Bridal Veil Mountain: A Tale of Three Brothers Chapter Two
"Where is she, Jason? I know you or Josh told her that I got hurt bad. Why isn't she here?" Jeremy studied his brother's face.
Jason, Joshua, and Candy were stunned. They managed to control their astonishment for Jeremy's sake. Jason looked behind him at Dr. Wright who was standing in the door. She mouthed the word gently to him.
Jason pulled a chair close to the bed and sat down. "Jeremy, who is Jenny?"
"Who? Jason, she is our sister, my twin. You and Josh know that. Why would you ask me who is she? Has something happened to Jenny?" Jeremy tried to sit up causing himself to scream in pain.
Jason stood up quickly."Easy, Jeremy, easy." Jason very gently laid Jeremy back down on the bed. "Jenny is fine. Don't worry, just rest now. You need lots of rest." Jason stroked his brother's hair.
"If Jenny is okay, why isn't she here? We are very close, and we love each other so much. I think something bad happened to her and you don't want to tell me because I'm injured. Did Jenny get burned too? Is she dead? Oh, no! Jenny! Jenny!" Jeremy yelled.
"Jeremy." Jason said very softly. He looked his brother in the eye. "Jenny didn't get burned. She wants you to go back to sleep and rest. Alright?"
Jeremy was exhausted. He looked at Jason and saw love and concern in his eyes. "Okay, Jason. I will go back to sleep." Jeremy closed his eyes.
Soon, Jeremy was asleep. Jason walked quietly over to Dr. Wright. "How did I do, doctor? I hate lying to him, but he was so upset, and I had to get him calmed down."
"You did fine, Jason. I don't like lying either, but sometimes it can't be helped." Dr. Wright replied.
"Jason, how do you suppose Jeremy happened to ask about Jenny and even say that she is his twin sister?" Joshua wondered.
"I have no idea, Josh. There is no way he could have heard our conversation in Allyn's office earlier. What do you think, Allyn?" Jason glanced at her.
"It's a mystery to me, Jason. Jenny died when she and Jeremy were one year old, you are sure about that?" Allyn inquired.
"Yes, certainly, Allyn. Our parents took Jenny to a specialist in Tacoma when she and Jeremy had pneumonia at age one. Jeremy, Josh, and I stayed with Lottie. Mom and Dad returned with a tiny coffin. Jenny died in Tacoma." Jason reflected sadly.
"Well, I guess we can talk to Jeremy about it when he is feeling better." Joshua said. "That's the only way we can find out how he knows about her."
Candy, Jason, and Allyn agreed with Joshua. The two brothers and Candy agreed to stay at the clinic for the night with Jeremy.
At Lottie's, Beth Bennett was pacing in her room. She was worried about Jeremy for more than one reason. Beth had gotten off the late stagecoach tonight. The first news she heard when she came into Lottie's was that Jeremy had been seriously injured.
Beth walked over to the dresser and picked up her purse.
Beth reached in the purse and pulled out the two pieces of jewelry.
One was an Emerald necklace. The other was a gold bracelet. She looked at the two pieces for a moment. Beth put the necklace around her neck and fastened the clasp. She slipped the bracelet on her wrist.
When Beth looked at her reflection in the mirror, she gasped. The necklace was gorgeous. She took her long hair out of the sensible bun she wore on workdays. Beth brushed her hair until it was straight and smooth. With some of her hair on the front of her shoulders, the necklace looked almost as if it was in a black velveteen box.
While she had been fixing her hair, Beth had made a decision. First, she would talk to Lottie.
Beth knocked on Lottie's door. "Just a minute." Lottie said drowsily.
Lottie opened the door. "Oh, Good Heavens! It is really you, isn't it? You look so much like your mother…and…"
"And Jeremy." Jennifer Elizabeth Bolt Bennett replied.
"I thought you resembled Maggie when you came in earlier, but I figured I was just tired and worried about Jeremy." Lottie said. "He's going to be fine. It will take time for his arm to heal. Do your brothers know that you're alive?"
"Jeremy knows that his sister is alive. I was looking forward to seeing him tonight. Then I heard what happened to him." Jenny said tearfully.
"He is going to be fine, Jenny. If I may ask, how does Jeremy know that you are alive?" Lottie patted her arm.
Jenny walked to a chair and sat down. "Two years ago, when my brothers were in New Bedford to get the brides, Aunt Catherine received a wire from a friend in New Bedford about them being in town. My aunt and I lived in Boston. Aunt Catherine had told me a few years earlier about my family and about Jeremy being my twin. My parents sent me to live with Aunt Catherine when I was a baby to make sure I was protected from the gypsy. When they supposedly took me to the specialist in Tacoma, they were really taking me to give me to Aunt Catherine. Dad had wired her asking her to meet them in Tacoma. Mama was terrified that the gypsy woman would kidnap me or kill me."
Jenny paused for a minute.
She continued saying, "Aunt Catherine didn't mean for me to see the telegram, but I did. I insisted on her letting me see my brothers. She finally agreed that I could see Jeremy because he is my twin. Being separated from him had been terrible for me. Aunt Catherine was afraid the gypsy might still be around Seattle. She said the fewer people who knew I was alive the better even Jason and Joshua. But she sent a wire to Jeremy asking him to come alone to see her. When he came to the house…." Jenny choked up.
"I imagine Jeremy was shocked to see you." Lottie offered.
"Yes, he was. And he was very angry as well. For a minute, I thought he was going to leave without even speaking to me. Jeremy had plenty to say to Aunt Catherine though about how our parents had been gone for years and didn't she think it was time to let go of old secrets. Also, did she have any idea the pain they had caused with their secret, No their lie." Jenny cried.
"Oh, Jenny! I'm sorry. I'm sure Jeremy apologized, didn't he?" Lottie was sympathetic.
"Lottie, I'm not crying about what he said. I'm crying about how he said it. Jeremy was so angry and so hurt when he first saw me that his stuttering was terrible. It grieved me to see him in so much pain." Jenny continued to weep.
Lottie stood up from her chair and walked over to Jenny. "There, there, sweetheart. You Bolts feel so deeply for each other, I can understand how you felt." She offered Jenny a handkerchief.
Jenny accepted the handkerchief and wiped her eyes. "Thank you, Lottie. That day, I tried to put my arms around Jeremy. He wouldn't let me. He said he didn't need my pity and he didn't want it. Well, I got angry then. I said I don't feel sorry for you, you, jackass! I love you and if you hurt, I hurt!"
Lottie had sat down in the chair next to Jenny. "And what did he say to that?" Lottie smiled.
Jenny smiled too. "First, he put his hands on his hips and looked at me with his face all scrunched up. Then he said,"I can't believe you called me a jackass."
"Then I said, I can't believe you acted like one the first time we have seen each other since we were babies. After that, we laughed and hugged. Oh, Lottie, I love Jeremy so much! It's hard to explain. Certainly, I love Jason and Joshua. But Jeremy and I…." Jenny couldn't find the words.
"I have always heard there is a special bond between twins. I can tell by the way you speak about Jeremy and the look in your eyes that it is definitely true. Now, you have some brothers to go talk too!" Lottie exclaimed.
"Yes, I do! Thank you, Lottie. What if….?" Jenny worried.
"They are your brothers. They have loved you since you were born." Lottie reassured her.
Jenny nodded. She left on her way to the clinic.
When Jenny arrived at the clinic, there was some dim lantern light inside. The door was locked. Jenny knocked on the door.
Dr. Wright came to the door. "Hello, Miss…oh…no! You're her, aren't you?"
"Yes, I'm Jenny. How could you tell, doctor?" She asked.
"My dear, you look like a Bolt." Dr. Wright smiled. "Your brothers are in Room Four."
"Thank you. How is Jeremy?" Jenny was anxious.
"He is doing well. He should make a full recovery. It will take time." The doctor replied.
Jenny said thank you and proceeded down the hall. She knocked lightly on the door of her twin's room.
"Come in." Jason said in a low voice.
She said a silent prayer and quietly opened the door. "Jason, Joshua."
Jenny walked into the room. Her two oldest brothers turned their heads to look at her. Their mouths dropped open.
"Shakespeare's sun bonnet! You look just like Mother!" Jason exclaimed softly as he stood up from his chair.
"Jeremy knows, doesn't he? He was asking for you earlier when he woke up." Joshua asked.
"Yes, he knows." Jenny looked at Jeremy. "May I touch him, please?"
"Jeremy is your brother. You don't need our permission to touch him or to speak to him." Jason replied.
Jenny walked to the bed. She knelt down as she took Jeremy's hand.
"I'm here, Jeremy. I have missed you so much. Sometimes, I missed you so badly, it made me actually ache. Jeremy, I love you more than I can say. We weren't supposed to be apart this long after…. but some things happened. I'm here now and I'm going to stay here if it's okay. Well, I'm talking too much. I love you….and Jason and Joshua too. I'm going to stay and help them help you get well." Jenny looked at her twin's sweet face and cried.
Jason and Joshua went over to their sister. Each one took an arm and carefully helped her stand up. Jenny clung to Jason crying her heart out. Joshua stood behind her rubbing circles on her back.
"It's alright. Shush, sweet girl, shush. You're home now. We love you." Jason whispered soothingly.
"We love you, Jenny. We have missed you all these years." Joshua said softly into her ear.
"Jenny, Jenny." Jeremy stirred a little. His three siblings looked at him. It appeared that Jeremy had gone back to sleep.
"Jenny, let's have a seat." Jason said.
Each of them sat in a chair. Candy was asleep in a chair at the foot of the bed.
Jason told Jenny about the gypsy coming to their cabin when she and Jeremy were babies. Jenny told Jason and Joshua about she and Jeremy seeing each other in Boston two years ago.
"I wanted to see both of you as well, but Aunt Catherine wouldn't agree to it. She barely agreed to me seeing Jeremy. Then she made him promise not to tell you. Jeremy didn't make that promise easily, I can assure you. He had some words with Aunt Catherine about it." Jenny explained.
The two oldest brothers smiled. "We can imagine." Joshua said.
Jenny got up from the chair. She went to sit on the side of the bed. Jenny gazed at her twin brother's face as she stroked his hair.
"He is so precious. I have missed him so much that my heart has actually hurt at times. So precious." She murmured.
Jenny looked at Jason and Joshua. "Please don't tell Jeremy that I called him precious. Being a man, he probably wouldn't like it. I wouldn't want to make him feel embarrassed."
"Believe me, dear sister, we aren't going to tell our brother that anyone called him precious." Jason grinned.
"Definitely not. Jeremy would punch us in the face." Joshua laughed.
Jenny smiled. She was holding Jeremy's hand. "Aunt Catherine told me that Jeremy began stuttering when Mama died. She said it started at her funeral." Jenny said sadly.
"Yes, that's right." Jason said somberly. "Mom's death was hard on all of us, but it was the worst on Jeremy. He is so tender hearted."
"I am sure it was very hard for him to cope with his stuttering growing up." Jenny looked at Jason and Joshua.
"Yes, it was a heart wrenching challenge for him. We tried to help him as much as we could. I whipped a lot of arses of boys who mocked him and laughed at him." Joshua told her.
"Good for you, Josh. If I had been there, I would have helped you." She replied.
The two brothers smiled.
"I could have done it! If I I had heard someone making fun of Jeremy, he would have been eating dirt before he knew what hit him!" Jenny exclaimed.
The three of them laughed. "Of course, I couldn't have done as good as Joshua."
Just then, Candy woke up. She was introduced to Jenny. Candy was happy that Jeremy and his brothers had their sister back. She checked on Jeremy caressing his cheek and giving him a little kiss. Candy left saying she wanted them to have some family time. She said she would return later.
Jenny was still sitting on the side of the bed. "I wonder when Jeremy will wake up. I'm excited for him to see me and for us to get to talk to each other. I promise I won't overdo it. His recovery is going to take time."
"Oh, yes, that reminds me, I need to speak to the doctor about his heart condition." Jason said.
"Heart! What's wrong with my brother's heart? He's not dying, is he? Oh, no!" Jenny was frightened.
"Jenny, sweetheart, Jeremy is not dying. I think Jason wants to talk to the doctor just to be sure that waking up and seeing you isn't going to be a jolt for him. Right, Jason?" Joshua explained.
"That's right, Josh. Jenny, I'm sorry I scared you. I should have explained to you about Jeremy's heart condition." Jason apologized.
"Thank you, Jason. You didn't mean to frighten me." Jenny was relieved.
"Let me go speak to Dr. Wright for a moment. I'm excited for Jeremy to see you too." Jason grinned.
After Jason left the room, Joshua told Jenny what Dr. Wright said about Irritable Heart Syndrome. Jenny was grateful to hear that there is treatment, and that Jeremy can get better.
"I hope you have had a good life with Aunt Catherine, Jenny." Joshua told her. "I wish all of us could have grown up together."
"Yes, I have had a very nice life with our aunt. I imagine she is a lot like Dad was since she is his sister. I wished many times after she told me about the three of you that we could have lived together with our parents. It's hard to believe that both of them were gone by the time Jeremy and I were nine years old." Jenny said somberly.
Jason came back to the room. "Dr. Wright said it would be fine for Jeremy to wake up and see Jenny." Jason sat down in a chair.
"Oh, good!" Jenny was excited.
Joshua smiled as he looked at Jeremy. "Come on, brother. We are waiting for you."
As if on cue, Jeremy murmured, "Josh, why are you talking so early? You woke me up."
Jenny leaned down and whispered in his ear. "I love you, Jeremy. Please open your eyes."
Jeremy opened his eyes. "Jenny!" He exclaimed softly.
"Easy, Jeremy, easy." Jason whispered kneeling by the head of the bed.
Jeremy turned his head and looked at Jason. "I'm okay, Jason. Are you and Josh angry because I didn't tell you about Jenny?"
"No, Jeremy. We are not angry. We understand you did what Aunt Catherine wanted you to do under protest. Josh and I don't want you to worry about anything at all. Just rest and focus on getting better." Jason said calmly. "Oh, by the way, we love you, brother." Jason grinned.
Jeremy beamed. "I love all of you too, Jason."
Jeremy took Jenny's hand. "I have missed you the past two years. I didn't mean for it to be this long before we saw each other again."
"Neither did I, Jeremy. But we are together now and that's what is important." Jenny said with tears in her eyes.
"Don't cry, Jenny." Jeremy brushed away the tear that slid down her cheek.
"I missed you terribly. Now, we are finally together forever. I'm so happy!" Jenny smiled.
"I'm happy too." Jeremy said softly. He kissed her fingertips.
"Oh, Jenny! I love you!" Jeremy sobbed.
Jenny carefully put her arms around him to avoid hurting his injured arm. She held him close. "Shush, dear brother. We have to think of your heart. Shush, Jeremy, shush. Breathe, honey, breathe."
Jeremy took some deep breaths and regained his composure. "How do you know about my heart?"
"Dr. Wright was concerned, and she thought we ought to know." Joshua answered as he patted Jeremy's shoulder.
"Now all of you will fuss over me like a bunch of mama hens." Jeremy grumbled.
"And how is that different from any other day?" Jason laughed.
The other Bolts laughed too. "Okay, I need help just about every day." Jeremy said with a grin. "I'm the baby brother!"
They heard a ruckus coming from down the hall. "See here! You can't come charging into my clinic like this! There are patients here who need peace and quiet! Get out!" Dr. Wright shouted.
Jason and Joshua ran out the door. Jenny moved closer to Jeremy as if to shield him from whatever was happening outside the room.
"Shut up, lady!" A stranger yelled. "I'm looking for my wife."
"Johnny Bennett! What on earth are you doing here? Why would you think your wife is here? You never told us you were married." Jason said.
"Well, Mr. Bolt, I'm married alright! I'm married to your sister!" He snarled. Bennett started to run toward Jeremy's room.
Joshua caught him by the arm. He had a death grip on it. "You aren't going in there, Bennett. Our brother is very sick. There's no way you are getting near him or our sister."
Bennett turned around and punched Joshua in the face. Joshua punched him back with all of his strength. Johnny Bennett stumbled backwards several feet.
After a few moments, Johnny took a step toward Joshua. Jason got right in Bennett's face. "I suggest that you stop right where you are, Mr. Bennett, or you are going to find yourself on your arse in the street." Jason said in his most stern coldest tone.
Bennett glared at the two brothers. He turned and walked out of the clinic.
Dr. Wright came out of her office. "Thank you both so much."
"You are welcome, Allyn." Jason replied. "Come on, Josh. Let's go check on our twin siblings."
They returned to Jeremy's room. They sat down in chairs on the other side of the bed.
"Are you two, okay?" Jeremy looked at them.
"Yeah, we are alright, Jeremy." Josh replied.
The three brothers looked at their sister. "Why did you marry a man like Johnny Bennett, Jenny?" asked Jason.
"He wasn't a man like that when I married him, Jason or at least he didn't seem to be like that. I came here to get away from him and to get a divorce. I didn't think he would follow me this far." Jenny explained.
"He did though." Joshua said.
"Yeah." Jeremy frowned.
"That's right." Jason pondered.
The door burst open. Johnny Bennett ran in screaming, "There you are! You witch! I know how to hurt you but good!"
Bennett lunged at Jeremy with a knife in his hand.