Twelve Days by Margaret P.
(Many thanks to my betas, Terri Derr and Cristy Wyndham-Shaw)
Saturday, October 12th, 1872—How it ended. (2019: Words-3,693)
Scott emerged shirtless from the bathroom to find Emily standing by the dining table whispering anxiously to Johnny.
"What's up?"
"Nothing." Emily blinked like a cat caught in the light of a lantern. "Beth just asked me to check how far along you were."
Scott pulled down on the ends of the towel hanging around his neck and considered whether to challenge her on that statement. It may have been partly true, but there was definitely more to the frantic whispering than that.
"Another fifteen minutes. How's Katie?"
"All dressed." Emily avoided Scott's eye. "I'd better go back and tell her you're nearly ready." She gave Johnny a peck on the lips and disappeared out the door.
"Now you tell me the truth."
Johnny picked up his pale blue sash from the table and started wrapping it around his middle. "Nothing to tell."
"Johnny, if you don't tell me, I'll march over to the hacienda now and find out for myself."
Securing his sash, Johnny looked up and pondered a moment before he spoke. "Okay, but don't get in a pucker."
"What about?"
"Shoot, Scott, it's nothing. Katie's just got a few wedding jitters."
"Wedding jitters? You mean she's changed her mind about getting married?" Scott couldn't believe what he was saying, but Johnny just shrugged. He didn't deny it. "I need to see her."
"Nope." Johnny sidestepped, intercepting him before he reached the front door and turning him around by the shoulders. "You need to put your shirt on. Get in there and get gussied up. Leave Katie to Beth and the other women."
Propelled towards the bedroom door, Scott swung around before he got there. "But…"
"Hang it, Scott, don't make me get all messed up. I'll hog tie you if I have to." Johnny stood hands on hips, ready to tackle him again if he tried to get past. Odds were Bob and the others would wrestle him in the hacienda too if they saw him trying to go upstairs.
"Okay, but if Katie doesn't show up when she's supposed to, I'm going to find her." Scott retreated to his room. He should have known better. The reason given for her not being there to greet him when they got back was horseshit. Katie wouldn't hold onto a stupid tradition, not after he'd been gone so long. Ouch. He'd nicked himself with the razor and had to use his towel to stop the bleeding. Calm down. Grandmamma McIntyre would have insisted, and Katie always did what she said. The sooner Mary McIntyre went back to Boston the better. But even if Katie's grandmother was to blame for her absence then, what should he think now? Hours of nothing to do but worry would have driven Katie crazy. She was marvellous in a crisis when she was in the thick of things, but she hated feeling helpless. He knew better than anyone that she had only suppressed her fears about ranch life. She hadn't fully overcome them. She loved him, but usually her head ruled her heart. Was loving him enough?
His stomach rolled with renewed doubts as he finished shaving and got dressed. He put shirt buttons in the wrong holes, and it took him three attempts to tie his tie. Not knowing what was going through Katie's mind was driving him crazy. Hauling his suede jacket on with barely a glance in the mirror, he grabbed his hat and exited the room.
Johnny nodded his approval, and they went to meet the groomsmen on the portico in front of the hacienda.
The Eliot brothers were in good spirits. There was no sign that they knew about Katie. As expected Bob was in dress uniform and Jamie and Freddy were in their best suits—in Freddy's case, half a suit.
"Sorry, Scott, I can't change my trousers."
His injured leg was in plaster with the trouser leg cut back to just above the knee. The other trouser leg looked like it had had a brush down; they would have to hide him in the back for the photos.
"It doesn't matter." Scott clapped a hand on Freddy's shoulder. "At least you're here."
"Fit for anything now." The boy grinned and waved a crutch in the direction of the tents. "Lead the way."
As they rounded the corner of the hacienda and crossed the grass towards the tent where the ceremony was scheduled to take place, guests let out a huge cheer. Soon the five men were surrounded by well-wishers, and Scott was forced to appear more cheerful than he felt. Between words of congratulation and hand shaking, his eyes strayed back to the hacienda. If he could only see Katie or even her bridesmaids; but the few women he saw were guests or servants coming from the kitchen, relaying food to the trestle tables in the other tent.
After the welcoming subsided, Pastor Appleby clapped his hands and attempted to bring order back to proceedings.
"Now the groom has arrived, I invite you all to take your seats," he announced from his podium. "I'm sure the bride won't be long."
The pastor's wife took her place at the organ at the back, and Murdoch and the two grandfathers helped direct guests to the chairs and benches set out in neat rows on either side of the grassy aisle.
As the seats filled, Scott took up his position on the right side of the podium with Johnny next to him, then Bob, Jamie and finally Freddy. Murdoch brought a stool for Freddy so he could sit until things got started.
Scott scanned the crowd, looking for Beth. James McIntyre helped his wife to her seat in the front row very early on, but as the last person sat down, the chair to her right where the bride's mother should sit was still vacant.
Scott felt hollow inside. Beth would be there if Katie was coming. She would be there if everything was all right. How could they get to this point, and Katie change her mind? It wasn't possible. Was it?
Minutes crept by like hours.
Guests turned their heads toward the hacienda from time to time, but there was no sign of the bride or her entourage. The hum of whispered conversation got louder.
"The bride is always late," someone observed to their neighbour. "It's tradition."
"Revenge is sweet," another joked. "A girl after me own heart."
None of the guests seemed really worried. Under the shade of the tent they were perfectly comfortable, and they'd waited this long for the groom; they could wait a little longer for the bride.
Sitting in the front row on the groom's side, Murdoch and Grandfather were chatting away like old friends with the Addisons who sat behind them. At any other time Scott would have been happy to see it, but at the moment he just wanted to yell at them. Go and remind Katie that she loves me and I love her. There's nothing we can't work out together once we're married.
He glanced over at the McIntyres again. James smiled back, but his wife avoided eye contact. She knows something is wrong. I'd lay money on it. She knows something, but the men don't. The women have closed ranks around Katie, and Grandmamma McIntyre is here keeping up appearances until a decision is made—one way or the other.
"Maybe my little sister has got cold feet," Bob teased, not knowing how true his words could be. "Want me to go check?"
It was tempting to say yes, but Scott forced a smile. "Ha, ha, very funny. I'll remember this when it's your turn."
"I don't see that fellow who road shotgun for you and Katie, Scott." Jamie leaned forward, chuckling. "Perhaps she's decided to elope with the chaperone."
"Quit horsing around." Johnny pulled the ring out of his pocket as if checking it was still there. He put it back again without looking up. "Your grandmother is watching."
Jamie clammed up immediately and straightened his tie.
"Katie will be here soon." Scott wished he was as certain as he sounded. Across the grass he saw Dewdrop waddle out from behind a tree. If Katie didn't turn up by the time that over-stuffed bird reached the yard, Scott would go looking for her, and Johnny could just try to stop him.
Dewdrop honked and paused to graze on a patch of long grass. Scott gritted his teeth and flexed his hands in frustration. This was ridiculous; now he was waiting on a goose.
His patience had almost worn out when Johnny nudged him.
"What?" Scott wasn't in the mood for anymore teasing.
Johnny nodded towards the house.
At last! Beth was coming. But was she coming with good news or bad?
She went wide around the outside of the seating instead of coming down the aisle. In the glare of the late afternoon sun, Scott couldn't see her face clearly. Was she happy or sad? Pastor Appleby greeted her as she reached the front row. Get out of the way, man; I want to see her face.
But the pastor blocked his view as she passed her parents, and sat down, her head turned away from Scott. She squeezed her mother's hand, and only then—finally—she looked over at him.
He nearly whooped.
Beth was smiling.
Grandmamma McIntyre was smiling.
Beth swivelled around in her chair and looked back towards the hacienda.
Scott followed her gaze and his grin nearly split his face. Robert Eliot stood by the shrubbery near the side door, reaching out his hand.
Seconds later, Katie came out into the sunshine, dressed in a pure white gown with a long train and veil. Her bridesmaids fussed around her, and Scott caught snatches of laughter on the breeze. It was going to be all right.
The little group crossed the grass, Katie on her father's arm. They stopped at the far end of the tent, and Emily and Teresa used up a few more of Scott's heartbeats by arranging Katie's train and veil again.
Then the bridesmaids took their places, Emily nodded to Mrs Appleby, and the wedding march began.
"This is it, brother. Last chance to change your mind."
"Not going to happen." Scott didn't even glance at Johnny. His eyes were on Katie as she and her father followed the bridesmaids down the central aisle. Emily came first, then Teresa, Julia and Victoria, each one looking lovely in soft grey and blue. The way Scott was feeling at that moment they were like angels from heaven, but none was more lovely than Katie, his Katie, the woman he was about to marry.
As she arrived at the podium, he took his place next to Robert.
Katie handed her bouquet to Emily, and Julia helped her lift back her veil.
Pastor Appleby welcomed everyone to the wedding and gave the usual recitations of scripture to get things underway. Scott was too happy to listen to what he said, at least until he got to an important part.
"Who gives this woman to be married to this man?"
"I do." Solemnly, Robert Eliot placed Katie's hand in Scott's. His eyes gleamed with emotion as if to say, 'I trust you to take care of her,' and Scott felt both proud and humbled.
Kissing his daughter's cheek, Robert took his seat next to his wife, clasping Beth's hands in his. Together they prepared to watch their eldest daughter marry the man she loved.
Scott and Katie turned towards each other, smiling. He squeezed her hand and she squeezed back. Her eyes glistened, but he searched their depths and his heart eased. There was no uncertainty, only love.
Pastor Appleby's voice rose and fell like music. Later they laughed at how little they could remember of his speeches. Their hearts were too full and their thoughts were only for each other. Scott would remember sliding the ring on Katie's finger forever. "With this ring I thee wed." The surge of emotion he felt made it hard to get the words out.
When the pastor ended the ceremony with "I now pronounce you man and wife," Scott took Katie in his arms and kissed her properly for all the world—including his new in-laws—to see.
Laughter and joy rang in his ears. Guests rushed forward to congratulate the bride and groom, and all the worry of the last hour was forgotten.
Photographs followed, and then everyone sat down to a sumptuous feast. The women of the ranch had done them proud. It was dusk, hours after the intended time, but miraculously, there was still food and wine aplenty.
When the meal ended, the speeches began. There weren't many. Scott and Katie both had horror stories of weddings they'd attended in the past, and neither of them had wanted to inflict that on their guests.
Robert toasted the bride and groom, and Scott responded in the usual style, thanking everyone and raising a glass to the bridesmaids and groomsmen at the end.
Johnny responded on behalf of the bridal party. He was supposed to go on to reading out the small mountain of telegrams and messages of goodwill, but first he added a few unscripted words of his own. "When Scott and I came home to Lancer neither of us knew we had a brother. I've got to tell you the look on his face when he found out he had one, and I was it—well, it didn't give me high hopes for the future."
The guests laughed loudly as Scott sank down in his chair, covering his face with his hand, half-embarrassed by the underlying truth of the joke.
"He might've hurt my feelings, except I was thinking pretty much the same about him." Johnny had the audience in stitches.
Scott reached behind Katie and tried to pull him back down into his seat. "I'll get you for this, little brother."
But Johnny dodged. Grinning, he waited until Katie had Scott in a secure hold, and then he continued along the same lines.
When the laughter subsided for about the sixth time however, he turned serious. He lowered his voice and met Scott's gaze. "This brother thing has worked out okay, I think." He raised an eyebrow.
With a flicker of a smile, Scott nodded.
"There's a saying, 'you don't know what you've got until it's gone'. Well, I didn't know what I was missing by not having a brother until I got one." The guests gave a murmur of approval, and Johnny broke eye contact. He raised his glass to his new sister-in-law. "Katie, you're something special. You're beautiful, kind, fun-loving and feisty, and you're ten times too good for any ordinary man. So it's lucky you fell for Scott. Because after two and a half years, I can tell you he's not an ordinary man. He's something special, and I'm proud to be his brother. I know he will make you a wonderful husband, just as my gut tells me you're going to make him a wonderful wife."
"Here, here!" Someone shouted from the back of the dining tent.
Johnny smiled. "Welcome to the family, Katie."
That speech was one of many memorable moments. Amazingly, in the end, after all the drama, their wedding day turned out to be a great success. Murdoch and Grandfather exuded happiness and bonhomie; the jewellery and earlier conflicts seemed forgotten—at least for now.
The celebrations continued well into the night. Johnny and Emily looked like they were reliving their own wedding as they danced under the stars a little apart from the main party. Even Freddy and Gabriela managed a stationary waltz, Teresa caught the bouquet, and the orchestra was still playing when Scott stole his bride away.
"In joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, as long as we both shall live," Katie repeated their vows as they drove towards the hunting cabin where they were spending their first night as husband and wife.
"Amen."
Sitting close, she rested her head on his shoulder and looked up at the stars in the night sky.
"Happy, Mrs Lancer?"
"Beyond happy, Mr Lancer." She snuggled into him. "I wonder if your mother watched us get married."
"I'd like to think so. Murdoch said he felt her presence." Scott looked skyward too and smiled. "Even Grandfather had a tear in his eye."
The moon lit the road the whole way to the cabin. There were no clouds to spoil things tonight, no coyotes or wolves howling to make Katie shiver; the breeze was gentle and everything was peaceful. Before they knew it, they saw the light from the lantern hanging over the porch flickering through the trees.
Scott reined the buggy to a halt, jumped down and offered his hand. "Milady."
Katie slipped on purpose into his arms, and he spun her around before setting her down and kissing her long and slow.
"Ready?"
She nodded, and he scooped her up into his arms. Climbing the steps, he used his unbruised shoulder to push his way through the door, crossed the threshold into the cabin and placed her gently down on the calfskin rug. The lamp was turned down low, and a fire was banked up in the grate. There was wine and food on the table, flowers everywhere, and the bed loomed large and inviting in the background.
He hung his hat and jacket on the hook behind the door and took off his boots as she plumped down on the edge of the bed and kicked off her silk slippers.
"The fairies have been busy." Katie stroked the handmade quilt. The women of the ranch must have worked very hard to get it done in time, but they had clearly made it with the same love and affection they had put into the one they made for Johnny and Emily. "Oh, look, Scott, a chickadee and cranberries to remind us of Boston."
Bringing the fire back to life, Scott smiled up from the hearth as he watched her turn down the quilt. Behind her, he could see a small dressing table and mirror and an elegant mahogany dressing screen. The fairies had thought of everything. Something light and lacy lay folded on the dressing table stool.
She followed his gaze and went to pick it up. "My nightgown. Do you like it?" Holding the flimsy white cotton and lace garment up against her body, she swayed and smiled with the merest hint of embarrassment.
Oh yes, he liked it very much, very much indeed; and the look on his face must have told her so because she blushed and turned away, dropping the gown onto the stool again. She stayed standing with her back to him looking down at the dressing table, perhaps rallying her courage, until he got to his feet and poured the wine.
"Katie."
Turning, she smiled and came to him, accepting a glass from his outstretched hand.
"To my beautiful wife."
"And my handsome husband." Katie tasted her wine and gazed into his eyes. He could see she was a little frightened, but trust and desire was there too.
Cupping her face in his hands, he kissed her gently, and they began a slow waltz in the firelight, sipping wine, whispering, nuzzling and laughing softly.
When he sensed she was at ease again, he put their glasses aside, and began to remove her jewellery and the decorations from her hair, one flower and hairpin at a time, putting them down on the table next to the wine glasses, his eyes never straying from hers.
Katie's chestnut locks fell free over her shoulders and down her back, and he ran his fingers through the strands, playing with them so they shimmered in the firelight. She turned her cheek into his palm and kissed it. The faint hint of roses on her skin urged him on, and he kissed her forehead, her nose and then her lips, over and over again.
"I love you, Katie Lancer," he murmured as he held her close, feeling the rise and fall of her chest and the warmth of her breath against his skin.
"I love you too." She tugged his tie free and slipped her hands beneath the collar of his shirt. Pressing into the hardness of his body, one hand reached up into his hair, as she undid the top buttons of his shirt with the other.
He kissed her more firmly, caressing a silk-covered breast as he felt his way to the pearl buttons at the front of her bodice. Oh God, how he wanted her.
They licked and bit and kissed as she loosened his shirt. His fingers delighted in the softness of her hair. Her fingers found bare chest. She slid his shirt over his left shoulder and touched the bruise. "Does it hurt?"
"Not much."
"I don't believe you." She kissed his shoulder, and then raised her eyes to his.
He pressed his lips against hers, more urgently than before, and her ardour seemed to rise to match his.
One by one, by one, he undid the pearl buttons on her gown.
One by one, by one, he released the silk ribbons and strings on her undergarments, kissing a path down her neck, over her collar bone to her breasts.
Maybe it was his long abstinence, but the taste and feel of her skin was like no one else before.
Her touch sent tremors through his body and the small mewing noises she made as he explored her caused his blood to race.
Peeling back layers of silk and lace, he let them fall to the floor. They had no need for her nightdress; it could stay where it was.
Lost in brown eyes, he carried Katie to their wedding bed and laid her down. She slipped between the sheets, and watched as he stripped off the remains of his clothes. Her eyes widened as he took off his pants, and he hesitated. For several heartbeats he stood naked—waiting.
Then she lifted the bedcovers.
And their waiting came to an end.