by Linda Bridey
The three sisters sailed into the house, each floating in her own separate dream and smiling the same secret smile. Iris and Rose disappeared before Violet knew what became of them, and she knew better than to follow them. She ought to go to her own room and lie down for a while before the men came up for supper.
But some nameless misgiving induced her to seek out Cornell one more time before they parted for the evening. Maybe Iris had a point and she felt guilty about flouting his wishes. She just couldn’t let him go with their quarrel hanging over her head.
She tiptoed along the passage leading to the library. None of the usual hum of human presence emanated from the walls the way they usually did when Cornell held office in there. Maybe he’d already gone home to the Bird House for the night. Maybe he’d given instructions to Rita to bring his supper up there so he wouldn’t have to deal with any of the Kilburn girls at all. Maybe he just wanted some peace and quiet.
Violet stuck her head into the library, expecting to find it empty. But she cried out when she saw Cornell putting the last of his papers away. “Are you still up, Cornell? I thought you’d be sitting on the porch smoking your pipe by now. It’s late, you know. You’re not burning the midnight oil, are you?” Violet crossed the carpet to his desk.
“I’m still working, Violet,” Cornell replied. “Have you and your sisters just come back from town with those men of yours?”
“Yes.” Violet blushed in spite of herself. “They’ll be staying in the Fort House until Friday, but I guess I already told you that.”
“You told me,” Cornell replied. “I just didn’t want to believe you’d go through with it.”
His tone snapped her out of her dream and brought her back to earth with a crash. “Of course we went through with it. Did you really think, after we went to the trouble of getting these men out here, that we would back out of our plan?”
Cornell sighed. “I guess I only hoped.”
“You should know us better than that by now, Cornell,” Violet told him. “You should know we aren’t given to flights of fancy or idle threats. When we make up our minds to do something, we do it, especially when we believe it will serve the best interests of the ranch and our future.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Cornell admitted. “I just hoped you wouldn’t. So, what are they like, these men? Are they everything you hoped they would be?”
The blood rushed to Violet’s cheeks and her eyes blazed at the memory of Chuck outside the Fort House. “They’re everything we hoped they would be. I think they’re going to be perfect for us. You’ll see, Cornell. The ranch will be so much better off with them here. We all will be.”
“No, I don’t think so, Violet dear.” Cornell put the last of his papers away, came around his desk, and positioned himself in front of her. He crossed his hands in front of himself and furrowed his brows at her. “I think you will live to regret this decision, and I wouldn’t be doing my duty to your family if I let it happen.”
Violet didn’t like his tone at all. She wouldn’t let him see how much his manner frightened her, so she straightened her spine and set her teeth for the next round of their argument. “There’s nothing you can do to stop it now. They’re right out there in the Fort House, and we’re all getting married on Friday, come hell or high water.”
“I don’t think that will happen, Violet,” Cornell insisted. “I think I can still make you see the light before Friday.”
“I don’t want to see the light,” Violet declared. “Not your light, anyway. And neither do Iris or Rose. You’ll just have to accept it.”
“I won’t accept it,” Cornell told her. “And I still have a few arrows left in my quiver to convince you.”
Violet froze. “Like what?”
“I’m still your guardian and your trustee,” Cornell reminded her. “I still hold the purse strings of your fortune, and I still have the power to consent to these marriages. I can use the power vested in me by your late parents to stop you from marrying these men.”
Violet shuddered. He didn’t really mean to make this situation as unpleasant as all that, did he? “What are you saying, Cornell? You don’t mean that…” Violet trailed off.
Cornell pointed his finger into Violet’s face. “I’m holding you personally responsible for this fiasco, Violet. Your sisters would never go through with a plan like this without your encouragement. If anyone takes the consequences for this, it should be you.”
“What consequences do you mean?” Violet could barely form the words to ask.
“I’m still sole trustee of your estate,” Cornell reminded her. “I still have the power to decide which, if any of you, inherits your parent’s fortune. If you prove yourself unworthy of it, perhaps you shouldn’t.”
“You wouldn’t dare!” Violet gasped. “You wouldn’t disinherit me on the very eve of my wedding day!”
“Wouldn’t I?” Cornell sneered. “I can and I would, if you persist in this disastrous scheme of yours. I don’t see why the fortune your father worked so hard for should be squandered on some dirty cattle puncher.”
“You haven’t even met Chuck,” Violet retorted. “How do you know he’s dirty? Why don’t you come to supper now and meet him. I think your fears would be assuaged if you did. You’ll see he’s a good man who will do the ranch a lot of good. And I’m quite certain I’ll be very happy married to him. Come and see for yourself.”
“I wouldn’t stoop so low,” Cornell shot back. “I don’t have to meet him or see him or the other two to know what they are. You said you were marrying cowboys, and that’s all I need to know. They aren’t worthy of the Kilburn family fortune, and I’ll make sure they never see a penny of it. And neither will any of you, if you go through with these marriages.”
“You can’t disinherit all of us,” Violet pointed out. “What are you going to do? Take the money for yourself?” She meant the question as a joke, but the minute the words passed her lips, a terrible chill froze Violet’s heart. He couldn’t, could he? He wouldn’t! Wasn’t he supposed to be their guardian, the executor of their trust? How could he even suggest such a thing?
“I can, and I will.” Cornell squared his shoulders and his spiny eyebrows met in the middle of his forehead. “I suggest you go to supper and tell these men that the wedding is off, and that you and your sisters have decided to marry different men. That’s what you’ll tell them, if you don’t want to wind up on the street.” He compressed his lips on the last word.
Chapter 15
