In Name Only (25 page)

Chapter 25

At the cemetery,
the wind howled with an oppressive force.  Caroline remained still and stared,
eyes unfocused, into the distance.  Despite the number of people surrounding
her, she felt alone, although she could feel their pity smothering her.  No one
loved him like she did.  No one would ever know how this loss was affecting
her, how it was ripping her heart in two.

The minister spoke
in a dull monotone.  A soft rain had started to fall and Caroline brushed aside
a drop from her cheek.  Above her, the rain seemed to stop.  Distracted, she
turned to see the ivory handle of the umbrella as David took it from Kip. 
David was grasping it firmly, as the wind pulled it upward.

The polished
maple casket was lowered into the ground and large shovelfuls of earth were
dumped onto it. Caroline winced as pile after pile of dirt landed on Liam’s
coffin.  Liam couldn’t be dead.  He was alive just a few short days ago.

“Miss Martin,
you have made me the happiest man in all of Philadelphia!”

“Caroline?” 
David’s voice jolted her back to the present.
Why must he sound so much like
Liam?

She stared at him
blankly.

“It’s time to
return to the house.”  His hand touched her shoulder and she winced.

*  *  *

Caroline pulled
the drapes of her bedroom window aside and looked down at the people walking
about below.  She wished that everyone would leave.  Soft knocking caused her
to sigh.  “Yes?” “Mr. David is looking for you.”

“Tell him I’m
resting.”

“He just saw you
at your window a few moments ago.  He knows you’re not resting.”

“Don’t bother me,
Jane.”

“Ma’am, your
uncle and cousin are about to leave.  You ought to come downstairs and see them
off.”

Caroline’s
shoulders dropped and she let out an exasperated sigh.  “Very well.”

“I hope you had a
good rest, my dear.” Uncle pulled her to a close embrace. 

“Yes, I did.”  She
glanced at Elizabeth, whose head was lowered. 

“Carrie,” her
cousin began sobbing.  Caroline surprised herself by hugging Elizabeth and
consoling her.

Uncle stepped
forward and put his hand on Elizabeth’s shoulder.  “Come, Elizabeth, we must be
going now.  Caroline, let us know if there is anything that we can do for you.”

Caroline nodded
to Uncle.

A few moments
later, she watched their carriage ride away. She stared off in the distance at
the oak tree and small pond.  The weather was beginning to clear; the sun now
peeked through the thick clouds.

Someone behind
her cleared his throat.  Startled, she turned to find David, then immediately
began to walk away.

“Caroline, we
must talk.  This is important.”  She continued to walk, ignoring him.

“Please.” He
grabbed her by the arm.  She yanked it away. “Leave me alone.  I don’t wish to
talk to you or anyone right now.”

“But Caroline. .
.”

Why can’t
everyone just leave me alone?
 
Why did he have to die
? Caroline
dropped to the ground and wept. The cold damp earth seeped through her dress
and she began to shiver. 

“Caroline,” she
heard him softly say. He touched her shoulder, then she felt his soft touch on
her back.  She flinched and he drew his hand away. “I don’t want to talk to you
now, David.  I just want to return to my room.” She pushed herself up,
indifferent to the mud on the bottom and front of her black dress.  She started
to walk.

“Wait.  I need to
give you something,” she heard him say from behind her.

“Please, just
leave me alone.”

“Before he died,
Lee. . .Liam. . .wrote you a letter.”

Caroline abruptly
came to a stop.  At the chance that it might be true, she held her position but
glared back at him.  “A letter?”

He nodded.  David
held the plain white envelope in front of her. She stared at the letter, then
quickly took it from him.  She noticed Liam’s handwriting and her eyes began to
water. On the front was her name written in his hand, but less precise than
usual, and his wax seal and initials on the back.  She glanced at David, who
was staring at the letter.  She broke the seal and pulled it out.  She read the
first line and gasped.

“What foolery is
this?  This is not my husband’s handwriting, but yours!”

“Lee was only
able to write your name on the front of the envelope and he signed it.”

She quickly
scanned the bottom and his signature.  It was sloppy, but was most certainly
written in Liam’s hand.

“Please,
Caroline, read it.”

My Dearest
Caroline,

I have
instructed David to give you this letter should I pass away. I  have also asked
David to write down my words as I am unable to do so at present. I love you
very much and I want you to be happy.  It is your right to mourn when I’m gone,
but I would hope that you will eventually find a way to be happy, not just for
me, but for our child.

You once told
me that you were not the person I thought you were.  But I am not the person
you think I am.  That is why we were so perfect for one another.  Forgive me
for not being honest with you.  Before this point, it wasn’t necessary to tell
the whole truth. When my father died, he left me nothing, no money or assets. 
David generously gave me title to half the house but I own little else and only
a meager amount of money to leave to you.

   Therefore, I
have asked David to enter immediately into a marriage of convenience, a marriage
in name only, you and David, to provide not only physical protection, but also
to ensure that our child has a privileged upbringing.

I ask you to
obey my request that you marry David and give our child a chance at having a
loving father and for you to be able to continue living the privileged
lifestyle you deserve.

Yours always,

Liam

Caroline’s eyes
were now blurred.  She felt her heart squeeze. For a moment, she couldn’t think
clearly." You did this!  Liam would have never wanted this for me, never!”

“Caroline,
please.  It’s true, all of it.”

As her mind
gradually comprehended what Liam was asking of her, her whole body started to
tremble.  She dropped the letter and it landed in front of her in the mud. She
sunk to the ground, her hands covering her face
.  A marriage in name only? 
A marriage?
  She wasn’t married any longer.  She was a widow and had no
intentions of ever marrying again.
This. . .isn’t possible
.

“Caroline. . .”

“It cannot be
possible that he has no assets.”

“Our father left
him nothing.  I tried to give him money but he wouldn’t accept it, only his
half of the house.  But he was a shrewd investor and he was able to make a lot
of money for me, and I thought, for him.  But he would never take it. He would
never take a penny of anything which originally came from Father.  He wouldn’t
have taken the house either but our mother insisted.”

“This cannot be
happening.” Sitting straight up, she tried to take calm, even breaths, but her
heart was pounding in her chest, and it became difficult to breathe at all.
Marry
David?  He wouldn’t ask me to do that
.  “I’m not marrying you, David.  I
don’t care what. . .”

David leaned in
and whispered, “This was not my idea, Caroline.  I knew, with certainty, that
you would not want this.”

Caroline, her
eyes glistening, turned to face him.  “No, I do not want this, David,” she spat
at him.

“And I was not of
the opinion that this would be the most prudent way to handle this at first,
either.  But the more I’ve reflected, the more it makes financial sense.  After
all, it’s not like we are really marrying each other.  It will be in name
only.”

“Just give me
money or perhaps I can stay with Uncle and Lizzie. . .anything but. . .”

“I do not desire
this any more than you do, but we need to marry to protect your interests. 
Lee’s will provided no financial assets for you because all our assets are
essentially mine and what little Lee owned is not available at the present
time.  Father left him nothing.  I gave Lee half ownership in the house, but
right now there’s a lien on it.  Lee managed our finances but everything,
except for the house, is in my name only. And although Lee had signing
authority with regard to everything in the business, the business is mine as
well.  He was essentially just an employee.”

“What does it
matter now?”

“Caroline,
please, listen to me.”

“Why didn’t you
just give them what they wanted?  If it weren’t for you, Liam would be alive
now,” she shouted, her voice cracking.

David’s head
lowered.

Caroline got to
her feet.  All she could think was that she did not want to be anywhere near
him right now.  This was too much to bear.  She rushed toward the house and
heard footsteps but did not look up.

“Miss Caroline,
I’ll escort you to your room.”

“Leave me alone,
Jane.  I don’t want. . .”  She continued to shake her head as she ran across
the foyer to the staircase.  She passed a group of people but avoided eye
contact.  “Miss Caroline,” she heard Hallie say.  She ignored her and climbed
the steps.  Soon she reached the sanctuary of her bedroom.

She dropped onto
her bed, her grief and anger weighing heavy as she sank into the bed.

How could Liam
possibly believe that this would be the answer?  And how could it be that she
had no money to speak of?
  She despised the idea of being forced into
marriage.  The more she thought about it, the angrier she became with her now
dead husband.  She smacked the feather pillow hard, her hand sinking all the
way through to the bed. “
That you will herein always obey me
.” Liam’s voice
echoed in her mind.

Caroline promised
that she would obey him. She closed her eyes and hoped that sleep would come
quickly so that she could escape from life for a short while.

*  *  *

David leaned on
the mantle in the parlor and downed a glass of brandy. When Lee had asked him
to write down his words, he had hesitated.  But he owed it to Lee to do
anything he asked, whether it was writing down his final thoughts or marrying
his widow.

However, he cursed
his sense of timing.  Caroline couldn’t have reacted in a worse manner.  But
how did he expect that she would behave?  With a smile on her face and open
arms?  He lit his pipe and inhaled.  He relished the taste of the tobacco, then
he remembered Liam’s words.

“
You need to
take care of her.”

“Lee, I’ll
give Caroline money to. .
.”

“
Most of. .
.the capital is tied up.”

“Then she can
just stay here.”

“Please
promise.”

“You’re going
to be fine.”

Liam shook his
head. “I need to know . . .she will be taken care of.”

“I am going to
take care of her.  It is not necessary for me to marry her to do that.”

“If I die, you
must. . . marry her.”

“No, Lee, this
isn’t the answer.”

“I need to
know.”

“What?”

“That she will
be taken care of.”

“I told you I
will take care of her.”

“And. . .”

“And what?”

“And that our
child will have a. . .privileged upbringing.”

“Your child
will have all that.”

“Marry her. .
.right away.”

“I don’t need
to marry her.”

“Explain it
need only be a marriage on paper.”

“
No, Lee
.”

“
If I tell you
what to write. . .”

“She will
think I composed it.”

“She will
know.”  He paused, appearing to be weighing his words carefully. “If I tell her
to do it, she will.  She promised she would always. . .obey me.”

“But she hates
me.  I’m not staying to listen to this nonsense.”

“Stop,” Liam
said.

David put his
hand on the door. He turned and stared at his brother. 

“I have been
taking care of your problems.  It’s time for you to take care of my wife and
child.” He was trying to talk quickly and his words were becoming difficult for
David to understand.

“What are you
talking about, Lee? What have you been taking care of?