To Have and To Hold

by Tracie Peterson

  “Isn’t it beautiful, Aunt Thora?” Audrey asked.

  Her aunt fingered the piece with great gentleness. She clearly didn’t know what to say. It was the first time anyone had been able to render the old woman speechless. Seeming to sense she was in danger of appearing too pleased, Aunt Thora gave a curt nod.

  “Can’t wear it until my mourning for Boyd is past.”

  Audrey would have argued that the woman was not under any kind of obligation to wear black on behalf of Boyd Cunningham but knew it would only serve to hurt her feelings. Instead, Audrey decided to agree.

  “Your mourning ends in March. Three months is long enough. I promised Father I wouldn’t sit around wearing black and being sad.”

  To her surprise, Aunt Thora only nodded, while Irene beamed a smile.

  Marshall was glad to be back on the island and ready for the start of a new year. After a short trip of exploration in Savannah, he found that the formalities of Southern customs didn’t appeal to him. Traditions on Bridal Veil Island were enough to keep him constantly fretting over his manners, but in Savannah it was an entirely different matter. Perhaps, however, the best thing about being in Savannah was that it constantly reminded him of how much he missed Audrey’s company.

  Seeing her again was confirmation that something had happened in his heart. Even though Boyd had tried to persuade him to see it months ago, he’d resisted. After all, he’d come south in search of a job—not a wife. With Audrey in the picture, that possibility no longer seemed so strange.

  “But she may not feel the same way,” he reminded himself.

  With Boyd gone, who could say what Audrey might do. He might just have to wiggle himself right into whatever plans she made for herself. The thought made him grin.

  “You look mighty pleased with yourself,” Thora declared, making her way to where Marshall sat on the porch polishing his good boots.

  Marshall popped to his feet. “No, ma’am. I’m pleased with this day God has given us. Pleased, as well, to be back here at Bridal Fair.”

  She looked at him for a moment and nodded. “I can tell just what pleases you to be back.”

  Marshall gave her a quizzical look. The old woman seemed to pin him in place with her stare. Waggling her crooked finger, she narrowed her eyes. “You’d just best mind your ways, Marshall Graham. You’ve got just enough Southern blood in you to be dangerous.”

  He couldn’t help but grin, which was entirely the wrong thing to do. Aunt Thora straightened as if he’d slapped her. Marshall was completely perplexed.

  “Don’t you think to try any of that charm on me,” she declared. “I’m immune to it. My mama, God rest her soul, taught me early on to spot a lovesick suitor. You’ve gone and gotten yourself in a pretty pickle, haven’t you?”

  He quickly decided perhaps it would be best to make her his confidante and coconspirator. Perhaps with the old woman on his side, he would be able to woo Audrey.

  “You’re a wise one, Mrs. Lund. I’m not at all surprised that you were able to deduce my predicament.”

  She nodded knowingly and arched a brow. “You may be more Southern than I give you credit for.”

  “I don’t suppose you would consider helping me, would you? I mean, you know Miss Audrey better than anyone here.”

  The older woman considered his question for a moment. “Audrey’s papa, God bless his newly departed soul, was fond of you. I can’t deny that.” She drew a deep breath. “Let me ponder this for a while. I’ll give you my answer after I spend some time in the Scriptures.”

  Marshall nodded. “Of course. I would be honored to wait.”

  “Pshaw.” She gave him a wave of her hand and toddled off into the house.

  After she’d departed, Marshall sat back down and picked up his supplies. Samson meandered over, as if to check on the outcome of Marshall’s polishing, and stopped just short of sticking his nose into the polish when Marshall placed the can back on the porch floor.

  “You’ll help me, too, won’t you?” Marshall asked the cat.

  Samson looked up and gave a garbled kind of meow. Marshall laughed. “I was hoping you would say that. With you on my side, I’m sure to make progress.”

  For the next several weeks work at the site continued at a snail’s pace. Except for the men who’d come from up north and didn’t believe in the curse, most of the men had returned to their homes on the mainland with a promise to return once Ole Blue could be located. The few who remained had continually refused to work until Marshall declared that the cook would stop feeding them if they weren’t going to work. They finally conceded, though they begged for work beyond the perimeter of the clubhouse—preferably at least ten feet away. Marshall’s patience had reached new heights, yet he tried to remain thankful for any progress at all.

  That afternoon Frank had delivered news that some of the workers had gone to work on Jekyl Island. Marshall’s spirits plummeted at the announcement. “And exactly how did you come by this information? Have you been over to Jekyl Island yourself?”

  Frank shook his head. “No. I went into Biscayne to purchase a few personal items and thought I’d see if I could convince some of the men to return, since we’ve had no further signs of a curse. ’Course I didn’t meet with any success. These folks don’t budge from the old superstitions.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Anyway, one of the fellows told me that about forty of our workers had gone to Jekyl.”

  “Any word about whether they’ll leave Jekyl and come back here once I find Ole Blue?”

  Frank chuckled. “You mean if you find Ole Blue, don’t ya?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “Living conditions are better over here, and the pay is five cents an hour more—they’ll come back.” He began to walk off, then stopped and turned.

  “Did you ask about the whereabouts of Ole Blue?” Marshall asked.

  “You know, I didn’t even think to ask.”

  Marshall bristled at the smug response. Frank was enjoying the fact that the project was falling further and further behind. He strode back to Bridal Fair, his anger rising with each step he took. He entered the house and slammed the door behind him with a bang that brought Thora around the corner at a quick clip.

  “Didn’t your mother teach you better manners? We don’t slam the doors in this house.”

  Marshall dropped into one of the chairs. He didn’t need Thora blathering at him. “I apologize.” Samson wound his way around the furniture and jumped onto Marshall’s lap.

  “What’s got you so riled up?”

  “Same thing that’s had me riled up since before Boyd died. I can’t find Old Blue, and until I do, we’re at a near standstill. You don’t have any ideas, do you?”

  The old woman glanced over her shoulder before she leaned close and whispered, “I s’pose I could get on out and see if I can find him.”

  Marshall jumped to his feet and sent Samson leaping to the floor. “You know where he is?”

  She arched her brows. “I might know a few places to look for him. Can’t promise anything, and you can’t come with me. He’d never forgive me if I was to give up one of his hiding spots. He’s got a small skiff—comes and goes among some of the islands, but mostly he stays here on Bridal Veil. He helped Boyd some during the War of Northern—” She stopped short. “During the war.”

  Marshall couldn’t believe his ears. Why hadn’t Thora stepped in to help before now? He wanted to scream the question at her, but that would never do. She would stomp off and leave him without an answer and without Old Blue. “Any reason you didn’t mention you might know his whereabouts before now?”

  She shrugged one shoulder. “You didn’t ask. I’ve never been one to interfere where I’m not wanted.”

  He almost laughed aloud. Thora had her nose in everything that happened at Bridal Fair—on the entire island, for that matter. “Well, I’m asking you now, Thora. I would be most grateful for any help you could give. And when you find Old Blue, will you tell him I need a curse removed from the constructio
n site and I’m willing to pay whatever he charges for his curse-removing services.”

  She cackled. “He don’t charge money. It’s friendship and loyalty that’s important to Ole Blue. Like I said, he was a big help to Boyd during the war—and to me, too. If Audrey comes looking for me, you tell her I went to meditate and don’t want to be bothered.” She poked his chest with her index finger. “And don’t follow me! Think you can remember all that?”

  “I believe I can. Thank you, Mrs. Lund.”

  “Don’t thank me yet. You best wait and see if I find him.”

  Marshall had gone to the work site three times and returned to Bridal Fair in between. He didn’t know where or when Thora might reappear, but he didn’t want to miss her. As he once again neared Bridal Fair, he caught sight of the old woman’s white hair rounding the house. “Mrs. Lund!” He waved and ran toward her, his hopes swelling when he saw her grin and wave in return.

  “Did you find him?” He gulped a breath of air and stared into her eyes.

  “Yep. He’ll be over to the construction site tomorrow mornin’. I suggest you get on that boat and go tell them workers to get on over here if they want to see him get rid of that curse. The more that see he was here, the better. Then there’s no way of denying he come and took care of things for ’em.” She shook her head. “Bunch of nonsense, but there ain’t no talking good sense to them what believes in such things.”

  Marshall couldn’t believe she’d so easily located the man. He’d spent weeks looking—even left messages nailed onto trees in the hope of locating the man. “You’re certain he’ll show up?”

  She shook her head and tsked at him. “He’ll be here, but I got me another idea, and I want you to help.”

  Marshall followed Thora’s instructions and went to Biscayne. Many of the men returned with him that evening. Others agreed to return the following morning and promised to send word to the workers on Jekyl Island. Now Marshall hoped that Old Blue would appear as promised.

  The next morning the men were gathered around the construction site, and if all went well, they’d be hard at work within a short time. There were gasps of anticipation when a bedraggled white-haired man appeared from the thicket at the rear of the site. Leaning heavily on a walking stick, he approached the building and peered inside. He reached into his pocket, withdrew a substance, tossed it into the doorway of the structure, and then began to chant.

  Thora nudged Marshall. “Start praying.” With their arms lifted toward heaven, Marshall and Thora prayed for God to release the men from their pagan beliefs. The men’s attention darted back and forth between Ole Blue and his chanting and the two of them and their prayers. When Ole Blue quit chanting and tossed something from his other pocket into the work area, the men inched forward.

  “I think they were more impressed with Ole Blue’s chanting than with our prayers.”

  “Thing is, they can’t be sure if it was his chants or our prayers that’s gonna have the most power over their lives. If God decides to have His way with ’em, they’ll quit believing that gibberish and turn to Him when they’re in trouble. In the meantime, you can get back to work.”

  Marshall leaned down and embraced the old woman. “You do have a way about you, Thora.”

  “Go on with ya,” she said, patting his chest. “Get those men to working, and I’ll go have a talk with Ole Blue afore he takes off.”

  Life at Bridal Fair returned to the regular routine. For two weeks the men had been working from daybreak until dark, but they still remained far behind schedule. When Marshall received a letter that Mr. Morley would be arriving to inspect the progress, he doubted Mr. Morley would be impressed with the amount of work accomplished. In a previous letter Marshall had suggested hiring more workers from further north, but Mr. Morley said they’d go too far over their allocated budget by doing so. It seemed there was little else he could do to hurry the process.

  To make matters worse, it seemed they were suffering minor setbacks at every turn. Though Frank blamed the men for their inexperience, Marshall wasn’t certain the entire blame could be placed upon their shoulders. During Marshall’s observations, he’d seen nothing to indicate the men lacked proper skills. He’d begun to think it was a lack of direction rather than lack of ability.

  Marshall motioned to Frank and waited until he drew near. “I want to inspect the second floor. We’ll begin framing the third floor tomorrow. Make sure all the scaffolding is in place. I don’t want any accidents.”

  “Hoping to impress Mr. Morley, are you?”

  “I’m not trying to impress anyone. I just want to get this clubhouse up and running. I’m going up to check out the second floor.”

  Weaving among the workers, Marshall trudged up the stairway. Once it was properly finished and the decorative railings and posts were installed, it would be beautiful. Right now, it was no more than rough steps. Marshall stopped at the top of the stairs and shook his head. “This isn’t correct.” He continued onward, unable to believe his eyes. “Frank! Get up here! Now!”

  Moments later Frank joined him on the upper floor. “Yeah?”

  “These rooms aren’t laid properly. Where are the drawings?”

  Frank walked to the top of the stairway. “Joe! Bring me those plans for the second floor, would ya?”

  A few minutes later, Frank handed the plans to Marshall. After unrolling the sheet, he spread it across the floor and glanced at the framework. “Look at this and then check the position of the framework.” He tapped the drawing. “It’s all wrong.”

  Frank scratched his head. “It does look like it’s off, but I followed these plans.”

  “If you think you followed these directions, you don’t know how to read an architect’s drawing.” He rolled up the drawings. “We’ll have to start over on this tomorrow.”

  Frank rubbed his jaw. “It doesn’t look like Mr. Morley’s gonna be too happy with the job you’re doing.”

  Marshall clenched his jaw. “Or you, Frank.” He turned and stormed down the steps before he lost his temper in front of all the workers.

  He’d supervised other building projects that had been plagued by problems, but this one was testing his limits. And he didn’t need a reminder from Frank that Mr. Morley would be disappointed with their progress.

  As Marshall suspected, Mr. Morley was not happy. The following morning he pulled Marshall aside and voiced his frustration. “I wanted to give the setbacks some thought before speaking to you, but there is no doubt that something must be done to avoid these continual delays.”

  Marshall nodded. “I agree, and I’ve given it a great deal of thought, as well. My suggestion is that we dismiss Frank Baker and hire another assistant. I can’t be everywhere at once, and I need a man I can depend upon. Frank simply doesn’t have the necessary skills for the job. I didn’t want to let him go until I spoke to you.”

  Mr. Morley shook his head. “I’m afraid he’s one person you can’t fire, Marshall.”

  Marshall shoved his hat to the back of his head and arched his brows. “Why not? I heard you tell him he could pack his bags and get off the island several months ago.”

  “An idle threat. Frank knows I can’t fire him. He’s related to Thaddeus Baker, our largest investor. Thaddeus refused to throw in with us until we agreed to use his nephew. To be honest, I took a huge risk when I demoted him to assistant project manager. I can’t chance anything more drastic.” Mr. Morley shoved his hand into his pocket. “You understand?”

  “I can understand your dilemma, but you can’t expect me to meet deadlines when I have an incompetent assistant. Sometimes I feel Frank is directly responsible for some of the things that have caused our delays.”

  Mr. Morley chuckled. “I really doubt that Frank would bite the hand that feeds him. He wouldn’t want to anger his uncle.”

  Even though Mr. Morley agreed to remain on the island for several months, the decision left Marshall feeling stranded and alone in his attempts to meet the deadlines. He’
d counted on the man’s support. Obviously that wasn’t going to happen—at least where Frank Baker was concerned.

  Chapter 18

  Audrey gazed out the window, where the late summer flowers vied for attention, their blooms providing a beautiful array of color as they perfumed the air. Over the past weeks Josie and Julie had been sharing their abundance of herbs with Thora, Irene, and Audrey. Upon each visit, the girls proudly presented herbs from their garden, along with some of the flowers they picked along the paths near their cabin.

  Today was no exception. They bounded into Bridal Fair, their plump hands grasping baskets filled with herbs and flowers. Julie thrust her basket toward Thora while Josie handed hers to Irene. “We gave Papa some of our flowers to give you, too,” Josie said, pointing behind her father’s back.

  Julie grinned. “We told him to hide them and surprise you.”

  Samson padded into the room, stopped beside the doctor, and arched his back. Dr. Wahler glared at the cat and then kicked him aside with his foot. He hiked a shoulder when Audrey frowned. “That cat doesn’t seem to like me for some reason.” He forced a smile. “I’m usually quite good with animals.”

  Julie looked up at her father. “You said you didn’t like animals, and that’s why we couldn’t have a puppy or kitty.”

  He appeared befuddled by the little girl’s remark. “We’ll talk about this later, Julie.” Turning toward Audrey, he shrugged. “Children. You never know what they’re going to say.” He brought his hand from behind his back and offered Audrey a lovely bouquet.

  “They are absolutely beautiful. My thanks to all three of you. I’ll get a vase.”

  “Not much of a surprise, but I’m pleased you like them.” He followed her across the room with Josie close on his heels.

  “Papa was going to pick some weeds. He doesn’t know the good flowers like we do, so we had to help. It’s good we’re smarter than him.”