His gaze moved to Peter. The boy had been abandoned by his father, much like Jackson’s had abandoned him. Would he desert the boy, too? Would searching for a man who’d never looked back to his family be worth hurting the boy even further?
And then there was Eliza. If he did leave her in a year, would he be as guilty as his father by turning her into a bitter and spiteful woman like his mother?
* * *
Eliza walked back to her shop. After leaving Rebecca and Seth’s, she’d delivered a couple of small blankets to the Hudson family. Their girls needed new bedding, and, even though she didn’t have the extra material, Eliza made sure they would be a little warmer at night.
Warm spring air lifted her hat. She reached up and grabbed it. Another gust lifted her skirts, and Eliza realized the wind had definitely picked up in the past few minutes.
She turned the corner and sucked in too much air when she saw her likeness sitting on the Tuckers’ front porch. It tickled the back of her throat and sent her into a coughing spell. What was her sister, Eve, doing here? The question ran through her mind with such bitterness that Eliza felt taken aback by her own thought.
“Eliza! Is that you?” Eve got to her feet. “It’s about time you got home. Where have you been? This wind is trying to rip the hair right off my head, and some woman came by and said to give you this.”
Eliza took the piece of paper from her twin’s hand. “Why are you here, Eve?” she asked and continued up the steps. Eliza tucked the note into her handbag.
Her sister’s skirts swished as she followed her. “Can’t a sister come visit you whenever she feels like it?” Eve simpered.
“Not my sister. You want something, so don’t play coy.”
Eve pouted but didn’t say anything. You get more bees with honey than you do vinegar. Her mother’s voice echoed the words in her mind. How many times had their mother reminded her of that when she and Eve were children?
Eliza sighed. She didn’t feel like offering her twin honey. “Eve, just tell me what it is so you can be on your way.” Eliza hung her wrap up and tossed her handbag on the nearest table. She turned in time to see Eve push out her bottom lip in what she must have thought was an even more compelling pout.
Her sister flopped down in a chair that Eliza had set beside the door for her waiting customers. “You don’t have anything that I want. From what I hear, you have lost everything, your home, your shop and evidently your man.”
Shock filled Eliza at the venom in her sister’s voice. How long had Eve been in town? Evidently long enough to learn all the local gossip. Eliza wanted nothing more than to toss her uncaring sister out into the street. “Get to the point, Eve.”
Eve busied herself by picking at imaginary lint on her skirt. “I just want to stay with you for a while. Is that so bad?”
“It is if you are in trouble. Are you in trouble?” Eliza turned to study Eve. It was almost like looking into a mirror. Eve had the same wavy brown hair and brown eyes. The only difference was that Eve sported a patch of freckles across her pert nose. The green suit she wore at the moment looked a little rough, but that could be expected from traveling.
Eve waved her hand in dismissal. “Of course not. Why would you think such a thing?” She pulled a white handkerchief from her pocketbook and blew her nose.
“Let’s see. Why would I think that? For starters, you are here and I haven’t seen you in six years. Second, because you would never leave the plantation without a good reason. And third, Daddy wouldn’t let you out of his sight.” She paused and studied her twitching sister. “Is something wrong with Daddy?”
“So you remember we have a mother and father, do you?”
The sharp and condemning tone set Eliza’s teeth on edge.
How could she forget she had parents? Even though they’d disowned her the year before she’d married Charles Kelly, she still loved them and mourned her loss. Bitterness threatened to choke Eliza as she remembered the last time she’d seen her family. She’d been fifteen and had just returned from helping one of their servants deliver a new baby. Instead of being proud of her, they’d accused her of being with a man and then her father had told her to get out.
Their disappointment in her had started early in life. She talked too much for their liking, cared for others too much and didn’t value things in the same way her mother and sister did.
Eve, on the other hand, was the perfect daughter. She was everything they wanted in a well-behaved child. She showed signs of being slow to speak, never got dirty, was a quick learner and valued their advice.
Unfortunately, only Eliza knew the truth of her sister’s character. She was self-centered, uncaring of others and a petty, spoiled brat. Eve manipulated her parents to get her way, and they thought it was cute. Eliza often wondered what part her sister had played in that dreadful evening when her father had told her to depart from his sight.
It had broken her heart to leave. Alone and unsure where she was going, she’d stumbled onto the Kelly farm. Charles’s mother had taken her under her wing, taught her to cook, clean and sew.
A year later, Charles Kelly had proclaimed his love for her and proposed. The marriage took place a few days after her sixteenth birthday. Eliza had sent her parents an invitation to the wedding, only to have it returned unopened.
“Really, Eliza, if you are just going to stand there and stare out the window, I’m going to go see if you have any food in this place.” Eve stood to her feet and looked around. “Which way?”
Eliza pointed down the hall. She just didn’t have the strength to argue with her sister. Too much had happened too fast in the past few days. She sighed and followed Eve into the brightly lit kitchen. “You didn’t answer my question,” she said.
“Mommy and Daddy are well.” Eve tossed her pocketbook on the kitchen table and looked about. “This is a cozy kitchen, Eliza. But where are your servants?”
Eliza felt like laughing. “I don’t have servants, Eve.”
Her sister curled her nose and looked about. “Then how do you function?”
This time Eliza did laugh at her. “I haven’t had servants in years, Eve. Believe it or not, I do things for myself.”
Eve pulled out a chair at the table. “Oh, well, then do you mind making me some breakfast? I’m starved.”
Anger boiled to the surface once more. “As a matter of fact, I do mind. I said I do for myself, not that I am your new servant.”
“But, Eliza, I’m hungry.”
For a brief moment, Eliza almost felt sorry for her spoiled sister. Eve twirled a curl around her finger and tapped her foot, giving away the fact that her behavior was all an act. Eliza pulled back her shoulders and declared, “Whining isn’t going to get you a meal any faster. I’m sure you have money, go to the diner and order something.”
Eve looked up at her. The brown in her eyes turned to stone. “Fine. I need to go see the man at the livery, anyway, and tell him to deliver my bags here.” She picked up her pocketbook and started for the front door.
Eliza shook her head and hurried after her. “No, you can’t have them delivered here. I suggest you go to the Millers’ store and ask Mrs. Miller if you can rent a room from her for a few days.”
Eve turned around with a gasp. “You aren’t going to let me stay here with you?”
“No, I’m not. As you pointed out, this isn’t my house and I haven’t gotten permission to have a houseguest.” Eliza opened the door and motioned for her sister to leave.
Eve’s curls bounced down her back as she stomped off the porch. She didn’t look back as she headed down the street toward the Miller’s store. Eliza held her breath. Why had Eve shown up here? What did she want? And more importantly, why did she have to come now?
Chapter Eleven
That evening, Eliza waited for Peter to get ho
me. She hadn’t seen her sister for the rest of the day and for a brief moment worried about what Eve might be up to. “Don’t borrow trouble,” she muttered as the front door banged open and Peter called out with his familiar, “Ma, I’m home!”
What would Eve think of Peter? Seth had assured her she could keep the sweet little boy as long as his real pa didn’t show up for him.
Peter rushed into the kitchen carrying a bouquet of wildflowers. “Look, Ma! Me and Pa picked you some flowers.”
Eliza looked over his head and saw Jackson enter the kitchen. His hair looked damp and his face clean shaven. Even white teeth smiled at her from across the room. Her heart did a little skip of happiness.
“They are beautiful, Peter.” She turned to the cabinet and pulled out a glass mason jar to put them in. Would Jackson want her answer, about marrying him, tonight? With Eve in town, she didn’t know what to do. Her sister was sure to complicate things even further. Eve couldn’t seem to help it; complicating things for Eliza was just what she did. Or at least that’s the way it had been when they were children.
The low rumble of Jackson’s voice filled the room. “I hope you don’t mind my bringing the boy home.”
She took a deep breath and turned around with a smile on her face. “Not at all, I’d lost track of time. I should have already come for him. I’m sorry if you felt as if you had to bring him home.” Eliza realized she talked more and much faster when Jackson was in the room, but she couldn’t quite stop herself. “I guess my mind was on other things.”
“Yoo-hoo! Eliza!”
Eliza watched as Jackson and Peter turned to face the front door. She inwardly groaned. Not now, Eve. Go away.
Eve could be heard shutting the front door and swishing toward the kitchen. “I managed to get a room at Mrs. Miller’s and was wondering if we might have dinner tonight. I’ll pay.” She came around the corner and stopped short when she saw Jackson and Peter.
“I’m busy tonight, Eve,” Eliza answered. She took a big, deep cleansing breath and then made introductions. “Eve, I’d like you to meet Jackson Hart and Peter. Jackson, Peter, this is my sister, Eve.”
Jackson extended his large hand. Eliza watched as Eve backed away. What was wrong with her sister? Had she lost all her senses? Or manners? He dropped his hand back to his side.
“It’s nice to meet you, Miss Eve.”
Eve regained her composure. She extended her small white hand to him. “I’m sorry, Mr. Hart. I was just taken aback at your...presence here.”
He cut his eyes at Eliza and then gently took Eve’s small hand into his own. “I understand.” Jackson released her and moved back a couple of steps.
Peter clung to Eliza’s dress and whispered loudly, “She looks just like you, Ma.”
Eliza knelt down beside him. “She’s my twin sister, Peter.” She whispered in his ear, “But if you look closely, she has freckles on her nose and I don’t.”
“Ma?” The question squeaked from Eve’s throat. One hand fluttered to her heart and the other to her stomach. She looked from Jackson to Eliza and then down at Peter once more.
Peter giggled. “She’s funny.”
Eliza knew Eve was putting on a show. She’d already admitted to hearing the local gossip so more than likely she knew all the circumstances around the three of them. “Yes, she is. Eve, we were about to sit down to supper. Would you like to join us?” Eliza wanted to bite her tongue off. She’d hoped to prepare Peter and Jackson for her sister, but it just wasn’t meant to be.
Eve nodded.
“Peter, please set the table. Jackson, you can sit in your regular place. Eve, remember the chair by the door in the store?” Eve nodded. “Go get it.” Eliza watched her sister leave the room.
Jackson whispered, “Are you sure you want me to stay?”
She heard the uneasiness in his voice. Eliza nodded and whispered back, “You might as well get to know her.”
Jackson took his place at the table. Peter set out plates and silverware while Eliza dished up the chicken casserole and salad. The sound of the chair thumping along the hallway grated on her nerves.
“For goodness’ sake, Eve! Pick it up and get in here or we’re going to start without you!” Eliza stared at the door.
“But it’s heavy,” Eve whined back.
Jackson moved as if to push out of his chair. Eliza shook her head at him. “No, she has to do this.”
She waited until he was reseated and then called to Eve, “You’re not helpless, and we aren’t going to do it for you.”
More thumping reached their ears.
Eliza filled the plates and sighed as her sister dropped the chair just inside the doorway. Eve puffed as if she’d run for miles. Eliza ignored her while Eve leaned against the door frame dramatically. She poured fresh milk into Peter’s glass and coffee in Jackson’s mug.
Peter slid out of his chair and hurried to Eve’s side. The little boy picked the chair up and carried it the rest of the way to the table. “Here, Miss Eve, you can sit by me.”
Eve sashayed to the table. “Thank you, Peter. It’s nice to see there is one gentleman in the room. I would be honored.” She glared at Eliza and Jackson. “You could have helped me.”
Jackson ducked his head and Eliza sighed. “We’re not your servants, Eve. You’ve got to learn to do for yourself or go home.” She realized she’d sighed more today then she had in probably a year. Eve had that effect on her. The woman just made her tired.
Her sister tossed her hair over her shoulder and ignored Eliza’s statements. “Do you say a blessing over the meal?” Eve asked. She extended her palms face up on the table.
A dark cloud of anger ascended over Eliza. “You know that I do.”
“Good.” She smiled down at Peter. “When Eliza and I were growing up, we held hands during grace. Doesn’t that sound like fun?” Eve wiggled her fingers until both Peter and Jackson placed their hands in hers. “Jackson, please say the prayer.”
Eliza wanted to kick her sister under the table, but she was worried she might hit Peter. Who did she think she was? Coming in and taking over her dinner table as if she were some kind of queen? The only reason she wanted to follow the old tradition was so that she could hold Jackson’s hand. Anger boiled like overheated water at the thought.
Jackson took her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. Eliza smiled gratefully at him and then bowed her head for the prayer.
“Ma, you’re hurting my fingers,” Peter protested as soon as Jackson said amen.
She jerked her hand loose. “I’m sorry, Peter.”
“It’s all right. You was focusing mighty hard on the prayer.” He grinned at her and then took a big bite of his casserole.
“So tell me, Mr. Hart, what is it that you do?” Eve rested her chin on her hands and batted her eyelashes.
Eliza frowned. Normally Eve’s flirting wouldn’t bother her but tonight it did. Jackson could very well be her future husband. Her mood soured as she watched Eve’s every move.
* * *
Jackson didn’t know how much longer he could stand watching Eve blink her eyes like an old owl. She and Eliza looked a lot alike, but their actions were so different. Eve had focused all her energy on him while Eliza had visited with Peter and fussed over the serving of the meal.
As soon as he finished eating he stood to leave. “Thank you for dinner, Eliza.” Jackson pushed his chair back and carried his plate to the washbasin.
Eliza followed him to the sink and offered a weak grin. “You’re welcome. I hope we didn’t talk your ear off this evening.”
He would have found that comical coming from her, but the sadness in her eyes touched his heart. After Eve arrived, Eliza hadn’t said more than ten words to him throughout the evening. He leaned down and whispered for her ears only, “Actually, I missed you
r lovely voice tonight.” The shock on her face and the smile that slowly spread across her lips warmed his heart.
Jackson straightened and grinned into her eyes. He turned to find Eve and Peter watching them. “Good night, everyone.”
“’Night, Pa.”
“I’ll see you to the door,” Eve offered. Her skirt rustled as she stood.
Jackson shook his head. “That won’t be necessary.”
“I don’t mind,” Eve insisted.
Jackson shrugged and allowed her to lead the way. He waited while she opened the door.
“It was so nice of you to drop by this evening,” Eve said as he walked out onto the porch. She followed, shutting the door behind her.
What was she up to? Why act as if she was the hostess for the evening and they’d just enjoyed a wonderful dinner party? Jackson decided to enlighten her. “Miss Eve, I come by every evening. Most, I simply drop off Peter, but occasionally I stay for supper.”
She lightly clapped her hands. “Oh, good. That means I will get to see you again soon.”
“I suppose.” He turned to leave.
The change in her voice stopped him. “Jackson, what are your intentions toward my sister?” This was a side of Eve he hadn’t seen yet. Her words were hard, sharp and demanding.
Jackson turned slowly to face her. Again, he mentally asked himself what she was up to. “My business with your sister is really none of your concern. Good evening.” He took the steps down two at a time.
She hurried after him. “I disagree. You see, it would seem that you and Eliza are the talk of the town.”
“Again, not your concern.” He continued walking.
Eve grabbed his arm to stop him.
Jackson knew he could continue walking and she’d either be forced to release him or be dragged along. He stopped and looked pointedly down at her hand and his arm.
She released him. Once more she spoke in the voice that he guessed turned most men’s heads. Concern laced her words. “Look, I’m worried. People are talking in this town. I’ve only been here one day and I can tell you that my sister went to Durango as a mail-order bride and came back an unmarried woman who spent a full day alone with you. What do you have to say about that?” Eve took a deep breath.
Groom by Arrangement Page 8