Chapter 11

Anne dragged her half dressed sister into the spare room next door. She had questions that she already knew the answers to. Wilma’s head hung miserably in shame as she walked a short way down the upstairs hallway. Anne slammed the bedroom door shut, leaving Bertha and Sheldon talking in the other room.

‘Why Wilma? Why be so submissive to such a man? We had the talk a while ago! No marriage behaviour until after marriage!’ Anne yelled in her younger sister’s face.

Wilma could see the disappointment in her sister’s eyes. Rage mixed with sadness. Her sister had been ruined before her eyes. She didn’t reply to Anne. She tried to hold back her tears and did nothing but observe the wooden flooring.

‘And now you refuse to speak? Now of all times? I cannot believe you Wilma! I have to ask you this - did Sheldon force himself upon you? Is that why you are too afraid to speak of it?’ Anne asked, firmly but sensitively.

‘No, no. I did want to. I let him talk me into it although it did feel wrong. It was nothing like I was expecting Anne! It did not feel like the fairytales in the books we read. It was painful, miserable. I felt nothing!’ Wilma cried. It was then that Anne began to feel empathy towards her sister. Her lack of knowledge was pitiful.

‘Nothing is a fairytale in this world. You will soon learn that. I would have told you what I have heard about the marital bed on your wedding day. I heard it is supposed to be painful. But what now? You are ruined before marriage Wilma! There is no turning back now!’ Anne responded. She had to tell her sister God’s honest truth.

Wilma let the tears stream down her cheeks unwillingly. She emotionally placed herself down on the dressing table stool. She knew that from here on in, her life was ruined. People would pass her in the street and snigger. She would always be the woman who couldn’t wait, the one who couldn’t resist the devil’s temptations. They all believed it to be Anne that would fall first, but now it seemed the whole family were on their way to hell with no return ticket.

‘But it is okay, right? I mean we are due to be married soon anyway. Perhaps nobody will find out? We will go ahead with the marriage as planned and folks will be none the wiser. That is possible. We could pretend that this awful occurrence didn’t even happen.’ Wilma cried. She hoped that the event could be brushed under the rug and forgotten about.

‘It is not as simple as that, Wilma. They will know you have been corrupted, when there is no blood stains on your marriage sheets. They will all know Wilma, there is no escape from this one.’ Anne explained. She watched Wilma’s face drain of hope.

‘Please, just do not tell anyone of this. Sheldon and I will think of something. He is a great catch and I am lucky that he has taken an interest in me. He will marry me, I know it. Only you and Aunt Bertha saw us so maybe there is a way out of this.’ Wilma said.

‘We need to go anyway. I have just heard that Mildred got married today. It was not planned but her family forced her to marry a 60 year old man without warning. I expect that she is severely upset so I am going to be there for her. You can come with me so I can keep an eye on you.’ Anne demanded. Wilma stood up ready to follow her sister out of the house. Anne hoped that they could trust their Aunt Bertha enough for her not to tell another soul about what she saw.

Sheldon threw his clothes back on clumsily. He couldn’t help but spread a grin across his face. He steadily walked to the big bay window and glared outside. Bertha poked her head out of the bedroom door frame to see who was around. She then closed the door slowly.

‘Good job. Did she think the door was locked?’ Bertha asked.

‘Of course. I did everything you said. You might want to remove the sheet and put it somewhere safe in case they want proof. I have to say, getting intimate with both of your nieces has been the best way I have ever made money.’ Sheldon sniggered. His arrogance suffocated the room like a gas bomb.

‘Payment will come soon enough. It is technically my dead brother that holds your pay packet, not I. I may need your assistance in the future. But remember, this conversation and all other conversations between us never happened.’ Bertha replied. She rolled the blood stained sheet up and took it into her grasp. Sheldon smiled in response and left the room.

Anne went into the home of Wildred, which was done up for the wedding party. Anne was growing tired of hearing about weddings but she knew it was the common way of life. Anne soon saw Mildred in a plain wedding dress in the corner drying her own tears. Anne rushed over to her aid with Wilma following behind her.

‘Anne, thank goodness! It was awful. And knowing what will happen tonight is making me feel awful!’ Mildred said. Anne observed her best friend and felt sympathy for her situation. But she couldn’t help but worry that one day, this would happen to her too if she didn’t find her own suiter.

‘Oh Mildred. Did your parents not hear you out when you told them he was not the one for you?’ Anne asked. Wilma stood awkwardly looking around the crowded room.

‘I tried but they forced me! They said as their only child, I had to marry into a respected family for the sake of my own future! I asked what the rush was but they just said people would talk because I am too old not to be married now.’ Mildred explained through sorrowful tears. Anne had never seen her friend so upset before.

‘Could they have not found someone a little younger?’ Anne asked curiously.

‘Apparently not. People had seen me sneaking into bars and clubs alone at night and dancing with several men. My family became concerned that I had been with too many men already and got myself a reputation. Only men over 50 were interested in me so their options were limited. Now I am stuck with a man three times my age.’ Mildred explained.

Before Anne had the chance to reply, Mildred’s new husband called her over to dance. Anne watched her with sorrow and empathy. She knew that Mildred’s reputation would soon be that of her sister’s too. It was not something that she wanted for her sister, it was something she had always dreaded. She looked around the room full of people dancing and she knew an inevitable storm was approaching. One that she couldn’t save anyone from, not even herself.