Lizzie by Michelle Isenhoff

Author:Michelle Isenhoff
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Michelle Isenhoff
Published: 2023-02-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 4

They were married in the parlor that same evening. There was no fanfare. No guests. Not a new dress or even a cake. Lizzie didn’t need any of that. The love in Ketch’s eyes as he repeated his vows made her feel like the most beautiful, most desirable woman in the whole world.

It was more than enough.

After Mr. Blaine pronounced them man and wife, he asked about their married name.

Ketch shrugged. “I never took a surname.” Then he smiled at Lizzie. “I guess dat means we get to pick one. What name would you like?”

Lizzie’s lips parted. “You want me to pick one, right outta my head?”

He smirked. “How ’bout Smolenski?”

Lizzie laughed, remembering the Polish family who lived near Ella Wood. “Or Gorbenivskaya?” she offered, naming the Summerville baker.

Mr. Blaine chuckled. “Why don’t you wait a little longer and use the name forged on your papers?”

“Papers?” He’d caught the attention of both Ketch and Lizzie.

“Of course, papers. You’ll need them to travel, especially if you take the train, which I would highly recommend. I made all the arrangements for the documents when we were in Philadelphia. They’ll be ready whenever you need them.”

Lizzie and Ketch exchanged a look. It was another detail they hadn’t considered. Another kindness owed to Mr. Blaine. Their thanks hardly seemed sufficient.

The children were distributed among the other adults that night. Robin was thrilled to bunk with Mr. Blaine, and Jane took charge of Larkin. The entire household retired early, making themselves conspicuously absent.

Lizzie felt a wave of self-consciousness overtake her when she found herself alone in the parlor with Ketch. She fidgeted, aligning the volumes on Mr. Blaine’s bookshelf. Her belly churned with both fear and anticipation as her new husband approached.

Ketch reached out to take her hand. “How ’bout a walk, Mrs. Gorbenivskaya?”

Laughter released some of her tension.

They donned Clyde and Jane’s cloaks and boots and stepped out into the night. The moonlight played on the fresh-fallen snow, turning the farmyard into a dreamland. Ketch led Lizzie past the barn and along the fence row where Mr. Blaine’s cows pastured during warm weather, stopping beneath a huge, leafless tree marking the corner of the field. He drew her close, draping his arms about her waist. “I know you frightened,” he said. “An’ I understand. It’s okay, Lizzie.”

The blackness of that night at Ella Wood suddenly rushed back to her, uninvited and unwelcome. She looked down at the ground, suddenly ashamed.

He forced her chin up. Compassion ran deep in his eyes. “I ain’t in no hurry. I got a lifetime to teach you what love means.” He bent to brush her lips with his. It was a tender, gentle gesture, far more solicitous than the kisses that followed their brief wedding ceremony. But he pulled back before it became too ardent and tugged her into stride beside him.

They rounded the corner of the pasture and made a lap around the cornfield beyond. The snow crunched under their feet, the only sound in the dead silence of the Pennsylvania night.

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