The big question in her mind finally erupted into the open as she hollered, “Urias, when are we going to get the annulment?”
He stopped dead in his tracks and turned around. “We can’t until after Katherine is far away from your father. I also will need it in writing that she is sold to me. I won’t have that man come after me again for more money.”
He was visibly upset.
“Where does that leave me?”
He relaxed his shoulders. “I told you before. I’ll take care of you until you can find a husband or a job to support yourself. I’ve given my word, Prudence. I won’t go back on it. I’m not like your father.”
She wanted to argue with him about the kiss they had shared. But if Urias was set on his plans to dissolve the marriage and marry her off to the next available man, then she would have to fight her growing attraction to him. Prudence lifted the hem of her skirt and said, “I’ll walk first this morning,” then proceeded to stomp past him and the horse. He can load the beast. I’ll just continue north.
Thomas Hagins’s farm came into view. Thank You, Lord, we’re almost there. Prudence and he had barely said a word to each other since last night’s kiss. He’d been arguing with himself all night and all day for giving in to such a foolish temptation. He felt a responsibility to her, but what that was, he wasn’t sure.
“Mr. O’Leary, Prudence, welcome back. How was your trip?” Thomas Hagins greeted them as they dismounted the horse. “Where’s my mule?”
“I sold him and bought this horse. It was better for traveling with the two of us.”
“Them roads through the hollows must be wider than I remember ’em.” Thomas scratched his chin.
“Not really—except for the trail the hogs left behind. But that will grow back by next summer.” Urias pulled out the money he owed Mr. Hagins, not showing him the rest of his earnings. This trip had made him leery of just about everyone. Generally, he was a trusting soul, but that trust had gotten him in a lot of trouble this trip. First, he ended up with a wife. Second, he had to pay an overpriced bond for his sister. Third, he now had to pay for a wife he hadn’t wanted to begin with. He just couldn’t risk Mr. Hagins asking for an additional fee, too.
Thomas took the proffered cash. “Was almost hoping you wouldn’t return. I could sell that horse of yours for more than what you owed me on those hogs. Ever consider selling him?”
“Nope. He’s my stud.”
“Fine stock in that one. He’s in the barn. I just took him in for the evening.”
“Thank you.”
“Can I get you anything else? Do you two need a place to stay this evening?” Mr. Hagins offered.
Prudence remained uncommonly quiet.
“No,” Urias answered. “Prudence is eager to see her parents.” And I’m eager to get my sister. The sooner his business in Hazel Green was done, the better Urias would feel. The knot in his stomach had been tightening for the past couple hours on the trail.
“Of course. Well, it’s been a pleasure doing business with ya, son.” Thomas pumped Urias’s hand. “Anytime, anytime.”
“I appreciate your trust in me. Thank you.”
They said their salutations, and Urias went to the barn to retrieve Bullet. “Hey boy, how you doing?”
The horse whinnied and nuzzled his muzzle in Urias’s chest.
“I missed you, too, boy.” Urias saddled the horse and checked his shoes before leaving the barn.
Prudence still sat on the old horse, her back straight and the reins in her hands.
“Ready to go home, Prudence?” he asked.
She nodded her head and nudged the horse forward. Urias trotted Bullet up beside her. He missed their pleasant conversation. The day had been excruciatingly long because of the silence.
“Tonight I’ll sleep in your parents’ barn.”
She turned to him. “Do you think that’s wise? Won’t my father be expecting us to behave like man and wife?”
“I honestly don’t care what your father thinks, one way or the other. He forced this marriage. He didn’t have your best interest in mind. He’s up to something. I don’t know what it is, but I want to be alert and careful.”
“My father isn’t a criminal,” she defended.
“There are a variety of ways for a man to rob another. Your father’s way is more genteel, but it still amounts to cheating a man. And you and I both know he is cheating me.”
“Urias, I know things look really bad, but Father’s never behaved like this before. I really don’t understand why he’s doing this.”
The sun was setting quickly, and Urias wanted to reach the Greenes’ home before dark.
“Prudence, I don’t want to argue with you about him. Since he is your father, I’ll keep my peace, but I will not relax my guard. I need statements in his writing and to have them witnessed by another. Which of your parents’ hired servants would stand by their word that they signed a paper as a witness and won’t lie about it later if your father should try something foolish again?”
“You mean which ones can read and write?”
“That, too.”
“I can sign. A judge can’t say I’m biased, since I’m married to you and he’s my father.”
“Let me think on that.”
“What’s there to think on? You can trust me. You know I’m not pleased with Father’s actions….”
Urias held up his hand. “It’s not that I don’t trust you. I don’t want to put you in that kind of a position, in opposition to your father. Your relationship with him is strained enough as it is. What are you going to do when you’re married and have children? Aren’t you going to want your children to know their grandparents?”
“Fine,” she huffed.
What did I do this time? Urias wondered.
Twenty minutes later, they arrived at her parents’ home. Something seemed odd and out of place. Urias scanned the area. No one moved. Nothing moved. There wasn’t even a flicker of light coming from the house.
Prudence jumped off the horse and ran inside, calling for her parents.
Scanning the yard, Urias approached the barn, still on the horse. The family wagon was gone, along with Mr. Greene’s horses. Anger burned up Urias’s spine. Hiram Greene had run off with his sister.
“Urias!” Prudence screamed.
Chapter 12
Prudence worked at the tight ropes binding her parents. “Urias!” she screamed once again.
“Mother, Daddy, wake up!” How long had they been tied up together?
“Where are you?” Urias called.
“Father’s office,” she answered. Frantically, she tried to undo the hemp rope knots. They were too tight. “Help!”
Urias ran in. “What happened?” He bent down beside her. “Let me.”
With his sharp knife, he cut the handkerchiefs from their mouths first, then proceeded to cut the ropes binding their hands and feet. “Get a couple cool, damp cloths and some water.”
“Are they …?” She couldn’t bring herself to ask.
“They’re alive, but they’ve been tied up for a while. Hurry.”
Prudence ran to the kitchen and dampened a cloth and poured out a glass of water. She ran back to the den and found Urias carrying her mother to the sofa. “Dampen her forehead and face, then start massaging her arms and legs. The blood needs to start pumping.”
Prudence did as instructed and watched Urias do the same with her father.
Her mother’s eyelids flickered.
“Mom. Mama, can you hear me?”
“Mr. Greene.” Urias tried to rouse her father by lightly slapping his face.
Prudence did the same to her mother. “Mama, please.”
“They’re coming around.” Urias shortened the distance and placed a loving hand on her shoulder. “Father,” he began to pray, “please bring the Greenes back in good health.”
He removed his hand. Her shoulder felt the separation.
“Their wagon and horses are gone from
the barn. I’m going to search for Katherine.”
Prudence had completely forgotten about Kate and the other servants. “Please do. I’ll take care of my parents.”
“I’ll return as soon as I can. Where do you suggest I look first?”
“Her room. It’s at the end of the hall upstairs.”
He ran out of the room. She couldn’t blame him. Where is Kate? And the other servants? She continued to rub her mother’s hands and feet, alternating every few minutes and doing the same to her father. What happened here? Robbers? She’d never heard of such a thing in the area. But someone had taken her parents’ wagon and horses. And someone had left them tied together to aid in their escape. But who? And why?
Prudence pondered the many questions in her mind over and over again. Her father wasn’t in the kind of business that brought unsavory characters into the area. What had happened?
She’d been working on her parents for what seemed to be an eternity, yet only three minutes had passed. Urias hadn’t returned. She didn’t like not having him beside her. He brought comfort and peace into her life just by being there. Oh Daddy, how could you have ruined my only real chance of happiness by forcing Urias and me to marry? Her unspoken thoughts had plagued her constantly each day she spent as Urias’s wife.
Her father moaned.
Thank You, Lord! “Urias! Father is coming to,” she called out. She wasn’t sure if he could hear her, but if he was within earshot, he would want to know. Wouldn’t he?
“Prudence, get another cloth for Katherine.” Urias carried his sister in. “There are a couple of others in the same shape. I’ll bring them in here.” He placed Katherine on the floor and scurried out of the room.
Prudence placed the cloth from her mother’s forehead onto Kate’s, then ran to the kitchen, pulled a couple of towels out of the cabinet, and pumped a bowl and pitcher full of water. Father always had a few glasses in his office.
Back in her father’s den, she found Urias had deposited Franni, the cook, and Henry, who’d been working for her parents for as long as she could remember, on the floor near Kate.
“Prudence,” her father’s hoarse voice called out.
Urias sat in amazement listening to Hiram Greene tell his tale of what happened. Something wasn’t adding up, and, by the look on old Henry’s face, he knew it, too. When the hour grew late and the women had settled in for the night, Urias stopped Hiram in midstream. “The women are gone. Tell the truth, Mr. Greene. This wasn’t your average robbery,” Urias challenged.
“The boy ain’t so dumb, is he?” Henry spoke up for the first time.
“Hold your tongue, Henry,” Hiram barked.
“Look, as best I can tell, you owe someone a large amount of money. You’ve asked for more money than my sister’s bond is really worth.” Urias held up his hand to stop Hiram Greene from defending himself. “I’m going to pay you what you asked for, but don’t take me for a fool. You also sent word that you wanted a dowry for your daughter. Now, that says plain and simple you need money and you need it fast. Am I correct?”
Hiram fell back into his chair.
“I’ll be leaving now. Thank ya again for savin’ us, Mr. O’Leary. Don’t knows how I could ever repay it.” Henry extended his ashen hand, and Urias shook it.
Hiram Greene kept his head bent down. Urias leaned on the desk, hovering toward Hiram Greene. “Now, are you going to be straight with me?”
Hiram looked up with bloodshot eyes. “It’s just a temporary setback. I gambled on the horse races and lost a lot of money to a man who apparently takes his gambling wagers seriously.”
“How much do you owe?” Urias pushed away from the desk and sat down across from his father-in-law. It seemed impossible to believe that he was now related to this man. But family is family, and even if it was only on a temporary basis, there were ways a man should treat another even if the other didn’t treat you the same.
“Fifteen hundred—if Sawyer Bishop doesn’t deduct the value of the items he removed from the house.”
“And where can I find him?” Urias stood up and grabbed his coat.
“What are you planning to do?”
“I’ll offer him a compromise on your debt. I can’t pay it all, but I can come pretty close. That should appease him long enough for you to raise the additional $250.”
“I don’t know when I can pay you back.”
Urias placed his hands on his hips. “Let me make one thing perfectly clear. I’m not giving you a loan, nor am I paying a dowry for your daughter. You did not ask for one when we were forced to be married, thus it is not required of me to pay you one. However, with that being said, you are family, and I will help you this one time. I will not expect to hear from you again concerning any financial arrangements between us. I will pay what is due for my sister’s debt. The additional funds are a gift.”
All sorts of admonitions and exhortations begged to come out of Urias, but he held his peace. Only God could convict a man like Hiram Greene. No amount of human reasoning would get through to him. He looked at life through the narrow focus of his own needs and didn’t notice anyone or anything around him unless it served his own personal gain.
“Before I leave, I want my sister’s release from your bondage.”
Hiram dipped a pen into a small jar of ink, tapped it on the rim, then wrote a simple note. He blew it dry and handed it to Urias.
“Thank you.”
“You can find Sawyer Bishop a couple towns over in Salyersville.”
“I’ll return tomorrow evening.” Urias slipped out of the office with the paper in his pocket.
Prudence met him in the hallway with tears in her eyes. “You don’t need to do this.”
“For your parents’ sake, I must. Now, you and Katherine get ready for our trip to Jamestown. We’ll leave day after next at first light.”
“What about the annulment?”
Urias’s back stiffened. They had agreed on an annulment. But that kiss still blazed in his memory. She was right. An annulment was best. “We’ll take care of that in Jamestown, after I get you out of harm’s way.”
He turned to leave.
“Urias.”
She stood there shaking. He wanted to take her in his arms and chase away her worries and fears. “It’ll be all right, Prudence. Pray for safe travel.”
“I already began.”
He chuckled. “Your father doesn’t know about that closet?”
Prudence smiled.
“What closet?” Hiram Greene asked.
If it hadn’t been for her father’s contrite spirit after coming so close to death, Prudence was certain she’d be unable to sit for a week once he’d heard how she’d eavesdropped on his business meetings.
The next evening, she and Kate were packing their bags in Prudence’s room. For the first time, Kate hadn’t had to work to serve the family. Prudence wanted to treat her as an equal. Admittedly, she had treated her as a servant even though she’d been a close friend. “Kate, the weather is getting colder. Wear two dresses. That will give us another layer and an additional dress for when we arrive in Jamestown. Without a wagon, we can’t bring much.”
“Tell me. What’s my brother like?” Kate pleaded.
“He’s a kindhearted man. And I’ve never met anyone so aware of what’s happening around him. The night we ran into a couple of robbers—”
“Robbers?”
“Yes. Oh Kate, I was never so scared. But Urias stayed in complete control. I felt so calm and peaceful around him. I’ve never felt that before, even with my own father.” Prudence stopped herself from revealing her heart. She and Urias would be filing for an annulment as soon as possible. No need for Kate to know the truth. “You’ll be proud he’s your brother.”
“It’s all so strange. I know he’s my brother, but my brother was this small, gangly boy that left home years ago.”
Prudence held off the images floating in her mind of just how handsome and rugged Urias was. Her heart
actually quickened its pace when she saw him. “It must be. But he’s a caring man. He stayed an extra day in Flatlick just to help a widowed friend.”
“Is he a good husband?”
How do I answer that one? Truthfully, she decided. “Given the right situation, I think he’ll make someone an excellent husband.” Prudence lowered her voice. “Urias and I will get an annulment as soon as possible. I can’t trap him in a marriage that isn’t a real marriage. He deserves a wife that will love him for the man he is.”
Kate stopped packing and put her hands on her hips. “I don’t understand. Why would he be paying your father’s debt?”
“Neither do I. He’s a man of honor and principles; that’s for certain. But I don’t begin to understand what goes on in his mind.”
“He sounds a bit like our father, from what I can remember about him. Pa knew our mother was drinking too much. And he tried to keep her away from the drink. Once he died, she had no one to stop her, and she got bad. Real bad. She never beat me as badly as she beat Urias though.”
Prudence took in a deep breath. “Father hasn’t been the best man to live around, but he’s never laid a hand on either myself or my brother. I can’t imagine what it was like for you or Urias.”
“You don’t want to.” Kate placed her dress in the carpetbag. “What about these?” She held up the silver hairbrush and mirror that had been handed down from Prudence’s grandmother.
“I’ll wrap the mirror in one of my dresses. I can’t take many personal items, but that’s small enough and important enough to take with me. Perhaps in time I can return and pack some more of my things.”
“Did Urias speak of his home? What’s it like?”
“He lives with his adopted parents. He said it was a large farmhouse. He didn’t go into details of how many rooms and such. But he mentioned he was going to build his own house soon.” Prudence wondered if there truly would be room for her and Kate in the house. She also prayed for the hundredth time for Urias’s safety.
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