The Way of Peace

Chapter 10

The dishes had been cleared away and brought to the kitchen for cleaning. The Clemmets had gone to bed content with the lie William had told as did Roy and she had been left in the kitchen with the dishes. The very idea of her being a mail-order bride was preposterous. She heard heavy footfalls coming down the hall approaching the kitchen. She did not look back only continued washing. She knew it was William and heard a chair scrape the floor as he sat in it. Why he lied was beyond her, when one lied it was either to protect or to cover up and she did not think he lied to protect. William must have meditated and formulated that lie a long while for it was detailed and even convincing even to her she could not construct a lie so well assembled and produced.

"You have nothing to say?" William asked. She continued to work. No, I have nothing to say and therefore I will not say. She thought. He sighed. "That story we will bring to our graves. Understood?" His voice wavered a tad and she then turned around and faced him. His face was still pale and his hands were clasped together very tightly.

"Why lie?" She asked. What is there to hide on your part? She wanted to add but didn't. He looked at her shocked by her question. Which confused her.

"Why-" He stopped and leaned back in his chair putting a hand to his forehead astonished at her question.  "What do you mean, why lie? What else was I supposed to say?" He was now leaning bent over the table and worried creases lined his face. She thought analyzing his tone and words. Her eye twitched and she squinted her eyes and her brows drew close. 

"Forgive me, for I cannot understand why you should lie about such a thing." His mouth dropped and hung there. This was becoming very exhausting and she meant to put an end to it. He shut his mouth and then asked.

"Pray tell me, Melanie dear, how you would have answered my mother?" He said it in such a way that was both mocking and somehow humiliating. It gave her pause and she immediately read between his words. Fredrick must have told him. She closed her eyes and let it sink in. The lie was to protect not her but him. Which did not matter to her, in fact, It did not matter at all. But it mattered that coming to America had not become an escape but yet another place she would live in the shadow of her past and she felt defeated, Heartbroken and everything she had thought would be, was not. Somehow she knew in the back of her mind that he could not speak of it and he did not or could not, either way, William would never know everything about her, Just that she had been a woman named Jewel living in the Palace. That much was enough to construct a well thought out lie to tell one's parents. But the question still begged to be answered, why, after knowing this had he married her? She opened her eyes and thought, maybe this could be a way out?

                                                                     {{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

The moment she closed her eyes his heart sank. He wondered now if she would confess about who he had married. Again his rage went out to Drew not wanting Melanie for himself and pawning her off to him. He would have never done this to even his worst enemy. How could she stand there asking him "why lie?" like she had been the innocent one. The thought gave him pause as he thought about women of her kind deceived, manipulated and lied to cover up who they really were. He had to lie. What in the world was he to do otherwise? His mother would have had him dragged to the preacher and had the marriage annulled and he would have done so but could not for he owed Drew his life and if this was the price Drew wanted him to pay, he was a man of his word and had to keep his promise to Drew all those years ago when he had saved his life many times. They had been on the docks in Portsmouth and Drew was about to board his ship after the long hard battles they had fought with the British when William overcome with gratitude spoke with conviction and tears stinging in the back of his eyes. He knew that he would not see his friend of all his nine and ten year old life again and the words came out in a rush.