Liberty Creek: Episode 20

Episode 20

Episode 20: Mid-October, 1875

Scene 1: Near Tess and Nick's house, a very short time later. Nick is still galloping away, with Stuart following some distance behind.

Stuart: Yells. Nick!

Nick could not possibly hear it. Stuart pulled out her gun and shot it once into the air. She quickly returns it to the holster as Nick stops short, turns around, and points his gun at her. Stuart holds her hands up and urges the horse slowly forward.

Nick: You're a brave man, MacKenzie. I could shoot you right now and get away with it. Why aren't you celebrating with my wife?

Stuart: I have no romantic interest in your wife and she has none in me. You should have more faith in her. She loves you very much.

Nick: I don't believe you, and I don't appreciate being told what I should and should not do.

Stuart: I'm not going to apologize. I didn't plan to tell you what Tess and I discussed but it appears I'll have to. By no means did I intend to destroy a marriage.

Nick: You have nothing to say to me that could possibly change my mind. I've lusted after Tess, too. I know what it's like.

Stuart: You are a stubborn man. She yells, but her voice takes on a slight shrill. I am not lusting after Tess! She begins unbuttoning her shirt. I am not now, I have not in the past, and I will not in the future lust after any woman. Why? She tears open the shirt. This is why!

Nick: Stares, confused. You have breasts?

Stuart: Re-buttons her shirt. For God's sake, you are thick- headed. I'm a woman! I've been posing as a man for ten years. That is what I was talking with Tess about. I wanted a friend.

Nick: I'm... I'm sorry. I really am. He stumbles on his words. I... I suppose this is something you want kept... kept secret. Stuart nods. Yes, I... I suppose I can do that. And you may have you job back if you wish, though I don't know why you'd want it after the way I've acted. What... what I don't understand is... Why?

Stuart: Several reasons. Women aren't generally accepted in vocations such as mine. Even if I did get a job, it would not be very safe being surrounded by men, if you know what I mean. Women also get paid much less than men do. But this is not important right now. You need to apologize to your wife.

Nick: Appears quite shameful. Yes, I know. Will you come back with me?

Stuart: This is between you and Tess. Just make sure she knows that shot I fired was just that and not you shooting me.

Nick: I will. Where are you staying now?

Stuart: Joe Kincaid gave me a job.

Nick: Oh, won't he be gloating. You should probably stay on working there. It wouldn't be fair to—

Stuart: Cuts him off. You are stalling. Go back to your wife.

Scene 2: The library at Belleterre, late morning. Julia, slightly over-dressed and sitting in a straight chair, is serenely reading a book. Grace, wearing her customary trousers, is lounging in a plush chair with her feet on a table while reading a copy of the same book. Sally Mason, dressed in a regular day gown, is standing still behind Julia while looking contemptuously at Grace. They are positioned in front of the mantle. Louisa is sitting some distance away behind a canvas.

Grace: I still don't see how it's fair that Julia and I have to read all the roles in all the scenes, while Louisa only has to read for the second witch.

Sally: Stop complaining, Grace. It is not ladylike. Louisa has already studied this play and knows the part of the second witch. You have not studied the play. Now, we're in a cavern, there is a boiling caldron in the center and thunder outside. Begin.

Julia: Thrice the brinded cat hath mewed.

Louisa: While painting. Thrice and once the hedgepig whined.

Grace: In true witch-like voice with fake Scottish accent. Harper cries "'Tis time, 'tis time."

Julia: Round about the caldron go. In the poisoned entrails throw. Toad, that under cold stone, She pauses as John Henry enter the room, but he gestures for her to continue. Days and nights has thirty-one, sweltered venom sleeping got, boil thou first in the charmed pot.

John Henry stands behind Louisa and looks on at the scene.

Julia, Louisa, Grace: Double, double toil and trouble, fire burn and caldron bubble.

Louisa: Quite dramatically. Fillet of a fenny snake, in the caldron boil and bake. Eye of newt and toe of frog, wool of bat and tongue of dog, adder's fork and blindworm's sting, lizard's led and howlet's wing, for a carm of powerful trouble... She raises her voice slightly... like a Hell broth boil and bubble.

John Henry claps fervently.

John Henry: Well done! Louisa, you are doubly talented. I've always wanted to be a patron of the arts. I love how you've chosen to preserve Grace for posterity just so. Charlie never believed me when I told him Grace preferred trousers and I allowed it. Perhaps this will appease him.

Grace: I will wear trousers when Uncle Charlie comes to visit.

John Henry: And have your Aunt Mary swooning every time she sees you? I think not.

Sally: Have you come for something, Mr. Marshall.

John Henry: Yes, I have. I have a proposal for you, Miss Mason.

Sally: You are already married, Lord John.

John Henry: No formalities, Miss Mason. We are not in England. My proposal is of a different sort. When the other children were all still at home, they used to put on productions. They ended when Libbie married Philip, but I've always wanted to have another. If you agree, I want to have one when Charlie comes, and I want the four of you to plan it.

Grace: Pleads, whining. Oh, Sally, can we? I remember the last one and I wanted to be in it but they wouldn't let me. Please.

John Henry: Gracie! Whining? From you?

Grace: Sorry, Daddy. She turns to Sally again. Can we, Sally?

Louisa: Please, stop moving.

Grace: Sorry, Wesa. Sally?

Sally: I certainly don't see why not.

Grace: Oh, thank you! Can we do Macbeth?

John Henry: No. No tragedies. It's a happy occasion, remember. You may pick anything you like as long as it has a happy ending.

Grace: We can't do Romeo and Juliet?

John Henry: No, but because we've already done it. That is the other rule. No plays that we've already done. I'll find the old programs for you.

Sally: Who will we use as players?

John Henry: Libbie, Vic, and Liv will be happy to do it, as will Tess, Marietta, and Lydia, I think. Christopher, too. If you need more male parts, you will have to draft my sons if they don't want to do it at first. And my nieces had small parts the last time.

Louisa: Does it have to be a real play?

Sally: Yes, could we convert a novel?

John Henry: Yes, but it would be harder to make copies of it. Do you have one in mind?

Sally: We've just decided to study some of the works of Jane Austen. Louisa, Julia, and I have all read several of her novels.

John Henry: Will the men in the audience fall asleep?

Sally: Insulted. Not if we perform it well, sir.

John Henry: Laughs. Well said. You can continue with your reading now.

He leaves the room as the girls continue where they left off.

Julia, Louisa, Grace: Double, double toil and trouble, fire burn and caldron bubble.

Grace: In her witch voice. Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf, witches' mummy, maw and gulf...

Scene 3: Tess and Nick's house, early afternoon. Tess and Nick are sitting close together on a sofa, their clothing undisturbed. Nick has unraveled Tess's hair and his running his fingers through it.

Nick: Are you sure you forgive me?

Tess: For heaven's sake, yes! You've asked me a dozen times at the least.

Nick: It doesn't feel right. That you've forgiven me so easily. You should be furious with me.

Tess: Would you rather I be? I could have you sleep here on the sofa, or banish you to Belleterre for a week.

Nick: I think it's all right the way it is.

Tess: You haven't forgiven yourself yet. That's the problem.

Nick: I know, for doubting you and for being so cruel to Stuart. He—she seems like a wonderful person.

Tess: You had no way of knowing about Stuart. You will keep it a secret, won't you?

Nick: Yes, but I think the whole thing is ridiculous. First of all, she can protect herself from the other men. Secondly, Dad would not care if she were male, female, or both. Gracie's his favorite daughter, for God's sake.

Tess: Don't swear, darling. It is Stuart's choice, and we have to respect that.

Nick: What sort of name is Stuart, anyway? Why would her father give her a man's name?

Tess: She explained that. First of all, her name is Mary Stuart MacKenzie. Secondly, her father wanted a boy. She had the same sort of upbringing as Grace. She's very well-educated.

Nick: That female aspect explains a lot of things.

Tess: Female aspect?

Nick: Oh, you must admit you thought there was something funny about Stuart. She was too talkative, too small, and too... pretty to be a regular man. Especially a cowboy. Dad suspected he—she was a eunuch. Or that she was... that she preferred...

Tess: That she was a homosexual? It is just a word. Stuart was dismissed from one of her jobs because her employer suspected her of just that.

Nick: Suddenly jumps up. We should stop talking about Stuart.

Tess: Now what is the matter with Stuart?

Nick: That is not what I meant. We should not talk of anyone but ourselves.

Tess: A might snobbish, are we?

Nick: Newlyweds tend to be.

Tess: We've been married nearly two months.

Nick: That isn't such a long time. Besides, I feel as if we were starting over again. He takes Tess's hands and pulls her up. Come, let's go for a run.

Tess: I'm not feeling particularly energetic today.

Nick: Are you purposely trying to frustrate me?

Tess: Maybe. I know what you meant, though. Let me fix my hair up first.

Nick: Oh, please don't. It looks much better that way. Just come.

Scene 4: The barn at the Kincaid ranch, about the same time. Joe has just returned on horseback with Benjamin to find Stuart working on breaking one of their younger horses.

Joe: You're back! And safe! Nick didn't kill you?

Stuart: No, and I think everything will be all right between them now. Nick understands.

Benjamin: It's about bloody time. Listen, I have to go over to the Elliots to make sure Libbie and Lydia are doing all right on their own. Can you go back out with Joe?

Stuart: Out where?

Benjamin: Oh, I thought you knew. One of our horses ran off late last night or early this morning and, unlike Nick's horses, he won't come back on his own. We know he headed up towards the cabin, but we had to come because, as I said, I have to go over to the Elliots.

Stuart: I have no problem with that.

Benjamin: Good. I'll tell the cook to pack another meal when I go into the house to change.

Scene 5: A large, grassy pasture; an hour or two later. Tess is sitting behind Nick, her arms around his waist. He appears to be showing off the various tricks Sherman can do.

Tess: Aren't we near Will and Marietta's house?

Nick: Yes, actually. It's through that way, about a mile.

Tess: Why haven't they moved in yet. Mari seems to think they'll be living at Belleterre forever.

Nick: It seems like the will be. It's some silly romantic notion Will has. He commissioned a massive mahogany bed to be specially carved and it isn't finished yet. Everything else is finished, but Will insists on having that bed when they move in. I think it's ridiculous. They could have moved in three months ago. Are you even paying attention to me?

He turns around to find Tess looking at the sky behind them. He looks up and sees the thick black clouds fast approaching. A small bolt of lightning flashes, and the thunder follows soon after.

Nick: Those don't look friendly.

Tess: Is Will's house unlocked?

Nick: I hope so, because we'll not make it back to our own house.

He spurs Sherman into a full gallop and heads toward Will's house. The heavy rain starts with the house in view, but the two are soaked to the skin by the time they reach it.

Nick: You go find a way to get in. I'll put Sherman up in the barn then come and start a fire.

Scene 6: Some distance away on the mountainside, around the same time. Joe and Stuart have just recovered the escaped horse, but Joe has also just spied the approaching cloud. Thunder and lightning can already be heard and seen in the distance.

Joe: We're going to get caught in that storm.

Stuart: Up here? That can't be good.

Joe: We're closer to the cabin than we are to anything else.

Stuart: Then why aren't we going?

Joe: We are.

They begin the trek upwards, having the horses go as fast as safely possible. They are soon caught in the rainstorm, and the trail soon turned into mud. Stuart's horse stumbles on a turn, throwing Stuart to the ground where she lies limply. Joe turns back, picks her up, and lies her across his own saddle. He mounts again and positions the unconscious Stuart on his lap. Leading both horses, he continues up the mountain. Finally, at the cabin, he shuts the three horses in the barn, carries Stuart inside, and lies her atop the bed of furs. He then starts a fire with the few dry logs kept inside.

Joe: Stands over Stuart, mumbles to himself. What am I going to do with her? She can't stay in those wet clothes, but... Aw, hell.

Joe fumbles with the buttons on Stuart's work shirt and removes it. Closing his eyes, he removes her trousers and covers her bottom half with a blanket. The real problem is posed when he faces removing the cloth wrapped around Stuart's breasts. He think about it for a moment, then pulls the blanket up to Stuart's shoulders and sits her up. He awkwardly removes the long strip of cloth and lies Stuart back on the bed. He boils water and prepares tea, the only drink he can find. As he sits with his cup beside Stuart, she wakes up.

Stuart: Groggy, gently touches the bump on her head. What happened?

Joe: Your horse took a fall and you passed out.

Stuart: Worried. You didn't shoot the horse, did you?

Joe: No, of course not. He's fine. How's your head?

Stuart: Sore. She sees her clothing resting on the foot of the bed. You undressed me?

Joe: I didn't look. I promise. You had to get out of the wet clothes.

Stuart sits up, wraps the blanket around her, and goes to sit by the fire.

Stuart: Is that tea?

Joe: Yes, I'll get you a cup.

Joe retrieves another cup from a cupboard, pours tea for Stuart, and sits near her as she sips it. He watches her intently and when she catches him doing so, he quickly stands.

Joe: I should clean the cuts on your face.

He finds a cloth and dips it in the leftover hot water. Gently, he wipes the minor scratches on Stuart's face. They watch each other, never quite making eye contact until Joe removes the cloth and puts it aside. Their faces move closer, and they kiss. It lasts a few seconds and ends when Joe pulls back in surprise.

Joe: I'm sorry—

Stuart, appearing somewhat confused, kisses him again before he can say any more. Joe does not resist. Instead, he slowly lifts Stuart into his arms and carries her to the bed.