How was it possible for her world to change so drastically in just two short hours?
Just two short hours ago she lived with her grandfather, her only living relative. Now she was a penniless orphan with a price on her head.
Just two short hours ago she was a single young girl without a care in the world. Now she was a married woman.
Just two short hours ago, she had never had her hand held by a man or been kissed. Now she was facing her wedding night, which in her naive mind scared her to death. Right now she would rather jump off the Brooklyn Bridge that face the man she had married.
Just two short hours ago she had never seen or heard of the man to whom she was now married.
She stared at her reflection in the floor-length mirror, an oddity in the poverty that now surrounded her. Staring back at her was the girl that she had been this morning, still dressed in the child-like, knee-length skirt, despite her fifteen years.
A noise behind her startled her from her thoughts. She looked in the mirror and saw her new husband standing in the doorway. She slowly turned to face him, beginning to tremble.
"You look tired," he said, "why don't you go to sleep. It's been a long day for you."
She stood there staring at the floor, unable to force herself to look at him, or move or even speak. She heard him walk toward the small suitcase that held her meager belongings and open it. A moment later he was behind her, gently unbuttoning the back of her dress, but still she could not force herself to move, as tears began to fill her eyes. Her dress slipped from her shoulders, falling to the floor and her long white nightgown dropped over her head. A hand was gently placed on her back and she felt herself being pushed toward the bed and her trembling and tears intensified.
She was gently lifted from her feet and placed on the bed. "Go to sleep," he ordered, tucking the thin quilt around her shoulders and leaving the room.
She stared at the door. Just who was this Spot Conlon that she had married?