Mattie
Mattie was not herself. She hadn’t been for a little while now but found herself out of sorts particularly this morning. Quickly she dried her hands on the towel and looked at her children eating breakfast. They were young and eager and she felt amused.
“Please don’t eat so fast, Sam.” She said to her eldest. He stopped momentarily and then resumed at the exact same pace. Mattie smiled a little and shrugged. He never listened to her anyways and she wasn’t in the mood to argue. Lately, she’d been in no mood for anything.
Mattie was really Martha True Jordan, wife to the Colonel Gardiner Jordan. She was of medium height and slender. Her eyes were blue and her hair was a light brown color and very silky. Unlike the other officers’ wives, she dressed somewhat plainly owing to her Quaker upbringing and the strange lifestyle of Arizona fort life. Her husband really didn’t think anything of it. It was a harsh life and he actually felt the other wives were rather impractical to worry about finery.
The children were all boys so far. There were three now and they were growing so quickly, Mattie jokingly proclaimed that she’d run out of food someday for them. Samuel was 4 and very authoritative. He liked investigating the desert as much as he could despite the fact he’d never been off the fort. He looked like his father in many respects such as his auburn hair and chin. Sam was polite, honest and very well behaved. Robert, the 3 year old was a crazy child who ran around causing havoc for his sweet mother. She feared one day he’d find a way off the fort and be attacked by Apache. Another officer and his wife had found one of their children to meet that fate and it weighed heavily on her mind. Rambunctiousness was a trait loathed in the fort. Robert was gangly but full of energy. He was louder than his parents liked and usually had to be scolded in church. He had his mother’s crystal blue eyes and her hair which stood up and out in odd directions from his head.
The youngest was 2, and a bright little boy who clung to his mother’s apron strings when she cooked following her about the kitchen. He was named Jess after her father back in Indiana where she and Gardiner were from. He was a quiet boy whose eyes were slightly darker than his brothers’ and rather short for his age.
Mattie sat down on the chair at the head of the table in the kitchen. The furniture was good and bare like so many frontier furniture. The table and chairs were from Indiana as was their bed, armoire and chest. Most of the furniture in the parlor were gifts from the wedding or bought since then. These were very fine and expensive especially out in the frontier. There was a very nice inlaid table made from rosewood that had been a gift from the Church ladies at Gard’s church back home. The sofa was covered in silk jacquard and a very elegant blue color. The chairs were covered in a similar fabric and otherwise the same wood and color as the sofa. There were many expensive things here like photographs, a lovely music box and an ivory bird. The bird had been one of the wedding gifts from Gard to Mattie in honor of her maiden name, Birdwell. He had brought it back from the Civil war and Mattie had thought it wonderfully beautiful.
Gardiner’s study had newer pieces in there. His desk was a fine thing with ornate gilding and leatherwork on the top where the main amount of work was done. They were fine oak chairs for visitors and a round table with French chairs on either side. There were a few sabers on the wall, one was Gard’s first issue saber from West Point, and other were those he’d collected or been given. A couple of bookcases filled with other collected objects, books and journals rounded out the room.
Also in the study was something that Mattie had difficulty with considering her feelings on war. It was a gun display. It was like the bookcases with their glass mullioned doors and locks. There was only one shelf to hold various bullets and shells. Displayed there were two muskets, a rifle from Gard’s childhood, another one that belonged to his father, a black Remington Cane Gun, and a few others that had been gifts. There were several handguns including his Civil War revolvers.
The Gun Case had always been a sore spot for Mattie that she declined to discuss with her husband. She loved him more than she ever thought she could love another human and she’d known when she, a Quaker girl married an Army officer, that some things had to be less important. Her pacifism was smothered in respect for his profession. Even now, the ongoing battles with the Apache didn’t so much bother her but the amount of violence. The protection of the families and other settlers was important but the way both sides went about it spoke of madness to her.
Mattie folded hands daintily onto her lap. Her dress was a dark blue color which she favored. It was also tradition for Officers’ wives to have a few dresses the same blue as their husbands uniforms. It was also practical since it was massively available. Each of them dressed it up the best they could. Mattie, who had never worn fancy dresses until after her wedding, still tended to make her dresses plain and “ordinary” according to Mrs. Atherton. It was a topic that that came up in discussion often. Her dresses unusually were tight fitting and had some semblance to the current fashion. She had a wide flowing skirt bustled in the back and a lace trim at the collar but otherwise, her dress was that of a young frontierswoman.
She looked out the window to the hot Arizona sunshine and thought about her girlhood in Indiana. Cecelia came downstairs looking tired and Mattie looked at her reproachfully. Cecelia, the teenage daughter of the Brigadier General Whitmore of Kansas, had to live and work as a nanny for the Jordans in hopes to learn to be a lady in Arizona. There wasn’t much hope for the girl since her disposition was unbecoming. Her looks were well enough but she was not good company. Mattie tried her best to soften her countenance and temperament but was met with utter rebuke. Cecelia would help Mattie take care of her growing family and she had much to learn. Otherwise, for the most part, they’d had little to say to each other. Mattie hoped this would soon change.
Mattie stood from the table and looked directly at Cecelia who yawned openly and unladylike. She went over to the stove and got herself some porridge and after sitting down did she even look at her mistress.
“Mrs. Jordan, are you well today?” she asked.
Mattie looked down at Cecelia in surprise. The girl had rarely asked her anything. “I’m fine,” she replied quietly.
“Well, you seem preoccupied,” she said eating porridge.
“So it would seem” Mattie said standing to take her apron off. It was her luck there was a knock at the door. Mattie and Cecelia looked at each other. Rarely did anyone visit the Jordan home since they would rather take their business to the Colonel at Headquarters than try to negotiate with three boys, a hellion of a teenager and a soft spoken mother.
“Please don’t eat so fast, Sam.” She said to her eldest. He stopped momentarily and then resumed at the exact same pace. Mattie smiled a little and shrugged. He never listened to her anyways and she wasn’t in the mood to argue. Lately, she’d been in no mood for anything.
Mattie was really Martha True Jordan, wife to the Colonel Gardiner Jordan. She was of medium height and slender. Her eyes were blue and her hair was a light brown color and very silky. Unlike the other officers’ wives, she dressed somewhat plainly owing to her Quaker upbringing and the strange lifestyle of Arizona fort life. Her husband really didn’t think anything of it. It was a harsh life and he actually felt the other wives were rather impractical to worry about finery.
The children were all boys so far. There were three now and they were growing so quickly, Mattie jokingly proclaimed that she’d run out of food someday for them. Samuel was 4 and very authoritative. He liked investigating the desert as much as he could despite the fact he’d never been off the fort. He looked like his father in many respects such as his auburn hair and chin. Sam was polite, honest and very well behaved. Robert, the 3 year old was a crazy child who ran around causing havoc for his sweet mother. She feared one day he’d find a way off the fort and be attacked by Apache. Another officer and his wife had found one of their children to meet that fate and it weighed heavily on her mind. Rambunctiousness was a trait loathed in the fort. Robert was gangly but full of energy. He was louder than his parents liked and usually had to be scolded in church. He had his mother’s crystal blue eyes and her hair which stood up and out in odd directions from his head.
The youngest was 2, and a bright little boy who clung to his mother’s apron strings when she cooked following her about the kitchen. He was named Jess after her father back in Indiana where she and Gardiner were from. He was a quiet boy whose eyes were slightly darker than his brothers’ and rather short for his age.
Mattie sat down on the chair at the head of the table in the kitchen. The furniture was good and bare like so many frontier furniture. The table and chairs were from Indiana as was their bed, armoire and chest. Most of the furniture in the parlor were gifts from the wedding or bought since then. These were very fine and expensive especially out in the frontier. There was a very nice inlaid table made from rosewood that had been a gift from the Church ladies at Gard’s church back home. The sofa was covered in silk jacquard and a very elegant blue color. The chairs were covered in a similar fabric and otherwise the same wood and color as the sofa. There were many expensive things here like photographs, a lovely music box and an ivory bird. The bird had been one of the wedding gifts from Gard to Mattie in honor of her maiden name, Birdwell. He had brought it back from the Civil war and Mattie had thought it wonderfully beautiful.
Gardiner’s study had newer pieces in there. His desk was a fine thing with ornate gilding and leatherwork on the top where the main amount of work was done. They were fine oak chairs for visitors and a round table with French chairs on either side. There were a few sabers on the wall, one was Gard’s first issue saber from West Point, and other were those he’d collected or been given. A couple of bookcases filled with other collected objects, books and journals rounded out the room.
Also in the study was something that Mattie had difficulty with considering her feelings on war. It was a gun display. It was like the bookcases with their glass mullioned doors and locks. There was only one shelf to hold various bullets and shells. Displayed there were two muskets, a rifle from Gard’s childhood, another one that belonged to his father, a black Remington Cane Gun, and a few others that had been gifts. There were several handguns including his Civil War revolvers.
The Gun Case had always been a sore spot for Mattie that she declined to discuss with her husband. She loved him more than she ever thought she could love another human and she’d known when she, a Quaker girl married an Army officer, that some things had to be less important. Her pacifism was smothered in respect for his profession. Even now, the ongoing battles with the Apache didn’t so much bother her but the amount of violence. The protection of the families and other settlers was important but the way both sides went about it spoke of madness to her.
Mattie folded hands daintily onto her lap. Her dress was a dark blue color which she favored. It was also tradition for Officers’ wives to have a few dresses the same blue as their husbands uniforms. It was also practical since it was massively available. Each of them dressed it up the best they could. Mattie, who had never worn fancy dresses until after her wedding, still tended to make her dresses plain and “ordinary” according to Mrs. Atherton. It was a topic that that came up in discussion often. Her dresses unusually were tight fitting and had some semblance to the current fashion. She had a wide flowing skirt bustled in the back and a lace trim at the collar but otherwise, her dress was that of a young frontierswoman.
She looked out the window to the hot Arizona sunshine and thought about her girlhood in Indiana. Cecelia came downstairs looking tired and Mattie looked at her reproachfully. Cecelia, the teenage daughter of the Brigadier General Whitmore of Kansas, had to live and work as a nanny for the Jordans in hopes to learn to be a lady in Arizona. There wasn’t much hope for the girl since her disposition was unbecoming. Her looks were well enough but she was not good company. Mattie tried her best to soften her countenance and temperament but was met with utter rebuke. Cecelia would help Mattie take care of her growing family and she had much to learn. Otherwise, for the most part, they’d had little to say to each other. Mattie hoped this would soon change.
Mattie stood from the table and looked directly at Cecelia who yawned openly and unladylike. She went over to the stove and got herself some porridge and after sitting down did she even look at her mistress.
“Mrs. Jordan, are you well today?” she asked.
Mattie looked down at Cecelia in surprise. The girl had rarely asked her anything. “I’m fine,” she replied quietly.
“Well, you seem preoccupied,” she said eating porridge.
“So it would seem” Mattie said standing to take her apron off. It was her luck there was a knock at the door. Mattie and Cecelia looked at each other. Rarely did anyone visit the Jordan home since they would rather take their business to the Colonel at Headquarters than try to negotiate with three boys, a hellion of a teenager and a soft spoken mother.
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