SEVEN
Adam walked the streets of Boston, his mind in turmoil. He was stunned by the events. He had been so happy just a short time earlier, so happy at the prospect of seeing Piper and spending the evening with her and here she had been snatched from him like Persephone was snatched from the face of the earth by Hades. And Adam had been turned out, never to see Piper again if her aunt had her way. Eventually, Adam decided to go back to the small, drab rooms he shared with Bracewell who was snoring in his room next to the kitchen. Adam threw off his jacket and lay on his narrow bed, crossing his legs at the ankles, staring into the darkness above him, his mind unable to make sense out of what had happened.
"Oh, Piper," he called out into the darkness. And he felt a shudder go through him and a deep sob escaped. He hadn't cried in years and had forgotten how painful it was; the soul wasn't meant to be unhappy, he had told Piper once but now he wondered if sadness wasn't the natural state of man considering that happiness came so rarely, joy occurring merely a few times in a person's life and perhaps, Adam considered, he had reached his allotment.
Adam must have fallen asleep because slowly, the sound of knocking on the door woke him. He sat up and noticed that he was still wearing his clothes and boots. The darkness was thick around him. Perhaps it was the landlord knocking, Adam thought. Something may be wrong. So Adam went to the door and opened it. It was Piper holding a valise which she dropped as soon as she saw Adam.
"Piper," he said in a whisper and she flew into Adam's arms and clung to him. Piper told him that she had left home, that she couldn't leave Adam and she asked him if what he had said about loving her was true. Adam kissed her face, her eyelids and assured her, his lips next to her ear, that he loved her, adored her, and that if she would yield to his request, they could be married that very night. Piper eagerly said yes. She would marry him and so they left, two young people in love, searching for a Justice of the Peace and when they found one and woke him up, they were married and Adam was sure that he had done the right thing. And he and Piper went back to his quarters and Adam woke Bracewell, telling him that he had married. Bracewell gladly left for the rest of the night, saying that he would stay with another friend to give the newlyweds their privacy. And he congratulated them both and kissed the bride. Piper glowed with happiness.
And on his narrow bed in the colorless room, Adam took his bride, his wife, for the first time. He said that he wished he could have covered the bed in rose petals for her as she deserved so much better and that night as they lay in each other's arms, flesh against flesh, Adam swore that one day, one day soon, he would take Piper to Europe and they would have a true honeymoon-a month of nothing more than spending each day in each other's company and lying in each other's arms at night. But Piper swore that nothing could possibly be better than this night in Adam's bed, in the arms of her husband, her love. And Adam tasted her full mouth completely and allowed himself to indulge his desires for her body and she rocked beneath him crying her love for him.
And the next morning the newly married couple went to tell Professor Naismith who had been worried almost to illness and had employed the police of Boston in looking for his 17 year old daughter. With a fury, he grabbed Piper's upper arm and forcibly pulled her from Adam's side and vehemently threatened Adam with arrest if he didn't leave the premises.
Adam was at a loss. His wife was crying, begging him not to go and Adam wanted to strike out at Professor Naismith, to use his fists on the man and take Piper back. They were married and Adam felt he had a claim to his wife.
"I'm not leaving without Piper," Adam said. "We're married and nothing you can say or do will change it." Adam noticed that Piper's aunt came into the room.
"I told you that he was bad news, Abner. You should have sent Piper to me much earlier. It's your fault that this…vulgar young man has debauched Piper."
"No," Adam said, "I didn't debauch her. I love her as I've stated. Please…" Adam pleaded with Professor Naismith.
"You forget," Piper's aunt said, "according to the law, at her age, Piper needs her father's permission to marry and she doesn't have it and I don't think she'll ever have his permission to marry the likes of you. We can get the law after you, have you arrested for seducing her so I would suggest you leave-and right now."
Adam looked at Piper who nodded at him. She broke Adam's heart; she looked defeated and Adam wasn't a fool-he knew when it was best to retreat. He left the home of Professor Naismith under the threat of arrest, and went back to his apartments; he was at a loss as to what else he could do. He needed to think.
Within two days, Piper was gone. She had been forcibly sent to Virginia by her father and within another week, Piper and Adam's marriage was annulled; her aunt had insisted that since Piper wasn't eighteen and did not have her father's permission, it should be wiped out, erased completely. Her brother, Abner complied. Now everything would be as it had been before but Piper had stated that her virginity couldn't be recovered-she had willingly given it to Adam and received a cruel slap across the face by her aunt.
"You will regret your one night with him-with that man; you have made yourself unmarriageable. No decent man will want you now unless you forget this marriage ever occurred," Piper's aunt hissed. And Piper felt helpless. She dropped on her knees to the floor and collapsed in tears, sobbing her grief at the loss of the man she loved so much that she was willing to give up her home and her family for him.
Adam was stunned by the events but found he had no power. He had gone to the magistrate who confirmed that he could be arrested should the professor decide to press charges. And after the annulment and he received the legal papers while at work, it was as if Piper had never existed in his life. He felt as if she had been some airy sylph who vanished from the surface of the earth and Adam was bereft. He decided to quit his apprenticeship and he set off to search for Piper whose aunt resided in Richmond. He found the house after a few inquiries and was informed by a maid that Miss Piper was gone, had been sent away. But Adam refused to believe her and pushed his way into the house, calling out for Piper but the only person who came to him was her aunt. She coldly informed Adam that Piper had been sent away to a school and that if he didn't leave her home immediately, she would have him arrested for violent trespassing since he had forced his way in. Adam left but he stayed in Richmond a few more days, lurking around the modest home but Piper never appeared so he finally returned home to the Ponderosa, a man who had become disenchanted with happy endings and the goodness of a loving God.
And now, thirteen years later, Piper, his wife from so many years ago, sat across from him on a stage and Adam couldn't even speak to her, couldn't even meet her eye and she was another man's wife, not his. And he longed to talk to her, to ask her how she had survived since he himself had been sent to such depths of despair after she was taken from him that he returned home, telling his father that he was despairing of the city and longed for blue skies and fresh air, that his spirit was sick near to death. Adam had chosen to not telling his worried father anything of his bride, of his destroyed marriage. But Adam continued sending letters to Piper addressed to her aunt's home that began with, "My dearest wife, Piper, I long to hear from you…," and wondering if she ever received them.
Before he had left Richmond, he had seen the housekeeper in the yard and had begged her to tell him if she knew where Piper was but she either would not or could not tell him. She denied Adam any information with lowered eyes, not wanting to see the look of grief in Adam's face. "The poor, darlin' boy," she mumbled to herself as she watched Adam walk away, his spirit crushed. She had witnessed Piper's arguments with her aunt and heard the young girl cry in her room at night, cry as if her heart was broken. And that was because it was broken.
