The Unexpected Bride (7 page)

R
ainee rolled her head to the side.

“Rainee?”

Hearing Katherine’s voice as if she were in a tunnel, Rainee opened her eyes. “What happened?”

“Haydon said you fainted. Don’t you remember?”

A floppy-eared, curly-tailed, big-snouted image jumped into her mind. She cringed. “Yes. I remember. How did I get here?” She pressed her fingers to her temples.

“Haydon brung you,” Abby piped in.

“Brought you,” Katherine corrected.

“That’s what I said. Can I go out and play now?”

“May I?”

Abby let out a huff and rolled her eyes. “May I?”

“Yes, you may.”

Abby skipped out of the living room and disappeared. What Rainee would give to be carefree like that again. To sit with her mother on the front-porch swing back home and listen while her mother regaled Rainee with stories about her childhood.

“Leah, would you please fix us some tea and bring it in here? And grab some syltkakor cookies, too.”

Syltkakor cookies?

“Yes, Mother.” She turned but looked back at Rainee. “I’m glad you’re okay.” Leah smiled and then left the room.

Rainee rose into a sitting position. Her head throbbed.

“The tea will help with your headache.” Katherine smiled, but there was uncertainty in it. She stood and moved one of the wingback chairs until it faced Rainee. “Rainee?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I know this is rather personal, but may I ask you something?”

The thought of Katherine asking a question Rainee had no desire to answer caused her stomach to twist into knots. But if she said no, it would be rude. “Yes, you may.” She braced herself for the question.

“Are you wearing a corset?”

The woman was not kidding when she said it was personal. Heat filled Rainee’s cheeks.

“I’m sorry if I embarrassed you. Haydon said you fainted because of Kitty, but I also wonder if that corset has something to do with it. They definitely restrict your air flow. This is the country, Rainee. Not the city. Out here, you don’t have to wear one if you don’t want to. Back home I was always fainting because of mine. Shortly after I moved here and noticed none of the other women wore them, I got rid of mine. The only time I wear one now is when I go to the city. I can’t stand the confining things.”

Rainee wanted to hug the woman for saying that. Because of Katherine’s easy ways and her honesty concerning something as personal as undergarments, Rainee felt at ease to openly share her thoughts. “I,
too, cannot stand the vile contraptions. I find them too confining. But my mother always made me wear one.

“I remember on my fourteenth birthday I decided to go without one to see if my mother would even notice.” She looked at Katherine and smiled. “She did. And no matter how much I pleaded with her to not make me wear it on my birthday, she would not relent. Told me that properly bred young ladies do not go anywhere without a corset. So even though I despise the wretched things, I wear them out of respect for my mother and her wishes.”

“My mother told me the same thing, so I know how you feel. But things are much different out here than they are in the city. It’s up to you whether you want to wear one or not. But I must warn you…” Her eyes crinkled with mirth. “There are no fainting couches here.”

They shared a laugh.

Every room in Rainee’s house back home had a fainting couch. It infuriated her that women were forced to stuff themselves into those things until their bodies actually became deformed and their lungs were deprived of air and proper blood supply, which caused them to faint often.

Rainee thought the person who had come up with all those ridiculous rules of etiquette should have found something better to do with their time. Well, Rainee did. She wanted to walk without being short of breath. And she was tired of almost fainting every time she removed her corset and the blood traveled back into her head. Rainee despised fainting. To her it was a sign of weakness. What must these people think of her for fainting like she had?

If only she had been born a male, then she could wear
trousers instead of layers of clothing. And no one would think anything of it if she climbed trees, got dirty, ran up the stairs or fished. Rainee loved to fish.

She placed her hands in her lap, torn between doing what her mother had taught her and the desire to rid herself of the encumbering contraption. She really did not have much of a choice. None of her clothes would fit without the corset.

“If you’re worried about your dresses not fitting, Leah and I can help you let them out.”

Had the woman read her mind? From the moment Rainee had met her, Rainee felt an immediate kinship with Katherine.

Leah walked into the room with a tray laden with cookies and tea. She set it on the end table, poured three cups of tea and filled three small plates with sandwich-type cookies. The filling reminded Rainee of the jar of red currant she saw sitting on the table. After Leah served her mother and Rainee, she sat on the opposite end of the sofa.

Memories of sharing tea and cake in the parlor with her mother and best friend Tamsey flashed through her mind. But she refused to allow herself to dwell on that memory, knowing it would cause her nothing but great sadness. “Thank you, Leah.”

“You’re welcome.” Leah smiled that beautiful smile of hers, and her eyes sparkled like crystallized ice.

Rainee took a long sip of her drink and daintily set it down before looking toward Katherine. “I am not sure what to do, Katherine. In less than three weeks I will be leaving here. And if I go to the city, it would be improper for me not to wear a corset.”

“You’re not leaving us, are you, Rainee?” Leah looked horrified, which warmed Rainee’s heart even
more. Everyone had been so kind to her, making her feel truly welcome.

Too bad Haydon had not been the one to send for her. She would have so loved to be a part of this family, and even more so, Haydon’s wife, for there was a gentleness about him she could not deny, in spite of his on-again-off-again aloofness.

And as for them raising pigs, well surely she could help around the house and not be subjected to the curly-tailed terrors. Especially the one Haydon called Kitty. Her body quivered just thinking about the vile creature.

“Are you cold?” Katherine sat her teacup on the saucer.

Rainee shook her head. “No. I was just thinking about—” her nose wrinkled “—Kitty.” Her gaze landed on the ceiling, and she blew out a very unladylike breath. “What a name for a pig.”

“Abby named her,” Leah piped in.

She vaguely remembered Haydon telling her that. Seeing Haydon’s strong attachment to his sisters, Rainee understood why he would go along with naming a pig Kitty. She giggled.

“What’s so funny?” Katherine asked.

Rainee took another sip of her tea and placed it back on the saucer with a tinkling sound. Mother would have reprimanded her for that one. “When I went for a walk, I heard Haydon saying, ‘Here, Kitty.’ I went over to where he was and looked around for the cat. Instead I saw a pig charging our direction and screamed.” She snickered again. “I am surprised y’all did not hear me.”

She looked down at her chest as she fought again to gather in enough air. “You are right, Katherine. This corset has to go.” It was clear to her now that being
frightened along with not getting enough air had caused her to faint.

Rainee took another sip of her tea. Only this time she gently set the cup down with no tinkling noise. “Perhaps it would be okay to let out a couple of my dresses so I have something comfortable to wear while I am here. But I cannot let them all out as I do not have many dresses anymore. I will need to save some so that I have something presentable to wear when I leave for the city.”

“Rainee, you don’t have to leave. You’re welcome to stay here as long as you like.”

Rainee looked at Katherine. “I appreciate your kind offer, but I cannot do that to Haydon. It is obvious he does not want me here. I cannot impose upon your hospitality forever.”

Katherine looked her straight in the eyes. “Having you here is no imposition whatsoever. Besides, you never know what God will do. I’ve seen the way Haydon looks at you. He’s scared of you, Rainee. That means he feels something.”

Rainee’s insides skipped with a flicker of hope.

“I’ve prayed about it and prayed about it. And I believe God brought you here.”

“But you do not even know me.”

“That’s true. But God does. And I know my Savior’s voice.” The wrinkles around Katherine’s eyes and lips curled. Her look held a secret, but just what kind of secret, Rainee did not know.

Haydon tried not to think about Rainee, but his worry for her wouldn’t leave. He headed up to the house and yelled through the screen door. “Is it okay to come in?”

“It’s okay. Come on in,” his mother hollered back.

Haydon stepped inside and headed into the living room. His gaze went straight to Rainee, who was sitting up. Relief expanded his chest. “I came to see if you were okay.”

But when he got closer to Rainee, he noticed her face was still a bit too pale.

He glanced at his mother and Leah, pointedly feeling the number of people in the room.

His mother glanced around and the opportunity of the situation crossed her face. Haydon knew what was coming next even as his mother stood.

“I think I have some of my old dresses in the attic. Leah, come help me find them.”

Haydon gave her a look meant to say he knew exactly what she was doing, and she smiled sweetly back. He watched as they left the room. He turned his attention back to Rainee. A few moments of awkward silence and the room suddenly seemed to be getting smaller.

Not knowing what else to do, he sat across from her and tried not to stare as he assessed for himself that she really was all right.

She cleared her throat. “Would—would you like a cookie? Or some tea perhaps. I—I could get you some.” She started to stand but reached for the side of the sofa with a bit of sway to her movement.

Haydon jumped up and steadied her. His whole attention riveted to only her. He helped her onto the sofa and sat down with her. “Rainee, I don’t want any cookies. I came to see if you were all right.”

She stopped and for one second her eyes met his, pulling him into their depths. He found he was unable to move away and that scared him. Yanking reality back to himself, he stood so fast the blood rushed to his head. “Now that I see you’re okay, I need to get back to my
chores.” He said the words so fast they almost tripped over each other.

Rainee looked up at him with a slight smirk on her face. “Thank you for checking on me. I am fine, albeit quite embarrassed for my lack of strength.”

“Lack of strength?” The words knocked him over like a team of runaway horses. “Why would you be embarrassed? All of us have weaknesses.”

“Yes, but weakness is all you have seen of me.”

“Nope—that’s not all I’ve seen.”

She quirked her head to the side, the smirk not fully gone. “Really? Well, let us see. First, you had to rescue me from the guy at the stage stop. Then, I nearly fainted when we arrived and you had to help me in. And now, I have fainted again. Not once, but twice. No, make that three times if you count fainting twice within minutes.”

He glanced at her for a moment, trying not to laugh. “Well, I guess you have a point.” For one moment he couldn’t believe he said that until she started laughing and his laughter blended with hers. “But I still don’t see you as weak. It took a lot of courage to travel to a strange place.”

He noticed the appreciative smile in her eyes. “Well, I’d better get back to work. I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

She started to rise, but he motioned for her to remain seated.

He headed for the door and just as he got there, she said, “Be careful of those curly-tailed beasts.”

Her laughter followed him out the door.

Rainee was still laughing when Katherine and Leah came into the living room empty-handed.

“It’s nice to see you feeling better.” Katherine looked lighter and maybe even happier than before. “Now, let’s go get you out of that thing and into something more practical and comfortable.”

Rainee followed them up the stairs with a lighter, more joyful step than she had felt in two years. Perhaps God was in this after all. That thought brought joy singing through her heart.

Inside Leah’s bedroom, without thinking, Rainee removed her gloves.

Leah glanced down and gasped. “What happened to your hands?”

Rainee’s gaze flew to Leah. The poor girl stood there staring in utter horror at her hands.

Katherine came from behind Leah, and she too stared at them.

Shame flooded Rainee. She buried them behind her back.

Katherine and Leah’s questioning eyes bore through her. She knew she could not hide her hands forever. With a flushed face and trembling insides, she inched them upward for their inspection, trying to feel nothing as the two of them looked on with shock and horror.

Katherine gently took one of Rainee’s hands in hers and studied the raised scars. She looked at Rainee with eyes of compassion. “Who did this to you?”

She wanted to tell them they were from the pig attack, but that was an untruth. The pig had not touched her hands, only the back of her leg and her hips. With a heavy sigh, she answered, “My brother—”

“I didn’t know you had a brother,” Leah blurted.

Rainee looked at her and nodded. “I do.”

“Is he—”

“Leah, enough!” Katherine reprimanded her daughter. “Mind your manners.”

“Sorry.” Leah lowered her head.

Katherine’s words reminded her of her own mother. That would have been something Mother would have said. She envied Leah that she still had her mother to correct and love her. Rainee wished her mother were still alive. Homesickness feathered over her as it did so very often.

“Please, go on.”

Rainee lowered her eyes. In a nervous circular motion, she rubbed her fingertips over the welts near her wrists. Rainee looked up at them. “Please, I do not wish to talk about this for it is too painful. And if you would both be so kind, would you please not mention my hands to anyone?”