A Simple Misunderstanding (Corbin's Bend)

by Kathryn R. Blake

  She frowned. Arthur did require her submission, but that was his duty as the head of their household, wasn’t it? What did Jerry mean? “I promised to obey him in our marriage vows.”

  “And what price do you pay for disobedience, Elly?”

  “I get punished. Isn’t that the way things work at Corbin’s Bend?” Her words were meant as a challenge, but he didn’t as much as frown at her. Instead, his expression appeared thoughtful.

  “For most households, yes, I’d say it is. But, we’re talking about you and Arthur in particular, and I’d like you to tell me what Arthur views as disobedience.”

  “I’m not sure I understand the question.”

  He sighed. “Do you have rules?”

  “Yes. You know we do.”

  “Do you face consequences for breaking those rules?”

  “Of course.”

  “Does Arthur view rule breaking as disobedience?”

  “Of course. All HoH’s view rule breaking as punishable.” Another challenge, another pass.

  “What other things does Arthur consider punishable?”

  She shrugged. “Back talking, swearing, deliberate rudeness….” She met his gaze. “He has a list, as I’m sure you do, too.”

  His expression remained neutral. “Is Arthur’s list of punishable offenses separate from the rules he gave you?”

  “No. It’s part of them.”

  “So, does Arthur punish you for anything outside of breaking a rule?”

  “No,” she admitted, wondering what might cause Jerry Douglas to lose his temper. “I guess not.” The cuff inflated again, and Elly groaned. Perhaps she could ring the nurse and have her take the thing off.

  When it deflated, Jerry asked, “How many rules does Arthur have?”

  His calm, deliberate questions were beginning to irritate her. “What difference does that make?”

  “Can you answer my question?”

  “No. I don’t know. I’ve never counted them.”

  “So, Arthur has an infinite number of rules, which, when broken, result in your punishment. Am I correct?”

  “It’s not infinite. I just don’t happen to recall the exact number.”

  “Surely, the number of rules he has isn’t so astronomical you can’t count them?”

  “I said the list wasn’t infinite,” she snapped, her voice rising. “Why does any of this matter?”

  He raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

  “You’re being ridiculous.”

  He sat back. “And what would Arthur do if you’d said as much to him?”

  Elly instantly paled. He would have taken a crop to her if she’d called him ridiculous.

  “Nothing,” she answered, but she began to get Jerry’s point. Arthur would have called her on her attitude long before now, yet Jerry had remained unruffled by her jabs, until she gave her last answer.

  Crossing his arms, he scowled at her. “You’re lying to me, and I don’t like it.”

  She swallowed. “What? Did your super sense tell you that?”

  When he didn’t respond to her sally or unfold his arms, she realized she’d touched another sore point with him. “If we were together, would you punish me for being dishonest?”

  “Yes.” Her heart lurched into throat, but he didn’t make a move toward her. “I won’t tolerate any form of lying, but we aren’t talking about what I’d do. We’re talking about what Arthur would do in this situation. So far, you’ve called me ridiculous and you’ve lied to me. What would Arthur’s reaction be?”

  Elly drew her lower lip into her mouth and closed her eyes. Jerry had done nothing to deserve her disrespect. Guilt dropped in her stomach like a leaden weight. “He’d whip me for being disrespectful.”

  “What would he use to whip you?”

  “A switch, cane or crop.”

  “How many times?”

  “I don’t know,” she protested, wanting to change the subject. She’d been obliged to endure Arthur’s punishments, but that didn’t mean she wanted to discuss them. “You’re talking about a hypothetical situation, and this discussion is non-productive and pointless.”

  “Ridiculous and pointless. You’re racking them up now, aren’t you? Surely, you’ve been in a similar situation with Arthur, which wouldn’t be hypothetical. What did he do?”

  “He gave me ten strokes of the crop for each offense. Happy now?”

  “Not particularly. What happened after your punishment was over?”

  She shrugged. Usually Arthur fucked her, did Jerry want her to spew out all the nasty details?

  “What did he do next, Elly?” The cuff inflated, so she pressed the call button. Jerry remained seated with his arms crossed over his chest. His expression reflected a measure of displeasure, but he didn’t interfere.

  “Yes?”

  “This thing is annoying me. Could you remove the cuff now, please?”

  “It’s only been in place for an hour, but I’ll come in and check the machine.”

  “Fine,” Elly answered as she tossed the handheld unit on the bed beside her and pressed back against her pillow. Jerry was intentionally baiting her, and she didn’t like it, but she didn’t want him to leave either. And the thought of him moving out of Corbin’s Bend made her stomach tighten with unease. Even now, when he made her angry and frustrated by asking such probing questions, she took comfort in his physical presence. She knew as long as he was beside her, nothing bad would happen because he would protect her.

  Elly hadn’t known Jerry for long, but the only time she’d seen him angry was when she’d foolishly risked a punishment to speak with him. And then he’d apologized to her afterward. He didn’t even scold her when she called him ridiculous, while Arthur would have demanded an apology and whipped her for daring to speak to him with such disrespect. Jerry, however, searched beyond the angry words to their cause and focused on that instead. Rather than accuse her of impudence for daring to challenge his authority, he explained his reasons for asking. Even so, she suspected his patience had limits, and as an honorable man, he would keep his word, even if it pained him to do so. He said the choice was hers to make, and if she chose Arthur, he’d leave. Arthur was the man she’d promised to love, honor and obey until death. According to Marcus Devon, her husband had come close to ending her life and their marriage on Friday morning. The question was, what did she want to do about it now?

  * * * *

  Though Jerry understood Elly had deliberately avoided answering his question about Arthur’s non-existent aftercare, he was determined to be patient, despite her prickly attitude. She clearly didn’t want to pursue the direction of their conversation, but unless she sent him away or announced she refused to leave Arthur, he would continue to press. He would fight for her the only way he knew how; by getting her to realize how badly Arthur treated her. His questions angered her, as he suspected they would, but she hadn’t dissolved into tears or claimed she was too tired to talk. Nor did she fight his inquisition, despite her small flares of temper and disgust. They would reach either an epiphany, or an impasse.

  “Your blood pressure readings are still pretty erratic, Elly,” Jayne informed her. “I think we need to leave the cuff on for another hour. I want to see your BP in the normal range for at least that long.”

  Jerry suspected he was responsible. The notion he’d been causing Elly harm bothered him. Perhaps he needed to attack the problem from a different angle. Perhaps he should back off for a bit and approach the subject from a new direction later. He rose. “I think my conversation is—”

  “No!” Elly interrupted, and her voice came close to a shout.

  “Relax, dear,” the nurse cautioned, but Jerry sat back down and reached for Elly’s hand.

  “I suspect my questions have been upsetting you, so I thought I’d give you some time to relax. I wasn’t leaving.”

  “You weren’t?”

  “No, sweetie. I want to talk this through with you, but not if the discussion is causing you problem
s. You mean more to me than that.”

  Her eyes filled with tears. “I do?”

  “Yes, you do. Now lay your head back and relax for a while. We’ll talk later.”

  When she obeyed him, Jayne gave him a nod. “Better. We’ll give it another hour.”

  “May I have something to drink, please?”

  “Of course. What would you like?”

  “Ginger ale, please.”

  The nurse nodded. “I’ll be right back.”

  Elly turned her head and gazed at him. “I’m scared.”

  “I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.”

  “No. I’m scared what Arthur will do if I try to leave him.”

  A part of him wanted to stand up and shout his victory, but he merely gave her cool fingers a squeeze. “We’ll talk about that, but let’s wait until after your parole officer releases you.”

  She smiled. “Thank you.”

  After the nurse gave Elly her ginger ale, the cafeteria called to inquire what Elly wanted for dinner. Her options were a little more varied tonight. Still on the bland side, but she could have fish in addition to chicken, and rice in addition to mashed potatoes. She made her selection, then asked Jerry if he wanted anything. His bill would be separate, but he could eat with her. He took the phone and asked what was available.

  Though hospital cafeterias weren’t rated five stars, the food was usually nutritious and even palatable at some institutions, so he made a selection. It would ease Elly’s mind if he stayed with her, and he wanted her as comfortable as possible, so he made his choices from her available options, which would allow her to sample from his plate as well, if she wished.

  They watched a comedy show on TV that had Elly giggling on occasion while they ate in companionable silence. When she chuckled at a bit of silly dialog, her lovely green eyes sparkled and her cheeks glowed pink, but her happiness was fleeting. A thought would emerge, and the brief gaiety vanished beneath sober reflection. He’d distract her by giving her a bite of his fricasseed chicken, which she accepted without question or qualms whenever it was offered. Yeah, he had her eating out of his hand.

  After dinner, a new nurse came in and introduced herself as Debby. She wrote her name on Elly’s board where they tracked her urine output, last O2 check, pulse and latest blood pressure readings when they were being monitored manually.

  Debby checked the monitor to note how Elly’s blood pressure was tracking. “Looks good,” she said smiling. “Okay, I’ll take you off automatic check and change your bandage.”

  That was Jerry’s clue to leave, so he rose.

  “You don’t have to go unless you want to,” Elly said promptly, a trace of unease apparent in her worried gaze.

  “I was only going to step outside for a few minutes to give you a little privacy.”

  “I know. But you don’t have to. I mean, unless….” She let her words trail off, but he mentally finished the sentence for her. “Unless you no longer want me to stay with you.”

  He resumed his seat and reached for her hand. “Thank you. I’d like to stay.”

  Jerry had lots of practice changing dressings, but he watched Debby’s process and examined Elly’s surgical wound from across the bed with clinical interest. The surgeon had chosen an interrupted vertical mattress stitch of non-absorbable sutures to close the incision. Sutures tended to cause less interference with x-rays and MRI scans than metal staples, though suturing a wound took longer than stapling

  He favored absorbable sutures when feasible in veterinary surgery, since they didn’t require a return visit for removal, which meant an easier transition for both the four-legged patient and Jerry’s human clients. Though he was immune to the sight of bloody, puss-filled bandages, he was pleased to note Elly’s bandage showed little of both. They’d removed her drain yesterday, and the surgical wound, situated along the lower left side of her ribcage, although still puffy and red, appeared to be healing exceptionally well. What dismayed him enough to raise his blood pressure was her still swollen, black and blue abdomen. Arthur had done a job on his wife, and Jerry wanted to do the man serious injury for causing Elly so much pain.

  He held her hand, though more for reassurance than anything else, since the bandage change didn’t hurt her.

  “My scar looks gross, doesn’t it?” she asked.

  “Not at all. Your incision is healing nicely,” he answered, not wanting to venture into a discussion about her swollen tummy until they were alone.

  When the nurse had finished, she inquired if Elly needed anything. Elly assured the woman she didn’t, so Nurse Debby left.

  “You up to continuing our previous conversation?” Jerry asked.

  Elly hesitated, then gave a brief nod, so Jerry scooted his chair closer. “Why don’t you start by telling me what led up to the events of Friday morning?”

  Chapter Ten

  With a glance down at her folded hands, Elly said, “I figured I was in trouble Thursday afternoon, when I came home to find the answering machine blinking.”

  “He called and discovered you’d left the house without calling him first?” She gave a quick nod, so he asked, “What happened?”

  “He wasn’t expected until late, so I thought it would help ease matters if I showed my submission by waiting on my knees by the door.”

  A picture of Elly kneeling naked, waiting for him, flitted through Jerry’s mind and he cleared his throat, certain punishing her would be the last thing he’d consider doing. Arthur was either blind or determined not to be swayed. Jerry doubted he could be so single-minded as far as Elly was concerned. “Go on.”

  “He ordered me to crawl up the stairs and prepare myself for punishment.”

  Beginning to doubt he’d be able to sit calmly and listen while Elly detailed all the things Arthur made her do, Jerry thought it best they skipped ahead at this point. “Then he caned you, right?

  She gave another quick nod.

  “How many times?”

  “He said twenty, but I passed out before he’d finished.”

  Skip ahead, Douglas. Skip ahead. “So, he offered you some pills and carried you to bed. What happened the next morning?”

  “He’d denied me permission to participate in the Halloween decorations because I had proved to him I couldn’t be reliable. I wanted to change his mind; so, I went downstairs to make him breakfast. He realized he’d been exceptionally harsh with me and was surprised to find me cooking. We talked for a bit before I mentioned I still wanted to work with the women.”

  His throat tight, Jerry asked, “Did he relent?”

  She let out a slight snorting sound through her nose. “Of course not. However, when he accused me of neglecting my duties to him, I got a little huffy. He didn’t care for my tone. Realizing my temper was plunging me into more trouble, I agreed he was right. Since I was being disrespectful, I said I’d go upstairs and collect the rest of the laundry. Except my admission wasn’t good enough. He ordered me to apologize, fetch a wooden spoon and meet him in the living room. I was too sore to even consider another punishment, so I told him to go to hell and tried to walk past him. I forgot I still held Muffin.”

  “She bit him?”

  Elly nodded slowly.

  “Good for her.”

  “Unfortunately, it didn’t end well for either of us. Muffin kept barking and nipping at him to pull his attention off me. Finally, he kicked her. Furious at him for hurting my baby, I fought back by kicking and scratching. When he backhanded me to the floor, I hit the coffee table, and Muffin attacked again. I think he was attempting to kick her, but he got me three times before he caught her with his shoe and sent her flying into the next room. She started screaming, Jerry. I’ve never heard her cry out like that before.”

  Seeing the tears course down her cheeks, Jerry reached for her hand. “Muffin’s fine now, Elly. She’ll recover without any problems. Tell me what Arthur did next.”

  “He yelled at me for making him lose his temper, stormed out of the house
and went to work.”

  “Then you carried Muffin to my clinic, right?”

  She nodded and wiped at her tears. He took the tissue from her and blotted away the salty proof of her unhappiness as he murmured reassurances.

  “You’re safe now, sweetheart. I’ll do everything I can to protect you. I also want you to know I think you were extremely brave to do what you did. And though I regret you didn’t call me Thursday night, I am very pleased you came to me Friday morning and allowed me to take care of you.”

  “I feel so guilty.”

  “You shouldn’t, but I suspect such platitudes are easier to say than follow sometimes.”

  She met Jerry’s gaze. “Dr. Pendergast said Arthur’s been trying to see me here at the hospital.”

  “He has.”

  “Did you ask the staff to keep him away?”

  “I did. He called me Saturday night.”

  Her eyes grew wide. “He did? Why didn’t you tell me? What did he say? Is he angry with me?”

  “Whoa. First, the man has no right to be angry with you about anything. Got that?”

  She blinked, and then nodded.

  “Second, I didn’t tell you because you’ve had enough to worry about. Good lord woman, you were still in the ICU Sunday morning.”

  “Okay.”

  “Third, your husband is a prick, Elly. I’m sorry, but that’s the nicest thing I can think to call him. Pompous ass comes second. He accused me of defaming his character and threatened to sue me.”

  “Oh, God, Jerry. I’m so sorry. Maybe if I talk to him—”

  “No. And that’s my final word on the subject. Now, will you agree to accompany me home when you’re released from the hospital?”

  She hesitated. “I don’t want Arthur to come after you.”

  “Me? Let him. I can take care of myself, believe me, and I’d like nothing better than a showdown with the man. You’re the one I’m worried about. Will you let me take care of you?”

  “You’re sure you want me? I could mean a lot of trouble for you….”

  “Elly, I’ve never wanted anything more in my life. I’ve had a crush on you since I first set eyes on you a month ago walking that ball of fluff you call a dog.”