Chapter Nineteen #2
them to leave me alone. He didn’t even have a gun, Natalie. Can you
imagine that? What did he think he was going to accomplish against
three outlaws who had guns?”
“From what you said, one was rolling around
on the grass in pain, so he was really going up against two,”
Natalie said. And since she knew Annabelle had merely been annoyed,
instead of scared, when Ben showed up, she couldn’t help but
chuckle. “He honestly thought you were in trouble. He didn’t know
you had things under control.”
“I told him that I was fine,” Annabelle
replied, “but he didn’t take my word for it. One of the outlaws
said he should mind his own business because I was on my way to
marry someone. And that’s when everything got bizarre. Those
outlaws believed him when he told them I was expecting his child.”
She gagged. “Like I would ever let Ben touch me that way. I
protested it, but the outlaws believed him over me. They assumed
this was why I ended my courtship with Kenneth, and then they
demanded I do right by the child and marry Ben. Apparently, one of
them was born out of wedlock and spent his whole life in shame
because of it. He said he refused to let that happen to the one I
was carrying.” She rolled her eyes. “Can you believe it? He’s an
outlaw kidnapping me to make me marry Kenneth, and he’s worried
about propriety?”
“It does seem a bit ridiculous,” Natalie
admitted.
“It was absurd. But they all dragged me to a
church and made me marry Ben anyway.”
“I can’t help but wonder why you didn’t keep
fighting those men? Surely, Ben wouldn’t have fought you.”
“One of the men put more chloroform over my
mouth and nose. He said something about needing to calm me down
before the preacher got into a panic. I woke up in the church, tied
to a chair. Though I said no over and over again, that idiot
preacher married me and Ben anyway.”
“How did they get you to sign the marriage
license?”
“They said they wouldn’t let me go until I
signed the stupid thing. I stuck it out for two hours until I
realized they were serious. Looking back, I shouldn’t have signed
it. I should have opted to die like that.”
“Oh, that’s silly. You wouldn’t have died
that way. Ben wouldn’t have let you.”
“I don’t know what Ben would have done, and I
don’t care. Those outlaws were not going to leave until I signed
that idiotic piece of paper, and he was too afraid of them to do
anything.”
Natalie winced. Though she could understand
why Annabelle was upset, it didn’t seem right that she should be so
hard on him. “Ben was trying to protect you. He didn’t know those
men weren’t going to hurt you.”
“I told him I wasn’t in any danger, but he
didn’t believe me. I don’t know why men have such a difficult time
believing a woman.”
“I think it’s rather sweet of Ben to try to
help, even if he didn’t know you had everything under control.”
“I suppose from someone else’s perspective,
it does seem sweet. But he’s known me for years. He should know I
can handle myself just fine.”
“He said he panicked. He did the first thing
that came to mind.”
Annabelle groaned. “I know he did. That’s why
I’m in this mess right now. I don’t want to be married to Ben. He’s
like another brother. Growing up, I thought my parents had triplets
since he was around here with Mark all the time. Can you imagine
marrying someone you thought of as a brother?”
Natalie winced again. “No.” Nor would she
want to. She supposed when she considered things from that angle,
Annabelle’s reluctance to accept marriage to Ben was
understandable. But still… “He’s a sweet man. He was willing to
sacrifice his life for you.”
“He was never in danger of dying. Those
outlaws weren’t going to kill him.”
“He didn’t know that.”
When Annabelle fell back on the bed, she
decided it was pointless to keep arguing with her. Maybe
someday—hopefully someday soon—Annabelle would see Ben for who he
really was instead of her brother’s friend. After excusing herself,
Natalie went back downstairs where Ben was drinking some water and
pressing a wet cloth to his forehead. Mark’s parents were talking
to him in low, comforting tones.
“How did it go?” Mark asked as he hurried
over to her.
“As well as could be expected,” Natalie
whispered. “She doesn’t like being married to Ben, but what can she
do? The vows have been exchanged and the marriage license is legal.
She’s not fighting it.”
“She just needs time. She’ll come
around.”
Natalie hoped Mark was right.
“Uncle Owen is currently looking for
Kenneth,” Mark said. “As it turns out, once Annabelle was
kidnapped, Kenneth ran out of town. No one’s seen or heard from
him.”
“I don’t know where he’d run to. It sounds
like Mr. and Mrs. Gordon are the only relatives he has.” At least
they were the closest ones he had.
“I’m sure my uncle will be asking them some
questions.”
“I don’t think Mrs. Gordon knew anything
about Kenneth needing money. When she talked about him to the women
in the group, she was so proud of him. She talked about him as if
he was her own child. She doesn’t strike me as the kind of person
who would deceive anyone.”
“Her husband is a good man, too. I have a
feeling that Kenneth went to them so he could escape whatever he
did in Chicago. He probably didn’t expect anyone to find him in
Omaha.”
“That’s what I think, too.” Natalie’s heart
went out to the couple. Of all the women in that social group,
Margie had been one of the few who hadn’t given her any grief.
Mark’s parents led Ben toward the front door,
so Natalie stopped talking to Mark.
“We’ll let Annabelle stay here for a couple
of days so she can get used to the idea of being married to you,”
Mark’s father told Ben. “I’m sure once she settles down, she’ll be
fine.”
“Alright.” Though Ben agreed, Natalie caught
the uncertainty underlying his tone.
After talking to Annabelle, Natalie didn’t
blame him for not being convinced that everything would settle down
in a couple of days. She had a sinking feeling that his problems
were just beginning. While she liked Annabelle, she wished
Annabelle would go easier on the poor man. He’d been trying to do
the right thing.
As Mark’s father saw Ben out, Mark’s mother
turned to her and Mark. “Maybe we should wait for a while before
having everyone in the family over for dinner.”
“I was about to suggest the same thing,” Mark
said.
His mother’s gaze went to Natalie. “How is
Annabelle doing?”
“Good, all things considered,” Natalie
replied. “The loud thud we heard was her punching bag falling to
the floor.”
His mother nodded. “I should go upstairs and
talk to her. Maybe it’ll help.”
Once she headed up the stairs, Mark turned to
Natalie. “Well, there’s nothing we can do right now. Let’s go home
and wait for things to settle down before coming back. If there’s
one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s how important it is to
give people their space when something unexpected happens.”
“Which is why you ran me out of the church on
our wedding day,” Natalie mused.
“Exactly,” he said as he took her by the hand
and led her out of the parlor. “All people need is some time to
adjust to the new situation, and then they’ll be happy. Ben and
Annabelle will be good together.”
“I hope so.”
“I’m shocked, Natalie. After all this time,
you still doubt me? My instincts are never wrong.”
While she wanted to believe him, she’d been
up there to see how upset Annabelle was. She doubted Annabelle was
going to embrace her marriage as quickly as Velma did. Something
told her poor Ben had a long road ahead of him. But, she decided to
keep her thoughts to herself. Instead, she let Mark lead her
home.
***
The next day, Natalie went to pay Margie a
visit. Though Margie had set out tea and cookies for the two of
them, she was too busy crying into her handkerchief to eat or drink
anything.
“I had no idea Kenneth had gotten mixed up
with a criminal element in Chicago,” Margie told her from the couch
as she wiped more tears from her eyes. “He never once said anything
about it. I’m heartbroken. He was like the son I never had.”
“I’m so sorry, Margie,” Natalie replied. “I
can’t even begin to imagine what pain you’re going through.”
“You’re a very kind young lady.” She patted
her hand in a motherly fashion. “It’s nice of you to come by to
comfort me.”
“You did nothing wrong. Neither did your
husband. You two couldn’t have known he showed up in Massachusetts
because he was on the run.”
“I tell myself that, but deep down, I keep
thinking I should have known something was wrong. Sometimes when we
want something, we’ll ignore those little pieces of doubt that
nibble at us. I knew it was strange that he showed up out of the
blue the way he did, and I knew it was also strange that he
wouldn’t mention much about his past, except for his childhood. The
warning signs were there. I chose to ignore them.”
“I probably would have done the same thing in
your position. No one can blame you for taking him in.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Margie said
with a sniffle. “Those ladies in your group have asked me not to
attend any more social engagements. They don’t want to be connected
with a criminal organization.”
“Fran and Katherine told you not to come to
any more social engagements?” Natalie asked, not hiding her
shock.
“Janet and Rosalyn did, too. But who can
blame them? Kenneth is in jail right now, and I hear he might have
actually killed someone in Chicago. That was on top of trying to
marry Annabelle for her money. Those men involved in Annabelle’s
kidnapping weren’t any better. All of them have done terrible
things. Sheriff Russell was explaining it all to me after he caught
them all, but I fainted toward the end of it. I don’t want to know
anything else.” She put her hand over her heart. “I can’t handle
it.”
Natalie’s eyes filled with tears. The poor
woman. She didn’t deserve the way Fran and her friends had treated
her. Just as she hadn’t deserved it. “Well, who needs them?”
Natalie asked, a new determination coming over her. “They’re just
four women in Omaha. They don’t speak for everyone else.”
“But the Gordon name is now attached to
scandal.”
“It was a scandal you and your husband had
nothing to do with. You can’t be blamed for what Kenneth did. The
right people will understand that.”
“I’m not so sure. Already, two of the men my
husband was hoping to hire at his restaurant said they couldn’t
work for him.”
“Then that’s their loss. Your husband can
hire better men. A person’s actions should stand on their own
merit. We shouldn’t be judged for someone else’s sins.”
“I understand what you’re saying, and I
agree, but people don’t see things that way.”
“Some people don’t see things that way. Those
are the ones you should ignore.” Just as she would ignore Fran and
her horrible friends. “As it so happens, I was thinking of creating
my own social group.”
“You were?”
Natalie nodded. “I never got along with Fran
and those other women anyway. I had decided to quit going to their
social engagements. I figured I’d create a new group and only
invite those I think are worth being in it. You should join me,
Margie.”
“But then you’d be seen in public with
me.”
“And you’d be seen in public with me. Some
people look at me and think I’m not sophisticated enough for
Mark.”
“Oh, that’s silly. You’ve always handled
yourself with grace.”
“While I appreciate you saying that, the
truth is, I don’t dance well, I don’t always eat and drink the
right way, and I’m not nearly as educated as other wealthy
people.”
“Those things don’t truly matter. What
matters is what’s in a person’s heart.”
“Exactly. And Margie, you have one of the
biggest hearts of anyone I’ve come across in Omaha. I would be
honored if you would be in my group. We’ll only invite others who
are like us. I’m tired of dealing with superficial people. I want
to have real friendships.”
Margie wiped the last of her tears away.
“That sounds nice.”
Natalie gave her a hopeful smile. “So you’ll
join me?”
For the first time since Natalie entered
Margie’s home, Margie smiled. “I’d love to.”
“Wonderful.” Natalie picked up her cup and
handed Margie’s hers. “I know this won’t solve all of your
problems, but at least it solves one of them. And, whatever
happens, you and I will have each other to talk to.”
Maybe, just maybe, in time, there would be
more members added to the group. For now, they had one another,
which meant that neither Natalie nor Margie would have to feel so
alone. And for now, that was more than enough.