Homespun Hearts

by Caroline Fyffe

  Daniel’s eyes crinkled with laughter. “That makes sense to me. I can truly see that. Of course, you’re a banker’s daughter and when she realized that?”

  Lily grinned. “When she realized that, she dropped to her knees in the dirt and helped me out. We got a lot accomplished back there.” Not only weeding either. Laura had certainly given Lily something to think about while they worked.

  He studied her for a moment, only then realizing that she was wearing no jewelry and had gone back to wearing her old dresses. “You don’t like to wear jewelry to the shelter?” Did she not care for any of the gifts he’d given her?

  Lily shook her head, not willing to tell him she only wore the jewelry when they would be together. “No, I don’t. I’m always afraid I’ll lose it.” And she was afraid she’d lose it.

  He frowned at that, wondering if she liked the gifts he’d been sending. He had no idea what else to give her to show his love, but the gifts of jewelry and perfume were definitely not working. He’d figure something out.

  Their soup was served then and he didn’t say anything else as they both turned their attention to eating, but whether or not she liked the gifts stayed at the back of his mind. He wanted her to know that he loved her with everything inside him. He could still see the sadness in her eyes. There had to be a way.

  As they walked back to their home together, holding hands in the dark, he asked her if she’d like to go fishing in a week.

  She sighed. “I think I should probably stay home and work on my knitting.” She wanted to go fishing with him more than anything, but if he didn’t care about her, then she had to make him.

  He shook his head sadly, expecting the answer, but wishing she was willing to stay the woman he’d fallen in love with and married, instead of constantly trying to better herself.

  * * *

  After church Sunday, they went to Rose’s parents’ house for Daisy’s birthday. Lily couldn’t believe Daisy was already fifteen. That was older than she’d been when she had fallen for Daniel. She couldn’t help but wonder if Daisy had a man in mind, but her shy younger sister would never admit it if she did.

  Lily had made Daisy a hat out of the white rabbit fur she had left from the muffs she’d made for her sisters for Christmas. Daisy had smiled and tried it on, obviously thrilled with it.

  Lily glanced at her across the room, sitting with her new hat on and wearing a necklace their parents had gotten for her. She was still her usual quiet shy self, but there was a new air of confidence about her.

  As she sat again her in parents’ house watching her sisters, she was surprised by how distanced she felt from them. Amaryllis, the sister after her in age, came and sat beside her on the sofa, her eyes sad. “What’s wrong?” Amaryllis didn’t usually seek her out with problems, so she knew it must be something serious.

  Amaryllis shrugged. “I just heard that Alex is seeing someone else from the town he goes to college in.”

  Lily immediately felt bad for her. “Oh, I’m sorry! Who did you hear it from?” Lily knew she’d be heartbroken if it had been Daniel.

  “No one said it to me directly, but I heard Higgins talking to Mildred about it the last time I worked at the shelter. Her name is Sarah.”

  Lily slipped her arm around her sister’s shoulders. “I wish it had worked out for you two.” She didn’t know what else to say to her, but wished she had the words to make her feel better.

  Amaryllis glared at Mary. “It would have if Mama hadn’t interfered.” She sniffed once. “I think he was my soul mate.”

  Lily raised an eyebrow. “Soul mate?” Where had her sister even heard that term?

  “In all the romance books, every woman has a soul mate. A man who is the only perfect man for her. And I know Alex was mine.”

  Lily stifled a laugh at her sister’s theatrics. Even with as bad as she felt for her, Amaryllis was way over the top. “If he were your soul mate, I’m certain it would have worked out between you.”

  “Not with our mama. She could ruin the love of Antony and Cleopatra! Romeo and Juliet! Why, she could ruin the love of Napoleon and Josephine!”

  Lily couldn’t control it anymore. A giggle escaped her lips. “Don’t you think you’re being just a little bit over dramatic?” she asked when Amaryllis glared at her.

  Amaryllis frowned. “No, I don’t. I love him, Lily!” Fat tears trickled down her face, making Lily feel like a heel.

  “I’m sorry, Rilly. I wish I could fix it for you.” Amaryllis had been a bookworm her entire life. She’d learned to read when she was three and hadn’t put down a book since. The fact that she’d found a boy to love her at such a young age was a surprise to Lily, because she never seemed to talk to any boys that were around.

  “I never should have given my heart to a man!” Amaryllis declared. “I’m going to join a convent!”

  Lily studied her sister for a moment before pointing out the obvious. “We’re not Catholic.”

  Amaryllis stood up and glared down at Lily. “See? Mama and Papa ruin everything!” She ran from the room on a sob.

  Lily’s eyes met Mary’s. “How long has she been like that?” She’d never seen Amaryllis distraught over anything, so this was really a surprise for her.

  Mary sighed, moving to sit beside Lily. “About two weeks. She apparently overheard Mildred say something to Higgins about a girl named Sarah. I don’t know anything else.” Her hand squeezed Lily’s. “Every time we’re in the same room together she glares at me and always ends up jumping up and running from the room in tears.”

  “Wow. That’s really not like her.” Lily hoped there was nothing more wrong with her sister than a broken heart.

  “No, it’s not, but she was certain she and Alex were going to spend their lives together.” Mary shook her head. “There’s a reason we don’t let you girls court before you turn eighteen.”

  “I know, Mama, and I think it’s a good reason. I’ve talked to the women at the shelter, and it’s hard not to see the reasoning behind it.” She never would have had the courage to have Aunt Harriett approach Daniel for her if she’d been younger.

  Mary nodded. “That’s why you work at the shelter.” She shook her head, determined to be positive. “So how’s your marriage, Lily? Are you expecting yet?”

  Lily looked at her mother in surprise. “I didn’t know you were so eager for more grandchildren.” Her mother had always seemed content bringing up her brood of girls.

  Mary shrugged. “Well, of course I am. Your papa and I want dozens of grandchildren.”

  Daniel walked in then, his eyes meeting Lily’s. He sat beside her on the couch, sandwiching her between him and her mother. His hand stroked hers, letting her know he was ready to go home whenever she was.

  “I’ll let you know when something happens, Mama.” Lily hoped the way she’d phrased the statement would keep Daniel from saying anything.

  Daniel looked down at her. “When what happens?”

  She blushed. “Mama was asking me if I’m expecting yet.” She pinched his hand letting him know she didn’t want him to respond to the question.

  Daniel grinned and leaned over in front of Lily to speak to her mother. “It’s not for lack of trying, Mrs. Sullivan. I promise, I’m doing the very best that I can.” His eyes danced as they met her mother’s.

  Lily’s jaw dropped in shock that he’d speak to her mother that way. She swatted his arm. “Daniel!” What was he thinking saying that to her mama?

  Mary chuckled merrily. “Keep it up, and we’ll have lots of grandchildren in no time!”

  As they walked home, Lily glared at Daniel. “I can’t believe you said that to my mother! She’ll think we’re constantly having relations!” She wasn’t really angry, but she was more than a little shocked.

  Daniel laughed. “Aren’t we?”

  Lily bit her lip. “Well, yes, but I don’t want my mama to know that!”

  He slipped his arm around her shoulders. “At least she knows we’re trying to ma
ke a baby for her.”

  “Do you want a baby? I mean, I know you do eventually, but do you want one soon?” Until that evening, Lily hadn’t really considered having a baby with him. Sure, in that back of her mind it had been a future thing, but now, he’d brought it to the forefront.

  “I’d love one whenever it comes our way.” He kissed the top of her head as they walked. “I love the idea of seeing you holding our baby.”

  She smiled, liking the idea of carrying his child. Would he fall in love with her if she were expecting his baby? She hoped so. Maybe it could give her something to look forward to, but did she really want that to be the only reason he loved her? She sighed. What was wrong with her? “Well, I guess if you want a baby so badly, we could…you know tonight.”

  He chuckled. “As if we weren’t going to anyway!” He grinned down at her, obviously content with their marriage.

  She giggled. “You do have a point there.”

  When they arrived home, she slipped the meal Rebecca had prepared the day before into the oven so it would heat up in time for them to eat, before going into his study where he sat going over a ledger. “What are you doing?”

  He shrugged. “Your father gave me this ledger to look over.” His eyes met hers. “It looks like Charles wasn’t stupid after all. He may have been stealing from the bank.” He set the ledger down and leaned back in his chair.

  “How can you tell?” Lily looked down at the paper and just saw columns of numbers that meant nothing to her.

  “Well, this was found under some other things at his desk. Nothing like this was turned in, and you can see that several cents are missing every day. I went back over his ledgers that he showed us, and there were at least five cents missing every day. It was several dollars over the course of the time he was there.” Daniel shook his head, making it clear he didn’t want to have to be the one to say anything.

  He pulled her down onto his lap, holding her close. “It’s not going to be easy to tell your father that we were all duped by Charles.” He rubbed his face against her hair.

  She nodded, kissing his head. “He won’t be mad at you, though. He thinks the world of you, Daniel.” She realized that she did, too. Sitting with him this way brought home all the reasons she was happy she’d married him and not someone else. Someone like James never would have treated her with any kind of affection. She was very fortunate to have Daniel as her husband.

  * * *

  It was long after Daniel had left for work the following morning before Lily had a chance to sit down and really think about what her mother had said. She wanted grandbabies, and she obviously thought Lily should provide them as soon as possible. She chuckled. She and Daniel certainly were trying to accommodate her, not that she ever thought about a baby being the obvious outcome of Daniel’s amorous attentions. They were too busy enjoying each other to think about children.

  It was then she realized that in their three months of marriage, she and Daniel had never missed a night of lovemaking, but that meant… She frowned. Had she really not had a cycle in three full months? She didn’t feel any different, and Rose and Aunt Harriett had both been plagued by morning sickness. Was it possible she was expecting and hadn’t even realized it?

  Her cycles had never been terribly regular, so it made sense that she hadn’t put it together before then, but now that she thought about it, she had never gone this long between before. Sometimes five or six weeks, yes, but never three months.

  She made the short walk to the doctor’s office and waited her turn. When he called her back, he took one look at her, his eyes twinkling. “You want to confirm your pregnancy?”

  Lily nodded slowly, wondering how he knew. “How?” She didn’t feel any different at all, and the doctor could just look at her and know she was pregnant?

  “I’ve been a doctor for a lot of years, and I’ve been your doctor since you were born. You’re slim, as always, but your breasts are slightly fuller. Your waist is bigger than it was.” He grinned. “I’ll examine you, but I’ll tell you right now, you’re expecting.”

  Lily felt her heart plummet. She was excited, but now would she ever know if Daniel loved her for herself and not for the baby she carried? She wanted this baby more than anything, but she didn’t want to always wonder if Daniel ever would have loved her without it.

  She wouldn’t tell him just yet, she decided. It wouldn’t hurt him to wait to know, and it would be good for her. She needed to be certain of his love. Thanks to her talk with Laura, she felt like it was possible for the first time ever.

  She was walking on air as she left the doctor’s office, knowing her body cradled the beginning of a new generation. As she walked, she realized something else. Daniel had told her he loved her when they were courting, so not just since she’d started changing into what she thought he wanted her to be.

  She would be herself again. She’d hunt, she’d fish, and she’d wear pants. If he didn’t like it, well that was just too bad. He’d married her knowing she did all those things and had never once asked her to change. All the changing had been her decision, and she knew then it had been a terrible one. She was going to be who she wanted to be, and she was going to raise her child to do the same.

  The walk home in the early spring air was glorious, because she felt like she’d made all the right decisions. She couldn’t wait to get home to change back into her pants.

  Chapter Nine

  Daniel stepped into Fred’s office and closed the door behind him, the ledger clutched tightly in his hand. “I’ve got some bad news for you.” He didn’t want to have this conversation, so he decided to just spit it out and get it over with.

  Fred looked up at him, studying his face for a moment, before gesturing to the chair in front of him. “What is it? Is something wrong with Lily?”

  Daniel shook his head. “No, of course not! I’m sorry to frighten you that way.” It had never occurred to him Fred would assume there was something wrong with Lily. He held up the ledger. “You know the ledger we found at Charles’s desk? The one you asked me to go over?”

  Fred nodded, leaning back in his chair. “What about it?”

  “Well, it was his own private ledger. It seems to be adding up the money he was taking from the bank every day.” Daniel held the ledger out to Fred, pointing out the notes he’d made in the margin. “He stole several dollars from the bank as far as I can tell.” He shook his head in disgust.

  Fred sighed heavily. “I should have been watching him more closely.” His eyes looked down at the ledger, and it was all there in black and white. Not only did they have proof the man was stealing from the bank, they had this ledger to back up every word of it. He rubbed the back of his neck. It hadn’t added up to a large sum of money, but it was enough that something needed to be done. “Would you be willing to go get the sheriff and bring him here?”

  Daniel got to his feet, nodding briskly. He hated being mixed up with this, but it was part of his job. He walked quickly through the streets to the sheriff’s office, hurriedly explaining what was happening to the older man. He couldn’t understand how anyone would think it was okay to steal from their employer. It made no sense to him whatsoever.

  They walked back to the bank together, the sheriff asking brief questions about what Daniel knew. When they arrived back at the bank, he took him to Fred’s office and they once again closed the door, not wanting the other employees or any of the customers to hear what was going on.

  Fred took charge from there, pulling out the ledger and showing the sheriff exactly what was wrong with it. “These are the amounts that he took from the bank every evening. They match up with the amounts his cash drawer was short every day.” Fred shook his head. “There’s a certain amount of room for error and everyone tends to be off a little at times. That’s why it took us so long to catch it.”

  The sheriff studied the ledger before handing it back. “I’m not much of a numbers man, but even I can see he took you for quite a bit of money. I’
m sorry for that, Fred.” The sheriff, Dean Little, had come West on the same wagon train as Fred and Mary. The two men had been friends for years, and he seemed genuinely upset for Fred. “I’m assuming you want to press charges?”

  Fred nodded. “I have to. I don’t want people thinking it’s okay to steal from me.”

  “I’ll need any information you can give me on the man. Address to start with. I don’t know if he’s had time to find another job, but I need to find him so I can see for myself.” He shook his head. “We’ll find him and get your money back, Fred.”

  Fred stood and shook hands with Dean. “Thanks, Dean. I appreciate you coming so quickly to help me out.”

  Dean nodded. “You’ve helped my family when we needed it. I’ll go see what I can find. Should be able to get him at home.” Dean was a short portly man with dark hair laced with gray. He had been the sheriff there in Seattle for a lot of years and most men in the area respected him.

  “Let me know what you find out.” Fred watched as his friend left, his eyes turning back to Daniel. “Do you think we need to take extra precautions to make sure nothing happens?”

  Daniel made a face. “You mean like hiring a guard for a day or two? Might not be a bad idea.” He wasn’t nervous for himself, but Fred had six daughters still at home. They needed to be certain they were protected.

  “Go see to it!” Fred indicated the door.

  Daniel hurried out of the bank and went to catch up with Dean to see who he would recommend for the job. Surely he knew of someone who could help them out for a few days.

  * * *

  Lily was nervous as she waited for Daniel. She had purchased three new pairs of pants in a larger size to wear around the house now that she was expecting. Daniel would be home any minute, and she was worried about his reaction to them. She knew he’d said he didn’t mind, but most men seemed to really care if a woman wanted to wear pants. Hopefully Daniel wasn’t like most men. She wanted to be herself and see if he still loved her.