A Constant Love (The Hope of Cheyenne #1)

Chapter 19

19

Charlotte had never known such despair unless it was the grief and guilt she had felt over her final confrontation with Papa. Her life was finished as far as she was concerned. For days she had wrestled with her decision to marry Lewis Bradley. She had prayed for long hours, hoping God might show her another way to save her mother and Micah from the shame and the possible legal trouble that would come if people knew about Mr. Hamilton’s suicide. But God seemed strangely silent.

Time after time, she had gone to the Bible searching for some Scripture that might show her the way, but nothing seemed relevant. She knew God hated lying and that making a vow to God as she would in marrying Lewis shouldn’t be taken lightly. Yet what was she to do?

They had announced their engagement on Monday, and it had appeared in the Leader newspaper on Tuesday. Now here it was Saturday, and Charlotte had no better understanding or answers as to how to deal with the matter than she had when first forced to go along with the plan. Mama had been relentless in seeking to know why Charlotte had agreed to marry Lewis Bradley. She had sought Charlotte morning and night with questions and desperation. Charlotte refused to talk to her mother about the situation, however, even knowing she was breaking her mother’s heart. She knew Mama spent nights in tears and prayers, and it devastated Charlotte to know she was the cause.

But if I tell her the reason I’ve agreed to marry Lewis, she’ll demand I not go through with it, and she’ll sacrifice her reputation of honesty and stand with Micah to face whatever legal issues might come. And who knew how severe the legal trouble might be? They’d both hidden the circumstances of a death.

At the sound of a rider approaching the house, Charlotte went to her bedroom window and looked out. It was Lewis Bradley. He was the very last man in the world that she wanted to see. She sighed and moved to the vanity mirror. She considered her attire and hair. She had chosen a simple high-necked, layered muslin-over-cotton gown. It was nothing special, and she was certain Lewis wouldn’t like it. Back when Papa had first entertained the idea of their marriage, Lewis had told her in private that he intended to see her dressed in clothes more befitting her station as his wife.

She smoothed down the bodice, took up a handkerchief, and tucked it in her fitted sleeve. She didn’t trust herself not to break into tears.

Drawing a deep breath to steady herself, Charlotte wondered what in the world Lewis wanted. There was no reason for him to be here unless perhaps he wanted to give the appearance of them being close and romantic. It might be his way of trying to convince everyone that they were truly in love.

Charlotte swallowed the lump in her throat at the sound of knocking on the front door. She stepped into the hall and was just making her way downstairs as Nora opened the door to Lewis.

“Good day to you, Mr. Bradley,” Nora greeted.

“I’ve come to see Charlotte.”

“I’m here, Nora. You can go ahead and leave us.” Charlotte came to stand beside the woman. “Mr. Bradley and I shall take a walk.”

“I brought you these,” Lewis said, producing a bouquet of hothouse flowers.

He was such a devious man. Here he was pretending to be a romantic suitor, bringing his fiancée a gift of love. She took the flowers and handed them to Nora without even bothering to thank him.

Nora took the bouquet and smelled them. “I’ll put them in water.” Her words were quite guarded, revealing no joy or delight over Lewis’s supposed thoughtfulness.

“Thank you, Nora.” Charlotte fixed Lewis with a stare. “Shall we?” She arched her brow but otherwise kept what she hoped was a stoic expression.

“But of course, my dear,” he said, opening the screen door for her.

She waited until they were well down the drive before speaking. “What are you doing here?”

“Why, my dear, aren’t you happy to see me?” There was a tinge of sarcasm in his voice, and then he chuckled. “Your mother brought me your dowry last Monday.”

“Yes, I know.”

She stiffened when he took hold of her arm. “That’s hardly necessary.”

“I think it is. Having you on my arm suggests our desire to be close. By the way, you look quite lovely in that simple country frock of yours, but I can hardly wait to drape you in silks and diamonds.”

“Do you suppose that will make up for a lack of love?”

He laughed all the more. “I don’t think it will much matter. You’ll look very beautiful, and that is all that will be important. People will see you and know that you are mine, and that they cannot have you. Especially Micah Hamilton.”

“You will also know that you don’t have me. Not in heart and mind. You may force this unholy union on me, but that’s the only part of me you’ll ever have.”

“My dear, that will be quite enough. Because I will also have your inheritance, and you will give me sons.”

Charlotte cringed at the thought of bearing this evil man’s children. She prayed for strength to keep her word. At least Micah and Mama would be safe. But would they really stay that way? After all, whatever Lewis knew, he would continue to be able to hold that over their heads. There really was no way to make this go away so long as he had the ability to reveal the truth.

“Then I must ask,” Charlotte began, “what guarantee do I have that you will remain silent after we are married? You won’t even be honest with me about how you found out what you know.”

“You have no guarantee. Furthermore, you have only yourself to blame for my overhearing the truth. You and Micah really should find better places to talk than churchyards.”

Charlotte’s stomach soured. She and Micah had discussed the past that day after church. She was facing all of this because of that one conversation. She frowned. But what had she said that was all that revealing?

Lewis pulled her thoughts back to the present. “I find the idea of waiting until November first to be unnecessary. I can give you a lovely wedding without delay, and so I am planning our marriage to take place on September second. It’s a Sunday, and I’ve already spoken to the pastor. He was surprised, to be certain, but agreed to marry us after the morning service.”

Charlotte stopped in midstep and yanked her arm away from his grasp. “I won’t do that. Mama asked to wait, and you agreed.”

Lewis gazed heavenward and shrugged. “And now I’ve changed my mind. She doesn’t need you.” He looked her in the eye. “She has Micah, and they will manage getting the steers to market just fine without you.”

“That’s not the only thing she’s relying on me for.”

“Whatever else she needs, Micah will be able to provide. I’m quite sure he’ll be more than capable of seeing that the ranch continues to run.”

“But as you so neatly pointed out, this is my inheritance. I am responsible.”

“And I will take that responsibility from you when we marry. You’ll no longer have to make decisions about anything but caring for our home and children. And of course, satisfying me.”

His grin was more than she could stand. Charlotte had to hold herself back from slapping him across the face. She started back for the house without considering what Lewis might do.

He easily caught up to her and grabbed her tightly around the upper arm. “You’ll mind your manners with me, Charlotte. I can be very punishing to those who refuse to show me respect.”

She tried to pull away, but he held on painfully tight. “You’re going nowhere until you hear me out. You will tell your mother that we are marrying on the second. You will also convince her that it’s your idea. I do not want her visiting my office again, demanding answers about why I’m forcing this on you. I told her this was a mutually agreed upon arrangement and that you are more than happy with your decision. Now it’s your job to persuade her of it being the truth.”

“But it’s not the truth. And now, listening to you, I don’t even believe it will resolve the problem.”

“And what problem would that be? That I tell the truth about what Micah did? The truth about your mother helping him to hide it?”

Charlotte raged inside, but on the outside, she became strangely calm. There had to be a way to hold Lewis in check. And then all at once something came to mind.

“You obviously know about my inheritance,” she said, trying again to pull away. This time he let her go.

Lewis looked at her oddly. “Yes. I learned that you inherited half of everything, while your mother holds the other half.”

“That’s right. And here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to go to the lawyer and turn my half over to my mother so that she owns everything in full. I’ll still be able to access money that I need, but you won’t be able to use it as you please. You won’t have access to all that wealth you apparently need.”

Lewis’s eyes darkened. “You wouldn’t dare. If you so much as try to arrange that, I’ll go to the sheriff.”

“No, I don’t think you will. See you have something I want. And I have something you want. That makes us equals.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, dear Charlotte.” He stepped closer. “I am no one’s equal. I have the upper hand in this. Your mother is growing older, and death could be quite near.”

Charlotte’s stomach soured at the man’s flippant talk of death. Would he honestly kill Mama to have their money?

He reached up and took hold of her chin. Charlotte found it impossible to move. It was as if his words had frozen her in place.

“The truth of the matter is this: I am not opposed to doing whatever is necessary to have my way. Refuse to marry me and I will make your loved ones suffer. Marry me and give your inheritance to your mother beforehand, and I will take her life.”

“But you can’t marry him on the second of September. You mustn’t marry him at all,” Lucille said, after hearing Charlotte’s announcement at supper. “I said and did what I did because I knew it would buy us time.”

“But I want to do this, and it is my wedding.” Charlotte sounded perfectly at peace with the decision.

Lucille didn’t believe there was any peace at all, however. She knew her daughter. Knew that she didn’t love Lewis and that none of this had come about of her own accord.

“Charlotte, you must tell us what Lewis has done to cause you to agree to marry him. It’s outrageous. You don’t love him. You’ll never love him. Yes, Victoria may need a mother, but that’s no reason to marry a man you despise.” Lucille held up her hand to silence Charlotte. “And don’t tell me that you’ve had a change of heart. I know you too well.”

Charlotte looked away to stare at her plate of uneaten food. “This is how it is going to be, Mama.”

Micah and Nora remained silent, but Lucille could see they were both very uncomfortable. Perhaps it was better to wait until later when she could speak to Charlotte alone. It was her turn to heave a sigh.

“I’m sorry to have reacted so vehemently. It is hardly appropriate at the dinner table.” She picked up her fork and stabbed at the meat on her plate. Somehow, some way, she had to prevent this wedding from taking place.

By the end of the meal, Lucille and Micah were the only ones still at the table. Charlotte had gone to her room, her food uneaten, while Nora had gathered the empty plates and headed off to the kitchen.

Lucille looked at Micah and shook her head. “I’m glad you’re still here. I don’t know what we’re going to do.”

“I don’t either, but I think it’s time I had a talk with Bradley.”

Micah’s words were exactly what Lucille had hoped to hear. She hadn’t wanted to ask him to confront Bradley, but now that he had volunteered, she wanted to express her approval.

“I think that’s our only hope. Maybe the threat of having to deal with you will cause him to speak openly regarding what’s happened. It’s obvious that Charlotte doesn’t feel safe confiding in us. Therefore, I must believe his threat involves us.”

Micah gave a slow nod and got to his feet. “I’ll go with you and Charlotte to church tomorrow and then find Lewis and demand to talk privately with him. I’ll bring Wes along so he can drive you home.”

“Don’t let Lewis Bradley refuse you, Micah. I have a feeling this is life and death.”

Micah sat thinking about Charlotte and the wedding. He knew more than ever that he didn’t want her to marry someone else. He thought about what she meant to him and how much he cared about her. How had he not seen that it was love?

Even now, confessing his feelings to himself, it came as no surprise. If anything, it seemed so obvious that he felt foolish in having even questioned it. He loved Charlotte. He couldn’t imagine his life without her in it.

He opened his Bible to Romans eight and started to read. His mind, however, refused to focus on the Scripture. What was Bradley holding over Charlotte? How bad must it be to convince her to give up on her longtime love of him and marry a man she despised?

Micah set the Bible down and started to make a mental list. The only things that Charlotte cared that deeply about were her mother, Micah, and the ranch. The threat had to be against one or all. He wished his father were alive. Talking things out with him had always given Micah insight and understanding. Now he was gone, and Micah didn’t even know if he was with God or had been cast into a horrible place where God was clearly absent. Since his father’s death, this had been the tormenting question. Could a Christian cause their own death and still maintain salvation? Had Jesus also died for that sin?

So many in the church said no. They said a dead man couldn’t repent and ask forgiveness for the sin of taking his life, but Micah had always been taught that Christ had died for all of one’s sins. When people accepted Jesus as their Savior and repented of their ways, it didn’t mean they just stopped sinning. Man was flawed that way. But they would strive to change and sin less. Still, even those sins yet to be committed had been forgiven when Christ took them on the cross. When people accepted salvation, they accepted that gift of forgiveness for all of their sins.

His gaze fell upon the thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth verses of chapter eight in Romans.

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Micah read them again for a second time and then a third. He felt the burden lift as his mind began to comprehend the Scriptures he was reading. Nothing could separate people from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. Death was at the top of the list.

He glanced over the whole of chapter eight to make sure he understood the context in which those verses had been given. Verse one started with added conviction.

“‘There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit,’” Micah read aloud. “ No condemnation to them which are in Christ.”

He read verses two and three. “‘For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.’

“But there will be those who condemn Dad, just the same. They will say he couldn’t really have believed if he gave in to hopelessness.” Micah glanced upward. “They will say his salvation wasn’t real.”

Micah felt compelled to continue reading. He caught sight of verse thirty-three. “‘Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.’” He read the next verse as well. “‘Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.’”

Tears came to his eyes. Who had the right to condemn his father? God alone was his judge. His salvation in Jesus was assured. His sin had once separated him from God, but Jesus had died once for all, and Wayman Hamilton had asked Jesus to be his Savior. He had sought forgiveness from sin and did his best to live a sinless life.

But then despair had taken his eyes from the Lord and put them on the tragedy around him. His suicide had come through doubt—that age old deception of Satan. A further deception would succeed if Micah chose to believe his father’s salvation had been revoked.

He wiped his eyes and fell to his knees. The peace of God poured over him, and Micah felt certain for the first time that like the thief on the cross, Dad was with Jesus in paradise.

“Thank you, Lord for Your Holy Word. Thank you for taking pity on me and giving me restored hope. Your constant love is all that I could ever want.”

For a moment, Charlotte’s face filled his thoughts. “Oh, Lord, please help her. Protect her, Father, because I have a feeling things are about to get worse before they get better. Help me to know how to help her.”