These Is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901

Early in the chapter, Sarah corresponds with Jack about their upcoming wedding and anxiously awaits his return to the ranch. He returns in early October to discuss their trip to Texas to meet his father and sell him some of Sarah’s horses, but he leaves a couple days later. Sarah is left in turmoil, questioning whether she loves him. In early December, Jack writes to inform her of the date of their wedding and the arrangements for their trip to Texas, and Sarah decides she does love him. Ernest is present when they are married at Sarah’s ranch, as he is on leave from the military.

Before leaving for Texas, the couple spends two nights in Tucson. On their wedding night, Jack leaves Sarah in their hotel room to go run an errand. While she is alone, Sarah panics and decides she made a mistake marrying Jack; she wonders if he, like Jimmy, has gone to Maiden Lane. She prays to God to get her out of the situation, vowing to be as good and righteous as Savannah in return. Jack comes back, however, at once noticing Sarah’s tension. He produces a bottle of whiskey to help calm both his nerves and hers and says they need to talk.