By Caroline Clemmons
Ever since my family had a German couple as landlords when I was a little girl in Bakersfield, California, I have been fascinated by the German language—and the country. Our
landlords spoke German when nosy little girls were near. I suspect they hoped
it would discourage me, but it only caused me to eavesdrop whenever I could.
That wasn’t often. Of course, my mother would not have permitted it if she had
known.
My fascination
didn’t wane after my family moved back to Texas, but I couldn't do much to feed my obsession except read the encyclopedias. I took German 101 at Texas
Tech University in Lubbock. The professor was an exchange professor
from Germany. His stories of his homeland increased my desire to visit there.
Finally, after many years, my husband began traveling to Germany occasionally. I was able to tag along several times.
In the
meantime, both our daughters had taken German classes. On one trip they
accompanied us. Our oldest had her heart set on a genuine cuckoo clock. In my favorite
city of Munich, she had practiced how to ask for one in a shop. The first place
we tried didn’t have them, but the clerk gave us directions in German to a clock shop not
far away. I could tell she spoke English and was humoring our daughter. With only our smattering of German, we were elated when we understood
the directions and found the right shop. Sadly, now we couldn’t do it—use it or
lose it! We lost it.
When I
thought of starting a fresh historical western romance mail order bride series, I wanted the first brides to be
German. The area I love most is Bavaria. So, Adelheid “Heidi” Roth became the first
mail order bride for the new sweet series, the Texas Hill Country Mail Order
Brides. Her groom is Gentry McRae. (You may notice that is not the name of the
groom to whom she commits herself in the excerpt below.)
Heidi is a beautiful blond of 25 and is 5’ 10” tall. Without consciously intending it, Heidi’s family takes advantage of her. Well, maybe her sister intends to do so. Although Heidi has a quick temper, she usually keeps it in check rather than create strife in her family. Her spoiled younger sister, Willhamina, makes no attempt to hide her feeling of superiority because she is married and Heidi is not.
Several times recently, the local matchmaker has invited Heidi to
visit her regarding Johann Meyer, a former resident who is now living in
America. His mother also calls on Heidi. However, Heidi wants to find a husband on her own. One day, insults go too far
and Heidi’s control snaps. She throws her pride and her apron aside and goes to
the matchmaker.
Here the
excerpt of the result:
Although she hated to leave her parents,
she was tired of her family members criticizing her. If she needed to support
herself, she could cook and sew and clean and do accounts. Her heart pounded so
loud she thought Mrs. Heinz must hear it.
Heidi took a deep breath. “I believe
Johann and I can make a good marriage.”
The matchmaker leaned back and clasped
her hands to her chest. “Wonderful, my dear! You are a beautiful woman and a
good daughter. I know how hard you work to help your mother, and even find time
to help Mr. Schneider with his bookkeeping.”
“Thank you,” was all Heidi could say.
“I am so pleased you will have your own
home—and it sounds like a very nice one. I have your funds and your travel
arrangements. Mrs. Meyer was so sure you would accept that she has given me
your tickets and the cash you’ll need for incidentals.”
Heidi cleared her throat to remove the
lump that had lodged there. “You mean… you mean I am supposed to leave
immediately?”
Mrs. Heinz held up a hand in a motion to
halt. “You must get to your ship by the end of the month. To do so, you must
leave in fourteen days. Please write Johann a letter today
while you are here. I will mail it immediately so he will have it before you arrive.” She
handed Heidi several sheets of paper and set the inkwell and pen near her.
Heidi travels for weeks to reach Harrigan Springs, Texas. When she arrives, huge surprises await her. If you haven’t read GENTRY AND THE MAIL ORDER BRIDE, I hope you’ll do so and then follow the series. You don't need to read the books in order, but you'll enjoy them more if you do. Each book is available in e-book and print. They are all enrolled in Kindle Unlimited. Here’s the Amazon link for GENTRY.
https://www.amazon.com/Gentry-Mail-Order-Bride-Country-
Thanks for stopping by. Stay safe and keep reading!
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