“I know that already,” Cora sighed.
“--I know, but you don’t understand what that means.” Joshua held his hand to his chest. “I’m the Joshua Dansby. Now, I know that doesn’t mean much to you, coming from the shady streets of New York City--”
Cora opened her mouth in protest, but Joshua stopped her.
“Here,” he said, “that means that I’m the heir of the Dansby fortune. I’m the only son of Michael Wetherby Dansby, who’s the grandson of Jacob Thomas Dansby, who was the founder of this town. He cultivated the land, practically built the town himself. Responsible for the wellbeing of the people, of the cattle ranches, of ensuring the best for this whole region--he’s the one who brought the rail to us, and made jobs open for so many people moving out here..”
For a moment, Cora felt her heart beating a little faster. Joshua Dansby began to be more animated as he spoke, and she almost forgot their earlier stint.
“All of that is supposed to go to me, or at least, I thought it would. Turns out that a man named Walter Howell, my father’s cousin, has rights to the inheritance. And my stubborn, stubborn old fool of a grandfather, when he made his will to grant me the land, he had one stipulation. You know what that was? I had to be married. Married!”
Joshua took of his hat and ran his hand through his hair, and Cora’s heart beat once again at the sight, though she reprimanded herself inwardly for it.
“It’s the 1870s for crying out loud,” he continued. “If a man wants to make a living, he ought to be able to do it all without a wife. But the old man was just so old-fashioned.” Joshua sighed. “That’s why I needed a wife. And a well-bred one at that. There’s a board of directors I have to go up against, and Walter’s got his lawyers watching my every move. There’s no way you’d last one day in high society. New York or not, I can tell you’re just a regular miss off the street.”
He turned his back away, but not without avoiding Cora who spun her way around to face him.
“A regular miss off the street?” she exclaimed. “I may not have a family, or much money, or be your definition of high-class, but I’m not just some rat on the street. You’re an insufferable, vain, degrading man, and I will not continue to be insulted by you constantly.”
She backed down, and folded her arms. “And I’m sorry I lied to you.”
Joshua noticed the change in her tone, and watched as she looked off, almost sadly, toward the ground. The breeze picked up as the clouds continued to gather, still holding off the rain. Strands of her brown hair flitted loose from her braid and across her face.
He was taken aback. She looked almost...pretty.
Her voice brought him back to the moment.
“For a long time, I’ve been wanting to start over. Life has never been…” she glanced at him. “Easy for someone like me. I admit that lying about who I was...was wrong. But believe me when I say that...at the time, I felt like I had no other choice. And this sounded too good to be true…”
Cora’s big brown eyes gazed up at him, glistening. Joshua nearly choked on his own words. As stubborn and immature as she seemed, apologizing must have been difficult, and her eyes said everything.
“Okay,” he said, and he began walking up the steps to knock on the minister’s door.
“Wait, what are you doing?” Cora called out from the grass.
“What does it look like?” he gestured for her to come follow. “A deal is a deal. And, maybe, if you help me...if, when the time comes, you find yourself back on your feet and choose to leave...I won’t stop you.”
And they walked toward a new life together. For the time being.
The rain didn’t take long to unleash. Just moments before arriving at Joshua Dansby’s, the newlyweds, Cora and Joshua, were caught in the rain.
“Richest guy in town and you can’t have a covered buggy?” Cora shouted. Joshua helped to get her off of Kan, and they made their way to the barn.
“Help me dry him off.” Joshua began to gather rags and towels nearby to drape across the great horse, his own clothes drenched. He removed his suit, and the damp white button down pressed against his broad chest.
We’re married now, Cora reminded herself. But she couldn’t help but still be embarrassed and looked away.
Her dress hung heavily with water as she grabbed for a towel.
“We’re drying the horse when we’re the ones who are soaking wet?” she retorted.
“He’s been with me through a lot,” Joshua said. “I don’t want him to get sick after all this.”