An Arranged Marriage

by Susan Fox

  It was amazing how lighthearted she felt as she drove to town. She thought immediately about Aunt Pet and wondered if Charles had given her the official good news that the bank was on its way to solvency. She’d give Pet a call from the hospital when she got a chance. She might even stop by Pet’s house if she finished at the hospital early enough to avoid Charles.

  Supper that night was the same as the night before: lonely. Blue stayed on the range until very late, so Allison ate in the big dining room by herself. Later, she wandered through the house, making mental notes of the things that were still needed to complete furnishing it. Blue had said no more about the purchase of anything additional. Perhaps it would be best, now that many of the basic furnishings had been bought, to collect the rest more slowly, though there were still three upstairs bedrooms that contained no furniture at all.

  The empty bedrooms reminded her of what Blue had said about wanting a child by spring. She had not told him then—he’d caught her so by surprise with both his declaration to have a child right away and his sudden push to consummate their marriage—that she’d gone on the pill within two days of agreeing to marry him. Unless she was one of the rare women the pill didn’t work for, there would be no child by spring.

  Because they’d been lovers these past few days, she should have found some way to tell him that she was using a contraceptive. But it was a difficult subject to bring up when they spent so little time together. She couldn’t quite picture herself saying, during one of the few meals they’d shared, “Oh, by the way, I’m on the pill.” During their ride to town that morning then later, when they’d driven home, they’d both been preoccupied with the bank. It had never entered her mind to bring up the subject of contraception, though even that might not have been the proper time, either.

  Now she remembered Charles’s paternity suit, and her worries began to multiply. Perhaps she should have told Blue about Charles’s latest problem before he’d gone to the bank that morning. Instinct warned her he wouldn’t approve, of either Charles’s predicament or the fact that she’d not told him about it immediately.

  On the other hand, she fully expected Pet would stay married to Charles. Petula was too important a woman for Charles to discard, and Pet loathed anything that hinted of scandal. For Pet, divorce at this late date, after years of tolerating Charles’s infidelities, would be out of the question.

  But because Allison was worried about not telling Blue about the pill, she suddenly began to rethink things about Charles. This time, there was a child involved, plus a paternity suit that might become very public. Now she recalled the shy looks Pet had given Edward and the little flirtations she’d indulged in.

  Pet had always had very firm notions about morals and proper behavior. But the fact that she appeared to have eased a bit over the line with Edward might be an indication that she’d finally had enough of Charles.

  By the time Allison went to bed, her worries had escalated. She should have told Blue about Charles, she should have told him that she was on the pill. She had not meant to keep secrets from him, but when she thought of things from his point of view, what she’d done seemed quite serious.

  She laid in the bed alone a long time fretting. If she knew Blue better, if things were more normal in their marriage, she might not have got herself into this fix. It was almost a relief when Blue came upstairs. She would talk to him now, straighten everything out. But by the time he finished his shower and came to bed later, he touched her in a way that let her know he wasn’t interested in talk.

  By the time she realized that he might have planned it that way, they were both too far gone to stop. Afterward, Blue pulled her against his side and went instantly to sleep. Worry kept sleep away from her for hours.

  CHAPTER NINE

  ALLISON tried to wake up early enough to have time to talk to Blue. Because she’d not slept well, by the time she did sleep, she was dead to the world. Her alarm clock went off at seven, but Blue was long gone.

  She drove to town for her Bible School class, then stayed in town for a quick lunch at a fast-food drive-in, before she went to the hospital. She worked in the newborn nursery for a while, helping feed babies and change diapers. Later, she went to the pediatric ward to read and play quiet games with several of the children there. It was almost six before she finished for the day.

  When she’d realized she would be at the hospital later than she’d planned, she’d called Edward to let him know. Edward reported then that he hadn’t heard from Blue, but that supper would be ready for them whenever they got home.

  Allison was walking down the long back hall of the hospital, meaning to go out through the emergency department exit to the lot where her car was parked, when she saw from a distance that Petula and her housekeeper, Martha, were coming through the automatic doors.

  Martha commandeered the nearest wheelchair and quickly settled Pet into it. The moment Allison saw that—and the harsh bruise and bleeding cut on her aunt’s pale cheek—she broke into a run down the busy hall. She reached them just as Martha pulled the wheelchair to a halt in front of the admissions desk.

  “Aunt Pet!” Allison touched her aunt’s hand and automatically inspected her injured cheek. “What’s happened?”

  Pet’s eyes flinched from hers and she pressed the small damp cloth that held a few chunks of ice over the wound, more as if to hide it from view than to ease the swelling. “I’ll be all right—nothing to worry about.” Pet’s voice was choked.

  Martha made a disapproving sound, but didn’t remark. Anything the three of them might have said next was lost in the flurry of questions the clerk asked. When the clerk asked how the injury had happened, Pet was vague. “A small collision. Is Dr. Evans on duty?”

  “He is,” the clerk answered as she handed over two papers for Pet to sign. The clerk smiled sympathetically at Pet when she signed and handed back the papers. “And you’re in luck, Mrs. Wallace. Not too much traffic through here yet this evening, so Dr. Evans can probably see you right away.”

  Just as the clerk said, a nurse came to the desk immediately to wheel Pet to an examination room. Martha and Allison followed along. Once the nurse had checked Pet’s vitals, she asked how the injury had happened. Pet’s repeat of “A small collision” rang even more hollow than the first time, but the nurse wrote it down, and asked Pet how her car had come out of it.

  Pet appeared at a loss for words. “My car?” It took her a second. “Oh—my car. It’s fine. Not a scratch.”

  Allison stared at her aunt. Pet was lying, and not very well. She couldn’t remember a time in her life when she’d heard her aunt lie. A feeling of dread seeped into her.

  Martha issued another, more disapproving sound that the nurse was oblivious to as she closed her file and issued a cheerful, “Dr. Evans should be in soon, Mrs. Wallace. Sorry to see you need to use the ER, but I’m relieved the injury appears relatively minor. We should be able to fix you right up.”

  Pet’s gentle, “Thank you, dear,” and her trembling effort at a firm smile made Allison’s heart ache. Something was very wrong.

  The moment the nurse had gone out and closed the door, Martha advanced on Pet from the corner she’d been standing in. “You need to tell them how this happened, Miz Pet.”

  Pet closed her eyes wearily and a small tear dampened a lash. “Please, Martha, don’t.”

  Allison stepped closer to Pet. “How did it happen?”

  Pet bowed her head slightly as if bearing a heavy weight. Martha reached over and put her arm around her friend’s shoulder and said much less sternly, “You’ve been through enough, Miz Pet. No sense you goin’ through somethin’ like this on account of him.”

  Allison felt sick. A spark of rage flared and began to burn wildly in her heart. Because she suddenly knew what had happened, her soft, “On account of whom?” was low and angry.

  Pet bowed her head further and tears fairly spurted from her eyes. Martha sent Allison a worried look and Allison released Pet’s hand to
step closer and put her arm around her aunt’s thin waist.

  When Pet couldn’t answer, Martha glared over at Allison. “It’s that damned Charles. He came home and Pet finally told him she knows about that paternity suit. He yelled and threw things around—broke that little china doll Miz Pet’s so fond of. I was listening at the door, so the minute he started throwing things, I opened the door and went in. Before I could get to Pet, he up and slapped her so hard he knocked her against the fireplace. While she was on the floor, he was about to kick her leg when I shoved him away.”

  Shocked, Allison felt the color drain from her face. Her soft, “Oh, God,” was the only prayer she could manage. The idea that Charles had slapped her aunt and would have kicked her had Martha not intervened made her so sick she thought she’d faint.

  Charles had never struck Pet. He was often surly and ungracious, but he’d never laid a hand on her. And it was just like Martha to be close by to step into the room when Charles started on a tirade.

  Allison felt tears on her own face as she leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss on Pet’s uninjured cheek. When she straightened, she reached over and took Martha’s free hand to grip it.

  “Thank you, Martha. You’re always so good to us, but this was above and beyond the call of duty or friendship.”

  Martha actually blushed, her harsh features softening as she looked at Pet. “I got enough of ol’ Charles today. I’m hopin’ Miz Pet finally did, too, ’cause there ain’t no way she’ll ever be safe ’round him again.” Her harsh features hardened again. “If she thinks she can go on livin’ with him, then she’s gonna have to do it without me.”

  The ultimatum made Pet lift her head. Her teary eyes looked bewildered and panicked when they met Martha’s. “You’d leave?”

  “I’d leave right this minute if I thought you’d let that animal anywhere near you again. While you were in the bathroom at home, I called the sheriff. He should be comin’ along anytime, so you need to tell him what happened. And none of that ‘small collision’ stuff, neither.”

  Pet shook her head. “I couldn’t possibly…”

  Martha was relentless. “You can possibly. Don’t matter who Charles is, he smacked you and woulda done more. You do all that work for the battered women’s shelter, but now you’re suddenly too good and your life is too fancy to own up to this?”

  “N-no, no, I’m not too good. But Charles…the bank—”

  “Charles needs to know right now, the first time, that he can’t do this to you and get away with it.” Martha was immovable. “Besides, he ain’t worth the dust on your shoes.”

  Allison’s head was swirling with pain and emotion and outrage. “Martha’s right, Aunt Pet. You must speak to the sheriff and file a police report.”

  Pet was shaking her head, overwhelmed. Allison leaned close and hugged her aunt. Martha hugged them both.

  Later that night, the three of them drove to the Sumner Ranch. Allison went with Pet and Martha to help pack some things for them both. Deputies were looking for Charles, but the sheriff himself had come to the house with them for protection.

  Sheriff Lem Reynolds remembered the time his wife was so badly injured in a car wreck that it had taken her months to recover. He remembered more that Petula Wallace had come to his house daily, patiently helping his wife relearn to read and write and do general math, while she badgered and bribed her to do every bit of her physical therapy. And when his wife had become so discouraged by all those agonizing months of pain and relearning that she’d gone in search of one of his revolvers, it was Pet who had sensed during her visit that day that something was wrong. Petula Wallace had cared enough about his wife to come back after he’d gone off to work that night. She’d gotten there in time to discover his wife on the back porch with a gun. She’d talked Sandy out of killing herself. Because of Pet Wallace, Sheriff Reynolds still had his beautiful wife and she’d recovered so well that she’d been able to present him with two beautiful children.

  A man didn’t forget that kind of thing, and he didn’t stop feeling grateful. When the three women finished packing, the sheriff followed Pet’s car, which Martha drove for her, and Allison’s all the way to the Sumner Ranch.

  Once Allison and Martha got Pet settled comfortably in one of the bedrooms upstairs, Allison helped Edward set up a rollaway bed for Martha in the same bedroom. Allison had tried to talk Martha into taking the other furnished bedroom next to the one Pet was in, but Martha refused.

  “Pet might rest more at ease if I stay with her,” Martha had said pointedly.

  Edward was grim, but he’d raced around in an almost unbutlerlike manner to bring the three women a tray of food heaped high with everything he and the cook could think of to tempt them to eat.

  Allison left her aunt in Martha’s care while she got ready to go find Blue. Edward got a chair for the hall near Pet’s door so he could be on hand should either woman want anything.

  She changed into jeans and a shirt and boots. Blue wasn’t at the house, so she decided to seek him out to tell him about Pet and Martha and why she felt so strongly that they needed to stay at the ranch the next few days. She hoped he wouldn’t mind.

  She found Blue at the stable, pulling a loose shoe off one of the horses. He seemed surprised to see her, and it warmed her when she saw his surprise switch instantly to pleasure as he untied the bay gelding and led him into a stall.

  “You’re a long way from the house at this time of night.” The faint smile that softened the hard line of his mouth let her know the remark wasn’t meant as a criticism. He unhooked the gelding’s lead and stepped out of the stall.

  She stopped when she reached him. Though he seemed glad to see her, she dreaded his reaction to her news. She tried to think of an easy way to tell him. As if he sensed something was wrong, his faint smile faded.

  “What is it?”

  “Something happened to Aunt Pet early this evening. She’ll be all right, but I brought her and her housekeeper, Martha, to the ranch. I’d like them to stay on a few days until Aunt Pet decides what she’s going to do.”

  Allison’s hands were clasped together in front of her. Her heart trembled when his eyes took on a flat look. “I know it’s quite an imposition…”

  “What happened to her?”

  “Charles—” Her throat closed with emotion. Shock and anger and worry overcame her those next moments, and she couldn’t speak.

  Blue closed the stall gate and stepped close to place his big hands on her shoulders.

  “What about Charles?” The question was harsh, as if he’d already sensed what had happened. Somehow that made it easier for her to speak. She gave him a brief account of what had happened.

  “Did she call the sheriff?” Though Blue’s question was calm, she felt as if she was staring up into twin fires of pure fury.

  “Pet is mortified, but she filed a police report and asked for a restraining order against Charles. Sheriff Reynolds thought it best that she stay someplace safe for the next few days, until he gets things sorted out.”

  “So you brought them here.” His grim tone gave her no clue about whether he approved of the idea or not.

  Her soft, “I hope you don’t mind,” and the way her voice suddenly wavered made him gently tighten his grip on her narrow shoulders.

  “She’ll be safe here. Edward is around as much for security as anything.”

  Allison sagged with relief. Blue pulled her into his arms. Her arms went around his lean middle and she pressed herself tightly against him, her damp cheek resting against his shirtfront. Suddenly she felt safe. The shock of Charles’s attack on Pet receded.

  “Thank you, Blue. I can’t tell you how much it means to be able to have her here and know she’s safe.”

  “Where’s Charles now?”

  “No one knows. The sheriff and two of his deputies are looking for him.”

  “I’ll walk you to the house, then I’ll go down to the bunkhouse and have a talk with the men. Charles probably wo
n’t show his face here, but it might pay to have everyone on the lookout.”

  Grateful that Blue took it all as seriously as she did, and that he was so willing to do what he could to help protect Pet, Allison hugged him tightly and reveled in the way they walked, each with an arm around the other all the way to the house. When they got into the ranch kitchen, the gentle kiss he pressed to her forehead was wonderfully consoling. He left her right away to go talk to his men.

  Those next two days were somber. At Blue’s and Pet’s insistence, Allison maintained her Bible School and hospital schedule. Sheriff Reynolds came by the house the next evening to report that he’d discreetly arrested Charles at the bank that morning, but that the judge had set bail at such a low amount that Charles was only gone from the bank for the length of a long lunch.

  He warned Pet that the news would surely come out, but he assured her that the scandal she was so worried about would never reflect negatively on her or Allison because of the way folks felt about them. After the sheriff left, Pet retreated to her room.

  Though Martha hovered and Edward was always nearby, Pet withdrew from everyone and spent the days in bed.

  The day after Charles’s arrest, the phone at the ranch rang constantly with calls from longtime friends and well-wishers who had heard the news. Flowers were delivered almost hourly, and several people stopped by the house. Edward managed to field the flurry with calmness and aplomb, but Pet refused to take calls or to leave her room.

  By that night, Allison began to worry about her aunt’s increasingly depressed state of mind.

  Blue hated the takeover of his home. Though he felt sorry for Petula and was outraged at what Charles had done, he hadn’t realized until Pet and Martha had moved in how much he resented Pet’s close relationship with his bride.

  It was a hell of a way for him to feel, particularly since he shouldn’t have cared that much. He didn’t mean to fall in love with Allison, so why should he care that others loved her and that she loved them?

  But everything Allison said and did and thought seemed to revolve around her aunt, and he felt such a sting of jealousy he could hardly keep quiet.