by Indiana Wake
“Oh, Patty, you’re as stuffy as Miss Priss herself.” Courtney stood up and began to pace. “What matters is that he loves me and wants me to come back to Colorado.” She whirled back to face her sister, still sitting calmly. “What if I did?”
“Did what? What are you talking about, Courtney?” Patricia stood and went to stand close to her younger sister, searching her eyes. “You cannot. Courtney, think about it. What must the consequences be?”
“Consequences? What could be worse than being imprisoned here, followed around like a mouse hunted by the cat? And for what? For thinking about a man, a man who loves me and wants me with him.” Courtney gripped her sister’s hands, crumpling the letter between them. “Tell me, Patricia, is loving a man so terrible? Meagan Smith left school last fall to get married, she is no older than I am and no one punished her.”
“Miss Smith or Mrs. Cartwright as she is now, left to enter into a marriage sanctioned by her father. It was entirely different.”
“Not really, Father has no claim on us anymore, thanks to our sister Kristine. And Curly will marry me once I get out there, he practically promised.” Courtney spun away from her sister and fisted her hands in her hair, mussing the careful styling. “I need to pack. I will take a couple of day dresses with me. Curly is just a foreman, you know, there won’t be many opportunities to wear the nicer dresses. Plus, they will save me from having to wear this horrid corset. I will take a workday dress too, and my riding habit. Life on a ranch is hard work. I may even have to learn to punch cows. Won’t that be wonderful?”
“It sounds horrid. Courtney, I do not believe you are thinking this through. He did not say that he would marry you. If you ask me, which you have not but should, he is merely threading you along. Smooth tongued men are not to be trusted.” Patricia narrowed her eyes.
“It’s ‘stringing, he is stringing me along’, but I don’t think he is. I think he loves me. And how would you know that men are not to be trusted? You hardly ever even speak to one.”
“Just trust me, I know.” Patricia folded the letter up and handed it to Courtney who clutched it to her bosom. “Please write to Kristine before you make any rash judgments. You do not want to make a choice that will ruin your reputation forever.”
“Very well, I will write, but I am going to start packing anyway. I hate this place and can’t wait for summer holidays to get here.” Courtney ducked under a low-hanging branch and strode to the dormitories.
Chapter 3
“Miss Harris.” The cold voice of Miss Price doused the bubbling chatter like a bucket of icy water. Every girl in the room sat up straight and squared their shoulders. Glancing out of the corner of their eyes to see if they had been noticed and fearing that they had.
“Yes Miss Price.” Courtney and Patricia both stood and offered the proper curtsy. Every eye in the roomful of girls turned on the sisters. Courtney could feel the burden of their curiosity.
“Not you Patricia. You have done nothing wrong. It is your sister to whom I speak.” The headmistress’ voice softened when she spoke to Patricia then hardened when she turned to Courtney. Her eyes glittered like ice. And her already thin lips had disappeared with the weight of disapproval. Courtney had a feeling she knew what this was about.
“Yes, Miss Price,” Patricia curtsied again. “But she is my sister and what is said to her concerns me as well.”
“No.” Courtney swallowed the lump in her throat. “No, Patty. I will face this on my own. There is no need for you to be involved.” She didn’t want her sweet sister to hear what would follow.
“I am the elder sister. I am responsible for her.” Patricia didn’t even listen to her, but spoke to Miss Price. “I would like to stay with her please.”
“Very well,” Miss Price’s lips narrowed even more. “If one of you is to share in this disgrace, then why not all of you? It will serve as a lesson to all.” The Priss pulled a familiar envelope from the pocket of her dress and unfolded the single sheet with an air of repugnance.
‘Dearest Curly, I am being held prisoner at school. They are trying to keep me from you, but I will not give in. Unless you come rescue me, I will surely perish. You are my knight, my prince, my deliverer. How I long to be held in your arms once more. When we are together, we will watch the sun rise and set every day until the end of time.’
What follows is an embarrassing overflow of bad poetry and syrupy sentiment.” The Priss folded up the letter once more and stared around the room at the wide-eyed girls. “I will not humiliate myself by reading it.”
Gliding with unhurried steps, The Priss walked to the fire and dropped the offending letter in. “Miss Courtney Harris you have been told to forgo all communication with that young man. Apparently, the current punishment was not strong enough. Will you submit to further punishment in private, or would you prefer to continue the spectacle for your fellow students?”
“I have done nothing wrong.” Courtney raised her chin and barely kept her voice from trembling. “Curly and I are going to be married as soon as I go back to Denver. It is entirely proper to write to my fiancé.”
“Need I remind you that you are still a minor? You need permission from your next of kin for such an arrangement and I have received no such communication from either your sister or your father. Therefore, Miss Harris, you are in direct violation of one of our most sacred rules. There is to be no communication with unrelated males for the duration of your time here. You were warned, and now you must accept the punishment.”
Miss Price walked over until her skirts brushed Courtney’s. She gave the stare that made the strongest spirit cower. “Go to my office and prepare yourself. Unless you would rather offer these ladies more entertainment than you already have?”
“Yes Miss Price.” Courtney left the room, holding her pace to a dignified walk. Patricia walked beside her and gripped her hand.
“I am sure that the rest of you girls can find something productive to do with your time.” Miss Price surveyed the room and had the girls scurrying to leave.
***
A tear joined the jumble of skirts, petticoats, and shirtwaists in the trunk. Every movement made the welts on her backside throb, but Courtney refused to stop. As each item went into the trunk, Patricia took it back out, folded it neatly, and replaced it.
“I don’t care what you say, I’m leaving.” Courtney sobbed before regaining control. “I will not give that horrible woman one more chance to humiliate me. Who does she think she is, my mother?”
“Miss Price is just doing what she thinks is best,” Patricia replied in a calm tone as she folded a flannel nightdress.
“I’m not a child anymore. I am going to Denver and I am going to marry Curly.” Courtney held back a sob. “I can’t stay here one more day.”
“I know. I will not ask you to.” Patricia folded the last garment and closed the lid. “I am going with you.”
Chapter 4
The pound of the doorknocker seemed unnaturally loud in the night. Now that Courtney stood on her sister’s porch, the whole idea of running away seemed like a bad idea. The days on the train and Patricia’s quiet presence had a calming influence on her. She had reread Curly’s letter so many times the ink was beginning to fade.
Was Patricia right, had he actually intended for her to come to him? As she reread the letter, she realized there was no mention of marriage or love. But with such beautiful words, surely that was what he meant to say … wasn’t it?
The door opened and Robert, Kristine’s husband, stood in the gap, holding a lantern in one hand and a gun in the other. Patricia gasped and sank to the floor in a swoon. Courtney managed to avoid that indignity, but just barely.
“Courtney, Patricia, what are you doing here? And in the middle of the night?” Shock and disapproval vied for dominance in Robert’s tone. He set down the gun and lantern and stooped to gather Patricia in his arms.
“Courtney? Patricia?” Kristine, the eldest sister, grabbed Courtney in a tight hug. “You are suppos
ed to be in school, why are you here? Is something wrong?” Kristine kept one arm around her sister’s shoulders and guided her inside.
“Kristine, I’m sorry, but we didn’t have enough money to pay the carriage driver. He won’t give us our trunks until he’s paid.” Now that she was inside and her journey over, Courtney felt an overwhelming need to cry.
“Of course Robert will take care of it. Let’s go into the parlor with Patricia and sit. I will ring the maid.” Robert headed for the door.
“You really must tell me what brings you here,” Kristine said.
“It’s kind of a long story.”
“My favorite kind. Go sit.” Kristine sent a smile over her shoulder and disappeared through the doorway.
“… when she whipped me with the switch as if I was a child stealing a cookie, I knew I had to leave.” Courtney finished her story and the room fell silent.
Kristine sipped her tea and glanced at her husband who stood by the fire staring into the flames. Courtney fidgeted in her chair as the silence dragged out until she couldn’t stand it. “You have to believe that I know what I’m doing.”
“You say he invited you to come to Denver, but never actually mentioned marriage?” Robert’s tone was grim.
“Well sort of. He said he wished I could leave school and come back here.” Courtney was beginning to realize how all this sounded to her very conservative brother-in-law. “I love him. What is the point of staying at a school that teaches the etiquette of high society when all I want is to be a rancher’s wife?”
“The point is to be obedient and to do what you have been asked to do,” Kristine spoke quietly. “Robert paid your tuition at school on the understanding that you would remain there until graduation. At that point, we would have loved to have you stay with us for as long as you liked. You could have come out for summer holidays. In leaving school as you have, you are endangering your reputation and the reputation of your family. You have been very rash, Courtney.”
“You don’t understand what it is like, being in love.” The dam broke and Courtney’s tears flowed from her eyes. She buried her face in her hands and sobbed.
“You are right, I don’t know what it is like to be in love at such a young age and have a safe place to stay until I am old enough to face the world.” Kristine’s voice chilled. “I had to work too hard to keep my father from squandering all our resources to fall in love. I had to do whatever I could to keep my sisters safe. I had promised mother. You have thrown that all away.”
Kristine rose and walked from the room and Patricia, fully recovered, hurried to follow her. Surprise stopped Courtney’s tears. “I didn’t know.”
“She didn’t want you to know. She has given up a lot for you girls.” Robert came and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Still it doesn’t mean that keeping you in a place you hate is good either. I propose a compromise. Tomorrow I will invite Curly for lunch and will broach the subject with him. Then we will see what happens.”
Courtney stood and threw her arms around her brother-in-law’s waist. “Oh thank you, Robert. Thank you! What will I wear?” and she ran from the room.
Chapter 5
“He’s here.” Patricia said. Her tone was noncommittal, but Courtney knew her sister’s opinion and didn’t care. She loved Curly and would do almost anything to spend the rest of her life with him.
“Tell him I’ll be right down. I want to make the right impression.” Courtney barely noticed her sister’s exit. She smoothed her hands down her skirt, wishing she had brought something fancier. The cotton morning dress was the perfect shade of blue to match her eyes and the style was becoming, but a few ruffles or touches of lace would add a bit of a festive air. Oh well there was nothing to be done about it now.
Taking a deep breath and sending a prayer heavenward, Courtney turned from the mirror and left the room. Everyone should be gathered in the hallway now, waiting for her to join them before they went into lunch. The thought of Curly’s admiring eyes as he watched her gracefully descend the stairs to his side had flutters of excitement racing through her stomach.
Not wanting to seem too anxious for her first sight of him, she kept her eyes on the steps. She was halfway down the stairs before she realized the hall was empty.
Where was he?
The surprise had her pausing. Where was everyone else? The sound of male laughter in the parlor had her cheeks flushing. Had they seen her stop in shock and were snickering at their joke? Curly would never do that to her and it seemed out of character for Robert to laugh at much of anything.
Courtney ran with light steps down the rest of the stairs, graceful entry forgotten. At the doorway to the parlor, she peeked in to see what the men were laughing at. A little brown ball of fur rolled on the rug with Robert’s daughter, Marian. A puppy, of course, who could resist laughing at a puppy.
“Ah, Courtney, there you are.” Robert stood and walked over to her, drawing her into the room. “Curly just surprised us with a gift for Marian. What do you think?”
“I think he’s wonderful.” Courtney saw nothing but the handsome young cowboy sitting on the floor trying to untangle a rope. She glided toward a chair where she would be able to see him without seeming too obvious.
When would he look at her and notice her?
“Who’s wonderful, the man or the puppy?” Kristine muttered just loud enough for her sister to hear. Courtney ignored her and watched them both, her heart in her eyes.
Finally, Kristine sighed. “I hope you’re not too disappointed.” In a louder voice, she spoke to her stepdaughter. “Marian, how about we take the puppy outside to play in the garden. I imagine he will need to get out there soon anyway.”
With a squeal of pure delight, Marian gathered the squirming pup in her arms and ran for the door. Kristine and Robert shared a glance, and then followed leaving Courtney alone with her suitor. Miss Price would not approve of the lack of a chaperone, but Courtney was thrilled. Maybe her eldest sister understood after all.
“Hello Curly.” She kept her voice low, intimate. Her heart thundered in her ears at her own boldness.
“Howdy.” He barely looked up at her, focusing on undoing the last knot. “There you go Kristine …” Curly looked around the room. “Where did everyone go?”
Courtney’s heart sunk to her toes. He had scarcely looked at her, but called her sister by her given name. This was not what she was expecting. “Ah, I think they took the puppy out to the garden.”
Curly grinned. “Probably a good idea. It was a long trip for the little guy. Maybe I should go take the rope to them. The fuzz ball certainly did tangle it up.”
Confusion had her staring at him. Was this the man who had sent her such tender and intimate letters? Did he not recognize her?
“I think my sister and her husband left us alone to talk.”
“Your sister?” He looked puzzled for a moment. “You do look a bit like her. Wait, I remember, I met you at the wedding right?”
He had forgotten?
“Yes, we met at the wedding, you wrote to me at school.” Courtney drew the small packet of letters from her pocket and handed them to him.
Curly took the letters as if they were a sleeping snake. He kept his gaze on hers, eyes wary. “I do remember writing some letters and getting some back, was that you?”
Courtney nodded, unable to speak past the lump in her throat. Tears burned the backs of her eyes. She watched him untie the red ribbon that held the letters together. He read them one by one as a smile crept across his face.
“Oh I like this one, ‘the sun rises and I think of you.’” He snorted with laughter and a tear escaped her control and slid down her face. “Can you believe I wrote that? How corny can a guy be? I must have been lonely that night.”
Who was this man before her?
He read more of the letter before bursting into laughter. “You didn’t take any of this seriously did you?” He looked up at her and his laughter stilled. “Oh dear, you di
d, didn’t you? You believed this hogwash. I’m very sorry, but I never meant for any of it to be taken at face value. It was supposed to be a joke …”
He stood up and came to sit next to her. He put one arm around her shoulders and handed her a hankie. “There now, don’t cry little sister. You’re a great kid and I’m sure there are plenty of guys who would love to say sappy stuff like that to you. Just not me. I’m not the marrying type, see. I’m kind of a loner, a little flirt here, a stolen kiss there, and then I move on to the next girl. It’s nothing personal.”
Courtney couldn’t take any more. Holding the hankie to her lips, she fled from the room sobbing.
Chapter 6
She didn’t leave her room until the next morning. She had spent the night alternately weeping and plotting. Toward morning, she fell into an uneasy sleep, waking when the morning sun touched her eyelids. As she dressed, a plan emerged, fully formed from her mind.
She didn’t believe that Curly truly cared nothing for her. He couldn’t have written such beautiful things if he didn’t mean them somewhere deep inside. She just had to get him to realize it.
She went down the stairs and paused at the bottom at the sound of voices in the Library. Robert and Kristine were talking quietly, obviously unaware of her presence.
“Should I go check on her? She hasn’t eaten since yesterday at breakfast.” Kristine sounded concerned, but Robert stopped her.
“She will be fine. She is young and the young bounce back from disappointment. She will come down when she is ready.”
“That is fine for you to say, you didn’t hear her crying last night.” Kristine heaved a deep sigh. “It nearly broke my heart to hear it. If only I had known that he was leading her on like that. I could have warned her that he was a feckless youth and not worthy of her attentions.”
“Curly is young, that is true, and a bit free with the girls, but he hasn’t a mean bone in his body and has the makings of a good man.” Robert’s words made Courtney smile then she frowned as he went on. “Perhaps someday the right woman will come along and tame him from his wild ways. Your sister is just a bit too sweet and innocent to understand a man like that.”
