Rud and the Damsel

Chapter 57 - The Town

The group spent half a day in the village. Sarah loved telling the story of how Rud had saved Patience and Billy and then seeing him come back to town looking like some silly traveler. Sarah would always say Patience was lucky. She had a real love story like the ones you read about in books. She was saved by her prince and taken away to his castle, where they fell in love and lived happily ever after.

Patience chuckled at Rud being a "prince," but their stone cabin had been like a castle. Sarah was right, Patience did have a love story like the one in books, and she enjoyed hearing Sarah tell the story and seeing the envy in the other women's eyes. Sarah and some other wives prepared a big meal for everyone, and Rud could tell Patience was enjoying herself.

Rud, Patience, and James visited Rud's parents and sister's graves. Patience had picked some flowers to put on the graves, but to her and Rud's surprise, there were already flowers on the graves, and the graves had flowering plants as borders. James explained ever since the day they were murdered, some of the women in town had maintained the graves, put flowers on the graves during the spring and summer, and placed bows and wreaths on them in the fall and winter.

James said, "I don't expect you will ever forget the bad, but you should not forget your mother, father, and sister were loved by so many in this village," then excused himself and walked away as Rud, with Patience by his side, finally let himself grieve for those he had lost.

A couple of hours before sunset, the carriages pulled out, with many villagers waving goodbye. James, Sarah, and their two children joined them for the ride into town. Rud turned to Patience and remarked this was a much different send-off than the last time he left.

Once in town, they found their hotel and spent the night. The following day Rud, Billy, Ollie, and James did their business while the ladies took a carriage and the kids and drove around town. Sarah wanted to stop by her father's store, and Sarah's father welcomed them. Sarah's father, who was notorious for giving children free treats, made sure all the kids left with a peppermint stick in their hand and, unknown to their mothers, a pocket full of candy.

While at the docks, Sarah retold the story about the day Rud rescued Patience and Billy. They looked at the spot where Patience's father was killed and fell into the river. Alice knelt and touched the ground where Billy had been kneeling when he saw Rud, where he, too, would have been murdered if Rud had not been there to help. Alice was visibly upset.

In the warehouse, there was a large stain on the wood plank floor. Patience knew her mother had died on this spot. Someone had tried to clean the wood planks, but there was too much blood, and the wood was permanently stained. They walked back out, and Patience smiled when she told them this was where her future husband and the love of her life had knocked her unconscious.

They visited the graves of Patience's parents, located in the well-maintained section of the town's graveyard. There was a beautiful and very expensive marble headstone bearing her parents' names and a marble border surrounding the graves. Patience carefully laid flowers by the headstone. Sarah told Patience her uncle had made sure her parent's funeral was a grand affair in an attempt to cover up his crimes with an expensive ceremony.

Sarah knew where Patience's uncle was buried and walked them down to the poorly maintained section of the graveyard reserved for criminals and other miscreants. The rotting wood plank marking the uncle's grave starkly contrasted with her parent's finely carved marble headstone.

Sarah pointed out where James had buried the uncle's men. They, too, were in the shameful ground near the uncle. Patience and Alice stood looking at the graves. Patience and Alice knew many men were there because they had killed them.

Alice, still upset from seeing where Billy was almost murdered, broke the silence and, in an angry voice, said, "Burying is too good for them." Then, looking directly at the graves, she added, "You aren't as mouthy now," not sure which grave held the talker she had shot in the face.

Alice thought how glad she was that Joe was not among the men buried here. She would hate knowing they had made Rose a widow and taken Marie's father from her. Besides, Joe did not belong here with this sorry bunch.

After a meal at a local restaurant, the ladies shopped, and all bought new clothes to wear to the concert. Patience drove the carriage down to her old home. She did not recognize the name on the nameplate. Whoever lived there now were strangers. Patience had hoped to see if any of the original staff, Smith, in particular, was still there but saw no one.

Martha suggested they go up to the door and knock, but Patience said no. Without her mother and father there, it was just a house and held no meaning for her. The stone cabin in their valley with Rud and her children would always be her home. Even with their new larger house next to it, the cabin still held her heart.

* * * * *

Knowing the ladies would be all dressed up for the concert, Rud, Billy, Ollie, and James, all went to the barber for a bath, a haircut, and a shave. They stopped and bought new suits and shoes, and after they were all cleaned up and wearing their new clothes, they teased each other about how fancy they looked.

Billy had been in charge of obtaining the food they would eat at the concert. He spared no expense in having their meals prepared at the finest restaurants in town. When Billy flashed a wallet full of money, the restaurant managers put their entire staff at his disposal. Billy was not a wasteful spender, nor was he a frugal man. He and Alice chose a simpler life, as did Rud and Patience. But on these rare occasions, Billy was not shy about using his wealth.

All dressed up and with way more food than they could eat for supper wrapped up in baskets, the men arrived back at the hotel. Their wives almost didn't recognize them. When Rud saw Patience, he could not believe how beautiful she was. She was truly stunning, and Rud could do nothing but stare. In a beautiful new dress, her hair curled and fashioned with ribbons and her mother's pearl necklace, she did look like a princess.

Patience just smiled and then brought Rud back to reality with a kiss on his lips. She complimented Rud on how fine he looked with his hair cut short and wearing his fancy new clothes. Rud started to speak, but Patience stopped him. He was still not very good at compliments, and the look on his face told her everything she needed to know.

Rud looked at Patience's hands. She was wearing her mother's diamond ring and gemstone rings. When she first came to their valley, Patience had nothing of her mother's, which bothered Rud. Once he could afford it, Rud, with Sarah's help, had located and purchased several pieces of her mother's jewelry the uncle had sold off, including several of her necklaces, pins, and rings.

When Rud had given her the jewelry, Patience fussed at him for spending so much money, but the way she held the items to her heart, Rud knew they meant so much to her. Rud had told her, "Now you can feel like a princess again."

Rud ran his fingers over the simple shiny gold wedding band he and Billy had made. It was nice but not to the standards of her other fine jewelry. Now he could afford any wedding band she might desire.

Patience knew what Rud was thinking and said, "This is the only wedding band I will ever wear. Nothing you could buy would mean as much as the ring you made for me."

Patience kissed Rud hard on the lips several times, smiled, then kissed him several more times. When they joined the rest of the group, it took Rud a few minutes to figure out why everyone was laughing. Seeing Rud with Patience's lipstick smeared on his lips was very funny. Patience had a sneaky grin on her face as she reapplied her lipstick. Rud wiped his lips off with his handkerchief and, borrowing from Ollie, said, "Worth it."

It was still early as they all went to the concert grounds. There was a soft, cool breeze blowing under a beautiful blue sky with just a few puffy white clouds. A covered stage for the orchestra had been constructed with a dance floor in front. The group spread several blankets out in front of the dance floor, where they would all sit, eat, and enjoy the music.

Rud and Patience walked around the grounds admiring the beautiful flowers the Merchants Association had planted in years past, making the park such a special place. Growing up, Patience had always loved seeing the flowers bloom in the park. As the sky darkened, they watched the workers light the lamps placed strategically around the grounds.