Marcus would have preferred them to remain there, but the rains were due soon, and the stream sometimes swelled up with water and had once carried a couple of longhorns with it. Work would intensify now because Marcus and Mark would have to draw water from the well for the cows to drink.
In a few weeks, fifty or so would be ready for the market. The prices were good and Marcus expected a good profit. He planned to increase his herd with another lot. Usually, he bought the calves when they were a couple for months old but he had another strategy for the next season. He had made up his mind to breed his own lot. The bulls were now mature and it would be much cheaper to rear his own.
Besides, it would also open up another business opportunity to sell the calves to ranchers. Like him, most ranchers he knew bought calves rather than rear their own. It was risky breeding one’s calves. Farmers had been known to lose an entire generation of calves due to disease. They were sensitive when they were young, but Marcus had studied the business well and he knew that he could do it.
‘I’ll fetch the water; you go on and have a rest.’ Marcus said to his ranch hand.
Mark grinned; his one permanently shut eye opening a little.
‘I’ll be glad for a small rest. The Missus will be chaffed to see me at this hour.’ He said.
Marcus nodded and the two men parted ways. The well was next to the barn and after putting his stallion back in the barn and brushing him down, Marcus went to the well and worked steadily until noon. It was back breaking work, pulling up pail after pail of water. The good thing was that he didn’t need to carry it far.
A trough connected the well to the pasture. Marcus poured the water into the trough and it flowed down to another trough at the edge of the fenced area. Next, he filled two pails, balanced them on a rod across his shoulder, each on one end. He walked with it to the back door of the kitchen and deposited them on the ground.
The door swung open. Edna did not look at him; she merely took one of the pails and poured out the water into a huge storage drum by the sink. Marcus stomach growled at the delicious smells wafting from the kitchen. He made a few more trips to fetch water. They worked together as though they had done so all their lives.
‘Lunch is ready.’ Edna told him softly.
The anger and sense of betrayal returned with a force, but he was too hungry to forgo a meal in favor of staying away from Edna. He got in, marched past Patrick and Victoria who were already eating and went to the washroom to clean his face and hands.
‘We learned our letters today with Ms. Edna.’ Patrick said proudly.
‘That’s very good.’
He shot Edna a grateful look. He had never once given much thought to their education and for that matter, neither had Louisa. For the first time since morning, he found his anger at Edna mellowing. He knew that her deceit was not something that he would ever forget, but he appreciated the efforts she was making with the children.
Marcus reminded himself that the reason he had wanted a wife in the first place, was to have someone take care of the children. He and Edna could be civil to one another but they did not have to be friends.
***
Something had changed between them, Edna thought, in the two weeks that she had been at the ranch. The morning she arrived, Marcus had been friendly but that had only lasted for a day. Edna trembled slightly when she remembered how his eyes had remained glued on her stomach. Edna felt restless that morning.
The children were busy with their lessons and while there was a lot to do, the uppermost task on her mind was going into town to buy material. Patrick wore trousers that went up to his knees and Victoria’s dresses were torn and short as to be embarrassing. She had a little money saved up and she would use it to buy the material.
Having decided, she went in search h of Marcus to let him know that she and the children were going into town. At the well, she saw Mark the ranch hand.
After exchanging greetings with him, she said: ‘Would you kindly leave a message to Mr. Marcus and let him know the children and I have gone into town to get some supplies.’
‘Will do.’ Mark said and returned to fetching water.’ Do you need a hand with hitching the buggy Missis?’
Edna nodded gratefully. She made a note to ask Marcus to introduce her to Mark’s wife. It could get lonely here without some female company, besides; she missed having someone to chat with.
While Mark went to the barn, Edna returned to the house. She got coats for herself and the children.
‘We’re going into town for a bit, how do you like that?’ Edna said.
She smiled at the cries of jubilation that the children made. One couldn’t help but to love them.
‘Will we get some candy Ms. Edna?’ Victoria said, squeezing her too big arms into the sleeves of the coat.
Edna pretended to give the request some serious thought.
‘Of course you can, you too Patrick.’
She was rewarded with a lovely smile from the older boy. The buggy waited up front and Edna settled the children at the back before taking the driver’s seat herself. Samuel had taught her how to drive a buggy, so that when he wasn’t around and the doctor’s buggy was free, she could drive herself wherever she needed to go.
It was eye opening to look at Fairview with fresh eyes. The landscape was steep in some places and flat in others. It was a farming area as most land was dotted with cattle and sheep. It took them just about an hour to get to the small town, and as she had seen Marcus do, she parked the buggy just outside the general store.
There was a large display window and a glass door to its left. It took a while for Edna’s eyes to adjust to the dim light inside the store.
‘Hello there, how do you do?’ A woman with a round plump face called out from the counter.
‘How do you do?’ Edna said and looked around.
The space in between the shelves was crammed with boxes and crates and a young girl was removing items from them and arranging them on the shelves.
‘I know these two. May the Lord bless your late mother and rest her soul.’ The woman said looking at Patrick. ‘I did hear that Marcus got himself a wife?’
Edna wanted to laugh at the open curiosity, but she didn’t want to annoy this woman who was probably one of the most influential people in the town.
‘Yes ma’am, my name is Edna.’
‘Oh none of that Ma’am. Call me Alice my dear. Now what can I get you?’ she said briskly.
‘I’d like some materials to make some clothes for these young ones here.’ Edna said.
Patrick and Victoria wandered further into the shop looking at the different things on display.
‘Yes, poor things. Their own mother hardly bothered to care for them. I’ll tell you this; Marcus had been an angel to these children.’
Edna was taken aback and her jaw opened.
‘Is he not the father of the children?’ she said.
Alice realized then that she may have said too much.
‘Look, I’m not one to meddle in people’s affairs.’ She said with a nervous laugh. ‘Come this way, I’ll show you the materials I have.’
Edna left the store holding a large package. She had decided to get material for Marcus’s trousers as well after debating about it internally. She was still upset at him, but she told herself that just as the children were her responsibility, so was Marcus. She settled the children in the buggy.
‘Thank you Ms. Edna.’ Patrick said, sucking hard on his candy.
Victoria repeated after her brother and Edna ruffled her head with a sad look. Who did these children belong to? She had assumed that Marcus’s was the father. As she drove back home, she mused over what Alice, the lady at the store had said. It seems as though Marcus was not their father.
It hit her then that she had never heard the children address Marcus as father or papa. When they did call him, they referred to him as Mr. Marcus. Nothing was spoken of their mother and so much had happened between her and Marcus that they
only spoke to each other when necessary.
She remembered with shock that she had hardly thought of Samuel in the last couple of weeks. How could she have forgotten her dear husband in such a short time? Forgive me Samuel, she muttered aloud. California was so removed from the life she and Samuel had lived that there were no reminders of that life here.
Edna promised herself that she would not forget Samuel. Already, the exact details of his facial features, such as the shape of his nose and color of his eyes were hazy in her mind. It made her sad, but she knew the child she carried would serve as a reminder of the Samuel she had known and loved.
***
Marcus was busy digging around Louisa’s grave that he did not hear the footsteps.
‘Mr. Marcus?’ Patrick said and Marcus spurn round.
‘What are you doing here?’ he said, his eyes shifting from Patrick to Victoria to Edna.
‘We wanted to show Ms. Edna where mama was buried.’ Patrick explained.
Marcus nodded. ‘How was your trip to town?’
‘It was fine; we met a few people and bought some material.’ Edna said.
‘Did you see a doctor?’ Marcus said, throwing caution to the wind.
Her face changed from cheerful to obvious fright. For a second, he felt sorry that he had asked the question, but he was physically and mentally tired. He wanted Edna to know that he was no fool and could see what was happening right in front of his eyes.
‘No.’ she said softly. ‘I’ll be in the kitchen preparing lunch.’ She added and left.
Marcus could have hit himself. It would have been better if she had glared at him rather than look like a cornered creature. He felt remorseful at spoiling her day, but they couldn’t continue this way. He had thought that he could, but he heard Edna and the children’s laughter in the evenings and he longed to be part of that.
He also found himself feeling protective of Edna and had even forbidden her from carrying heavy water without offering any explanation. Time to himself had made Marcus realize that there was not much he could do about the situation. Edna was heavy with child and in another few months, they would have a baby in the household.
‘Can we plant some flowers?’ Patrick said.
‘Yes of course. Go gather some at the back of the barn, they’re plentiful there.’ Marcus said.
Watching them skip off in the direction of the barn, Marcus realized that he had made some glaring mistakes. For one, he had let his feelings for Louisa deny the children the mourning they needed. The funeral had been fast and hurried and there had been no ceremony to speak of. Louisa had had problems with her breathing and her need to go out into town despite the weather had made it worse.
The doctors had called it Asthma. Marcus and the children had been horror struck when she returned one chilly evening from town and her body got into severe shakes. Marcus had quickly shooed the children out of the front room and sent for a doctor. She lasted half an hour after the doctor arrived.
Following her death Marcus had been numb with shock, hardly noticing the children. The children had lost their mother, while for him, the shock was more to do with Louisa going so swiftly and the situation he now found himself, with two children to care for.
Patrick and Victoria came running back, carrying bunches of colorful wild flowers. Together they planted the flowers all around the grave and using wet clay, they wrote out Louisa’s name on the small cross. Marcus found his eyes wet with tears too, as he held them close and they sobbed against his shirt.
‘You know that Edna and I will take care of you, don’t you? You’re our children.’ Marcus said his voice gruff.
He realized that the statement was true. He wanted his marriage with Edna to work. She was a decent person and she had a big heart. Marcus wasn’t much of a talker and he had no idea which words he could use to make it right between them. He knew that he wanted to tell her that he had no problem whatsoever, with her carrying her late husband’s child.
Marcus would raise the child as his own just as he was doing with Patrick and Victoria.
‘Come along, let’s go home for lunch.’ Marcus said.
They held hands as they walked and before they reached the kitchen door, Patrick stopped.
‘Mr. Marcus, do you think it’s alright if we called you papa, even though you’re not our real father?’
Marcus choked up and could not speak for a few seconds.
‘Of course. I may not be your real papa but by taking care of you I’m also your papa.’ He said.
‘I’d like to call Ms. Edna mama; do you think she would mind?’ Victoria said.
‘We’ll have to ask her, but I have a feeling that she would like that very much.’
Patrick shuffled his feet, and then looked up.
‘I don’t think I want to call Ms. Edna mama. It was different with mama; you see I remember her unlike papa whom I can’t recall.’ Patrick explained.
‘That’s fine too. No one will force you to call anybody else by names that you don’t want.’
The boy looked relieved and Marcus placed his hand on Patrick’s small shoulders. Edna turned once to look at them as they entered the kitchen and then she quickly returned to stirring the pot. But not before Marcus saw the dry tears on her cheeks. He wanted to take her into his arms right there and then and assure her that all will be well.
It would have to be later, with the children there.
‘Ms. Edna, papa said that it’s alright if I called you mama. Patrick doesn’t want to.’ Victoria said.
Marcus chuckled at the barrage of information that came out of Victoria’s mouth. It was amazing how much she had blossomed since Edna’s arrival. He watched them now as they hugged and he and Edna’s eyes met over Victoria’s black head.
‘Come here Patrick. It’s alright. You can call me anything you wish and I’ll be happy with that.’
‘You’ll not get upset?’ Patrick said.
‘I couldn’t. I know how much you loved your mama. We’ll talk about her a lot so that her memory remains strong, how’s that?’
‘Yes, I’d like that Ms. Edna.’
His family, Marcus thought looking at them proudly. He and Edna needed to speak as soon as they could.
***
Edna was haunted by Marcus’s look that morning as he stared at her stomach. Without any words exchanged between them, she knew that he had discerned her secret. She had fled the house after lunch with the pretext of picking wild berries. A lot of things had become clear to her.
Patrick and Victoria were the children of Marcus’s wife, Louisa. That knowledge tore her heart into pieces. He was a good man as the lady at the general store had said. He did not deserve a wife who was a liar and who warmed her way into their lives using deceit. She picked the ripe berries distractedly and dropped them in the straw basket.
Edna felt as though she did not belong here. It was not that she did not love the ranch, because she did. It was the first stretch of period since the death of Samuel that she had had peace and contentment. She thought of her life back in Ohio. Had Doctor Anderson found a new apprentice? Perhaps she would get used to the smell of antiseptic if she worked there long enough.
The small room would be enough for her and the child. The advantage was that it came with the job. Edna knew that she would not make it as a doctor and she didn’t want to. Her aim was to secure a job so that she could provide for her child. She felt lighter in heart and spirit. She filled the basket and returned with it to the house. The house was quiet. The children must have gone with Marcus to look at the cows.
It was better that way, Edna thought, her eyes filling with tears. Now that her course of action was clear, Edna hurriedly wrote a note to Marcus, apologizing for the havoc she had caused in his life by lying to him. She knew he would be a good father to Patrick and Victoria. She refused to think of the children, knowing if she did, she would balk and lack the courage to leave. Edna tucked the letter under a pillow in Marcus’s bed and touched the co
vers. She would never know how it felt like to sleep next to her husband.
She worked fast, packing her clothes in a satchel. That done, she entered each room, glanced at it with a heavy heart. Finally, she closed the front door for the last time. It was a good thing that her satchel was light, and she hurried down the road. A carriage carrying a lady with her children stopped and gave her a lift into town.
The two children reminded her of Patrick and Victoria and she couldn’t hold her tears back.
‘What is it my dear?’ the regal looking woman asked in a kindly tone.
Edna had nothing to lose and she poured put the whole tale to the lady. She listened quietly until Edna finished.
‘You see, it’s impossible for my conscience to stay with a noble man whom I lied to. I’d rather he found a more deserving woman to be his wife.’
The lady was quietly contemplating Edna.
‘What a lot of nonsense!’ she exclaimed. ‘Women have done worse than that over the years. Why, if you were as evil as you claim, you could have passed off the child as his.’
Edna’s eyes opened. ‘I couldn’t!’
‘That’s what I mean. You’re an honest and good girl who was just caught in an unfortunate situation.’
Edna felt confused. The lady seemed to think that she had done no wrong but in her heart, she knew that she had entered the marriage in deceit.
They were now in town and the carriage had stopped at the train depot.
The lady leaned forward and gripped Edna’s hands into her own. ‘If I were you, I’d forget that nonsense and return home and no one will be none the wiser. Think about it hard before you get on that train. You might be throwing your whole life away over a misunderstanding that can quickly be cleared.’
‘Thank you so much. I needed to speak to someone and you came at the right time.’ Edna sniffed. ‘I promise to think about it.’
[2015] A Love Miracle Page 8
