Mail Order Match Maker (12 page)

Max walked past the closed parlor door again, becoming more irritated by the minute.  As soon as they’d arrived home from his sister’s house, one of the maids had told Harriett that Higgins was waiting for her in her parlor.  Max had looked at his wife and been stunned when she’d hurriedly limped off to talk to the butler without saying a word to him.  They’d been in there for over forty-five minutes talking about something. 

What was between them that she would simply rush off whenever the man wanted to speak with her?  Was he blackmailing her somehow?
  He wanted to pound his head against a wall, he was so frustrated with her hiding things from him.

He didn’t think that could possibly be the case, because Harriett obviously held the man in very high regard.  She wouldn’t feel that way if he was blackmailing her.  What was it then?

He heard a door close and turned to see Harriett walking toward him.  He was simply sitting on the stairs watching for her to emerge.  She walked to him and looked at him sitting on the stairs, the anger firing in his eyes.  She held her hand out to him, and whispered, “Let’s talk.”

Max stood
, understanding he would finally know something about what was going on.  At least he hoped he would.  He couldn’t go on this way.  He was ready to tell her she had to fire Higgins just to get the man out of his house.  He was tired of the secrets and pretenses.

He took her hand and walked with her toward his study, because he knew it would be empty, and they’d never been able to talk in the bedroom.  They both wanted to fall into bed as soon as they entered the room.  They couldn’t do that tonight.

*****

Harriett followed Max into his office and sat down in the chair across from his desk.  She thought about sitting beside him on the sofa, but for the conversation she needed to have with him, she needed some distance.  It was going to be hard enough to get through without him trying to soothe her as she talked.
  She wasn’t sure she’d be able to get all the words out if he started touching her.

When Max had taken his chair across from her, she sat silently for a moment, not sure how to start the conversation she needed to have with him.  How did you tell your husband that your previous husband was an evil man?

Max waited for a moment, and finally said, “I hope what you want to tell me is what’s between you and Higgins.  I can’t stand the secrecy any longer.”

Harriett nodded slowly.  “It’s a long story and hard for me to talk about.  I’ve never told it to anyone.  I hope you can be patient with me.”
  She rubbed her damp palms on the skirt of her dress, trying to get up the courage to say what needed to be said.

Max nodded slowly, waiting for her to start.

“I’m going to start at the very beginning, which may not make a lot of sense until I get through it all.”  She took a deep breath and began.  “My parents were schoolroom sweethearts, both raised in pre-war Charleston.  They had a great deal of money, and weren’t afraid to throw it around.  Mother was unable to conceive, and she saw several doctors talking about her problems.  They told her she would probably never have a child.”  She stared down at her hands as she talked, aware that Max was watching her closely and wondering what on earth this could have to do with Higgins.

“My parents were in their forties when I was born,” she explained.  “Mama was forty-two and they’d long since given up hope of ever having a baby.  They still don’t know what miracle was wrought, but she became pregnant with me, and they were happier than two parents have ever been.”  She smiled at him over his desk, a half smile that showed she knew she’d been spoiled.  “I was their little princess.  They knew they’d never have a child after me and bought me everything I ever wanted.  I had six china dolls who would have tea parties with me
and my little china tea set made in France.”  She smiled at the memory of her pretty little playhouse her parents had built for her.  She still wished she could take her daughter back to play in it.

She unconsciously rubbed her leg as she continued speaking.  “When I was sixteen they threw a huge coming out party for me with all my friends.  I was shy and stayed off in one corner giggling with all the other girls until a tall blond man walked in.  He was so handsome I thought he must be a prince sent there for me.  I believed in fairy tales and he was my dream come true.  He singled me out for a dance, and then another.  By the time the night was over, I was certain I wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with that man.”  She stared at the wall over his shoulder, unable to meet his gaze as she continued.  “He was everything I’d ever wanted in life.  Every evening for two weeks he came to my home and took me for walks and showered me with gifts.  He brought me daffodils, because he said they reminded him of me.”  She
smiled at the memory of how naïve she’d been.  “Two weeks after we met, he asked my father for my hand in marriage, and then he went down on one knee and told me that he’d never loved anyone the way he loved me, and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me.  It was all I could do not to jump up and down squealing in excitement.”  She made a face at her naiveté.  She still couldn’t believe she’d ever been so young and stupid.

Max studied her carefully, knowing this was important somehow.  “And you married him?”

She nodded.  “Six weeks later Arthur and I married.  We had a big elaborate wedding at my parents’ house and Arthur controlled it all.  He told me the style of dress to wear and what kind of veil I needed to wear.  He told my mother what she needed to serve for the guests and what people we could and could not invite.  I never realized that was strange until we married and you told me your sister had done everything.”  She’d never imagined she should have just planned her wedding however she’d wanted it.  All her life, she’d dreamed of what she wanted for her wedding, but had none of it, either time.  The first time, she’d caved to every one of her fiancé’s wishes.  The second time, she’d been too far away to do what she wanted.  She’d cared a lot less the second time around, though.

Max nodded.  “That was very controlling.”  His brows narrowed.  “Was he controlling of you after the marriage?”

“You’re jumping ahead.  I have to tell it my way.”  She looked down at her hands which were clasped tightly together.  “During the ceremony and the reception afterward, I thought everything was perfect.  He danced with me, smiling at me the whole while.  I was sure I was going to live happily ever after like someone in a fairy tale.”  Her eyes met his for the first time since she’d begun.  “When we left, my year-long nightmare started.”  Her eyes were sad in her stark white face.

“What do you mean?”  Max was leaning on his desk, trying to get closer to her for the discussion.

“We weren’t a mile away from the house in the carriage when he started berating me.  He said that I was wearing the wrong kind of dress.  He’d wanted a dress with puffy shoulders and mine were too tight.  I’d done what I thought he wanted from me.”  She shrugged.  “By the time we got to the hotel, he’d told me my dress was wrong, I ate too slowly, my shoes weren’t the kind he’d wanted me to wear and I shouldn’t have spoken to a young man I’d known all my life at the reception.”  She sighed heavily.

Max shook his head.  “He had no right to talk to you that way.”

“I thought he did.  He was my husband.”  She leaned back in her chair, watching him.  “My parents had a very loving relationship.  I don’t know what went on behind closed doors, of course, but I thought all marriages were like theirs, and I assumed that when I stopped making him angry, our marriage would be perfect.  He used a belt on me that first night.  Before he even consummated our marriage, he told me he was going to have to punish me.  Once we were in the hotel room, he took off his belt and beat me across the back.  I hadn’t even gotten my wedding dress off before he laid into me.”  Her eyes were distant as she remembered how badly that night had shocked her.  “He told me he didn’t want to have to punish me, but I had done everything wrong, and I’d never learn if he didn’t punish me.” 

Max stared at her.  He’d thought she may have been beaten, but the story he was hearing was much worse than anything he’d ever expected.  “Did you go home to your parents?”

She shook her head.  “Of course not.  I truly believed that he was punishing me for something I’d done wrong.  I thought if I could just do things the way he wanted me to do them, he would love me.”  She stood up, unable to be still any longer as she continued her story.  “By the time our honeymoon was over, he had gotten so angry he hit me in the face.  When I met his servants in New York, I had a bruise the size of his hand on my cheek.  They all pretended not to see it except Higgins.  As soon as Arthur was gone, he came to my room with a steak to put over the bruise and talked to me.  He told me he knew that Arthur had beaten me, and it would make no difference if I denied it.  He told me that if I needed him to scream, anytime day or night, and he’d be there to help me.”  She shook her head.  “I really think he stayed awake at night listening for me.

Max closed his eyes against the images going through his mind.  “Why didn’t you get out?”

“I didn’t know where to go.  Or really understand that what he was doing was all about him and not about me.”  She paced the room as she continued.  “He would leave me a to-do list every morning, and I had to do everything on the list or he would punish me.  Even if I did everything on the list, he found a reason to punish me.  I’d been married about eight months when I found out I was carrying our child.  I thought the beatings would end then, and they did for a time.”  She sighed.  “When I was five months pregnant, he got mad at me for something.  I’m still not sure what it was and honestly don’t care.  I’d never seen him that angry. He used his fists on me and was hitting me anywhere he could reach.   I was afraid, and I ran from him, screaming Higgins’s name.  I was so afraid he was going to hurt my baby.  I ran away from our bedroom and out into the upstairs hallway to the top of the stairs.  When I got there, I saw that Higgins was already standing there with a rifle.  He had it to his shoulder, ready to shoot Arthur.  To protect himself Arthur pushed me down the stairs toward Higgins, who shot him as soon as I was out of the way.”  She sat back down in the chair heavily.  “Arthur was killed immediately.  It was both a blessing and a curse, because Higgins was taken away and couldn’t be with me while I was in the hospital.”  A single tear floated down her cheek.  “I lost the baby during the night and my leg was so badly mangled, they told me immediately I would need surgery if I ever wanted to have any hope of walking again.”  She rubbed the top of her leg, not realizing what she was doing.  “I made them wait to do the surgery so I could go to his funeral.  I had to see them put him in the ground.  I had to know that he was really dead and couldn’t ever come after me again.”  She sucked in a deep breath, so glad the telling was almost over. “Everyone thought I loved him so much to be at the funeral so soon after my accident, but they didn’t know what had really happened.  No one would have believed it of perfect Arthur anyway.”

Max stared at her shaking his head.  He obviously didn’t want to believe what she was telling him.  “So Arthur is the reason you limp and he killed you
r child?”

Harriett nodded.  “If Higgins hadn’t been there, I truly believe he’d have killed me that night.  I know he would have killed the baby, but he did that anyway.”  She met his eyes again.  “Higgins was tried for murder, but I convinced the jury he was acting in self-defense. 
I didn’t tell them what had happened though.  I was too ashamed.”  Her voice was flat and lifeless as she explained how it had all made her feel.

“I don’t understand why you were ashamed.  You did nothing wrong!”

“I realize that now, but back then I was sixteen and thought Arthur knew everything.  I truly believed that he would stop hitting me if I just stopped doing things that were wrong.  I hadn’t gotten over those feelings yet.”  She paused looking down at her hands.  “My mail order bride business taught me that marriages can be good.  I gave a talk to every woman I put on a train, telling them to come back if their husband hurt them.  I never explained why, but every woman needs to hear at least once in her life that you don’t have to stay with a man who hurts you.”

Max took a deep breath.  “So now what is Higgins doing for you?  Why do you two keep going off alone together and talking?  He’s not still investigating me, is he?”

“No!  Of course not.  I trust you completely, or I wouldn’t be telling you any of this.”  She sighed.  “When I went to the mercantile yesterday, I saw a woman with a bruise on her cheek.  I knew immediately she was abused.  She told me she was clumsy and it was none of my business, but I used every story in the book when I was being hurt.  I would say that I fell.  That I was clumsy.  That I bumped into something.  Anything but the truth.  I could see in her eyes she was doing the same thing.  So I asked Higgins to watch out for her like he watched out for me.  He doesn’t even like me to be out of his sight after what he witnessed.”

Max made a face.  “You have Higgins following a woman around because you think she’s being beaten by her husband?”

Harriett nodded.  “I know it sounds strange, but I have no idea how else to help her.  He’ll step in if it looks like her life is in danger.”  She shrugged helplessly.  “I just wish I could do more.”

“Why does Higgins care?”

“Arthur killed his daughter a couple of months before we married.  He only kept working for him to try to get proof that he was abusing women.  He’d thought about killing Arthur, but he didn’t want him to die quickly.  He wanted him to suffer.”