Chapter 19
After all the legal matters were finally resolved, Adam and Meg had lunch at the International Hotel before heading back to the Ponderosa. On the journey back, Adam decided to take a break at his favourite spot, looking out over Lake Tahoe. He helped Meg down from the carriage and laid a blanket on the grass for them to sit on.
"Now is there anything else I can get for you. Anything you need?" Adam asked, smiling.
"Oh no Adam, you have given me so much already. I'm so undeserving of it all."
"I have already told you not to think along those lines. I believe you are deserving of my love. My dearest wish now is to protect and care for you always. It is all such a great pleasure to me. I hope you understand that."
"Oh I do, Adam, I do. It's just so hard to believe that you or anyone could love me so. Maybe, given time I will come to believe it. But just at this moment I'm still struggling with it. You are just an amazing man, having so much patience with me."
"That was not always the case, I remember." He said with a chuckle.
"Oh, I know, I was totally bad and surprised you did not take me in hand whilst I was first at the Ponderosa. I was sure either you or your Pa would have, or perhaps should have. I hated myself the whole time, but you do now see why I was, like I was. It was only to get you all to feel revulsion toward me. Don't you see, God brought me to you, knowing what my feelings would be once we had met. That was his punishment to me. I could never allow anything further to happen between us and so Mary Kelly was born. I felt such love exuding from within your home. I wept from such jealousy. Wishing I had had just a little love during my life, but now I've found it and it feels so good.
"No Mary, I believe God brought you to me in his forgiveness of you, if indeed you needed his forgiveness at all. I want you in my life. You have found your way into my heart and I want very much to love and cherish you for the rest of our lives." With those words, Meg knew she could now never leave Adam.
"Yes, I believe you Adam and maybe one day it might just happen." Meg sighed. "But I just want to take my time and learn to live with my new life a little longer. Get to know you better and feel more relaxed." Meg then fell silent in her own thoughts. It must surely end with an agreement between them of their future together and to bring forth a new and loving full life for Meg. ….
A few days later, at breakfast, Meg was asking Adam if he needed to go into Virginia City.
"As a matter of fact I do. I have to pick up wiring supplies and other things. Why, did you need to go in too?"
"Yes I do. But I'm not telling you what for, so don't ask. Since you've given me a little money, there are a few things I'd like to buy, but on my own." Meg said, in all seriousness. "You could even go and have a beer as I might be a little time with my purchases."
"Alright. Straight after breakfast we'll make a start." Adam answered, wondering what it could possibly be that she wanted so earnestly. "But Hoss will be coming too."
"Oh, that's fine. We'll be glad for your company, Hoss."
"I'll be happy for your company too." Hoss said, beaming at Meg's compliment.
They were all soon together journeying towards Virginia City. Meg felt a little ashamed at what she was planning to do. 'What did Ben say about missing out some of the truth.' She thought. 'Oh yes, it's a lie of omission and just as wrong as an out and out lie.' Oh well, she will have to face up to the consequences if need be.
They dropped Meg off, Adam having helped her down from the buckboard.
"Let's say we'll meet up in an hour. Is that okay with you, Meg?" Adam asked.
"Oh yes, I should be through by then, but I want to take my time. Maybe say hi to some folks I have met through church too. Where shall we meet?" She asked.
"Well," said Hoss, "let's meet up outside the mercantile. I would like to have a beer first, eh Adam? That long dusty road in has made my mouth dry and I would like to get refreshed before I tackle the hauling of the wire and such. What say you Adam?"
"Sounds good to me, Hoss. Okay. So that's one hour, outside the mercantile, Meg."
"Yes, that should be fine. Enjoy your beers." And with that Meg started walking down the street. She paused, pretending to look in a shop window, but was really watching and waiting to see Adam and Hoss enter the saloon before she could carry out her mission. When they had entered she turned and made her way to Dr. Martin's office.
She knocked on the door and entered. There was one person, a woman, sitting, waiting to see the doctor. 'Please don't let me have to wait for too long.' Meg thought. And just then the inner door opened and Dr. Martin came out with a young lady and came and stood in front of the woman sitting in the waiting room.
"There is nothing to worry about Mrs. Meddoes." Dr. Martin said. "Lilian was very brave when I took her stitches out." turned to Lilian. "Now young lady, no more handling of knives for a while, okay?"
"Yes, okay Dr. Martin. I will be more careful in the future. Come on Ma, we can go home now." And with that the two ladies left the waiting room, much to Meg's relief.
"Won't you come through, Meg?" Meg had been introduced to Dr. Martin at the ranch one time, when he was invited to have dinner with them. "Is there something I can help you with."
"Yes there is. I'm not ill or anything, but I want you to check me over."
"Of course. Is there anything you are particularly concerned about?"
"What happens in this consultation will go no further, will it?" Meg asked.
"Of course not. This is a doctor patient consultation and therefore is confidential."
"Alright," Meg said, and taking a deep breath, "I need to know if I can still have children. That's number 1. And number 2, I need you to look at my back and tell me what you think I can do about it, if anything at all."
"Very well. If you would undress and lay on the couch, I will proceed with my examination."
About a half hour later, and after Meg had dressed, Dr. Martin asked her to come and sit next to him
at his desk. Meg told him a little about herself and of having had three previous pregnancies.
"Now then Meg. Number 1. I see no problem with you having children. Everything is quite normal.
Number 2. There is one welt that has not quite healed, which I have just treated, but I cannot reduce the scarring. I can, however, prescribed a salve which might help soften your skin. How all this came about, I won't ask."
"Thank you Dr. Martin. I asked for this examination as it may be that Adam has it in his mind to ask me to marry him, that's why I needed to know about children. If that were the case, I would love to be able to give him a child or two." She said, with a smile. "But as to my back, this is not something I could do myself."
"And presumably you don't want Adam to know. But he is likely to find out once you are married."
"Yes, I realise that, but I would like to give my back a chance to improve before that happens."
"Dr. Martin suddenly had an idea. "I know, and if you agree, perhaps you would let Hop Sing help. He is a fine carer of wounds, a healer himself, of sorts and would trust him with my life. I could write explaining what needs to be done and he could carry this out at the ranch when everyone is out working. What do you think?"
"It sounds like a good idea, but wouldn't Hop Sing tell the others, or at least Ben, what was going on?"
"No. You would be in a doctor/patient kind of relationship, which I'll explain to Hop Sing and confidentiality would still apply. Hop Sing would know that. He is a good soul.
"Very well, can you give me the salve today?"
"Oh yes, I have some in my cabinet." He rose and went across the room, opened his cabinet and took out the salve required. "Here you are. Once only a day. Time of day is not important, except once you begin try and keep to the same time each day. It works much better with routine." He then sat at his desk and wrote out the letter for Hop Sing. "There you are. Just give this to Hop Sing and he will work out a plan."
"Thank you Dr. Martin. What would I do without you."
"Hopefully, when I see you next, you'll be able to tell me there is some improvement."
"I hope so, and thanks again." Meg said, shaking the doctor's hand before going through the door.
'So Adam Cartwright, you have found your lady at last.' Paul Martin thought and smiled to himself.
Meg quickly made her way to the emporium and made a purchase of several bottles of wine. She looked at the clock on the wall and could see she had just five minutes left before she had to meet Adam and Hoss. As she made her way out of the shop, she almost bumped into one of the ladies she had met at church.
"Well, hello dear. So nice to see you. Hope you are keeping well."
"Yes very well, thank you Mrs. Williams. Sorry to rush, but I've got to get back to Adam and Hoss, they'll be waiting for me."
"That's alright dear, I'll see you in church next week. Goodbye."
"Goodbye." And Meg hurried out through the door making her way across and down the street towards the mercantile, clutching her purchases, now closely wrapped up and disguised. She saw them at the buckboard who turned and smiled as she approached.
"Had a good shop?" Adam asked.
"Oh yes. I bought all that I required."
"You took an hour to buy one parcel?"
"Yes, and I told you I would probably run into people that I've met at church, and I did." Trying her best to look Adam in the eye and not betray anything, to alert him to a possible lie. 'Well, I did run into someone from the church' she thought. 'Not a total lie.'
"Okay, let's head for home." Hoss announced. "After all that hauling, I'm beginning to feel hungry and can't wait for my lunch."
Adam and Meg laughed. "Can you tell what's for lunch Hoss?" Meg said, laughing. She had been told of how he could smell cooking from miles away.
"No, but once we're back on the road towards home, I will be able to tell." Hoss too, was laughing at this point.
"Home then, everyone." Adam said, helping Meg up into the buckboard. Hoss and Adam followed and with a click of the reins, they moved off.