Eternity (Montgomery/Taggert 17)

“I hope it isn’t Uncle Hiram,” Dallas said. “We’ll tell him Carrie is here, and he’ll be afraid and run away.”

Laughing, Carrie began to tickle the child, while Tem went outside, but came back in seconds, his face pale. “It’s Mother,” he whispered.

Carrie sat up straight in bed. She had thought of this woman as Josh’s wife, but not as the children’s mother. Would they be so glad to see her that they’d forget about her, Carrie? Carrie chastised herself for even thinking such a terrible thought. This woman was the children’s mother, and of course they loved her.

“Go on, go see her,” Carrie urged.

But Dallas sat down on Carrie’s lap, while Tem stayed by the door.

At that moment the front door to the house burst open, and even though Carrie couldn’t see the woman, she could feel her presence, for the woman’s spirit seemed to fill the little house.

“Where are they?” she called. “Where are my darling babies?”

Before Carrie could say anything, before she could tell Tem to close the bedroom door so the woman wouldn’t see her sitting in bed with her hair mussed and wearing only a nightgown, Nora swept into the room.

She was large. She was tall and big boned and had a dramatically colored face: white skin, dark eyes, red lips, black hair. She wore an expensive dress of black and red brocade, her waist corseted down to what Carrie’s practiced eye knew was no more than twenty inches. Above her waist was a bosom that most women would have given a few, or more, years of their lives to possess. Josh had said that his wife wasn’t exactly pretty. No, this woman wasn’t pretty. What she was, was beautiful. Stunning. A woman to make men stop in their tracks. A woman to inspire poems and songs written about her.

As Carrie was staring at this woman in speechless wonder, Tem had moved closer to her, and she put her arm around him as she hugged Dallas on her lap. For once, even Choo-choo was quiet.

“My goodness, what a very…domestic scene. Tell me, Josh, do all your new…ladies sleep with you and our children?”

Carrie wanted to defend herself, but what could she say, that she was this woman’s husband’s wife?

The children just looked at their mother silently.

“Come, darlings, and give your mother a kiss.”

Obediently, silently, the children went to their mother. Bending, Nora allowed each child in turn to kiss her lovely cheek. But she didn’t hug the children or touch them in any other way.

“And who is your little friend?” Nora asked Tem, nodding to Carrie.

“She’s our new…I mean she and Papa are married.”

“Are they? How very interesting.” Turning, she looked at Josh who was standing behind her. “Darling, it looks as though you have two wives. I may not know a great deal about the law, but I don’t think that’s legal.”

“Perhaps we should allow Carrie to get dressed,” Josh said as he led his beautiful, ravishing, divine wife from the room.

Carrie dressed in her riding clothes, and when she was ready, she went into the parlor. Josh and his wife were sitting at the table, heads bent close together.

Pulling away, Nora looked Carrie up and down in appraisal. “Aren’t you the cutest little thing? She’s darling, Josh, wherever did you find her?”

“In the tadpole pond,” Carrie said through her teeth and started toward the front door.

Josh caught her, held her arms to her sides, and led her back to the table. Still holding her, he pushed her onto the chair. “Tem!” he snapped. “Get Carrie some coffee.”

When he’d placed the coffee before Carrie, Josh said, “Carrie, my love, my one and only love, I’d like you to meet Nora.”

“Your wife,” Carrie said flatly and tried to get up, but Josh held her shoulders.

“Why Joshua, darling, I do believe the little thing is angry at you. You did tell her about me, didn’t you?”

“And how could I have accurately described you?” Josh’s voice dripped acid.

Nora seemed to take that as a compliment as she gave a suggestive little laugh. “Of course you couldn’t describe me, darling, but many men have tried.” She turned back to Carrie. “She looks awfully small to be on the stage.”

“She isn’t on the stage,” Josh snapped. “She’s a wife and mother and nothing else.”

“How very…interesting,” Nora said, making no doubt as to what she thought of Carrie’s life’s work.