He squeezed his eyes shut. “I should never have left her with our mother.”
“You were a boy. Don’t be—”
“So hard on myself? That’s the problem. I was only thinking of myself. I never thought what my mother would have done. She was a drunk and she beat me. Of course she’d beat Katherine once I was gone. I never looked beyond myself. This is all my fault.”
“No. I can’t believe that. I don’t know you, but a child can’t be responsible for an adult’s actions. You weren’t responsible for your mother beating you any more than you’re responsible for your mother beating Kate.” How can I get through to this man? “Stop thinking on the past, Urias. Kate needs you now. You’re here now. Take this.” She handed him the handkerchief. “It’s all I have at the moment.”
His fingers brushed hers as he reached for the proffered gift. A flash of heat shot through her like a bolt of lightning.
“That settles it!” her father shouted from the back stairs of the house.
“Settles what?” Urias whispered.
“Our marriage.” Prudence blushed.
Dear God in heaven, help me, Urias prayed.
“Prudence Greene, get in this house this moment!” Hiram Greene shouted for all to hear.
The barn began to spin. Urias grabbed the rail to stabilize himself. This couldn’t be happening. No one would force someone to marry for simply speaking with another. It wasn’t legal, was it?
Urias stuffed the handkerchief in his pocket as he watched Prudence walk toward her father. Her shoulders drooped farther with each step closer. The man was a tyrant, or so it would seem. If he treats his own daughter this way, how does he treat Katherine? Urias closed his eyes and tried to keep his mind from thinking the worst.
“Mr. O’Leary, come to my office,” Hiram ordered.
If ever a man needed divine inspiration and wisdom, it was now. Lord, I am up against a post here. Prudence says her father is going to insist on us getting married. I can’t do that. I need Your help and guidance.
Urias dusted off his pants and walked toward the front door. He couldn’t leave this plantation soon enough. But first he had to get something in writing concerning Katherine’s bond and the agreement he had with her owner. Then he’d shake the dust from his heels faster than any disciple leaving an unholy city.
He walked into the house and straight into Hiram Greene’s office. There he waited, counting time by the construction of a small spider web in the upper right-hand corner of the brick fireplace. The sun had set, and a bracing coolness filled the house. Perhaps it isn’t only the weather, he mused. Should he light a fire? Would it be considered neighborly or imposing?
Finally, he sat down in a fancy, hand-carved oak chair. He quieted his heart and prayed.
“Mr. O’Leary.” Urias startled as Hiram Greene marched into his office. “I’ve called for the preacher, and you shall marry my daughter this evening.”
Urias held down his temper. “With all due respect, Mr. Greene, I will not marry your daughter. We did nothing improper.”
“You will marry my daughter, or I will not sell you your sister’s bond. This is not negotiable, Mr. O’Leary.” Hiram Greene sauntered across his office and sat down behind the desk as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
“You can’t do this. You can’t force your daughter to marry me or me to marry your daughter. We had an agreement for my sister’s bond.”
“Yes, but that was before you dishonored me and my house by your indecent behavior with my daughter.”
“I did no such thing!” Urias defended.
“I beg to differ, sir, and since I am the head of this household and I make the decisions here, that is my final decision. You will marry my daughter when the preacher arrives, or I’ll have you thrown in jail.” He leaned forward. “This is within my power and my right as a father.”
Not only had he threatened to not sell Urias his sister’s bond, now he threatened a jail sentence. If the circuit judge came around these parts as often as he did in Jamestown, Urias could be sitting behind bars for quite a while.
Urias heard a team of horses and a carriage coming up toward the house. “Preacher is here, son. What’s it going to be?”
Chapter 4
Prudence cried throughout the entire ceremony. The things her father had said to her were so hurtful, she didn’t even want to think about them. He also told her that if she didn’t go through with the wedding, he would sell Kate to someone else and put Urias in jail until the circuit judge came by—which, in Prudence’s estimation, would be next spring. She had little choice but to stand beside Urias and repeat the vows the preacher performed.
Once the ceremony was over, Urias placed his hat upon his head and exited the house. Who could blame him? She certainly couldn’t.
She ran up to her room and cried as she packed her bag.
“Prudence,” her mother called from behind the door. “May I come in?”
Prudence didn’t bother to answer. Since when did it matter to her parents what she wanted? Her mother entered the room. “Darling, look at the bright side—you have a husband.”
Prudence narrowed her gaze on her mother.
“All right, maybe that was the wrong thing to say. But you’re not getting any younger.”
What little dignity Prudence had left flew out the window. Even her own mother thought the only way Prudence could get a husband was to be forced into a marriage. “This is not a marriage, Mother; it’s a jail sentence.”
“Maybe he isn’t a bad sort.”
What little she knew of Urias, he wasn’t a bad sort at all. He cared deeply for his sister, enough to persistently search for her for years.
Prudence opened her closet door and pulled out her carpetbag.
“What are you doing?”
“Packing. I’m married now. Don’t I have to live with my husband?”
“But I thought you and he would live here.”
Was her mother that oblivious? “Mom, he has a family, a job of his own.”
“But your father said—”
“I don’t know what Daddy said, but I know one thing; he cannot control Urias O’Leary. If he hadn’t threatened Urias with the loss of his sister’s freedom and jail time, I doubt he would have married me.”
“Oh my dear, I don’t want you to leave. I’d hoped he’d move in with you.”
“No, Mother, he has his own life. Somehow, I have to figure out a way to share it.” But not for long. There has to be a way to have the marriage annulled.
There was a knock at her open door. Prudence glanced over. Kate stood there, shaking. “Urias told me to tell you he’ll be leaving in the morning and return as soon as he can with the money for your father.”
“Thank you.” Prudence sighed.
“See? He is a reasonable man. You can stop packing now.” Her mother exited the room.
Prudence dumped the contents of her carpetbag out and began repacking. This time she packed for a wilderness journey. Her mother might be pleased with her staying, but Prudence needed to leave this house, and she needed to help earn Kate’s freedom. Somehow, she and Urias would figure a way out of this foolish marriage. Then hopefully Prudence would find a place for herself in this world apart from her family—a place where people would accept and appreciate all of her hidden talents.
“Prudence,” Kate whispered, “I’m sorry.”
“Hush. This isn’t your fault. It’s my own. I shouldn’t have gone to the barn a second time. I should have waited to find you to deliver the … What does it matter? It’s over, it’s done with, and now your brother is paying for my foolishness. I’m the one who is sorry.”
“Can I help?” Kate asked.
“Thank you.” Prudence grabbed the carpetbag and set it right side up on the bed once again. The handle came off in her hands. Fresh tears filled her eyes.
Urias woke at the sound of the rooster’s first crow. He rubbed the back of his stiff neck and moaned, then stood up a
nd stretched. He doubted he’d ever had such a fitful night’s sleep. Every hour he seemed to wake with the nightmare of the evening before. Married at the end of a pointed sword. Granted, there had been no blades present, but it certainly had felt like it.
All night he kept having this nagging feeling that something besides Hiram Greene’s daughter’s honor was at stake in this forced marriage. To threaten Katherine’s freedom and jail time meant the man didn’t play fair in business. That realization only solidified Urias’s original thought that the bond he’d agreed to pay was much higher than the debt his sister owed.
He reached for his saddle and proceeded to hitch Bullet up. Urias had decided somewhere around the middle of the night that since he’d been forced to marry Prudence, the original agreement for the purchase of his sister’s bond was null and void. With Bullet, he could possibly make it back to Jamestown in three days. Time was of the essence now. Hiram Greene was not a man to be trusted. If he would force his daughter to marry a stranger with no respect for her feelings, would he honor the agreement of selling off Katherine’s bond? And now that Urias had found her, he wasn’t about to lose her.
The barn door creaked open. Urias chastised himself again for not having closed it last evening when he rendezvoused with Prudence.
Prudence stood there with a hastily mended carpetbag in one hand and dressed for travel. Her brown hair was pulled back under a white cotton bonnet. She was a beautiful woman; he’d give her that. But no man should be forced to marry her. What was Hiram Greene’s problem?
“Good morning,” she said in a timid voice.
“Morning. Going somewhere?”
“With you,” she replied and walked over to him.
“No, no. I agreed to marry you, but I’m not taking you with me,” Urias stammered. “I mean, I’m not taking you with me to my parents’ house.” That didn’t sound right either.
She squared her shoulders and replied, “I’m your wife now.”
“I’m well aware of that fact.”
“What I mean to say is, I’m free to go with you and I want to help. With my help, we can herd the hogs to the Cumberland Gap in less time.”
He had forgotten about her ingenious plan regarding raising the money himself. “I was planning on speaking with my parents and borrowing the money.”
“How long would that take?” she asked.
“Eight days—ten at the most. The problem would be how fast we could get the funds.”
She nodded. Urias knew—he wasn’t sure how he knew—but he could tell she was conjuring up a scheme of some kind. “I’m not of a mind to tell you what to do, but for the same amount of time, we could probably herd some hogs down to the Cumberland Gap and back again.”
The idea of not owing his parents five hundred dollars for his sister’s bond was appealing. With the profit, he’d be able to buy his own property and start breeding horses.
“Even if we don’t raise enough capital,” she continued, “I’m certain we’d raise enough for Father to release Kate. Especially since we are married now.”
Urias sunk his hands into his pockets and felt the folded handkerchief she’d given him the night before. He pulled it out and opened it. Inside he found some money and a note. Reading it, he realized once again how deeply this woman cared for his sister.
She reached over and placed her hand on his forearm. “Urias, please. Can we at least talk with Thomas Hagins and see if we can barter with him?”
“Have you ever lived on the road?” he asked. He continued to ready the horse for travel.
“No,” she admitted. “I promise not to complain. Maybe it is my pride, but I resent what Father did last night. Besides, I need to leave this house, and our marriage gives me the opportunity to put distance between myself and my father.”
He couldn’t blame her there. If he’d been that man’s child, he’d be livid, too. Perhaps that’s why Prudence’s brother is staying with their uncle in Hardshell, Urias mused. “All right. You can come. And, yes, we’ll talk with Thomas Hagins. But if he won’t work a deal, you return home, and I’ll go to Jamestown to get the money needed. Agreed?”
“Thank you.”
He glanced down at her ladies’ heeled boots. “Do you have a more rugged pair of shoes?”
“No.”
“Is there a place nearby where we can purchase you a pair?”
“There’s a general store not too far from Thomas Hagins’s place.”
“Good.” He reached for her bag to fasten it to the horse’s saddle. “You’ll ride; I’ll walk. We’ll get farther that way.”
She nodded her agreement. Urias didn’t know if this was the makings of a contrite spirit or whether the wealthy young woman had always expected such favors. It didn’t matter; with those boots, they wouldn’t get far.
He hoisted her into the saddle. A bolt of awareness shot through him. For the first time, he realized this beautiful woman was his wife, and there wasn’t a thing he could do about it, one way or the other.
Prudence sat mesmerized in the saddle. Urias’s touch had been so gentle and yet so full of power when he helped her up on the horse. If Father hadn’t forced them to get married, would something have developed between them? She contemplated that the entire five-hour journey to Thomas Hagins’s place. They talked little on the trip. For the most part, she just gave him directions. She didn’t know what to think of Urias. One minute he seemed warm and compassionate; the next he was distant—almost cold. They had to find a way to annul the marriage. No one should be forced to live like this.
Of course, that was what Kate’s life must have been like these many years—forced to live for the wishes of others. Forced to do things that were … Prudence stopped the thoughts. Kate had never said outright that she’d been abused by some of those who’d owned her bond. But something had happened to her—something that clearly made her feel unworthy to be considered equal with others.
Kate was why she was on this horse. Kate was the reason she’d stand up and give up her own life and her own happiness to save another from a life of servitude.
They walked up to the white-trimmed house of Thomas Hagins and knocked on the door.
“Miss Greene, what a pleasure to see you.” Thomas Hagins extended his hand.
Prudence accepted it. “It’s good to see you, Mr. Hagins. May I introduce my husband, Urias O’Leary?” Thomas Hagins’s eyebrows shot up as his eyes widened. Did everyone think she was unfit to be a wife? “Urias, Mr. Hagins.”
“Husband? My dear, it has been too long.” Thomas shook Urias’s hand.
“We’ve come to do business, sir. My wife and I would like to purchase some hogs to take them to the Cumberland Gap. Prudence seems to believe there is a good profit there for a man.”
“She’s a right smart one. ’Tis true, I’ve made a dollar or two myself. Unfortunately, I no longer have the legs for the journey. Price is $1.25 per hundred pounds of hogs. How many do you want?”
“I’ve got a hundred on me, and I can leave my steed as a deposit. I was hoping you might be willing to let me purchase five hundred hogs and bring the money back to you after I return from the Gap.”
“I don’t know. That’s asking an awful lot.”
Prudence couldn’t help herself. “Mr. Hagins, I realize you don’t know my husband, but he is an honorable man.” After all, he married me. “If my father thinks enough of Urias to give my hand in marriage to him, that should speak for something.”
Thomas rubbed the day’s growth on his chin.
“Let me look at the horse.”
Urias looked up and winked. Prudence smiled. For the first time in her life, a man hadn’t put her down for speaking her mind.
“Fine-looking steed. I’d be interested in buying him for the purchase of the hogs.”
“He’s yours if I fail to return with the money. But I need him. If I could trouble you for a mule to help carry our packs, that would be mighty fine of you. I’d be willing to pay for the animal,�
�� Urias offered.
“The horseflesh alone is worth more than the hogs. You’ve got yourself a deal, son.” Thomas and Urias shook on it.
The men worked out the details while Prudence worked out some food supplies for the road with Mrs. Hagins. Urias had given her back the money she’d given to him yesterday. The Haginses put them up for the evening. Urias slept on the floor and gave the bed to Prudence. Neither one of them was ready to make the marriage complete, but it still stung to realize she was not wanted by her own husband. Prudence silently cried herself to sleep for the second night in a row.
Chapter 5
Urias and Prudence woke early the next morning and ate the hot breakfast Mrs. Hagins had fixed for them. By six, they began herding the hogs toward the Cumberland Gap. Urias had spent the better part of the evening speaking with Thomas about hogs and how to best herd them. Before going to bed last night, he had fashioned a couple of willow switches to snap and prod the hogs forward.
By noon, they had covered only a couple of miles. At this rate, they wouldn’t make the gap before snowfall. Frustrated, he sat down to the meal Prudence had prepared. “Thank you,” he said, taking the offered dish from her hands.
“You’re welcome. I purchased a few things from Mrs. Hagins last night to make our travels more comfortable.”
“How are your feet?”
“I find the shoes quite comfortable. The two pairs of woolen socks seem a bit much, but I’m sure you’re right about blisters from new shoes if I don’t wear them.”
“You may still get them. You can sit on the burro if you need to.”
“Thank you. I’m all right.” She looked down at her plate. His heart tightened once again, knowing what this marriage was doing to her.
“Urias, we’re not moving fast enough, are we?”
“No, but I figure it will take a day or two to learn how to move the hogs forward.”
Her face brightened.
“Once we’ve got them on the path and moving at a good pace, we should make up for some of the lost time.”
“How long before we hit the Wilderness Road?”
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