Authors: Ellen Gable
“Selly.”
“And how did
you take care of that?”
“I sent the
convent my money. . .”
“You sent. .
.”
Liam nodded.
“Lee.”
“And Missy.”
“What about
her?”
“She was. .
.also carrying your child.”
“What nonsense
is this? You’re confused.”
“Gave her
money.” He stopped to catch his breath. “She used it to go to the midwife to
end the pregnancy. If I had known, I would not have given it to her.”
“You are
wrong. She would have told me, not you.”
Liam stopped
and took a deep breath and spoke slowly, each word measured. “It’s time for you
to take care of my wife and baby. Please. . .write down my words. . .”
David poured
himself another drink, downed it, then poured another. His best friend and
only surviving relation was now dead. He missed his brother so much. He
lowered his head and began to sob. Then he immediately straightened and wiped
his eyes. Crying wouldn’t, couldn’t, bring Lee back. Right now, he needed to
forget that Lee was gone and, for the moment, to disregard the promise to marry
his sister-in-law, a girl who couldn’t stand the sight of him. He emptied his
pipe then hurried up to Hallie’s bedroom.
Chapter 26
Caroline, now
awake, stared at the ceiling of her bedroom. A soft breeze blew in through the
open window.
“Miss Caroline?”
Jane said through the closed door. “We’ll be leaving for the church in about
two hours.”
At the mention of
“church,” Caroline cringed.
“I don’t hear any
movement in there yet.”
“Yes, I’m getting
up.” The past two weeks were a blur, with each day blending into the next, day
and night happening and Caroline losing track of the time.
As she got out of
bed, her eyes were drawn to the small painting over her fireplace that her
uncle had given her, the reproduction of the picture of her father and uncle on
the beach. Her heart ached. There was such happiness in the eyes of the young
man who would later become her father. Joy is something Caroline would not
likely ever feel again.
She had been
dreading this day, wishing that some way, somehow, it wouldn’t be necessary to
marry David. She tried speaking to Uncle about it, hoping that perhaps he
would invite her to live with him, but he seemed to think this whole farce of a
marriage was a good idea. “It’s for the best, Caroline. Liam had a good head
on his shoulders. You shall be well taken care of,” he had said.
But this wasn’t
just about her anymore. Caroline had to think of her soon-to-be born child.
He or she deserved to be brought up in a privileged environment, rather than
the hardworking, difficult one that she’d had to endure.
“Miss Caroline?”
“What is it?” she
finally answered.
The servant swung
open the door. “I’ll help you get dressed. Mr. David’s in the downstairs study
waiting for you.”
Caroline
shuddered at the thought of speaking with him, let alone being married to him,
even if it was a marriage in name only.
“Yes, very well.
Thank you, Jane.”
An hour later,
Caroline descended the staircase to the first floor. The faint aroma of
roasting turkey drifted up from the kitchen.
The door to the
office was ajar and Caroline could hear glass tinkling and what sounded like
books being slammed on the desk.
She knocked
softly. Not hearing any response, she banged on the door.
“Yes, what is
it,” David said, a sharp edge to his tone.
“It’s Caroline.”
“Oh, yes, the
happy bride. Come in.”
She pushed open
the door. David was sitting at his desk at the far end of the room. Caroline
kept her eyes on the floor and inched closer to him. She finally looked up at
him as he gulped down a glass of beige-colored liquid.
“Now, my dear.”
He was looking at her with that same provocative expression when they first
met.
How dare he
treat me in this manner?
“You’re drinking.”
“That I am. You
are not only beautiful, but observant. Would you like to join me, my dear?”
“I think not.”
Caroline paused. “We’re supposed to be at the church in an hour. Perhaps we
ought to postpone this.”
“You would like
that, wouldn’t you? I’ve been so looking forward to this day, just like you,
Caroline.” His cynical smile and mocking tone made her glance away.
“Ah, and you’re
dressed so beautifully in the perfect color for a wedding.”
“My husband just
died, David. I’m being forced to. . .” She couldn’t, wouldn’t, say the word.
“I’m being forced to go along with this farce.”
“Yes, that you
are.” He paused. He stared at her with such intensity that Caroline couldn’t
figure out whether it was anger in his eyes or despair or some other emotion.
He lowered his head. Several moments passed before he broke the silence.
“So I suppose you
think that you’re the only one who is not happy with this upcoming marriage?
After all, you’re being forced into marriage with someone you despise.”
“You. . .”
Caroline’s words wouldn’t form fast enough.
“And me? How do
you think I feel? I’m also being forced into marriage. I’ve never considered
myself a marrying man to begin with. So shed the self-piteous attitude,
Caroline. You’re not the only one who does not want this upcoming so-called
marriage.”
“You need to stop
drinking.” How can he be drinking at a time like this?
“Oh, do I now?
Well, this is how we Irish drown our misery: we drink. ” He held up the glass,
then drank it. “Shall I pour you a drink too, to drown out your own misery?”
He paused. “Oh, that’s right, you declined.”
“David, please
stop this.”
“Well, I suppose
I ought to stop drinking before our ‘wedding.’ After all, we would not want
anyone to say that our ‘marriage’ is not binding and legal now, would we,
Caroline? Well, it’s not as if this will be truly legal and binding anyway,
right?” He winked at her.
She glared at
him.
“Ah, there’s the
beautiful Miss Caroline look of hatred. It’s one of the qualities I love most
about you, dear sister-in-law, soon-to-be wife of mine.” At the sound of his
cutting tone, her body stiffened.
“If you wish to
make this situation worse, you’re doing a perfect job, David.” She scowled at
him across the desk.
As he looked up
at her, his eyes darted past her and he caught sight of the painting of his
family, from many years ago. Immediately, his face softened and he turned
away. A few moments passed, then he turned toward her. “I’m sorry, Caroline.
I shouldn’t have said those things to you. You didn’t deserve that.” His
voice was just above a whisper and Caroline could barely hear him. He appeared
to be forcing a smile.
“David.”
“Yes?”
“Is there any way
we can avoid this?”
He shook his
head, but paused before he spoke. “I made a promise, Caroline, and I-- we must
follow through with it.”
Chapter 27
Do you, David
O’Donovan, take Caroline Martin O’Donovan to be your wife, to have and to hold
from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness
and in health, to love and to cherish, until death do you part?
Earlier today,
when he stood beside Caroline listening to what he was being asked to consent
to, David said the “I will” as quickly as possible, before he changed his
mind. Yes, he had promised Liam, and certainly he felt obligated to provide for
Caroline and her child, but this whole arrangement was nothing short of a
mockery. To have and to hold? Any time he touched her, she winced. Of course,
with the manner he spoke to her this morning, he didn’t blame her for hating
him.
When it came time
to give her consent, she hesitated for what seemed like an extraordinarily
lengthy amount of time – a minute or so – and he wondered whether she was
going to refuse. It was an awkward moment with the minister’s eyes darting from
David’s face to Caroline’s, then back to David’s again. Then she quickly
muttered the words and it was done.
He still couldn’t
believe that Liam was gone. David should have protected his younger brother.
Why did they have
to hurt him? Most of the time, David was not able to protect Liam from their
father’s warped personality. In fact, David had become an expert at protecting
his own interests.
He walked across
his room to his dresser and poured a drink from the brandy decanter. He
carried his glass to the window and looked out toward the barn. The oak tree
stood tall, defiant, its endless branches reaching up toward the sky.
“
Lee, just a
few more feet. Give me your hand.” David leaned down from higher up in the tree.
“No, David.
I’m not coming any farther. It’s too high. Mother’s going to be upset. I
don’t want to get hurt.”
“You’re being
a girl, Lee.”
“I am not!”
“Then climb up
to the top with me.”
Liam nodded,
reached his hand up to David, then placed his foot carefully on the next
branch. As soon as he did, the branch snapped and Liam slid down the tree,
screaming all twenty feet to the ground.
“Lee!” David
quickly maneuvered himself down and beside his brother. “Are you hurt?”
Liam sat on
the ground at the bottom of the tree, the front of his shirt covered with torn
leaves and dirt. He began to sob. “It hurts, David.”
“Shhh, be
quiet.” David lifted up his brother’s shirt and gasped at the deep scrapes
along Liam’s chest.
“I told you I
shouldn’t have done it. Now, Mother’s going to be angry and Father’s going to
be real angry. Why did you tell me to do it?”
David sighed.
He tried so hard to make his brother more of the kind of person his father
wanted him to be, adventuresome, fearless. Then maybe Father would treat him
better. What could cause a scrape like this?
“Lee, let’s
tell Mother and Father that Golden Boy jumped on you and scratched you.”
Liam stopped
crying and sat up. Then, lifting his own shirt, he winced as he looked at the
abrasions running the length of his chest. “You think they’ll believe that?
It doesn’t look much like a dog did it.”
“If we tell
them that I coaxed you up, I’ll be in trouble. If we tell them the dog did it,
no one gets punished. I don’t know about you, but Father’s already given me
the belt once this month.”
“Three times
for me. And this stings.” Liam glanced past David at the house . “We’ll tell
Mother and Father it was the dog.”
David pulled
Liam up and helped to brush the leaves and dirt off his brother’s shirt.
“Let’s just do it. Then we’ll have some time to play war in the woods.” He
hesitated. “And whatever you do, don’t cry. Father will just get madder if
you cry.”
Liam nodded as
he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.
In the parlor
near the hearth, their mother sat on the sofa with embroidery on her lap. The
two boys silently waited in the doorway.
Finally their
mother looked up. “David, is something wrong?”
“Yes, Liam. .
.he’ll tell you.”
She stood up,
placed the embroidery on the sofa and walked quickly to her son. “Liam?”
“Yes?”
“Is something
wrong?”
“Well, I. . .”
he began to cry.
“Well, boys,
what’s going on with the two of you?” Jack approached them from behind, his
voice loud and piercing.
“I. . .” Liam
now began to shake.
“It’s fine,
Lee,” David whispered. “ Just tell it quick. How can Father get mad at you?
It’s the dog’s fault, right?”
Liam’s head
lowered, then he mumbled, “The dog. . .jumped on me and hurt me.”
“The dog did
what?” asked Jack. “I can’t hear you, son.”
“He scratched
me,” Liam said softly.
“Where?” Jack
asked.
David stepped
aside to allow Jack to move closer to Liam. Liam pointed to his chest.
“Lift your
shirt up, son,” said Jack.
Liam pulled
his shirt up and winced. His mother gasped. “Liam!”
“I’m. . .all
right,” Liam said.