A Husband for Charli Rae
Page 16
In hindsight, it had turned out to be a very good move for Ben’s future. An elderly aunt had taken a liking to him and sponsored his law studies. Ben had moved in with her and the two had become particularly close. When she passed away, Ben was surprised to learn that she had left her entire fortune to him, including partial ownership in several banks. He’d used some of the money to ensure his mother and sister were well looked after and invested a good portion of the rest.
“How is Matilda?” Ben asked Sheriff Johnson as they rode toward the house. Ben hadn’t seen her since the night of the dance but the sheriff was confident she was unaware of her papa’s plans to murder Charli. The girl had actually fainted when the sheriff first told her of the plot.
“She’s aged a good ten years in the past few months,” Johnson told him. “Be prepared. She doesn’t look much like her former self. I don’t think she’s eating properly, and the stress of the whole ordeal has taken its toll. I think she’s carrying a lot of guilt over what happened, on top of the grief of losing her papa.”
Ben was glad for the warning when Matilda greeted them at the door. Her face was pale and her eyes dark hollows. If she lost any more weight, Ben wondered if the girl would even survive. There was barely a scrap of spare flesh on her anywhere that he could see. Her hair hung limp around her shoulders and Ben wondered when she’d last had a chance to have a wash. He shot a concerned glance in the sheriff’s direction.
“I m-made some c-cake,” Matilda said as they followed her inside.
Ben was very concerned with the way she was trembling. “Matilda, are you all right?” he asked with concern.
“Y-you must h-hate me,” she mumbled as her eyes remained fixed on the table.
Ben stepped toward her and lifted her chin with his hand. “Did you know what your papa intended to do?” he asked her.
Matilda shook her head vehemently as her eyes filled with tears. “Please believe me Ben, I had no idea. I’d have stopped him if I did,” she whispered.
“I believe you,” Ben said kindly to her.
“You do?” Matilda asked in disbelief. Her papa had tried to kill his wife and yet here Ben was, being kind as he always was. Matilda could hardly believe it. She knew she didn’t deserve his kindness.
“Sit down Matilda and have something to eat, please,” Ben urged her as he pulled out a nearby chair. Matilda dropped into it as several tears rolled down her face. “Let me explain why we’re here,” he went on as he took the seat opposite her.
“You’re kicking me out,” Matilda interjected quickly. She’d known this day would come. Matilda had overheard the bank manager and her papa talking about the fact that Charlotte would not be able to remain on her farm once her papa had passed. She was well aware the same fate was in store for her, now that she didn’t have her papa. What she didn’t know was where she was going to go or how she was going to survive.
“No,” Ben said firmly. “We are not here to kick you out. Quite the opposite in fact.”
Matilda looked up at him in surprise. “What do you mean?” she asked.
“As you may have heard, I’m currently running the bank, until a replacement for Mr Banks arrives,” Ben explained. “Which is why the sheriff is with me today. To ensure that your best interests are not in any way compromised.”
Matilda looked up at the sheriff who gave her an encouraging smile. For the first time since her papa died, she felt the slightest vestige of hope.
“Before we continue, I’d really like to see you eat something Matilda,” Ben said kindly. “You cannot make good business decisions on an empty stomach.”
“Why are you being so kind to me Ben?” Matilda sniffled. “You have every right to hate me.”
“I don’t believe you should suffer for your papa’s choices Matilda,” Ben told her. “Even Charli does not hold you responsible for what happened.”
“But she hates me!” Matilda wailed.
“You made her life more difficult at a time when she needed friends. She doesn’t hate you but you have to understand that treating people unkindly is not the way to make friends,” Ben pointed out.
“I wish I was dead,” Matilda sobbed.
“None of that now,” Sheriff Johnson scolded her. “You’re very much alive and we’d like to keep you that way. So please eat something.” He pushed the plate of cake toward her so she could more easily reach.
Matilda capitulated and took a bite of cake, hoping it would be enough to satisfy both men. “Please don’t make me eat alone,” she begged as she offered the cake to the men, who both took a slice.
“I’d like to make an offer on the farm,” Ben told her when he was satisfied she’d eaten at least something. “I’m not sure if you’re aware but this house and farm used to belong to my family,” he explained. “To ensure there is no sense of impropriety with my position at the bank, I’d like to offer you twenty percent more than what it has been individually valued at. I’d also like to offer you the opportunity to continue living in the house free of charge,” Ben explained. “You do need to know that you are not obliged to accept my offer and the bank can sell the property on your behalf to another buyer.”
“It’s a very fair offer Matilda and one I don’t believe you will get from anyone else,” Sheriff Johnson told her. “However, I’d also like to reiterate that the choice is completely yours and you should not in any way feel compelled to accept.”
“I accept,” Matilda told them both. “I don’t deserve your generosity and understand if you choose to rescind your offer of me staying here at any time. But I will happily accept your kind offer. The thought of having to move right now makes me feel ill. I have a lot of happy memories here and maybe one day my happiness will return.”
“As do I,” Ben said with a smile. “With the money your papa has in the bank and what you get paid for the land, you should be able to live comfortably for quite some time.”
“My papa has money in the bank?” Matilda asked, surprised to hear this. She had no idea when it came to finances.
“A substantial amount,” Ben told her. “If you’d like to come in and see me, I’d be happy to go through his accounts. We can transfer the money to your name as well.”
“I don’t know much about money and stuff,” Matilda admitted shyly.
“If you need help Matilda, you need only ask.”
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“How did it go?” Charli asked anxiously when Ben returned from his trip to see Matilda. While she was feeling a lot more secure in her relationship with her husband, now that they were truly living as husband and wife in every sense of the word, she still had some insecurities around Matilda wanting to steal her away.
“The poor girl is not in a good way,” Ben told her with concern.
“Perhaps I should visit?” she offered. “Do you think she’d turn me away?”
“She’s carrying a lot of guilt over the way her papa treated you and your papa,” Ben told her. “However, I think she’d appreciate repairing her relationship with you. She’s changed a lot through the stress of this whole ordeal. She fully expected us to throw her out of her home and leave her alone and destitute.”
Charli frowned as her heart ached for the girl. As much as she despised her papa, she couldn’t find it in her heart to have any hate or anger toward Matilda. “Perhaps we should find her a husband to take care of her,” she suggested.
Ben couldn’t help but smile. His independent wife had certainly changed her tune on the benefits of having a husband and he couldn’t be happier.
“Perhaps we should.”
Thanks for reading the first in my Mountain Ridge series. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you have time to leave a review, I’d very much appreciate it.
If you’d like to read more by Elly Knight, you can find a full list of her books on her Amazon author page.
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Elly Knight, A Husband for Charli Rae