“Really, Lori? Even a small child would have a better memory than you,” she said, and noticing Lori’s constant confusion, she continued, “Mr. Owens! You have a meeting with him today! How could you forget? This is absolutely ridiculous!”
“Dear god! I completely forgot!” Lori exclaimed, and instantly scrambled out of bed without looking back at Nora and motioned towards the washroom.
After brushing her teeth, Lori scrubbed her face with mere soap and water at least four to five times and then, after drying it with a pale blue towel, she took a deep breath and under the yellow light of the bulb, examined herself in the medium-sized, gilt-framed mirror.
The lemon light from the bulb had thrown her cheekbones under a golden shadow, making them more prominent. Her lips were thin and nicely placed and long eyelashes fell in front of her rainy-sky grey eyes. Thick, nut-brown hair slept in perfect curls upon her chest and the short strands fell upon her strong-jawed face.
For the first time in her life, Lori Smith felt extremely elated, like the bright sun at dawn. A million thoughts crossed her mind and she began pondering over them; realizing that this might turn out to be the most perfect day of her life. All the misery in which she had passed twenty-two years of her life, the poverty and the constant worse conditions sickening the very core of her soul, depended on just this very day. Her whole life could turn about in just a whiplash. She had a good feeling that the following day would be perfect and Mr. Owens would respect her and unlike Nora’s opinion, he would love her just the way she is and not demand a fragile, ladylike side of her. This would be so exciting, she thought as she finally got out her washroom after looking at the clock indicating 10:30 am and noticed that Nora was still standing in the same position as she had left her, her arms crossed at her chest in a fold but a cheerful expression occupying her oval, fair face.
“Lori, I have a beautiful dress for you! You will not believe it that I still have my mom’s expensive gown with me. Come here!” She exclaimed, turning around and picking the dress that slept upon the snowy-white sheet of Lori’s bed.
As Lori crossed over to her side, she realized that it was a huge, pink gown with heavy stonework done at its border and the narrow bodice. As the bodice progressed downwards, gathering fall, the pinkish shade transformed into a pale lemon color that glowed under the light in the room; the pearls continued to wink at her under the pastel light.
“Lori, isn’t this beautiful?!” Nora looked at her and smiled merrily. However, Lori continued to remain perplexed.
“Oh, yes it is. Nora, are you going to any parties? You never told me about it,” she replied, certainly hurt.
“What? No! Lori, this is for you! You’ll look wonderful in this. I promise you, Mr. Owens would not be able to take his eyes off you,” she said, continuing to smile even more.
“Nora, this is ridiculous! I am never wearing such a weird dress. I would look absolutely absurd in this silly gown. Besides, the bodice is extremely narrow, do you plan on suffocating me to death? I hope not, because I actually desire to survive till my acquaintance,” Lori replied, looking baffled. She noticed a shadow of pain cross over Nora’s face as soon as she finished speaking. She really had no explanation for her hilarious assumption.
“Lori…,” Nora began slowly, “then, what exactly do you actually plan on wearing? Surely you must have something decent considering your denial to wear my dress.”
“Obviously. I shall be wearing my normal clothes. Besides, attire does not even matter, what matters is your manner of speaking and your character. I have every confidence in the world that Mr. Owens shall be an extremely wise man and will not base his likings upon mere dresses and gait,” Lori replied, looking straight in Nora’s eyes.
“What normal clothes, Lori?” Lori could sense the suspicion and sternness in Nora’s voice; she could not understand why.
“Oh, you will see,” she replied, shrugging away.
Nora moved out of the room, shaking her head disapprovingly as Lori closed the door behind her. After a few minutes, she was done. As she looked at herself in her room mirror, she could not help smiling. She really did look beautiful, she thought, observing herself under her scrutinizing eye. She had worn a pale white silk blouse with a perfectly set collar and broad folded plates formed the front which gave her figure a most perfect fitting. Also, her boot cut shaped jet-black trousers deserved admiration. She looked like a perfect business woman, she thought with a chuckle- perfect.
As soon as she stepped out of her room and stood in the doorway, Nora promptly scurried towards her with a horrified expression.
“Lori! What in the world is this! You cannot possibly decide to wear this ridiculous, manly—,” she continued with utter disgust, “trousers and blouse! No, you must be out of your senses! In this manner, Mr. Owens shall not like you Lori,” she added softly.
“Nora, we have had this fruitless discussion before and like I said, I hold no regard for such shallow men who only respect a woman for her attire and looks as that seems purely baseless and absurd. If Mr. Owens turns out to be such a man, which, I am very confident he won’t since he has been corresponding in a very wise and smart way in the letters, I shall never like to meet him again,” she replied firmly, her voice quite stern.
Nora faced her with absolute despair; however, Lori remained calm and did not seem to budge from her decision.
As soon as the clock chimed eleven in the lounge, Lori hurried towards the door, deciding to leave early as Kansas would be quite far and would take quite a time to reach. Nora moved towards her and hugged her tightly, reassuring her that everything would be alright. Lori was happy that she was no longer mad at her and after bidding her farewell, she stepped outside.
SIX
Lori boarded the train at and took a seat right next to a glass window. She always loved admiring the view and would often get lost in the panorama. As she perched herself, she noticed some men casting her outraged looks as if she were an alien from another planet. However, she ignored and continued to look outside.
On the way, she noticed some spectacular productions of nature, which lifted her mood to the fullest. She watched large, evergreen moors spread far apart, and small bunches of cattle feeding over the pastures; looking like small toys from such a huge distance. The wind also began to chill as she crossed the countryside and Lori could feel thee coldness caressing her core. Instantly, she took out her coat and wrapped it around her shoulders, the warm cloth warming her blood.
After several hours, Lori reached Caldwell. The train let out a loud horn and stopped. Instantly, the passengers began pouring out. Lori had taken off her coat, as the weather seemed mildly cool now. As she stepped out of the train, a huge throng of people met her eyes. She ran her eyes up and down the crowd desperately looking for a tall man as the description in the matrimonial news had mentioned. However, it seemed impossible. After a few minutes, people began to clear out and Lori moved out to search further. Then, her eyes fell upon a man looking here and there, with a concerned expression, evidently searching for someone.
She examined him from afar before proceeding. He was tall with broad shoulders, squared and seemed quite healthy. He was clad, in a black frock coat and was carrying a short wooden cane quite gracefully. His perfect gait expressed that he really was a debonair man.
Hoping against hope that he would be Mr. Owens, Lori motioned towards him and stationed herself right in front of him. Confusedly, he looked at her, his eyes, a rich ocean blue.
“Are you Mr. Owens, sir?”
“Uh-yes. Do you, ma’am, happen to know a lady named, Miss Lori Smith?” His voice was deep, dripping most enchantingly with geniality from every corner.
Lori, unable to hide her smile, replied, “Oh, I am Lori, sir. Mr. Owens,” she reached out her hand to shake his, “it is my utmost pleasure to meet you.”
Lori immediately noticed that a shadow of doubt crossed Mr. Owens’s face and he looked extremely unhappy and confused; she could not
understand why. He remained silent for a few moments, his bewildered expression growing but after noticing her intent gaze upon him, he began softly, “Actually, Miss Smith, I am extremely sorry but it seems there has been a mistake. The woman portrayed in your letters seemed so lady-like and graceful. However, with all respect, you hardly fulfill the description. It seems that I have been riddled. Maybe, I have been mistaken; there must be some other Lori Smith that I am looking for.”
He began to turn away but Lori, horrified and extremely heart-broken, broke out from behind, “No, Mr. Owens, I am the same Lori Smith that you have writing to all these months. There has been no mistake.”
Mr. Owens immediately noticed the hurt in her eyes and looking towards her with her soft blue eyes, he explained gently, “Lori, I am sorry but I wished to meet a more mannered and gentle young lady. I am surprised to find that you are the same lady who wrote those letters because it seems an absolute contradiction! You wrote about elegant gowns and dresses and here are you, at our very first meeting, dressed in clothes that would take a normal person a full ten minutes to differentiate you from a man. This is pure deceit.”
Though he had tried to keep his voice as gentle as possible, Lori could easily feel his frustration. It was deeply heart breaking. She felt as if someone had ripped open her heart and poured a hot liquid into it, melting it from the inside. Guess what, Nora was right after all, he did want a fragile lady, she thought. She was at an absolute loss for words.
Observing the sea of pain that had washed Lori’s face, he gently rested his hand upon her shoulder, bent slightly down and looked straight into her stormy grey eyes.
“Your eyes really are very grey, you know,” he said, his lips curving into a pleasant smile, “powerful, just like thunder.”
“You’re the one to say?” Lori asked, rolling her eyes, and added with a chuckle, “son of Poseidon.”
“Well, he was a God, you know, equally strong. Blue and black, it can work together…don’t you think?” He asked, again smiling mysteriously. “Miss Smith, would you like to become Mrs. Owens?” His expression delineated pure intent now.
Lori was surprised and extremely elated at the same time. This has to be a dream, she thought. Yet, when she raised her head to meet his intense gaze, she accepted the miraculous reality and exclaimed, “Yes! Yes, of course!” She had no intention of questioning his sudden change of heart.
“Well then, Miss Smith, would you like to accompany me to my home so that you may meet my family?”
“That would be wonderful, Mr. Owens,” she replied happily with no hesitation. She had absolutely nothing to lose.
SEVEN
Lori had perched herself next to the window in the carriage and Dylan Owens sat across her, his expression somber and thoughtful; Lori wondered whether he was still angry with her for being deceitful. As she looked out of the window, Lori was stunned as they approached Dylan’s home. If she had considered those green, plain moors as beautiful, then these were spectacular. The grounds were grassy and a huge herd of cattle; which included cows, buffaloes, goats and sheep, wandered the fields. The wonderful scent of flowers and wet earth that hovered in the air was intoxicating. The weather was also cool and a weak wind was blowing.
A few hours later, Lori found herself in front of the Owens’s house. A small farm hut was situated at the far side of the house. The house was medium-sized and built of baked bricks. Trees grew on either side, and flowers rested upon the walls.
“Your house is beautiful, Dylan,” she said involuntarily, completely awed.
However, Dylan stiffly nodded and led her towards the front door. As soon as he rang the bell, a plump, rosy-cheeked, pleasant-looking woman opened the door. Lori assumed her to be Dylan’s mom.
“Mom,” said Dylan, waving his hand towards Lori, “meet my fiancée, Miss Lori Smith.”
Instantly, the woman smiled happily and exclaimed, “Dear God! Miss Lori, it is very nice to meet you,” she said, reaching out her hand, still smiling, “I have heard so much about you.”
She shook her hand and followed her inside. It was a huge lounge and formed a dome-shaped front. Lori was immediately greeted by a number of people; Dylan had a large family just like her. Lori was immensely pleased to meet Dylan’s youngest sister, Kate Owens. Kate was a twenty- four year old lady who taught English in a nearby school. She was extremely nice to Lori, just like her brothers and mom, and welcomed her pleasantly. Lori felt extremely warmed up, Dylan’s family was a very kind one.
Then, Dylan took her to a small room which had very sparse furniture and motioned her towards the bed. She instantly sat down and focused her attention towards him as he silently began to pace up and down the room. After a few patient minutes, he broke out, “Lori, I believe the marriage is inevitable. I am a man of my word and I shall certainly not waver from my proposal. So, would you like to stay for at least two weeks at my house so that you may get to know my family more? And then, we shall certainly move towards the marriage preparations.”
“Certainly Dylan,” she said, “I would love to stay with your family.”
Dylan simply nodded and went out of the room, leaving her behind confused over his constant mood swings.
It was a cool evening. Dylan was out in the fields, working with his father, Mr. Owens Richard, and Lori was sitting on the bed in her room, lost in her thoughts as she looked out of the window. It had been raining earlier and so tiny droplets of rain had made thin lines upon the glass. Suddenly, there was a soft knock at the door and as she called out for the person to come in, the door swung open and she found Kate standing in the doorway. She was attired in a pale blue muslin dress that followed down to her ankles and a short cotton jacket was wrapped around her shoulders and arms. She had a broad smile etched across her face as she gracefully moved across the room and seated herself next to her, and said,
“Lori, you must be missing your brother and sister-in-law very much since it has been three days. Would you like to write to them to tell them how you are doing?”
An embarrassing fear passed across Lori’s face. She had told no one, not even Dylan, about her inability to read and write and had been hiding this very efficiently, always wavering from the topic of books. However, now… it was impossible…with Kate intently looking at her, it was not possible to hide the truth. Lori felt extremely ashamed. Yet, deciding to finally come clean, she cleared her throat and began in a soft voice,
“Kate, I never received education when I was a child. My father was very poor and so it was not possible for him to send me to a school. Thus, I cannot read or write and I am very shy about this. Please, I beg of you,” she continued, a pleading look in her eyes, “do not tell Dylan about this. He is already quite unhappy with me over not being a lady and this would only distress him more; I hold him very dear and cannot even imagine losing him.”
“My dear Lori,” she began, “please do not be alarmed, I shall certainly not mention this to my brother or anyone in my family. I understand your problem and would love to help you out. You know, it’s not that hard to study English, in fact, if you start learning with me, I am sure that you will be to read and write small paragraphs very soon.”
Lori was euphoric.
“Of course! Of course, I shall be delighted to do so!”
“Very well. So, shall we begin?” Kate asked.
“Yes, absolutely.” Lori smiled back.
EIGHT
“Lori, what is it?” Kate asked, her expression concerned.
Lori was sitting at her bed. She was looking extremely pale and anxious. She was dressed in a yellow gown and her hair was open, tangling at her shoulders as she put her head in her arms, her legs pulled up to her chest.
She withdrew her head , rubbed away the tears that were crawling down her cheeks and said, her voice heavy due to constant sobbing,
“This just doesn’t seem to work. Dylan is always angry with me and no matter how hard I try to please him; his feelings never seem to budge. I do not
know what to do anymore. Kate, I am sorry but I do not think that this marriage can possibly work,” she added with despair.
“Oh, Lori, never say that! Of course it shall, my love,” she said, resting her hand on Lori’s shoulder, “you know, I might know why he seems so frustrated and hard-to-please around you. Lori, his former fiancée, Miss Lily Bell, never showed up at the altar on the wedding day. Dylan was left heart-broken, he loved her ardently but she never loved him back; this tore him apart. He began to think that he could never marry a graceful and lady-like woman again. Perhaps, your presence is putting salt on his old wounds. He obviously cares for you Lori, just give him more time to adjust to the conditions and I promise you that he shall certainly discover the treasure hidden in your heart eventually.”
Kate was smiling at her intently. She was extremely nice, Lori thought, she reminded her of Nora sometimes. Lori felt very lucky to have her; if it had not been for her, she would certainly be weeping all day.
“Kate, I completely understand Dylan’s present feelings now. I think you are right; I should be a little patient. Thank you, Kate. I am most gratified for you company. You know, I never had a sister and one thing is for sure that if I ever wanted one from God, she would certainly be you.”
“You know, Lori, you really are a most wonderful person. You really would be the most perfect bride for my brother,” she said, flashing a wink towards her.
Lori smiled back.
***
“Dylan, I wish to ride that brown, glossy horse across the field. He seems extremely strong,” Lori said one afternoon.
Dylan looked at her surprised, his eye brows arched.
“You want to ride a horse? Are you sure, Lori? You know, he runs so fast that you will fall in a whiplash and might inflict yourself a very gruesome wound,” he said, obviously trying to tease and challenge her; little did he know how much his fiancée adored challenges.
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