Caleb’s finger brushed her lips. “Must I speak to your uncle if I wish to renegotiate the agreement, or may I discuss the matter directly with you?”
Leah looked at him out of the corner of her eye. Did he want her to be a true wife? Was that what he meant? He was so close she could barely think. “There’s no need to speak to Uncle Abram. I can speak for myself.”
Caleb touched her cheek with the back of his finger. “And what do you say, Leah?”
She turned her head to look at him, but his lips were on hers before she knew what was happening. His mouth, soft and warm and tender, touched hers with exquisite gentleness, and her body sang in response. She relaxed into his embrace, and the rest of the world disappeared. There was nothing except this man, his lips and his arms, and his desire for her.
How could it be true?
Caleb pulled away, and the world rushed in where his lips had been. The matron seated behind them cleared her throat, and a wide-eyed young girl watched with interest. No one kissed in public, not even couples who’d been married for decades. What had Caleb been thinking?
Leah covered her mouth with the tips of her fingers and looked at Caleb. He was waiting for an answer. Was she ready to be a real wife? She opened her mouth to speak, but could only produce the barest of whispers. “I—”
Why had her voice failed her now?
“I—” Why could she never say the important things that needed to be said?
Caleb slid away from her. “I trust you’ll let me know your answer when you have one.” He removed a watch from his pocket. “We should be home in an hour or so. I think I’ll stretch my legs and get some fresh air.”
Leah watched him walk to the back of the car and step out onto the observation platform. Her lips still tickled from the kiss, and her heart still danced with joy, but her mind feared to believe. He hadn’t wanted to marry her, but now he wanted to change their arrangement. What did that mean? She’d been wrong on her wedding day. Did she dare to hope now?
Happiness surged through Leah’s heart when she spotted Rose and the children at the station. Thank goodness the telegram Caleb sent from Columbus had reached them. Caleb stepped off the car and turned to help Leah do the same, but she held back. Stephen spotted his father, and she wanted to watch the reunion.
“Papa!” Stephen yelled as he tore through the crowd and threw himself around Caleb’s legs.
Caleb lowered to one knee and embraced the boy.
“Oh Papa,” Olivia cried as she reached the pair. “What’s happened to you?”
Caleb held out one arm to include his daughter in the embrace. “I’m fine, Olivia. Just fine. Nothing a few weeks at home won’t cure.”
Rose came up behind the children, her hand over her mouth in obvious shock at Caleb’s altered appearance. Rose’s gaze found Leah. “Oh my dear,” she said, holding out her arms to Leah. “Thank you for bringing our Caleb home where he belongs.”
Leah descended the steps and returned the older woman’s embrace. “I’m glad to be home.”
“Even though you wrote of Caleb’s injury and illness, I admit I’m taken aback,” Rose said. “He’s lost so much weight. And his beautiful black hair has begun to turn gray.”
Caleb stood and embraced his aunt. “I don’t want to hear another word of concern about me. I’m home, and before you know it, I’ll be starting the spring planting.”
Rose dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief. “Thank the Lord for your safe return.”
A woman’s voice called above the crowd. “Leah?”
Leah turned to see Aunt Cynthia standing on the platform.
“Oh yes,” Rose said. “I sent word to your aunt and uncle that you and Caleb would be home today.”
Leah rushed into her aunt’s embrace. “Oh Aunt Cynthia. It’s so good to see thee.”
Happy relief shone from her aunt’s kind face. “Thanks be to the Lord thee has returned safely. Where is Matthew?”
Leah stepped back and looked into her aunt’s eyes. “He decided to stay in the capital.” Leah removed her cousin’s letter from her reticule and placed it in her aunt’s hand. “He’s working at Seminary Hospital.”
Aunt Cynthia clutched the letter to her chest and gazed questioningly at Leah. “Has he joined the army?”
“No. Fear not.” Leah felt a tug on her skirt and looked down to see Stephen’s ecstatic face.
“Let’s go home, Leah!” Stephen said. “Joseph says he’ll come back and get the baggage. Let’s go!”
Leah turned to her aunt. “Matthew is fine, Aunt Cynthia. He said he’d found a way to serve his country without raising a weapon to his fellow man.”
Stephen interrupted the women again. “Let’s go, Leah! Papa is waiting for you.”
“Thee should go with thy family,” Aunt Cynthia said. “I will read my letter. No doubt I’ll need time to pray about my son’s decision.”
Leah squeezed her aunt’s hand. “Come to the house soon. I’ve missed thee, and I have much to talk to thee about.”
Cynthia nodded and turned away while Stephen continued to tug on Leah. “I’m coming, Stephen. My goodness, thee pulls like a mule.”
“Aunt Rose said the same thing,” Stephen replied. “Except she said I kicked like a mule.”
How like Stephen to consider the comparison a compliment. Leah laughed, took the boy’s hand, and joined Caleb and the others in the surrey. As Joseph drove away from the station, Leah looked for Aunt Cynthia. She would need time to accept Matthew’s decision, but at least he hadn’t broken the Friends’ Testament of Peace. Leah prayed he never would.
Chapter 9
Caleb’s first days at home were busy ones. Well-wishers kept the parlor full from afternoon to evening, each visitor curious about Caleb’s experiences. He surveyed the farm, studied the accounts, and pronounced everything better than he’d left it.
Leah hadn’t missed the tinge of injured pride in his voice, but it was Rose who’d rushed to reassure him. “We managed,” Rose said, “but just barely. You are needed here, Caleb, and you were sorely missed.”
Upon hearing her aunt’s statement, Olivia had wrapped her arms around her father’s neck. “I hope you never leave again, Papa.”
Caleb smiled and hugged his daughter. “Thank you, Olivia. You are growing into a beautiful young woman. The man who claims you for his wife will be most fortunate indeed.”
Olivia’s face had shone with pleasure. She hugged her father again and then walked to Leah’s side and hugged her. “Thank you,” she whispered into Leah’s ear.
Leah smiled and nodded, accepting the girl’s affection. Once free of her anger and pain, Olivia had become a loving child, generous and eager to please.
On Sunday Leah hurried to get the children ready to attend worship services with their father. As the children and Rose climbed into the surrey, Leah joined Joseph in the buggy.
“Where are you going?” Caleb called to her.
“To First Day meeting.”
Caleb walked to the buggy. “Why not join us at our church today? It is my first Sunday back, and I’d like for all of us to go to services together.”
“But Joseph and I always go to meeting together.”
“Can’t you miss one Sunday? Come with us, Leah. I’d like you to come.”
Leah looked at Joseph. “Does thee mind?”
Joseph smiled amiably. “Course not, Miss Leah. I know the Friends will welcome me whether you’re there or not.”
Leah looked down at Caleb. “Thee knew I was a Friend when thee married me.”
Caleb rolled his eyes, a sure sign his patience was wearing. “I’m not trying to convert you, Leah. I’d just like it if the whole family went to church together.”
Why was she hesitating? There was no reason she couldn’t go to the Methodist church with her new family. The Friends wouldn’t criticize her, and Caleb wanted it. “All right,” she said, taking the hand he offered and climbing down from the buggy.
An hour lat
er the Whitakers arrived at the same brick building where she’d been married. The sound of singing met her ears as she climbed down from the surrey, and she realized the services had already started.
“Are we late?” she asked Caleb.
“Nothing to worry about,” he answered dismissively. “There’s no penalty for tardiness.”
Olivia took one of Caleb’s hands, and Stephen the other. Leah and Rose walked side-by-side behind them.
How strange the service was with its music and gaily dressed women. But she was a Whitaker now, and even though she’d never discard her membership in the Society of Friends, she could find a place in her heart for Caleb’s church. She missed the Quaker’s silent worship and wished for a longer moment of prayer so she could quiet her mind and communicate with the Holy Spirit, but there was no denying the joy she saw on the faces of the congregation as they praised the Lord.
When the service ended, many of Caleb’s friends crowded around him. “Good to have you home,” a bald man said, shaking Caleb’s hand so vigorously Leah was sure she saw Caleb wince. “You showed those Rebs,” another man said, clapping Caleb on the back. An older woman wearing a tiny bonnet with an enormous feather pulled Caleb’s head to her bosom. “Oh my word, Caleb Whitaker. I thank the good Lord every day for your safe return.” At least Caleb had the good manners to blush as he pulled away from her improper embrace.
Leah watched the exchanges with patient forbearance until a younger woman dressed in black approached. Her pale complexion and graceful manner reminded Leah of a swan on a placid lake. Her blond hair curled under a beribboned velvet cap.
Caleb bowed slightly as he took the hand she offered. “Good morning, Lucinda.”
“It is a good morning now that I see you,” the woman answered, “but no day is good since I lost my Richard.”
“My deepest sympathy for your loss,” Caleb said, “but you are looking well.”
The petite woman stepped closer to Caleb, dipped her head, and looked up at him with wide green eyes. “Thank you. Your family is so fortunate to have you back. I am quite alone now, with no one to look after me.”
An invisible hand tightened around Leah’s throat. Was that woman actually flirting with Caleb? Leah crossed her arms in front of her chest and narrowed her eyes.
“I am always at your service, Lucinda. You merely need to call, and I will come.”
Had she heard correctly? Had Caleb responded with his own flirtation? Acid rose in Leah’s throat.
Lucinda’s voice was soft and feminine, with a musical lilt women usually reserved for talking to babies. “How gallant you are, Caleb. I heard you were wounded, but I don’t see any change in you at all. You’re still as handsome and fit as ever.”
Caleb smiled politely. “Thank you, Lucinda.”
That was too much. Leah wouldn’t stand by while her husband spoke so inappropriately to another woman! But before she could break up the pair, Reverend Harrison interrupted them.
“Caleb Whitaker, finally home and back in the bosom of your loving family,” the minister said. “Thank the Lord.”
Caleb shook the minister’s hand. “Thank you, Reverend Harrison. It’s good to be home. I was just telling Lucinda how nice it is to see her again.”
Leah could stand no more. She turned away from the crowd and marched out of the church. Anger lurched in her stomach as she recalled Caleb’s words. “All she has to do is call, and he’ll come running,” she muttered through clenched teeth, “like a puppy to a bowl of milk.”
Had Caleb forgotten he was a married man? It might not be much of a marriage, but he had freely spoken the vows. He was bound to her. He had no right to engage in such talk with another woman.
“Leah!” Stephen ran to her side. “What are you doing out here by yourself? Mrs. Harrison has invited us for coffee and cake. I’m supposed to bring you back.”
The anger jumped from her stomach to her chest, causing Leah to fight for breath. “Thee should go back inside,” she instructed the boy. “I’ll be there shortly.”
Stephen squinted at Leah, as though he sensed something was wrong. But Leah knew where the five-year-old’s loyalties lay. “Thy cake is waiting.”
Stephen ran back toward the church. “Hurry up, Leah,” he called over his shoulder, “or there might not be a piece for you.”
If only Leah could calm herself, she’d be able to join the family. But how did one calm the kind of anger Leah felt? It was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of anger, the type that erupted from deep wells of disappointment and rejection. Leah’s outrage was hot with spite and prickly with indignation.
Leah paced the length of the walkway in front of the church, trying to soothe her anger. But the rage wouldn’t subside.
She was the one who’d traveled to Washington to rescue Caleb from that horrible hospital. She was the one who’d stayed up night after night to nurse him. And yet all of Caleb’s attention had been for the beautiful Lucinda. He hadn’t even bothered to introduce his wife to the woman.
Beauty. Leah wanted to spit the word into the dusty road. Lucinda had it. Blond ringlets and moss-green eyes, porcelain skin and peony-pink lips. Leah imagined rubbing mud into the woman’s perfect face.
What was wrong with her? She knew what the Bible said about anger: “The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.” Yet there she was, allowing rage to blind her.
Leah looked at the church and pictured Caleb and the children enjoying a cozy repast with Lucinda. Caleb probably wished he hadn’t rushed to marry Leah, now that the lovely Lucinda was available. Olivia would have certainly preferred the fancy Lucinda to plain Leah.
Perhaps Leah should march into that church and make it clear Caleb belonged to her. She was his wife whether he liked it or not.
Sharp pain pierced Leah’s heart as that thought took root. She was Caleb’s wife whether he liked it or not.
And he probably didn’t like it.
Like a swollen stream seeping its way upward, Leah’s anger finally reached her eyes. Hot tears of fury streamed down her face. She’d never be able to calm herself now. It would be better for everyone if she simply left.
Without another thought, she turned on her heel and marched down the dirt road away from Caleb Whitaker and his family.
With each step her anger vacillated between righteous indignation and self-censure. Who was she to rage against her circumstances? She’d agreed to the marriage, hadn’t she? And it wasn’t a bad life. She had a home and children who loved her. Some women had much less.
But hadn’t she earned her keep? She’d cooked and cleaned, mended Stephen’s clothing and sewn new dresses for Olivia, and once the honey harvest was complete, she’d add to her new family’s finances. Hadn’t she earned even a little respect?
Apparently not. All it had taken was a wink from a pretty woman, and Caleb had discounted everything she’d done. Well fine. Leah wouldn’t beg for his esteem.
A horse approached her from behind, and Leah moved to the edge of the roadside to give the rider space to pass, but the hoofbeats slowed to a stop.
A familiar voice called to her. “Leah, where are you going?”
She whirled. Caleb sat atop a bay horse, a puzzled look on his face. “Whose horse is that?”
“Reverend Harrison’s.” Caleb twisted in the saddle so that he could see her better. “I repeat, where are you going?”
Leah wiped the tears from her face. “Home.”
“That’s over five miles from here. Awfully far to walk when there’s a perfectly good surrey waiting for you.”
As if she’d simply sit in his surrey and wait for him to finish his coffee and cake. “Won’t Lucinda be missing thee about now? Hurry back, Caleb, and perhaps she’ll let thee drive her home.”
Caleb dismounted and stood in front of her, frowning. “Lucinda’s not at the church. She went home with her parents.”
“Oh really? Is she waiting for thee there?”
“I don’t think so.” Caleb co
cked his head, as though trying to solve a particularly onerous problem, and then smiled broadly. “Why, Leah Wall. You’re jealous.”
“My name is Leah Whitaker!” she shouted. “Whitaker! In case thee has forgotten, thee is a married man!”
Caleb drew back, as though slapped by her words. “I know I’m a married man. I’m here at your side, aren’t I?”
“But thee doesn’t want to be, does thee? Thee would rather be at Lucinda’s side.”
“That silly girl? I’d sooner spend the day having a tea party with Olivia’s dolls than spend an hour with Lucinda.”
“Thee said, ‘Call me, and I’ll be there.’”
Caleb shrugged one shoulder. “What else was I supposed to say? Don’t call on me?”
Leah blew out a breath and considered Caleb’s words. Lucinda had been flirting. There was no denying it. But maybe Leah had overreacted to Caleb’s words. She eyed her husband with guarded relief. “She is a beautiful woman.”
“She’s pretty enough, but she’s not a woman. She’ll always be a needy little girl who gets what she wants through trickery and flirtation. I’ve never been interested in her.”
“Never?”
“Never. Lucinda’s older sister was a friend to my late wife, and I know firsthand just how devious Lucinda can be. What I want in a wife is someone I can rely on. Not someone I have to rescue every day.”
Leah looked at the dirt road. Confusion mixed with shame as she considered the words she’d shouted at her husband. She’d been taught God’s holy light lived within her, but where was her inner light now? Buried under anger and resentment.
Caleb shifted his weight and glanced down the road. “Now, if you’re feeling better, will you return to the church so we can all drive home together?”
She should accept Caleb’s invitation. He wasn’t an insincere man and wouldn’t have offered unless he truly wanted her to return with him. But Leah’s anger emboldened her. It was time to raise the question she’d been afraid to ask. “If thee wishes it, I’ll agree to an annulment. We haven’t consummated our marriage, and I won’t hold thee to the agreement thee made with my uncle. Since thee returned much sooner than originally planned, I’ll understand if thee wishes to put our marriage aside.”
Where the Heart Is Romance Collection Page 35