The Most Unsuitable Wife

by Caroline Clemmons

  She shook her head, "Drake, you open it. Please."

  He obliged her and unlocked the box. As he raised the lid, both Pearl and Storm gasped.

  Sarah peered around her brother, blue eyes wide in surprise. "My stars! How could there be so much? We only had $157.28 saved."

  They took out bills and coins. Good U.S. money. Pearl referred back to the paper in her hand. "The letter says it's $7,657.26 in all.” Eyes widened, she stared at the treasure. "It's a fortune."

  * * *

  Pearl sat at the small cherry desk in the sitting room of the suite she and Drake shared, her sister near at hand. Her mind whirled with questions about her fortune.

  "Did Granny hate me too much to give me the funds, or did she hope to provide for me?”

  Sarah shook her head as if she, too, still found the whole idea unbelievable. "We'll never know.”

  For the third time since she and Drake returned from the bank that morning, Pearl stared at the passbook in her hand. She still found it hard to believe she had so much money. What should she do with it?

  Grandpa had accompanied Storm and Drake to see Lex. Probably to talk about the money, though they denied men ever gossiped. Lily and Belle drove the buggy to the dressmaker for a fitting on Lily's endless series of new gowns. Pearl looked at her own sensible white shirtwaist over her navy skirt and sighed. She could buy her own new gowns now if she chose. But did she? How should she use the money? It must be for something important.

  Sarah's lovely face flushed with anger as she removed a loose thread from her green calico dress. "Your Granny was a mean woman. That money was there all the time we scrimped and worried. She should have told you about it.”

  "She despised me and all the memories I represented.” Pearl shivered at the thought. "I wonder, did she demand the money or did that man offer it?” She couldn't bring herself to voice her father's name unless necessary. He wouldn't acknowledge her, so she refused to acknowledge him even by speaking his name.

  Sarah squeezed her sister's hand, "I think she asked him, blackmailed him. But, she did so to punish him for marrying someone other than her daughter, not to help you."

  Suddenly the importance of the funds rushed at Pearl. Her head swam, the lovely room whirled in a blur of blue. She put her head down and took deep breaths.

  "Sister, are you ailing?"

  "Oh, Lord. Oh, Lord. I didn't have to marry Drake to get away. All that time we had money.” Tears threatened to flow. "If only we had known, we could have left Pipers Hollow years ago. We could have started our own business, anyplace we chose."

  Sarah patted her sister's back. "Maybe Granny feared we'd leave her there alone. Heaven knows the woman never did anything to deserve the loyalty you gave her. She gave you nothing but her constant sniping and complaining."

  "I could never have abandoned my own grandmother.” No matter how much the woman deserved it, she thought. "Oh, Sarah, I've made a terrible mistake.” Tears overflowed and rolled down her cheeks.

  "No, sister. What about Drake? You saved him."

  Pearl raised her head and sniffed. "What?"

  "Remember? He had to marry to save his ranch. At least you helped him."

  She shook her head. "Not really. He never wanted to marry me. Any woman would have been all right. It didn't have to be me.”

  "But it is, sister. He chose you from all the women he knows. You said yourself he could have had any other woman. But he married you.” Her voice softened, "And you're married to him."

  "No, I'm bound by marriage vows, but I'm not truly married."

  "You are. And he cares for you. I can tell by the way he looks at you. I see it when touches you."

  Anger warred with confusion, hurt, and remorse. Anger won and spared no sensitivities. "Hmph. You're confusing caring with sexual lust. Would a man who cares for his wife leave her stuck in town while he spends most of his time elsewhere?” She stood and paced the room.

  "If he thought it was best for his wife, he would. It is best, you know. We're both safer here."

  "You don't understand. Didn't you hear me? I said he never intended for us to live at the ranch. Before he knew the trouble would follow us. Before we even left Pipers Hollow. He always expected us to stay here with Grandpa and Lily forever."

  "But it's nice here. It's just the kind of place we dreamed about. Only better."

  "Better? How can it be better finding the last few years of scrimping were needless? How can it be better knowing my own grandmother cared so little for me? After twenty-six years of being unwanted, how can being an unwanted wife be better?"

  "We live in a beautiful home. We have everything we've ever dreamed of and more. I think Drake cares about you. It will take time for him to realize how much."

  "Well, I'm tired of hearing Lily and her friends babble on about how many more suitable women Drake could have chosen. I'm tired of endless social prattle about nothing. I'm tired of being snubbed and criticized no matter how hard I try."

  A concerned frown puckered Sarah's brow. "Oh, sister. Wh-what are you going to do?"

  "I don't know what, but I'm going to do something. And soon."

  * * *

  Only a few puffy clouds dotted the brilliant azure sky. Groups of people gathered in the park-like setting behind the church. Pearl saw Storm race along the creek with several of his new friends. Even shy Sarah huddled with two giggling young women.

  Under a canopy of trees, Lily and Pearl took up their assignment of watching the dessert table until the dinner bell rang. The wildflowers were in full bloom now. Spiky lupines Pearl had come to know as bluebonnets bloomed among a coral feather called Indian paintbrush.

  Lily tilted her parasol and rearranged the desserts for the third time. Pearl had not missed the fact that Lily's new mint green silk dress and matching parasol looked more suited to a drawing room social than a church picnic. She also noted Lily took her duties at these church socials very seriously. Mrs. Potter plopped two cakes at the end of the table. Lily shot her a hard look for the careless placement of the sweets and set about to rearrange them.

  Grandpa merely chuckled at his youngest daughter's ill humor and resumed talking to Pearl. "I had a letter from Evan on Friday. In all the fuss about your money, I forgot to tell you."

  "Oh, I do hope he's feeling stronger.” Pearl brushed a leaf from Grandpa's dapper Sunday suit.

  "Yes. In fact, he mentioned that it's only due to your care he lasted long enough to retire to Mary Alice's."

  Pearl shook her head in denial. "He would never have stayed in Pipers Hollow after his wife died if it weren't for me and my family. I feared he'd waited too long."

  "He asked about you. Said to tell you he's still taking his evil tonic and drinking that blasted tea. His words, not mine.” He smiled, proving he bore no ill will with his statement.

  "Before we left Chattanooga, I showed Mary Alice how to make the tonic. Since it was her mother who taught me, she soon remembered the routine. You can bet she makes sure Evan takes it right on time and gets the proper rest and food he needs."

  "Drake said you doctored folks back in Tennessee, and some of the train passengers, too. He seemed right impressed with your skill."

  Pearl took immeasurable pleasure hearing her husband gave merit to her doctoring. "From Pipers Hollow it was a two day ride to a trained doctor with a drinking problem. I saw to most birthings', sewed up cuts, treated lots of ailments. Most people I helped, but some were beyond my knowledge."

  He pulled at his mustache several minutes, twitching around as if undecided about something. In a flash she knew what he wanted. Or needed.

  "Is something bothering you, Grandpa? Something I might help with?"

  "Well, um," he stammered. "I have this pain in my joints."

  Lily caught this portion of the conversation and whirled to face her father and Pearl. "Really, Papa. Surely you're not consulting Pearl about a medical matter. You saw Doctor Percival about this.”

  "Doc said it's just cau
se I'm getting older and to live with it. Costive old fool."

  Suppressing a smile, she asked, "What kind of pain? I mean, is it worse when you're tired, when you first get up, when it's cold or wet. Tell me exactly how and where you feel pain."

  "Papa?” Lily looked ready to have a fit.

  He patted her arm. "Now, Lily, you just tend to your sweets and such. This is between Pearl and me."

  Lily's gray eyes turned stormy. "Well, if that's the way you feel.” She stormed around the table to stand in front, letting the desserts form a barrier and giving her parasol a dizzy twirl.

  Grandpa took Pearl's arm and pulled her toward the other side of the group of trees shading the tables. "Let's talk over here in private."

  "Would you prefer to wait until we're home this evening?"

  He pulled at his mustache again. "Maybe so. Or maybe in the morning before Lily comes downstairs would be best. You're up early like me."

  "Okay, we'll talk then.” She squeezed his arm.

  "You're a good woman, Pearl. Drake's a lucky man.” He patted her shoulder before he walked away.

  She walked back to the table. Shooing a fly hovering over one of her pies, she thought of Grandpa's parting words. She hardly had time to ponder them before Lily returned to her side.

  The parasol popped shut and Lily wielded it like an accusing finger. "So, you intend to continue this, this charade of being a medical person, right in my home?"

  Pearl stiffened, held herself straight and still. If this woman thought she could intimidate her, she had another thought coming. "I don't pretend to be a doctor, but I am a healer and medical person.”

  Head high, she faced her adversary. She knew herself competent, knew she had made a difference in many lives. "It's true I haven't been to medical school, or even to finishing school. But I studied for many years, with personal apprenticeship to a wonderful healer.”

  "Hmph. A witch doctor. A charlatan.” Lily laid her parasol on the table and her hands fisted at each hip. "Why can't you just act normal?” She stamped her foot for emphasis.

  Pearl stepped toward her adversary. "Normal for whom? Lily, I appreciate all the things you've done to help my family and me. But I don't want the same things from life you want. Please allow me to be myself, to find my own happiness."

  "Look at you, I've seen you barefoot around the house.” She poked Pearl in the ribs. "And if you won't wear a corset at home, you could at least dress properly for church and social functions."

  Pearl took a step away from the woman. "Drake said I don't have to wear a corset. If my husband doesn't mind, why should you?"

  "Because what you do reflects on me and my father. You're an embarrassment to us. Now you want to carry on with this hokey medicine thing. I won't stand for it."

  Pearl pulled herself up to her full height, her back stiff. "I've tried to show you respect because you are, in a sense, our hostess. But the house belongs to Grandpa and, whether you like it or not, I'm Drake's wife. You are not the boss of me, Lily Stephens, and I won't let you bully me."

  "Oh, you are just such a common woman. Why Drake chose you when he could have had Pamela Hudson or Helen Morris, I'll never know. They're from such good families, and they are both beautiful and refined. And there were lots of others right here he could have wed."

  Pearl leaned into Lily's face. "So you keep telling me. But he didn't choose either of them, did he? No. In fact, he cared so little for the women you prize that he even left the state to find a bride."

  She pointed to herself. "And I am the one he wed, and you can't change that. You may as well get used to me, because I am a Kincaid and I’m in Kincaid County to stay!"

  Lily gave a toss of her perfectly coifed head. "I'll never get used to you, as you so crudely put it. And I won't have you pouring who knows what down my father. Do you hear me?”

  With that, Lily left Pearl and flounced across the church yard to visit with the Morris family. She saw the woman talking to Helen, saw Lily look over her shoulder at Pearl. No doubt she filled the girl's ears with stories of misfortune from such ill bred house guests and in-laws.

  Pearl watched and wondered how she could have handled that situation better. She hated sounding rude, but refused to be a door mat any longer.

  Drake appeared and slid his arm around her waist. "What's wrong, honey. You look mad enough to fight a bear."

  "I think I just did.” She rested her aching head against his solid shoulder.

  "Ah, I thought that was Lily's dragon lady walk. What happened?” He cupped her chin to meet her gaze.

  She hoped the tears threatening would not overflow.

  "She doesn't approve of me. Thinks I should do everything like her. Dress like her, talk like her, walk like her. Think like her.” She shook her head. "I can't do it, Drake. I have tried, but I can't be like Lily."

  "Honey, if I wanted a woman like Lily, I could have found one right here in town. She had a couple all picked out for me to choose from.”

  "Yes, she's mentioned how much more suitable either would have been."

  His waved at a couple passing then cradled his arms around her. "Please, don't let her get to you this way. She is spoiled, but she's had a frustrating life the past few years."

  "You mean nursing your grandmother?"

  "That's only part of it.” He signaled Sarah and the girl left her group of friends to hurry over. "Would you watch this table until folks are ready to eat? I'm going to steal your sister for a while."

  Sarah smiled. Pearl knew the little romantic imagined some sort of lover's escape. As they walked back into the trees, Drake found a log large enough for a seat. He used his handkerchief to protect Pearl's clothes when she sat down. He faced her, one foot on the log, an elbow leaning on his knee.

  "When Lily was at school, she met Harold Vermillion at a party and fell in love. His family live in St. Louis, but he was going to the university in Boston. They were engaged."

  "But her married name is Stephens.”

  "Right. She and Harold had a spat. In a fit of temper, she broke the engagement and immediately married Wes Stephens. Wes was crazy about her, but hadn't the least idea how to treat her. She bullied him. Neither was happy. He was one of the first to enlist in the war."

  "And that's where he died?"

  "Yes, she was a widow before her twentieth birthday. But by then Harold had married a girl from St. Louis. Someone his parents chose for him, I believe."

  "Oh, no. So neither was happily married?"

  "Well, maybe Harold's marriage worked out all right, I don't know. By then Grandma was sick, so Lily sold her house and moved in with my grandparents. She was a good nurse for Grandma. And she keeps Grandpa's house running smoothly."

  "But she's probably not happy? She's just filling up time."

  "Yes, very well put.”

  "I've not heard her mention a man. Are there no men in her life here?"

  "Aw, she flirts with them all. Fact is, I think she's been seeing Frank Worthington some on and off, but guess nothing has come of it. I guess she's still in love with Harold. Or thinks she is." He took her hands in his and pulled her to her feet. "She can be difficult sometimes, but please cut her some slack."

  "I know it's been hard on her, having a houseful of people thrust on her for an indefinite time. I'll try to get along. But two women used to being in charge cannot get along in the same house.” She met his gaze. "I'll be no one's puppet. I am my own person."

  "I'm finding that out.” A bell clanged in the distance. With a kiss to her brow, he added, "Sounds like folks are ready to eat.” He offered his arm and they strolled back to the group.

  * * *

  Belle enjoyed this social more than any event since she left her parents' home. In spite of declining Lex's invitation, she found him constantly at her side. Pleased with his attention, she didn't try to discourage him.

  Everyone treated her with such friendship and courtesy. Like she was someone special. Belle's stomach gave a lurch, tho
ugh, when Rosilee and Samuel Tremont sat across the table from her and Lex.

  What would she say to them? What must they think of their son trailing around with a nobody? Oh, but she wasn't really a nobody anymore, was she? She was related to Drake Kincaid, staying with Judge Kincaid and his daughter.

  Oh, heavens, sometimes she forgot she wasn't really Pearl's cousin, forgot it was all a sham. Just like the parts of her background she conveniently omitted or altered. She worried about herself, falling into her newly invented past so deeply. But this was her big chance.

  Law, who was she kidding? More likely this was her only chance. She was not about to mess it up, no matter how many lies she had to tell to protect her position.

  "How are you liking Kincaid Springs, Miss Renfro?” Rosilee Tremont asked.

  Belle saw the question in the woman's eyes. She wants to know if I'm staying in Kincaid Springs or moving on. Will I stay or break her son's heart? Or both? She took a deep breath before she answered and flashed her sweetest smile.

  "I love it here. There's so much to do and people are so friendly. Lily and Grandpa have been very kind."

  "How do your folks feel about your move?” Samuel Tremont asked from across the table.

  Oh, no. Personal questions when she had nothing to say about that part of her life that would make these people happy.

  "Well, they're happy to see me in a better position.” The lies bothered her less now. That worried her some, too. "My folks have a farm, but it's hard work supporting a large family. I still have three brothers and two sisters at home."

  From her side, Lex joined in. "The soil there is shallow, Dad, and farming is far less prosperous than here. I expect it's even harder work as well."

  Oh, no. Now sweet Lex defended her blend of lies and truth. How humiliating to have placed such a wonderful man in a treacherous position. His loyalty now made it even more important he never know the truth.

  "Yes," Belle agreed. "My folks are doing all right for that area. I mean, they have plenty to eat and all, they just ain--don't have any cash money to spare."

  Samuel Tremont nodded. "Working with land often keeps a man wealthy on paper with no coins in his pocket."