by Carol Costa
Nathan walked back to his co-workers and didn"t even look in Evelyn"s direction again, but the touch of his hand remained on her cheek as hot and delicious as the lunch she consumed.
Even after all the years they had spent together, Evelyn"s relationship with Nathan had never been more than a sexual coupling. Nathan was still in love with Martha and Evelyn had no intention of leaving the House of David until Benjamin Purnell died.
The colonists believed that Benjamin was the Seventh Angelic Messenger who would lead them into the Millennium. Evelyn wanted to be there when they realized Benjamin was just a mortal man who had lied and deceived them. When Benjamin"s body was turning to dust, Evelyn Warren would rejoice.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
B
enjamin had been out on his boat all day and was exhausted, but Mary was waiting for him when he returned to Diamond House.
She repeated the rumor Cora had told her.
“Why do you trouble me with this gossip?” he said angrily. “Because you have put Evelyn into a high position in the colony and she is openly defying the laws we are supposed to follow.”
“You never miss an opportunity to be the bearer of bad news. On the contrary, you seem to delight in upsetting me.”
“I am simply alerting you to a problem that exists. The fact that you continue to ignore your own laws constantly upsets me, but you have no regard for my feelings, so don"t expect me to apologize for upsetting your day.”
Mary turned on her heel and walked from the front parlor where she had waited for Benjamin.
“You are a shrew,” Benjamin called after her.
“I know that,” Mary called back. “But I am not the shrew you need to concern yourself with tonight.”
The following morning, Benjamin strode into Bethlehem and went directly to Evelyn"s office. Strangely enough, Evelyn did not seem surprised to see him.
“Good morning,” she said pleasantly. “I was wondering how long it would take before you came to see me.”
Benjamin closed the door to the office and settled himself into one of the chairs in front of Evelyn"s desk. “Is the rumor about you and Nathan Sullivan true?” he asked bluntly.
“That depends on what the rumor is,” Evelyn replied coolly.
“You were seen in Benton Harbor coming out of a tavern with him.”
“By whom?”
“That does not matter, Evelyn. You were seen outside the colony with a man who is not a member of the colony.”
“That much is true,” she told him. “I was in Benton Harbor and I did see Nathan there. May I remind you that I know him quite well as he has been coming here for years to see his daughters.”
“Are you having an affair with this man?”
“Is that what the gossips are saying?”
“Just give me an answer, Evelyn.”
“All right,” she said. “Then the answer I give you is, no.”
Benjamin smiled at her. While the years had left their mark on many of his physical attributes, his smile still had the power to disarm people and it was not wasted on Evelyn, who found herself smiling back at him.
“You are a very clever girl, Evelyn. I will accept your answer as long as I also have your assurance that you will not be seen in this man"s company again.”
“Of course,” she replied. “I give you my word.”
“Very well. I will accept your word, just as I have accepted your answer.”
“I am planning on going to Chicago at the beginning of next month. There is a conference for religious organizations that will draw thousands of people. I think I can make some good contacts there.”
“How long will you be gone from the colony?”
“A week. I can make my own travel arrangements, but I"ll need you to approve the expenses.”
“Send the information to the main business office.”
“Thank you, Benjamin.”
Benjamin nodded and began to rise from the chair. Evelyn was amused by the effort it took him to stand straight. Age was taking its toll on him. She got up and hurried to the door to open it for him.
“Good Day, Benjamin,” she said softly.
“Good-Bye, Evelyn.”
Benjamin walked slowly down the hallway to the communal dining hall where Mary was sitting with Cora and Silas.
“The matter is settled,” Benjamin told them. “I trust that you will not trouble me again with this unfounded gossip.”
Cora"s face turned red. “I"m sorry, Benjamin. I only repeated what I thought you should know.”
“I assume she denied it and you believed her,” Mary said in an icy tone.
Benjamin smiled at her, but Mary was no longer disarmed by anything about her husband. “Evelyn does much to help this colony. That is all anyone should be concerned with.” Benjamin motioned to Silas who quickly rose to his feet. Benjamin turned to Mary. “We have a meeting at the main office in fifteen minutes.”
“Go along,” she told him. “I must check on the merchandise in the storage building.”
Silas and Benjamin left the dining hall. Mary turned back to Cora. “I did not tell Benjamin that I heard about Evelyn from you, but I guess he assumed it was you.”
“I have a confession to make,” Cora said softly. “I told you about Evelyn because I knew you would tell Benjamin. The girl would not listen to anyone else but Benjamin and I could not stand by and let her bring shame to this house and this colony.”
Mary nodded, but felt it was useless to voice her feelings about Evelyn to Cora again. The girl would continue to do as she pleased regardless of how it affected the colony.
As Ben and Silas made their way down the walkway outside of Bethlehem, Nathan Sullivan was approaching with Lenore and Alice.
“Well,” Silas said nodding in their direction. “Here comes Nathan now with his daughters. He took them to Chicago yesterday and they spent the night in some grand hotel there.”
Benjamin stopped at the end of the walkway and greeted the Sullivan"s. “Good morning. How nice to see you all again.”
“Mr. Purnell,” Nathan said.
“Good morning, sir,” Lenore said politely while Alice just nodded and smiled at Benjamin.
Benjamin kept his gaze on Lenore. He had not seen her lately and had not realized how lovely and grown up she had become. “I understand you spent the night in Chicago,” Benjamin said, speaking directly to Lenore.
“Yes, sir,” she replied. “It was great fun, but the city is very big and noisy.”
“So it is,” Ben replied. “Your dresses are very nice. Did you get those in Chicago?”
Lenore answered again for both of them. “Yes. In the most lovely shop on Michigan Avenue.”
“I must get the girls back to their mother now,” Nathan said abruptly.
Benjamin smiled and nodded. “Of course. It was nice to see you all.”
Nathan hurried the girls along the walkway as Benjamin and Silas walked across the road. They were going to take the train around to the other depot and then on to the Diamond House. The conductor would have the train make a special stop in front of the Diamond House so Silas and Ben could get off.
The main entrance was already crowded with park visitors but the conductor ushered Ben and Silas onto a seat at the back of the train making two of the tourists wait for the next train.
All the people who were visiting the House of David Park for the first time looked curiously at the bearded men, but no one seemed to know that King Benjamin himself was riding the train with them.
Across the street at Bethlehem, Nathan had delivered his daughters back to the quarters they shared with their mother.
Martha was in the room waiting for them.
“I see you have more new clothes.” Martha said with a note of disapproval.
“Daddy bought them for us in Chicago,” Alice told her proudly.
Martha felt that Nathan bought the girls expensive gifts when they were together in attempt to undermine the simple life she ha
d chosen for them at the colony. “You must hurry and change into your regular clothes,” she said shortly. “We are expected in the kitchen to help with the noon meal.” She turned to Nathan. “You are welcome to join us, Nathan.”
“I have to get back to town. They"re expecting me to work this afternoon.”
Nathan hugged his daughters and left them to their mother.
As he was leaving the house, Evelyn"s daughter, Naomi came running after him.
“Mr. Sullivan,” she said catching up to him. “Mama said to give you this.” Naomi handed Nathan a sealed envelope. “She said don"t open it until you"re far away from here.”
With the note and the message delivered, Naomi turned around and skipped back to the house. Nathan shrugged and shoved the note in his pocket.
Mary had just left the storage room after making note of what merchandise needed to be ordered for the souvenir stands.
She was waiting to cross the road and walk back to Diamond House when she witnessed Naomi give her mother"s note to Nathan.
Mary could only surmise that Evelyn"s note might disappoint Mr. Sullivan. However, there was one thing that Mary knew for sure. Naomi, the sunshine child, had a face that was identical to her mother"s, but in the morning sun, her hair had the same reddish glow as Benjamin"s once did.
*** Two weeks passed in which Evelyn stayed at the House of David and prepared for her upcoming trip to Chicago. Nathan came by once or twice during that time to see Lenore and Alice or take them out for dinner, but he and Evelyn did not see each other.
Evelyn did see Frank Melicher who had coincidently parted ways with his girlfriend in St. Joseph. The nice thing about spending time with Frank was that he and Evelyn both seemed to feel the same way about the House of David colony. Neither of them really believed that Benjamin was an angelic messenger.
Both of them remained in the colony for their own selfish reasons.
One evening when Evelyn came by to pick up Naomi, she found the three children in the front yard with Frank.
Naomi, Anna, and Jonah were running around the front yard playing some type of noisy game. Frank was sitting on the swing reading a book.
“Where"s Celia?”
“She isn"t feeling well. I told her to go to her room and rest. Have a seat.” He patted the wooden bench-like seat next to him.
Evelyn sat down on the opposite side of the swing, facing him. “I"m surprised to find you here tonight,” Evelyn said. “I thought you"d be out looking for a replacement.”
Frank laughed. “No. I"ve decided to play by the rules for awhile. How about you?”
“The same.”
“How"s Nathan taking that?”
“I don"t know. I haven"t spoken to him.”
“Well, now that we"re both unattached at the same time,” he began.
“Forget it Frank.”
“Why? I know you love my house.”
“Yes, I do. Just promise me that when you get ready to leave the colony, you"ll give me advance notice, so I can put my bid in on it.”
“Do you really think they"ll give it you?”
Evelyn shrugged and looked across the road at the Diamond House. “When I first came here that"s where I wanted to live, but it didn"t work out.”
“I"ve been in there. It"s too cold and sterile. My house is much better.”
Evelyn looked up at the house behind them. The setting sun was reflected in the wall of windows in the front parlor of the house. Behind the parlor was a formal dining room and a nice kitchen. Up a short flight of stairs were four bedrooms each occupying one whole corner of the perfectly square house with one large bathroom in the middle that serviced them all.
The lowest level of the house was a basement of sorts that had a washing room, another smaller bathroom, and a tiny kitchen.
Evelyn turned and looked at the Diamond House again. What she saw this time caused her pretty face to frown. Mary Purnell was sitting out on her balcony.
“We have someone watching us,” Evelyn said.
“Celia says Mary is always out there in the evenings. Does it bother you that she sees us together.”
“I don"t have many friends in this colony,” Evelyn said. “But I only have one out and out enemy, and that"s Queen Mary over there.”
*** Mary was indeed sitting out on her balcony watching the sunset. She heard the sounds of the children playing in Melicher"s front yard, and had seen Evelyn arrive at the house.
However, tonight her mind was on the letter she had received that day. She was holding it against her breast as if trying to extract the words it contained to warm her heart.
My Dear Mary, It has been some time since I have written, but please know that I think of you often. As you probably know the last ten years have been good to me. My career is wellestablished now and I am always busy.
I’m writing today to let you know that Daniel Etherton, my friend and mentor has passed away suddenly. Since his sons are not interested in the gallery, I will be assuming ownership of it. Believe it or not, I have become a good businessman over the years.
I’m hoping that you will come to Ann Arbor in the near future to visit the gallery. It has been much too long since we have talked.
Affectionately,
John Mary had indeed kept track of John"s career over the years and she had even purchased some of his pieces anonymously through a broker. She would love to see him again, but she was no longer the same person she had been ten years ago. Time and circumstances had turned her into a bitter woman and John who saw beauty in all things, would not like that.
He had written to her occasionally but she had never answered his letters. What could she say to him? He was doing well. She was not. He was able to finally earn enough money from his art to keep him comfortable. Mary was comfortable and had people to cater to her needs, but her life was no longer fulfilling like John"s had become.
Each time she had received a letter from him, she had been afraid to open it. Each time she had been afraid that the letter would bring news of a new woman in his life. After all, Daisy had been desperately in love with Jacob and that hadn"t stopped her from finding someone else once she left the colony. Why should John be different?
Perhaps, Mary thought, John has had dozens of women in his life, but he is simply too kind to tell me about them.
Mary heard noises from the back of the house. Two of the girls in Benjamin"s Inner Circle had graduated to other places in the colony. Like Celia, they had become older and less desirable to Benjamin. Mary didn"t get up to see who the replacements were. She really didn"t want to know.
Across the road, she saw Evelyn and Naomi walking towards Bethlehem together. Frank Melicher and his children had gone into the house as the sun had set in the west and the long shadows of night were upon them.
*** Later that night, Benjamin was in his suite awaiting a visitor. He was dressed in the silk dressing gown he had special ordered from Chicago. Most of the colonists made their own clothes or had them made by some of skilled seamstresses that also resided in at the House of David. Only Benjamin and Mary purchased their clothes from outside sources.
The door to his suite opened and Lenore Sullivan entered. She was dressed in her night clothes and seemed confused. Benjamin walked to the door, took her hand and drew her into the suite.
“I don"t understand,” Lenore said. “I was about to go to bed, when Mrs. Bowen said you wanted to see me. Have I done something wrong?”
“Of course not. I just wanted to welcome you to Diamond House. Is your room satisfactory?”
“Yes, thank you. It"s very nice.”
“Is it as nice as the grand hotel your father took you to stay in?”
“It"s nicer, sir.”
“I happy to hear that. Come here and sit beside me, Lenore.” The girl looked hesitant, so Benjamin stood up and walked over to her. He took her by the hand and led her over to the sofa. “I hope you and your sister will decide to stay here with us for awhile.”
“My mother said it was an honor to be invited, sir.”
“Do you believe that I am the Seventh Angelic Messenger sent from God to guide our people?”
“Yes, sir.” Lenore"s father had often said that Benjamin was not an angel, but Lenore did not want to insult him since her mother was so happy that she and Alice had been asked to come to Diamond House.
“And do you believe that I love all my people?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And that I especially love the girls in my Inner Circle?”
Lenore nodded as Benjamin placed his hands gently on her shoulders and smiled at her. He kissed her lightly on the cheek. When she didn"t resist he kissed her again this time on the mouth. This time Lenore stiffened and pushed him away.
“Don"t be afraid, Lenore. I love you,” Benjamin whispered.
He pulled her to him and began to kiss her and run his hands up and down her supple body.
“Stop it. Don"t do that to me,” she said once again trying to push him away.
Ben held her fast and talked softly to her. “Listen to me, Lenore. Your blood has been poisoned by your contact with the outside world. I must take you to me, so that you may be cleansed and have eternal life.”
“No,” Lenore shouted. “I don"t want to stay here with you. Let go of me.”
Benjamin laughed softly and pushed her down on the sofa. “It will be over soon and you will have eternal life.”
Lenore now understood what he intended to do with her, and she struggled to free herself. Benjamin had met with resistance many times in the past, and knew exactly how to overcome it. Lenore tried to yell but his mouth was covering hers muffling her cries. The more she fought, the more excited Benjamin became and the girl was no match for his strength and determination.
Benjamin had his way with her and when it was over he walked her back to her room and told her to sleep well.
As soon as he was gone, Lenore left her room and went to her sister"s room. Alice was sound asleep, unaware of what had happened to her sister.
Lenore shook her and turned on the lamp next to the bed. Alice awoke to find Lenore"s face streaked with tears and her night clothes torn. Her appearance frightened Alice.