Thread: Desperate Bride (Saul & Chanti)

It was early in the morning, earlier than the sun, that Virgil found himself unable to sleep. While the ranch owner was used to early mornings, very rarely did he rise so early as this. If he went to the window it'd still be too early to hear the work of ranch hands starting their own morning routines. Isabel, the young Spaniard who aided in tending to the children, had slipped into his room earlier that night, and with one glance over his shoulder he could still make out her form under the sheets - the golden-tan skin of the arm that had a few minutes ago been cast over him looking pale in the light of the moon coming in through the window. Isabel the caring and loving young woman that wanted only the best for the children that had been placed in her care. The tender voice and touch to a guilty man during a time spent far away from home in a uniform that now rested unworn in the closet. Oh how the poor girl had tried again to fill the void Virgil found in himself in the past years, trying to bring back the energy of old promised whispers, and her ever gentle touch. By the time the sun was up, she'd already be awake and ready, and working on preparing the morning meal for the children. If only to avoid the rumors that might come otherwise. Virgil only waited a few moments longer as he watched her form. Thoughts raced through his head. The same ones from what felt like so long ago in northern Mexico. Except stronger now. Because now the injured party was no longer capable of being injured. Because this wasn't a tent in Sonora, but what had once been their bed. Because now Andrew and his younger sister Alice were merely a hall's length away and not seemingly countless miles. Virgil sighed again and rose as gently as possible from the bed. They were the sort of thoughts that never came to a man like Virgil when he found himself before a pastor. No, that sort of thing would be too public for them. They came at the early hours of the morning when they were least expected, as they had now, and for the past few years they'd been best defeated by simply resigning to the idea of starting the day perhaps a touch earlier than normal. So with a tired sigh, Virgil rose to stand, and walked softly across the room to where a mirror stood in one of the room's brighter corners. Tall and broad-shouldered, the distant heritage of southern ranchers who'd carried themselves north showed in his body. The muscle he possessed in his slowly growing age was due in some part to his time as a soldier, but any of the hands that called the Garret ranch home could attest that Pa Garrett was never one to shy away from mending a fence or rustling cattle. It was those small things that could bring a smile to Virgil's face. But that same smile would instantly remind him of others, such as the frown line's drawn into tanned skin, and once vibrant blue eyes that could more closely be equated to ice on a cold winter's morning any longer. And that wasn't even to mention the faintest gray hairs that hid well under a hat coming in at his temples. Isabel would insist that a man back in Spain would look distinguished to have such a thing. And that would have been a comfort had Virgil been a man in Spain - but he was a Colorado rancher. And he looked perhaps a few years older than he really was. The quick appraisal was hardly a necessary thing. And as he ran a hand through his hair, Virgil came to the conclusion as he did every time he did such a thing that it was hardly conducive to his happiness to keep it up. But this morning when he turned away from the mirror to the nearby dresser, he immediately spotted something. A folded up roll of paper, the news from the nearby town, and tucked just inside that was a rather plain envelope. Unassuming things at a glance for most people. But they made Virgil freeze. Staring at them. At the workings of an idea given to him by Isabel. Something absurd by the sound of it, even for Virgil. Especially for Virgil. A mail-order bride ? Virgil had ordered many things in the mail, from a new type of cattle feed from Europe that hadn't been as good as claimed, to parts for the rifles his ranch hands used. But he'd never, and he'd never heard of, ordering a wife in the post . Isabel hadn't been pressingly insistent. But she hadn't quite let him ever forget about it. They both knew what existed between them couldn't last forever. Eventually somebody would see or suspect something. Perhaps this wasn't the most conventional way of doing things, but it wasn't as if the life they lead allowed for much in the way of standard convention. Isabel had drafted a letter and had placed it in his care. She could find whatever was necessary to make it happen, but she placed it upon Virgil's shoulders to handle for now. Part of Virgil wanted to reach out and take the letter. Look over it and see in detail just what it was that Isabel had written out. And part of him heard the distant sound of horses being led from their stables drifting in through the window as he reached out. The ranch owner spared a glance out the window and the letter was quickly forgotten. Life had the most damnable habit of catching a man by surprise. Whether it was in the chores and labor stacking up unexpectedly, weather taking a foul turn, or finding somebody seemingly invaluable in your life was soon going to leave it. As he'd ridden the pastures and tended to his chores, Virgil had discovered it was a surprisingly easy day. And the sky overhead was a pure blue that drew the peaks of the surrounding mountains with sharp lines, leaving only the sun to come down. And so maybe it was because of those two things that Virgil was caught completely surprised by the third. By the time he'd returned from milking cows, a carriage had already pulled in front of the house, and it had been waiting for some time. The large Hispanic fellow sitting on the bench, who Virgil soon recognized from Isabel's stories as one of the young woman's elder brothers, had regarded him coolly as if their roles had been reversed as to who was a newcomer on the other's property. Two burly sorts of men had been travelling in and out of the front door in a manner that would have had Virgil reaching for the nearest gun had he not seen Isabel watching over and directing them. When she'd finally noticed him she had looked simultaneously relieved and yet still pensive as she'd motioned for him to come some distance out of ear-shot of those by the carriage so they could speak. The exchange had been quick by necessity. Family back in Spain had fallen ill. Deathly so. And while she understood how much she had been helping keep after Andrew and Alice, her own family needed her now. And Virgil would have been a hypocrite to argue against her. As much as he tried to convince her to reconsider, eventually their farewells were exchanged, and she'd boarded the carriage with a promise to return some day should he still need her help. And the events of that day had led Virgil to a fifth of scotch. Which had led him to his bedroom, where he found the paper with its open ad, and the letter. And it had found him setting out that same letter the very next morning. Which led to its response, that Virgil had looked over again and again as if some part of him could not quite register that somebody had taken him seriously. But as he looked over the picture of a woman who seemed to hold a sort of aged beauty about her, he read her words. Some of it made him laugh - particularly her concern over the natives that were told about back on the coast as always raring to murder and rape their 'victims'. But her prior marriage and her obviously stated love of children were what was beginning to draw Virgil to her, with what had st arted as the almost too-pretty face. A full month after he'd put the add out and now gotten a response, he found himself penning a reply. He did his best to emulate Isabel's style. Even if he fell tragically short to a keen eye. Good madam, It troubles me to hear of the news of your loss, and you have my sympathies. A woman of your obvious poise and maturity is, I'm sure, fully capable of surviving in this world but it would be a cruel thing to leave you to such devices. I trust that you understand what coming out here will entail. The travel to the nearest town is the better part of a day and the work in the ranch is hard. I've been fortunate enough in business that I have hands to help, but you must understand that it would not be the easy life of the cities back east. I'd like to offer you a chance to come out here. We can meet one another in person and you can meet the children and see things for yourself. Andrew is only eight but he's rather independent, and reminds me a bit of myself, so I imagine the two of you shall get together well. Alice is only a babe, just two years old, and I would not wish to see her grow up without a more motherly influence. I'm also sending a sum of money to fund for your travels. I hope you are safe and that you may arrive quickly with little trouble. Regards, Virgil Stacy Garrett Along with a sum of money, more than enough he estimated to cover for her travel expenses with extra should she find need of it, Virgil had ridden to town two days after Isabel had left and sent the letter to post. From there it was a simple, if challenging matter, of waiting and trying to keep things in the household together in the meanwhile.