Boundless

Chapter 28

On a cold day in early November Ezra asked me to go walking with him. Jenny winked at me as I pulled my coat on. I stuck my tongue out at her.

We walked down the street towards the river in silence. When we arrived at the secluded riverbank, Ezra stopped and took both of my hands. “I didn’t want your mother eavesdropping today.”

So he knew about that.

“Rebecca, I want to tell you something that I’ve been meaning to say for awhile but I haven’t had the courage to. But now I’ve decided that it’s time and you should know.” He paused and looked at the ground before returning his eyes to me. “I love you.” The words came out hurried but it didn’t take away from the meaning. “I want you to...I mean, will you marry me?”

I let go of his hands and thought of Sam. Saying yes would mean that I had completely lost faith in him returning. Hadn’t that happened already? I made my decision.

“Yes.”

Ezra looked like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He also seemed speechless. “Oh, I, uh, I forgot to give you this.”

The ring seemed bright against the brown grass and the gray sky. I didn’t have much prior experience, but I thought the diamond set on the top looked considerably big and considerably expensive. The metal was cool against my finger. I had never worn a ring before. Rings were only for married women...and I was going to be a married woman.

I slid the ring, which was a little too big, off my finger to hand to Jenny. “Are you supposed to take it off? Wouldn’t that bring bad luck?”

“Of course not.” There was a slight relief that came with taking the ring off. The wedding didn’t seem so daunting. It calmed my fears of moving away from my home and Jenny.

“Did you ask how much it cost?”

“Jennifer Anne Colson,” I said in perfect imitation of our mother in a particularly irritated mood.

She rolled her eyes. “What I meant is: My, Rebecca, that ring is stunning. I hope he drained the vault for you.”

“Thank you.”

There was a knock on the door. “Girls, are you ready to leave?”

I turned to button up the last of Jenny’s dress before we both went downstairs to put our coats on.

Mrs. Beverley personally greeted us at the door of her mansion. She kissed Jenny and I’s cheeks and complemented my mother on her earrings. “Ezra and my husband are in the parlor.” She smiled graciously and led us down a hallway. Now that I was going to be a resident of the Beverley house, I would have to learn the layout.

“You did not do this place justice,” Jenny mumbled to me under her breath.   

The carved parlor doors opened and Mr. Beverley looked up, his face was a deep crimson. Ezra stood in the opposite corner, as far from his father as possible, with his hand clenched around a glass of something. It seemed like we were interrupting at a very bad moment–in Mr. Beverley’s case–or a very opportune moment–in Ezra’s case.

“Dear,” Mrs. Beverley said with a slight edge to her voice, “come say hello to Mr. and Mrs. Colson.

When Mr. Beverley left his seat, I went over to Ezra. “Are you alright?”

He sighed. “Yes, just the usual medical school argument again.”

“At least your mother seems to be handling it a little bit better than before her.”

Ice clinked around in Ezra’s glass. “Yes, I told her what you said. Just not that you said it, if you don’t mind. My father thinks you’re too opinionated as it is.”

He hadn’t seen the half of it.

“Don’t worry, though, Mother loves you.”

“If only she could be the Beverley Bank President."

“Would you help me arrange a coup?" 

“Maybe you should try talking to him again, this time with your mother there.”

“Rebecca, conversations get us nowhere.” 

“It’s worth another try. You’re about to get married, you should be able to choose your own career.”

Mrs. Beverley interrupted us. “It’s time for dinner.”   

In the dining room, I was seated across from Jenny and next to Ezra. Throughout the dinner, I could see her facial expressions at the heinous things Mr. Beverley said.

While he regaled my father with bank information and the same family history he had told me, Mrs. Beverley jumped straight to the wedding dress plans. “I was thinking silk and lace, dear. My seamstress in Kansas City does wonderful things with silk flowers.”

My mother cut in. “I have a length of lace from my grandmother’s wedding dress that we could use. It’s somewhat of a family heirloom.”

“Perfect!” Mrs. Beverley turned to Jenny. “What do you think, dear?”

“Oh.” Mrs. Beverley’s question seemed to wake her from a deep daydream. “I’m sure whatever you come up with will be beautiful.”

My mother nodded and turned to Mrs. Beverley. ‘I have a string of pearls I was thinking for her hair.”

For the rest of the dinner, Mrs. Beverley and my mother continued to talk about my wedding dress as if I wasn’t there. They didn’t consult Jenny again, either. My sister didn’t have much to say anyway. I noticed her picking at her plate and figured she must be tired. We had stayed up late last night while I relayed the details of Ezra’s proposal and she told me about Charlie’s cowboy cousin who was in town from Abilene. Then she woke up early that morning to help Mother bake.

That's why I was surprised that night when I heard my bedroom door open and felt her climb into the bed with me. “Rebecca, I need you to light a lamp.” Her voice was so strained, I immediately did as she said.

“Jenny, what’s wrong? Did you read another one of those penny novels? You know they give you nightmares. Are you worrying about the wedding?”

The light from the lantern came up and I noticed how pale Jenny seemed in the firelight.

“No, it’s none of that.”

I climbed back into bed before my feet could get too cold. Jenny pulled a piece of white fabric out from her pocket and crumpled it up in her hand. “What’s that?”

“It’s one of the Beverleys’ napkins.”

“You stole one of Ezra’s napkins? Is that what’s worrying you? We can always return it tomorrow and say it was an accident. You–”

“No, Rebecca, it’s not that.”

“What then?”

Her voice had a slight tremor to it. “I need you not to be scared. Can you do that?”

“Yes.” I assumed she was about to pull a rat out from the crumpled napkin.

Jenny took a deep breath and held the piece of cloth in front of me. The napkin was covered in dark red spots, large and small. At first, I didn’t understand what I was seeing. Then it dawned on me. “No, Jenny.”

“Rebecca, I’m not well.”