CHAPTER 34 — GRAVESIDE

The wagon slowed down as they neared the farm.

Unable to speak, Lily paid attention to the building as they drew near, fighting to keep her mind off of Fiona’s words a few hours ago. The wagon came to a halt and Raymond helped her down.

“Thank you.” She smiled at him and he nodded.

“I’ll take the horses to the barn.” He brushed his lips against hers. “You should go inside.” She nodded to his words and turned around.

“Scarlet?!” he yelled, forcing her to pause in her tracks. She turned around sharply to find Raymond with his back to her. She tore her eyes off of him just in time to see Scarlet making her way towards them, limping.

“Scarlet!” Lily cried, hurrying over to Scarlet. Her eyes moved down the length of Scarlet as she reached her, and while it was dark, the full moon above made it possible to see the blood that smeared Scarlet’s right ankle. “What happened?” she gasped, placing a hand on Scarlet’s shoulder to stable her.

“I—” Scarlet began, scared, teary eyes fixed on something behind Lily.

“Why are you out here?” Raymond’s anger reflected in his voice, as he stepped past Lily and swept Scarlet off of her feet and into his arms.

Turning around, he carried her into the house with Lily following closely behind. Once inside, he placed her on the sofa and walked over to the kitchen where he picked up an oil lamp, lighted it and carried it back to them.

Lily jumped into action, finding a bottle of whiskey in the kitchen cabinet, a clean rag and a bowl of water. She carried the items and placed them on the floor by the oil lamp. She settled on her knees beside Scarlet and began wiping her ankle clean. When she poured the whiskey over Scarlet’s wounded ankle, she cried out in pain.

“I’m sorry, darling,” Lily whispered, glancing up briefly.

She finished cleaning Scarlet’s wound and rose to her feet.

“What happened?” She turned to find Raymond standing beside her, his eyes fixed on Scarlet, as a frown dented his face. “What were you doing outside so late in the evening?”

Lily turned her attention back to Scarlet, her eyes planted on her hands. She knew then that Scarlet had gone to her mother’s graveside once more.

“Let us discuss this in the morning, Ray; she’s hurt and tired.”

“And I’m upset,” Raymond answered sharply. “Why were you outside?”

“I—” Scarlet sniffed. “Mama... I wanted...” Scarlet turned to Lily, her eyes pleading.

“Ray?” Lily touched his arm.

“You went to the lake, to your mother’s graveside?” He ignored Lily’s hand on his arm.

Scarlet nodded slowly, fresh tears springing to her eyes.

“Do you realize how dangerous that is? It is the middle of the night!”

“I know, Papa. I missed her, I missed Mama... I only go there when I miss Mama.”

“Then this is a daily occurrence?” Lily watched the muscle in Raymond’s jaw work. Her eyes moved to find his fingers twitching.

“Forgive me, Papa!” Scarlet’s voice trembled.

“I left you in charge of your siblings and you not only put your life in danger, you put theirs in danger as well!” His voice rose with every word.

Lily turned fully to him, standing in his line of vision, her body helping to shield Scarlet from his view.

“Do not be so upset, Ray,” she whispered. “Please, let me speak with her. I can get her to understand the danger of going that far and I’m sure this time, she will understand.”

“You knew about this as well?” His frown deepened.

“I...” She breathed, closing her eyes briefly before opening them once more. “I promised her I wouldn’t tell...”

“You don’t make such stupid promises, Lily! Not to a child!” he half growled, stepping around her. “I forbid you from leaving the confines of this building until I can think of a better punishment.” He turned back to Lily. “Your silly promise almost cost Scarlet her life,” he said, his eyes filled with disappointment. He turned from her and made his way up the stairs without a backward glance her way.

Lily stood frozen for a few seconds, watching his back until he had disappeared up the stairs.

“I’m sorry, Mama.” Scarlet’s gentle voice drifted to her, causing her to turn around.

Scarlet sat on the sofa, tears streaming down her face.

“You cannot do that again; you cannot put your life at risk again.” She leaned down and placed her hand against Scarlet’s cheek. “I know you miss your Mama, darling...”

Scarlet’s tears worsened, loud sobs escaping her lips as she bowed her head.

Lily wrapped her arms around her. “I’m sorry,” she murmured against her hair. “I love you so much, Scarlet.” She kissed her cheek. “Your Papa loves you, and he wants what is best for you.”

She held Scarlet in her arms until her sobbing subsided. She leaned back and wiped Scarlet’s tears.

“You should go to bed.” When Scarlet nodded, she helped her to her feet and up the stairs to the room. She helped her settle into bed and kissed her goodnight, before turning around and making her way to the room she shared with Raymond.

She entered the room and found Raymond seated by the fireplace. He turned at the sound of the door opening and rose to his feet when he saw her. Her eyes scanned his weary face, her heart understanding his outburst earlier; it truly was her fault. She had had to speak to him of his child’s habit, but she had kept the information to herself and the result had nearly been fatal.

“I’m sorry,” Raymond said, surprising her.

She shook her head, tears springing to her eyes. “It is my fault; I should have told you.” The image of Scarlet drowning in the lake or being fatally injured crossed her mind, filling her with fear.

She bowed her head as Raymond crossed the room and pulled her into his arms.

“I will speak to Scarlet tomorrow, but I must apologize to you tonight.” He kissed her head. “I’m sorry, I am the one at fault. I should have known she would want to be near her mother.” He pulled away and stared down at her. “I need to speak to all my children.” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

“You do.” She nodded in agreement, taking hold of his hand. “And they will understand.” She took a step to him and hugged him, her face pressed against his chest. “We should go to bed. It has been a terrible evening with the party and Fiona and now Scarlet...”

“You hated the party?”

She nodded once. “I hated Fiona’s accusations the most.” She heaved a breath, leaning further into him. “She accused me of having an abortion and she accused you of telling her about it.” Raymond was silent for a long while, causing her to tighten her hold around him. “I know now that I want nothing more to do with her, for she is only a busybody.”

“I dislike Fiona.” Raymond whispered, his arms coming around her. “I never liked Fiona.”

***

Kennedy Ortley hated many things about life, but nothing could come close to his hatred for his father, Bill Ortley. Thankfully, Bill was dead and left to decay beneath the soil where his body would finally be of some use to the earth.

Unfortunately for Kennedy, Bill’s death only helped to rid the earth of his presence, but did very little to lighten the impact of the long life that he had lived, a life of whiskey and gambling. In Bill’s rather unpleasant existence, he had managed to not only drink his life away, but his gambling habits had been enough to leave Kennedy wallowing and nearly drowning under the weight of his father’s debts.

Fortunately, Bill had been lucky for once in his life and his luck had caused him to win a worthless piece of land in Wichita Falls. The only thing Kennedy knew about the land was its abandonment, and his father’s good fortune of winning it in a bet. The land might be worth nothing, but it would make for a great hideaway from Bill’s many creditors and also a new home for Kennedy.

He had traveled for seven weeks from Centerville to Wichita Falls and had finally arrived at the town’s boarding house late in the evening. His horses needed to be watered, and he direly needed a bath. Who knew what he would find when he arrived at the farm and how much work he would need to do? With that in mind, he rested in the boarding house before continuing his journey to the farm the next day.

A knock on the wooden door of the room assigned to him caused him to climb out of the bath he had ordered earlier. He wrapped a towel around his waist and crossed the room, pulling the door open.

“Dinner, sir,” the young maid with curly brown locks announced, bowing down and blushing at the sight of his solid chest.

“Be right down,” he said, slamming the door.

His stomach growled at the thought of warm food as he hurriedly pulled on his clothes.

It wasn’t difficult to find the dining area. Settling on a seat, he sunk his teeth into a piece of steak and took a big bite of it, savoring the taste.

“Enjoying the meal?”

From the sides of his eyes, he saw a woman settle on the head of the table. He lifted the napkin to his lips and wiped the grease off his lips.

“Yes.” He nodded, turning fully to her.

Her brown eyes observed him with humor, her head bobbing slowly. A small smile tugged at the sides of her lips, brightening up her extremely beautiful face.

“I haven’t seen you around here before,” she began after a minute of silence. Picking the knife off of the table, she sliced a small piece of her steak and took a small bite.

He watched her chew, noticing the elegance of the movement of her jaw.

“I just arrived in town. Here to claim my Pa’s farm.”

“Oh?” She lifted a brow.

He nodded, lifting the cup of orange juice to his lips and draining it. He placed the cup on the table. “Yup.”

“I haven’t heard of many vacant farms.”

“I hear Pa’s about an hour away, with a nice little lake.”

She nodded, turning her attention back to her plate.

The conversation ended with that, even if he tried several times after that to get her to talk to him. When dinner ended, he retired to bed extremely tired.

The next morning, he hitched his wagon and was about to begin his ride to the farm when a voice stopped him.

“Wait!”

He turned to find the woman from the night before hurrying out to him. A smile settled on his face as she drew near, her pink dress dancing about her lovely frame.

“Where are you headed?” She leaned against his wagon.

“South.” His smile broadened, hoping to enchant her.

“Perhaps you won’t mind dropping me off at a farm. It belongs to a friend of mine and I’m afraid I have only upset her.”

“You intend to beg her forgiveness?”

She nodded once, helping herself to the seat beside him.

“How will you get back?”

“Her husband,” She murmured, staring straight ahead. “He’ll bring me back and perhaps I will finally get to be alone with him.” She turned to him and flashed a smile. “Let’s go.”