Hestia thought of her cousin, buying lots of dresses and enjoying a life of leisure in New York, while Hestia had studied hard, graduating from Meredith College in Raleigh with high honors. Hestia had allowed herself to be courted by a respectable man, who only served to spurn her. All things considered, perhaps Luther could claim to be no better than Ned. At least she and Selene had broken hearts in common. Perhaps that’s why Hestia now felt a certain bond with her cousin, no matter how unlike each other they appeared to be.
But Hestia hadn’t deserved how Luther treated her. Selene had invited such punishment. If she had followed God’s laws instead of her own pleasures, she would be married to a respectable socialite in New York and not waiting out an unwed pregnancy in Maiden.
The indignation Hestia felt shocked her.
Lord, keep such thoughts from me.
The pie, now set on the counter in all its glory, with its sugar-and-cinnamon aroma, reminded Hestia of the sweets her mother liked to bake for church suppers. A sudden feeling of homesickness visited her. She wished she could go home, if only for a visit. Sure, Maiden wasn’t all that different from Haw River in many ways, and Hestia was with people who loved her.
But it wasn’t home, and responsibility for two women’s health had been left to her. It was all too much.
All too much. How would she feel if she were responsible for many more people, such as a nurse or doctor? Her thoughts left her in turmoil.
Selene tapped her on the shoulder. “You look as though you’re a million miles away, cousin dear. A penny for your thoughts.”
“You’ll want to keep your penny. I promise you that.” Then, noting Selene’s stricken look, she made another offer. “Why don’t we sit on the back porch and enjoy this fine fall day? I’d offer to make cocoa, but with pie coming up, that’s too much sugar.”
“I’d agree on the sugar. But isn’t it a little chilly to sit outside?” Selene peered outside the kitchen window and shivered.
Hestia followed Selene’s gaze with hers. Sun beckoned, and she didn’t want to miss a chance to enjoy fresh air. She had to convince her cousin to be more hale and hearty. “What do you expect for November? Bring your shawl.”
“Oh, all right. I’m getting tired of being in the house all the time, anyway. Aunt Louisa treats me as though I have to hide.”
Hestia wasn’t sure what else Selene could expect but held back a comment.
Selene tilted her head toward the freshly baked dessert. “Don’t you think we’d better put the pie away? I’d hate for Diamond to get into it.”
“You have a point.” Hestia opened the storage area above the stove and set the pie inside. “There. That should be safe.”
Hestia called to Aunt Louisa that they’d be outside, and the older woman shouted her agreement. The younger women headed to the back, where chairs, cold to the touch from being outdoors, awaited.
As her cousin sat, Hestia couldn’t help but observe Selene’s abdomen. Indeed, it was growing larger by the day. Selene’s dresses, all fashioned in the linear style flappers favored, had ceased to be flattering.
Hestia had a thought. “Why don’t you and I buy some patterns and sew you a few new dresses? Would you like that?”
“I can’t sew.”
“Of course you can. I’ll teach you.”
Selene fiddled with the sash of her dress. “Is there anything you can’t do?”
“There’s lots I can’t do.”
“Name one thing.”
Hestia didn’t want to think too long lest she appear vain. “I couldn’t keep my fiancé interested long enough to marry me.”
“Neither could I.”
“Well, we have something in common, don’t we? Do you mean to say you were engaged to Ned?”
She nodded. “Secretly.”
“Oh.” Hestia knew that secret engagements usually served to allow the man to take advantage of the woman without consequences. “You know something? You’re lucky Ned left you. If he didn’t want to marry you, then he would have made a terrible husband in the long term.”
“But I would have had a name for my baby.”
“True, and that is important.”
Selene paused and looked reticent. “Can I tell you something I’ve never told anybody else?”
“Of course.”
“When I told Ned about the baby, he…he wanted me to see if I could…” She stopped speaking, and tears came to her eyes.
“Could what, honey?”
“It’s hard to say, it’s so terrible.”
“Well, if he talked to you about adoption, you can’t blame him. I know it’s hard, but just think. Your baby will be with relatives. They’ll take good care of the baby, and it will have a happy life. Then you can marry one day and have your husband’s babies, knowing in good conscience that you did the right thing for this first baby.”
Instead of consoling Selene, Hestia’s words seemed to upset her more. Tears flowed. Hestia reached out to her cousin and put her arms around her. “I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”
Selene sniffled. “I am, too. And now because of this, I will have to tell my future husband that I have already had a baby, a baby that he’ll never know. And neither will I.”
Hestia couldn’t find any words. What could she say, when the truth hurt so much?
Selene wanted to talk, so Hestia listened. “It will be hard to give up the baby,” she admitted, “but I know it’s the right thing to do.”
“Of course it is.”
“But that’s not why I was upset with Ned. You see, he thought I should try—try to...”
Hestia couldn’t imagine what Selene wanted to say. “Try to what?”
She sniffled. “To—to kill the baby.”
Such an idea shocked Hestia. She felt her chest tighten with outrage. “No!”
“It’s true. He said he could find out where I could go to get ‘the problem’ taken care of.”
“I can’t believe it. Not even of someone like Ned.”
“What do you mean, someone like Ned?”
Hestia couldn’t believe she’d be defensive about an insult directed at such a rat. Yet she had loved him, and Hestia wondered if perhaps a part of Selene’s heart would always be with Ned. She was only glad Luther had at least shown her the courtesy of not asking for undue affection. Not that she would have considered the idea. Getting too close to one’s fiancé just wasn’t done in her set.
She searched for an answer. “I mean, Ned did abandon you and his child. I’m sorry, but that doesn’t speak well of his character. As I said before, you’re better off without him. Maybe it doesn’t seem so now, but you are. I just know it.”
“I know, but it hurts. When he said he wanted me to get rid of the baby, I couldn’t believe it, either.”
Hestia wondered about something. “What did your father say when you told him you were expecting Ned’s baby?”
She shuddered. “He hit the roof, of course. He hates Ned. Always has, always will. I’m sure that has something to do with why Ned didn’t agree to marry me after the truth was out. Father doesn’t think we’re in the same class.”
“Are you?”
“No.” Selene swallowed. “But at least Ned didn’t use this baby as an excuse to marry into money.”
“True, but I still don’t give him a lot of credit for being a good man. It’s character, not class, that’s important. And considering he wanted you to murder your baby, it doesn’t sound as though Ned has much of a heart. So how did you become involved with someone like that, Selene? You are so pretty. You could have your pick of any man.”
“I wouldn’t say that.” Still, a natural pink rose to Selene’s cheeks, and she looked down in a manner much shyer than usual for her.
“When you first started keeping company with Ned, did you think you’d end up married to him one day?”
She didn’t answer right away. “No.”
“Then why did you keep seeing him? I would never consider allowing
a man to court me if I didn’t seriously think we could wed. And to become secretly engaged to him on top of that.” Hestia knew she sounded like a shrill headmistress of a girls’ school, but she couldn’t help herself.
“I don’t know. Ned had that certain something that attracted me to him. And I don’t mean a supply of hooch.” Her eyes became dreamy, and she looked over the backyard but didn’t seem to take in how the autumn wind swirled leaves off the maple trees or how the squirrels were scampering, looking for fallen acorns under the tall oaks. “He was so good-looking. And charming. I fell for him the day I met him. Other girls wanted him and they were jealous, but I won out over them all.”
“I’m not surprised. So winning out over the others was part of the appeal.”
“I hadn’t thought of it that way, but I suppose you’re right.”
“Maybe that’s why you found Booth so fascinating when you first got here,” Hestia pointed out.
“What’s that supposed to mean? Have you fallen for Booth?”
Hestia felt uncomfortable. “That hardly seems likely, since I’m going back to Haw River. But I think you found him appealing because he’s been my escort to church since I arrived.”
“And he is quite handsome. But if you spend time with him, then according to your rules, you are thinking of marriage.”
“I—I hadn’t thought much about marriage,” Hestia blurted in protest. Selene’s logic was hard to defy, so she sought a good argument. “I have a leading to be a doctor, or at least to be involved in medicine in some way. But I do have some reservations occasionally, and the men in my life don’t approve. Father is lukewarm about the notion, and I’ve already lost a fiancé partly because of my progressive ideas.”
“Well, if your fiancé decided not to marry you for that reason, then he wasn’t right for you, either.”
Such words, almost identical to what she had said to Selene about Ned, didn’t offer Hestia much comfort. Yet she couldn’t deny that they applied to her.
“But the right man might make you change your mind,” Selene ventured. “And might that right man be Booth?”
Hestia hadn’t thought about such things even to herself, and hearing Selene put the idea into words made her nervous. How could Selene pass judgment on her, when she was the one who’d brought disgrace to their family by her actions? Still, her upbringing hadn’t been a Christian one except in name, so she couldn’t be blamed entirely for her bad decisions. “I think we’ve chatted enough for today. I don’t know if we can ever have a full meeting of the minds and hearts, but I love you very much.”
“Thanks, cousin.” Selene cleared her throat. “I know Aunt Louisa loves me, too. And without a doubt, she loves you more.”
“I wouldn’t say that. Because I’m more traditional than you are, she may feel she can understand me better than she can you, but that doesn’t mean she loves me more.”
Selene shrugged. “No use arguing about it. She means well, but now that I’ve gotten reacquainted with you, I have to say, I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss you, too.” Hestia heard a motorcar in front of the house. “Sounds as though Artie and Booth are here.”
Chapter Nine
Hestia watched Selene’s hand shake as she tried to slice the pie while the men waited for them in the parlor. “Here, let me get that.”
“I can do it.”
Seeing that Selene wanted to do as much of the work as she could to impress Artie, Hestia did her best not to interfere. Still, she felt her cousin’s nervousness. Did she already have a crush on Artie, or was this her way of carrying on a mild flirtation to pass the time? At least Artie was a mature man, able to defend himself against any false feminine wiles.
“I’ll take the coffee.” Hestia figured Selene’s handling a hot liquid wasn’t a good idea, considering her state. She took the tray with the small silver coffeepot, sugar and cream, silverware, and cups. Selene followed with another tray of four slices of pie on Aunt Louisa’s good china.
After they were served, the men didn’t waste time before tasting the dessert right away. Hestia suspected they must have eaten less lunch in anticipation of this treat.
Artie closed his eyes, a look of happiness on his face as he let the pie melt in his mouth. “This is even better than I expected.”
“What is that supposed to mean? Were you expecting a poison ivy pie?” Selene’s teasing manner and tone of voice reminded Hestia of the way her cousin had spoken to Booth when she first arrived.
Hestia shot a glance Booth’s way. No trace of jealousy over Selene’s coyness with Artie colored Booth’s handsome features. Instead, he caught Hestia’s glance. She looked down at her sliver of pie then back up, and she saw him grin. If Selene had ever presented Hestia with competition for Booth, she did no longer.
“Or something,” Artie mumbled, though still having a smidgen of pie in his mouth. He swallowed and wiped his lips with a cotton napkin. “But I could eat a whole pie this good.”
“Hestia did help me with it.” A hint of a blush colored Selene’s cheeks.
Hestia held back her surprise. She hadn’t considered that a flapper as bold as Selene possessed the ability to blush, and such a confession showed how far her cousin had progressed. “With practice, you’ll be able to bake anything by yourself in no time.”
“I’m not sure I want to go that far.” Everyone laughed at Selene’s quip, but Hestia had a feeling she wasn’t joking.
Booth’s fork slid into his slice of pie. “So how’d the doctor’s visit go with Miss Louisa?”
“Very well.” Hestia felt grateful to deliver a good report. “She was able to walk a few steps to her chair. She’s weak, though. I’m not encouraging her to overdo it. She still needs help.”
“So you’ll be staying a little longer?” Booth’s eyes brightened.
Hestia noted that his voice sounded hopeful. “Yes, I think I should stay at least another week.” She had a thought. “I suppose that means you’ll be stuck escorting me to church, if you don’t mind too terribly.”
“I don’t mind at all. In fact, it will be my pleasure. Not that I wish your aunt to be anything but her feisty self.” He grinned as the others laughed.
“I know. But the good news is that she will be completely well soon.”
“I wish I could go to church.” Selene set her empty plate in front of a painted Colonial girl figurine on the nearby occasional table.
An awkward silence told Hestia they knew Selene’s secret and that going to church wasn’t in the picture for her anytime soon. “I wish you could go to church with us, too.”
Selene looked at both men but didn’t flinch. “You know, don’t you?”
“Yes, we do,” Artie said in just above a whisper.
With shame on her expression, she looked at her lap. Hestia felt embarrassed for her. “How did you find out?”
“Miss Olive’s nephew, Eric. We eat lunch together.” Booth leaned toward her in a sympathetic manner but stopped short of patting her on the knee. “Please don’t blame Eric. I was keen on him telling us because he was telling how Miss Olive was lecturing his sister. She was mighty upset when she heard about the situation.”
“If a speech from her aunt is all it takes to save her from getting into the trouble I’m in, I think it’s a copacetic idea.” Selene’s hand went to her midsection, but she took it away with a quick motion.
“As though any lecture would have kept you from your parties.” Hestia didn’t mean to chastise her cousin, but she spoke the truth.
Selene grimaced. “True. I didn’t think anything bad would ever happen to me.”
“So you’re really sorry you lived like a flapper?” Artie’s tone of voice told her what the answer should be.
“I regret that this happened.”
“Do you want to go back to New York and live the same way you used to after all this is over?” Artie leaned toward her.
“Artie!” Booth slapped him on the knee. “What’s the matter wi
th you, asking such a thing?”
“I’m sorry.”
Selene looked pensive. “No, I’ll answer. I don’t know what the future holds. As for my old life, I can’t say I don’t miss my friends. And I do like the new fashions.”
“Never let it be said that Selene doesn’t tell it like it is.” Hestia laughed.
A regretful look entered Selene’s eyes. “So the two of you knew, but you were still willing to come here and eat pie with us?”
“Yes,” Artie was quick to answer. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.” He rose from his seat, holding his empty plate and fork. “Say, Selene, would you like me to help you take the dishes into the kitchen?”
“Sure.” She sent him a smile and rose from her seat as well.
“Need some help?” Hestia thought she should ask, but she doubted they wanted her around.
“I think we can handle it,” Artie confirmed.
Hestia and Booth handed them their dishes. Hestia watched them exit and then leaned toward Booth, keeping the volume of her voice low. “I wish she could have met someone like Artie before she met Ned.”
Booth leaned in to hear her. “So that was his name? Ned?”
“Yes.”
Booth looked toward the kitchen. “Selene is what some of the bold fellows would call a tomato, even now.”
Such a comment would have sent waves of jealousy—and maybe even shock—through Hestia not so long ago, but she could tell by Booth’s blank expression that he had no fixation on Selene. “She is lovely, especially without all that face paint.”
“Maybe if Ned could see Selene, knowing the baby is his, he would change his mind. Maybe he would even marry her.”
“You sound like a hopeless romantic.”
“Is that so bad?”
“No. It’s charming, especially from someone as manly as you are, Booth.” Hestia recalled everything Selene had confided in her. “No. There’s no hope for them to get back together. And after talking with her, I think it’s probably for the best.”
Booth shook his head. “Seems hard to believe, considering the situation.”
“Yes, it’s a situation I never thought I’d see happen in my family, and especially with Selene. She was always so confident, so beautiful, so carefree. I envied her.” Hestia clamped her mouth shut, wishing she had never made such a confession.
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