Author's note: I wasn't going to post today because this is such a short section but it does advance the plot.
"Adam," my father said, keeping his voice low, "our door is always open to others—you know that—but I don't think it's prudent to invite Mrs. Freestone here while Mariette is our houseguest. If what Mariette told me this morning is true—and I don't think Mariette would lie-having Jason's mistress sit at the same table with his wife, well…"
"I told you, Pa, Mrs. Freestone wasn't Jason's mistress. Did you not listen to anything I said?"
"Don't raise your voice to me." I wanted to tell him that I'd raise my voice, I'd raise hell or anything else I wanted but kept quiet; I needed my father on my side. He continued and I kept my mouth shut. "It doesn't matter what is or isn't true, it's what Mariette thinks and she also thinks that you've turned against her. That's what hurts her the most. She was actually crying, Adam. You've broken her heart. You and Mariette, well, the two of you have always been close, closer than either her and Hoss or Joe. For a time there, I thought that maybe a romance would spring up between the two of you since you spent so much time together—and I wouldn't have minded. She's such a good, gentle girl and I would have liked to make her my true daughter—well, daughter-in-law. You know how Mariette admires you—thinks the world of you and now, not only has she lost Jason but she thinks she's lost you too, lost both of you to Mrs. Freestone. How can you expect her to sit at table with that woman?"
That both Mariette and my father insisted on referring to Charity as "that woman," galled me to no end. "Her name is Charity Freestone—not 'that woman.' And I have already invited her to dinner tonight and she accepted. I hope that you'll be gracious." I knew he would be. My father could be a cold-hearted son-of-a-bitch if the situation called for it but he was a gracious host, always wanting any guest in our home to feel comfortable and welcome. "As for Mariette, she's wrong. I think that when she gets to know Charity better, she'll like her and won't see her as a threat. As for the money situation…" I had earlier told my father about the loan and it had started this whole conversation. I informed him that Jason owed money to 'Mrs. Freestone," had pleaded for her to loan it to him years ago and never endeavored to pay it back. "…I think I can resolve that."
"How?" My father looked askance at me. My whole family knew that I had a head for numbers and was prudent with money so they took seriously anything I said about finances. My 'frugality' was a source of jokes as was my college education but my advice on money was always taken seriously.
I considered my words carefully. "I want to marry Mrs. Freestone and then she won't need the shares of the mine—I'll give her part of my shares in her own name." You should have seen my father's face. You would have thought I said I wanted to consummate our wedding vows on the dining room table. I think my pa expected me to suddenly grin and say I was joking—but I wasn't.
"What? What are you saying?" His voice had dropped and he looked about as if he was afraid someone else might be listening.
"You heard me; I want to marry Charity Freestone."
"But…Adam, you just met her…what? Yesterday?"
"I know. I was there."
My father didn't take to my flippant attitude and gathered himself. He shook his head. "Adam, I don't know if you're serious or not but…"
"I'm serious, Pa. I want to marry Charity and I feel a sense of urgency about it. I've waited long enough to find happiness with a woman so I want to marry her as soon as I can. I told her last night, told her that I wanted to marry her."
"This is…" My father stepped away, and turned his back to me. "I can't believe this."
"I would think you'd like to meet her. That's why I invited her for dinner tonight. I hope then you can see why I feel the way I do about her but even if you can't, well, I'm going to marry her anyway. And soon. I've already picked out the spot to build our…home." I almost said 'house' but it wouldn't be just our house—it would be our home, the place where I would go at the end of each day and be able to rest my head and my troubles and find pleasure in the woman I chose for my wife, my helpmeet, my friend. My father said nothing—just looked incredulous. "Well, I'm going to wash up and change and then I'm heading to town to get Charity. Hop Sing said dinner will be at eight. See that a place is set for her, will you?" I left my father standing alone while I went to the washhouse. And I found that I was whistling. I was to see Charity in just a few hours and that prospect was exhilarating; I don't think I've ever felt more alive than during that time with Charity.
~ 0 ~
Mariette did not take to Charity. Our dinner was stiff and uncomfortable and Hoss and Joe would steal looks at Charity as if she had been forbidden to them and then look at one another. My father was his usual gracious self, playing the convivial host but I saw through the façade. His questions to her, innocently posed to start conversation, were crafted to lead to her discussing her past and Murdoch and her part in the killings of miners and the terrorizing "night riders." But I would change the subject immediately and my father would look a bit frustrated. Charity just looked confused.
His questions were innocent enough on the surface: "And what brings you to Virginia City?" That query appears to be bereft of malice but when put to Charity who came to collect an old debt from Jason Blaine, well, you can see what I mean. But I always saved her from having to answer by talking about something else or answering for her as subtly as I could. But the worst was that halfway through the meal, Mariette broke out into tears and sobbing, rushed from the table, holding her napkin to her face.
