Chapter 11

The morning after Archer Fordham walked me home from my lessons was an awkward one. I needed to talk to someone about the news I'd gotten from Uncle, but had no one to talk to. Surely I could not speak to Aunt Emily about this? And I had absolutely no idea where Jack was…. I had no one to turn to. I glanced out of the window from the dining room and caught a glimpse of the church in the distance. Its stained windows reflecting from the sun's lights created a beautiful pattern on the dirt. "Mother!" I said out loud.

"What was that, dear?" Aunt Emily called from the kitchen.

I stood from the table and went to find my Aunt. "Aunt Emily, would it be okay if I went to visit Mother? Just for a little while?" I asked.

Glancing up at the clock above the sink, she frowned. "I don't know. It's nearly eleven. Your lessons start at eleven-thirty. You can't be late for those. Your Uncle would be very upset."

"I'll go straight after, I promise. I haven't visited her in so long." If I had to beg, so be it.

"Catherine…"

"I haven't seen her in so long, Aunt Emily…"

I saw my Aunt's face almost instantly crumble in defeat. "Go on. But if you're late to the lessons-"

I smiled and kissed her cheek. "I won't, I promise." Not wasting another second, I almost broke my neck trying to run out of the door.

Blackwater's cemetery wasn't overly large, but it wasn't exactly small either. Nearly every day I would witness new additions come settle into their new home. Today was no exception. Freshly placed dirt lined four separate graves. Flowers were placed near the headstones, adding some color to the dreary area. I sighed and turned away from the fresh graves. I needed to talk to my mother.

Mother's grave was perhaps the best up kept in the whole county. I made sure of it. Violet snowdrop, her favorite flower, lined her headstone. They were wilting, I noticed. I'd have to get some more for her. "Hi, mommy." I said, sitting on the ground in front of her. I felt tears start to burn the back of my eyes as I looked at her grave marker. Anabelle Ross, 1875-1906 it read. "I haven't seen Jack in a while. I miss him." I decided to start with the easy. "Pumpkin would have made his being gone a lot easier…" I missed that little kitten. He'd only managed a month with me before Uncle changed his mind about it.

"I...uh, I got a suitor. He…works with Uncle." I said. The words felt funny to say out loud. "Uncle likes him. Perhaps I should let him court me? Maybe then I could get out of the house." I put my chin on my knees and sighed. "I miss you, mama. It's hard without ya." I swallowed the lump in my throat and steadied my breath. "Father stopped writing long ago… I do not know if he's alive, or if he's simply washed his hands of me." A few tears slid down my face. I missed my father just as much as I missed her. "Aunt Emily says he's just busy, but I don't think I believe that."

"I wish you were here, mama." I finished.

I heard the clock in town chime loudly, indicating that it was now eleven fifteen. I hadn't even heard the chimes at eleven! Afraid of being late to my lessons, I stood and brushed what dirt I could off of my dress. "Aunt Emily is going to be furious…" I muttered. I frowned when I realized I was not going to able to fully clean my dress. This was going to result in punishment no doubt. Sighing, I turned from my mother's headstone and began walking towards the entrance of Blackwater's cemetery. On my way out, I briefly read the names of the newly buried. Mary Johnson. Jacob Moriarty. Georgia Marston. Dennis O'Connell. I stopped walking.

Georgia Marston?!

I stared at the grave in complete shock. "N-No, not her…" I said, my mind flooding with images of the pain Jack must be feeling. I knelt in the loose dirt on her freshly made grave and leaned forward to touch the tombstone. I ran my fingers along the etched on words, "An angel finally back home". I couldn't believe that this was real. Jack had thought she'd pull through, I had been praying she would. The pain of losing a family member was not one that I'd wanted Jack to feel. "You will be missed." I told Georgia's tombstone. "Jack thought the world of you." I continued. "I'll…" I chewed on my bottom lip, trying to think of the last words I wanted to say to the light of the Marston family.

"I'll make sure your family stays safe." I promised. "So long as I still live with my Uncle, I will make sure they stay safe." With one last look at the tombstone, I made my way out of the cemetery. I started walking towards the hotel the Professor was staying at, keeping a steady pace. It wasn't long before I realized I was going to be late no matter how hard I tried.

"Where's Miss Ross going in such a hurry?" Said someone, interrupting my focus on not being late. I glanced around and noticed Archer was standing less than ten feet ahead of me.

"Mr. Fordham, I'd love to talk but-" I tried, but he cut me off.

"I'd prefer if you called me Archer, Catherine." He said.

I sighed. "Archer, I would love to talk, and please don't think me rude, but I'm almost late to my lessons. I don't want to disappoint Uncle."

Archer closed the distance between us and placed his arm around my waist like he had done last night. "Allow me to escort you then? My break is almost over, and the Bureau is in the same direction."

Not knowing what to say, I just nodded and hoped he wouldn't tell Uncle I was running late. Archer smiled and looked ecstatic I was allowing him to do such a thing. He walked me to the hotel, talking to me on the way and not going nearly as fast as I would have by myself. Regardless, I found myself enjoying Archer's company. He, besides Jack, was someone who seemed to genuinely want to know who exactly Catherine Ross was.

I frowned, thinking of Georgia's grave marker.

"What's wrong? Did I say something out of turn?" Archer asked.

"Oh! No, sir! I just, I…" I wasn't sure whether or not to be truthful with him. "I just, I was visiting my mother earlier, it's why I'm late. And I happened to notice that John Marston's daughter was recently buried. I just feel bad for him." Half truth worked too, I supposed.

"Ah, yes. Your Uncle told me of your fascination with that man." His tone was disapproving and I found myself growing defensive of John Marston.

"He saved my life." I said.

"So it seems he did."

"Losing family members is a great pain to anyone, whether they're a criminal or not, Mr. Fordham." I said, thankful we were at the Hotel. I wriggled out of his grasp and walked to the door. "Thank you for escorting me, I greatly appreciate it." I said, trying to give him my best smile. My sudden defensive actions didn't seem to bother him, as he smiled back at me and waved his goodbyes. As soon as he was gone from me, I ran upstairs to the Professor's room, hoping he wouldn't notice my tardiness.

It was nearly dusk by the time my lessons got out. The Professor had been excessively positive today, flinging his papers about, ranting about a new discovery he made every fifteen minutes or so. I wasn't sure how to handle his antics, and ended up staying in the corner for most of his lessons. There were times he was a brilliant man, one I was proud to know. And then there were these times, when all he shouted out was racial slurs about the Natives, and doing things in the name of research. I didn't understand him.

When I walked through the door of the house, I was greeted with the smell of chicken. I smiled and sniffed the air. Aunt Emily made the best chicken. "Aunt Emily, I am home!" I called out. I walked into the dining room, expecting to see my Aunt and Uncle waiting for me to eat, as they usually did when my lessons ran late. I was surprised to find only Uncle there.

"You're late." He said, poking his fork into the meat on his plate.

"I-I am sorry, Uncle. The Professor was a bit absent minded today." I said, sitting down across from him.

"Your dress is filthy." Uncle pointed out.

"Yes, I visited Mother today and I sat too long. I will wash it out first thing tomorrow morning."

"Very well."

We sat in silence, and I wondered where my Aunt was. I didn't have to wonder long before Uncle spoke again. "Your Aunt will not be with us for a couple of days. Her sister is ill and needs tending to. She will be spending the next week or so at Ridgewood farm." He informed me. Fear shot through my whole body within the first few words that came out of his mouth. A week, alone with him? I tried to calm myself down, rationalizing that he would be at work most of the time. "I will expect that you take over her duties."

"Yes, sir." I agreed quickly, bowing my head.

Silence followed once more. We ate our supper, which I had assumed Uncle had made, and listened to the sounds outside the house. Archer entered my mind again, and I thought over what had happened with us today. He seemed to be clear in his intentions with me. He was nice enough, even though he shared Uncle's view of John Marston. He talked to me like I was equal to him. He even called me pretty. I could feel my cheeks grow hot when I recalled that. He had said I was pretty, and he seemed like he meant it. Perhaps I should consider letting him court me? What bad would come from it? I frowned. What did courting entail, I wonder? What was expected? I glanced at Uncle. He was reading the Blackwater Ledger and looked very focused. Did I dare to break his focus?

"Uncle, may I ask you a question?" I decided to be brave.

"What is it?" He sounded irritated.

I bit my lip, regretting my action already. "What…what does courting entail?" I asked.

Uncle set down the paper and looked me in the eyes. "Excuse me?"

"You had said people have asked to court me…and that it was my choice…but…what does it entail?"

Uncle scratched at his moustache for a moment before replying. "The idea of courtship is to find a husband. The suitor would do his best to show you he would make a good husband. He would demonstrate how he would care for you, provide for you, and how good of a father he would be."

"So, if I accepted Mr. Fordham's offer for courtship, we would marry?" The idea of starting a family didn't appeal to me yet. There were still things I wanted to learn.

"So you're considering him?" Uncle asked.

I nodded.

"You're not as stupid as I had believed." He stated. The insult hurt, but he continued before anything else. "You would not necessarily get married. If he decided he didn't want you, or you thought he wouldn't be a good husband, the courtship would end."

"I-I-If we courted, would we have to m-m-make love?" The idea of that terrified me, and it was embarrassing to have to ask my Uncle that.

"Absolutely not! That is only what married couples do!" Uncle sounded outraged I'd brought it up. "It's a good thing you're considering Archer. He would make a good husband for you. He could keep you in line."

"How long do courtships last, Uncle?"

"That is entirely up to you. You can break off the courtship at any time."

"Mr. Fordham has put his arm around my hips a few times….Is that okay?"

"Did you give him permission to?"

"I did…"

Uncle Edgar sighed. "I suppose that is fine." He locked eyes with me again. "If you do chose to accept his offer, know this. If he tries to force himself on you, you are to tell me straight away. While I do not think him to be the type, it is something I want you to know. I may not like you, but that action is not acceptable."

I nodded in understanding. "Uncle, do you think Mr. Fordham would make a good husband?"

"He's the best you would ever get." With that, he stood up from the table. "Take care of this mess." He said before walking away. I stood up and began cleaning the table off. I weighed the options in my mind. With Archer, I would have a possible way out of the house, and a possible life with him. But I had never had any sort of relationship before. What if I messed up? I sighed and placed the dishes in the sink. Would it kill me to try? I was going to have to find out.

*Insert lame excuse here about my lack of updates and how I'm an awful writer* Sorry, sorry. But the good news is, with this Archer story arc comes GREAT possibilities. And just, hell I can't wait to write more. This story is my main focus right now. All others are on hold. Safe and Sound is TOP PRIORITY. I have neglected this for far too long. Updates will be as frequent as I can make them, I promise. No more MONTHS/YEARS to wait though. Also, sadly, Jack will not be in the story fully QUITE yet. Gimme fiveish chapters. Maybe more. But let's see where this road takes us because hell, do I have ideas. Love all you guys who still support this story and love it. You are all awesome.

ALSO IDEAS ARE WELCOME! JUST SHOOT ME A PM!