by Emily Woods
“A man named Johnny King something or other. He said he was sent to…fetch…me.” She crinkled her nose slightly at the word. It was distasteful as though she were a bone thrown for a dog. Still, it wasn’t the worse thing she’d heard today, not by far.
“Strange,” Margie remarked. “I don’t think I know anyone by that name. Must be someone that Jackson knows.”
“Well, he certainly knew Jackson,” Charlie said scornfully.
“What do you mean?” Margie’s eyebrows shot up. “Did he say something to upset you?”
Did this woman know nothing about her own brother or was it all just a ruse? Charlie decided to play it safe. “No, nothing like that. I’m sorry. I’m just very tired and cranky. Please excuse me.”
“Certainly.” Margie seemed eager to dispel negativity. Instead, she fussed over Charlie. “There are extra towels in the wardrobe if you need them. I’ll see that the tea is brought up directly. If you need anything else, don’t hesitate to tell me.” She walked to door and put her hand on the knob. “I’ll leave you now and see that you’re not disturbed. Please come down whenever you feel up to it. Jackson should be here for dinner or I’ll know the reason why.”
Charlie allowed herself a small grin in response. Margie was definitely a woman of strength, something she admired.
As soon as she was alone, she headed straight for the wash basin and grimaced at what she saw in the mirror above it. Although she wasn’t exactly filthy, she looked as though she’d travelled the country and then some.
Stripping off her outer clothing, she gave herself as thorough a washing as was possible without taking a bath and then lay down on the bed. The soft mattress soothed her aches and pains and within minutes she was fast asleep.
7
“What do you mean she’s here?” Jackson nearly growled at his sister, who was glaring at him with crossed arms and toes tapping. “How can she be here when no one went to get her?”
“Well, she thinks that you sent someone and someone obviously knew that she was arriving. Now, I don’t know if this Johnny person is some sort of angel, but Charlie certainly doesn’t seem to think so. However, had he not brought her, she might still be waiting at the station. Did it not occur to you to send someone?”
Jackson held up his hands in surrender. “Please, Margie. Wait until you hear about the day I’ve had. Well, we’ve had,” he amended, glancing at Theodore.
The three of them stood in the hallway as Jackson explained that someone was planning to rob the bank. After receiving a tip, he’d spent the rest of the day investigating along with Theodore.
“William can’t remember what the men looked like and no one else has any clue about it. I tell you, it’s like these men vanished. Poor William is so upset that he had to be sent to bed early with a bit of laudanum.”
Margie’s expression softened somewhat. “You still could have sent someone to go and get Charlie. This Johnny individual must have somehow known that she was arriving and that you couldn’t get her and did you a favor.”
Jackson shook his head in disbelief. “But who is he? I’ve never heard of him.”
“Well, nothing is going to get solved tonight. Go wash up you two and let’s have dinner. I’ve already fed the children.”
“What about… Char--, Miss, uh…Henderson?” In his mind, he’d already been calling her Charlie, but somehow he didn’t feel he had the right just yet.
“I told her to come down when she felt up to it. She may well sleep the entire night through, such an ordeal she’s had.”
She spoke so primly that Jackson was reminded of her fine schooling. He’d never had much time for it while his parents had been alive and after they passed it’d been too late. The wasted years he’d spent drinking and gambling had rubbed off on him in many ways and affected his turn of speech as well. A fine gentleman he was not, nor could he ever hope to be. He hoped Charlie wouldn’t be turned off by that.
“So, how is she?” he worked up the nerve to ask after they were seated at the table. “Was she very upset?”
Margie waited as her husband held out a chair for her and then sat down gracefully. “Let’s pray first, shall we? Theodore?”
After the blessing, which included thanks for Charlie’s safe arrival, Jackson repeated his question.
“Well, I can’t properly answer that as I don’t know how she is on a regular basis. In my opinion, she seemed distraught and out of sorts. Still, that could just be the fatigue. We’ll see later.”
Conversation was subdued throughout the meal and Jackson found himself thinking about and praying for the woman resting upstairs. Hopefully she wouldn’t hold today against him. Even Margie had come around although it was clear she was still mildly piqued at his thoughtlessness.
They were just finishing up coffee and dessert when he heard a noise from the doorway. He looked up and saw a vision in a simple blue dress with a cloud of dark hair and beautiful green eyes. Her complexion was pale and her fatigue was still evident, but she was altogether lovely nonetheless.
“Hello,” she said hesitantly. “I’m sorry about missing dinner. I had no idea how late it’d gotten.”
Jackson was on his feet first. “Please don’t apologize. I have so much to say sorry for, but if you give me a chance then I can explain everything that happened.”
The green eyes turned to him and sparks flew out. “Really?” she asked coolly. “Well, perhaps before any profuse apologies and explanations, we could be properly introduced. My name is Charlotte Henderson.”
“Uh, yes, um, Miss Henderson. I’m pleased to meet you. I’m Jackson Davis, but please call me Jackson, or even Jack if you’d prefer.”
She didn’t extend the same courtesy, so Jackson could only assume that she was very angry. He understood, but hadn’t expected her to be quite so aloof. She could at least let him explain before taking such a negative stance. He found his own back going up and he stiffly pulled out a chair for her.
“You must be hungry, dear. I’ll fetch a plate for you. Everything’s still warm.” Margie was about to go to the kitchen when Charlie stopped her.
“Just some coffee and a bit of that pie will be fine for now. I don’t know if I could eat a full meal just yet.” Charlie sat down demurely and accepted the cup that was offered to her by Theodore.
“I’m Theodore Jefferson, Margie’s husband. Pleased to meet you.” She nodded and gave him a small smile. She appeared to hold something against him as well. How could that be?
“Uh, Miss…Henderson,” he began tentatively, feeling awkward at using such a formal title for a woman that he had thought he might marry one day and indeed already felt some intimacy for. “I don’t want to bother you after such a long trip, but we’re all a little confused about how you got here from Livingston. I should have sent someone to bring you here, but I was so caught up in some…business, that I couldn’t think straight.”
She looked at him askance. Her brows drew together and her lips protruded slightly. “What do you mean? Johnny Kingston said you sent him.”
“Um, I have no idea who that is. I should have sent someone, but I was caught up in a potential robbery and, well…”
“Well, if you didn’t send him, then who did?” Charlie asked, her gaze circling the table.
“Don’t look at me,” Theodore stated. “I know I should have thought of it too, but I’m ashamed to say that I was too worried about the robbery.”
“What?” Margie interrupted. “Are you saying that the bank was robbed today?” Her voice raised on the last word. “Why didn’t you say something?”
“No, darling, no. It wasn’t, but Jackson had received a tip and we were trying to follow it up.” He reached out and patted her hand and she calmed down.
“I still wish I knew who brought you from Livingston. I mean, I’m glad you made it, but it’s such a mystery.” Jackson wanted to ask her to describe the man, but she didn’t look like she was up to answering any questions, so he let it go for now. The
important thing was that she was here. “So, uh, tell us, how was the train? It’s been a long time since I’ve been on one and I’ve heard that they’re pretty comfortable now.” He knew the topic was trite, but he sensed that it was not the right time to ask personal questions. Charlie, as he thought of her in his mind, still seemed uninterested in him and regarded him with little or no interest.
“It was fine,” was her pithy answer.
“Oh, well, that’s good,” he replied lamely. “Uh, well, I hope that you like it here. Maybe tomorrow I can show you around a bit?” It was definitely posed as a question rather than a suggestion. He was desperate to get some reaction; some little bit of attention from her that wasn’t cool indifference.
“I’ll have to see how I feel. I’m not only suffering from fatigue, but it’s already nearly eleven o’clock where I’m from. You would think a body would get used to the time difference over the week of travelling by train, but I didn’t.” She was addressing Margie rather than him, but he pretended not to notice. If that’s the way she wanted it, he too would play along.
“Well, then, I’ll go and let you rest some more. Maybe I’ll pop by tomorrow and see how you’re doing around lunchtime.”
“Oh? You don’t have to work?”
Her question was sharp and innocent at the same time. “Ah, I have another man who works with me. He can take care of things for a few hours.”
She merely nodded and gave him a very tight smile. This meeting was not going at all the way he’d hoped. Were his actions entirely to blame or was there something more? Maybe this was her character, he thought. If so, better to find out sooner rather than later. If this was how she conducted herself on a regular basis, it would well be worth the money to send her home instead of marrying her.
With that, he excused himself and left for the night, hoping that tomorrow would find Miss Charlotte Henderson to be a much more agreeable person.
8
As warm sunlight filled the room, Charlie woke in a drowsy stupor. Briefly forgetting where she was, she panicked and jumped out of the cozy bed she’d been sleeping in.
As the events of the day before came flooding back, she wasn’t sure how she was feeling. On one hand, Margie and Theodore were warm and welcoming, but on the other, she felt as though she was playing false with them. After hearing the stories of Jackson from Johnny yesterday, she felt wholly unsure that she wanted to pursue any kind of relationship with this man.
Her trunk had been unpacked for her, presumably while she’d been eating and so she wandered over to the large wardrobe where her scant wardrobe was hanging. Uncertain as to the normal dress in such a proper house, she hesitated between two or three dresses before finally choosing a light green cotton dress that had a fitted bodice and long skirt. It was lightweight and would be suitable to the hot weather, which was already evident despite the early hour. Furthermore, it complimented her dark hair and brought out the green in her eyes. It was her best color, not that she was trying to impress anyone she told herself.
Upon descending the stairs, she found her hostess busily arranging flowers in the front room.
“Oh! There you are. I wasn’t sure whether to wake you for breakfast or not.” She smiled kindly and watched Charlie’s expression. She appeared to be searching her face for something.
“Uh, no, I’m glad you didn’t. I guess I needed the rest, but I feel quite refreshed now. Thank you.”
“Ah, but you must be starving. Come into the dining room and I’ll have another cup of coffee while you have your breakfast.”
Charlie hated to impose, but Margie was already leading the way.
Over the course of the meal, conversation remained light, but Charlie got the impression that Margie wanted to say something to her and didn’t quite know how. Finally, when she was done eating, her hostess casually mentioned her brother.
“So, Jackson seems to think that he’s a bit of a disappointment to you,” she commented, not looking Charlie in the eyes, but rather toying with a napkin. “However, I told him he must be wrong. He’s a wonderful brother and a good man. The only reason he’s not married already is the lack of suitable women in the area, I’m sure. He’s not only hard working, thoughtful and loyal, but a strong Christian as well. Any women would be proud to marry him.” Margie’s voice had become quite impassioned by the end of the speech and Charlie’s mouth quirked slightly.
“You’re not biased at all, are you?”
Margie flushed slightly, but still smiled. “Well, I did help raise him a bit, so I guess I have a small right to be proud of how he turned out.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“It’s really his place to tell you all the details, but I’m sure he mentioned in his letter that our parents passed away when he was only fourteen. We were living with relatives for four years until I came west to marry Theodore. Although our relatives were kind, they were elderly, so a lot of Jackson’s discipline and instruction came from me. I was worried about him for a while when he was a young man, but thanks to his dramatic conversion, he’s turned out quite well. God really worked a miracle in his life.”
Charlie pondered Margie’s words for a few moments, focusing more on the negative than the positive. “So, he had a hard time when he was young?” Could that be what the Johnny fellow was talking about?
A small look of impatience crossed Margie’s face and her voice cooled slightly. “I think it’s better if he tells you about that. And I hope you can see him for the man he is now, not the youth he used to be.”
After finishing eating, Charlie excused herself to her room. She wanted to reread the letters Jackson had sent and see if she was missing something. She knew a little about his past, but he had talked more about the future.
Scanning the letters, she found a few parts where he’d alluded to a few hard parts in his life, but nothing specific. She sighed.
“Lord,” she prayed, “I need some help understanding how I came to be here. When I saw the advertisement for a mail-order bride, I thought it was Your provision. Now I just feel lost and confused. Am I even supposed to be here? Did I just imagine Your blessing?”
She’d felt such peace when she’d made the choice to move here and explore the possibility of marrying Jackson, but now that peace was gone. Her stomach felt upset even though she’d hardly eaten anything.
Finally, after further prayer, she felt that it would be necessary to talk to Jackson about the accusations Johnny had made before anything else. It just didn’t make any sense to her. How had that man known to pick her up and what made him tell her all those things about Jackson? It was almost as though he was deliberately trying to destroy their relationship before it even had a chance to grow.
After spending and hour in her room, she came down to see if she could be of any assistance to Margie. The nanny was watching the children and Margie was going out to meet some friends who were involved in charity work.
“Jackson said he’d stop by after lunch to take you around,” Margie reminded her when Charlie had voiced an interest in taking a short walk. “I think he might like to be the one to show you around.”
Charlie wondered if she should share what she’d learned with Margie. Maybe the woman could help dispel the account that Johnny had given her.
“Um, Margie? Could we talk a little more before you leave? Do you have time?”
“Certainly.” Her demeanor still wasn’t quite as warm as it had been the previous evening, but she was ever courteous. “Let’s have tea in the front room.”
Within a few minutes, the two of them were seated in two upholstered chairs in the sun-filled room. The furniture was obviously well made and Charlie was careful not to spill anything on it. She perched on the edge of the chair and drank her tea carefully.
“So, I’m not sure how to say this exactly, but the man who drove me over, Johnny Kingston was his name…I remember now, well, he said some very unflattering things about Jackson and I know you said that I should discuss
it with him, but could you just tell me if they’re true or not? A man might not be very forthcoming about his faults, and I suspect that you see your brother in a very flattering light, but maybe we can figure out why this man would say such things?”
Margie’s lip pursed for a moment and she looked unsure of herself for the first time since Charlie had met her. “Go on,” was all she said.
“Well, he told me that Jackson was a heavy drinker, gambler and was very, er, fond of women. He led me to believe that I was making a very poor choice.” She stopped and waited anxiously for Margie’s reply. She regarded the older woman’s countenance carefully, hoping to get a hint from her about these accusations.
“I see,” she said slowly, placing her teacup on the table and folding her hands primly in her lap. “Well, there is some truth in that, but it was long ago and Jackson is completely different now. I hope that you’ll give him a chance before making up your mind about him based on some stranger’s ill opinion. I don’t know any respectable person in town who would slander him in such a way, so I can only presume that Mr. Kingston is some sort of scoundrel, perhaps someone who is bearing a grudge against Jackson. I hope that you will have better judgment than to take the word of someone like that.”
Any vestige of warmth had drained out of Margie’s face and she sat very still in front of Charlie. The cookie Charlie had been eating suddenly turned to ash in her mouth and she hastily swallowed some tea to wash it down. The hot liquid scalded her tongue, but she thought wryly that it was as much as she deserved. She’d spoken too hastily and now tried to make amends.
“I’m sorry for upsetting you, but I don’t know what to think. First, Jackson doesn’t show up at the station and then I’m brought here by someone who knows all about my business, but whom none of you know. It’s very confusing. I-I don’t know if Jackson told you anything about my situation, but I left very loving parents to come here because of a difficult situation. I could go back, but I would have to face unsolvable complications. I just feel overwhelmed. I prayed, but I couldn’t feel God telling me anything.” Her voice was shaky by the end of her little speech, and Margie’s expression softened. She leaned over and gently patted Charlie’s hand and made soothing noises.