Indulgence (172 page)

“Don’t worry, brother, when me and Ben meet and marry our
gals, we’ll be calling on you to help us. Don’t you worry none,” Henry assured
him.

Smiling, Albert walked out to the front porch and told his
family, “I’m going to miss living with you, but I can’t say I’m going to miss
all the bickering with my brothers. I want you to know, I’ve never been happier
in my life than to marry Anne. I’m excited to live here with her and start our life
together. One day we will all have our own families, live on this land, and
watch our children grow. I only hope we can be as good a father as you have
been, Father.”

Continuing, Albert solemnly said, “Nothing will ever change
that. Anne is a part of me now, but also a part of all of you. I won’t live at
Sky Valley anymore, but we’ll be together as we always have. We’re a family,
and nothing will ever change that. Our family will continue to grow as Henry
and Ben marry and start their families. We’ll be there for each other as
always. You’ve always stood by me, supported me when I know there were times I
didn’t deserve it. Just because I’m marrying Anne doesn’t mean I’m gone from
you. I’m a stone's throw away, and my door is always open to my family, don’t
ever forget that.”

With that, the four Stuart men left the house, mounted their
horses, and headed back to Sky Valley as they had done hundreds of times
before. Each knew after today their family would change. No longer four lone
men, they would now have a woman in their midst with the Stuart family growing
by one. Perhaps one day Mary would return. It was a bittersweet moment as they
realized four lives that had been intertwined for so many years were about to
change.

Albert eagerly looked forward to his life with Anne. They
had started on a path, what seemed so long ago, finally arriving here. The
journey had been hard, but they had made it through together. As he looked back
at their home one last time, he thought,
I’m closing one chapter of my life,
but tomorrow starts a whole new beginning.

The morning of his wedding, Albert Stuart had risen before
anyone else in the household. He went down to the kitchen and made coffee,
poured himself a cup, and then returned to his bedroom. Enjoying this peaceful
time, his thoughts drifted back over the events of the past year, leading up to
today.

Anne Wallace had come into his life and turned it upside
down almost a year ago. He had been unhappy with his life as a rancher. He had
made the decision to leave his family and travel back east, where he had gone
to college. There he hoped to work for a while, after which he was going to
secure passage on a schooner and see areas of the world he had only read about.
After telling his family of his decision, as a concession, Albert had promised
his father that he would stay until their visitors from England departed.

After meeting Anne and spending time with her, all thoughts
of travel and adventure were forgotten. His one goal was to quickly make her his
wife. Visiting with her father, Albert soon discovered she was unlike any woman
he had ever known. Anne was educated, well versed in current events, beautiful,
and she captivated him within a few moments of meeting her. She was not what he
had expected a woman from England to be. He had been of the opinion that she
would be helpless, spoiled, uneducated, and self-centered. Anne was none of
these.

She had challenged his temper and self-control almost
immediately. She held her own, debating issues of the day with him, something
few men, much less a woman could do. His brothers had been smitten with her
from the moment they met. It had taken Albert all of twenty-four hours to fall
under her spell.

Her father, an old friend of Thomas Stuart, had proven to be
the most ruthless man Albert had ever known. Appointed to the circuit court
bench in the Nevada Territory, John Wallace had sought Thomas Stuart’s help in
finding and purchasing land there.

From the time Albert met him, the man made his daughter’s
life a living hell and almost destroyed her until Albert stepped in. The young
couple had overcome the many obstacles her father had put in their way, ending
only when he was forced by the court to leave the territory.

After putting his daughter through the trauma of a trial,
Albert was shocked when he later sent word that he wanted to see Anne before he
left. Albert had gone to see him and told him in no uncertain terms never to
try to contact or see her again. He never told Anne of this meeting, deciding
it was best she not know.

Anne possessed everything that Albert had searched for in a
woman and he gave her all the love and affection she had hungered for. Today,
both their dreams would come true as they became man and wife.

Albert’s thoughts were abruptly interrupted as his youngest
brother, Ben, knocked on his door.

“Albert, you up yet?” he asked.

“Yes, Ben,” Albert replied, opening the door.

“Father said to tell you that breakfast was ready and to
come on down. Anne has already eaten, and Henry has taken her riding.”

“Henry took her riding
this
morning?” Albert asked.
“Why?”

“I don’t know,” Ben said, shrugging. “I guess Anne wanted to
get some fresh air and give you time to come down stairs for breakfast and be
with us for a while.”

Their wedding was to be held at Sky Valley, although Anne’s
home was more formal. She hadn’t wanted to have their wedding there. It had too
many bad memories for Albert and her. A decision would have to be made as to
what to do with the house after they were married. Albert had already decided
that they would keep the land, but an empty house did present a problem. When
he brought up the matter to Anne, she told him, “Burn it down, tear it down, I
don’t care. I’ll never live there again.”

“Tell Father I’ll be down shortly. There are a few details I
want to check,” Albert told his brother.

After Ben left, Albert checked to make sure everything was
in readiness for his wedding. George had seen that his new black suit and white
shirt were perfectly pressed and hanging in his closet. He picked up the small
box that held Anne’s wedding ring and laid it, along with their marriage
license, on his dresser.

Albert knew that although he eagerly looked forward to
starting his life with Anne, he was going to miss his brothers, especially Ben.
His youngest brother had been a handful growing up, but Albert was proud of the
young man and was certain there would be times he would miss the daily
squabbles between him and his brothers.

Today, however, he was making Anne his wife, realizing his
dream of having his own life and a family of his own. Anne was an only child,
whose mother had died when she was very young, and had grown up alone. Soon
after they became engaged, she had told him, “I want to have a house full of
children. The sounds of their laughter filling the house. I never had that, and
I want that in our home.”

Well, I built her a home big enough for many children,
Albert
thought. Anne, unlike other women he had known, never asked for or expected
anything from him. Most women he had seen socially were impressed not only by
his good looks, but by the fact he was a Stuart and wealthy.

Not Anne. She was unimpressed by material things. She
treasured the smallest of things he had given her, a bloom he had picked and
placed in her hair from the rose his mother had planted outside the front door,
a four-leaf clover they found as they walked together in the pasture one day.
She had taken both of these and gently pressed them between the pages of her
favorite book of poetry. It had been Albert’s idea to build the large home that
overlooked the lake. Anne would have been happy and content living with him in
a little cabin.

*****

While Albert was engrossed in his thoughts, Anne and Henry
were enjoying a morning ride.

“Thank you for riding with me, Henry. You know how Albert
can be about me riding alone,” she explained.

“Aw, I’m happy to take you, Anne. Albert can’t help how he
is. He’s still worried about Joe Young,” he replied.

Anne had not allowed herself to think about the man Henry
spoke of since her father’s trial. Convinced that since her father had been
exonerated, so would Joe Young once he was found. Young had been hired by her
father to frighten her into leaving Nevada, but had escaped from jail shortly
after being captured.

“I’m sure he’s nowhere near here, Henry. Someone would
certainly recognize him, and besides, with my father being freed, they most
likely have dropped the charges against him already.”

“Well, they may have dropped them charges, but Albert is
still pushing Ray to file new charges for the way Young did you,” Henry told
her.

Reining up her horse at a watering hole, she climbed down,
as did Henry. “I wish he would just let it go,” she sighed, “I don’t want to go
through another trial.”

“Now, Anne, you know my brother ain’t gonna let nothing go
that could hurt you. It about killed him when your father got off. He ranted
about that for days.”

“He never said anything to me,” she said, petting her mare’s
neck.

That’s because he said you were too upset to know how mad he
was, Anne. Albert can be one stubborn man, but he usually is right about
things. Now you know after you’re married he’s gonna be mighty particular with
you. It ain’t because he’s trying to boss you; it’s because he loves you and
wants what’s best for you. It took me and Ben a lot of years to figure that
out,” Henry explained.

“I know, Henry, and I’ll be patient with him,” she replied,
gently patting the big man’s arm. “Now, I imagine we should be getting back and
start getting ready for the wedding.

“Good morning, Albert,” Thomas Stuart boomed as he greeted
his son.

“Morning, Father,” he replied, taking his seat at the large
table.

“What has happened to the house?” Albert asked, as he looked
around at the downstairs, which had been transformed into a sea of white. White
candles, white bunting, and yard upon yard of white ribbon cascaded down the
walls with large floral arrangements adding splashes of color.

“This ain’t nothing,” Ben added. “Wait until you go
outside.”

Ignoring Ben’s interruption, Thomas answered, “George and
his family members are responsible. They began early this morning and already
have the inside completed. They’re working on the outside now.”

“Where did all the flowers come from?” Albert asked,
examining a petal of one particular bloom. “There’s no florist in Carson City.”

“They’re from the gardens at Anne’s ranch. Anne and George
went there yesterday, while we were at your house, and cut down every flower in
that garden and brought them here,” Thomas explained. “I’m to tell you your boutonniere
is in the cold pantry. Anne made it this morning, using one of your mother’s
rose buds. It’s beautiful, Albert.”

“I would have expected nothing less,” Albert said, smiling.

Thomas saw that his son showed no signs of nervousness, but
then Albert never did. From the time he was a small boy, he kept a tight rein
on his emotions. That is, until he met Anne Wallace. From then on, it was as if
a completely new Albert had been reborn. Thomas Stuart had prayed for the
longest time that his eldest son would one day find someone who made him happy,
and Albert had found that in Anne. He saw the joy and peace his son had
attained because of her. He was no longer dark and brooding as before.

“Albert, when Anne returns, you know you aren’t going to be
able to see her. When you hear her and Henry ride up, perhaps you could wait in
the kitchen until she returns to her room,” his father suggested.

“All of these customs are just superstition. I can’t see why
Anne and I can’t see each other before the wedding,” Albert said.

“Because you’ll have a string of bad luck,” Ben told him as
he ate breakfast.

“Now where did you hear that?” Albert asked, sipping his
coffee.

“George told me. He said if the groom sees the bride before
the wedding, they’ll have years of bad luck. Now you don’t want to start out
your life with Anne with that hanging over you, do you?” Ben asked.

“Great, George has turned my youngest brother into an
oracle,” Albert laughed.

“Hey, I ain’t no ora. . .whatever you said. I’m just telling
you what George said.” Ben protested.

It was then they heard the arrival of horses. Ben ran to
look out the window, announcing, “Anne and Henry are back. You better make
yourself scarce, Albert.”

“This is archaic,” Albert grumbled, making his way to the
kitchen, “intelligent people insisting I hide in the kitchen and not see my
fiancée until tonight.”

No sooner was he in the kitchen than Henry came in the door
to check to see that Albert was not in the room.

“Albert is waiting in the kitchen, Henry,” Thomas told him,
“have Anne come in. He’ll stay there until we call for him.”

Henry soon returned with Anne. “Enjoy your ride, my dear?”
Thomas stood, asking the young woman.

“Yes sir, I did. It was enjoyable to take a leisurely ride
before the insanity begins,” she laughed.

Thomas understood why his son loved the young woman standing
before him. She and Albert were so very much alike. They both spoke their
minds, yet both were extremely private. Where Albert had an air of physical
strength about him, Anne had a quiet strength and a will of iron. Thomas was
sure that, together, they could overcome anything.

“Where is Albert? I still need to check with George on a few
things, but we must not run into each other,” she explained.

“Albert is in the kitchen,” Thomas told her.

“I best go back to my room as he’s not going to like being
trapped in the kitchen. When George isn’t busy, would you ask him to come see
me? And, Henry, don’t forget to see that Albert gets my note,” she reminded him
as she made her way to the downstairs guest room.