Fate's Intervention (43 page)

Elizabeth
spun on her heel and faced her
father
,
“
Please,
Father
. Don
’
t make me do this. I
’
ve learned my lesson. I
’
ll join a nunnery if you want me to, but please don
’
t force me to marry against my will?
”

“
Yeah, let her join a nunnery,
”
Mark said, then clamped his lips together when Stanharbor chambered a round in the rifle.

“
T
urn around,
Elizabeth
. . . ,
”

“
No! Shoot me if you have to, but I
’
m not marrying this man!
”

Stanharbor ignored his daughter
’
s outburst and turned his attention to the minister,
“
S
he
says
‘
I do
’
.
”

“
No!
”
Elizabeth
stopped her foot childishly.

“
That
belting you got earlier not enough for you, girl. Now either shut your mouth and let
’
s get this finished, or I
’
ll drag your hide back to our room and beat you into submission. Do I make myself clear? If you
’
re old enough to spread your legs for this man, then you
’
re old enough to marry him.
”

Elizabeth turned bawling so loudly that
the minister needed to elevate his
voice
during
the remainder of the ceremony,
“
I now pronounce you husband and wife, and may God have mercy
on your souls.
”

“
A
s I recall, that last part isn
’
t part of the marriage ceremony, Preacher,
”
Matthew said.

“
No? Oh, you
’
re right,
”
the minister blushed.
“
Well, it seemed the appropriate thing to say under the circumstances, don
’
t you think?
”

“
Yes, I guess you
’
re right,
”
Matthew smiled grimly.
“
Now, why don
’
t we get the license signed and finish this once and for all,
”
Matthew pulled the special license from his pocket that he
’
d procured from a judge traveling on the train, and laid it on the table.

“
I
’
m not signing that document,
”
Mark said, crossing his arms defiantly across his chest.
“
You can force us to stand here and talk, but you can
’
t force us to sign that piece of paper, and this marriage isn
’
t legal or binding if neither of us put our signatures on it.
”

“
That
’
s
right,
”
Elizabeth said quickly. She wasn
’
t sure if Mark was right or not, but it sounded good to her.
“
I agree with Mark. You might be able to make me stand here, but you can
’
t make me write anything, so I
’
m not going to.
”
She stuck her hands under her arms with a huff of stubbornness, the pout on her face belying the nervous tension filling her body. She cast a quick glance at her
father
and her resolve nearly fled. He didn
’
t look at all happy with her defiance. She mentally winced when she remembered the lashing she received earlier and wondered if her buttocks could take another whipping. Well, she was willing to risk it. Her
judgment
regarding Mark had been way off and the thought of spending the rest of her years married to someone who hurt her when bedding her simply wasn
’
t an acceptable option. She
’
d
rather
have her
father
beat her senseless and live with her shame.

Matthew shook his lowered head in disbelief. He understood that his brother had an
aversion to marriage, but could death really be an acceptable alternative? Because that
’
s most likely what Stanharbor would do to his brother if he refused to do the honorable thing by his only daughter.

Stanharbor wasn
’
t his only concern. He, for once, was not going to allow his brother to get away with defiling one more woman without suffering some form of consequences.
Father
wasn
’
t there anymore to bail him out, and he most certainly wasn
’
t about to pay Stanharbor off to make the incident go away.
Not only was it about time that Mark accepted the consequences of his actions, like the adult he was, but he was going to the right thing because if he didn
’
t, then Stanharbor would shoot the idiot and their mother would hate
him
for the rest of his life for letting it happen. He would just have to see to it that his brother got over his aversion to marriage
–
a
n
d quick, if the look on Stanharbor
’
s face was any indication.

“
Clifford, relax, old man,
”
Matthew said calmly.
“
Don
’
t shoot the idiots just yet. I have a better idea.
”

The newly wedded couple
’
s eyes widened at the tone in Matthew
’
s voice.

“
You might want to leave us now, Preacher,
”
he said, moving to open the door for the minister who was clutching his Bible to his chest, a worried expression on his face.

“
You are not going to hurt these two youngsters, are you, son?
”

“
That
depends on them,
”
Matthew said, leveling his gaze on his brother
’
s frightened expression.
“
Have a good day, sir. I
’
ll be around to your cabin shortly to pay for your services here today.
”

“
No, keep the fee,
”
the preacher said nervously.
“
I
’
ll feel as if I
’
ve been party to a crime if
I accept payment from you.
”

“
Just out of curiosity, Reverend,
”
Stanharbor said, keeping his eyes on Mark,
“
haven
’
t you ever
hear
d
of a s
hotgun wedding before? It
’
s not
as if
they don
’
t happen.
”

“
T
his is my first year in the clergy, so no, I haven
’
t had the opportunity to participate in a wedding of this sort, and I pray to God that I never have to again.
”
With
that,
he turned and fled.

Matthew grinned and closed the door, turning to face the bride and groom,
“
I
’
ll make this very simple, so that we can all go to the dining car and have dinner. I, for one, am starved.
”

“
Me, too,
”
Stanharbor said, relaxing. He didn
’
t know what Matthew had in mind, but the confident tone in his voice put him at ease, while obviously terrif
ying
the newlyweds.

“
You can either come over here and sign these papers, so that I can file them when we reach
New York
, or I can start breaking your fingers, one at a time until . . . ,
”
It was as far as Matthew got before
Elizabeth
snatched the pen out of his hand, leaned down, and put her signature on the dotted line. She turned and handed the pen to Mark who added his name beside hers without hesitation.

“
Very good,
”
Matthew said, folding the document up and tucking it into the pocket of his waistcoat.
“
Let
’
s go eat, shall we? Drinks are on me
,
and
I think we
’
re going to need quite a few.
”

“
Here, here,
”
Stanharbor said, slapping Mark on the back.
“
Welcome to the family,
son
. Do you have a place for you and Elizabeth to live?
”
He asked conversationally as they made their way to the dining car.

“
We
’
ll reside at Daragh Manor,
”
Mark said sullenly.

“
That
’
s
not going to be possible, Mark,
”
Matthew said,
“
a
nd
don
’
t ask me why because I
’
m going to eat my dinner in peace. We
’
ll discuss yours and Elizabeth
’
s living arrangements
later
. Until then, you can stay in your apartment.
”

“
How do you know I have an apartment?
”

“
Mother wrote me the day you moved away from Daragh Manor,
”
Matthew said, holding the door open for everyone to pass by. When Mark reached Matthew
’
s side, he paused and lowered his voice so that only Matthew could hear what he had to say.

“
I don
’
t know what scheme you have up your sleeve, big brother, but I
’
ve had about enough of you already, so
you had better
think twice before doing something you
’
ll regret.
”

Matthew reacted quickly to the veiled threat, grasping his brother by the neck and shoving him up against the doorjamb.

“
Hasn
’
t our past encounters taught you anything
Mark
? You
don
’
t have what it takes to carry out idle threats?
”
Matthew countered, slammed his brother
’
s head against the wood paneling
,
and then released him nearly as fast as he
’
d grabbed him.
“
Now, would you like to join us for a pleasant dinner, or would you prefer to go to your cabin and sulk?
”

“
I think I
’
ll go sulk,
”
Mark said and stormed out of the room, open-mouthed gapers watching his departure.

“
So
, Clifford,
”
Matthew said pleasantly as Stanharbor joined him,
“
where did you get a rifle from, anyway?
”

“
I always carry it with me. While you were seeing to those two, I was in the baggage
compartment loading my weapon.
”

“
A
h!
”
Matthew said, then looked around him as they entered the dining car.
“
So
, where
’
s
Elizabeth
? Is she not hungry?
”

“
S
he decided to go sulk. Same as Mark.
”

“
T
hink they
’
ll get over
us forcing them t
o marry and decide to make the best of things?
”