by Regina Scott
As if she expected him to disagree, she stepped forward. “Now that I know Jasper will be fine and the others are safe, I should be able to manage.”
Brandon nodded. “Very well. But if you need anything, send someone from the boardinghouse for me. The parsonage is just across the street.”
“I promise,” Elizabeth agreed.
He didn’t believe her. She’d said she’d been young and naive years ago. Now she seemed to have grown determined to do whatever she thought best, whether that meant helping her aunt or following her own path. It would take a lot for her to send someone for his aid.
He laid a hand against the silk of her cheek and watched her eyes widen.
“I mean it, Elizabeth. One word from you, and I will be at your side.”
She nodded, causing her cheek to rub against his fingers. The touch brought back memories of holding hands, bringing her close, bending his head and pressing his lips to hers.
None of which was appropriate at the moment.
Brandon dropped his hand and stepped back. “Annie, let me help you and Louisa with the boys.”
His sister-in-law had been regarding him with a frown, as if she could not understand him. Now her brow cleared, and she gathered up her things and headed for the door. Annie came behind her with a sleeping baby.
“I’ll be sure to check on you and Jasper in the morning,” Louisa promised Elizabeth.
The last sight Brandon had of Elizabeth was her weary smile as he shut the door.
Louisa encouraged Annie to go first down the stairs, then put a hand on Brandon’s arm to stop him from following.
“You know I despise gossip,” she murmured, “but Mrs. Hickey took it upon herself to warn Bo and me that you were in danger of succumbing to Miss Dumont’s charms.”
Brandon nearly lost his footing on the stair. “What!”
Louisa hurried after Annie, and he could only do the same. Most of the lights were out on Second Street, and clouds shrouded a crescent moon, but he could see Louisa’s rueful look as they headed for the parsonage.
“Don’t worry. Bo reminded her that you are a man of the cloth with a spotless reputation, and that Elizabeth is every bit a lady. To prove it, he told her a little about Elizabeth’s life in Boston.”
“And was she willing to listen to reason?” Brandon challenged. “I’ve already tried that route, to no avail, it seems.”
“I’m sure it didn’t help that Bo finished by telling her to mind her own business.” Louisa spared a smile for her husband, then had to cover her mouth with one hand as she yawned. “Forgive me, Brandon. It’s been a long day.”
For all of them. Brandon couldn’t help a glance back at the boardinghouse. He easily made out Elizabeth’s room—it was the only one with the candle still glowing. A figure crossed the light, paused as if to look out into the night. He felt as if he could reach out and touch her, smooth the worries from her brow, lull her into the sleep she had so justly earned.
But what concerned him most was how much he longed to earn the right to hold her again.
Chapter Eleven
The next morning, Brandon threw on his clothes and hurried to the boardinghouse. Mrs. Causewell scowled at him, and he wasn’t sure if it was because of his early arrival or his scruffy chin. She nonetheless opened wide the door and let him climb the stairs to Elizabeth’s room.
Elizabeth answered his knock more quickly. Shadows darkened her eyes, but her smile was warm.
“He’s much better this morning,” she reported, gaze going to where Jasper was scrambling closer. The baby’s eyes were on Brandon, and the joy on his face touched something inside him. Bending, he scooped Jasper up.
“And did you keep Elizabeth up all night?” he asked the baby.
“No!” Jasper proclaimed, displaying a bright white tooth on his lower gum. Then he went on to chatter at Brandon as if explaining everything that had happened.
Elizabeth covered a yawn. “I slept some. I’m just glad he’s feeling better.”
So was Brandon. He could only hope Elizabeth had a chance to nap with the babies later that day.
“He’s lucky to have you,” he murmured, gaze brushing hers.
Her cheeks darkened. “I’m lucky to have him. At least for a while longer.”
He could not forget her sad look or comment as he went about his duties. After returning to the parsonage for a quick shave, he went to the Crenshaw house, where David, Edmund and Josiah McKay were adding a wall to turn an upstairs parlor into two bedrooms. While Edmund ferried the two-by-fours and planks his brother had donated up the stairs, Brandon worked with David and Josiah to nail the pieces in place. Within a few hours, they were ready to paint.
“We should expand the garden behind the house,” David said as he and Brandon descended the stairs so David could fetch the paint and brushes. “That way we can grow some of the food and teach the children a little about farming as we originally planned.”
“Sounds good,” Brandon said, stepping out onto the stoop. Over the house next door, he could make out the roof of the boardinghouse. How were Elizabeth and Jasper getting on now? Had the baby’s fever returned? When would Louisa agree to return the other two brothers from the parsonage? Would Elizabeth need more help with them after her restless night?
“And maybe pony rides on Christmas and Easter,” David said.
Brandon frowned, turning to face him. “What?”
David chuckled. “Well, it’s good to know I haven’t bored you completely, Pastor.”
Brandon smiled. “I’m not bored. And I can tell you the Lone Star Cowboy League won’t pay for pony rides. Sorry that my mind wandered. I have a few concerns I’m mulling over.”
David sobered. “Ailing parishioners? Anything I can do to help?”
That was one thing Brandon admired about the community—how quickly people rose up to help one another. Why couldn’t they find room in their hearts for Elizabeth?
“I’m concerned about Miss Dumont,” he told David. “Apparently some people are questioning her reputation.”
David grimaced. “That’s at least partly my fault. I should never have invited her here, Pastor, but I thought I needed someone for Maggie. You know how things were. Turns out all Maggie and I needed was Caroline.”
Brandon smiled at the tender way David said his wife’s name. “I haven’t helped matters,” he admitted. “If the triplets need something, I help, day or night.”
David shook his head. “Well, she won’t have to put up with us for much longer. Once the children’s home is ready and staffed, the triplets will have a permanent place, and she can find a position somewhere else.”
That was what Brandon feared.
Perhaps that was why he borrowed David’s horse and rode out to the Tinsdale farm that afternoon. It took him an hour to reach the spread to the south of town. He found a two-story farmhouse and wide barn nestled up against the hills. He thought Elizabeth would approve of the white shutters at the windows and the benches on the front porch just waiting for someone to sit and read. Then again, he supposed a governess didn’t have much time to herself.
Mrs. Tinsdale was hanging wash on the line, the diapers and pinafores flapping in the breeze. She paused as he rode in, one hand pushing damp hair from her brow.
“How do, Pastor?” she asked, coming forward to take the reins of his horse so he could dismount. “What brings you out this way?”
Brandon swung down from the saddle and took the reins from her. Up close, he could see the dust dotting her nose and cheeks like freckles. Two children were peering out of the barn door, another from the window overlooking the front porch.
“I was just wondering whether you and Mr. Tinsdale had had a chance to think about hiring Miss Dumont,” Brandon told her.
She clutched h
er apron closer even as she glanced toward the range. “I’m all for it, Pastor, I truly am. It’s too far to send the boys to school, and some days it’s all I can do to put dinner on the table what with looking out for all of them.”
Brandon nodded. “Miss Dumont could teach your children to read and write and even play an instrument.”
Mrs. Tinsdale sighed gustily. “Oh, wouldn’t that be fine? I always wanted more music in the house. But Clem is against hiring her.”
Brandon put on his best smile. “If it’s a matter of money...”
She held up her hands. “No, no! Clem would be powerful mad if he thought I’d given you that idea. We do real well, and with roundup we’ll have enough to pay her wages for a year.”
Perfect! Elizabeth would be close enough to town that he’d see her at church and civic events and far enough away he wouldn’t disturb her peace. “That’s wonderful news. I’m sure Miss Dumont will be delighted.”
Her face puckered. “But we can’t hire her, Pastor. Clem says she isn’t a proper lady.”
Heat flamed up him. This again? Would nothing stop Constance Hickey?
“I assure you that Miss Dumont is a lady through and through,” he insisted.
She shook her head as she released the apron. “I know Clem, Pastor. Once his mind is made up, it’s done. I’m real sorry, but that’s how it is.”
He wanted to argue. He knew so many ways to show Elizabeth’s education, her dedication, her character. He could paint a picture of a sweet-natured woman in need of a good home, encourage them to think of hiring her as their Christian duty. Yet he sensed Mrs. Tinsdale was right. Her husband would not change his mind, not after it had been poisoned against Elizabeth.
“Thank you, Mrs. Tinsdale,” he said and remounted his borrowed horse to ride back to town.
But all the way home he kept hearing a clock ticking. It was Monday. He’d promised Elizabeth news by Tuesday night. He was running out of time, and the rumors made it impossible to achieve his goal.
Last night Elizabeth had said how much she hated feeling helpless. He understood. Whenever his father had lit into Brandon’s mother or Bo, something inside Brandon had curled up tighter. He could not count the number of times he’d tried to intervene, smiling and cajoling, or how many times he’d earned a cuff or a curse for his trouble. One of the reasons he’d wanted to become a minister was that ministers had power. They championed the causes of the weak and unfortunate. They were called upon to be peacemakers. People listened when they spoke.
And they had a far greater ally listening to their prayers.
Help me, Lord! Do You want her to move away? I can’t see Your plan in any of this.
That feeling of helplessness rubbed against him like a badly made saddle. Perhaps that was the reason he stormed into the parsonage, slamming the door behind him.
“Pastor?” Mrs. Tyson stuck her head out of the parlor as he passed, dust cloth in one hand. “Is everything all right?”
Her brown eyes were turned down in concern. The dear woman did not deserve his anger.
Brandon pasted on a smile. “Everything is fine, Mrs. Tyson. I forgot it was cleaning day. Anything I can do to help?”
“Yes,” Mrs. Hickey said, popping out of his study. “You can come tell me where these books go. They were all over your office.”
She made it sound as if he’d emptied the shelves and tossed their contents to the wind.
“I’m studying those books for their application to Sunday’s sermon,” he told her.
She wrinkled her nose. “Last Sunday’s or next?”
Brandon bit back a sigh. “Just leave them on the desk, Mrs. Hickey. Or, better yet, just leave my study for me to tidy up.”
She stiffened. “And shirk my duty? No such thing! Unlike some people in this town, I know my place.”
Maybe it was the lack of sleep or those persistent feelings of helplessness, but his temper was threatening for the first time in a very long time.
“This is America, Mrs. Hickey,” he informed her. “The only ‘place’ anyone has is following the path God laid down of loving thy neighbor.”
“Well, there’s loving and then there’s loving,” she insisted. “I could tell you stories, Pastor.”
Brandon stood taller, crossing his arms over his chest. “Please do. Who do you imagine is such a terrible person that I wouldn’t have noticed?”
She opened her mouth, and he held up one hand. “And remember—let she who is without sin cast the first stone.”
Mrs. Hickey closed her mouth. He could almost see the thoughts whirling behind her eyes as she weighed her choices: gratifying her gossipy nature or keeping quiet and being seen as a virtuous woman.
Nature, as he often found, won.
She took a few steps forward and lowered her voice. “I am very concerned for our community, Pastor. And the care of those three precious babies. Miss Dumont is not the woman you think her.”
Brandon’s jaw hardened. “On the contrary, Mrs. Hickey. Miss Dumont is exactly the lady I know her to be—bright, energetic, caring. An excellent example of Christian womanhood.”
“I heard she only wants to marry above herself,” Mrs. Hickey insisted. “And her uncle who raised her was just as greedy.”
Bo had obviously filled her in on more than she should know. As Brandon had predicted, she’d taken threads of truth and woven them into a tapestry of lies.
“You are ill-informed,” Brandon told her. “Miss Dumont’s uncle was convicted of swindling his clients, but she is nothing like him. I will not have a member of my congregation treated poorly for the sins of another.”
Mrs. Hickey drew herself up. “Well! You just wait. When those babies are in the orphanage, she’ll show her true colors. She’ll find a way to dig her claws into some wealthy rancher.”
“No, she won’t,” Brandon said, matching her gaze for gaze. “Because if Elizabeth Dumont marries anyone in this town, it’s going to be me.”
The sharp intake of breath from Mrs. Tyson behind him told him he had just made a commitment. Mrs. Hickey’s eyes widened as if she thought so too.
A shame the last person to hear about his intentions was the woman he had just named his bride.
* * *
The day had been going much better than Elizabeth had hoped. Though Jasper still rubbed his cheeks as if something hurt, he was willing to eat and drink, and he no longer lay about listlessly. Indeed, when she took him across the street to see Doctor Clark, the baby tugged at the stethoscope put to his chest and tried to wiggle off the table.
“Louisa was quite right,” the gray-haired doctor told Elizabeth when she lifted Jasper back into her arms. “He appears to be teething. I can’t find anything more wrong with him.”
Elizabeth drew in a breath. “Then he isn’t contagious.”
Louisa’s father smiled, reminding Elizabeth of her friend. “Not in the least. I checked Theo and Eli this morning, and they are fine. Louisa and Annie are ready to help you take them home.”
The three women met outside the doctor’s house. Jasper, Theo and Eli seemed overjoyed about being together again, calling each other “baby” and touching shoulders and hands while grinning. Louisa helped them carry the tots back to the boardinghouse and get them settled.
“Call whenever you need help,” she told Elizabeth with a kind smile. “I’ll come faster next time. I promise.”
She and Elizabeth exchanged hugs before Louisa headed back home.
“I’m glad that’s over,” Annie said. “I feel like I haven’t slept in days.”
Elizabeth felt the same way. “When they nap today, so do we.” She cast the girl a glance. “Unless you’re ready to go home.”
Annie lowered her gaze. “I don’t know what to do. Jamie told me at church that his father is tryi
ng to make up to Ma, but Ma just won’t bend.”
Elizabeth sat on a chair, watching the boys tussle the worn stuffed animals Louisa had told her the Good Samaritan had given them. “Why does she dislike Mr. Coleman so much? You mentioned a ring, but surely that was years ago.”
“Before I was born,” Annie confirmed, perching on the bed. “But the story I was told was that Mr. Coleman’s uncle and my grandfather had a falling-out over a diamond ring. Pa vowed it was stolen. Mr. Coleman says it was won fair and square.” She made a face as if that was how little use she had for the trinket. “I don’t know why they can’t leave the past alone, but they just keep bickering, and now Jamie and I are ruined.”
“You could leave the area,” Elizabeth suggested, bending to keep Jasper from crawling over Theo. “Leave their squabbles behind.”
Annie looked horrified. “But they’re family!”
And family came first. She understood that. She might have left Cambridge years ago, but she’d stayed for her aunt. Brandon and his brother might have struck out on their own after their mother had died, but they’d felt responsible for their father.
And she felt responsible for the triplets. If only there was some way she could stay in Little Horn and care for them!
She and Annie spent the rest of the morning changing and feeding the babies, then taking a quick nap when the boys did. A noise woke Elizabeth, and she jerked upright, only to find that Jasper was poking Eli in the nose and laughing. Thankfully, Eli was laughing too. She gave them their stuffed animals to play with and settled herself in for a long afternoon.
A knock on the door had her hopping to her feet. Annie glanced her way as if surprised by her sudden energy. She couldn’t tell her it was because she hoped to see Brandon on the other side of the door.
Instead, Mrs. Arundel stood there, foot tapping under her long rust-colored skirts. The feather in her hat nodded a greeting. It was the only thing that looked welcoming.
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Arundel,” Elizabeth said, opening the door wider. “Have you come to see the triplets?”