by Elly Knight
“Oh, I did,” Ben said with a nod.
“You gave her all one hundred swats with the hairbrush and she’s still in a snit?” Johnson asked in surprise. “Did you put any effort at all into those swats?”
“If her cries are anything to go by, they certainly hurt,” Ben told him.
“So how is it she’s in such a state this morning?”
Ben gave a long-suffering sigh. “She fell asleep in my arms and I was reluctant to let her go so I put her in my bed. When she woke up this morning and found herself wrapped in my arms, she was more than a little unhappy.”
“You’re not sharing a bed?” Johnson asked, concerned. “I thought you loved the girl.”
“I do!” Ben protested, his face reddening with humiliation. “I’m just not sure the feelings are reciprocated. “She asked me to give her some time to get used to the idea of having a husband but I’m beginning to think she’ll never come around.”
“You do know you have rights you can just take,” Johnson pointed out.
“Ever bedded a girl who wasn’t willing?” Ben challenged him.
Johnson had to concede he had a point as he shook his head. “She loves you Ben,” he said gently. “She just hasn’t admitted it to herself.”
“Well, I’m not sure it’s something I can spank into her,” Ben told him.
“It’s only been a week. Give her time, she’ll come round,” Johnson told him.
“She doesn’t want to sleep in her Pa’s old room,” Ben said to him. “I’m heading into town today to see about some timber. Maybe if I can build a room that’s ours, she’ll agree to give it a try.”
Johnson shook his head. “You’re a better man than me Benjamin Montgomery. I’d have dragged her in there by the hair and insisted she sleep in the bed, even if she refused to sleep with me.”
“She comes across as tough but inside she’s just a little girl grieving the loss of her Pa,” Ben said to him. “She may need some tough love but she also needs gentle love. I hope I can give her both.”
“Any more signs of intruders?” Johnson asked him with a nod.
“Nothing,” Ben said with a shake of his head. “Hopefully news of our marriage has spread far enough they’d keep their distance.”
“Could be,” Johnson said with a frown. “It bothers me that someone has been preying on an innocent woman on my watch,” he told me. “I’d like nothing more than to find the culprit.”
<<<<>>>>
“I’m heading into town,” Charli said to her husband later that morning. Her tone was decidedly icy, indicating she’d yet to forgive him for tricking her into spending the night in his bed.
“What a coincidence, so am I. Would you like to take the wagon?” Ben offered.
“My horse will do fine for what I need to do thanks,” Charli told him, her nose slightly upturned as she went to leave the house.
“Come on Charli, this is ridiculous! All we did was sleep. There was no advantage taken!”
“I asked you to give me time!” Charli spat, spinning around to face him. This morning she’d let the flying crockery do the talking for her. Ben had tried to sweeten her up by cooking a nice breakfast, but she’d been too angry to appreciate it. She was still angry, recalling her horror to wake up and find herself entwined in her husband’s arms like a regular hussy.
“I said I’d give you a week! Which is today by the way!” Ben spat back. He was normally slow to anger but his wife’s determination to push him away was starting to wear thin. “Happy Anniversary honey!” Without another word, he strode out of the house, leaving Charli staring open mouthed after him.
<<<<>>>>
Martha always enjoyed it when Charli dropped in for a visit, but she was normally so busy she kept her visits brief. Today she’d accepted the invitation to stay for lunch and then stayed on through the afternoon. The store wasn’t busy, so it was no problem for Martha and she made good use of the visit to try on one of the dresses she was making, ensuring it was going to be a perfect fit.
Ben dropped in to order some supplies, but Charli made sure to stay hidden in the private quarters at the back of the store. She wasn’t ready to make things right with him. Nor was she ready to air their dirty laundry in front of anyone else. Her Papa had always taught her that private family matters should remain exactly that, private within the family.
“Hey Charlotte, it’s getting late,” Henry said as he joined them out the back. “I’ve just put up the closed sign and the sun is beginning to dip. As much as we love your company, I don’t want you out on those roads in the dark and I doubt Ben would either.”
“Actually, I was wondering if I could stay here tonight?” Charli asked, dipping her head to avoid making eye contact with either of them and praying they didn’t ask too many questions.
“I knew something wasn’t right with you,” Martha said with concern. “Did you and Ben have a fight?” Charli shrugged but evaded giving her any kind of answer.
“Did he hurt you child?” Henry asked, his protective instincts instantly coming to the fore.
Charli shook her head. Ben had been nothing but kind to her, save for the occasional spanking. She couldn’t even blame him for the hairbrush given the judge had ordered that discipline. The other two times he’d spanked her, he’d only used his hand. Sure, it had hurt. But only while it was happening. The pain quickly dissipated.
“He’s a good husband, it’s me that’s the problem,” Charli whispered as tears gathered in her eyes. A loud banging on the front door of the store distracted Henry and he left to see who it was.
“What is it Charlotte?” Martha asked her, her voice gentle and kind. “Talk to me, maybe I can help?”
“He wants me to sleep in the same room as him and I’m just not ready,” Charli admitted quietly. “I can’t stop thinking of it as Papa’s room. Ben doesn’t understand. He thinks I need to get over it. I mean, he tried to change the quilt to make it look different but that only made me sad. My Mama made that quilt. Somehow, I feel like sleeping in their bed will somehow detract from their memory.”
“Oh you dear sweet child,” Martha clucked as she wrapped her arms around Charli’s shoulders. “Ben loves you dearly. I’m sure he’d understand if you explained it to him.”
“Everything has happened so fast,” Charli admitted. “It’s hard to believe that we only got married a week ago. I know he’s getting impatient but I’m not ready to sleep with him. Not in that way.”
“WHAT’S THIS I HEAR ABOUT AN ANULMENT?” Ben’s angry voice almost preceded him into the room.
The look on his face had Charli instantly backing away from him. She’d never seen him so angry. His eyes were flashing with fire and his jaw was locked tight.
“I apologize for the intrusion and the hasty exit but my wife and I have matters we need to discuss in the privacy of our own home,” Ben snapped at Henry and Martha. He stepped forward and hoisted Charli over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
“BEN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? YOU CAN’T DO THIS!” Charli protested. Ben responded by giving her a firm
“QUIET!” he commanded her. “You can explain yourself when we get home. Until then, I don’t want to hear another word. With another hearty
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Charli used the silence on the ride home to try and come up with some kind of explanation. Ben hadn’t said any more to her when they left the store. He’d already secured her horse to his own so he simply put her on his horse and mounted up behind her, wrapping an arm securely around her waist when she tried to slide off again. She’d given in pretty quickly, not wanting to ire him further. She could feel the tension in his rigid body as they made their way home.
Ben insisted on caring for the horses himself when they arrived home, sending Charli up to the house with another resounding
&
nbsp; Ignoring his edict to head straight inside, Charli decided to check on the chickens. Thankfully there were no sign of any more fox attacks. She jumped when she heard her husband bellowing her name. Clearly, she’d taken longer than she thought fussing around the chicken house checking for non-existent gaps in the enclosure as the daylight dwindled around her. Ben must have beaten her back to the house and discovered she wasn’t there like he’d told her to be.
“Can you not just do as you’re told for once in your life?” Ben scolded as he met her on her way from the chook enclosure to the house. When he’d walked inside to find the place in almost darkness and his wife nowhere to be seen, his heart had leapt into his throat. It was terrifying enough hearing that she wanted to annul their marriage but when the house had been empty he’d feared the worst, that she’d decided to return to town on foot. Did she really dislike him that much?
“Someone had to check on the chickens!” Charli snapped as she brushed her way past him and stomped up the back steps into the house. She busied herself banging around the kitchen under the pretence of preparing supper. In truth, her husband’s ire was making her nervous and she was doing what she could to avoid having to face him.
Ben knew he needed to get his temper under control before he could have a reasonable conversation with his wife. He’d thought rubbing down the horses would help but finding the house empty had brought up all his earlier fears and now the anger was back three-fold. A walk in the cool night air would probably do him the world of good but Ben was terrified he’d come back to an empty house.
He stalked past his wife and into the tiny bedroom that for the time being was all his own. The sooner he got started on the house extensions, the better, as far as Ben was concerned. Two rooms weren’t enough space for the two of them, let alone any babies that might come along. Ben’s heart constricted in his chest as he thought of the children he’d hoped to have with Charlotte. If her heart didn’t soften toward him, there would be no children. Ben would never force himself on his wife, no matter what the law allowed. That didn’t mean he’d let her go either. As far as he was concerned, they were husband and wife until death.
Ben listened as his wife banged and clanged her way around the kitchen, clearly struggling with anger of her own. It reignited his own fury and he rubbed his hand across his forehead in frustration. What a mess of a situation this had turned into. So much for a sound spanking sweetening up his wife. Ben was beginning to wonder if there was anything that would sweeten her up. She was bound and determined to make them both miserable.
And she was succeeding.
When the banging and clanging had been quiet for a time, Ben decided to head out to the kitchen to investigate. He found his wife eating quietly at the table. There was no second plate in sight. Ben raised a single eyebrow as he regarded his wife intently. It was clear from the color rising in her face that she was aware he was staring at her, but she remained focused on the dish in front of her.
“Dinner for one?” he eventually asked, breaking the silence.
“Yours is in the pot,” Charli said softly, gesturing over her shoulder as she spoke. “I figured it best to leave you alone.”
Ben sighed as he crossed to the stove and looked in the pot. He didn’t reach for a plate though, instead turning back toward his wife. “It would seem you wanted to leave me alone for good,” he said quietly to her.
Charli shrugged one shoulder. “I thought it might be best for both of us. Now that the judge’s sentence has been carried out, we could both be free to get on with our lives.”
Ben snorted. “If all the judge wanted was to burn your behind, he could have done that himself!” he pointed out. “Or had the sheriff do it on his behalf. Of course, they wouldn’t be so indecent as to bare your behind but I’m fairly certain your drawers would be no protection from the judicial strap!”
The very thought had all the blood draining from Charli’s face. It was bad enough the judge and sheriff knowing about her discipline. The thought of one of them carrying it out made her feel ill in the stomach.
“Of course, Stanley Bartholomew would have been well within his rights to witness the punishment as well,” he informed her. “There are a few home truths you need to hear Charlotte but I find myself without appetite for food or conversation,” Ben told her, his shoulders drooping in defeat. “We’ll talk more in the morning. Good night,” he added abruptly as he strode from the room once again.
The food in Charli’s mouth tasted like sawdust as she attempted to finish chewing and swallow, her own appetite disappearing as abruptly as her husband. She sat in silence for many minutes, staring at the closed door to her husband’s bedroom. She knew she’d hurt him, quite badly. The thought left a terrible taste in her mouth and her stomach churning in knots. Ben had been nothing but kind to her and this was how she repaid him?
A solitary tear made its way slowly down her face. She had no idea what she should do next.
<<<<>>>>
Charli didn’t sleep well that night. A fact that wasn’t lost on her husband as he lay in his own bed listening to the rattle of her cot as she tossed and turned throughout the night. When he heard her quiet weeping, he longed to go to her. But he was fairly certain his presence would not be welcome and he didn’t have the stomach for yet another rejection. He heard her leave at first daylight and stumbled out of bed himself.
Knowing Charli needed her space and that they were having visitors that morning, Ben set about cooking a hearty breakfast. He also mixed up a cake batter and set that cooking in the oven.
With no appetite to speak of, Charli could see no reason to return to the house and was preparing to set off for the day when two men on horseback rode into the yard. She left her horse and walked part way to meet her visitors.
“Sheriff, Mr Banks, what brings you out here so early in the morning?” Charlotte asked them, doing her best to keep her tone light despite the heaviness inside her.
“Good morning Mrs Montgomery, your husband invited us to join you for breakfast this morning. We need to talk and it was the only time I was able to be away from the bank I’m afraid,” Norman Banks said by way of explanation.
“Is there a problem?” Charli asked, her brow furrowing in concern.
“Why don’t we head on inside and chat over a nice hot coffee?” the sheriff said as he tied his horse to a nearby hitching post. “Is Ben inside?”
Charli shrugged. “I guess so. I’ve been busy working and haven’t spoken with him yet this morning,” she admitted.
Sheriff Johnson looked concerned but didn’t say anything as the three of them made their way into the house. Ben greeted them all warmly and invited them to take a seat, putting a gentle hand on his wife’s back as he spoke.
Charli was tempted to shrug his hand away, but she also craved the comfort it brought against the growing dis-ease in her stomach. She couldn’t help but think something very serious was about to happen and the fear that they might take her farm away after all the work she had put in, made it difficult to breathe.
“I hear you’ve been asking about having your marriage annulled,” Sheriff Johnson spoke, getting directly to the point.
Charlotte turned accusing eyes on her husband. “Who else have you told?” she spat at him, allowing anger to cover the growing fear in her heart.
“I didn’t tell the sheriff,” Ben responded, his face rigid. “He told ME!”
“AND NOW WE’RE JUST GOING TO SPREAD THE NEWS AROUND THE WHOLE TOWN?” she screamed at him, throwing her arm in the direction of Norman Banks. She knew she was losing control but the fear was overwhelming and Charli didn’t know what to do with the emotion rolling around inside her.
“THAT’S ENOUGH CHARLOTTE!” Sheriff Johnson barked at her, using his best lawman voice to bring her under control. “SIT DOWN! WE NEED TO TALK!”
Charli was so shocked by his tone of voice that she slunk into the nearest chair and put her face in her hands. Why couldn’t everyone just leave her al
one? All she wanted was to farm in peace. Was that really too much to ask?
“Did you really think you could annul our marriage and people wouldn’t find out?” Ben asked her, his voice conveying his own confusion. Charli gave him such a bewildered look that it was clear she hadn’t really thought that far ahead.
“I thought you could just quietly go back to your old life and forget all about me,” Charli whispered. Ben’s heart nearly broke with how forlorn she sounded. All he wanted to do was wrap his arms around her and protect her from the world. But he couldn’t do that if she wouldn’t let him.
“And what were you planning on doing?” Sheriff Johnson asked her.
“What I’ve always done,” Charli responded irately.
Johnson’s hand twitched as it often did when he was trying to reason with the stubborn filly seated across the table from him. He still firmly believed that the regular application of a male hand to her stubborn behind would do her the world of good.