A Wonderful Surprise
This story is about Eliza Jane’s wedding to Nathan Jonas Harcourt, a wealthy man from Spring Valley, Minnesota. There is a Fact and Fiction Section at the end of the story that will explain everything. Story complete in one chapter.
A Wonderful Surprise
Eliza Jane closed the door to the teacher’s house. She was so excited that she forgot everything else and ran to the small bedroom at the end of the hall to tell Mannie and Laura.
But that had been a mistake as she soon found out.
She couldn’t believe that Nathan Jonas Harcourt had proposed to her. Her brother had mentioned it to her briefly, but she didn’t realize that Almanzo would get a hard time from a man she hardly knew. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. Everyone from Spring Valley knew Nate, as the townspeople called him. He was never Mr. Harcourt or Nathan. He wanted to be informal and friendly and asked everyone to call him Nate. He owned the General Store in town and operated it as well. He was always cordial to his customers, friends and neighbors, no matter where they came from. Even Almanzo remembered him as being kind and generous. He was never strange in any way at all, just a little odd. Nate always wanted things done his own way. He was outspoken and said anything that came into mind. And he was a private man and a loner to boot.
But he always had a special place in his heart for Eliza Jane, now that she thought about it. Both of them had thought it was nothing more than friendliness, until Mannie had that talk with him this morning. He wanted to ask her to marry him, but approached Almanzo first before he said anything about it to Eliza. Nate wanted Mannie’s permission and sought his blessing to marry her. If Almanzo and his new wife Laura approved of him, Nate, then and only then, would he propose.
This was the last thing that Eliza expected. She never thought that this would ever happen to her. For the first time, she was happy that she had given the house to her brother. Perhaps Laura was right when she said that everything happens for a reason. In giving up the house to Mannie and Laura, she had gained a teaching position, new friends and, at the end of the week, a husband who wanted to spend his remaining years with her.
In the parlor, there was a small desk which held an equally small shelf. These were some of her very important books. Smiling, she pulled out the diary from among those books. She opened it up to a blank page, found a pen and some ink and began to write.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
“You know, that was the strangest conversation,” Almanzo said, shaking his head as he plopped down on the bed. “I’ve never met anybody that made me feel as if I knew nothing and he knew everything.”
“Are you talking about Nathan Jonas Harcourt?” Laura asked as she put the brush down on the dresser next to her. She stood up and walked over to the bed where Manly was sitting.
Almanzo nodded. “He made me so darn nervous. I don’t know why. He was a different person in Spring Valley. He was so nice to everyone who walked into his store. Everyone loved him, my parents, my brothers and sisters, his customers.”
“And apparently so does Eliza Jane.”
“Beth,” Almanzo said, standing up, “She had no idea he wanted to marry her. He wouldn’t tell her until he spoke to me. He wanted to speak with you next, but I told him that he didn’t have to because you would agree with me. He made all the plans, the wedding is set for Friday. He’s wants to marry her before we leave to go back to Walnut Grove on Sunday. For some reason, he wants us to be there.”
“How long does he know her, Manly?”
Almanzo shook his head. “Not even a week, not counting that he was smitten with her when we all lived in Spring Valley and that was way before Eliza Jane and I left for a teaching position away from our parent’s farm.”
“Smitten?” Laura said, leaning forward in the chair she was sitting in. “I thought he was married with six children.”
“He was, Beth,” Almanzo said, looking at her. “He lost his wife in childbirth seven years ago. He was lonely and he was looking for a companion. That was the talk around town.”
“And now he’s going after your sister? Manly, there are so many things wrong here, he barely knows her, he doesn’t love her and then there’s the age…”
“Beth?” he said smiling. He wrapped his arms around her. “We had that conversation right after he proposed this afternoon. Remember? “
“Of course I do, Manly,” Laura answered him. She looked up at Almanzo as he swayed her back and forth in his arms. “We were in Minnie and Tom’s finished bedroom helping Eliza Jane with her lesson plan for Monday.”
Almanzo smiled widely and nodded his head. “Nate and I were in Tom’s study. Nate wanted to talk to me first. He wanted my permission and blessing before he asked her. I asked if they were in love and he told me that it was more for companionship than anything else. He has money, Beth. He owns and operates the town livery. He promised me he’d take care of her when I asked him what his intentions were. I started talking about their age difference and then I realized that age doesn’t really matter if two people are in love. And I couldn’t believe that you agreed with me.”
“Why? Should it matter?” she asked smiling.
“We’re ten years apart, Beth and, as I told your father, the difference in our ages has nothing to do with it. All I know is that I love you; I don’t care how old you are. You’re my Beth and you’ll always be my Beth. “
“And nothing will ever break us apart, Manly,” Laura answered, smiling at him.
“Beth, Almanzo whispered, pulling her close.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Laura’s Remembrance Book
September 4, 1885
Today Eliza Jane Wilder married Nathan Jonas Harcourt. Eliza Jane didn’t have anything really fancy to wear, so Minnie offered to let Eliza Jane borrow her grey wedding suit. She accepted the offer with a nod and a smile and asked if I could alter it so that it would fit her better. Nate went with Eliza’s wishes to have a small and private ceremony. As it turned out, there was no time for a big one, which is what he originally wanted. Nate wanted Almanzo to be the best man, but now Manly and I will be there to witness the ceremony with the Martin’s standing by. Since the extra guest room at Tom’s ranch had been completed, Tom has asked us to move our things over there and into the new bedroom. This would give Eliza and Nate some time to spend their special night alone. Tom also successfully persuaded Nate to have the wedding at the teacher’s house instead of in town at the Reverend Scott's house. He told us it would better for all concerned if we kept it private.
Tom and Minnie also convinced us to stay until Sunday and leave after church services were over.
As requested, Manly gave away his sister, turned and went to join me, but there were surprises in store and they were just about to begin.
“Now, Mr. and Mrs. Wilder” the Reverend explained, “you'll stand where you are and Minnie and Tom will stand on your left. I had thought that a triple ceremony would be too much, but Tom insisted on it."
No one knew this was going to happen. Later, when Nate asked the Reverend if he knew, he nodded his head and explained. “It had been Minnie’s idea, Mr. Harcourt, she didn’t mean for anyone to take her seriously.”
“What was it, a joke?”
“Not exactly a joke, but a dream of Minnie’s. She said she often wondered what a triple ceremony would be like. The next thing I knew, Tom pulled me aside and asked if it could be done. “Of course,” I answered, smiling. ‘I don’t think it’ll be a problem.’ I couldn’t believe I was performing a triple ceremony.“ Reverend Scott smiled. “Tom told me she wanted it to be a surprise. She didn’t want anyone to know. So I kept the secret. Why do you ask?”
But Nate never answered him. He frowned, shook his head and just walked away.
We did find out later that Nate didn't like the idea; after all, it was their wedding. It was Eliza Jane who loved it though. She called it ‘a wonderful surprise’ and was talking about it all night. And Nate finally gave in and accepted the idea.
All in all, it was a beautiful wedding day.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Nate and Eliza Jane Harcourt lived and worked in Currie until a teaching position opened in Minneapolis two months later. At Nate's urging, Eliza Jane ended her assignment and moved to Minneapolis. Nate's death six months later would be devastating to Eliza and to help forget, she plunged into her teaching. She continued teach in Minneapolis however until her brother's stroke in the winter of 1886 when she stayed in Walnut Grove for almost six months. Eliza Jane returned to Minneapolis and continued teaching. She took several teaching seminars, one in Arizona where Laura introduced her to Mortimer Carstairs who took a liking to her. When the seminar was over, she invited Mort to join her in Minneapolis and to see if he could get a job there. The two eventually got married, but the marriage didn't last. It was then that she decided to move down to Crowley, Louisiana.
Fact vs Fiction
There was no Minnie Trimble Martin or Thomas Martin. Minnie is taken from the Little House episode, "Sweet Sixteen" from Season Six. Thomas Martin is my creation only.
Nathan Jonas Harcourt is loosely based on Thomas Jefferson Thayer, a wealthy, twice married merchant with six children. Eliza Jane married Thomas at age 42. She gave birth to a baby boy in 1894 and would name him Walcott "Wilder" Thayer. Thomas Jefferson Thayer would die in 1899 and his entire estate would go to Etta, his daughter from a previous marriage.
After his death, she moved down to Louisiana. It was during this period that Rose would live with her.
In 1904, Eliza Jane married Maxwell Gordon. The two would separate later on. She died on June 1, 1930 and is buried in Lafayette, Louisiana.
No comments:
Post a Comment