In Name Only (21 page)

“Yes, Caroline, I
must catch the 9:00 train.”

Her face
hardened. “I wish I could ride with you to the train station, but. . .”  She
darted across the room, leaned over the basin and began making the familiar
sounds.  He walked in behind her and gently touched her back.

She straightened
and wiped her face with a linen towel. Liam had already turned and started to
walk toward the door when she called his name.

“Yes?”

“Could you not
send David?”

“We’ve already
spoken of this.”

She sighed and
pulled on her robe.  “Then I should like to say goodbye to you downstairs.”

“That’s not
necessary.  You ought to return to bed.”

She shook her
head.  “I wish to accompany you downstairs, Liam.”

“Very well.”

*  *  *

Caroline’s
shoulders were slumped and her now protruding stomach was touching the front of
her husband.

“You will be
fine.  Jane will take good care of you.”

“I suppose.” She
had a strange feeling in her stomach and she was certain that it had nothing to
do with her condition. She didn’t know whether she was feeling this way because
she was within two months of giving birth or whether it was because she was
feeling ill much of the time.  Whatever it was, she did not want Liam to leave
her.

“Could you not
postpone it, at least for a short while?”

“I already told
you that this meeting is an important one which can’t be put off.”  She lowered
her head. He lifted up her chin and kissed her forehead.  “Now, now, don’t
pout.  Besides, it’s only for a week.”

Caroline pushed
herself away from him, turned around and crossed her arms across her chest.

“Caroline, stop. 
You’re going to have a baby.  You’re not an infant yourself.”  There was a
slightly caustic tone in his voice.  She stiffened at his words.  Remaining
silent, she walked with him to the front door.  A cool blast of wind almost
knocked the two of them down.

“Stay inside. 
You’re still in your night dress.”

“Goodbye, Liam.”
Her tone was curt.  She wasn’t very happy with him at present.  Why wouldn’t he
listen to her?  What was so important about this trip that he couldn’t postpone
it or send David?

She stayed at the
door and watched him ride away.  Why was she worrying?  What made her not want
him to go this time? He had traveled several times since she had found out that
she was with child, so why did it seem to bother her now?

Her unborn baby
turned a slow roll within her and, distracted, she returned to her bedroom.

*  *  *

Liam stared out
the window of the carriage and shook his head.  Why must his wife act so
immaturely sometimes?

He did not want
to say the things he did to her. They just slipped out.  So much for his
efforts at being a better husband. 

When he returned,
he resolved to shower her with gifts and with his time, even if it meant not
getting some of his work done. 

Now satisfied, he
relaxed in the seat.

Chapter 21

The following
week, David kicked the dirt in front of him as he waited for Liam’s train to
arrive from Boston.  It was a cool, overcast day despite the fact that it was
almost June.  Although it hadn’t yet rained, the dark sky threatened to do so. He
felt anxious, although he wasn’t sure whether it was the weather or some other
reason.  Of course, living in a house – albeit a large one – with someone not
very fond of you could itself cause anxiety.

Although David
would never admit it to anyone but himself, it bothered him that Caroline
disliked him.  Women, in general, seemed enamored by his charm, his good looks
and his outgoing personality.  Caroline, however, always seemed to have an
expression of disdain when she looked at him, as if he had some sort of cancerous
growth on his face.  Sometimes, he could see signs that she was making an effort
to be nice to him. Then he would say something that she found offensive and the
expression of disgust would return.

The train’s
whistle grew louder and soon came to a halt. David watched a group of men
getting off.

“Over here, Lee,”
David yelled, as he watched Liam step down off the train.

Liam glanced at
David and waved.

“I trust that
Caroline is well?”

Besides the
fact that she avoids me like the plague?
  “I suppose she’s fine. She always
stays in her room, and the only time this past week we’ve had a meal together,
it was spent in silence. I asked her if she would like to join me today and she
declined.  She’s ill, as usual.”

“She misses me. 
She didn’t want me to go.”

“Oh?”

“Well, this will
be the last trip for a while.  The baby will keep her occupied the next time I
travel.”

Rain began to
fall as they approached their carriage.

Inside, the
brothers remained quiet.  Then Liam blurted, “David, do you remember years ago
when you were visiting the brothel, you told me that women can enjoy the...marriage
bed too.”

“I don’t think I
phrased it that way, Lee.  And I certainly wasn’t talking of the ‘marriage
bed.’”

“Yes, I know. 
But. . .”

“So you’re asking
me for advice about. . .”

“Forget it.  I
should never have said anything.”

“Lee, you have to
laugh at the irony here.  You’re supposed to be the one who does everything
like a proper gentleman, correct?” David was grinning.

“How can you find
this amusing?”

“Very well.  I’m
sorry.”

“Forget it.”

“You tell me
something like that and now you want me to forget it?”

The two remained
silent for a moment.

“Lee, Caroline
would not be happy you’re talking to me about such matters.”

“I want to know
how to. . .make it less. . .awkward for my wife.”

“Less awkward?”

“How can I make
it more. . .pleasant for. . .her?  And I don’t want her to do this merely out
of duty.”

“She is your wife
and it is her duty, is it not?”

“Well, yes, but.
. .”

“And I’m not
certain what to say, Lee.”

“Tell me what I
can do.”

David stared at
his brother for several long moments.

“What?” Liam
asked.

“It’s a
coincidence that you’ve brought this up.”

“Why?”

“I’ve been
thinking a lot about. . .”

“What?”

“That perhaps I
ought to stop bedding so many women.”

Liam gasped. 
“You’re jesting, right?”

“No.”

“You mean you’re
going to settle down and get married?”

“Certainly not; 
perhaps ‘settle down’ with just one mistress.”

“A mistress?”

“Yes.”

“Well, that’s
certainly a change.  What brought this on?”

“Nothing.”

“Doesn’t feel
good to use a lot of women for their bodies, does it, David?”

David shot him a
stern expression.

“Then you know
how I feel.”

“No, I don’t.  If
I were inclined to marry, which I’m not, I would not feel the least bit as if I
were using my wife.  That’s what she’s there for, isn’t it?”

“Well, I want
Caroline to come to me because she wants to, not because she feels it’s her
duty.”

The two of them
jerked forward as the carriage slowed to a halt.

David knocked on
the window behind him.  “Kip, why are we stopping?”

“There’s an
overturned carriage up ahead.”

“Very well.  Pull
over and we’ll see if we can offer assistance.”

Kip stopped the
carriage at the side of the road.  They all got out and began walking toward the
buggy in the center of the road, with Kip staying to the rear.  It began to
rain and Kip pulled out an umbrella and opened it, sheltering David and Liam as
he followed close behind. 

Beside the
carriage there were two men and a woman.  The woman held an umbrella over
herself.  One of the men was trying hard to hold onto the horse, who was
pulling away from him and nickering. The man was saying, “Whoa —”  The other, 
a tall bearded man in a suit, was leaning down and appeared to be inspecting the
carriage as the rain soaked him.  When he saw them, the bearded man walked
toward Liam and David.

“What happened?”
David asked.

The rain now
began to fall in earnest.  The man’s head lowered and he spoke loudly, above
the noise of rain.  “I’m not certain.  Something must have scared the horse
and. . .”  An ear splitting crack of thunder close by caused the man to jump.

“May we be of
some assistance, perhaps help turn your carriage upright?” David yelled back.

“Yes, if you
could help me do that, I would be most grateful.”

“Certainly,”
David replied.

David and Liam
followed the man and watched as he said something to the other man and he
stepped aside.

The bearded man
spoke loudly.  “My name is Mr. John Smith and my brother’s name is James.  He’s
holding onto the horse, so he won’t be able to help us.”

“I’m David
O’Donovan and this is my brother, Liam.  Perhaps our servant can offer
assistance as well?”

“That would be
fine,” John Smith responded.

Kip dropped the
umbrella and came forward.

“If we all
position ourselves on the other side, I think we’ll be able to move it easily.”
The four men lined up along the side of the carriage.  John Smith yelled, “On
four. . .one, two, three, four!”  It lifted easily.  They steadied it, then
stepped back, all four of them becoming soaked.

“Thank you very
much.  Sorry about your getting so wet,” John Smith offered.

Kip picked up the
umbrella and opened it and put it over David and Liam.

“Glad to help,”
David offered.

James Smith
hooked the reins onto the now right side up vehicle and the woman stepped into
the carriage.

“Is there
anything else we can do for you?” David asked John Smith.

“Yes, there is
something you could do.”  He abruptly pulled out a gun from inside his coat and
pointed it towards their faces.

Liam and David
gasped and stepped back, knocking the umbrella out of Kip’s hand and onto the
ground.

“Wait a minute. 
There’s no need for anyone to get hurt,” Liam shouted.

As if in answer,
the torrential rains became a drizzle.

“That’s what I
was thinking,” John Smith said.  “Give us your money and we’ll allow you to
leave without hurting you.”

Liam reached into
his breast pocket and lifted out his wallet.  “Here, this is all I have.” He
handed it to the thief.  Liam motioned for David to do the same.  David glanced
at Kip.  He knew that Kip was waiting for some instruction. Behind his back
David waved his arm in an effort to communicate to Kip to get the gun.

“And what about
that nice pocket watch, Pretty Boy?  Hand it over.”

Liam lifted it off
and handed it to the man.

“And what about
you, Curly?”

David reached
into his breast pocket, but pulled out nothing.

“You got a
problem, Curly?” asked the bearded man.

“Yes, I have a
problem, Mr. Smith, if that’s even your name. We stop here to help you and
you’re robbing us.  I have a big problem with that.”

“You wanna get
shot, Curly?”

“David, just give
him the money.”

David leaned in
and whispered into his brother’s ear, “I just went to the bank, Lee.  I will
not hand over three hundred of our hard-earned dollars.”

“David, do it.”

“How do we know
they’re not going to hurt us anyway? And don’t tell me they seem like nice
folks.”

“We don’t, but if
you don’t. . .”

“If you boys are
done conversing, I’ll take your money.”

David stepped
away.  He took out a ten dollar bill from his breast pocket and threw it at the
thief.

“Now, that wasn’t
nice, Curly.  You better pick that up before it gets too wet.”

“And if I don’t?”

“I’ll kill you.”

David picked up
the bill and handed it, now wet and soggy, to the man.

“Look,” said the
other man.  “They are driving a pretty fancy carriage.  They got to have more
money.”

“You’re probably
right.  You check Curly.  I’ll check Pretty Boy.”

John Smith
searched through Liam’s pockets as Liam held his arms out.