Violet Vanquishes a Villain Read online

  She’d said to Annie, “I know if I had to watch Violet wrinkle that perfect brow and listen to her wonder aloud why any woman would want to threaten her chances of becoming a wife and mother by pursuing a totally useless college degree, I would slap her. Not that I wouldn’t like to see Mother and Father and Billy, and even the baby, but not now. Not when everything that has happened these past few months is still so fresh and raw.”

  Shaking herself mentally, Annie again squeezed Nate’s hand and said, “I am not going to let you and Laura’s prejudice against Violet influence me. You have always said your mother is an excellent judge of character, so if your mother loves her, I am quite determined to love her as well. But what I worry about is how disappointed your parents are that they weren’t able to attend our wedding.”

  “I can assure you that Father, and Billy, for that matter, are delighted not to have to take the time away from the ranch to traipse up to the city. And Mother understands why we decided to do what we did. I think she is just happy to see us hitched. Laura seems to think that she’d quite despaired of me ever settling down and starting a…”

  “Family?” Annie loved the way Nate blushed whenever he even remotely thought about something related to the marital act––like producing children. “At least your mother won’t expect me to be in the family way yet, and we should be grateful to Violet for so rapidly producing the first grandchild…takes the pressure off of us.” She said this only half in jest, because she knew that if months passed and she didn’t conceive, it wouldn’t be just her mother-in-law who’d be disappointed.

  Nate, who knew about her fears of not being able to conceive, leaned closer and whispered, “Annie love, there is nothing to worry about. I, for one, plan on just enjoying being together. And if sharing my childhood bed becomes too uncomfortable, I am quite prepared to spend the extra money to rent a room at one of the hotels in San Jose. And if my mother complains, I will just say we are doing it to satisfy her desire for another grandchild.”

  Annie laughed at the very idea of Nate saying any such thing and then went back to the delightful pastime of remembering the efforts they had made last night to accomplish that goal.

  “Child, let me put Francis down for you. Why don’t you sit a spell on the front porch, be on the look-out for the buggy?”

  Violet, who had been unsuccessfully trying to get her ten-month-old son to sleep, gratefully handed him over to her mother-in-law, who hefted the boy onto her shoulder and slowly walked out of the kitchen, singing him a lullaby.

  She was exhausted since she’d been up before dawn to help with the washing. Normally, she enjoyed working on this task with Rosa, the ranch foreman’s wife. One of the many ways she knew she was making life easier for Mother Dawson. One of the many ways she could repay the debt she owed her mother-in-law for rescuing her from a life of idleness and despair.

  But not this morning. This morning, she’d been full of resentment…against her brother-in-law Nathaniel and his new wife. Their visit was the last thing Mother Dawson needed when she was worn out from all the cooking she’d had to do to feed the extra hands during the fall harvest. So inconsiderate. First postponing the planned wedding, which was supposed to be later this week, then changing their mind and having the ceremony at the last minute, when they knew that Billy and his parents couldn’t get away. Selfishly denying Mother Dawson the chance to spend a few days in a San Francisco hotel, being waited on for once and doing a little harmless shopping.

  And getting a chance to see her daughter, Laura, who for some reason hadn’t felt she could find the time to take the short train ride down to visit her parents since she’d left home in January.

  It wasn’t like the city was on the other side of the moon. Violet’s own mother often went to and from San Francisco in a day to do her shopping. Violet just couldn’t understand why Laura was being so hurtful to one of the most wonderful women in the whole world.

  A sudden wave of nausea left her swallowing convulsively. Her hand over her mouth, she rushed to the jar in the pantry that held crackers. It hadn’t been this bad with Francis, had it? Not that she wasn’t glad about being with child again. Just…well, the children would be more like twins…only fifteen months apart. So different from the five years that were between her and her younger brother, Alec. She’d been more like a mother to him than a sister or playmate.

  Taking one last look around the kitchen to see that all was neat and clean, she went out to the porch and sat down, taking small bites of the cracker, hoping she’d feel better before Billy and the couple arrived at the ranch. Why they couldn’t have come as planned Sunday night, she also didn’t understand. Instead, Billy had to leave his father fixing a fence, work he shouldn’t be doing alone at his age. Just one more act of thoughtlessness.

  Maybe if Francis went down quickly, Mother Dawson would join her on the porch so they could have a few quiet moments together before Billy came back with Nathaniel and Mrs. Fuller…no, she’d be Mrs. Dawson now. Rather, Mrs. Ann E. Stewart Dawson, according to the wedding announcement in Saturday’s San Francisco Chronicle. What nonsense. Why wouldn’t she go by Mrs. Nathaniel Dawson? And who was this Herman Stein, who “gave the bride” away? Or Tim Newsome, who acted as best man, which should have been her husband’s role. Billy said he didn’t mind; they all said they didn’t mind and were delighted that the couple was going to spend a whole week with them. But she knew what a bother it was. And the last thing she wanted was her husband to be upset. Not when her own brother, Alec, was already upsetting him.

  Violet’s nausea returned. If only she could get Alec to tell her what was wrong. But she’d not seen him since Saturday when he and Billy had a falling out over some slipshod carpentering Alec did the night before. Her brother had stormed off, saying he’d stay in town while the newlyweds were visiting, not wanting to be a “bother,” and she’d not seen him since.

  Just one more reason this visit couldn’t have come at a worse time.

  “It’s good of you to come meet us,” Nate said to his brother, Billy. “I imagine things are pretty busy this week, getting ready for the cattle round-up.”

  Shorter than Nate by a good four inches, but with wide shoulders, Billy was strong as an ox and about as subtle as one. When they first stepped off the train, he’d enveloped Nate in a bear hug then lifted Annie right off her feet and kissed her on the cheek, leaving her grinning. When she’d tried to apologize for how their change in wedding plans had robbed him of his chance to be best man, his response had been one of his infectious laughs.

  “Oh my,” he’d said. “I can’t thank you enough for that. My Violet was all het up about getting me back into those fancy duds I wore for our wedding. I love my brother here…but I can tell you I would rather wrestle an ornery calf to the ground than try to get back into that rig.”

  As Nate helped Annie into the carriage, he said, “Well, we aimed to please.”

  The buggy was a four-seater, and Annie insisted he sit up front, while she sat behind with their baggage. As he sat down beside his brother, he realized he was glad to have this bit of time with his brother…without Billy’s wife around.

  Billy gave the team the go ahead, and the horses swept onto Santa Clara towards Alum Rock Avenue, which would take them to the Dawson ranch east of town.

  “Father and you still wrangling over how many acres should go into orchards?” Nate asked.

  “Yep. But wait until he sees how much I make with this harvest. The apples on the upper hills are doing great, and I have my first crop of apricots coming in this year. But you know Pa and his cattle.”

  “Yes,” Nate nodded, “he doesn’t like to admit it, but he’s a sentimentalist at heart. Always talking about how he brought the original herd all the way across the country from Ohio in ’63.’”

  “I can tell you I am getting tired of being told how much some new calf reminds him of Florence, that cow who near killed me when I was nine. She was a mighty good breeder, though. But even he can
see that with the cheaper beef on the hoof being shipped in by the railroads, we have to find another source of income.”

  “But apricots? Is there really a market for them?”

  “Oh Nate, you’re just as conservative as your father,” Annie broke in, leaning from behind to touch his shoulder. “I think Billy’s very smart to develop some of the more exotic fruits. An article I read in the California Farmer last fall said the market in San Francisco for canned peaches and apricots was booming.”

  Nate smiled at Billy’s shocked look. Like Violet, Billy tended to see business as men’s work…the attitude that had forced Annie to take up the role of the pretend clairvoyant Madam Sibyl in the first place, as the only way she’d found to use the business skills her father taught her. But as her clients soon discovered, Annie had a keen eye for which local commodities they should invest in if they wanted a positive return on their money. She’d done such a good job the past year that she’d been able to drop the fiction of casting horoscopes and reading palms with most of them. And she was making a name for herself as a reliable accounting auditor as well, particularly among female-owned businesses and organizations. Nate was so proud of her, he could bust.

  Billy shrugged and said, “Frederick Kemper, Violet’s father, is the one who first suggested I go with the apricots. Three years ago…I’d just started courting Violet…and wanted to impress him. So I took his advice. But it gave me a jump on most of the others in the valley. Kemper says he’ll be able to give me top dollar for the whole crop. You should stop by and see his cannery now they’ve expanded. Don’t know why his son, Alec, has turned his back on the whole thing. One of the most lucrative businesses in the county.”

  Nate turned in his seat so Annie could hear him better and said, “You didn’t meet Violet’s brother or her parents when you were here at Christmas. Mr. Kemper opened up a cannery north of town about seven years ago. Before then, anyone who planted fruit or vineyards had to ship their crops up to San Francisco…and of course the railroads took their cut.” He turned back to Billy. “Isn’t Alec working in one of the local banks?”

  “Cashier at San Jose National Bank…actually a pretty good position for a boy of eighteen.”

  “Can’t be doing too badly then. Not bad training, either, if he changes his mind about working for his father.”

  His brother frowned and his jaw tightened in a way Nate knew meant he was seriously unhappy about something. Was it just because Alec didn’t want to work for the cannery? Mr. Kemper was a vigorous man in his fifties and a pretty forceful man to boot. Might not be an easy man to work for…even for a son…especially for a son. But his brother was pretty conventional about such things…as was his wife. While Billy seemed genuinely proud of Nate’s legal career, Nate knew that if something ever happened to his brother, so he couldn’t help run the ranch, he’d expect Nate to drop everything and step in to help.

  Annie leaned forward again and broke the awkward silence. “I hope that our visit isn’t putting your mother and father out too much. I don’t know if you knew, Billy, but I lived on a cattle ranch down east of Los Angeles until I was twelve. And I remember how busy late summer was, with hay harvest and the round-up.”

  Billy nodded. “Nate mentioned it in his last letter. Said we might even be able to get you up on a horse this visit. Ma’s sorrel would be a nice gentle ride for you and could do with the exercise.”

  “Oh, that would be lovely. If you promise to not laugh if I make a fool of myself. It’s been years since I rode. And then it was on sedate paths in New York’s Central Park. Does Violet get much chance to ride? Maybe she could take me out while you men are doing important ranch work.”

  Billy shrugged, and Annie continued on hurriedly. “Although, I imagine she doesn’t get much free time…between helping your mother and taking care of little Francis. How is that fine son of yours? I am looking forward to getting to spoil him. I’ve never been an aunt before.”

  “Little Frankie isn’t so little anymore. The tyke is already crawling…he inches along like nobody’s business.”

  Billy’s face was always pretty much of an open book to Nate. And he couldn’t help but notice that while Annie’s mention of his son brought forth a silly grin, for some reason when she had mentioned Violet, he’d looked upset. Something was going on there. He didn’t think much of his sister-in-law’s powers of rational thought, but that wasn’t, as far as he could see, what Billy had married her for. And his parents seemed quite fond of her. So if his brother was regretting his decision…there would be hell to pay.

  Oh, how he wished he’d insisted he and Annie had booked a room in a hotel. Sharing his old bed might be the least uncomfortable part of the trip if his brother and sister-in-law were fighting.

  “Billy, do you have some new neighbors?” Annie asked, pointing to a small two-story house directly behind the Dawson ranch home. They had just entered the long lane that led from Alum Rock Avenue to the Dawson house and outbuildings. On either side were the stockyards that Annie knew would soon be filled with milling cattle.

  Nate socked his brother on the arm and said, “I can’t believe you finally started building. When did you find the time?”

  Turning around to Annie, he continued, “Billy’s determined to have at least a dozen kids, the cheap so-in-so. Figures why pay for ranch hands when you can grow your own. Of course I don’t know what he’s going to do if he gets nothing but girls from now on. But either way, he thinks the old ranch house won’t be big enough for his future brood. House never was big enough for more than five people.”

  “Never really built to hold more than four. Never could understand why Ma insisted you had to have your own room when you weren’t here but a few weeks out of every year.” Billy looked over at Nate and grinned, taking the sting out of words that sounded suspiciously to Annie like an old grievance.

  “Have you moved in?” Nate asked.

  Annie could hear the hope in his voice. Maybe, just maybe, they wouldn’t be sharing that old childhood bed he seemed to dislike so much.

  “No, we just got the walls finished and the glass in the windows installed last week. Kitchen’s barely started, and none of the finishing work is completed in the upstairs bedrooms.”

  Billy turned the team to the left and urged them up a rutted drive that went between his parents’ place and the bunkhouse and then rose sharply upward to the new house. Annie saw that Violet and Nate’s mother were standing on the house’s front porch, waiting for them. Abigail Dawson held her sleeping grandson on her shoulder, a welcoming smile on her lips.

  Billy nudged Nate and said, “On the other hand, I thought you and your good wife might not mind roughing it a bit this week—so we’re going to put you up here. Give you a little privacy for your honeymoon.”

  An hour later, Annie stood next to Nate and watched as Violet and Nate’s mother, still holding a sleeping baby, walked down the stone steps that led to the back door of the ranch house. She leaned into Nate and said, “What a delightful surprise this was. It’s put me quite in charity with Violet. I am not sure I would be so gracious about letting someone else get first crack at my new home.”

  Billy’s description of the house as only partially finished was accurate, but what was completed was quite a step above a simple farmhouse. The solid oak front door led directly into an imposing wood-paneled vestibule. To the left was a good-sized parlor, with high ceilings, polished wainscoting, and an archway and pocket doors that led into an equally ornate dining room. The lack of furniture made the rooms seem even more spacious. The hallway led straight back past the stairs to a kitchen and pantry that went the full width of the back of the house. Here the unfinished walls and floor and exposed pipes showed where the greatest amount of work still needed to be done. But at least there was a sink with working water and a cast-iron stove in place with a spacious water reserve…so they would have the necessary ingredients for bathing.

  On the second floor there were four bedrooms, three
of them fairly small, but at the front of the house there was a large bedroom with a splendid view west over the valley. Annie was glad to see this room, despite its woodwork being unfinished, had a large double bed already made up with fresh linens. There was also a bathroom with working plumbing and stairs to an unfinished attic.

  Remembering how Violet had seemed slightly apologetic about the size of the smaller bedrooms, mentioning that in time they could put a two-story addition onto the house, Annie said to Nate as they turned and went back into the vestibule, “Sounds to me like you weren’t joking about Billy’s hopes for a passel of children, if Violet’s plans to expand the house are serious.”

  “What I don’t understand is why they didn’t just add on to my parents’ house. Seems like a waste of money to build a whole separate place. I really thought Billy was joshing me last fall when he told me about his plans.”

  Annie had wondered about that as well. Was the privacy of a separate home worth giving up the convenience of sharing the cooking, cleaning, and laundry between two women? And having your mother-in-law right there to watch over that future passel of children seemed a blessing.

  “Maybe it was your parents’ wish? Although its clear that your mother dotes on little Francis, or do we call him Frankie the way Billy does?” Annie didn’t know whether to be amused or alarmed that Billy and Violet seemed to be skirmishing over what to call their son.

  “Maybe Violet simply wanted a fancier house to live in—something more fitting for a son called Francis. Billy said to me once that Violet’s mother felt she was marrying beneath her. I just hope Billy hasn’t over-extended himself financially in trying to please his wife.”