Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Sixteen
W hile Charlotte sat up in bed with Levon standing beside it, the two were married by Reverend Potts. Hattie Duncan was a witness. From the look on Levon’s face, it was apparent he hadn’t wanted to marry her any more than she wanted to marry him.
Nothing she said would change her father’s mind about the wedding. He hadn’t even given Levon time to dress decently. She had a feeling he was wearing the same buckskin pants and Western shirt he’d worn to work the ranch that day.
After they were declared husband and wife, Hattie and Reverend Potts left. Her pa told Levon to leave the room as well. Her husband of less than five minutes hadn’t wasted any time getting out from under the barrel of her father’s shotgun. Her mother had cried throughout the ceremony and was still wiping tears from her eyes.
“You brought shame to this family, Charlotte,” her father snarled. “Not only did you lie to us, but you swore on the Satterfield family Bible!” he said, raising his voice. “I won’t ever forgive you for doing that. Your lie started a feud between two families and neighbors who took sides.”
Charlotte figured it would be best to remain silent and let her pa have his say. He seemed determined to have it anyway. He would be mad with her for a while, but eventually, he’d come around and forgive her. She was his daughter. His Queenie.
“What you did to this family is a sin and a shame, and it will be years before your ma, brother, and I live it down. We repeatedly asked you to be truthful, and you claimed you were. And the very thought you were pregnant before, and your aunt Jessie helped you end your pregnancy, is another thing I can’t stomach. Thanks to Hattie’s wagging tongue, everybody around these parts will know what you did and that you even lied about being a virgin.”
He paused as if to let his words sink in before adding, “I’m sending you away, Charlotte. After your six weeks of recovery from childbirth, I want you gone from this house.”
“How long will I need to be gone?”
Her father moved closer to the bed to ensure she heard his next words. “You are never to come back, not even to visit.”
His words were like a slap to her face, and the loud gasp she heard from her mother was a strong indication that she hadn’t known of her father’s decision. “What do you mean I can’t come back, Pa?”
“Just what I said. I am giving you and Levon your aunt’s house in Denver. That’s where you will stay the rest of your days with your husband and child.”
“You can’t mean that, Pa.”
“I do mean it. After all the shame you brought to this family and all your lies, we are disowning you as our child. Tomorrow, my attorney will remove your name from the family roll as a Satterfield. When we die, I don’t want you to attend our funerals. And you will never be able to inherit anything owned by a Satterfield. Nothing. Not this house, land, or anything else. You, your husband, nor your offspring—present and future. I will make sure my attorney files the necessary paperwork and sees to it. You are as much as dead to me, Charlotte.”
“Kurt, you can’t mean that,” Penny Satterfield said with tears gathering in her eyes.
“I do mean it, and you will abide by my decision, Penny. It is final.”
Charlotte glanced at her mother with pleading eyes. “Ma, surely you won’t let him do this to me. What about your first grandchild? Are you willing to never see him again? Turn your back on him, too?” Instead of answering, her mother began crying.
“Lies have consequences,” her father said sternly. “You should have thought about that before lying on an innocent man.”
“Pa, when I’m well, I’ll visit the Madarises and—”
“Do you not fully understand the magnitude of what you’ve done?” her father yelled, interrupting what she was saying. “The Madarises don’t want a Satterfield to set foot on their property. The only thing you’ll do is leave here when you can travel and never come back. I’m being gracious by giving you your aunt’s home. Free and clear. That is the last thing you’ll get from us, Charlotte. If you ever try to return here again, I will have you arrested for trespassing.”
Her mother began crying harder but her father ignored his wife.
“You’re doing this because of Waylon, aren’t you? I’m being punished because of his broken engagement to Victoria.”
Her father stared at her for a long moment and said, “I’m doing this because of lies you told not only to me and your mother but to anyone who cared to listen—shaming a decent family in the worst possible way. Penny and I thought we raised a decent human being. Tonight, you proved us wrong. And don’t bother writing. We don’t want to see or hear from you ever again.”
Her pa then left the room, and her mother followed.
“In a way, I feel sorry for Charlotte Satterfield, Milton,” Felicia said as they held hands while walking through her parents’ rose garden.
He had arrived that morning, sharing the news that they could reschedule their wedding. Not only had it been proved that Charlotte’s baby wasn’t his, but according to the midwife, she hadn’t been a virgin either. She had gotten pregnant before, and that had resulted in a botched-up abortion nobody had known about. She’d confessed to her parents that her aunt Jessie had taken her to some woman in Denver while she’d visited over the summer two years ago.
“Well, I don’t feel sorry for her,” Milton replied. “Pa is still upset about the scandal and won’t let Waylon come to our home to see Victoria. She delayed leaving in September for nursing school in Savannah, hoping that her engagement to Way would be back on, but Pa refuses to talk about it.
“To be honest, Fee, I doubt things will ever get back right between the Madarises and Satterfields. Charlotte’s lies caused irreparable damage. That’s sad because Victoria and Way love each other so much.”
“Have you tried talking to your father on their behalf?” Felicia asked.
Milton released a deep breath and said, “Yes. I tried talking to Pa. Mama has, too. However, he is full of what Mom calls Madaris pride and is unforgiving of all the Satterfields, and that includes Way.”
“Well, we hope that changes over the next few months, Milton. Every time I talk to Victoria, she starts crying. Can’t your father see what it’s doing to her and Way? What happened wasn’t their fault.”
“I know. I even told Pa that Way never believed I was guilty of what Charlotte had accused me of doing. But he doesn’t care. The Madaris name has always meant integrity and honor in Houston, but because of a Satterfield it was nearly ruined.”
Deciding to change the subject, she turned toward him beaming broadly. “So, what date do you want to reschedule our wedding for?”
He reached out and tucked a strand of hair that had fallen in her face behind her ear. “As soon as possible.”
Her smile widened. “Let’s talk to my parents to see how that can be arranged.”
Three months later
***
At the Emmanuel Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, Milton Madaris wedded Felicia Lee. Although Jantzen was totally against it, Milton refused to back down from Waylon standing beside him as his best man. Victoria was Felicia’s maid of honor, and her sisters were her bridesmaids.
Charlotte, in shame, left Houston for Denver with her husband and newborn child. Even though her lies resulted in Waylon’s broken engagement with Victoria, he tried talking his father out of disowning his sister. However, no matter what he said, Kurt Satterfield would not change his mind. It was as if Waylon’s words fell flat.
As a wedding gift, their uncle QT sent tickets to Milton and Felicia to join him for a month in Paris. Milton and Felicia would leave within a week after their wedding. He also sent a ticket to Victoria to use whenever she felt the need to get away from Houston for a while. She would have to reapply to nursing school since she hadn’t started last year in September as planned.
Milton had made plans for him and Felicia to spend their wedding night in a hotel in Augusta. They would remain there for two days. Then they would travel back home to Texas to catch the steamship to Paris. It would be the first international trip for both of them.
“Happy?” Milton asked her as they danced together.
“Very. I thought this day would never come.”
“But it has. Thanks for believing in me, Fee.”
“And thanks for giving me a reason to believe in you.” She looked across the room. “Victoria and Waylon look so sad and miserable.”
“I know. He probably wants to ask her to dance but knows doing so might cause a scene with my father. They aren’t allowed to talk to each other. You saw how upset Pa was when he saw Waylon was my best man.”
“I’m glad you stood your ground. He is your best friend and was supposed to be the one to stand beside you today. I can’t imagine anyone else doing so. I hope Pa Jantz comes around. Victoria loves Waylon.”
“And he loves her.”
Later that night, in a darkened hotel room in Augusta, with the sultry voice of Billie Holiday flowing in the background, Milton made love to the woman who would always have his heart. His Fee.
Four months later…
***
Victoria raced Magic across the open plains. Her destination was to meet Waylon in the fruit grove, which had become their secret meeting place over the past few months. They loved each other, and their families’ positions in this feud were unfair to them.
Her parents left for Dallas yesterday and would be gone for a few days to visit her mother’s brother, who was under the weather. Milton and Fee had returned from Paris and were taking another trip. This was to New Orleans to see Fee’s cousin Naomi perform in a gospel concert. Victoria was to have gone with them but encouraged them to go without her because she wasn’t feeling well.
She doubted either of them had believed her claim, but neither had said anything. Over the past few months, Milton had given her several warnings that if their pa found out that she was disobeying him and sneaking around and seeing Waylon, it would make things harder for her.
Considering her and Waylon’s circumstances now, Victoria didn’t know how that was possible. Once Charlotte’s lie had been exposed, Kurt Satterfield had given back his blessing for her and Waylon to marry. When she’d run into him one day at the feed store, he had personally apologized for being the one to end their engagement.
On the other hand, her pa refused to discuss the possibility of her and Waylon resuming their engagement. Slandering the Madaris name had been like a personal affront to him. Her mother tried explaining that for a Madaris man, a hit to their pride was hard to overcome. Etta Madaris had asked her to be patient; hopefully, her pa would come around.
What if he didn’t? Did Pa honestly expect her to live the rest of her life without Waylon? Granted, they hadn’t planned to marry until she’d finished nursing school, but what if he still refused to give his blessings after that time? It just wasn’t fair. For the past year, she worked three days a week at the hospital, while hoping her father would change his mind about her and Waylon’s engagement.
She and Waylon had developed a way of secretly communicating using the postal box he rented in Hall General Store. She would write a letter one day, and he would get it within two days. Only once did she not show up for their meeting because her parents had unexpectedly changed their routine and hadn’t gone to visit the sick church members as they usually would do on Thursday evenings.
When she reached the fruit grove, she saw Waylon waiting. After bringing her horse to a stop, he helped her dismount. Once her feet touched the ground, he drew her into his arms and kissed her.
She loved it whenever he did. A degree of warmth would flow through her veins, eventually heating her blood, leaving her with a level of yearning that he’d initiated over the past year.
“You look mighty pretty today, Victoria,” he said when he finally released her mouth.
That’s another thing she liked. The gruff timbre of his voice whenever he finished kissing her. “And you look mighty handsome today, Waylon.”
He threw his head back and laughed. The sound was husky and rich, and she couldn’t help but laugh with him. It had been a while since they’d shared a laugh. When their laughter ceased, his features turned serious. Using his fingertips, he reached out and tilted her face so his gaze could linger on it for a moment. It was as if he were branding it to memory.
“Waylon?”
Instead of answering, he slowly lowered his head to hers and kissed the unspoken question from her lips. Like all his kisses, this one was filled with passion, the kind he’d introduced her to, which never went beyond kissing. The kind that always made her moan.
When the kiss ended, he pressed his forehead against hers, sighed deeply, and said, “I can’t imagine us not marrying one day, Victoria.”
His words stoked something within her. Something she refused to acknowledge. Even the possibility of that happening. “Then don’t imagine it, Waylon. We will get married one day.”
“Your pa has pretty much said he doesn’t want me in your family,” he said, releasing his hold and taking a step back.
“And your ma has pretty much let it be known that she doesn’t want me in yours,” she countered. In Victoria’s way of thinking, Ms. Penny’s hatred of her was unwarranted. She blamed the Madarises for Mr. Kurt banishing Charlotte when Charlotte’s lie had started it all.
“Ma is not herself and is directing her anger at the wrong people, Victoria. She will eventually come around. She’s always put Charlotte on a pedestal and thought she could do no wrong.”
“That’s no excuse, Waylon, because what your sister did was wrong. At least your father apologized to me, but your mother has let it be known she will never welcome me into your family.” Maybe she should tell him what his mother had said to her a few weeks ago when she’d been leaving the grocery store. She hadn’t known Penny Satterfield could be so mean and hateful.
He nodded. “You’re right. That’s no excuse. Once we’re married, we won’t live with my parents or yours. We’ll have our own place.”
“Yes, a place of our own,” she said, thinking of the cabin that Waylon had built for them.
“I’m thinking of asking your pa for your hand again.”
A lump settled in Victoria’s throat. All it took was for her to remember how upset her father had gotten when Milton had told him Waylon would be his best man. “Not sure that’s a good idea right now. We have time.”
He arched a brow. “How do you figure that?”
“We hadn’t planned to get married until I finished nursing school anyway. I’m thinking of reapplying, so that would still be three years away.”
“Yes, but I never intended for you to leave for Savannah without wearing my engagement ring.”
“And I can still wear it, Waylon.”
“But you’d be doing so behind your parents’ backs, Victoria, and that won’t sit well with me.”
It didn’t sit well with her either. “So, what do you suggest?”
His features were dead serious when he said, “Elope.”