Patience ran her hands all over Rud. Her heart ached with each injury she found, hoping it would be the last, only to find another. There was so much blood. Patience's hands were covered with It.

Patience looked at the young farmhand, said her man was hurt, and asked for his help. The farmhand lowered his pitchfork, and then led them over to the wagon where the women were taking care of Martha. Martha had been severely beaten and suffered a dislocated shoulder from falling off the horse.

Patience held Rud upright until the ladies could make room for him in the wagon. Patience told the men nearby that Bessie down the road had been injured and needed help.

An older woman, obviously in charge, told the men to get the other wagon and get to Bessie's right away. She instructed two other men to get the hay wagon out of the road adding they should not have left it there in the first place. The men responded, "Yes, Mrs. Beasley," and did as they were told.

Billy, with a bloody ax in hand, walked up to the farmhand that had defended Martha from her father and stood his ground with Rud. The farmhand still did not have a clear picture of what was going on. Billy looked at him and said, "You stood your ground with Rud. You are a very brave man."

The farmhand turned back to watch the young woman he had protected being cared for in the wagon. Billy said, "Thank you for protecting Martha." The farmhand said, "Her name is Martha?" Seeing the farmhand express interest in Martha made Billy smile. Billy responded, "Yes, Martha."

As he laid down in the wagon, Rud saw Billy talking to the farmhand. The boy in Billy was gone. Billy had matured beyond his years, and you could see it in the way he carried himself. Rud was going to have to start treating him differently. Martha reached out, grabbed Rud's hand, and said, "Thank you, I knew you would come."

Rud's injuries required more than they could handle in the back of the wagon, so he was transported to the nearby barn and laid on a large, rough-hewn oak table.

The older woman stood in the doorway as several women and Patience tended to Rud. One woman asked Patience, "Is this your husband," as they began cutting away his clothes. Patience said, "He will be soon," as Rud squeezed her hand.

Rud had been severely injured in the fight with the brother and had lost a lot of blood. It was easy to see the extent of Rud's injuries once his clothes had been cut away. As they worked quickly to clean and stitch Rud's wounds, the women showed Patience what to do and how to do it. One said, "If you are going to marry this one, you will need to know how to mend his wounds."

A worker brought in water, and what Rud would not drink, they pretty much poured into him. Next was warm soup they said would help him heal. It tasted like regular vegetable soup to Rud except there was a slightly bitter taste as well.

* * * * *

Patience had never stuck a needle through flesh before and was surprised how little it bothered her to stitch one of Rud's smaller wounds together. Patience was determined to help, and whatever Rud needed she would do. Patience did as the women instructed and kept her mind focused on the tasks she was given.

Once his wounds were cleaned, stitched closed, and the blood finally stopped flowing, Rud needed to be washed from head to toe with soap. The adrenaline had worn off, and Rud had passed out from pain, blood loss, and whatever caused the bitter taste in the soup.

After Rud was bathed and dried and all his wounds were bandaged, he was put in a nightshirt, wrapped in several wool blankets, and carried to a room in the house. Patience could not thank these ladies enough.

Patience finally had Rud all to herself. She lay down on the bed next to her still unconscious man, wrapping her arms around him while kissing his face. The older woman, Mrs. Beasley, walked in. Patience was embarrassed, thinking it improper for an unmarried woman to be making such a scene, and quickly moved off the bed.

Mrs. Beasley looked like the prim and proper type and respecting her views in her home after she and her workers had cared for Rud's injuries, no doubt saving his life, it was the least Patience could do.

Mrs. Beasley raised an eyebrow and said, "My dear, did I scare you?" Patience said she just wanted to hold Rud for a moment. Mrs. Beasley told her it was perfectly fine, had it been her husband she would have done the same thing.

Patience said, "Thank you, Mrs. Beasley, but Rud and I are not married, although I hope we will be soon." Mrs. Beasley said, "Call me Charlotte. In the town where you are from Patience, what you did would be frowned upon. Out here, we women don't have the burden of having to follow society's rules."

Charlotte continued, "We make our own rules just like our men made their own rules when they built our homes out of this wilderness. You stay with him and hold him and kiss him. Give him a reason to get well. When he is better, I will have a talk with him about you two getting married, and I usually get what I want." With that, Charlotte smiled mischievously and turned to leave.

Patience asked, "How do you know my name and that I am from the town?" Charlotte turned and walked over to Patience, put her hand on Patience's arm, and said, "I know a great many things about you, your brother, and the man in this bed. None of it is important right now. We will talk about that later. Now get up on the bed and hold your young Rudolph. I expect he needs you."

Charlotte looked at Patience's clothes and said, "Maybe you should wash first, and I will see if I can find you a clean dress to wear. You don't want Rudolph to wake up and see his soon-to-be bride in that blood-stained dress." Charlotte left the room, closing the door behind her.

There was a pitcher of water, soap, and a washcloth by the washbasin on the dresser. Patience poured water in the washbasin, and for the first time since Rud had rescued her, looked in a large mirror. She almost did not recognize herself in the woman staring back at her.

In her time in the valley, her face had narrowed, her cheekbones were more pronounced, and she had more of a figure than before. The image she saw was not of the girl she had been when she left the town. Her eyes were the same, but they had seen so much since her last birthday. Her hair was a bit of a mess, but she told herself it was nothing a brush, and a few ribbons couldn't fix.

Patience started to remove her dress to wash her face and arms but noticed Rud's reflection in the mirror. She thought to move the blind between her and Rud, but took a nervous breath, unbuttoned the last few buttons, and stepped out of her dress with Rud sleeping quietly behind her. Rud was a different man than when he brought her to their valley, and Patience was a different woman. And it was more than just her reflection in the mirror. She had grown up.

She and Rud would not live as husband and wife yet, nor would they be like Billy and Alice, but she would stay with him here in this room and care for him until he was well. The same level of modesty they had before was no longer possible. Rud had been stripped naked earlier in the barn and would be again as she bathed and cared for him. That Rud might see her in her undergarments did not seem to matter.

Patience moistened the washcloth and started washing Rud's blood from her face, neck, and arms. With all that had happened on this day, she thought a good cry would be in order, but she wasn't sad. Everyone important to her was safe, and although she had been scared the entire time they were working on Rud, it looked like he was going to be okay. She had killed a man and was not sure how she felt about that yet. But at this moment, surprisingly, she found herself feeling very happy.

Bessie rode upright in the wagon as the men brought her back to Charlotte's house. Charlotte embraced Bessie and said, "Poor dear, men that would beat a woman like this deserved to die." Bessie had known Charlotte for many years. Both had lost their husbands years ago, and considered each other to be a dear friend.

Bessie explained what had happened, and Charlotte asked if she wanted to involve the sheriff. Bessie said, "No, the girls have been through enough." Charlotte instructed her men to bury the bodies and then ask their wives to help clean up the mess Rudolph made in Bessie's house.