Chapter 2

They were married the following afternoon, a Sunday, the ceremony performed at the local church at the conclusion of the regular service. The minister, like several other of the parishioners raised an eyebrow when he saw Cornelius' intended. December-May weddings were not uncommon in the these rural parts especially that of an older man taking a younger bride, but even here a seventy-one year old marrying a fifteen year old was still an eye opener. Marianne looked pretty in the simple ecru dress, the one she wore to church on Sundays. Even in this rural area the part of the marriage vows regarding "honor and obey" had been deleted, but Cornelius insisted that it be reinserted and that Marianne and Marianne only would have to repeat such vows.

The girl was frightened, but with her mother and father looking on, her soft, tiny voice repeated the vow as she had been instructed. It was clear; Cornelius was now her husband and master to be obeyed at all times and regardless of demand.

Though her parents were all smiles amid the food and drink in the church basement after the ceremony, Marianne was aware of the way in which her father kept looking at her with something other than fatherly pride. He tried twice to dance with her but she begged off both times. It was obvious to them both what he wanted and also obvious she was trying her best to avoid him, yet he persisted.

At last, as she was alone getting Cornelius a drink of punch at the refreshments table, her father walked up behind her and in a low voice pronounced, "Marriage must be good for you, Marianne. I swear you look downright pretty today."

"Thank you, Daddy."

"But then you know that, don't you?" His voice changed, was hard, cruel once again. "I've seen the way you've been carrying on out there, wiggling your hips in front of all the men... and especially me!""

"No, Daddy, I..."

"You know what happens when you wiggle your hips at me, girl."

"Daddy, no. I'm married now. I..."

"The upstairs vestry. Five minutes. You hear me?" he whispered.

"Daddy, I can't."

"You can and you will! Five minutes! You hear?"

She could not meet his gaze now anymore than she could in the past. Despite all, he was still her father, the man to whom she could deny nothing. Her head nodded and with a snort of satisfaction he walked away. She watched as he stopped to talk with a couple of men he hunted with and their wives, then made his way to the stairs. A single look back, his eyes catching and holding hers for an instant, and he disappeared up the steps.

Marianne's heart was beating wildly now. Before she had been single and sleeping under her father's roof, eating the food and wearing the clothes he provided. As much as she feared and hated his late night bedroom intrusions, she nevertheless felt she somehow, in some perverted way, owed him, that she was not only his daughter but his possession as well. She might not like it, she might even detest it, but she was his and being the man of the family, larger and stronger, he held dominance over her. She would never have dreamed of running away for the thoughts of suddenly having to face the world alone and unprepared were much more frightening than the pain of giving her body to him at his pleasure. She had long since known her mother would never be a source of solace since she had known what her father was doing almost from the start. Twice she had inadvertently walked in on them, once while Marianne's legs were over her father's shoulders and high in the air, the drunken man pounding her unmercifully. Marianne's only appeal had been a, "Momma..." a pleading for intervention. But the woman had said and done nothing but stare for one long moment at her husband and daughter, then powerlessly wring her hands and slip back out the door.

However, Marianne reasoned, she was now a married woman. She now belonged to another who may be every bit as undesirable and cruel as her father but the man to whom she had nonetheless given her vows of faithfulness. Telling Cornelius of her father's demand would have to be done carefully. She had no idea how he would react. Perhaps he would even agree with her father that she had been throwing herself at some of the men (even though it was untrue). Perhaps, she thought, this was a test; a test to see her pit her moral conscience against her duty to obey. It was the middle of a dance tune and Marianne suddenly went to Cornelius' side, took his hand and asked to dance. Although the old man had not danced in years, he was flattered, took her in his arms and haltingly and somewhat awkwardly began moving her around the dance floor.

"My husband, I... I have a question."

"And what might that be, my dear?"

"Now that we're married, I know I must obey you."

"You will certainly not like the consequences if you don't"

She felt the chill in his voice.

"Oh course, my husband, but we are in a church and so I was wondering. Which do you value more highly: following my sense of right and wrong or obeying without question?"

"As if that were any question at all. As your husband, your master, I am now the source of all your values. You will obey unerringly and in so doing remain true to the values which count most... mine!"

"Of course, my husband. Then obeying is the most important of attributes a woman may have?"