"What a lovely morning. The prairie actually looks cheerful for a change."
"Oh, Willy boy, Texas may not be Essex, but you must admit, it's better than some places we both have been."
"Yes, yes, my darling. That is true. One never does get used to British fog, Alpine snow or Carolina humidity. Little Rosenberg is simply perfect at that."
Together they stood silently as the sun rose on the distant horizon. Just as the last of the light appeared, they turned in unison. Hand in hand they walked the quarter mile into town, as was their daily ritual.
"It's a damned shame this town isn't more popular with tourists, Kate. It would be good to see some new faces."
"Hell, Will. I'd be happy to see even some of the old faces again. Matthew and Miranda Tuttle moved on last week, and Old Man Saunders is muttering about heading to California to see kin."
"Kin? Good God in the morning, Katie. His kin are all dead and gone on by now. He'd be better to stay here where we can look out for him."
"Well, deary, you know that and I know that, but have you ever known of anyone that was able to convince that old man of anything?"
"No, my Kate, I can't say that I do."
The street was empty, as it always was at that hour. The business were closed, the window shades drawn tight and with the exception of a stray cat or two, Will and Kate were alone. It was this time alone they craved. To walk together uninterrupted by daily details, the hustle and bustle of a noisy thoroughfare, this was bliss.
"Remember Miss Carr, do you Kate? She used to say, before she moved on that Rosenberg was a boomtown that wasn't. Lots of hope and no potential. What a crazy bird she was."
"She wasn't crazy, Will," Kate laughed, opening the door to the diner she had run for years. "Old maids get antsy in the pants you know. It addles their brains."
Their laughter floated out over the street and out to the black- eyed-susans at the fence line. Had anyone but the susans heard them, the love this couple shared was the song on the breeze. The susans knew it, the fences knew it, and sleepy Rosenberg knew it.
"Happy birthday, Will," Kate whispered.
"Oh, you sweet thing. You remembered."
"Of course, my dear William. How could I forget?" The tear on her thin cheek shone like gold in the sun. He turned her face upward to kiss her trembling lips.
"Kate, this is now and has been my happiest day out of time." His kiss was gentle at first, then his passion escaped from his lips to hers. The wind halted, the susans turned away and the silence let them be.
He moved her to the stairs that led to the second floor.
"No. Please. I can't, Will."
"You must, Kate. For me?"
She smiled through the tears and followed him.
The room was unchanged as always. The old piano now had yellow ivory and the doilies were grey. But even dusty furniture and faded wallpaper can be a comfort. But it was not dust however friendly he had come to see.
In the middle of the old Persian rug, the bloodstain was still visible.
"No, Katie dear. Don't look away. I am glad it happened. I have never been this happy. Once I dared never hope that we would be together, that I could hold you, spend every hour with you. I am glad he died, Kate."
"Why did you do it, Will?" she cried in earnest. "Why? You could have gone back to Essex. It was me that killed him. Why did you confess? It was wrong what you did."
"No, Kate. It wasn't wrong."
He led her back down the stairs, out onto the empty street and slipped his arm about her as they walked back to the edge of town.
"I am yours now, Kate and you are mine. No one can separate us again. He can never hurt you again. Nothing can keep us apart now. I am glad we have Rosenberg all to ourselves. I did it for us. I'd do it again."
At the far edge of the old cemetery they stood looking at two small yellowing headstones.
Born in Essex, England
June 16, 1799
Hanged in Rosenberg, Texas
June 16, 1850 Aged 41
"Hope looks beyond the bounds of time"
Beside it the second stone read:
Mrs. Kathleen Delaney
Born in Rosenburg, Texas
May 30, 1819
Died grieving at the funeral
of William Mann June 17, 1850
"Time looks beyond all boundless hopes"
copyright 2002
do not reprint without permission
