The Mistaken Mail Order Bride (16 page)

Feeling better for her sake, he headed back
out of the house, his mind already going through the possible
things he might do to teach Ida a lesson once and for all.

Chapter Thirteen

E
ric strode up the pathway to Ida’s house. A couple of her
children were playing in the grass. The nine-year-old ran into him
by accident, and Eric caught him just in time to prevent him from
falling.

“Sorry, Sheriff,” the boy said.

“It’s alright, Abner,” he replied. “I know
you weren’t trying to run into me.” He patted the boy on the
shoulder. “Is your mother here?”

“No.”

The eleven-year-old came over to him. “Ma’s
at Auntie Liz’s.”

Just as Eric was about to thank him and head
on over to Liz’s house, Mike came out of the house, carrying an axe
on his way to cut some wood.

“Mike,” Eric called out as he hurried over
to him.

Mike turned to face him. “What is it?”

“What has Ida been saying about
Caroline?”

Mike’s face went red, and he glanced down at
the ground. “Oh, you know how Ida is. She mishears things.”

“Mishears things?” Is that how Mike
justified his wife’s tendency to spread gossip—even when it wasn’t
true?

“You shouldn’t pay her any mind. No one
believes what she says. They know she exaggerates. Really, it’s
harmless.”

“Great. Then tell me what she told you.”

Mike glanced at him as if he was daft for
even making the suggestion.

“If you think it’s harmless, you won’t mind
telling me,” Eric said.

“What’s the point of this? It’s not going to
change anything.”

“Oh yes, it will. I’m going to put your wife
in jail for one night.”

Mike’s jaw dropped, and this time, he had no
trouble maintaining eye contact with him. “You can’t put her in
prison for gossiping.”

“Why not? Ida came into my home under false
pretenses. Caroline believed she was there to welcome her to this
place, and more than that, Caroline thought she’d made a new
friend. Never once did Ida let her know she was going to take
everything Caroline told her and lie about it. You and Ida might
think this kind of thing is harmless, but it’s not. Everything
Ida’s been saying has been hurting Caroline’s reputation. That’s
defamation of character, and I won’t stand for it in my town. Ida
telling people Caroline came here by accident when the stagecoach
stopped here is one thing. That’s true, and there were witnesses to
attest to it. But Ida telling them Caroline thinks she’s better
than everyone else and that she expects me to do all the cooking
isn’t true.”

“It’s Ida’s opinion. A person shouldn’t go
to jail for having an opinion.”

“Oh?” So that was how Mike wanted to argue
his point. Well, Eric could play his game. “I have an opinion, too,
Mike. And that opinion is that your wife needs to keep her opinions
to herself. Either she sticks to the facts or she keeps her mouth
shut. That’s the new rule around here, and since I’m the sheriff,
I’m going to enforce it. Now, to teach her a lesson, I’m putting
her in jail for the night. Maybe then she’ll stop all this
gossiping.”

God knew letting her get away with it wasn’t
going to do the trick. Some people needed action. They needed to
suffer the consequences in order to understand that what they were
doing was wrong.

“Next time Ida does this kind of thing,
she’ll be in jail for a week,” Eric added.

“This isn’t fair, Sheriff,” Mike
replied.

“What Ida did to Caroline wasn’t fair,
either, but guess what? Ida will be in jail for one night, and then
this is over. Caroline has to live with the results of what Ida did
for years. Once you spread the rumors, there’s no undoing
them.”

Mike opened his mouth, as if to protest, and
then he sighed. “Alright, I see your point. But just for one
night?”

“Unless she keeps doing it. Then it’s a
week. From there, we’ll figure something else out.”

Mike indicated he was willing to go along
with it. Good. Eric tipped his hat to thank him and headed for Liz
Samson’s cabin. Liz and Ida were talking in hushed tones on the
porch while Liz’s children played in the front yard.

As soon as one of the children greeted him,
the two women stopped talking and sat up straight in their chairs.
If Eric had to make a guess, he’d bet the two were talking about
Caroline. He was tempted to add another night to Ida’s jail time
for this, but he’d told Mike one night, and he’d stick with his
word.

He strode up the porch steps in time for Liz
to offer a polite, “Afternoon, Sheriff. What brings you here?”

“I came to take someone to jail,” Eric said
in a manner that implied he was only there to discuss the
weather.

“Jail?” Ida asked, jumping to her feet. “Did
one of my boys do something wrong?”

“No, ma’am,” he replied, keeping his tone
casual. “This isn’t for any of your children. It’s not even for
Mike. You’re the one who’s going.”

“Me?” She pointed to herself, her eyes wide
in disbelief. “But why? I’ve done nothing wrong.”

“On the contrary,” he began, “you’ve ruined
someone’s reputation by spreading lies about her.” Then, as an
afterthought, he added, “Didn’t it occur to you that I might find
out what you’ve been saying about my wife?”

Ida, at least, had the good sense to look
embarrassed. “It wasn’t my intention to lie, Sheriff. I only wanted
to tell people more about her. We’ve been curious about her ever
since she stepped foot into this town.”

“Then everyone could have asked me and
Caroline to come to the town hall to address your questions. That
way, everyone would have been able to hear Caroline’s answers
instead of relying on you to tell them your version of the
truth.”

“My version of the truth?”

Noting Ida’s incredulous tone, he asked,
“Did Caroline tell you she thinks she’s better than everyone
else?”

Ida winced. “Well, she might not have said
those exact words.”

“Did she tell you that she expects me to do
all the cooking for her?”

“She said you’ve been cooking.”

“That’s not what I asked. I
asked you if she said she
expects
me to do that.”

“Not in so many words. But you are doing the
cooking.”

“She doesn’t
expect
me to do it. I
offered. I’m willingly doing it. There is nothing she’s
expected
me to do ever
since she came here. Now,” he continued, gesturing toward the
jailhouse, “you’re spending the night there for ruining Caroline’s
good name. You can walk or I can carry you, but either way, you’re
under arrest for the rest of the day.”

She gasped, looked over at Liz who didn’t
seem to know what to think of the whole thing, and shook her head.
“If Caroline did a better job of explaining things, I wouldn’t have
misunderstood them.”

Misunderstood them? He didn’t believe for
one second she misunderstood them at all. “Ma’am, you heard what
you wanted to hear, and what you heard wasn’t the truth.”

Then, without wasting any more time arguing
with her, he picked her up and flung her over his shoulder.

“Oh dear,” Liz murmured, putting her hand to
her cheek.

Ignoring Ida’s protests, Eric headed right
for the jailhouse. He didn’t bother looking to the right or to the
left the entire way there. Yes, people saw him. And yes, most of
them stopped to stare. A couple even asked what was going on, but
he didn’t answer them. If they wouldn’t tell him about the gossip
circulating through town about his wife, what made them think he
was going to tell them what he was doing?

Ida cried out for someone to rescue her,
saying things like, “I can’t go to jail! I got children to take
care of!” and “I’m a woman. I’m too tender for the horrors of the
jail.”

Horrors, indeed! There were only two cells
in the entire place, and both were vacant at the moment. Her
biggest worry was going to be boredom. There was only a cot to
sleep on. It didn’t have anything to occupy one’s time. No games.
No books. Nothing but endless silence so she could sit and
contemplate why she was there.

When he dumped her on the cot, she tried to
escape, but he got to the cell door before she did and locked her
in. “The tongue is a powerful weapon,” he told her. “It’d do you
well to lock it up so I don’t have to lock you in here in the
future. Next time, you’ll be here for a week. After that, you don’t
want to know what I’m going to do.”

He stared at her, waiting to see if she’d
argue with him now, but to his satisfaction, she plumped down on
the cot. Good. Maybe next time she’d think twice before going
around and spreading her version of the truth to everyone in
town.

Without a word, he left her to sit and think
about how she might avoid spending another night in jail.

***

“He what?” Phoebe asked the next day, her
eyes wide.

Caroline added more flour to the bowl and
glanced at her new friend, who was teaching her how to make
pancakes. “I didn’t think Eric would make her spend the night in
jail. I had no idea what he was planning when he left our cabin. I
think he came up with the idea when he got to her home, but I’m not
sure.”

Phoebe laughed and handed Caroline the
spoon. “Why don’t you ask him?”

Caroline’s face warmed. “Because it’s not my
place. I’m not to inquire after a gentleman’s business.”

“Hmm… That’s where you and I differ. I have
no trouble asking anything about what Abe’s doing.”

“And he doesn’t mind?”

“No. I needed to learn how to live out here
in this wilderness. Back in Cincinnati, all I had to do was go to
the general store to get what I needed. Out here, Abe grows his own
fruits and vegetables, and he hunts his own meat. I wanted to help
him. God forbid anything should ever happen to him, but I have to
know how to provide for me and my mother.”

Caroline thought over her words as she
stirred the ingredients in her bowl. “I see the wisdom in why you
did it. My situation is different. If something happens to Eric, I
won’t take over his job of being a sheriff.”

“You’re right. Your situation is different
from mine, but I don’t think Eric would mind telling you what he
does and why he does it. Especially since he cares for you.”

Caroline stopped stirring the batter and
looked up at Phoebe. “You think so?”

Phoebe smiled. “It’s obvious. Anyone can see
it.”

Her heart warmed in pleasure. It was one
thing to hear him say it, but it was much better hearing it from
another person. “He’s a good man. I care for him, too.”

“What was Charles Dunwick like?”

“I didn’t get a lot of information from the
missive he sent, but he seemed like a nice gentleman. He said it
didn’t bother him that I didn’t know how to keep a home like other
ladies. Take you for example. You’re familiar with cooking,
cleaning, and sewing.”

“I grew up learning those things.”

Caroline nodded and resumed her stirring.
“I’m sure most ladies did, too. But I learned how to host dinner
parties and balls, how to sit up straight, and how to conduct
myself in all situations. None of those traits are useful as a
wife.”

“Not here,” Phoebe allowed. “But I’m sure
those were valued things for a wife back where you grew up.”

“They were. A lady had no hopes of securing
a husband without them. Appearances were everything. Out here, it’s
more about practicality. I was so relieved Charles was
understanding about my lack of homemaking skills that I agreed to
marry him.”

Phoebe put her hand on her arm.

Surprised, Caroline stopped stirring again
and glanced her way.

“You are perfect for Eric. I don’t think it
was a mistake you got off the stagecoach to marry him, though I
know it looks like it was.”

“Eric says it was fate we ended up
together.”

“I think he’s right.”

Caroline was beginning to think it, too,
though she was still too shy to admit it.

“Alright,” Phoebe said as she went over to
the skillet. “Now that the batter is ready, let’s make some
pancakes.”

***

“I want to ride,” Caleb told Eric and
Abe.

“Not this time,” Abe told him, his tone
pleasant but firm. “You need to get comfortable with the horse
before you can ride him.”

Though Eric agreed with Abe, he couldn’t
help but sympathize with the boy. Caleb’s first lesson was to lead
the steed around the fenced area with a rope. It was hardly an
exciting activity.

“What if one of us gets on the horse and
lets him ride with us?” Eric whispered to Abe as Caleb led the
horse away from them. At least then, Caleb would have a chance to
ride the horse, even if he wasn’t doing it himself.