CHAPTER 1 -- CONSTANT CONFLICT
With Nick failing to convince James that Hattie and Ira would be fine at their little farmhouse, Ira was becoming desperate. Thoughts of what Nick would do if he failed were flooding his mind, and it was driving him crazy. Before goodnights were extended, Ira sweetly took Hattie’s hand and walked her out onto the front porch. “Darling, could you please talk to James yourself,” he pleaded. “I really want to spend the week at the farm alone with you like we planned. After all, besides giving us a good scare, nothing really happened today.”
Hardly believing what she was hearing, Hattie whispered angrily under her breath, “Nothing! You call someone trying to kill you, nothing? If I hadn’t seen the sun reflecting off that rifle barrel and shoved you to the floor, I would have been a widow this morning even before I was a bride! We can’t ignore what happened, Ira, and neither can my family.”
“I’m not ignoring anything, and I don’t mean for it to sound that way. It’s just that I feel we can protect ourselves. After all, you do have twelve of the best gun hands in the country at your beck and call.” Frustrated, his voice had risen considerably.
“Ira, for heaven’s sake, keep your voice down. The last thing we need is a scene.” Pacing back and forth, Hattie gazed out at the moonlit sky. “If we do go to the farm, where do you propose my men sleep, in that little barn? I’m afraid they’d be mighty uncomfortable, and I don’t want to put them through that when I have this lovely mansion with living quarters for them right here on the estate. Those men protect me with their very lives. Why on earth would I want to make them miserable? I’ve never known you to be like this, Ira. Where’s your compassion? Let’s not forget, Dear, that it is your idea for us to go to the farm for our honeymoon, not mine. I wanted to go to Niagara Falls.”
“But . . .”
“But nothing. I told you when we bought that farm that it would be all right to stay there during the warm months of the year, not in the dead of winter. We may be having an Indian summer tonight, but who knows what the rest of the week will be like. The weather changes awfully fast out here, you know. My men were hired to be near me twenty-four hours a day, and I will not have them suffer for my sake. If you insist on going out there or anywhere else, I expect provisions be made for my men ahead of time.”
Hearing Hattie and Ira arguing, Minerva was saddened but not surprised. The day hadn’t even passed yet, and there were Hattie and Ira, quarreling quite loudly right outside the parlor where anyone might hear them. Moving across the foyer to the front door, Minerva motioned to Matthew, who was just outside, to close the doors. Quickly doing as he was told, he stood listening in silence.
“Damn it, Hattie!” Ira argued, “Your men won’t freeze to death. The barn’s plenty warm enough for your men. We’ll set up some cots, and they will be just fine. Don’t over dramatize the situation. My God, you pay them a fortune to protect you; let them earn their money.”
Amazed at Ira’s lack of compassion, Hattie was totally disgusted. She had put up with some unreasonable demands where Ira was concerned in the past, but this was simply too much. Looking him straight in the eye, her voice was very serious. “You listen to me, Ira, and listen well. As far as I’m concerned, whatever I pay them isn’t enough. They are the men that I have entrusted with my life, and I will not shortchange them.”
“Well, that may be the way you see it, but I don’t. As far as I’m concerned, we’ll be safe. I’m sure I can take care of you, if you would just let me. Don’t you have any faith in me?” He turned away and saw Matthew standing in front of the closed doors. With a hurt look on his face, Ira said, “Don’t you think I’m right, Matt?”
