by Sondra Grey
Molly stayed in a small cottage on the northern border of the ranch. She worked with the men all day out on the ranch. Sometimes she came in for a meal. And though she was always perfectly friendly with all her son’s men she was always sarcastic towards Nic and at best, cold towards Elizabeth.
On Sundays, they would hold a little service in a large empty room behind the barn. Gregory would don his cassock and wear his cross and his collar. Apart from the people of the Rhymer ranch, a few others would show up for service regularly. Among them were Joe and Caroline, Molly and Martha.
After their little encounter near the barn, Nicholas kept his distance from his wife. The only time he held and kissed her was at mealtimes in front of his men for show. They even slept in the same bed in the same room. Nic said it was important so as not to fuel gossip and Elizabeth agreed. However, they laid there night after night on two sides of the same bed, never so much as touching one another.
Nic talked in his sleep twice more. The first time, Elizabeth let him be. She was sure he would not appreciate if she pried into his personal space. But she did listen to him carefully this time and understood what it was that he was saying. It was not Yessss. What he actually said was Jessss.
The second time it happened was early one morning. Elizabeth had already gone down to the kitchen to put the kettle on. Xavier and Vincent were in early and were sitting at the table discussing how they had spotted Franco, Juan Alvarez’s lackey lurking around the fence near the north border. They suspected that he had been cutting their fences and were discussing what they could do when Lydia put in quickly.
“I was down by the brook and saw him there too. I asked him what he was doing near our fences, and he said his Ma’s buried under that cherry tree near the brook and he came there often to visit her.”
The two men stopped talking and looked at her in astonishment.
“What have you been doing near the brook Lydia?” Xavier scolded. Xavier and Martha had nearly accepted Lydia as their daughter, and she respected them greatly.
“I was just looking for some herbs.” She said looking furtively around.
“Haven't I told you enough times that it's not safe to roam around the ranch till you are familiar with the terrain? The brook goes down to the river, and the river changes course often.” Xavier admonished.
“Besides there are snakes and all sorts of other creatures in the prairies.” Vincent put in, but less severely.
Lydia was shocked by the reprimand, and her shoulders shook. She suddenly let out a sob and ran out of the kitchen door into the yard. Elizabeth started after her when Xavier got up from his place.
“I’ll look after her Mrs. Rhymer. Don’t worry, I will be more kind. It's just that we worry about her.” He said, going after her.
Elizabeth turned to a smiling Vincent, placed a mug of coffee in front of him and turned to the stove.
That was when they heard it. It was a low, anguished moan. At first, Elizabeth thought it must be some animal outside. There were cats and coyotes around, and they did keenly in the wee hours of the morning. When the noise came again, she turned to look at Vincent.
But he was already out of his chair and halfway up the stairs. Elizabeth took one look at the kitchen door from where Lydia and Xavier had gone out, the hurriedly followed Vincent up.
In the dim light of the candle that Vincent had carried up with him and placed on the sideboard, she saw Nicholas thrashing among the sheets. He was wheezing and moaning and saying the same she had heard him say before Jesssss.
Vincent put his hand gently on his shoulder and said.
“Nic, buddy wake up.” As Elizabeth watched them from behind the door frame, the tenderness in Vincent’s voice overwhelmed her. Once again, she witnessed the brotherly love the two friends shared. Suddenly she was jealous of Vincent, for having shared a past with Nic, a past of which she was not a part, and of which she knew nothing.
When Nic did not wake, once again, Vincent shook him gently by the shoulder.
“Nicholas, hey buddy, it's over, it's over.” He said firmly as Nic finally opened his eyes and looked around unfocused. Then the two men looked at her and Elizabeth felt like an intruder. Before either of them could say anything to her, she turned her back on the scene and hurried downstairs.
Xavier and Lydia were not yet back, and she quickly went to the sink at the kitchen island and splashed water on her tear-filled face. When she heard them coming in, she quickly wiped her face on her apron and went to stir the steaming pot on the stove. It now looked like the redness in her eyes was nothing but the steam coming from the boiling eggs.
“Dr. Lizzie” Lydia came to her at once and said in a small voice.
“Don’t call me that Lydia. You know your master doesn't like it.”
“Oh, I am sorry, Mrs. Rhymer. You and the master and Xavier and Martha have been so good to me. I will not do anything to bring trouble to you.” She said meekly. Elizabeth nodded and simply handed her the loaf of bread indicating that she rather Lydia begin her work than stand around apologizing.
“Where’s Vince?” Xavier asked
“Oh, I sent him up to call Nic. He had told me last night that he wanted to get an early start. I thought I should send Vince to wake him up in case he was getting late.” She explained busying herself with her work and not looking the old man in the eye. Jim and the others were just entering the kitchen then, and Xavier who did not seem at all convinced with her explanation dropped the issue anyway.
Nic and Vincent came down the stairs right then. Nic looked like he had taken a wash and was dressed for work as usual. While Vincent went to the table, Nic came straight to her and drew her to him for his usual kiss. She tried to infuse as much compassion into hers, and he lingered a little.
Then he too joined his men. The small storm had passed, and everything was back to a neat picture of normalcy. The men were teasing Jim about getting up late not because he had a girlfriend to keep him up late but because he had been reading a book till midnight. And Jim retorted saying he was soon going to start applying to universities. Everybody laughed out loud, and no one took him seriously save for Elizabeth. She recognized the determined look on the young man’s face and knew it only too well to be pure ambition.
As Elizabeth turned to put the first serving of breakfast on the table, she noticed Nic regarding her intently. What was it that she saw there that was tugging at her heart? Was it pleading or was it an apology?
As they all filed out of the kitchen, Vincent lingered back. Nic turned in the doorway and silently beckoned to him. Vincent nodded reassuringly at him, and Nic stepped out leaving his friend alone with his wife. Once again Elizabeth was amazed by the trust they shared, and she sorely missed Elinore.
“Don’t berate him for what happened Elizabeth,” Vince said using her given name. He was the only one among the lot who did it all the time and never got a reprimand.
“He is my husband, Vincent. I can never berate him for something that is obviously beyond his control. I only worry about him.”
“It has happened before?” he enquired.
“Never so severe like today. Generally, he just mumbles.”
“What does he say?”
“Something like yes or maybe Jes. Do you know what it means Vincent?”
“He had a terrible accident a few years back. Escaped by the skin of his teeth. He has not recovered sufficiently. He has these nightmares sometimes.”
“I can help to stop them if I know their cause.” She offered.
Vincent only nodded and tipped his hat at her then left to catch up with Nic.
Elizabeth stood at the window and looked out wistfully. Nic and Vincent had just stepped out and did not know she was just behind the window. They were standing just outside, under the large kitchen window, strapping on their tools. They were headed towards the fences to make repairs.
“What did you say to her?” She heard Nic ask
“I didn’t lie, I told her that you
had an accident a few years back and the bad memories give you nightmares.” Nic nodded
“Vince, what would I do without you.”
“Don’t worry bud, But I think you need to tell her.”
“Soon.”
“I think you need to tell her Nic. She is a doctor, and she might be able to help you.”
“I don’t want to hide anything from her Vince. It's just that I want her to settle down a bit.” Saying that he walked away with Vince in tow.
Elizabeth turned from the window, her eyes once again filled with tears. Alone in the privacy of the kitchen that was now her entire world, she sat down and let them flow. She wondered what demons were troubling her husband and when would he see it fit to let her help. Somewhere deep inside of her she felt as if she had failed, that she was not enough. And that brought along a fresh flow of tears.
Chapter Fourteen
L ate in March one day, Elizabeth decided to pay a visit to Molly. Nic had mentioned in passing that she had not been in for work for a week and Xavier said that he remembered Martha saying that she had her usual joint pains due to the snow. When she did not come for the service on Sunday, Elizabeth finally decided to pay her a visit.
She asked Nic permission to carry over some medicine for her joints and once again torn between his irrational aversion of her profession and care for his mother, he agreed.
Nic kissed her on the cheek as he left for work.
“Lydia will serve you lunch. I have prepared everything.”
“Take some for Ma. And don’t worry about us.” He said, downing his last sip of coffee and handing the cup to Elizabeth. He how he had ever managed without her before. He stepped out onto the back porch and craned his neck towards the sky, cupping his hand over his eyes.
“Looks like a storm today, be back in time.”
Elizabeth Filled her basket with food and medicine and set out. The snow had not yet melted, and the sky did look cloudy and dark. As she walked for a quarter of an hour. The wind picked up speed, and a chill seeped in. Elizabeth was thankful to finally see Molly’s cottage, and she knocked fervently.
The door opened, and Molly stood in the door with a frown.
“What are you doing here in the gale?”
Elizabeth pushed past her and into the house.
“I came to see you.” She said, pulling off her scarf, her hat and her gloves then went straight to the fire. She was eager to start treatment on Molly’s arthritis, or what she suspected to be arthritis. But with Molly, it was better to show herself as wanting and vulnerable first.
“Besides Nic mentioned he wanted to eat meat pies and that nobody made them like you. I wanted to please him, so I came to ask you how to make them.”
Molly seemed pleased with her explanation but tried not to show it. Though she did put the kettle on and joined Elizabeth on the small bench in front of the fire.
“Don’t play games with me girl. I know you hate me.” She said looking Elizabeth straight in the eye. Elizabeth stopped suddenly in her act of rubbing her hands against one another and looked up at her with shock.
“Why would I hate you?”
“Because I disapprove of you, and I am cold to you and sarcastic to Nic because of you.”
While Molly had indeed been delighted to see her on the step of her door with a basket full of food on that cold stormy afternoon, she had been building her barricades for a long time. She had made that comment even though she knew she was being unfair. Molly was now sure her son’s bride would fly into a rage and storm out of her house. She wanted her gone anyway before she could spot the ache in her limbs and how it troubled her.
Instead, a sly smile spread across the girl’s face
“He doesn’t seem much bothered by your sarcasm. Oh, do tell me Molly, was he like that even when he was a boy?”
She was a smart cookie, after all, Molly thought, and as Elizabeth made tea, she pulled boxes she had kept under her dresser and pulled out little trinkets that had belonged to her son while he grew up.
Elizabeth was surprised how good a storyteller Molly was once she was relaxed. She heated up the food and fed her mother in law while she told her stories of Nic’s childhood. Molly relaxed so much that Elizabeth succeeded in checking her joints and diagnosing them with early stage arthritis.
“This is a concoction I have prepared myself. It helped one of my patients back in Cleveland immensely. Drink it, diluted in warm water every night before you go to bed. And this ointment, rub it on the painful areas twice a day. It will pass Molly, it's nothing to worry about.”
“He has not taken you to his bed.” She said suddenly and Elizabeth who had been packing up her basket, getting ready to leave, stopped in her tracks and looked up at Molly terrified.”
“How do you know?”
“I can see you are still untouched. It's quite evident. Then I can see the longing in Nic’s eyes, every time he looks at you. He wants you, but he won't take you.”
“Why Molly? Why won't he?” Elizabeth asked beseechingly, suddenly taking Molly’s hands in her own.
Molly saw the trap but decided to answer without falling into it.
“Because he is still not ready to let go of his past.”
“And what is it in his past that haunts him so badly?”
“Something, my dear, that nearly destroyed him,” Molly said, but she was staring off into another place in time.
“Will you tell me about it, Molly?”
“It's not my story to tell…but I can see why he is so drawn to you. You are something unique.” Molly said, placing her palm against Elizabeth’s cheek.
As Elizabeth hurried home, she regretted not accepting Molly’s offer of accompanying her on the return trip. The storm Nic had predicted in the morning threatened the horizon, and the sky had turned so dark that it looked like night had fallen even though it was just three in the afternoon.
The thoughts of what she had discussed with Nic’s mother haunted her. Molly thought her son was attracted to Elizabeth. That couldn’t be true. If that was the case then why did he spend most of his time berating her? Besides, she so badly wanted to know what had happened in his past. What could be so horrible that it gave him such nightmares?
When Elizabeth reached the brook where the fencing of the north border separated the Rhymer Ranch from the Alvarez’s property, she saw a man and a woman just inside Juan’s partition. The man was limping slightly, and she recognized him at once as Franco.
The woman was sitting in a wheelchair. Even at this distance, she looked frail and childlike. She was bundled into layers of wraps and Franco was hovering over her protectively.
They seemed to be having an argument, but the wind was so strong that it was the only thing Elizabeth heard swirling and moaning around her. However, she could make out that Franco was trying to turn the wheelchair around to return to the house and the woman was insisting on staying by the brook side where the water was becoming dangerously turbulent.
Suddenly Franco seemed to give up. He left her there, a safe distance from the brook, then turned in the direction of Nic’s ranch. He had nearly reached the fencing and Elizabeth was looking forward to finally catching him in the act of cutting their fence. Though what she intended to do once she had caught him she had no clue.
Just few hundred meters from the fence, Franco disappeared into the hedges. Elizabeth approached the part of the brook that ran through her husband’s property and made her way across the small wooden bridge. On regular days, the bridge was not even necessary. One could just jump over the pebbles to get across the brook, but right now the water was angry and gushing, so Elizabeth decided not to take the risk.
As she stepped down from the bridge on the other side, she suddenly realized that the young woman had left her place in the wheelchair and was now standing near the fencing, her hands on the wire mesh looking keenly at Elizabeth.
The first thing that struck Elizabeth was the girl’s vacant gaze. It sent a chill down her s
pine. And when she beaconed to her to approach, Elizabeth felt a slight tremor start in her legs and travel upwards.
If she had a choice, she would have run away. But there was nowhere to go. On her way to her house, Elizabeth had to cross the part of the fencing where she stood waiting.
As Elizabeth approached, trembling inside, the girl put out her hand and tried to grab Elizabeth’s. Elizabeth quickly slipped in front of her, but the other girl was quicker, and she grabbed her hand.
A cold wave of terror coursed through Elizabeth’s body. The girl’s hand was as cold as the snow now fast covering the ground.
“You will tell him…won’t you?” the girl hissed and Elizabeth stood glued to the spot, trembling, looking at the mad woman’s livid expression.
She was white as a sheet, her long, curls swirling in the raging wind. Her eyes carried a definite glaze of derangement, Elizabeth had seen ample times during her duties in the wards of the Cleveland Medical College Mental Asylum. One of the loons had once nearly strangled Elizabeth in a fit of madness. Elizabeth had already become asphyxiated before the orderlies had come and torn him from her.
“Tell him I had come…tell him…” the girl said and Elizabeth gathering the last shred of strength that remained in her pulled her hand away.
Once free, Elizabeth stumbled backward and fell to the ground burying her backside into the freshly fallen snow. The mad woman let out a guffaw that rather sounded like a howl. Elizabeth shrieked and clambered about, clawing at the ground to get purchase enough to stand before she could run away.
She ran as if her life depended on it, with the madwoman’s laughter blending into the first crack of thunder behind her. Elizabeth ran without any sense of direction. Ahead of her, she saw a small shack-like structure already getting buried in the snow.
She ran to it and nearly collapsed against its wall for support. It took her two rounds around the shack to finally locate the door. But as she was about to reach for it, she saw a small glimmer of light inside. Then she heard the noises. There was laughter and playful giggles. Her stomach roiled as she recognized on of the voices inside. Quickly she ran back around the corner of the shack as the door flew open and Lydia walked out. She wrapped her coat around herself tightly and hurried in the direction of the Rhymer Farmhouse.
