by Susan Thomas
Later, when the fires were brought under control, and the flow of casualties ceased, Carl took a mug of coffee and some bread, butter and cheese to his daughter.
"Sit, drink, and eat."
She took it gratefully and as she sipped her hot coffee he said quietly, "I am proud of you, daughter. Very proud. I see now you were never destined to be a farmer's wife. I was wrong to try and force it. You and the good Dr. Davies will be a good team and you love each other. You must be married soon."
Marta stared at her father. He was not overly generous with praise. A 'good' grunted out when one of his children did well was normally his limit.
"Thank you, Papa," she said.
---oOo---
When daylight returned the people of Kirkham were exhausted but they had prevailed. The four buildings had collapsed without the fire spreading elsewhere. Now efforts were directed at dampening down the smoldering wreckage. The stench of smoke hung in the air and clung to everyone's clothes but there was a sense of a victory won. The tired citizens were apt to burst into laughter or tears without rhyme or reason. When the new sheriff came to visit the church hall, Sam, shame faced, asked Liam about his wife, Abigail.
"She was last seen at an upstairs window of the house she fired. She never came out and no one tried to rescue her. Charles Flight reckoned she wouldn't have come anyway. Last anyone saw of her she was laughing, with the flames licking around her."
Cecelia had been listening and now Sam turned to her. "Can you forgive me? Honestly Cee, she was dead to me. I thought she had gone into the asylum forever."
"You saved Alice."
Sam was a little bewildered by this reply. "You saved Julia. I couldn't even see her when I was in there."
Cee went quiet and Sam wondered if he should say anything.
"Pastor Daffern explained how you saw it when he came to see me. You thought of her as dead to you and even told Julia her mother had died. Why shouldn't you think of the future; but it hurt so much when you declared your wife was still alive."
"I know and I am truly sorry. Never in my wildest imaginings did I think Abigail would ever escape and come looking for me. I'd brought Julia out here to start afresh without people looking sideways at us all the time. Then I met you and I was lost. I fell in love and it all seemed so perfect. Julia and Alice became best friends instantly. You were a widow and I thought of myself as a widower... we just seemed so perfect for one another. Do... do you think you could forgive me sometime? Could we ever be a family? If not I will take Julia and leave. You've suffered enough."
Liam had tactfully moved on to visit Henry Flight. The sheriff was awake again but looked weak and in some pain.
"You've got the sheriff's badge on," said Henry.
"Yeah. Beth resigned you from the post. Mayor Spencer made me sheriff last night and I tell you it's been a long night."
"I'll have to have words with Beth."
"No, you don't. She's right. You only took it on because there was no one else. You've your saloon and your new hotel to think about. More importantly, you've got a wife and children. She's protecting her family and that's right. Accept what she did. If I marry, my wife will have to understand this is what I do. I always wanted to be in the police."
"You need a deputy."
"I'll have one. My cousin back in New York is married with a new baby. They want to get out of New York and make a fresh start where there's room to breathe. He's been patrolling for two years already. She has some family money and when I wrote them they decided they want to invest here. He's a good man and my cousin. We'll be a good team. Relax, Henry. Get well and go back to your family. It's been a rough night but a good one. The town fought the fire together and won. Although it was awful, the only fatality was the Hoctor woman, and if you ask me that is the happiest end for her. The Tannock people were alright, by the way, just locked up."
Henry looked around at the injured. He saw Dr. Davies leaning on Marta as they walked together checking on their patients. He saw Sam and Cecelia holding hands. Carl Hartman with an arm around his daughters, Matilde and Erna. It was time the two girls went home. Liam was right, he decided... about everything.
---oOo---
The wedding of Sam and Cecelia had to be delayed because there was so much to do. Sam offered to pay for all the damage but Miss Tannock would only allow him to pay half. She paid for the rest because she felt guilty that she had been such a poor judge of character. Sam worried that the good people of Kirkham would hate him for the damage and injuries his wife had brought down on them. They didn't. There was wild talk of sending a bill to the asylum which had failed to notify him, but it came to nothing. Sam himself was forgiven. Charles ran a special edition describing the dramatic events, and just about everyone in town got mentioned, so folks bought lots of copies to keep for their grandchildren.
It was mid-October before anyone had enough energy to think about weddings. When they finally did it was as much a town celebration as it was wedding. Everyone was there. Flags and bunting lined the street, a band played and a huge feast was laid on in the church hall. For the Rev. James Daffern, it was a first; the first time he had conducted a double wedding. Samuel Hoctor married his Cecelia McMorran with their two girls as bridesmaids. Dr. Iestyn Davies married Marta Hartman, with all her sisters as bridesmaids, and Matilde sneaking looks at her adoring fiancé, Paul Hoffman.
Epilogue
Jacob McMorran sat silently at the breakfast table. His wife barely looked at him. The day that Marco Basetti had told him some home truths about his son and his relationship with his daughter-in-law, Cecelia, had been like dam bursting. Basetti's words had smashed open the carefully constructed self-view and allowed him to see himself as he really was. He had gone home a shattered man and conveyed to his wife the depths of his new self-loathing.
Amelia McMorran too, perhaps for different reasons, had looked at her life and sunk into despair. Ralph had been the last surviving of all her children. The rest had died either as babies or in infancy. Alice alone was of her blood, the only link to her once fruitful womb. The thought that she might have been the one to drive that last link away shattered her as much as Basetti's words had shattered her husband.
To arrive at the point where she could admit, to herself, that Ralph had been a wastrel had taken many years. Now each day a nasty thought wriggled like a worm into her brain and whispered, "And it was you that over-indulged him. You spoilt him, Amelia." She had spent a long time blaming Cecelia but now she could see that her daughter-in-law had suffered much and done her best to contain Ralph.
Amelia withdrew from her social life and realized that no one cared. No friend called because she had only acquaintances not friends. Jacob reined in his business affairs and withdrew completely from politics. Those smoky late night dinners, where the brandy flowed and cigars were passed around, stopped. He had loved dominating them and now he simply didn't care. There was nothing of value in his life and he wondered just what he was going to do until the Good Lord called him home.
A servant brought in his letters and with practiced ease he sorted the envelopes out. Bills, charitable requests, business and... there amongst all the others was a letter in a hand he recognized but couldn't place. He slit open the envelope and began to tremble as he saw who had written it. He read it through once, his face white, and his hands shaking. Then, calmer, he read it through again. By then the intensity with which he read had awoken the curiosity of his wife.
"Jacob, what is it? Who is it from?"
"It's from Cecelia, I'll read it to you."
Kirkham
30th March, 1883
Dear Mr. and Mrs. McMorran,
You will long since have realized that catching a train to New York was a deliberate feint on my part and that it was my intention to remove Alice from your power and influence. You may not understand my reasons so I will explain.
I feared, with very good reason, that you were plotting to take control of Alice and bring her up
in the way that you wished. I further feared that in order to make that possible you would have me confined in an asylum. As we all know, that does happen although, without doubt, it should not. You may wish to deny these charges I bring, but remember this, you will not be able to deny them when you face our creator once again.
I know that you thought very little of me. It is true I was a poor girl, and only a humble nurse, but I did not marry Ralph for money. I married him because I loved him deeply and passionately. Unfortunately, marriage to Ralph was not easy. At first, he was a loving, if excitable, husband but gradually his old life drew him back although I tried so very hard to stop it. You did not have to manage the Ralph that came back in a terrible state from his drunken binges. You did not have to nurse him after yet another of his falls gained in reckless racing. You did not have to clean him up when he came home reeking of purchased women and cheap scent. I bear no ill will to Ralph or even to you for all that. Ralph was weak and you were his parents. As a parent now I see how deep the love for our children goes and how hard it is to be honest with ourselves about them.
That is the past. Now to the present. I went west to the small town of Kirkham where Dr. Davies sought a trained nurse. I took a circuitous route to make it hard for you to find me. Here in Kirkham Alice and I could make a fresh start. Poor maybe, but wealth is not everything, and I would ensure that Alice was not spoilt and groomed to be a vacant socialite whose only purpose was to attract a wealthy man into marriage.
I did not expect to remarry but in fact that is what has happened. I met a good and decent man in the course of my work. A widower, he has a daughter the same age as Alice, and the two girls began to play together. Our initial friendship quickly became much more and now we are married. I have further adopted my husband's daughter, Julia, and he has adopted Alice. We have changed Alice's name to Alice McMorran-Hoctor.
Now to the future. You may wonder why I now write to you. It is not to gloat, or be triumphant, it is to invite you, if you wish, to become part of Alice's life once more. Oh, not a controlling part. No earthly power can take her from our family. No, the part would be what it should always have been: that of loving grandparents.
Kirkham is only small but we have a brand-new hotel, which may lack the refinements you are used to, but is clean and comfortable. Alice does not have very good memories of you but she is young and you can change those. This invitation comes with a condition. Julia is her sister and though they squabble sometimes that is how Alice sees her. I will not have one of my girls with grandparents and the other without.
The invitation is one that can be for a visit or a longer stay. Kirkham will welcome you as it welcomed me. It is a very forgiving and compassionate town. One last word: I am with child so our little family already grows. Maybe you would wish to be a part of that.
I am,
Yours Sincerely,
Mrs. Cecelia Hoctor
Jacob McMorran finished reading and looked up to see a sight he had not seen in years: tears in his wife's eyes. He hesitated and then spoke the words his heart dictated.
"What do you think, my dear? Perhaps a visit? I owe Cecelia a visit. There are things I wish to say to her... apologies I must make."
"Yes Jacob. A visit would be good." She reached out a hand and held on to one of his. "Perhaps stay longer? What do you think? Maybe... maybe we could make a fresh start."
Also from LSF Publications...
The Schoolmarm and the Preacher by Susan Thomas
When Annie McWilliams arrives in Kirkham with her two young children, she is given a warm welcome and taken to a small house that has been made ready for the town's new schoolmarm. Delighted with her new surroundings, Annie quickly settles in, eager to leave her troubled past behind and make a fresh start in life. Her first encounter with Reverend James Daffern occurs when he saves her children from drowning in the river. She finds him very attractive, and James is extremely taken with the pretty young widow. But when Annie disobeys the Sheriff's instructions by exploring an unrespectable part of town, she learns she is to be spanked for her disobedience, and as she has no husband, James Daffern is the man for the job.
Acutely embarrassed, Annie takes her punishment ... and given her headstrong nature, it turns out to be the first of several discipline sessions with the good-looking preacher. As time passes, their romance grows, and when James asks Annie to be his wife, she accepts gladly ... yet she is reluctant to set a date for the wedding. She has a secret which weighs heavy on her shoulders ... but she is not the only one with a secret past. As events unfold, the truth comes to light ... but how will the revelations affect Annie's future?
Elizabeth's Flight by Susan Thomas
When Elizabeth (Beth) learns of her parents' intent to marry her off to Rankin Blake, she is horrified, for although Rankin is wealthy and influential, he is also cruel and abusive. Given that her parents have failed to demonstrate any love or affection towards her, there is only one course of action: she must run away from home. So with the help of Martha, her former nurse, she makes her plans to leave, securing a position as a teacher in a small town out West.
But when she arrives in Kirkham she is mistaken for someone else, and as events unfold, learns she has a twin sister, Emily ... and that the people she thought were her parents are clearly not. There is an instant rapport between Emily and Beth, and Emily's warm-hearted adoptive parents take Beth into their household and make her welcome.
Beth quickly settles and loves her new situation, and when it is suggested she marry her sister's brother-in-law Henry (who is the town sheriff), she accepts - knowing that once she is safely married, if ever Rankin Blake were to find her, it will be too late for him to claim her as his bride.
Though she did not marry for love, Beth learns to love her new husband and vows to be a good wife to him. This includes accepting his discipline - something which Beth has no prior experience of, but soon becomes accustomed to! She is not the only chastised wife as Emily also gets spanked by her husband, and so too apparently do quite a few women in the town!
Life is good, until Beth's past catches up with her and threatens all she holds dear...
The Schoolmarm and the Deputy by Abigail Armani
The year is 1880, and the feisty Ruby Stanford has one objective: clear her pa's name and then get as far away from Crow Creek as she can. But when Jim Sibley rides into Crow Creek he rapidly turns her world upside down with his brooding good looks and blue-eyed charm. She learns he is Deputy Sheriff from a neighbouring town, come to track down the same gang of bandits she knows is responsible for her pa's death - and she insists on accompanying him on his quest. He refuses of course, and as their mutual attraction flares, they also argue. Ruby is used to getting her own way ... but so is the handsome Deputy Sheriff ... and he soon asserts his authority and discipline. It isn't long before Ruby finds herself over his lap getting her bottom spanked for her sass and disobedience. However, a little spanking doesn't dampen her determination and she disobeys yet again - and armed with her pa's old rifle and more luck than skill, manages to shoot at a couple of bandits.
Banditos, subterfuge, deceit, romance and passion ... the folks of Crow Creek have a lot to talk about as events unravel, and at the heart of it all is the developing relationship between Ruby and her handsome cowboy. Jim never expected to fall in love but finds himself smitten by the flame-haired schoolmarm who has stolen his heart. As for Ruby, when Jim sets her rear on fire, it also ignites a passion she never knew existed. Life is good, especially when Jim's sister comes to stay, and Ruby has no desire to leave Crow Creek now that she and her man have set things to right.
When Jim asks Ruby to marry him, neither of them know that trouble is waiting close by...
A Real Man for Ruth by Susan Thomas
This is the story of a woman who embarks on a new life with a man she grows to love. The year is 1890, and following the death of her parents, Ruth has a decision to make concerning her future. She needs a husband. The suito
rs in her home town in England are unsuitable and unappealing; what she wants is a real man, such as the ones in the American West she has read about in dime novels... so she emigrates to the United States to find one.
Shortly after arriving in New York, she goes to a matrimonial agency, and after an exchange of letters, agrees to marry a man in Colorado by the name of Amos Masters. He is a handsome, masterful yet kind man, and Ruth is most impressed with the big cowboy. They marry and she happily settles down into his household. But it isn't long before she discovers Amos believes in firm discipline. Not only does he spank his sister Elizabeth, he also proposes to spank his new wife if she is disrespectful or disobedient. One of the things Ruth is not permitted to do is touch his gun collection ... but being the daughter of a gunsmith, she does exactly that. Ruth fails to inform her husband that she is a trained gunsmith, and when he discovers her capabilities during a conflict, Amos has much to be thankful for...
Love on the Oregon Trail by Abigail Armani
When Rosalind Cole first sets eyes on the brooding cowboy in the battered hat, little does she know what fate has in store for her - for she is destined to travel the same path as William Adams and their lives are to become unequivocally linked. Against her sister's wishes, Rosalind sets out with other pioneers from Independence, Missouri - their destination, the lush Willamette Valley, Oregon, where each and every one of them will settle and make a better life.
