by Montana West
Walter smiled at Victor. He liked the man and was charmed by his son who seemed to be just the sort of man that would be good for his Cora. Yes, this young handsome man definitely had the means to provide well for Cora. He would speak to her and even she would see that Andrew Willard was a prize catch.
***
Cora frowned when she heard a horse neighing outside their house. It was not one of theirs and she wondered who the early morning visitor was. She was in the small kitchen preparing breakfast for her parents and brothers who were already at the site of their new house, a short distance away.
“Anybody home?” She heard Andrew’s voice and her heart sank. He had been coming around the house frequently and her parents and brothers seemed to like him. Cora, however, did not trust him. There was something about Andrew that made her uncomfortable, and she always listened to her instincts. She put her hands into the flour bowl and stepped out of the kitchen, glad that she was wearing an old frock.
“Sweet Cora, good morning,” Andrew said in a sing song voice, trying to sound romantic but to Cora he sounded quite foolish. She also didn’t appreciate his presumption to call her by her given name, though she would be inhospitable to protest.
“Good morning, Mr. Willard, what brings you around here this early morning?”
“Andrew, please.” He jumped off his horse and untied the wooden trunk that had been behind him. “My father sent me to bring your folks some stuff that we know you need to settle down.”
“I see,” Cora raised her voice and hailed her father who came over, a big smile on his face.
“Andrew, it is good to see you,” Walter laughed happily. “We are sorry that we were not at hand to welcome you but I am sure Cora has made you feel quite at home.”
“Thank you, sir,” Andrew said, trying to look as humble as possible. He had a lot at stake and he had to present himself as the most ideal suitor for Cora Richards.
“Forgive me but I am not dressed to receive visitors. We are trying to get our house finished before winter sets in,” Walter waved his hand at the brick house that was coming up quite nicely.
“That is why I have come sir, my father thought you might need some things and so he sent me over with them,” Andrew pointed at the wooden trunk at his feet.
“Your father is most kind, and please convey our deepest gratitude to him.”
Two days later, Andrew showed up carrying an iron rack on which they could grill meat and two covered iron pots with legs in which Mary could store food and various farming implements.
His visits became quite frequent after that, much to her parents’ delight and to Cora’s chagrin. She went out of her way to avoid him as much as possible but her mother seemed quite taken with him.
“Cora, Andrew is such a lovely young man don’t you think?” Mary was grilling a leg of mutton on the iron grill that Andrew had brought her and she was in her element. “This grill has made work so much easier for me and we can now enjoy properly roasted meats.”
“To each his own,” Cora mumbled under her breathe.
“What was that you said, dear?” Mary looked up briefly and then back at the meat.
“I was agreeing with you that Andrew’s folks are quite nice.”
“And the young man himself,” Mary smiled. “He will make a wonderful husband, Cora, very gently and quite considerate. Obviously he can well provide for you as his wife and you will never lack anything.”
Cora chose not to say anything because she did not want to start an argument with her mother. Ada had cautioned her against seeming to be resistant to their acceptance of Andrew and so she pretended mild interest.
“Cora?”
“Yes, Ma?”
“I asked you what you think about us beginning to shop for material for your wedding dress. I know you have been embroidering pillow cases and cushion covers for your house so I am sure you must be quite excited at the prospect of being Andrew’s wife.” Cora turned her back and pretended to stir the beans that were bubbling merrily in the large iron pot over the fire. True, she was embroidering for her new home but never with Andrew. She had started making things for the home that she would share with Louis, no matter how long it took.
Preparing for her own home kept her at peace and gave her hope that things would eventually work out and Louis would then get her parents’ permission to marry her.
“Cora?”
“Yes, Ma?”
“Daydreaming eh?” Mary left her work to come and hug her daughter briefly. “When I was getting ready for my own wedding with your father I would daydream so much so I understand what you are going through, and I am so grateful that you have forgotten about that other boy who was not up to our standards for you.”
“Yes, Ma.”
But that night Cora was deeply troubled and she conveyed her feeling in the letter that she wrote to Louis. Ever since Ada had become their go-between the two love birds had been writing to each other every single day. Cora would write to Louis and deliver the letter to Ada early in the morning. Ada in turn met with Louis to give him the letter and in the evening she would have a reply for Cora.
“My Dearest Louis,
Today has been another painful day for me as I continue to miss you. I wish I could see you even for a brief moment, just to reassure myself that I am still in your heart. The day was made even more trying by my mother who seems to think that I am dreaming about being married to Andrew Willard.
She went on and on about getting material for a wedding dress, preparing this and that and it really made me angry but I could not show my emotions because I do not want my family to know what I am feeling and thinking. I want them to think that everything is alright because that enables me to continue writing to you and loving you in my heart.
I wish we could run away together and get married and begin a new home far away from here. It seems as though that might be the best course of action for us because I am getting more and more disturbed by the way my whole family are convinced that Andrew is the best man for me. You hold my heart and my soul forever, no one will ever take your place, Louis, least of all a man like Andrew Willard. Much as other people think he is a good man I know that there are a lot of vices in him, I don’t know how I know that he is a really mean and evil man but I just do. That is why I want to ask you to begin thinking about us running away together. I have a tidy sum that I have saved up from my baking and I also know that you have been saving for our future. Louis, let us run away together and be happy.
My heart is longing and aching for you always.
Your own Cora.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Henry realized that something was missing and had been missing for a long time in their home. Cora’s joyous laughter! His sister was such a happy girl and her merry laughter used to fill their home in Akron and even when she was annoyed or irritated by one thing or the other it would last for a brief moment and then her laughter would once again be heard.
But it seemed as though from the moment they had come to Last Chance, Cora had stopped laughing. And she had stopped sharing with him. True they were busy with building their new home and getting settled in but Henry knew that something was amiss.
He and Cora were very close and many times when they were young and even recently they would gang up against Michael who stood no chance against their united front. But lately Cora seemed lost in a world of her own and rarely smiled nor made any contributions to family discussions. She seemed to be an outsider and Henry felt that the girl had built a wall around her and which he was unable to penetrate.
He tried to cheer his sister up with jokes and gifts but apart from a polite smile and thanks, she seemed to totally ignore him. One day as he and Michael were putting the finishing touches to their new house, he broached the subject to his sibling. His parents had been invited to lunch by the Willards and Cora had been invited but she had claimed that she was unwell and no amount of coaxing or begging could get her to change her mind. Immediatel
y her parents left home, she had locked herself in her room.
“Michael, I am worried,” Henry began, pausing from plastering the house with smoothened clay to cover all the rough patches.
Michael looked up. “What are you worried about? We are making good progress and in about a week or two this house should be ready for us to move in, or rather for the old folks and Cora to move in. We will stay here for a day or two just as we make repairs to the cabin.”
Henry shook his head. “I am not worried about the house, it is Cora who has me really worried.”
“How do you mean?” Michael frowned slightly, his eyebrows drawn together in a straight line.
“Just listen to that?” Henry waved a hand.
“Listen to what? Apart from the birds calling out to each other there is silence all around us.”
“Exactly,” Henry hit his right hand with his left fist. “That silence is what I am talking about.” He sighed. “Do you remember when we were constructing the smaller barn in Akron?”
“Yes.”
“What is different from now?”
Michael twisted his lips. “Cora’s laughter and joy,” he said at last.
“That is what I mean. Cora has not laughed, not since we moved to Last Chance. She seems to be a shadow of her former self. She just picks at her food. When Ma and Pa are not looking a large amount of food ends up in her pockets.”
Michael leaned against the wall. “Cora is growing up and I know that young women go through a lot of emotional turmoil especially when they are about to get married and leave home. I know that Cora is probably reacting to all that is going on, what with Andrew showing a great interest in her. It will not be long before Pa and Ma agree to his courtship and then the turmoil of wedding plans will begin. Every normal girl goes through all that.”
“I hope you are right,” Henry said, but he was not convinced that it was wedding or engagement jitters that were making his sister miserable. Cora despised women who ‘got vapors’ as she called nervousness. He shook his head. Cora was not nervous, she was sad, deeply sad and he vowed to find out what was ailing her.
Cora was crying in her room, glad that her parents were away and her brothers were working on the new house. She had already prepared lunch for them and all they had to do was serve themselves.
She was reading the letters that Louis had written to her and one made her even sadder. Louis was a very noble man and she just wished her parents would see him for what he really was and not just judge him for his lack of material things. It was his reply to the letter she had written asking him to consider running away with her.
My Love, My Dove,
I feel your pain every day but like I have told you over and over again let us be strong. God is on our side and I am quite convinced of that because instead of our love diminishing because we are absent from each other, it is growing stronger. Every Sunday when I see you in church, my heart rejoices because when we share a stolen glance I see the love shining in your eyes and I am sure you see my love in my eyes too. I long for you Cora, and I long for the day when we will be together.
Running away together is a very tempting idea and eloping can be justified because of what we are going through right now. But my love, I want you to think about the deeper implications of this. You love your parents and your family so much and being parted from them in such a way will cause you a lot of anguish. I know you are ready to make a home with me wherever we may go but your heart will be deeply wounded in the process and my greatest desire on earth is never to see you going through pain again. This pain is for a brief moment my love, but think about the joy that will eventually be ours.
More than that we both share a deep faith in God and eloping will be tantamount to saying that we have lost our faith in God and that is why we have taken matters into our own hands. Separation from our families is painful, but separation from God is ten times worse. Be patient, my love. Waiting and winning you in the right way is the only way that I can prove my love to your parents. Remember First Corinthians the thirteenth chapter where Apostle Paul tells us that love is patient, love is kind, love bears all things, hopes all things and believes all things. Let our love win this war for us, Cora. Let us rest in the arms of Jesus and all will be well.
I love you so much, my dearest heart, never have any doubt about that, but elopement is not the answer. Hold on, believe in us, believe in our love, believe in our God.
Your own beloved Louis.”
“Oh Louis,” Cora wept. “How much I love you. You are the most noble of men that I have ever known,” she whispered as she kissed his letter. “I wish I could talk to you and just pour my heart out to you when we are standing face to face.”
As Mary and Walter continued to praise Andrew and his family, Cora withdrew more and more and spoke even less. Henry was deeply worried. He had noticed that whenever Andrew visited, Cora made herself as scarce as possible and she winced when the man even tried to hold her hand. If it was not so sad, he would have laughed at Cora’s antiquities to avoid Andrew’s touch. She would cover her hands with flour and so avoid shaking his hand, and when he took to kissing her cheek, she began smearing lard on her cheeks before presenting herself to him. In church she was no better, because immediately the service would be over she would be among the first to go to the Sunday School hall to serve lunch to the congregation.
Summer was coming to an end and the nights were so hot that Henry found it difficult to sleep. He envied Michael who fell asleep immediately when his head touched his pillow. He sat up in his bed and pulled his shirt on. He needed a drink of water and walked barefoot on the wooden floor which had been made by splitting logs into flat faced puncheons.
As he passed Cora’s door, he heard a muffled sound coming from inside and he stopped, glad that his feet made no sound. He heard his sister blowing her nose silently and the crying went on for a long time.
For two days, Henry listened outside Cora’s door and each time he heard her crying. His sister was miserable and he was determined to find out what was wrong. He knew that Cora would never open up in the presence of their parents, nor Michael and he thought about taking her away from the homestead because he knew that once they were alone, Cora would share her grief with him.
Henry knew that every two days, Cora took the wagon to town to deliver her mother’s butter and the cakes and pies that she baked to the general store. She was quite adept at handling the horse that pulled the cart that he and Michael had built for running small errands, he had taught her how to do it and she was a very smart girl. The best time to get Cora alone would be when she was going into town and so the next time she prepared herself to go to town he was there.
“I need to get some things from the store,” he announced, helping her onto the front of the cart. Cora loved the moments that she drove the cart to town because it gave her time to think, and she also got the chance to get away from her mother’s insistent nagging and chatting about Andrew Willard.
The first few minutes of their trip were done in deep silence. Henry was steering the horse so Cora sat back and closed her eyes, pretending to doze off so her brother would not talk to her. She could no longer stand any small talk from her family and she felt like she was slowly going out of her mind.
“I miss your laughter, Cora,” Henry said quietly, throwing a quick glance at her to see if she was awake, then he put his eyes back on the road. He saw her small fists clenching and unclenching on her lap and he knew that she was awake. “What happened to you, Cora? Why are you so sad all the time?”
“Nothing,” she said hoarsely, then cleared her throat. “I am fine.”
“You are not fine,” he shook his head. “For a while now I have been listening outside your door and you cry so much in the night. What is wrong? Why are you so unhappy? I thought you were the one who urged our parents to move to Montana, but it seems as though ever since we got here all you do is cry. Besides that, you have lost a lot of weight and Michael thinks i
t is because you are getting wedding jitters.”
Cora snorted. “Wedding jitters indeed,” she scorned.
“Cora, please tell me what is wrong.”
Cora twisted her lips. She also missed the times she had shared with her favorite brother. In the days past whenever she was hurting or sad, she would always go to Henry and his wisdom and kindness would soon have her smiling again.
“I am so afraid for you, Cora. If you carry on like this then you will waste away and that would hurt us all.”
“Nobody cares about what I feel so I really don’t care if I waste away and die, what is the worth of life if all it brings each day is pain?”
“I care, and you know that very well. Remember how you always came to me for solutions? You don’t do that anymore and have chosen to suffer alone. What is making you cry so much?”
Cora was silent as they entered the town and immediately they finished their business and were on their way once again, Henry repeated his question. He stopped the cart just outside town to let the horse graze for a little while. He turned to his sister. “Cora, it is just you and I, tell me what is going on with you and why you are in so much pain and sorrow.”
“There is only one man for me, Henry, but you, Michael and our parents made sure that you had humiliated him because he does not have material goods.”
“Are you talking about Louis Albert?”
Cora looked at her brother, tears in her eyes. “Yes Henry, I love Louis Albert with my whole heart and I don’t care if you choose to tell Ma and Pa. Nothing you do or they say can hurt me any more than it already has hurt me. I don’t care anymore, just do what you want and go and tell Ma and Pa that I am still carrying a torch for Louis Albert.”
Henry looked at his sister who seemed so broken and defeated. “Cora, Ma and Pa had valid reasons why they did not accept Louis’s proposal.”
“What valid reasons? The fact that he is older than me?”
“Thirteen years is a big age gap, Cora, the man could almost be your father.”
