Page 71 of Silver Lining
"As long as we're speaking frankly, there's something I want to say to you." She drew a breath. "I wasn't happy when you brought home a wife named Low Down who'd been willing to bear a child out of wedlock and wasn't particular who the father was."
Max continued to stare out the window and roll the marble against his palm. The person his mother described sounded like a stranger. It was hard to reconcile the woman he had believed he'd married with the woman who worked beside him every frigid morning, pitching hay.
"I'll tell you something that I've thought a lot about," Livvy said. "I don't know three women who would have stayed through a smallpox epidemic no matter how desperately the victims needed her. And I don't know three women who would work as hard as Louise is doing no matter if it's sunny out there or a blizzard is raging. Without her, Max, you'd lose those cattle."
He nodded, his eyebrows clamping in a frown.
"I've always known what you were thinking. You're squeezing that marble in your pocket and you're thinking your cattle wouldn't be at risk if it weren't for Louise. And maybe you're right. But take a hard look, son. When you see that woman working up a sweat pitching hay like a hired hand … you're looking at character.
"And if we ever have another family dinner that goes like the last one did, you pay attention. I have an idea that your Louise doesn't sit still for too many insults, and I imagine she could cut someone down to size in about three sentences if she wanted to. But she sat silent while Philadelphia ridiculed and belittled her. Louise did this out of respect for you and this family. That is also character .
"Maybe you really believe Wally is living your life. If so, then you haven't been honest with yourself. And you haven't taken a good hard look at the life you have. Mark my words, Max. Someday you're going to hold that marble, and it won't be a symbol of all you lost. That marble will be the gold you went to Piney Creek to find. It will be the most precious thing you own. I say this because I didn't raise any stupid sons."
"Maybe you did," he said finally.
He knew what his mother was advising, but it would never happen. He might forget for a while that Philadelphia would bear his child and another man would raise it. But the knowledge was always there, weighing down the back of his mind, ready to raise up and strike him with guilt and remorse every time he touched Louise or appreciated her or enjoyed her company.
*
"I'm bored and I'm perishing of loneliness! I wantto move back home. Livvy doesn't fold my handkerchiefs like Pansy does, and she makes me feel guilty and inadequate in the bargain."
Her father leaned back in his chair and watched her pace in front of his desk. "The decision that you and Wally should live at the McCord ranch was made for excellent reasons that have not changed."
"There is absolutely nothing to do out there! How many pillowcases can a person embroider? How many stupid books can I read? If we moved to town, I'd have callers. But no one is going to drive clear out there." She glared at him, then resumed pacing.
"It isn't the distance, my dear. Perhaps you've forgotten, but you're in the center of a scandal that is going to worsen when you start—" He waved a hand at her stomach.
"You could make people call on me, you know you could. Whatever threats you used to drive off Max's cowboys, you could use to make people receive me!"
"I learned something a long time ago, Philadelphia . Society is the province of women. They guard their realm zealously and brook no interference. The surest way to ruin my bank is to pressure the clientele to force their wives and daughters into making social choices to please me. Those wives and daughters will make my clients' life hell on earth until they move their accounts to a bank in Denver that will not dictate their women's guest list. While we're on this subject, you are not the only person feeling the effects of the scandal. The bank has lost a few accounts over this. Not many, but there will be more once your pregnancy is known."
She stamped her foot to point out that he was digressing. And she let tears well and swim in her eyes.
"You don't know what I have to endure out there! I overheard Mrs. McCord and her insipid daughter talking about me. They think I'm coddled and spoiled. And that's not all. As shocking and unbelievable as it sounds, I sometimes think they prefer the company of that debauched creature who stole Max!" She stared at him. "Well? Do you really want me to live with people like that?"
He came around the desk, patted her back, and said, "There, there." Such mild comfort infuriated her.
"I don't want to hear 'There, there.' I want you to fix this! I want you to get me away from the ranch!"
"Nothing can be done until after the baby is born. Then we'll talk about the future." He set her back from him and lifted her chin. "Now dry your eyes. Your husband is waiting to take you to luncheon."
She found one of Livvy's poorly folded handkerchiefs in her beaded fringed bag and dabbed her lashes.
It had been her suggestion to have her noon dinner with Wally at the hotel. She'd harbored some nebulous idea about letting everyone see her hold her head high. She'd hoped to encounter a few previous friends and shame them for deserting her in her time of trouble.
"Wally is doing very well, by the way. Exceptionally well. Your husband is a natural-born banker. He's taken to it faster than I could ever have imagined. In fact, in many ways he reminds me of myself at that age."
Philadelphia looked up, and her mouth dropped. She had never dreamed that Wally would actually succeed. Therefore, hearing the praise and pride in her father's voice confused her. Certainly she was pleased that Wally's performance exceeded anyone's expectations. But she suddenly experienced an unpleasant vision of a future wherein her father discussed business with Wally and ignored her.
Absently patting her hand, he led her to his office door. "From my point of view, you married the right man. This one is a banker, by God!"
She stared at him in horror. Wally was not the right man for her. Max was and always would be.
CHAPTER 16
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Winter stormed down from the north and punished the plains with a vengeance. Blizzards pounded the range with a frequency and ferocity that surprised even the oldtimers. In December, the temperature plummeted and didn't rise above zero for three weeks.
