by Linda Bridey
Violet pulled herself up and hardened her heart to him. For the first time in her life, he didn’t frighten her. “And I suggest, Cornell, that you think twice about opposing these marriages. Do you know what Iris and Rose talked about on the way down to Butte today, and what she and the men talked about on the way home? They talked about packing you off, out of the Bird House, out of Rocking Horse Ranch, and out of our lives, after we get married.”
Cornell’s eyebrows flew up, but he kept his composure enough not to show his shock any other way. “Is that so?”
“Yes, it is,” Violet told him. “I spent both trips doing everything in my power to defend you and keep a place for you here. But I see no reason to do that if you threaten me or make life unpleasant for our husbands.”
“They aren’t your husband’s yet, Violet,” Cornell growled.
“No, but they will be,” Violet declared. “You may be absolutely certain of that. We will marry these men on Friday, whether you like it or not, and even if you do plan to take our money for yourself, all of our fortune will pass to our husbands the day we marry them, no matter what you say or do.”
Cornell didn’t reply. He only pressed his lips together more firmly than ever. Was that a hint of concern in his eye? Oh, please let it be so! Please let her words strike home!
Violet’s words came out of her mouth like molten iron. She’d never heard her own voice so hard and piercing before. Was she really saying these things? And to Cornell’s face, too! She never thought she’d live so long.
“If I was in your position, Cornell,” she said. “I’d make an effort to be very polite and generous, not only to these three men, but to me and my sisters, too. Your future rests in our hands, and it wouldn’t take much to tip the balance of power away from you. If that happens, there’s nothing I can do to protect you, and it’s you who’ll be out on the street.”
Violet fixed him with one last withering glare before she turned on her heel and stalked out of the room. She slammed the door behind her, but immediately ran away, down the passage, and up the stairs to her own room, where she slammed her own door and locked herself in.
She threw herself down on her bed, buried her face in her pillow, and screamed as she’d never screamed before in her life. She screamed out all her vile thoughts about Cornell. She screamed all her worry about the future of the ranch and for the well-being of her sisters. Last of all, she screamed in excitement and exhilaration at the thought of Chuck. The thrill of pleasure scorched up her arm from the fingers he’d touched and spread through her whole body.
Was this what it felt like? Was this what a man could do to a woman’s body? Could a thought throw her into a ferment of anticipation at seeing him again, talking to him, touching him. Heavens above! How much more incredible would it be to live with him, to hold him, to lie next to him every night of her life!
Oh, she couldn’t stop screaming from thinking about it! Did her sisters know? Is this the way Iris felt when she left the barn with Mick? What had they talked about and done in there? Had he touched her hand and spoken soft words to her and smiled into her eyes the way Chuck did to her? And Jake must have done the same thing to Rose in the Fort House. That’s why they all smiled so foolishly and couldn’t stop smiling?
Did every woman in the world feel this way when she got close to a man? So this was what all the fuss was about! Violet always thought all that romantic fairy-tale nonsense about finding your prince and living happily ever after was just a childish story. But here it was, coming true for her and her sisters.
Please, God, don’t let anyone hear her screaming like this. But she couldn’t stop. Tears of excitement and raw emotion wet her pillow. She only stopped screaming when the pain in her throat overcame her agitation and she couldn’t scream any more. Maybe she’d destroyed her voice, and everyone would know she’d screamed her head off because she couldn’t talk anymore.
She sat up and sniffed. Then she got a drink of water from the wash stand pitcher. She must pull herself together before going down to supper. The men would arrive soon, and she wanted to look her best.
The events of the day flooded back, and she suppressed a giggle at the sizzle of eagerness at seeing Chuck again downstairs. Why did Cornell have to be such an insufferable tyrant? Why couldn’t he at least try to understand the sisters’ reasons for marrying these men? Why did he have to make the whole experience so unpleasant for everyone?
What a joy these marriages would be for all of them if Cornell hadn’t blighted the experience with his petty spite! A wedding should be the happiest day of a woman’s life. And here were three sisters, all getting married on the same day.
If Violet judged rightly, all three were marrying their fairy-tale princes, their hearts’ true and destined sweethearts. What happier occasion could anyone imagine?
Curse that Cornell, anyway! Violet would find a way to deal with him. She resolved to discuss with her sisters his latest threat to disinherit them. She crossed the room to tidy up her hair in the looking glass, but she gasped in horror when she saw herself. She wouldn’t let a living soul—not even her sisters—see her puffy red eyes or swollen lips.
She wet a handkerchief in the washbasin and laid it over her eyes. She splashed more water over her whole face and then went to open the window. The cool night air would cool her down. She pushed back the lace curtains and threw up the sash. As she expected, the breeze gusted into the room and bathed her wet face in a luscious chill.
But Violet caught her breath again when her eye fell on a solitary figure on the ground below her window. In the last twilight before full dark, Chuck glanced up at the house and saw her. Their eyes met, and he smiled.
Violet laughed out loud in pure joy at seeing him again. His face broke into a grin, and he blew her a kiss.
All Violet’s efforts to fix up her face failed, and her eyes brimmed with tears. She laughed at the same time, and she blew him a kiss of her own.
His smile turned to a laugh, and he cast his eyes down to the ground with his cheeks on fire. When he peeked up at her again, he pointed into the house, and Violet nodded.
Chapter 16