Texas Born (35 page)

'What!' Elender looked at Elizabeth-Anne in
shock.

'Really, Auntie. What I'd like is a new
Sunday dress instead. I can wear it for the ceremony and every
Sunday thereafter. That's much more practical than having something
made to wear only once. With a nice new dress, and hat and shoes,
I'll be more than satisfied.'

Elender fanned herself bleakly with a piece
of folded newspaper. Her dreams of a lavish ceremony were
completely shattered. 'If that's what you want, then I have no
choice but to indulge you—even if you don't indulge me.' She
compressed her lips. 'Very well. A simple ceremony it is. Now, who
do you think we should invite?'

'You and Jenny.'

'And?'

Elizabeth-Anne gazed at her levelly. 'That's
it.'

'But . . . but Zaccheus will need a best
man!' Elender sputtered.

'He doesn't know anyone around here well
enough. Won't a witness do?'

'I think so. Now, about the honeymoon . .
.'

'Zaccheus just started work, Auntie,'
Elizabeth-Anne reminded her gently. 'He can't take time off yet.
We've decided to delay the honeymoon until next year. He'll have
two weeks of vacation coming then.'

Elender shook her head and clucked her
tongue. 'Dear, dear. It won't be much of a wedding, will it?'

'It's plenty for us.' Elizabeth-Anne noticed
Auntie's morose expression. 'Now what's the matter?'

'Nothing. But you're so . . . so
practical.'

Elizabeth-Anne grinned. 'If I am, it's
because I learned it from you.'

'Perhaps you're right. But you will let me do
one thing, won't you, dear?'

'What's that?'

'Have your picture taken and put an
announcement on the social page of the
Gazette?
'

Elizabeth-Anne smiled. 'That would be very
nice.' Suddenly she leaned sideways and embraced Elender warmly.
Then she drew back in alarm. 'Now what's the matter? You're
crying!'

Elender sniffed, smiled through her tears,
and produced a lace-edged handkerchief. She dabbed her eyes dry.
'It's only that I'm so very happy! And so terribly sad.'

'Sad? But why?'

'I didn't think I was going to lose you so
soon.'

'Lose me? Auntie!' Elizabeth-Anne cried.
'Shame on you! You're not losing me! You're gaining a son- in-law.
And think of all the children we'll have! You'll have gained a
whole family!'

After Elizabeth-Anne had her picture taken,
Elender marched happily into the office of the Quebeck Weekly
Gazette. The next issue would announce the engagement.
Elizabeth-Anne and Zaccheus were to be married the following
Sunday.

'After the reception tomorrow,' Zaccheus said
offhandedly at dinner, 'we'll immediately go home to our
house.'

'You found us a house!' Elizabeth-Anne's
mouth fell open. She stopped eating, put down her fork, and forgot
the rest of her sliced pork roast. 'Well? Where is it?'

Zaccheus and Elender exchanged conspiratorial
smiles across the table.

Elizabeth-Anne tapped her glass impatiently
with the folk. 'Well?' she demanded. 'Out with it!'

'I think,' Jenny mumbled, pushing her plate
aside, 'I don't feel well.'

Elender looked at her narrowly. 'Is something
wrong?'

'No,' Jenny said glumly. 'It's nothing. Just
a stomachache, is all. May I be excused?'

Elender nodded and Jenny scraped back her
chair and quickly left the room. When she shut the parlor door
behind her, she leaned against the wall, shut her eyes, and inhaled
a long deep breath. She was shaking with fury. She had finally had
enough! Her hatred for Elizabeth-Anne and Zaccheus had reached the
boiling point. She had had to leave the room—it was either that or
erupt on the spot. She was sick and tired of having to listen to
their plans and having to see the way they ogled each other. It was
maddening, really.

She tightened her lips angrily. She had been
so certain. So absolutely certain her plan to separate them would
work. But something had gone wrong. All her plan had accomplished
was to throw Elizabeth-Anne and Zaccheus into each other's arms.
Worse, neither of them as much as mentioned what had transpired at
the bandstand—as if nothing had happened at all! But surely they
were aware of what she had done. If so, why, then, hadn't they
mentioned it to her? Or to Elender?

Jenny's hands were trembling so badly that
she clenched them in order to steady herself. Oh! It was all so
much more than she could bear! But what really enraged her, what
drove her straight up the wall was that Elizabeth-Anne, who was two
years younger than she (and far less pretty, she told herself), had
snared herself a husband first. Despite all the emotional and
physical problems she was beset with, the circus freak was hearing
wedding bells—and with Jenny's own unwitting help!

It was enough to make her
sick!

Through the closed door Jenny could hear the
conversation inside the room continuing excitedly.
Such a happy
couple!
she thought disgustedly. She didn't think she could
bear to hear any more.

But something made her decide to stay put,
press her ear against the door, and eavesdrop. And before long, she
was very glad she had.

'Darling, I know it's not much of a house,'
Zaccheus was saying, pushing away his unfinished plate.

'Well, isn't it time someone told me just
what house it is?' Elizabeth-Anne demanded with mock petulance.

'Well, it's right here in town,' Zaccheus
replied evasively. 'And from what Miss Clow . . . excuse me, Auntie
told me, I think you'll be crazy about it.'

'It's not. . . not the Byrd cottage!'
Elizabeth-Anne guessed delightedly.

'It is,' Zaccheus said.

Jenny pressed her ear closer. The Byrd
sisters were eccentric spinsters. Identical twins, difficult to
tell apart, since they dressed and sounded alike. They owned Byrd's
Fabric Shop on Main Street, and worked together. Rumor had it that
long ago they had both been in love with the same man, and rather
than one of them hurting the other, neither had married him. Up
until now, Samantha Byrd had been living in the cottage while her
twin, Susannah, lived above the fabric shop.

'I know how much you've always admired it, my
dear,' Elender said in a pleased voice. 'Since Samantha's arthritis
has become worse, Susannah wants her to move in with her above the
shop so she can take care of her. Samantha is not willing to sell
that cottage, since it holds emotional ties for her—they were born
in that cottage, you know—but she is willing to rent it.'

'I still can't believe it!' Elizabeth-Anne
cried. 'I've always loved that cottage.'

'Best of all,' Zaccheus said excitedly, 'it
comes furnished. Miss Byrd is even leaving pots and pans and bed
linen behind for our use.'

'And,' Elender pointed out dryly, 'that
should appeal to your well-honed sense of thrift.'

'Oh, but it does! Oh, Auntie! I'm so excited
I could burst!'

Outside in the hall, Jenny contorted her face
as she mimed silently:
Oh, Auntie! I'm so excited I could
burst!
She narrowed her smoldering eyes dangerously.

'And, since you insisted you didn't want a
lavish wedding,' Auntie continued, 'I used the money I'd saved up
for it to increase your wedding present.' She paused dramatically.
'Your rent is prepaid for a year.'

'Auntie! You shouldn't have!'

Jenny contorted her face again.
Auntie!
she mimicked soundlessly.
You shouldn't
have!

Zaccheus cleared his throat. It was a loud,
startling, significant sound, and it was not lost on Jenny.

Elender looked at him, then studied the
floral pattern of the tablecloth. 'Dear?' she began tentatively,
her index finger following the trail of the embroidered roses.

Elizabeth-Anne looked across the table at
her.

'Yes?'

'This morning . . .' Elender's voice seemed
to fail her, and she cleared her throat nervously. She raised her
head and smiled sadly. 'This morning Zaccheus and I had a
heart-to-heart talk. He told me some things about himself . . .
well, actually he was wondering whether he should tell you
something or not, and he came to me for advice. My advice was to
leave well enough alone, but he . . . he decided he wanted to tell
you. Since he insisted . . .'

'What
is
it?' Elizabeth-Anne looked
from one of them to the other, her expression one of alarm. 'Is
something wrong?'

'I don't believe a husband and wife should
keep any secrets from each other,' Zaccheus said in a low voice. 'I
want our marriage to have a foundation of honesty, even if it means
calling it off.'

'Calling it off!'

'You see, there are some things I think you
should know about me. Before the wedding takes place.'

Elizabeth-Anne stared at him in surprise.
'Like what?' she asked with forced flippancy. 'You snore? You don't
like broccoli? You don't wash behind your ears-'

'Serious things,' he said quietly. 'Things
about my past.'

Outside the closed door, Jenny's lips slowly
widened in a cold smile. She could feel the beginnings of an
exquisite excitement growing inside her.

'Your past?' Elizabeth-Anne repeated. 'Why,
Zaccheus Hale! You're suddenly so serious. Don't make it sound so
ominous.
Please
. Don't frighten me.' She gave a hollow,
contrived laugh. 'Don't tell me you're a polygamist with wives
hidden away in half the states of the Union? Well, I don't care! I
love you anyway!'

'Perhaps it would be best if I left you two
alone,' Elender suggested delicately.

Elizabeth-Anne nodded soberly, then changed
her mind and reached across the table. She clutched Elender's hand
tightly. 'No. Don't go. Since you've already heard it, what harm
could it do?' Her voice suddenly cracked and she looked away. 'I. .
.1 don't want to be alone if it's something that will break my
heart.'

Elender sighed: it came out a thin, reedy,
and painful sound. 'You won't be alone; Zaccheus is here. Anyway,
all I can pray for is that what he has to tell you won't make any
difference in your relationship. It didn't make me feel any
differently toward him, because of his honesty. Remember, he didn't
have to tell me anything. And I think that, more than anything
else, indicates that he is a man of character.' She paused and
added pointedly: 'We all make mistakes in our lives that we're
sorry for later. God knows, I have made more than my fair
share.'

'You?' Elizabeth-Anne asked in astonishment.
'I don't believe it.'

Elender gave a short laugh. 'I have.' She
paused again. 'Let me turn on some lamps.' She smiled faintly.
'It's getting dark in here.'

Jenny heard Elender moving about the room.
Quickly she left her listening post, tiptoed to the adjacent door,
and flattened herself in the doorway. She waited a few minutes.
When Elender didn't come out into the hall, she retraced her steps
and kept on listening.

'Before we get onto this serious subject,'
Elender suggested after she sat back down, 'I should bring up
another equally serious matter.' She faced Elizabeth-Anne squarely.
'It concerns you, dear.'

'Me?' Elizabeth-Anne looked puzzled.

'Yes, you. And now's the time to face it.
Zaccheus must be made aware of it. And perhaps he is right. It is
best if everything about both of you is brought out into the open.
That way, your marriage won't begin with any hidden problems.
You'll both start with a clean slate, so to speak.'

'Yeesss . . .' Elizabeth-Anne said slowly.
Her euphoric spirits were beginning to ebb dangerously fast. She
had the sinking feeling that perhaps their love was no longer
picture perfect.

Elender folded her hands on the table. For a
moment she seemed intent on studying her fingertips. 'I spoke to
Dr. Purris this morning,' she said softly.

Elizabeth-Anne stared at her. 'There's . . .
there's nothing wrong with you, is there?' she asked in a faltering
voice.

Elender raised her head and shook it. 'No,
no. Not with me. But since you and Zaccheus are planning to build a
family, I thought it best to consult Dr. Purris and ask his medical
advice.'

'But what about?' Elizabeth-Anne asked
anxiously. 'I've always been healthy—'

Elender lifted her glass of water, then put
it back down. 'Elizabeth-Anne, dear, you are like my own daughter,'
she said. 'Naturally, I want what's best for you. I don't need to
tell you that, do I?'

Elizabeth-Anne shook her head.

Elender met her gaze directly.

'After that tragic incident you witnessed
when you were a child, you had trouble sleeping. Remember? You
would wake up constantly in cold sweats after having the most
hideous nightmares.'

Elizabeth-Anne felt an involuntary shiver
spiraling through her body.

'So I gave you a little laudanum at bedtime,'
Elender said, 'and I thought it was harmless enough. And after a
while, we had to keep increasing the dosage. It helped you sleep
and seemed to chase your terrible nightmares away.'

'It did help,' Elizabeth-Anne said softly.
'It still does.'

Elender hesitated. 'Dr. Purris tells me that
after all these years, you are surely addicted to laudanum.'

'But I don't see—' Elizabeth-Anne began.

'Elizabeth-Anne. Zaccheus.' Elender reached
across the table and held both their hands. 'Giving you that
laudanum, Elizabeth-Anne, was probably the single worst mistake I
ever made in my life. Dr. Purris says that any addiction is
terribly dangerous. Doubly so when a woman carries a child.
Therefore, if you want to have children, you must stop taking it,
Elizabeth-Anne. Immediately.'

Elizabeth-Anne stared at her.

'I know, I know,' Elender said miserably. She
held up her hand. 'It will be terribly difficult. Your body will
rebel. Withdrawal can make you very ill. And . . .'