The Devil's Bride

by A. S. McGowan

  Chapter 21

  Matthew was grateful to be home. The trip back to Missouri had proven successful. At least in terms of ensuring Clyde Washington would no longer be a threat to Sarah. Turns out, the man was shot dead by some union soldiers.

  They would have returned sooner except they had all decided to escort Gage Bryan back to seminary school. The thought of his wild younger brother as a priest made him smile. He was still smiling when he entered the kitchen.

  His smile faded as soon as he saw Sarah. She was on her hands and knees scrubbing the kitchen floor. Her hair was pinned up and several strands had fallen loose.

  "What are you doing?"

  "I’m scrubbing the floor." She stopped scrubbing and looked up at him.

  "I see that. My question more is why?"

  "Ester said I had to earn my keep."

  He walked over, took the scrub brush from her, and tossed it back into the bucket. He helped her to her feet then led her to the table. Once he had helped her sit, he took the chair opposite.

  "Will you tell me what is going on?"

  She told him everything that had happened since he left. With each word she spoke, his temper rose more. When she had finished, he reached out and gave her hand a squeeze. Then he rose and stormed from the kitchen.

  He screamed for Ester as he went down the hallway. He found her in the parlor sipping tea. He couldn't believe she sat there comfy sipping tea while Sarah was doing servant’s work.

  "Ester," he growled.

  "Matthew, welcome home." She offered him a big smile. "Care to join me for tea?"

  "I don't want tea. I want to know why Sarah is working in the kitchen." He took another step into the room. "Topsannah, hold it right there. You might as well come in. This involves you, too."

  Topsannah sighed and walked the rest of the way into the room.

  "Matthew, it is not what you think. We were only trying to help. She simply had no interest in anything. Housework keeps her busy," Ester said.

  "She just lost her baby. What did you expect? Her to want to attend fancy luncheons and balls?"

  "No, of course not. She was lying in bed, refusing to eat. She surely would have joined that baby in the grave if she continued on in such a manner," Ester said.

  "We came up with a plan. Something to spark some life in her," Topsannah said, her hands fluttering about in front of her. "And well, um . . . Ester is the one who insisted she scrub floors."

  "Topsannah!" A look of betrayal flashed on Ester’s lovely face. "Topsannah threated to scalp her if anything happened to any of you," she said, her voice whining like a tattling child.

  He looked from one to the other. Ridiculous. These two were ridiculous.

  "What is all the screaming about?" David asked as he came into the room followed by John and their younger brother Patrick.

  "These two ladies have conspired to torture Sarah in our absence."

  "We did not," they said in unison.

  "Oh really. What do you call having a grieving mother scrub your floors, Ester?" Matthew asked. "Or threatening to scalp her, Topsannah?"

  "Wait just a minute. What are you talking about?" David asked.

  "Ester decided Sarah could scrub floors. Topsannah decided a threat of scalping was in order."

  John and David looked at their wives and shook their heads. Patrick stood in the doorway laughing. Matthew turned and glared at him, but he continued to laugh.

  "You both will go in there and explain yourselves. You owe her an apology." He turned to the door. "Now, ladies."

  He entered the kitchen. Sarah was still sitting at the table. She was staring off into space and didn’t acknowledge him. He motioned for Ester and Topsannah to go to her. They walked a few steps in front of him, then stopped. If they thought they were getting out of this, they were sorely mistaken. He came up behind them and gave them each a gentle push.

  They shuffled toward the table. He took the seat opposite of Sarah. His brothers grabbed the other three chairs. That left one chair at the head of the table by Sarah. When Ester went to sit, he shook his head. No, she would stand and squirm right alone with her co-conspirator.

  "Sarah, my wife and Topsannah have something they wish to say," John said.

  Sarah turned, looking wordlessly up at them. Matthew would give anything to know what she was thinking. He knew his sisters-in-law were good, kind-hearted women. However, their good intentions had caused harm and Sarah may never forgive them.

  "We are sorry," they said in unison.

  "We truly were trying to help. We just didn't know how to help you," Ester said. "I thought housework would keep you too busy to grieve. I was wrong, and I truly hope you can forgive us."

  "Topsannah," David said.

  "I am sorry. As with Ester, I was trying to help. You never got out of bed. I feared you would die."

  "You threatened to scalp me," Sarah hissed.

  "I know. I wanted to provoke a fight; spark some life into you. My words were terrible."

  Matthew watched the two women continue to ramble on, begging Sarah to forgive them. He wasn't sure if their words were getting through to her until he caught the look in her eyes. Oh yes, sweet Sarah had a mischievous side. It was that side that was enjoying watching the women squirm.

  "Enough, ladies. You have said your peace," Matthew finally interrupted their blathering. "Sarah, can you accept their apologies?"

  "I thank you for your words." She looked from him to his sisters-in-law. "I don't know if I can trust you, though."

  "I hope in time you can learn to trust us. It would be terrible to have a sister I could not call my friend," Ester said.

  "Sister?"

  "Well, yes. I mean, I do hope you and Matthew actually marry." Ester pulled the out the chair and sat. "I think you are perfect for Matthew."

  "How can you say that after what you know about me?"

  Ester looked at him. He knew the silent question she was asking of him. He also knew how hard it would be for her and Topsannah. They could trust Sarah that he knew with every fiber of his being. Sarah would not judge, nor would she tell tales outside school.

  He nodded, then rose so Topsannah could sit. One by one, the two women told Sarah their story. He saw the shock on her face. No outsider would know that they had not always belonged in Chicago's polite society. Yet, here in this kitchen, all pretenses were gone.

  Sarah's face was wet when she looked at him again. Something protective tugged at him. The thought hit him hard. She belonged here.

  "My offer still stands." He felt like everything in his world was balanced in this one moment. One answer would make his life worth living. The other might send him over the cliff he stood on. When he asked her on the train, he was alright no matter what her answer was. The waiting didn’t even bother him. Yet now the silence stretched for only a moment and yet, it was killing him.

  "Say yes," the two women said at once.

  She wiped her tears away then nodded. He was grateful she didn’t make him wait any longer for an answer. The joy inside him burst forth. He reached for her and pulled her up to stand in front of him. He looked down into her eyes, then pulled her into his arms. She fit perfectly.

  Chapter 22

  Sarah was in her room dressing for dinner. This would be the first time since she arrived that she dined with the family. To say she was nervous would be an understatement. His mother would be there. She had never spent time with the widow O'Brian, and the thought petrified her.

  A knock sounded on the door. She opened it to find Matthew standing in the hallway. She liked that he came to escort her. When they entered the dining room, everyone was already seated. He held a chair for her. She was seated between, if she remembered correctly, Patrick and James. Matthew took the seat opposite of her.

  The table was already set with platters and bowls brimming with food. Never had she seen so much food at one time. Even the church potlucks were never this overflowing with food. The aromas made her mouth water. John
signaled time for grace and everyone joined hands. As soon as the word Amen echoed around the table, everything erupted into loud chaos.

  "Gentlemen, please," Ester yelled over the noise.

  No one seemed to listen. Sarah looked at Matthew unsure what to do or think. He shrugged his shoulders and began loading food onto his plate.

  "Boys!" Agnes O'Brian yelled.

  The room went silent and everyone froze in place.

  "We have a guest, please act accordingly," Ester said.

  The men seemed to settle, and dinner proceeded in a civilized manner. Sarah wondered if they were this way during all meals. If so, she would soon be exhausted just watching them. Not all of them were present tonight. How much worse it would be when all ten brothers were present?

  “Sarah, will you be helping us carve the pumpkins for the Halloween ball?” Patrick asked as he set his fork on his plate.

  “Sarah is in mourning she can’t attend the Halloween ball, it would be improper,” Ester said.

  “I didn’t ask if she would be attending, I simply inquired if she would be helping us with the pumpkin carving,” Patrick replied.

  “Pumpkin carving?” Sarah asked.

  “Oh yes it is a fun Irish tradition to carve pumpkins and place a candle inside to ward off evil spirits,” Jonah said.

  “There is a whole legend behind it and after marrying John, I made sure pumpkins were incorporated into the decorations for the Halloween ball,” Ester said.

  “What is this legend?” Sarah asked.

  “There was a man named Stingy Jack who was a miserable old drunkard. Well he loved to play tricks on people,” Matthew began.

  “Patrick is the trickster here but at least he is not a miserable drunkard,” Ester said.

  “No I am most definitely not a drunkard.”

  “Hush you two and let me finish the story for Sarah,” Matthew said. “Now where was I? Oh yes, Stingy Jack loved to play tricks on people and one night he played a trick on the Devil himself. You see the Devil invited Jack to have a drink with him, and being as he wasn’t about to pay for the drinks nor turn down a drink, he hatched a plan. He tells the Devil to turn himself into a handful of coins so as he could pay for the drinks.”

  “The Devil turned himself into coins?” Sarah asked.

  “Oh yeah he did and that is when Stingy Jack got him good,” Patrick said.

  “If I could finish please?” Matthew shot his brother a pointed look. “So yes the Devil turned himself into coins and Stingy Jack shoved those coins into his pocket right next to his silver cross. The holy relic prevent the Devil from turning himself back into the Devil.”

  “How then if he trapped him in his pocket did the Devil get free? And what does this have to do with pumpkin carving?” The whole story confused her. Where there other strange Irish legends and customs that she must now learn?

  “I am getting to that. Well Stingy Jack eventually let the Devil turn back into himself with the promise that the Devil wouldn’t bother him for a year and a day and also that the Devil wouldn’t claim his soul should he die. Well the Devil kept his promise and eventually old Jack did die. He was forbidden into Heaven and the Devil refused to take his soul. So the Devil gave him a lump of brimstone to light his way, and Jack placed it into a hollowed out turnip and thus he became known as Jack of the Lantern. Irish customs had people placing candles inside hollowed out turnips and such. Then when immigrants came to the New World, pumpkins were discovered. Thus you have pumpkin carving for All Hallow’s Eve.”

  “How interesting. Yes Patrick I would like very much to help.”

  After dinner, Sarah joined everyone in the kitchen. Each person chose a pumpkin and a sharp knife to carve. Unsure what to do, she stood watching the others as they began. First they cut off the tops then scooped out the insides, dumped them into a large bowl, then sat the tops back onto the pumpkins. She took her knife and imitated what they did. It didn’t seem to hard to carve a pumpkin. Then she saw them began to carve shapes onto the side of their pumpkins. She watched as two squares were cut, then a triangle, then a strange jagged line below the triangle. She noticed that it gave the pumpkin a crude looking face.

  Sarah followed suit imitating what the others had done. When she finished she held her pumpkin up and examined her handiwork. She looked over at the other pumpkins and frowned.

  “It looks good,” Matthew said.

  “You do not have to lie to me, Matthew. We both know it looks terrible.” She laughed and sat her pumpkin down on the table. She was terrible at this and she knew it. However, it was fun and that was most important to her.

  “You will get the hang of it,” Ester said as she came around the table and looked at Sarah’s pumpkin. “I must admit it looks a lot better than my first pumpkin.”

  She watched as David helped Scottie carve his small pumpkin. The child’s laughter and smile tugged at something deep inside of her. As Scottie proudly held his finished pumpkin up for all to see, she wondered about the baby she had lost. Would Matthew have helped him carve a pumpkin of his own when he was big enough? Yes she was sure he would. She wondered what other customs the family took part in that her son would have had the privilege of learning at the side of his would be father. A small tear slid down her cheek, she quickly wiped it away before anyone noticed. Tonight was a time of joy and celebration, not a time of what-ifs.

  She retired to her room after the pumpkin carving. She had to admit that she truly enjoy her time with everyone. When the pumpkins were placed outside and the candles lit, they looked eerie glowing there in the night. They would place a new candle in them each night from now until Halloween. The night of the Halloween ball the pumpkins would be brought inside and placed in the ballroom for their last night on display.

  She got ready for bed, climbed into the bed, extinguished the lantern and pulled the covers up. Although exhausted, sleep would not come. She tossed and turned. Thoughts kept her mind from turning off. Tomorrow was her wedding day. While she knew it was a marriage of convenience she wondered if they would share a room together after the tonight. Would he expect her to perform or wifely duties or would he simply offer his name and nothing more? If he kept a separate room, would he seek companionship elsewhere?

  When the thought of him with someone else crossed her mind, she felt a pain inside her chest. She didn’t want him with anyone else. Yet she knew it would not be her place to tell him such. No this was a marriage of convenience and she had no right to dictate how the marriage would be. She took a couple deep breaths and forced the unsettling thoughts from her mind. Tomorrow she gained respectability. She needed to remember that and be grateful for what she had and not focus on what she may or may not get from the marriage.

  Chapter 23

  A maid had come and helped her bath. Once she was bathed, she dressed in a simple day dress. Her hair had been brushed until it was dry and shone. The maid left her to decide what she would wear for her wedding day, with a promise to return and dress her hair for her. She still wasn’t use to having servants who brought her tea, helped her bath and dress. She wasn’t sure if she would ever get use to such things. Ester had spoken of the Halloween ball that would be thrown here at the mansion for all of Chicago’s wealthy people. She however would not be attending since she was still in mourning. She was grateful since she wasn’t ready to try meeting such wealthy people. After all she wasn’t gently bred for such things, nor had she had the training necessary to move about with such people. Matthew even had been informed that while in mourning he would remain upstairs with Sarah. He acted like he didn’t mind the thought one bit.

  She didn’t have much longer to get ready, so she went through her armoire full of dresses. She had never owned anything as nice or as numerous as what was in front of her now. There were day dresses in various colors, evening dresses of fine fabric. There had been no time to be fitted for a proper wedding dress, so she continued to search for a dress appropriate for the occasion. A blue silk evening dr
ess caught her eye. She pulled it from the armour and inspected it. Its dark, rich color would go well with her pale complexion. Smiling, she laid it on the bed.

  There was a knock at the door and before she could call out, the door opened and Ester and Topsannah came bustling in, followed by the widowed O'Brian. They were smiling and just plain giddy. If she didn't know any better, she would think it was their wedding day. She smiled at them. Ester looked at the dress on the bed. Widow O'Brian picked it up and quickly hung it back in the armor.

  "While it is beautiful, it won't do ye for such a big day," Widow O'Brian said.

  "I looked at all the dresses. They are so beautiful, but it is hard to decide which one to wear today." She turned back toward the armour. "Widow O'Brian, which would you choose?" She hoped that referring to the older woman's guidance would endear her new mother-in-law to her.

  "None of these are fitting. Please, though, Mother O'Brian will be appropriate. None of this widow nonsense."

  "Actually, Sarah, that is why we came here. We have the perfect dress . . . if you would accept it," Ester said.

  Before Sarah could say a word, Topsannah opened the door and a maid carried in a bundle of green fabric. The maid straightened the fabric out over her bed. It was then she saw it was a silk gown. The dark, rich green stood out against the multi-colored quilt. She walked over and ran her hand over the fabric. Never had she seen anything so exquisite in her life.

  "Green is the color of luck. Me son is a lucky one to find you," Agnes O'Brian said.

  "I couldn't possible wear this. It is just too much."

  "This dress has a history and a story. A story I should hope would continue to grow and be added to," Ester said. She moved over to the bed and ran her hand over the fabric, a look of longing on her face. "This dress belonged to the Baroness Wellington. She gave it to me the day I married John. Then I, in turn, gave it to Topsannah the day she married David."

  "Now I wish to give it to you on your wedding day," Topsannah said.