Example Pages from Chapter 1 of "Desolate: March in Montana 1867"
Sarah Elizabeth Macy twisted her hands in her lap and looked out of the window of the coach. The March wind rocked the stage sideways while the horses lurched the coach back and forth. She felt bruised from head to foot. From her former home in Pleasant, Pennsylvania to her future home in Radersburg, Montana was a fifteen-day trip, and the last two had been the most miserable.
"Does the wind ever stop?" Sarah asked the woman sitting opposite her in the coach.
"Not in the three years I've been here".
Sarah look at the woman in her worn blue dress and wool coat, she looked tired, thin and overworked.
"Do you live in Radersburg?" Sara asked.
"No, I live over in the mountains in Elkhorn. My husband is a miner and we finally found enough gold to pay our way back home. We'll start for Maryland next week." She smiled briefly and her face lit with joy. "Are you moving out here?" Sarah caught her breath.
"Yes, I'll meet my finace at the next stage stop. We've been writing letters for six months and decided to be married."
The woman's smile faded. "Good luck". She lay back against the seat and closed her eyes.
Sarah looked out the window again. in the Distance she could see the stage station, it was a weathered brown building with several additions tacked on to both sides. Even from a distance the place looked abandoned.
Sarah Elizabeth felt panic rising in her throad. The other woman's "Good luck" wish scared her. She dug in her satchel and found a small writing kit with paper, an envelope and a pen. She wrote a quick note when the stage stopped at an intersection.
Dear me Swven Roberstson,
I was delayed in Fort Benton. I will catch the stage next week and arrive, Wednesday, March 13. I am very sorry to inconvenience you.
Sincerely,
Sarah Elizabeth Macy.
She heaved a sigh of relief and put the envelope in her purse. Now if she didn't like the looks of the man coming to meet her she could use an assumed name, pretend to be a friend of Sarah, and head back home. She had kept all of the letters he had written to her, they were in the bottom of her trunk, along with her favorite Shakespeare collection and a dictionary.