Mail Ordered Deception

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Monica’s Point of View

Monica had been through file after file and had spent hours in that closed up, dusty room. She counted her blessings that Lilly had kept thorough, and well organized notes. From what she gathered, the ranch turned quite a profit each month, and the profits were divided among a few categories. It went into fifty percent for the household, twenty percent for the employee’s pay, twenty percent was for employee housing, which each employee apparently had a house on the grounds for their family, and the last ten percent was set aside for what she categorized as ‘The Lord’s Work’. Monica assumed that meant donations to the church or to charity. Cleverly, if the ranch was ever down in profits, the household’s portion of profits would cover any expenses the employees would otherwise be unable. There were also forms made out to determine whether the employee’s expenses were necessary.

If this were the case, then why did it seem as though the employees were suffering? The only way to know for sure, would be to compare the files and notes from Lilly’s study, to whatever files Jackson kept. The idea of setting foot in his office after seeing him mourn with drinking, made Monica wary. What if he was still there? Monica did not know what time he normally went to sleep, but decided it was a risk worth taking. Carefully, she returned each file to where she found them and blew out the oil lamps. Then she exited the room the way she came in and undid the tie that held the curtain away from the door. It gracefully fell back into a flat surface as if the room was never there. She stared at it for a moment longer before looking to the right at the double doors leading to Jackson’s office. There was no light coming from the door,so she assumed then that Jackson was already in bed. Still, she tapped on the hard surface gently as if afraid someone would answer.

A few minutes passed and still no one had come to the door, so Monica turned the knob to the door on the left and pushed it open. The light from the hall flooded in, casting her shadow on the desk. To her surprise, Jackson was indeed still in the office but slumped over asleep on the top. To his right was the same bottle of whiskey, but it was almost completely gone. The picture frame she had seen earlier was in his left hand facing upward. As quietly as she could muster, Monica stepped into the room, her curiosity getting the better of her. Each step, she expected a floorboard to creak, but of course the perfection of the manor would not allow that. When she came inches from the front of the desk, she noticed the rise and fall of Jackson’s torso as he breathed. She stole a look at the picture frame and decided that she had been right.

The woman in the picture frame was a beautiful sight, and graceful too. Her shoulders were held high and her eyes shone with confidence. The woman had been a real lady, she thought. Monica stepped around to the same side of the desk that Jackson slouched at and opened the drawers on either side. There, she pulled out the files and sat on the floor to read them. Monica felt very uncomfortable looking through them while her husband was passed out not five feet from her, but she was not sure she had time to get them to her room, read them, then return them without him waking up. After only five minutes of looking at Jackson’s files, which were not as well put together as Lilly’s in the first place, she noticed some strange things.

The ranch was no longer turning a profit, and had not been for over a year. Though the household had millions in an account at the bank, it was slowly dwindling down. The employees were being paid pennies on the dollar from what was, and no one had come to inspect their homes in three years. The money brought in from the foals was barely enough to cover the most basic of expenses. Though the money spent on the horses had not increased, they were not selling half of the foals they had been. From what she could gather, there was some mysterious illness taking the lives of many of their foals for over a year now. Strangely, the vet was reported to have been called down a few times but had come to no conclusion as to why this was happening.

Suddenly, she heard Jackson make a soft groaning noise and she froze. It would not be long before he woke up, so she stood up and put the files back onto their drawers. As they closed, it gave a deafening click. For a moment, Monica swore her heart was stopped as she waited to get caught. Luckily though, Jackson made no more noise or movement. She hitched up her skirt and made a hasty retreat out of the office, not risking closing the door behind her.

Jackson’s Point of View

He lifted his head groggily off of his desk, a feeling of a sledgehammer pounding against his temple. This surprised Jackson as it had been a long time since he had been given a hangover from his drinking. He went through his mind, recollecting the events of the day. After he had finished reading several chapters to Bethany earlier that afternoon, he felt that she had fallen asleep in his lap. Carefully, he stood up, cradling her in his arms. He was careful to keep his footsteps light as he took her up the first flight of stairs to Bethany’s floor and placed her gently onto her bed. On his way back down, he had heard a commotion coming from the hall where his office was. When he looked down the hallway however, no one was in sight. As Jackson walked its length, the commotion grew steadily louder. Then he saw it; the curtain covering his late wife’s office was drawn. Someone was inside. Immediately he was filled with a sense of violation. It was an unwritten rule that this particular room was sacred. Not even he went inside. The only one who would not be aware of this was his second wife. He debated going in and finding out exactly what she was up to. After what felt like an hour of deliberation though was most likely not even ten minutes, Jackson finally decided against going inside. Even the thought of putting his hand on the doorknob caused his palms to sweat and his heartbeat accelerated. Instead, he retreated forward into his own office. Of course, the thought of Lily caused him to drink again. This time to the point of passing out over his desk. When he came to, hours had certainly passed, for the light was no longer coming in from his windows.

As he stood from his desk, Jackson decided it would be best to retire into his own bedroom. He walked across the floor, stumbling over thin air with every step. The small sounds of his feet hitting the carpeted floor exasperated his headache to the point of walking with his eyes closed, just to provide a little bit of relief. When he finally reached the top floor, he walked past Monica’s door and forced himself to stop. This was supposed to be his wedding night, so his staff would be expecting him to go into Monica’s room. Would he dare? He told Monica that he would not enter her bedroom under any circumstances. Still, there was light from underneath the door and he was still heavily under the influence of alcohol, so the temptation turned out to be too great. Not giving himself a chance to change his mind, he raised his fist and knocked on the door, rather loudly. He waited only a second before knocking again, even louder than before. This time, Monica answered before he had a chance to knock a third time.

She stood there with a confused look in her eyes. She was wearing that same blue night dress from this morning and he watched as its near see through fabric slightly hugged her figure.

“Mr. Porter...I mean, Jackson, is something the matter?” Monica whispered, which his head was thankful for. He leaned in close to her face so he too could whisper.

“I w...wash wondering,” he paused a moment, gathering his thoughts, “can I come in...in there Mrs. Porter?” Her eyes widened in shock.

“I’m sorry sir, but I do not think that would be wise.” He was barely paying attention to what she was saying as he pushed past her with a hand on her shoulder. He moved so fast however that the ground beneath his feet spun and he landed with his head hitting the couch. He groaned from the impact, but it also cleared his head somewhat and as he stood up, he took in his surroundings. He looked at Monica and saw her watching him almost fearfully, her hand clutching her nightdress as if to hold it closed. He stood upright and closed the distance between them.

“I have to apologize, Monica. I am not in the right frame of mind.” She nodded in his direction before looking up into his eyes. “I am also sorry if I embarrassed you in the courthouse this morning.” She raised her eyebrow quizzically and he continued to explain himself. “When the judge pronounced us husband and wife, I refused to kiss you. I apologize if that embarrassed you.” She sighed and looked down at her hands.

“That should not concern you, sir. I assure you, I am quite alright.” He was genuine in his earlier apology, but wondered suddenly what it would feel like to actually kiss her. She was his wife now, so nothing would be wrong and there was no denying that she was beautiful.

“I would like to rectify that mistake, if you will let me.” She met his gaze again and his eyes locked onto her lips. She nodded her head and he leaned down until their lips were only a breath apart. Without taking the time to think and talk himself out of it, he closed the distance between the two of them and felt her lips touch his. The touch was feather soft and he stood motionless as if not wanting to frighten her. When he felt her body relax against his, he deepened the kiss, parting her mouth with his. His eyes closed as he wrapped his hands around her waist. He was sure by the way she was letting him lead that this was probably her first kiss. This thought sent a thrill through him that he was given that honor. It was then that he backed his head away from hers to gauge her reaction. She did not look up at him and so he did not know what to say. Instead, he simply released her waist and left her room without saying a word, heading to his own room next door.

When he opened the door and stepped inside, he immediately stripped out of his shirt and pants, then practically hopped into his four poster bed. Without realizing it, his headache was suddenly gone. So, he lay there on top of the comforter looking at the ceiling and let himself drift off to sleep.

Monica’s Point of View

She remained frozen in the spot where Jackson had left her, her fingers drifting up to touch her lips. Monica could not believe what had just transpired between them. It left her lightheaded and with butterflies in her stomach. She had never been kissed before and honestly her imagination did not do the actual act any justice. It was romantic and sweet but mysterious in nature, like something out of a novel. She let herself smile before retiring to her own bed. She curled up under her blankets and held her locket close. Monica reminded herself that the kiss meant nothing. It was an experiment and no more. It would not happen again either. Jackson had clearly been drunk, hungover or both.

The next morning, she woke up with a start, her night was filled with dreams of the kiss, and nightmares of her father dying in a hospital far away. She stood up and waited for the coffee to arrive. When it did, she prepared it and walked over to the fireplace. She started it up, deciding to take her coffee indoors that morning in order to avoid seeing Jackson. Once the fire was roaring in front of her, she sat back on the couch and sipped on the hot coffee. It was comforting to feel it spread through her body and once it was gone, she was quick to dress. It was then that she opened up her wardrobe to discover a surprise. It must have happened while she was outside of her room yesterday, but it was filled with dresses she had never seen before. They all seemed to be about her size and drop dead gorgeous.

There were some for formal wear and some for every day and some for nighttime sleep. All were wildly beyond what she usually could afford. She chose a professional looking dress. It was a dark shade of green that had a form fitting skirt, and buttons up the front that went up to her neck. The sleeves reached her elbows and she put on some black flat shoes that she found on the floorboard of the wardrobe. As she looked in the mirror on her vanity she, for a moment, truly felt like a lady of the manor. Monica then went down to the second floor to find Bethany eating her breakfast alone. She continued again, a little slower to find Wesley dusting a flower vase.

“Wesley, could you do me a favor?” He looked up at her with a smile, clearly over their, well she could not quite call it a spat but close to one, of which she was glad.

“Of course, miss.”

“Could you go through the ‘in house’ staff and tell them to write down any issues they might be having with their homes and drop them off by my room?” He nodded and walked toward the kitchen, she presumed to spread the message. Monica then went outside and found Jessie looking at the garden in front of the manor. She gave him the same message except to give it to the outside staff. He readily agreed and she quickly returned back inside the manor. She went up to Bethany’s floor and found her waiting patiently at a little desk. She had a First Reader and Arithmetic in front of her.

“Well then, I suppose we better get started, Little Beth.” She looked over her shoulder. “Read for me the fifth page from your reader.”

“See Jane run. See Jane run fast. See Jane run around the tree.” Monica was impressed by how easily she read that page. So, they continued on.

By the time the first half of the day was done, she had gone through most of her Reader and her Arithmetic books. It was then that lunch was delivered, via a woman who appeared in her late forties and had a kind smile. Her hair still had most of its black color to it, but wisps of gray fluttered throughout. She set the tray down without saying a word and left the same way she came. When she lifted up the dome, it appeared to be peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and two glasses of milk. Bethany and she shared the sandwiches in comfortable silence. Once they were finished Bethany stood up and ran to her toys.

“Play with me, Monica?” Monica said absolutely and they played pretend with her toy horses for another hour until Bethany showed signs of being tired. She yawned and her hands moved slower with the horses.

“You should take a nap, Little Beth.” Bethany nodded and went to put away the toys. “I’ll do that, honey.” The little girl smiled as she toddled over to her bedroom and Monica put the toy horses in the chest at the end of the room. Once the room was straightened and the dirty dishes from lunch were assembled back onto the tray, Monica headed outside to help with the horses if she could. As she passed the lawn, she saw Prince in his paddock again, still going a little crazy. Monica wondered then, if it was just loneliness. Horses were herd animals after all and he only had company when it was time to breed.