Rose's Mail Order Husband - A Historical Mail Order Bride Story (Montana Brides) (15 page)

Everyone turned on Rose, who sat crying into her hands.

“Rose?” the Sheriff asked. “What did you do when Cornell hit Jake in the head with the poker?”

She
didn’t answer.

“She’s been out of her mind with worry that her sisters would find out,” Jake told him.

“She didn’t act very out of her mind with worry,” Iris put in. “She acted like she didn’t care at all that Cornell was dead.”

“She had to act that way,” Jake told her. “She had to cover it up to stop you finding out she killed him. She
wouldn’t even say the words to me. I only knew she did it because I was there. She wouldn’t talk about it at all. She couldn’t admit it even to herself.”

“Rose,” Sheriff Maitland told her, “I still need to hear from you exactly what happened. I can’t release Jake until you tell me the whole story.”

“I killed him,” she wailed. “I said I killed him. Isn’t that enough?”

“No, it isn’t,” the Sheriff pressed her. “I need to know what happened so I know that you killed him in defense of your own life and Jake’s life. If you
don’t tell me that, I can’t release Jake or you. Now tell me. Once you get it out in the open, you’ll feel much better and you can put the whole thing behind you.”

Rose sobbed into her hands a while longer. Finally, she collected herself enough to start talking. “I saw Jake fall down in front of the window. I thought he was dead, but Cornell wouldn’t stop waving that poker around.”

“Did he go after you with it?” Sheriff Maitland asked.

Rose shook her head. “He didn’t pay any attention to me. He just kept going after Jake. I guess after his fight with Chuck and Violet, he had a vendetta against all three of the men. Jake was lying on the floor, not moving, and Cornell raised the poker over his head to smash him again. I dove on top of him and covered him with my body. I got my arm up just in time to block the poker from coming down on top of Jake again.”

“He must have hit you pretty hard, to make that mark,” Iris pointed out.

“I thought my arm was broken,” Rose replied, “and he just picked up the poker and was going to hit us again. He would have kept hitting us
again and again until he beat us to death. I’m convinced of it.”

“So what did you do?” Sheriff Maitland asked.

“I didn’t really think about it,” Rose told him. “I never made the decision to do anything. Something just took over my body, and the next minute, I found Jake’s pistol in my hand and I shot at Cornell. I didn’t even really understand what happened until Cornell fell over.”

“How did you get out of the library in time for me to find the body?” Violet asked.

“After Cornell fell over,” Rose replied. “I felt Jake moving underneath me and I realized he was still alive. I pulled him to his feet and pulled him out of the house. As soon as we got out the back door, the cool air sort of revived him. I snuck back in through the back door and met Iris on the stairs. Jake went around through the kitchen door and met up with Mick. We all came to the library together and found you standing over Cornell’s body.”

“But we didn’t see any signs of struggle on you then,” Iris pointed out. “We didn’t see any blood on your clothes or on your face or head. How do you explain that?”

“You may recall,” Jake replied, “that I was wearing a dark suit, so you wouldn’t have seen the blood on my arm. And my hair is black, and it was dark in the library. I kept the blood on my head concealed in my hair and under my hat, and by keeping that side of my head turned away from you. Then I made myself scarce.”

“Oh, darling!” Violet threw herself on her knees in front of Rose. “Why didn’t you tell me before? You know I never would have accused you if I had known.”

“I just couldn’t face you,” Rose sobbed. “I couldn’t say the words out loud, ‘I killed Cornell, Violet.’ I
couldn’t. I just couldn’t.”

“Rose told me not to tell anyone,” Jake told the Sheriff. “I advised her to tell the truth from the start, but she insisted we keep quiet. She didn’t want anyone to know she killed Cornell, even though she did it in self-defense.”

The Sheriff scowled at him. Then he hitched his thumbs into his belt and stood back. “I don’t like it at all. I ought to charge both of you for withholding vital evidence. But under the circumstances, I’ll let it drop.”

“So you believe Rose’s story?” Violet asked. “She never hurt a fly in her life before. If she shot and killed Cornell, you can be certain she did it under the
most dire circumstances.”

Sheriff Maitland gazed down at Rose. “I believe that. From what Violet told us about her confrontation with him, I think we can all assume that Cornell lost control of himself, probably in response to you
ladies marrying against his wishes. He lost control, and he turned violent, first with Mr. Ahern, then with Violet, and finally, with you and Mr. Hamilton. I also believe what you said when you told me he wouldn’t stop until he beat you to death. The only way to stop him killing you and Mr. Hamilton was for you to kill him first.”

Rose looked up at him and sniffed. “You won’t take Jake away, will you? Not now that you know the truth?”

“No,” Sheriff Maitland replied. “I’m releasing him without charge. But you could have avoided this whole misunderstanding by telling me the truth from the beginning. You could have saved us all a lot of trouble.”

Rose hung her head. “I’m sorry about that. I just
didn’t want anyone to know. I didn’t want my sisters to think I was a killer.”

“You’re not a killer,” Sheriff Maitland told her. “Killing someone in self-defense doesn’t make you a killer. If anyone’s a killer, it’s Cornell.”

Violet sighed. “Now that we’ve got that cleared up, Sheriff, are you sure you won’t stay and enjoy our wedding feast with us. We have a cake and a lot of good food to eat yet.”

“Thank you, Miss,” he replied, “but I won’t stay. I have a long way to go before I get back to Butte, and
I’ll have some explaining to do when I get there. I still have to report to the county prosecutor on the outcome of my investigation, and the local paper ran a story on Cornell’s death. They’ll want to know the upshot of the investigation, too. I’m sure the minister will help you dispose of the food.”

Violet laughed. “I’m sure he will. I just don’t want you to leave without knowing you’re welcome, and that none of us bears you any ill will for your part in this.”

Sheriff Maitland tipped his hat. “I appreciate that. I’ve done my best to bring Cornell’s killer to justice. Now I realize that I have by leaving these two love birds here to start their new life together.” He looked back down at Rose. “It seems to me, Miss, that you’ll have all you can handle just living with Cornell’s death on your conscience. Take my word for it and don’t be too hard on yourself. It could take a while before you put this situation behind you and realize that you didn’t do anything wrong.”

Rose bowed her head and her tears fell into her lap. She watched the droplets spread through the woven fabric of her wedding dress. “Thank you.”

The Sheriff tipped his hat again and strode out of the house. He untied his horse from the corner of the porch and mounted to his saddle.

“You folks have a good evening,” he called. “Don’t eat too much.”

He wheeled his horse around and trotted off into the west where the setting sun dipped behind the mountains.

The three couples watched him from the front door.

“There he goes,” Iris remarked.

“I wonder if we’ll see him again soon,” Chuck added.

“I hope not,” Mick replied.

He and Iris went back inside to the dining room. Chuck and Violet joined them, and they sat down at the table with the minister for the meal.

Rose hung around the doorway, staring over the range to the hazy purple mountains beyond. Blessed silence enveloped the ranch.

“Hey.” Jake’s voice made her start, and she found him standing next to her. “We’re married now.” He took her hand. “You’re not having second thoughts, are you?”

“Second thoughts?” she asked.

“About marrying me,” he explained.

She shook her head. “No. I was just thinking. After the ceremony, I wondered why marrying you didn’t solve anything or make me feel as safe and protected as I thought it should. Now I know why.”

Jake cocked his head. “Why?”

“I was scared,” she told him. “I was scared all the time that someone would find out. Marrying you didn’t solve that, and it didn’t take my fear away. That’s why marrying you didn’t make me feel safe and protected.”

“So how do you feel now?” he asked.

A brilliant smile broke across her face. “Light.” She raised her arms. “Free. I feel like I could rise up off the ground and float away. It wasn’t marrying you that made me feel safe and happy. It was everybody finding out my secret. I don’t have to worry anymore about them finding out, because they already know, and they forgive me for it.”

“They don’t forgive you,” Jake corrected her. “There’s nothing to forgive. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Rose gazed toward the sunset. “He’s right. It’s going to take a long time before I’m ready to believe that. I took a gun and shot a man in the head. I have to carry that with me for the rest of my life.”

“That just goes to show you’re a good person,” Jake pointed out. “If anyone here had the right to kill him, it’s you. After what he did, killing him was the right thing to do. You and I both have the marks to prove it.”

“I know,” Rose replied. “I know that in my head, but my heart still doesn’t want to believe I really did it.”

Jake studied her face. “You say you feel light and free, but you look like you’re ready to fall over. You look exhausted.”

“How can I be exhausted?” she asked. “I haven’t really done much of anything other than ride up into the canyon and walk back again.”

“I mean you look emotionally exhausted,” Jake told her. “You look like you’re about to fall apart.”

She smiled, but a wave of oppressive weariness overwhelmed her. “You’re right. Holding back my feelings really took its toll on me.”

Jake hopped over to her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Her head fell onto his shoulder and he hugged her to his chest. “Let’s go sit down. You can have something to eat, and then
we’ll go up to the Bird House and go to bed. How does that sound?”

“It sounds wonderful,” she replied. “What about the minister?”

“I think he’s going back to Butte, too,” Jake told her, “just as soon as he’s eaten.”

“Did Violet arrange that?” Rose asked.

Jake chuckled. “I don’t think so. I think he’s planning to enjoy one last meal and then skedaddle.” Jake kissed her on the forehead. “Come on. You’re tired, and my leg hurts, and Violet won’t let us go until we’ve eaten our share of the food.”

Evening faded away to night, and the three couples pushed their stuffed bellies away from the dining room table.

“I suppose you’ll all be going home to your own houses now.” Violet touched her handkerchief to the corner of her eyes.

“And don’t forget,” Iris reminded her, “you and Chuck are going home to your own room in your own house. You’ll have the place to yourselves.”

Violet laughed and wiped away her tears. “You won’t believe this, but I had forgotten. Can you believe it? I was so concerned about losing you two that I forgot all about my own wedding night!” She sobbed, and Chuck took her hand.

Mick patted his stomach. “I couldn’t eat another thing. I think I’ll head up to bed.”

Iris smiled at him. “Do you mind if I join you?”

“I was hoping you would,” he replied.

“We’ll head home, too,” Jake announced. “Rose is worn out, and I’ve got to put my leg up. It aches
somethin’ awful.”

“Do you need any help tending it?” Violet offered.

“Thank you,” Jake replied, “but I’ll get Rose to tend it for me.”

“Oh!” Violet exclaimed.
“Of course! I’m so sorry.”

“You’ll have to get used to leaving people alone, Violet,” Iris told her. “I think a lot of things are going to change around here from now on.”

“And all for the better,” Rose added.

“I’ll miss you all,” Violet sobbed.

Rose got up and went to her. “We aren’t going anywhere. We’ll see you in the morning, the same as always. We’re right nearby, and we all agreed that we’ll be in each other’s lives for a long time to come.”

Violet threw her arms around Rose. “Oh, Rose! Can you ever forgive us for tormenting you these last few days? We never should have let our petty suspicions get in the way of family.”

“I should have trusted you,” Rose replied. “I should have trusted you enough to tell you the truth. It’s me who should be asking you to forgive me.”

Iris rose from her seat. “No, it’s me who should be asking your forgiveness, Rose. I never should have accused you. I should have stood by you just as firmly as Violet did.”

“You had every reason to accuse me,” Rose maintained. “You had every right to demand an explanation, and I should have given you one.”