Please, Mrs. Porter, I feel the same way,” added Mollie.  “Why let poor Mr. Jamison incur additional expense of putting me up in a hotel for weeks on end, when we already know all that we need to know about each other?”
    “ I understand your eagerness, really I do.  I was so eager marry my husband.  But we had to wait at least a month, because we were married in a Catholic church.  Surely you know about the tradition of announcing the banns—that the priest always announces the impending marriage at Mass on the three Sundays prior to the wedding.  You’re both Catholic, getting married in a Catholic church, and the banns will have to be announced.  That’s why I’ve scheduled your wedding for four weeks from today.”
    Mollie was crestfallen.  Four weeks?  That might give her extra time to look for the Demings, but what would she say when she found them?  Her only chance to get Nell back was to convince them that not only should Nell never have been taken from her in the first place, but also that Mollie also was capable of raising her, and giving her everything she needed.  She couldn’t do that until she was Noah’s wife. 
    “ Fortunately, that won’t be a problem.” Noah leaned forward.  “You see, I spoke with the priest this morning.  I explained the situation, and requested that because of the unusual circumstances, he dispense with the banns, in this case.”
    “ Surely Father O’Brien didn’t agree—”
    “ On the contrary.  You see, when we changed the plans to have Miss Quinn come out now, rather than in spring, none of us thought about the fact that Ash Wednesday is a week from this Wednesday.”
    Mollie gasped, in union with Mrs. Porter.
    “No!” Mrs. Porter whispered, “I can’t believe I didn’t think of it.”
    Mollie tensed as the weight of Mr. Jamison ’s words impacted her.  “The priest can’t marry us during Lent,” she whispered, “not from Ash Wednesday until Low Sunday. ” Two months hence! The meal she’d just finished lay like a lead weight in her belly.
    Mr. Jamison nodded.  “But don’t worry.  Although he said they rarely suspend the banns, but in this case, they could, because of the unusual circumstances.  Lent begins in little more than a week, and with the Lenten preparations, we’ll be very busy in that week leading up to Ash Wednesday.