Family
Cordia’s parents were elated to see her, though hearing of the circumstances that brought her diminished their joy significantly. They invited Zachariah in, but he declined, thinking his mother may need him back at the house. He knew that, once Julia had passed, his mother would be extremely emotional, and he wanted to be there to comfort her.
Once Frieda had greeted her, she disappeared into the kitchen, pouring drinks and preparing something for Cordia to eat. Though she protested that she was not hungry, Frieda insisted that she would need her strength. Cordia joined her parents in the parlor, feeling awkwardly like a guest in what was, until very recently, her own home for so long. She sat on the duvet across from her parents, who sat in their usual chairs. The fire was blazing in the fireplace, and Cordia suddenly became very aware of how cold she had been, despite her heavy winter coat.
“Well, Cordia, dear,” her mother began. “How have you been? What have you been doing this past week?”
Cordia had lost track of time and did not realize it had been almost a week until her mother said so. “Well, we’ve had plenty to keep ourselves busy out on the farm. Will did a lot to fix up the house and the barn before I got there, but we’ve been working on the fence, getting firewood ready for the winter, that sort of thing.” Though she did not mind relaying her experiences to her parents, she could not keep her mind completely focused on the discussion. Her thoughts kept wondering back to Julia and to Will. She would have no way of knowing if and when her friend passed, but the doctor had seemed fairly certain it would be soon, and Cordia had lost any hope that she may actually improve.
“That sounds like a lot of hard work,” Isaac admitted. He had never known his daughter to thrive on physical labor, but he was proud of her for her willingness to pitch in.
“What is the house like?” her mother asked. “Is it a farmhouse?”
“No,” Cordia explained. “It’s just a little log cabin for now, but we intended to build on. Will wants to build a few more rooms in the back and add a second story. Course, one of those rooms was going to be for Julia....” she said, her voice trailing off.
“How many rooms does it have now?” Jane asked. Isaac reached over and gave her arm a squeeze, an indication to Cordia that her mother was getting at something, though in her distracted state, Cordia wasn’t sure exactly what.
“Just one,” she replied, an eyebrow arched. Suddenly, she realized why her mother was making such odd inquiries. She had not given them the most important news of all. “Oh, Mama,” she said her hand flying to her forehead. “Forgive me, I’ve been worried for a week about how to tell you this, but now, considering the circumstances, it doesn’t seem like such a trial after all. Will and I are married.” She paused for a moment when her mother gasped, covering her mouth with both hands. “The night we left here, we went straight to a pastor in Nevada, one Will knew from before the war. He married us that night. So, you don’t have to worry about your little girl living in sin.”
The sound of her father’s chuckle was not lost on Cordia. She couldn’t tell if he was laughing at her last remark or at the situation in general. She had not been as worried about her father accepting the fact that she had eloped; she was much more concerned about her mother’s feelings.
Jane took a few moments to recover from the news. “Well,” she began, “I am certainly relieved to hear that you were proactive in your decision making,” she replied. “But I must say I am thoroughly disappointed that we did not get to see you married. You know how much your wedding has meant to me.”
Thinking on her feet, Cordia replied, “Will and I have talked about having a local ceremony or a reception of some sort. I could wear a weddin’ dress to that, and you can certainly help plan it. How does that sound?” There had been no such discussion, but she was sure that Will would do whatever she asked him to do if it would make her mother happy.
Sighing with relief, Jane nodded. “Yes, that sounds wonderful,” she said. “I think that would be lovely.” She smiled at her husband who returned the gesture. He had been listening to his wife complain about his daughter committing a deadly sin for days now, and he was relieved that Cordia was wiser than his wife had given her credit for and thankful that Jane would now have something else to throw her energy into.
“What became of Carey?” Cordia asked after a few moments, praying they would tell her he was rotting in jail.
Isaac glanced at Jane before answering. “He rode off the next morning. Stopped by here to tell me he was going out to look for you, but rumor has it he actually rode out to join Quantrill.”
Cordia was shocked. “Quantrill?” she repeated. “Why on earth would he do that?”
“Don’t rightly know,” her father admitted. “But Bill Nance’s wife said that’s where they were a’goin’ that morning when he left.”
“So, Quantrill really is in the area?” Cordia asked. She had heard the rumors in Nevada, but she was hopeful that they weren’t true.
“I suppose so,” Isaac replied. “Not quite sure where he might be, but we keep hearing reports that he’s out there somewhere. Some folks say he’s interested in the outpost here in town, thinks he can get some provisions there or somethin’, but I can’t imagine he would spend too much time on our little old town.”
Cordia nodded. Surely Quantrill had his eyes on a bigger prize than the little sleepy town of Lamar, Missouri.
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