“I lied.”
The mountain man stepped forward.
The bride raised one hand.
He stopped.
Again.
Her choice.
She looked at the reverend.
“Why come now?”
“Your aunt visited me.”
The bride’s stomach tightened.
“Why?”
“She wants the marriage challenged.”
The mountain man’s expression hardened.
The reverend continued.
“She claims coercion.”
The bride laughed.
“Coercion?”
“She says your husband forced the arrangement.”
The mountain man muttered something unpleasant.
The bride almost smiled.
“What does she want?”
“The land.”
Of course.
The reverend’s face tightened.
“Railroad surveyors are considering a supply route through the lower valley.”
The bride looked toward the forty acres.
“If the route comes within two miles, timber and water access could increase the property value substantially.”
There it was.
Her father had discovered that the daughter he sold cheaply might own something expensive.
The bride felt sick.
The reverend said:
“I brought copies of my ceremony notes.”
“Why?”
“Because they show the mountain man requested language stating you could leave.”
The bride stared.
The reverend continued.
“I refused to include it in the ceremony.”
“Why?”
“It wasn’t customary.”
The mountain man laughed bitterly.
The reverend looked toward him.
“I was wrong.”
The bride asked:
“What exactly did he request?”
The reverend opened a notebook.
Read:
The bride shall retain independent ownership of land deeded to her and may dissolve the household without repayment of settlement made to her father.
Her throat tightened.
The mountain man looked embarrassed.
“You wrote that?”
“Yes.”
“You never told me.”
“I thought the deed was enough.”
She shook her head.
He looked alarmed.
“You’re angry.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because apparently every man in Wyoming knew the terms of my freedom except me.”
He closed his eyes.
“Fair.”
She looked at the reverend.
“What do you need from me?”
“A statement.”
“For court?”
“If they file.”
The bride smiled without humor.
“They will.”
They did.
Her father filed a petition claiming the marriage arrangement had been obtained through fraud and that the property transfer was therefore invalid.
He argued that the twenty dollars and horses constituted a bride payment, making the deed part of a fraudulent inducement by the mountain man.
It was absurd.
It was also dangerous.
Women’s property rights in Wyoming Territory were stronger than in many parts of the country, but law and prejudice remained different things.
The bride traveled to the county seat with her husband, Reverend Stokes, the clerk and Mrs. Vale from the lower valley, who had become her first real female friend.
Her aunt appeared in court wearing black.