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“We’ve been traveling for hours.” Mary fanned her face with her hand. Driving along the water’s edge reminded her how parched she was. “I’m hot and I’m thirsty.”
Calvin reached over the back of the seat and grabbed a canteen. “Here, this will do you.”
After removing the lid, she wiped off the rim and took a sip. “What waterway is this?”
“It’s the Miaramigoua River.”
Mary wasn’t familiar with that river, or wherever they were. How would she ever find her way back to civilization? She’d been trying for hours to get Calvin to stop, hoping she could find someone to help her get away from him. By now, her husband and his family would know she was gone. Hopefully her brother-in-law would send people to look for her. Unless they thought she got cold feet and ran out on Montana. Her heart felt like a lead weight in her chest. Surely they wouldn’t think she would do such a thing to her new husband? She loved him and would never willingly leave him—except to keep him and his family safe.
“I feel faint.” Which was true. She didn’t know if it was from the sinking feeling that no one may be coming to rescue her or because she didn’t eat. “I only had a biscuit with jelly on it for breakfast.”
Calvin glanced at her. His scowl more than conveyed his displeasure with her. “If I’d of known you were gonna up and marry some fella the day I got into town, I would have stocked my wagon with supplies.”
“I told you in my letter I was going to marry someone else.” Mary sighed. No amount of talking had gotten through Calvin’s thick head yet that she was never going to marry him or even considered marrying him. “The only reason I ever wrote you in the first place was because my aunt and uncle wished me to, not because I wanted to.”
“And since you’ve been in their charge since you were a child, you were doing exactly what they wanted you to do.”
“Exactly,” Mary said, a spark of hope flickered.
“And you’ll continue to do as they wish, which is to marry me.” Calvin’s smile was sinister, sending a frightening shiver coursing through her body.
“I’m already married.”
“Well, if you ask me, you’d make a much better widow than being married to that guy.” Calvin glanced at her long enough to wink. “I can assure you I will be a much better provider.”
“You sure haven’t shown that,” Mary’s replied in a curt tone. “I feel faint and you’ve refused to take me to any of the local towns so that we can get food.” And I can’t get away from you, she silently added in her head.
“Quit your bellyaching,” Calvin grumbled. “I’ll take care of you.”
Releasing the breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding, relief flooded her and she almost smiled at the glimmer of hope.
Nearly an hour later, the flames of anticipation quickly vanished when she saw the rocks and an opening to a cave. “I thought you were taking me to find food.”
Calvin snickered. “Like I’m going to risk you trying to get away.”
“I wouldn’t.” Mary crossed her index finger over her heart all the while praying, asking God to forgive her this one simple lie.
Grabbing a handful of her hair, Calvin pulled her head closer to him, making her wince in pain. “You honestly think I’m going to fall for that?”
Mary tried to keep calm, hoping Calvin would settle back down. Since he’d kidnapped her, she’d discovered that the smallest of things set him off on tangents. “Fall for what?”
“You think you are the first woman to try running away from me?” Calvin scooted to the edge of his seat and climbed down, forcing her to follow by the hold he still had on her hair. “I can promise you, you’ll be the last one that ever gets away from me.”
There were others, was all she could think about. How did her aunt and uncle not know what a horrid man this was? She’d seen two sides of him today. It was like a good side warred with an evil side of him and at the moment it was obvious which side was winning. She didn’t know what to say, so she said nothing for fear of setting him off. A tear slowly rolled down her cheek. It was too hard to turn her head to hide it from him since he was clutching her hair so tightly in his fist. As he drug her around to the back side of the wagon, she swiped away the tear with her hand while he was searching for something under a blanket. Her eyes widened when he pulled some rope out from back of the wagon. Another tear threatened to trickle.
“Tears don’t work on me,” Calvin said. “Save them for your husband’s funeral.”
Several tears escaped her eyes. Her voice and words escaped her—there was no reasoning with this fanatical man.
Calvin forced her to follow him into the cave where he sat her down on the cool stone floor, then he bound her hands and feet.
“You don’t have to do this,” Mary pleaded. “Can’t you take me with you?”
“Perhaps one day.” Calvin stared at her, as if he was searching her very soul. “When you forget about that other fella and you come to love me.”
