by Kari Trumbo
He’d hinted they would do little more than dwell together, but that didn’t seem like much of a marriage at all. To her sisters, the living together portion was not the part that kept them from loneliness. A marriage was built on so many things, the least of which was shared space.
Elias frowned and clasped his hands together, his disappointment evident in the furrows on each side of his strong lips. “Will you be expected to work such long hours all the time?”
His disapproval took her aback. She worked hard, and the judge approved of her work and how clean her files were.
“I work the hours I need to and do them as quickly as possible. I don’t want to do a poor job.”
“I didn’t think you would, but once you’re my wife, will you still work so many hours? You’ll have a home to look after.”
The back of her neck bristled as anger scuttled around inside her. Unless he lived in a mansion, she should have no trouble caring for his home. It couldn’t be all that different from her own apartment. “I don’t think your house will need any more care with me in it than it did with only you. Since I work the same hours you do, the house shouldn’t need any more attention.”
He took a step back and his eyes widened slightly. Daisy bit her lip. She’d offended him, the man who’d crossed most of a country to come marry her. Lonely, old Daisy Arnsby, the quiet court reporter. First, she’d shown him nothing but anger she couldn’t explain the night before; now, she’d offended him. He’d never show up for their wedding if she didn’t make amends.
“I’m sorry, Elias. I didn’t mean to overstep.”
He shook his head for a moment, but his face didn’t soften as she’d hoped. “I’m still not used to you speaking your mind. You never did that in school, but I should’ve known you would change after so many years. It’s good to hear you voice your opinion outside of politics.”
She hadn’t managed to quell the sting of her words. “I’m really not outspoken.” Her stomach was, even now, nervous over his reaction to her, and she did her best to keep all her emotions in balance, and her face relaxed and soft. “I just feel a little more comfortable with you than I do with most people. I’ve known you so long, longer than anyone who isn’t family.”
Even with the years of absence, he was just like he’d been before, shy and reserved, and that was unexpected. He reminded her of the pictures of bears that she saw in books and magazines; tall, broad, and strong, but for the most part gentle and inquisitive. There was no way to look at Elias and see him as weak. His strength, intelligence, and caring had always attracted her to him.
“I’m glad you feel you can speak your mind to me, but I still don’t like the amount of time you’ll be at work. I may talk to the judge about it.” He held his hat in his hands in front of himself, as if he was trying to both hide from her and step into his new role as her husband.
Was this his idea of caring for her, changing everything she’d worked so hard to build? Even her own father hadn’t done that.
“I’d rather you not. I like my job and there are no other reporters for such a small court. If you complain, he could replace me. I had to search for quite a while to find this job, and I like it.”
He gripped the brim of his hat a little tighter. “But you won’t need to work once we’re married. I can provide for you.” His shoulders stiffened and hers matched.
Would he take offense when she told him she didn’t want him for his money? It mattered not a whit to her, it had to be said. Her job was too important to throw in the rubbish pile.
“I had to train for this job. Many women are working now, though not so many once they marry. I see no reason to give this up.” Especially since it wouldn’t be a real marriage, so she would never have to worry about leaving her job to raise children as her sister Lula had. Her heart pinched at the injustice.
“Daisy? Are you all right? You just went pale.” Elias took a step toward her and gently laid a large comforting hand on her arm over the gate that still separated them.
She couldn’t tell him that his offer made her feel more empty inside, than full. He was offering for a good reason, she should be happy. No one else had claimed her heart and made her both a wife and mother. But what he offered was little more than a wife on paper. Cold.
Her sister Hattie was childless, just a wife, and was gloriously happy with her Hugh, but they also shared a love that couldn’t be quenched. Being just a wife could make her happy, if Elias loved her like that. But he didn’t, and if he never let her in, he never would.
“I’m fine. I just need to get back to my little office and get my work done. I’ll see you in the morning.” She quickly collected her machine and papers and left, preventing him from saying more about her work.
A few hours later, she sat with Patches and her leftover beans from the night before and prayed. Lord, I didn’t pray before I signed that paper so long ago, but an agreement is a promise, and I know what you say about promises, even ones made in haste. I’m bound to do this. Please, help me to be happy. Help Elias to grow to love me. I already know I could really love him, beyond a schoolgirl infatuation, if given the time. Help him to open his heart, to be my husband in truth. If we are to be together always, let us be one. Amen.
The bonds of marriage were sacred to the Lord, not something to be taken lightly. She shouldn’t have made such a hasty agreement as a girl. But now that she had, and he’d come to fulfill it, she would make good on her promise and would make the most of it. Even if it meant praying for her husband every day. Wasn’t that what a wife was called to do anyway?
Chapter 6
In an hour, she would sign a document that would bind her to Elias for life. Her sisters might think she’d taken leave of her good sense, but Daisy couldn’t quite see it that way. Agreeing to go through with this was the closest she’d ever come to Elias, the man she’d been longing for.
Through the years of her sisters speaking for her, telling her just what she should do, and feel, and think, it had been natural to accept her boss’s direction when he’d said to study court reporting. Her own desire hadn’t mattered. Her own voice had remained silent. Signing her name to the contract Elias had drawn up so long ago was the only stand she’d taken on her own in her whole life and nothing, not even Elias’s own ideas about their relationship, would hold her back. She could convince him otherwise, in time.
She took extra effort with her hair and put in a pretty comb, more than she would normally do, but her shaking fingers made the task difficult. Would she come back to her home for anything more than to pick up Patches and the clothes she’d packed into a trunk? Or would they slowly move what little was hers as they got to know each other better? Would she even live with him right away? Answers would have to wait until lunch at the very least, as there would be no time between their wedding and when she would have to get back to her job. Hopefully, she’d be able to think once she’d gone through with it.
The walk to the courthouse took longer than usual and she felt rushed to put away her hat and gloves before dashing to Judge Cornwall’s chambers. Elias already waited outside, his brown eyes a little wider than usual as he sopped up the sheen of nervous perspiration over his brow. His dark brown hair, though a little long, was combed and oiled neatly, his suit pressed and tidy.
“I was worried you might’ve changed your mind.” He took her hand. “You haven’t, have you?” His palms were cool and damp as they held hers.
She had to alleviate his worry. The way his voice raised ever so slightly in question made her heart skip. No, she hadn’t changed her mind, and she wouldn’t.
“No. I made a promise to you and to myself, and I intend to keep it.”
Elias breathed a sigh as he offered his arm and opened the door. Every heartbeat seemed stronger than the last, and her knees went weak.
“Mr. Laury, Miss Arnsby.” Cornwall nodded to each in turn. “I assume you realize the importance of this decision, as you are both capable people?”
&n
bsp; Daisy bit her lip. The Lord always seemed to use the most unexpected people to speak to her. This was the biggest decision of her life, there would be no going back. She glanced at Elias who seemed to have gone pale, his short beard dark against his face. Her words had not been a comfort to him, or was he concerned about something else?
“Yes,” she hesitantly answered for them both.
“Daisy, wait.” Elias took her hand and spun her around, leading her back out into the hall.
Her heart skittered, then stopped for a moment. Would he back out, as she’d feared? Was the idea of marrying her so awful? Her little room with her cat had seemed perfect until there had been the option of more.
Elias stared into her eyes, pleading for forgiveness that she couldn’t understand. “I can’t do this, not without telling you the truth. What the judge said… I feel so guilty. I tricked you. You don’t have to marry me. That contract, all those years ago, it would never hold up. You aren’t bound in any way. You can walk away, Daisy. I won’t hold you to this.”
How his honesty made her ache to relieve his discomfort. She touched his arm gently until she felt him relax slightly, but his nerves would not completely free him. His arm was hard beneath her fingers, coiled with tension.
“Elias, I know. I’ve known for many years, but no matter what the contract itself says, I made a promise to you. I’m ready to marry you.”
He took a step forward and reached for her waist. She held her breath, praying for the contact she’d craved from him for so long. He slid closer to her and stared down into her eyes. How she wanted to know what a kiss from him would be like. Every strong hero she’d imagined over the years, and in the love stories she’d read, had looked a little like Elias. She tilted her head up and stared back into his warm brown eyes. At the last moment, he caught himself and gave her an unsure smile, the first she’d seen, as he backed away.
“Thank you, Daisy. You’ll never know what you’ve given me today.”
She didn’t understand, she’d yet to give him anything that she didn’t want to receive in return. In fact, her gift could be seen as quite selfish, since she wanted his love, but had nothing to offer him in return since he didn’t really want her. At least the act of signing the marriage contract would make her the only person who could ever receive his love, and the only person who could give it. The thought was both heady and weighty.
She would have to use all her wits to convince him that she was worthy of him. There was no way to know just what would happen if he never did. He seemed truly content with the idea that they would be fine as long as they weren’t lonely, but that wasn’t enough for her. She couldn’t make the man adventuresome, nor could she make his heart beat just for her, but she could do her best to draw their friendship into something more fitting for a married couple. Maybe, eventually, she could even convince him to open his heart to her a little.
Daisy offered him a smile. “We’d best get back inside, or there won’t be time.”
Daisy’s bright blue eyes were so honest and pure, and trained right on him. Elias offered her his arm for the second time as they walked back into the judge’s chambers. He’d felt the weight of his lie pressing on him as they had entered the first time, but it was gone now. His Daisy was signing the marriage contract, not because he’d coerced her, but because she wanted to. His grandmother’s curse over him wouldn’t be wholly true after that day. Elias Laury wouldn’t be alone. Daisy might not love him, may never love him, and probably shouldn’t, but she did like and respect him enough to tie herself to him for the rest of her life. That was more exciting than riding the roller coaster at Sea Lion Park on Coney Island.
If he could focus on the judge, he would stop thinking about Daisy’s beautiful blonde hair, pulled back into a neat bun and gilded with a pearled comb. He wouldn’t think about how the emerald color in her shirt brightened her lavender-blue eyes. He’d stop thinking about how dainty her hand was wrapped around his arm, and the fact that she seemed far too tiny to be with him. Because none of those thoughts would serve his purpose to keep his beautiful wife at arm’s length.
The judge cleared his throat, pulling Elias from his thoughts.
“I assume you’ve had your chance to discuss this for the last time? Shall we begin?” He slid a single sheet to the edge of his desk.
This time, Elias had no intention of letting Daisy speak for him. He’d be her husband, lead her, guide her.
“Yes, we’re ready.” His very soul seemed to wake.
“Good. You know the basic parts of the ceremony. The important part of it is, of course, this legal contract. We are doing this without witnesses, since I’m here as a representative of the law. Let’s proceed. Elias, do you take Daisy to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
The words were so much colder than a church ceremony, but he hadn’t thought about that as a youth with his heart set on Daisy Arnsby. Would she be disappointed in their wedding?
“I do.”
The judge glanced up at him with tired eyes, so gray they were almost colorless. He sighed, his patience thinner than threadbare flannel. “No, in this instance, you say ‘I will’. This isn’t a church ceremony, young man. You opted out of that.”
He bit the inside of his cheek. Now the judge had pointed out two of his worst fears in one morning and was making a fool of him in front of Daisy.
“I will, sir.” He glanced over to Daisy, but she didn’t seem the least bit bothered.
“And do you, Daisy Arnsby, take Elias Laury as your lawfully wedded husband?” The judge’s voice droned on, laced with boredom.
“I will,” Daisy replied quickly.
“Good, you sign here.” He pointed to the groom’s signature line. “Daisy, you sign here. Then get to work.” He stood and waited for them to finish signing, and he slid the paper back to his side of the desk. Judge Cornwall rummaged in his desk drawer for a moment and drew out a yellow knit baby bib and handed it to Daisy.
“Congratulations from the State of South Dakota and Custer County. We find that most people having a service this way…need one of these sooner than expected.” He frowned as he glared at Daisy for a moment, then left.
Daisy stared at it, holding it in the air out in front of her, her eyes wide with shock. The judge would be in court shortly, Elias didn’t have much time to help her through whatever it was that was troubling her. Daisy had to get there before the judge did. She had only minutes to spare. The whole event was so much different than how he’d envisioned it. There had been no flowers, no smiles, no real vows, and no kiss to seal the covenant. All because he’d been so sure she would never agree otherwise.
He took the bib from her shaking fingers and tucked it into his vest, then drew her hands into his and pulled them to his heart. He prayed she could feel the rhythm, even through his shirt and vest. If she only knew just how much she meant to him. So much more than their short ceremony could ever say.
“Daisy, I know that isn’t what you’d hoped for, but I’m so glad you agreed to be with me. I’m going to go back home and get the house ready for you. I’ll come and get you at the end of the day. You’d best hurry, or you’ll be late.”
His last words finally seemed to break through whatever fog had held her, and she tugged her hands from his, her pretty mouth slack with surprise.
“Oh, I can’t be late!” She dashed from the room, leaving him standing in the judge’s office. Someday, he’d make the last hour up to Daisy, he’d marry her in a church, properly, or at least with a minister. He’d take her on a trip as some newly married couples did, but today… She’d married him today.
The bib weighed heavily in his pocket over his heart. Daisy would know that it would never be used. Had she dreamed of having children? If she did, they could certainly look into adopting orphans. He wouldn’t deny Daisy anything she asked of him. They would be the closest of friends, and he would finally have at least a taste of the relationship his grandmother had been so sure he would never have. Too bad h
e’s so big… Elias almost laughed at the thought. He wasn’t too big to say I will.
Chapter 7
Elias waited for Daisy to finish her day and then helped her move her steno machine back to her small office. After seeing the size of the judge’s chambers earlier, he couldn’t believe how tiny Daisy’s workspace was. Her desk ran along the whole back of the little alcove. It was about as wide as a door laying on its side, and if she pushed back her chair too far, she’d practically be in the hallway. He couldn’t imagine how hard it would be for her to concentrate on her job if she was worried about people walking behind her.
“Perhaps I could speak to Judge Cornwall and you could do your typing at home? I could buy a typewriter for you.” He offered, hoping that the more she was at home, the more she would want to be there.
While he’d expected his words to please her, she seemed hesitant to agree.
“The files have to remain at the court. They’ve given me the space they could. It’s really all I need, a place to put my machines, keep my paper and ink, and fresh files. What more could I ask for?”
He held back his immediate response. If she was happy with the arrangement, why should he bother with it? But if he didn’t say something, would she ever be the housewife he wanted?
“Do you plan to continue working, now that we’re married?” He hoped she’d had the time to think about his offer to let her stay home and had taken it to heart. He’d worked so hard to provide for her.
“Yes, I see no reason to leave. If we have the kind of marriage that you outlined, we don’t have to think about little ones, or anything.”