Indulgence (169 page)

They enjoyed the rest of their meal and regretted when the
time came to leave. Albert took Anne’s hand, and they walked out into the cool,
crisp night. “You know I was only teasing you, don’t you?”

“Of course, darlin’, if you had been serious you would have
been far more forceful in your opinions. I’ll always respect your positions,
but I won’t always agree with you,” she told him.

“I know,” he said, hugging her. “That’s one of the reasons I
love you. You’re not intimidated by me.”

“You, Albert Stuart, have never intimidated me,” she said
smiling. “Thank you for a lovely evening.”

“My pleasure. We’ll do this again very soon,” he promised.

Albert woke at six that morning, taking his time to shave
and dress before going downstairs to meet Anne and take her to her ranch.
Following his morning routine, he made a few entries into his journal and then
made his way to the dining room, surprised she wasn’t already there.

Joining his father and brothers, he mentioned the fact of
where they were going that morning. As he was explaining this, George brought
fresh coffee in, telling him, “Miss Anne gone. She says tell Mr. Albert not
worries, she takes care of what she need herself.”

“Damn it!” Albert exploded, rising from his chair and going
to strap his gun on and grabbing his hat. He told his father, “I’ll be back
later. She’s gone to the ranch alone.”

As Albert stormed toward the barn, Hank, one of the men from
the ranch, pulled up in a wagon. “Morning, Albert. Miss Anne asked that I bring
these here,” he said, indicating a trunk and garment carrier. “She said to tell
you she’d be back later, had a few things she needed to tend to.”

Furious now, Albert asked, “Hank, did she say where else she
was going?”

“No, Albert, she sure didn’t. Just asked me to bring these
things over here and tell you not to worry, she’d be back when she was
done"

“Thanks Hank. Would you take these on in the house? I’m
going to look for her.”

Saddling his horse, he thought,
I told her I wanted to go
with her. She’s too damn independent. She’s trying to prove to herself and to
me that this business with her father hasn’t affected her. I know she didn’t
think about it, but Joe Young still hasn’t been caught, and here she’s out
running the countryside alone.

Leading the stallion into the yard, he mounted and began his
ride.
I haven’t any idea where she would go. She didn’t need anything from
town, and besides, Anne promised me she wouldn’t go into town alone,
he
thought.
The bluff is where she’s gone; she always liked to go there to
think.

Turning west, he headed toward the bluff. He found her horse
tied to a low branch, but did not find her in the area he thought she would be.
He walked up the hill to the house to be sure she was not there. After arriving
there, he realized,
Anne wouldn’t come here, she knows I don’t want her to
see the house until the wedding.

Standing on the bluff afforded him a view of the entire
lake. His eye caught a slight movement on the far side. He saw her sitting on
the eastern shore. Walking back down the steep incline, he mounted Diablo and
began the ride to the eastern side of the lake.

Tying the stallion to some scrub bush, he walked the rest of
the way. “Anne,” he said, approaching her, “I thought we agreed I was going to
take you this morning.”

Startled to see him standing there, she jumped, saying,
“Didn’t George tell you I wanted to do this on my own?”

“Yes, he did. But after Hank brought your clothes to the
house, I became concerned and came looking for you,” he explained.

“You didn’t need to do that. I just wanted some time alone
to sort some things out,” she told him.

“What did you have to sort out that I couldn’t be with you?”
he asked.

“It’s not that you couldn’t be here with me. I didn’t want
you to drop everything to see to me. I’m through being dependent on everyone.”

“Anne, I wanted to help you. I knew you were capable of
going out to the ranch this morning alone. I just thought it might have been
hard for you, seeing it would have been your first time back there,” he told
her.

“I love it here,” she said, looking out over the lake. “I’ve
never been anywhere that brings me such peace.”

“I know,” he said softly, standing beside her. “It has the
same effect on me.”

“There is something else,” she began.

“I thought we had resolved everything yesterday, but all
right, go ahead,” he told her.

“Albert, what happened to the dreams you told me about when
I first arrived here, of leaving here and going back east and going to sea?”
she asked.

“I met you, and my whole life changed,” he told her. “Those
things aren’t important to me anymore.”

“I remember the look on your face when you spoke of those
places and the excitement in your voice. You had such plans, such dreams. I
don’t want you to lose your dreams because of me,” she said, then hesitantly
added, “Perhaps we should wait a while before we’re married and give you the
opportunity to do all of those things.”

“Anne,” he began slowly, “are you breaking our engagement?”

“No,” she said, watching his eyes. “I’m giving you the
chance to. I don’t want you to feel obligated to marry me, and I certainly
don’t want you, years from now, to regret what you gave up by marrying me.”

“I’m not obligated to marry you. I want to marry you, I love
you,” he said, wording his response carefully. “I had those dreams, Anne,
because I was disillusioned with my life until I met you. I’ve never wanted
anything more than to make you my wife.”

“Albert, swear to me that’s the truth,” she said, her eyes
locked on him.

“I swear to you, the only regret I have is waiting this long
to make you my wife,” he replied.

At this, she wrapped her arms around his neck and said, “I
don’t know what I would have done if you had taken me up on my offer to let you
out of our engagement.”

“That, sweetheart, I would have never done, no matter what.
I told you once before, don’t ever doubt my love or my commitment to you. They
are both unwavering and always will be,” he said. “Now, is there anything else
we need to talk about?”

“That’s all, Albert. I just wanted you to have the chance to
change your mind.”

“Anne, I’m a patient man where you’re concerned, but I do
have my limits,” he said, holding his temper. “I’m growing tired of your
questioning me about my commitment to you. I don’t want you to ever doubt my
love and devotion for you or bring this up again. I decided early on I was in
love with you and would never leave you, and I’ve not changed my mind. Now this
is the last time I want to have this conversation, agreed?” he asked, adding,
“And if you want to take off again like you did this morning, I will warm your
backside.”

“All right, Albert, never again,” she said, kissing him and
holding him to her.

“Let’s go home, Anne,” he laughingly told her. “I should
help with the preparations for the party tonight.”

She had almost told him about the windmills, but decided
this was not the time, and she wasn’t really keeping a secret from him. This
was keeping a surprise from him, not at all the same thing, or something he
could get angry about, or so she thought.

Upon returning, they found George busy basting a large side
of beef being turned on a spit over hot coals by one of the ranch hands.

“Missy Anne,” he called to her. “George use sauce you make.
You try, very good.”

“George is letting you help him cook? He never allows anyone
in his kitchen.”

“I just made a sauce for the barbeque. Come, I want you to
taste it,” she explained, taking his hand.

Albert selected a spoon from the makeshift table George had
set up. Dipping it into the boiling sauce, he waited until it had cooled and
tasted it. “This is really good, Anne. I didn’t know you knew how to cook.”

“Albert, who did you think would cook for you after we were
married? Of course I know how to cook,” she laughed. Pulling her close, he
whispered, “After we’re married, cooking is not going to be my first concern of
what talents you possess.”

“I swear, Albert,” she laughed. “Are you sure you don’t want
to have Ray marry us tonight and live in the cabin until the house is done?”

“As appealing as that is, we’ll wait. I wanted to surprise
you, but the house will be finished on Tuesday. Then all I have to do is move
the furniture in. We can have our wedding next Saturday,” he said, smiling.

Throwing her arms around him, she said, “That’s wonderful!
Why didn’t you tell me before now?”

“I told you, Anne, I wanted to surprise you.”

“Well, I have a surprise for you. I finished everything for
the wedding. While you were working yourself into exhaustion, I took care of
all of the wedding plans. When you have time, I would like to go over them with
you to be sure we’re in agreement.”

“We make a good team. Tomorrow we’ll sit down, and you can
tell me about the arrangements you’ve made. Although, I’m sure your choices
would be what I would want, also,” he told her.

“Yes, Mr. Stuart, we certainly do make a good team! Now I’m
sure there are things we can both help with for the party.”

“I’ve offered to make the punch,” he volunteered.

“I’ll help Ben with the decorations,” she said.

“But first,” Albert began, “I have a surprise for you. I want
you to wait right here and close your eyes. I’ll tell you when to open them.”

“Albert,” she began.

“Anne, close your eyes and don’t open them,” he instructed.

Doing as he requested, she stood patiently in the middle of
the courtyard.

Albert had arranged for Henry to bring the surprise he had
for Anne to the ranch this morning while they were gone. After a few moments,
he told her, “Open your eyes.”

Before her stood the most beautiful black mare she had ever
seen.

“She’s yours. I thought it was time you had your own horse.
Her name is Mariah, and she’s spirited and fast as the wind,” he explained.

“She’s perfect,” she excitedly exclaimed, going to the mare
and petting her neck. “Thank you Albert. You spoil me.”

“Yes, and I always will.”

“When can I ride her?” Anne asked.

“Tomorrow, after church. We’ll go riding then,” he told her.
“But for now, we should help with this part.” Taking his hand, squeezing it,
she brushed away tears from her eyes.

Seeing this, he asked, “Anne, why the tears?”

Shaking her head, she told him, “You’re too good to me.
Thank you. Now let’s go help.”

By late afternoon, everything was finished. Anne then
excused herself to go bathe and dress.

“Did she like the mare?” Thomas asked.

“Yes, it was a complete surprise,” Albert told his father.

“Did you tell her about the house?” Thomas asked, watching
as Anne went into the house.

“Yes, I did. I was going to tell her tonight anyway.”

“Did you tell her about San Francisco?” Thomas asked.

“No, that will be a surprise. I’ll tell her on our wedding
night,” Albert confided.

“Your sister’s brother in law sent me a wire. He said your
sister and Daniel were away and wouldn’t be back in time for the wedding,”
Thomas told him.

“Well, that’s to be expected when you’re as ambitious as he
is. Work before family. I’ll write her a letter when Anne and I return from San
Francisco and invite them for a visit.”

“That’s an excellent idea,” Thomas agreed.“On another
matter, I talked to Ray about the trial earlier today. With the evidence the
court has, along with Anne’s and my testimony, it should be fairly short. If
only John would admit his part in all of this, the judge would probably go
easier on him, and a trial wouldn’t be necessary.”

“John will drag it out as long as he can,” Albert declared.
“He’ll make it as hard as possible on Anne.”

As they walked into the house, Thomas went to taste the
punch. Taking a small sip, Thomas’ eyes watered as he gasped, “Who made this?”

“I did,” Albert answered. “Why?”

“It’s just a little strong,” Thomas answered, taking his kerchief
out and dabbing his eyes. “We’d better make one without liquor for the ladies.”

While the men were finishing last minute details, Anne had
finished bathing and was now trying to decide on what gown to wear. She finally
selected a deep green, off the shoulder, satin gown she had purchased in London
before leaving to come west. The only jewelry she wore was emerald earrings and
a matching necklace. She had pulled her hair back from her face, catching it in
a matching clasp. After checking her appearance, she made her way downstairs.

Thomas Stuart was already dressed and on the porch having a
brandy. “Anne,” he said, rising, “You look beautiful tonight.”

“Thank you. Is Albert down yet?”

“No, my dear, but he shouldn’t be much longer. May I offer
you a brandy?”

“Yes, please, I believe I would like that. I want to thank
you for everything, for this lovely party, the difficulties with Father. You’ve
been so kind. I’ll never be able to re-pay your kindness. But most of all, for
having the most wonderful man in the world as a son.”

“Anne, it is I who should thank you. You have given me back
my son. Before Albert met you, he was so unhappy and very determined to leave
here. Now, I not only will have my son, but a daughter as well. I cannot begin
to tell you how pleased I am about yours and Albert’s engagement. He will make
you a fine husband.”

“You are most kind, Mr. Stuart. I know that Albert will make
a wonderful husband. He’s so much more than I dreamed possible.”

As he handed her a brandy, he told her, “Sit with me a
while, Anne, our guests won’t be arriving quite yet.”

Sitting beside the older man, whom she had come to love like
a father, she told him, “I’ll make Albert a good wife, Mr. Stuart. I’ll love
him and take care of him, don’t ever worry about that.”