The Rambling Spy

by Mackenzie Morgan

Chapter 28

  Fun in Bridgeport

  Saturday morning, Marcus had Kevin take him to his house. Now that Hayley had her stuff out, he wanted to close it up and put the wards back in place. He couldn’t point to anything in particular, but he had a feeling Lisal had been snooping around again. And although he hadn’t asked any questions, he wondered if Lisal’s snooping had anything to do with Hayley’s decision to stay in town while her chapel was being built.

  By the time he finished, it was lunchtime, so he headed to Marcie’s. After lunch, he went to Bridgeport. He visited with Morris and Gloria for a while and then went in search of Thom. He found him in the stable behind his smithy.

  “Hi, what are you doing back in town?” Thom asked.

  “I didn’t close up my house last weekend, so I came back to do that and put the wards back in place.”

  “Lisal?”

  Marcus nodded. “I’m not sure why, but I had the feeling she’d been in there.”

  “You need to do something about her, especially now that Hayley lives here.”

  “What can I do? I don’t have any proof she’s been in my house, just a feeling.”

  “I’m not talking about that. She still thinks she’s going to marry you.”

  Marcus shook his head. “I’ve never said or done anything to give her that impression, and the few times she’s mentioned it to me, I’ve set her straight. What else can I do?”

  “Are you sure you’ve set her straight? Or did you say something like not now, to keep from hurting her feelings.”

  “No, I’ve been blunt. I’ve told her I’m not in love with her and I’m not going to marry her. How much more straightforward can you get?”

  “What I heard was when I fall in love with you, I’ll marry you,” Marissa said from the doorway. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to eavesdrop. Lisal by any chance?”

  “Hi, Marissa,” Marcus said. “Yeah, Lisal. Thom said I need to set her straight. I thought I had. Do you really think she took it that way? That I’m waiting to fall in love with her?”

  Marissa shrugged. “Probably.”

  “Would it help if I told her I’m in love with Hayley?”

  “That might make matters worse.”

  “Then how do I get through to her?”

  “Marry Hayley!”

  Marcus paused. “Actually, that’s my plan, but I need to give her time to get settled first, and I’m not ready to leave Milhaven yet.”

  Thom grinned. “He wants to fight dragons.”

  Marcus laughed. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get the chance to do that again, but it was fun!” Then he got serious. “By the way, don’t tell anyone what I said. I haven’t talked to Hayley yet.”

  “You haven’t told her?” Marissa asked. “What are you waiting for?”

  “For her to get comfortable running a chapel. Thinking about being a wife right now would be too much.”

  “I think you’re underestimating her,” Marissa said.

  “Are you thinking she’ll still work at the chapel after you get married?” Thom asked.

  “I don’t see why not. We can build a house out back so she’ll be available whenever they need her.”

  “What about after you have children?”

  Marcus shrugged. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. But for now, don’t say anything about what I said.”

  “Does Marcie know?” Marissa asked.

  “I haven’t said anything, but I doubt it would come as a big surprise.”

  “Hayley’s the first woman you’ve ever taken to meet her, isn’t she?”

  Marcus nodded.

  “She knows,” Marissa said with a nod. “I’m going back inside. I came out to tell you I’ve put the kettle on if you two want tea.”

  After Marissa left, Thom asked, “Do you want something to eat? Marissa made a cake earlier today. I’m sure we could talk her into cutting it.”

  Marcus shook his head. “I don’t want anything. Gloria insisted I eat something while I was there, and I ate lunch with Marcie. But if you want something, go ahead. I’ll hang around out here until afternoon clinic is over.”

  “Well, if you don’t mind,” Thom said as he took off his work gloves and set them on the bench. “I won’t be gone long, but feel free to clean the feed buckets and set out fresh feed if you get bored.”

  ~~~~

  Marcus helped Thom until time for dinner. Then he walked over to the chapel.

  Sherri was busy at the stove when she heard someone at the back door. She wiped her hands on one of the kitchen towels and then paused as she wondered if she should call Hayley. Finally, with a shrug, she opened the door. “Marcus! Sister Hayley didn’t tell me you were coming to dinner.”

  Marcus laughed. “Probably because she didn’t know. Can I come in?”

  “Of course.” Sherri stepped out of the way. “I hope you like vegetable soup. That’s what we’re having tonight.”

  “I was thinking of taking the two of you to Kent’s for dinner.”

  Sherri glanced at the pot boiling away on the stove. “I guess we could save this for tomorrow night.”

  “What are we saving for tomorrow?” Hayley asked as she walked in. Then she gave Marcus a hug and grinned at him. “Are you the reason we’re saving something?”

  “I was wondering if the two of you would like to go out to dinner tonight, at Kent’s.”

  Hayley paused. “Would you mind if we ate here?”

  “Of course not. I just thought you might enjoy an evening out.”

  “That’s a nice idea, but we haven’t had our own place very long, and I’d rather eat here. We can go down later for some scog though. Now, let me show you around before we eat. We finished getting everything the way we want it last night.”

  After dinner, when Sherri started to clear the dishes, Marcus shook his head. “I’ve got this. You two go do whatever you need to do before we go to Kent’s.”

  “But…” Sherri started to protest.

  Marcus shook his head. “No, I’ve got it. Trust me. I know how to wash dishes, don’t I, Hayley?”

  Hayley nodded as she stood up. “Let him do it if he wants to, Sherri. He doesn’t get much practice in Milhaven and I’d hate for him to forget how. Let’s get the exam rooms ready for tomorrow while he’s clearing up in here.”

  An hour later, the chapel as well as the kitchen had been cleaned, and the three of them set off for Kent’s. When they got there, Lisal was nowhere to be seen. With a sigh of relief, Marcus ushered Hayley and Sherri to a corner table and sat with his back towards the corner.

  Hayley whispered, “Want to be sure no one comes at you from behind?”

  Marcus nodded. “Always a good idea here.”

  “I’m not going to ask why.”

  “Good.”

  A couple of minutes later, Kent set three mugs of scog on the table and asked Hayley how she was enjoying her chapel. Next he asked Sherri if she was enjoying being an aide, and then he asked Marcus how long he was going to be around. “Not that I have anything I want you to do, but several others in here wanted to know if you’ll be here long enough to tackle a few jobs.”

  Marcus shook his head. “I’m leaving tomorrow morning, but if it can wait, tell them to let Thom know. I’ll be here for a week towards the end of December.”

  Kent nodded. “I’ll pass the word.”

  After Kent left, Hayley, Sherri, and Marcus sipped scog and chatted, sometimes with each other and sometimes with neighbors who dropped by their table to say hello.

  When they were ready to go, Marcus started to pay Kent, but the older man shook his head. “Wife’s been wanting some shelves put up in the kitchen, and I hate doing that stuff. If you’ll hang half a dozen shelves for me next time you’re in town, your drinks are on me.”

  “Could be six weeks before I can do it. Are you sure she’s willing to wait?”

  “She’s been nagging me for a year. A few more weeks won’t matter, especially if I tell her you said you’d
do it.”

  Marcus nodded. “I’ll take care of it next time I’m around. Thanks.”

  As the three of them left the tavern, Lisal, who had been keeping an eye on them while helping her mother in the kitchen, said, “Mother, I’m not feeling well. I’m going to get some fresh air.”

  “All right,” her mother said as she continued washing up. “You can go on home if you want to.”

  “I might do that.” Lisal slipped on her cloak. “See you later.”

  She’d heard Marcus was at Thom’s that afternoon and had planned to go by Marcus’s house after they closed up for the night. But this would be better. She’d wait until he dropped Hayley and Sherri off at the chapel, then run into him and let him walk her home, or maybe she’d suggest having tea at his house while they caught up. It had been over a year since they’d last talked and they needed to make some plans.

  Lisal slipped into the shadows and made her way along the alley that ran behind the buildings, keeping pace with the trio making their way towards the chapel. The chapel was the last building on the other side of the road, a little past the last building on her side. She peeked around the corner of her last building, fully expecting to see them go to the front door, but they turn towards the back of the chapel instead. She wanted to follow them, but there was no way she could explain being behind the chapel.

  Lisal frowned and stepped back into the shadows. She decided Hayley must have shut down the front of the chapel and wanted to use the back door. She felt sure Marcus would be back out front as soon as they went in. Lisal edged her way to the front of the building to watch for him.

  Half an hour later, she began to wonder what was keeping him. She made her way down the side of the chapel and slipped past the darkened windows to the back. All the windows at the back had light pouring through them, so she ducked down until she was directly under one and eased herself up until her eyes cleared the bottom ledge of the window. Sherri’s bedroom. She ducked back down and crept along until she got to the next lighted window. Kitchen. Back down, past a couple of windows that only had a faint bit of light spilling through them to the next lighted window. She eased up and saw Marcus and Hayley sitting on a couch looking entirely too comfortable.

  Lisal wanted to bang on the window and scream at Hayley for trying to steal Marcus, but before she gave into the urge, she dropped back down to think.

  She had to break up this little party for two, but she had to do it carefully. Otherwise Marcus would get mad at her for spying on him. As she squatted on the ground, trying to decide what to do, she kept remembering what she’d seen and got angrier and angrier. She clinched her fist as her head started to ache.

  Headache. She could go to the front door and say she needed to see the sister. After all, she’d told her mother she felt sick when she left the tavern and that’s why the town had built the chapel in the first place, to have someone around to take care of people when they got sick.

  Lisal stayed close to the ground until she was back out at the street. Then she stood up, marched up to the front door, and pulled the string for the night bell.

  ~~~~

  Marcus jumped when he heard the clang of the bell and spun towards the door. Hayley couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s all right,” she said as she got up. “It’s the bell for the front door.”

  “That bell’s at the front door? It sounded like it’s right outside your room.”

  Before Hayley could answer, they heard Sherri call out, “I’ll get it.”

  “In a way, it is,” Hayley said while she waited to see who it was. “Sherri and I are both sound sleepers. Neither of us would hear someone knock on the front door, so I asked Thom if he could come up with something to let us know when someone was there. He put a bell right above the hall door with a rope that runs through the attic to the front porch. Pull the rope, ring the bell.”

  Marcus nodded in approval. “That’s a good idea. But maybe you should go see why someone rang it.”

  “Oh, yeah.” Hayley hurried out of the room.

  Marcus hated the idea that anyone was sick enough to need Hayley and he was curious as to who it was, so he used his seeing eye to find out. As soon as he saw Lisal, he clenched his teeth and shook his head. He had no doubt that he was the reason she was here, not illness. With a sigh of frustration, he settled in to wait.

  Thom’s words from earlier played over and over in his head. He needed to do something about her. Trouble was he had no idea what.

  Nearly an hour later, Hayley came back in and sat down. “It’s Lisal. I have no idea what’s wrong with her, but she says she’s dizzy, her vision’s blurry, she feels sick on her stomach, her throat hurts, her head hurts, and her blood feels cold.”

  Marcus frowned. “Her blood feels cold?”

  Hayley shrugged. “That’s a new one on me. At first I thought she meant chills, but she insists it’s not chills, it’s cold blood. She’s adamant about staying the night, says she needs to be here in case she gets worse. Sherri’s getting her settled in the ward.”

  “You aren’t planning to sit up with her all night, are you?”

  “I don’t know at this point.” Hayley sighed. “Personally, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with her. I think she figured out you were here and that’s why she’s here. But I could be wrong. She could be sick with something I’ve never seen before. I’m too new at this to take any chances. I may not stay up all night but I plan to be in the room with her. You’re welcome to sleep in the guest room, but I’ll have to be in the ward.”

  Marcus shook his head. “I’m going over to Thom’s. I may stay there tonight or I may go home. But no matter where I end up, I’ll see you tomorrow before I leave.”

  Hayley nodded and stood back up. “I need to get back down there.”

  Marcus stood up, hugged her, and kissed her gently. “I’m sorry she’s such a problem. I know it’s my fault, but I don’t know how to fix it.”

  Hayley rested her head on his chest for a moment and then stepped back a little. “Well, don’t worry about it tonight. She’s taken care of for now. Go see Thom and have a good time.” She gave him another quick kiss. “See you in the morning.”

  After Hayley left the sitting room, Marcus gathered the few things he’d brought with him and left, heading for Thom’s back door.

  When Thom opened the door at Marcus’s knock, he frowned. “What are you doing here? I thought you were staying at the chapel tonight.”

  “So did I,” Marcus said as he walked in and sat down at the table.

  “So? What happened?” Thom sat down across from Marcus.

  “The bell rang, the one you rigged up to the front door. Great idea by the way. I’m going to mention that to Myron and let him pass it on to Sister Brena.”

  “Glad to know it works.”

  “Too well,” Marcus grumbled. “It was Lisal.”

  “What?”

  Marcus sighed. “She said she was sick and described quite an assortment of symptoms. She insisted that she was too sick to go home, so they stuck her in a bed and Hayley’s going to sit up with her all night.”

  Thom shook his head. “You have got to do something about that woman.”

  “I know. But what?”

  “The only thing I can suggest is marry Hayley. That would put an end to it.”

  Marcus snorted. “You know, I’m not sure it would. I can see Lisal doing something to interrupt our wedding night. What I need is someone else for her to focus on. Can you think of anyone?”

  Thom thought for a minute and shook his head. “I don’t know of anyone I dislike that much.”

  Marcus rolled his eyes. “I know what you mean, but I’m desperate here. See if you can think of someone. Or better yet, ask Marissa to ask around. I’d pay a matchmaker to find someone for her, but I don’t know any matchmakers around here.”

  “I’ll ask her, but don’t hold your breath. She doesn’t like Lisal any more than I do.”

  Marcus nodded. “Same wit
h Marcie, or I’d have asked her a long time ago. Mind if I sleep here tonight?”

  “You can have the couch or we can make up the spare bed in Parsyn’s room.”

  “Couch will do. But I’ll need a pillow and a quilt.”

  “I’ll get them and meet you in there.”

  Half an hour later, Marcus stretched out on Thom’s couch and closed his eyes. His last thoughts before sleep overtook him were of Hayley sitting beside Lisal’s bed, pretending to take care of someone who was pretending to be sick. Too bad Myron’s Aunt Dara wasn’t anywhere around. He’d hand Lisal off to her in a heartbeat. They deserved each other.

  ~~~~

  Lisal woke up shortly after daybreak Sunday morning. Sister Hayley was sound asleep in the chair near the door. A wicked grin spread across Lisal’s face. Whatever the sister and Marcus had planned for the night before had definitely been thwarted.

  As she stretched and eased herself out of bed, she congratulated herself for not only tossing the sister out of Marcus’s house, but getting Marcus out of the chapel. After she dressed, Lisal slipped out of the room and let herself out the front door.

  The next step was getting the sister out of Bridgeport, and she knew just how she was going to do it. Sister Hayley might as well start packing.

  ~~~~

  Lisal waited until Monday afternoon to put the next phase of her plan into action. After the lunch crowd left the tavern, she took advantage of the mid-afternoon lull to go see Morris. He wasn’t at his store, so she went to his house.

  When Gloria answered the door, Lisal said, “Is Director Morris here? I need to have a word with him.”

  “I’ll let him know you’re here.” Gloria stepped back to let Lisal enter and then showed her to the parlor.

  Instead of waiting in the parlor, Lisal followed Gloria through the house to Morris’s office. When Gloria opened the office door, Lisal stepped in front of her, said, “Thank you,” and shut the door in Gloria’s face. Then she turned to Morris and said, “I’ve come to see you on a sensitive matter, and we need to keep it as private as possible.”

  Morris leaned back in his chair and gave her a nod to continue.

  “I had occasion to go to the chapel Saturday night. I started feeling ill after dinner and needed to see the sister. Her assistant answered the door and kept me waiting for the longest time before the sister could see me. Turns out she was entertaining a man in her room.” Lisal paused, but Morris didn’t react. “I know how hard you worked to get a chapel here, and to entice Sister Brena to send someone to run it. I’m sure you expected the resident sister to have enough respect for the people of Bridgeport not to turn the chapel into a brothel.”