NB: Just a short chapter, before the biggy.
Chapter 13
When Mary woke and saw Adam at the basin swilling his face, following a shave.
"Good morning," Adam said. "I hope you slept well. I did."
Mary was too scared about what the day would bring to answer him. She had to find a means of escaping him. But how.
"I said good morning" Adam repeated.
"Morning, but there is nothing good about it" came the reply.
"I see. Are you not a morning person, or is this how the day is going to progress? Adam enquired.
Silence.
"I expect an answer. Or do we have to start the day with unpleasantness?
"No" Mary answered quickly. "Sorry. I didn't mean to be rude. It's just I don't know how I'm going to survive this day."
"First we will go down and meet Pa for breakfast….."
"No…. not your father! After last night what will he think?
"For the time being I'm not concerned with what my father will think. I will explain to him in time." Adam replied with a slight smile. "But for now we will go down for breakfast. You may want to clean your face before we do though."
Ben was already sitting at a table having already eaten his breakfast and was on his last cup of coffee when the two arrived. He rose and offered a chair for Mary to sit. Sit she did, very carefully, as she was still sore from the previous night's 'consequences.' Ben noticed but said nothing.
"Morning Pa. I hope you slept well?" Adam asked of his father.
"Just fine, thank you" he replied. "We should leave soon after breakfast, it's a long journey home." Ben said, glancing over at Mary, who was looking down at her cutlery on the table.
"Right Pa. But Mary and I will be staying on for a few more days, just to relax, and then we'll be travelling back to the Ponderosa.
Mary glanced up at Adam. His statement was not what she wanted to hear. I'm not going back, she thought to herself, and get out of this I will, but how, how. Adam seems so determined. How can I fight him.
"Ben rose, taking a final sip of coffee, saying "I might as well start the journey back home then, in that case. I hope to see you both within a few days." And with that he left them to their breakfasts.
"I'll just see Pa off and be right back" Adam said and then stopped and turned around looking at Mary, "and don't you move from this table or you'll be sorry. Understand?"
"I won't" she promised.
While Adam was gone she had a serious talk to herself while drinking some coffee for courage, which the waitress had brought a little while before. 'Brandy would have been better.' Mary had thought it would have been an appropriate moment to leave, but felt so guilty at even thinking that. After all, Adam did deserve some sort of explanation. And he was trying so hard to make her feel warm and safe. 'I really don't want to hurt this man any more. Maybe if I did tell him the truth he will want nothing more to do with me. I need not tell him everything, just bits that will sound convincing. Truth bits that is. Yes, that's what I'll do. How sorry I will be to see him go home, without me. But I shall keep him in my heart always.'
Adam returned after seeing his father off and ordered their breakfasts. "I'm starved, how about you?" he asked.
"Yes, I could do with a little something too." Mary replied. 'To calm my nerves' she said to herself.
They ate in silence, Adam knowing how nervous Mary was about today's agenda. They finished their food and walked out, Adam taking Mary's arm to guide her.