Ruse

by Murray, Tamela Hancock

  Katherine suppressed a groan. Try as she might to confess, an admission wasn’t going to take place. Not with Otis and Miranda dominating the conversation as they were. To speak now would only serve to embarrass Miranda. The thought of her friend’s tears and recriminations left Katherine with a sorrowful feeling. To reveal all would embarrass Miranda and cause her to break her promise. Katherine couldn’t find it in her heart to do either. Any courage she had mustered to speak the truth evaporated. “Excuse me, but I think I’ll have another glass of punch.”

  “Where are my manners? I should have noticed your cup was running low and pardoned myself so I could freshen it for you. Please forgive my breach of courtesy.” Otis reached for her cup.

  “Not at all.” Katherine noticed that Miranda’s cup and Otis’s were half full. She was tempted to deny him, but he took the cup, leaving her alone with Miranda. Katherine saw an opportunity too good not to pursue. She cleared her throat and started speaking so quickly that her words almost ran into each other. “Miranda, maybe we should call off the whole plan regarding the horse tricks.”

  Miranda’s eyes widened as she shushed Katherine. “Don’t speak so loudly. Someone will overhear.”

  “That wouldn’t be such a disaster, I’m beginning to think.” She pursed her lips and looked at the tips of her shoes. “I really think we should call it off.”

  “No. Please. I don’t want to lose face in front of Otis. Not now.”

  A thought flashed through Katherine’s mind. “You like him, don’t you? You really like him.”

  Miranda blushed. “He can see me ride—as myself—another time.”

  Otis returned with two full cups of punch. “I beg your pardon, ladies, but the line for the punch was unbelievable for such a small gathering. Mrs. Sharpe let the bowl run dry and had to replenish the supply. I do believe the entire assembly ran out of punch at the same time.” He handed Katherine her cup. “But the wait does mean that I can offer you a beverage freshly prepared.”

  “Thank you. That is splendid.” Miranda said.

  “Yes,” Katherine said as she accepted her cup. “Splendid.”

  “As for the wait, never worry for a moment, Otis,” Miranda hastened to assure him. “Katherine and I were sharing entertaining confidences, were we not, Katherine?”

  “Um, yes. Confidences indeed.”

  Otis chuckled and took a sip of his drink. “Ah, the whisperings of the fairer sex. Intrigue we men shall never be privy to nor understand.”

  “Indeed you shall not!” Miranda teased. “For we women need to maintain a few mysteries to keep ourselves interesting to you men, do we not?”

  “I’m not so certain. I would venture a guess that you would remain interesting to us, mysteries or no.”

  As Miranda giggled, Katherine felt her eyebrows rise. Did she ascertain something in Otis’s tone that revealed he held a mystery as well? She wondered.

  ❧

  “I’m here!” Miranda called out the next day, catching Katherine at the stables as planned. Seeming to be oblivious to the drizzle that had fallen on and off throughout the day, she flashed Katherine a winning smile. She dismounted from her dapple-gray mare and swept her hand over her red cropped riding jacket and form-fitting riding pants. “How do I look?”

  “Great.” Katherine looked down at her own outfit, which mirrored her friend’s. “We look almost identical,” she had to admit.

  Katherine looked back toward the lake and saw Otis approaching, carrying a wooden bucket. He’d been fishing with Father for the better part of the day. No doubt she would hear many stories about his successful trip.

  Miranda hissed, “That’s him! If I don’t hide, Katherine, he’ll see us dressed alike and know something is amiss!”

  Panic seized Katherine. She watched Miranda head into the barn. The plan was set to commence.

  Katherine turned toward her visitor and put on her most cheerful face. “Hello, Otis!”

  He quickened his pace, approaching her with increasing speed. When he drew close enough to speak to her without raising his voice, Katherine noticed the dank smell of muddy water, wet grass, and fish. He seemed not to notice that outdoor aromas clung to him, a fact that Katherine found amusing in the usually immaculate Otis.

  “I came here as soon as your father and I ran out of bait and called it a day. We had an excellent day. I caught an exceedingly large trout that should feed the whole family for one meal at least.” He extracted the fish from the bucket and showed it to her.

  Katherine concentrated her thoughts on how the fried fish would taste, its flaky meat tender and buttery. “That sounds wonderful. I can fry it up for you tonight.”

  “Good.” He held up the fish for his own inspection and studied it, a boastful look upon his countenance. “I’ll dress this fellow here as soon as I see you jump. I don’t want to tarry, though, as it wouldn’t be fair for me to leave your father with all the work to do. He’s at the house now, dressing his catch.” Otis, much to Katherine’s relief, returned his own catch of the day to the wooden bucket.

  She nodded and ducked into the barn. Miranda saw Katherine enter and delayed leaving long enough to make Otis think Katherine had mounted the horse. Then she trotted out in style.

  Katherine watched as Miranda and Ash jumped the practice hurdles, one right after the other, in a fluid motion. Still hidden in the barn, Katherine gasped in awe. If only she could make her horse jump in such a way!

  Katherine had relaxed until they approached the last hurdle. She watched as the horse slipped. Miranda pulled on the reins, but her efforts proved futile. She lost her hold, fell off the horse, and landed on her side on the ground.

  Katherine didn’t think about what could happen as she sprinted toward Miranda. No matter how embarrassed she would be, no matter how much pride she would have to throw aside, she didn’t care. She had to make sure her friend was all right.

  From the corner of her eye, Katherine noticed that Ash had stumbled but recovered. Well-trained and faithful animal that she was, the horse stood beside the hurdle and whinnied, watching what would become of her mistress.

  Otis ran to Miranda in the meantime. “Katherine!” he called, obviously not realizing the deception at first. Raw fear made itself evident on his face. He really did care about her! Her heart soared, then plunged.

  Reaching Miranda first, he knelt beside her, although she had already recovered and was sitting upright on the ground. He looked into her face. “Miranda?” He paused. “Miranda! What is the meaning of this?”

  Nine

  Katherine could hear the anger in Otis’s voice. Guilt shot through her. If he was angry, he had every right to be. The ruse had been exposed, and Otis was about to discover that he had been duped.

  All she could do was try to make amends.

  Katherine bounded to their sides. “I can explain.”

  Otis stood and helped Miranda rise to her feet. He pointed to Miranda, and then to Katherine. “You. . .you two are dressed alike. Why? What’s going on here?”

  Otis’s glare stole Katherine’s courage. “I’ll explain later. We need to tend to Miranda now.” She took her friend’s hand. “Miranda? How are you?”

  Miranda nodded before a wry grin bent her lips. “I’ve felt better, but I’ll be fine.”

  “Are you in any pain?”

  “No.”

  “That’s a relief.” Katherine exhaled. “You’re standing, and that’s a good sign. Try to move your arms and neck. Can you?”

  Miranda lifted her arms and rotated them back and forth. To show how well she had recovered, she danced a triumphant little jig. Katherine clasped her hands to her chest. “Praise the Lord!”

  Christopher and Vera approached, scaring Katherine since, too absorbed in Miranda’s plight, she hadn’t seen or heard them. “Mrs. Jones said ya’ll were out here. What’s going on?”

  Otis’s face darkened. “What’s going on? What’s going on? I have been deceived, that’s what’s going on.”
>
  Christopher shot Katherine a look that conveyed both chastisement and fear.

  “It’s all my fault, really,” Miranda rushed to elaborate. “I took a little fall. Nothing unusual in this business. Everything’s fine now. Please don’t concern yourself with me.”

  Christopher’s eyes filled with compassion. “I’m so sorry, Miranda. Is there anything I can do to help you?”

  “You can help me recover my pride, I suppose. If that’s possible.” Miranda laughed, a sure sign she had returned to her ebullient self.

  Christopher nodded. “Good. But perhaps we should postpone our talent show practice to another day. Apparently none of us is in any state to practice our musical number at present.”

  “Oh, Christopher!” Katherine said. “I’m so sorry. I forgot all about our practice today. And Vera, I apologize to you, too. Look, we can find some way—”

  “Never mind, Katherine.” She looked as though she felt sorry for her friend.

  Otis glared at Christopher. “You act as though you know what happened here.”

  “No, Christopher and Vera had no part of this,” Katherine explained.

  “Be that as it may,” Otis said in a controlled voice, “I am very vexed with you, Katherine. I may not be the sharpest pencil in the box, but I can see what’s going on here. You and Miranda dressed alike, and you let her use her skill to make me think it was you who was jumping hurdles. Is that right?”

  Katherine looked down at the ground. “I’m afraid so.”

  “It’s all my fault, Otis.”

  Katherine breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, Miranda was ready to confess, and Katherine was free.

  Otis turned to Miranda. “Your fault?”

  “Yes. I wrote all those things about Katherine, knowing she wasn’t as skilled as I claimed. I never thought you’d visit, but when you did, I panicked. I thought up this whole plan, and I begged her to go along with me in the ruse. She tried and tried and tried to get me to change my mind, to come clean, to confess everything right away, but I was the one who resisted.” Tears rolled down her cheeks. She sniffled.

  “There, there, now.” Otis patted her on the shoulder.

  Miranda nodded and took a handkerchief from her jacket pocket. “I—I was too prideful and didn’t want to be embarrassed. I didn’t want you to know I had lied. I’m so sorry.”

  “I see that you are,” Otis cooed.

  Miranda looked up at him with tear-drenched eyes. “Can. . . can you ever forgive me?”

  “Of course I can.”

  “And can you forgive me?” Katherine interjected. “Like Miranda said, I didn’t want to be a part of this. I was only going along with it for Miranda’s sake, and I’m sorry I didn’t have the fortitude to stand my ground.”

  “What she says is true. Katherine was being a friend to me,” Miranda agreed.

  “In that case, yes, I can forgive you, too, Katherine.” Otis turned back to Miranda. “I can’t believe you both went to all this trouble just to impress me.”

  “To impress you? I suppose you could look at it that way, yes,” Miranda said.

  “But you shouldn’t have risked your life, my dear,” Otis said.

  “I did no such thing. The hurdles were easy ones. I admit I was surprised when Ash faltered.” She looked down at the ground and pointed. “That’s the culprit.”

  They all observed a patch of mud.

  Christopher studied it. “That’s enough to throw anyone.” He threw Katherine a comforting look and touched her on the shoulder briefly but drew his hand back before anyone else noticed.

  “The mud was concealed by grass,” Miranda said. “I know because I didn’t see it myself, and if I had, I would have led the horse around it and not attempted that last hurdle. No one could have predicted that Ash would falter. And it’s not as though I have never fallen. The only thing that’s hurt on my account is my vanity.” She chuckled.

  “Perhaps, but I must say, despite your good intention, I am quite upset by this development. I never meant to cause anyone to tell a lie. That distresses me greatly. Perhaps since I have proven to be such a negative influence, I should pack my bags and leave.”

  “Leave?” Katherine asked. “Otis, I know this has all come as a shock to you, but please do not resort to hyperbole.”

  “I’m not so sure I am. I will have to think about what my next course of action will be. Maybe I should take the train out on Monday morning.”

  “But what about the talent show? Will you stay for that? Please?” Miranda implored.

  Otis set his heels firmly in the ground. “I don’t know if I can be convinced.”

  “At least watch us rehearse,” Katherine suggested, hoping he might change his mind.

  Otis withdrew his pocket watch and looked at the time. “It’s only two o’clock. I should have time to get to the train station to purchase my ticket if I leave right away.”

  “Two?” Christopher questioned him, withdrawing his own watch. “I’m afraid your timepiece is not accurate, Otis. My watch says it’s already quarter to three, and I have mine set by the jeweler according to railroad time.”

  “Then your watch should certainly be accurate.” Otis harrumphed. “I did notice my watch seemed to act in a sluggish manner before I departed South Carolina. Apparently its performance has not improved since then.” He set the hands to the proper time.

  “Then it’s settled. You don’t have time to do anything about your return trip today. You may as well stay for the rehearsal,” Katherine pointed out.

  “All right, then.” He didn’t seem too upset that his plans to leave had been derailed. Katherine had a feeling his suggestion had been more bluster than intent.

  “Good!” Miranda took him by the arm, a development that seemed to please Otis.

  The group walked back to the house in silence. Katherine became immersed in her thoughts. Even though the incident with Miranda had tarnished her relationship with Otis, Katherine was glad they had committed to participating together in the talent show. That meant she could be close to Christopher when they practiced for their performance.

  The afternoon had told many a tale. At the pivotal moment of despair, Christopher, not Otis, chose to comfort her. In that instant, Katherine realized that she had ignored a treasure living right next door. She knew she could love Christopher as more than a friend. But after her mistakes, could he ever return her feelings? If he couldn’t, she knew she would be getting what she deserved. She had done wrong out of a desire to please a friend.

  Now she could see beyond any doubt that what her friend had asked of her was wrong. She never should have let herself get involved in Miranda’s schemes. In her heart, Katherine knew that Miranda hadn’t acted to embarrass Katherine intentionally. In fact, Miranda had the highest stake in making sure the ruse was a success. But in hindsight, Katherine discerned that she shouldn’t have let Miranda define their friendship. She should have stood up for herself and insisted they come clean about Miranda’s letters to Otis. She had learned so many lessons during Otis’s visit: the limits of friendship, the importance of courage, and where her heart lay in regard to Christopher.

  Then fear struck.

  Heavenly Father, has my misguided attempt to help Miranda caused me to lose Christopher forever?

  Otis left them to join Father in dressing the catch. As Vera, Miranda, Christopher, and Katherine crossed the porch, Katherine suppressed her disturbing thoughts. Nothing would be gained if the practice for the talent show proved to be a similar disappointment because she was distracted.

  Mother regarded them as they entered the kitchen where she was in the process of rolling smooth, creamy dough for dinner rolls. Katherine took in a deliberate breath, inhaling the appealing scent of fresh yeast that filled the kitchen.

  “My, but we have quite a crowd here,” Mother observed. “How is everyone?”

  Christopher answered first, followed by the others’ exchange of pleasantries. Mother offered glasses of refreshing
mint tea and cups of coffee. As they relaxed for a few moments in camaraderie, Katherine felt eternal gratitude that no one mentioned the mishap with the horse. Nervousness seared her throat as Otis entered, but he busied himself with a quick cleanup at the washbasin and then excused himself to his room. She had the distinct feeling that since he had made no mention of the mishap at that moment, he planned to let it pass. She breathed a sigh of relief. At least he had shown her a small portion of mercy.

  “Is everyone ready for practice?” Otis asked after he had taken a brief interlude to freshen himself. Katherine couldn’t help but notice combed hair, clean clothes, and the aroma of spicy shaving lotion, no doubt applied to impress Miranda.

  She cut her glance to Christopher. He still looked unsullied in a crisp white shirt and blue and white seersucker pants. Vera’s encounter with the outdoors left her equally unspoiled, appearing in white and yellow as she did. Even Miranda, dirtied as she was from her fall, beamed so brightly no one would notice how much mud her pants had accumulated.

  “I’m more than ready to begin,” Katherine offered. “Mother, would you care to watch us perform?”

  “I wish I could, but I’m too busy with this dough at the moment. Do play loudly enough so I can hear, will you?”

  “Of course.” She managed a smile.

  As they rehearsed their numbers in the parlor, Katherine noticed that Otis’s mood improved. He played with more gusto than usual. She found the development to be no surprise. Miranda provided them with an enthusiastic audience, clapping in resounding approval whether or not they had missed notes. Every once in a while, Mother called out encouragement from the kitchen.