by Sondra Grey
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 st
orm 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 spine. 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.
Elizabeth waited anxiously for the other person to emerge from the shack. She was silently praying for it to be one of the other farm girls. Nicholas’ threat about Lydia with one of his men rang through her head.
The door opened once again, and Franco came out. He had a stick to support himself in the snow, and he limped hurriedly into the direction of the brook where he had left the crazy girl earlier.
Elizabeth was stunned. Nic had made it very clear that if Lydia got involved with any of his men he would send her away. What would he say now when she told him that she was having an affair with Juan Alvarez’s number one guy?
Suddenly, her legs began to give away and she held to the wall for support. Elizabeth reached the door of the shack, pulled it open, then pushed herself inside and closed the door behind her. Just as the last lick of the candle flame flickered into the pool of wax, darkness overcame her and she fell to the floor, unconscious.
Chapter Fifteen
W hen strong hands pulled her into an embrace, Elizabeth was sure that God was taking her and she was going to be at peace soon. But then she felt herself being carried and voices around her.
“Vince, I got her.”
She floated in and out of consciousness as strong
hands hoisted her somewhere high above the ground, where it smelled of horses, and then she felt a rhythmic gallop. She had no idea how long she was cradled like that, and before she knew it, she was being carried once again. This time she knew she was in Nicholas’s strong arms because she heard his comforting voice.
“You guys finish dinner then go off to bed. Don’t wait up for me. Lydia, close up behind them.”
She was only slightly aware of Nic’s fingers deftly undressing her out of her snow-laden clothes and sliding one of her nightgowns over her body. He cradled her in his arms and sat in his favorite lounging chair that he had moved directly in front of the warm fireplace.
When Nicholas was sure that she was sufficiently warm enough, he carried her to the bed. He put a mug of something warm to her lips, and she drank hungrily. He changed into his night clothes and got into bed behind her, enfolding her in his arms to keep her warm.
Elizabeth had always feared storms, ever since she was a small child. When her eyes fluttered open, she could see that heavy rain had started and there was thunder through the ever-open window. Suddenly, a fork of lightning tore through the sky, and she screamed out in fright.
“It’s just a storm Liz,” Nicholas said not tenderly and pulled her back into the warmth of his body.
“Close the window Nic. I am scared.” She said trembling, and he pulled her closer, spooning her body from behind with his own.
“It’s nothing, Liz, it will pass.” he mumbled into her hair from behind.
“Nic, I was lost. And I was cold…it was so cold.” She said, and her body shivered involuntarily with the memory.
“Shhh…I know my dear, I know.” He crooned, pulling her closer.
“I thought I would never see you again. I thought I would be buried in the snow and you would never find me.” This time a sob escaped her lips and Nicholas was furious with himself for not having taken better care of her.
