Esme thought to herself as she helped Mrs. Rhy draw water for their bath. "We can just have a basin bath," she had assured her new mother-in-law. But the older woman was having nothing to do with it. "Lord only knows what kind of vermin you're bringing to my clean sheets," Eula Rhy had declared. Esme gasped in shock. Mrs. Rhy hastily attempted an explanation. "I mean the both of you all muddy from the shivaree!" she corrected. "A couple only gets one wedding night. The least it ought to be is clean." Esme thought that if a couple got only one wedding night, the least it ought to be is alone. It had taken the better part of an hour to heat enough water for a tub bath. Chivalrously Cleav allowed Esme to bathe first. The water felt delicious, and Esme was tired, but she couldn't quite relax. She was in Eula Rhy's kitchen, and the older woman showed no inclination to leave her alone with her thoughts. Esme was trapped stark naked in the bathtub as Mrs. Rhy explained Cleavis, his life and family, and Eula's own personal philosophy of marriage.
