A Chance at Love (33 page)

 

In mid-September, Loreli received a letter from Trevor. It read:

Loreli wrote down the address where Trevor wanted the money to be sent, then fed the letter to the fire in the grate in her bedroom. Tomorrow she would be turning the address over to the authorities. She'd let
them
come to his rescue.

J
ake fixed his tie, then looked at himself in the mirror. The items Loreli had ordered from Bloomingdale Brothers arrived about six weeks after her departure, and among the roller skates, rugs and such, had been this tie. It was plain enough to satisfy his conservative tastes yet classy enough to be worn on special occasions. He considered this night to be just that. A cousin of Denise Gibson's was visiting from St. Louis, and Art and Denise wanted Jake to come over and have Sunday supper. Jake got the sense that Denise was playing matchmaker, but he was willing to go along with it. He was still looking for a mama for the girls, and the pickings were no better now than they'd been before Loreli came along. Thinking of her name made her golden face shimmer across his mind's eye. He pushed it aside. Going to meet a woman while thinking of another was a recipe for disaster. Jake had already decided that if the cousin were even-tempered, got along with the girls, and was amenable to courting he'd pursue her with the inten
tions of marrying. The girls needed someone to help them get over Loreli as soon as possible, and he needed to stop putting off the search. Whatever she looked like, he'd marry her. It wouldn't be a love match, but many marriages were built on respect. This one could be too.

The cousin's name was Cordelia Dean. She was twenty-five and a seamstress. She was also a pretty little thing. As the evening progressed, Jake found he liked her wit, and her shy smile. Denise was pleased that the two of them seemed to hit it off so well, and admittedly, Jake was pleased too.

After supper, he sat on the front porch with her while Art and Denise sat out back with the girls.

“Your girls are sweet,” Cordelia said. “So well mannered.”

“Thanks. I think so too.”

“I'll bet not many folks can tell them apart.”

“You're right. Took me a few days to be able to.”

She smiled. She was dressed in a plain brown dress and the shoes on her feet were buffed but worn. She appeared to be a simple woman.

She said then, “You are aware that Cousin Denise invited you to supper so you could take a look at me, and I could get a look at you?”

Jake dropped his head to hide his smile. “I am.”

“Well, I—like what I see.”

She turned and met his eyes.

He nodded, “I like what I see, as well.”

She turned back. “Tell me about you and Loreli. Denise said she thought you loved her very much.”

The question caught him by surprise. It took him a moment to recover. “What do you want to know?”

She shrugged. “Mainly, do you love her still?”

Jake drew in a deep sigh. “I could lie to you and say no, but—”

“It wouldn't be the truth.”

“No.”

Jake got up and slowly walked over to the edge of the porch. He looked out on the countryside. The day was ending. The sky was showing the dark purple bands of dusk. “Loreli is a very unique woman.”

Cordelia added softly, “Beautiful too, from what I'm hearing.”

“Yes, she is.”

Silence grew between them for a bit, then she said, “I can hear the love in your voice when you speak of her.”

“Sorry,” Jake said.

“No, you've nothing to apologize for. Every woman wishes to have a man who speaks with such feeling.”

Jake had no idea how to respond to that, so he set his attention back on the sky.

“In fact, I'm looking for that kind of man myself—one who has love in his voice when he speaks of me,” Cordelia confessed. “I thought you might be him.”

Jake turned back to view her. “But I'm not?”

“No. I want to be first in your heart, and right now that position is filled.” She shrugged.

Jake respected her honesty, although it never crossed his mind that he would be the one turned down.

“No hard feelings?” Cordelia said.

He chuckled. “No.”

“Good, then shall we go and see what everyone else is doing?”

He smiled. “After you.”

 

In an effort to purge herself of Kansas and the memories she'd left behind, Loreli plunged head-first back into life. She began gambling with her high-powered partners again and accepting their invitations to dinners and to balls. Other gentlemen friends competed with one another to escort her to the theater, and baseball games, and she had a grand time picking the winners. Loreli was burning the candle at both ends, and moving at such a fast pace that she rarely returned home before dawn and never rose from her bed before late afternoon.

One afternoon in early October, Olivia came in with Loreli's breakfast. The tray Olivia was carrying was topped with a small bowl of sugared strawberries and a pot of hot chocolate. Seeing that Loreli was still asleep, Olivia set the tray down as loudly as she could on the small bedside table.

Beneath the sheets, Loreli jumped, then growled, “If you're trying to wake me up, you've succeeded. What time is it?”

“Four in the afternoon,” Olivia said disapprovingly.

“Even with my eyes closed I can see your face. What am I in trouble for now?”

“Have you written to Jake?”

“No, and I'm not going to.”

Loreli sat up, then dragged the sheets over her waist.

“He has a right to know, Loreli,” Olivia told her plainly.

“No, he doesn't.”

Loreli was pregnant. Had been for a good four months now, according to the doctor. She could have easily prevented the need for this argument had she used her sponges during those passionate nights, but she hadn't—because,
frankly, she'd wanted his child. She wanted something to remind her of just how much she'd loved him, a piece of him that would be with her for a lifetime. Their child. Granted, at her age her body was not happy with the changes it was undergoing, but she was prepared to endure.

“It's not good for the baby if you're out until all hours of the night.”

“Olivia, I'm just out playing cards, not kicking up my legs on stage. Gambling is a very sedentary life.”

“And you're not drinking?”

“No.”

“So when are you going to tell Jake?”

“Clean out your ears, old friend. I am not telling him. The last thing I need is him running here offering to make me an honest woman. I don't want the girls hurt again, and he doesn't love me, so I'm not marrying him.”

“Shouldn't he be allowed to make that choice for himself?”

“He's a Kansas farmer, Olivia. He will walk here to give this child his name, if he finds out. He's that decent of a man.”

“All the more reason to let him know.”

“No.” Loreli reached for the tray.

“It's his child too.”

“Possession is nine-tenths of the law.”

Olivia sighed. “All right, be stubborn. You could be happy, you know.”

“I'm happy now.”

Olivia shook her head, then exited the room, leaving Loreli alone.

In reality, Loreli was happy. She had a roof over her
head, materially she lacked for nothing, and she was carrying a life. Society may care that she didn't have a husband, but the free-thinking Loreli saw nothing wrong with raising her child alone. Yes, having Jake at her side would be the sugar on the strawberries, but life seldom gives anyone everything they desire, especially her. But all the blessings she now possessed more than made up for the bad times of the past. As always, though, her eyes were set firmly on the future, a future that held her child, Jake's child.

That evening, Loreli dressed to go out. She was having a quiet supper with a friend. His name was Madison Nance and he was one of the wealthiest men of color in the state of Pennsylvania. He'd made half of his fortune in lumber and the other half at the card table. He and Loreli had been friends for years, and whenever she was in town, they always got together. He'd sent his invite around to her house a few days before and she was looking forward to see him again.

Dressed in a beautiful dark blue gown, Loreli grabbed the matching velvet cloak and went downstairs to await Madison's driver. To her surprise, Madison arrived at the door instead.

Her eyes lit up upon seeing his handsome face, and he had the glow of welcome in his own eyes. Sgt. Collins smiled and stepped back out of the way.

Madison gave her a hug, then a kiss on the cheek, “How are you, princess?”

“I'm well.”

Had Loreli ever considered taking a husband, Madison might have been a candidate. He was charming, articulate, and well mannered, but he loved money more than he
could love any woman, and not even Loreli could compete with such a cold mistress.

Madison extended his arm. “Shall we go?”

Loreli took his arm. She then told Sgt. Collins, “I'll see you later.”

He nodded. “You too, but make sure you get back here at a reasonable time. That baby needs rest.”

Loreli was so stunned, she couldn't move.

Madison appeared stunned too. “Baby?”

Sgt. Collins nodded, then added, “See if you can't convince her to tell the father he has a child on the way. This nonsense has gone on long enough.”

Loreli was speechless. Her eyes wide, she stared at the sergeant as if she'd never seen him before.

He took advantage of her stupor to add, “And if you fire me, so be it. Babies need their daddies.”

Madison began chuckling. “Who is the father, Sgt.?”

“A farmer she met in Kansas. Name's Jake Reed.”

Madison looked at Loreli. “A farmer? This is going to be a much more interesting dinner than I thought.”

“Shut up,” she snarled. “Let's go.”

Still shooting daggers at Sgt. Collins, Loreli told her houseman, “I'll deal with you when I get back.”

He just smiled, and said, “Yes, ma'am.”

Madison was laughing.

Loreli stormed out.

Madison Nance employed one of the best chefs in the city and the evening's dinner of quail and vegetables was excellently prepared. After the maid removed the empty plates, he and Loreli retreated to his lavish study and she took a seat on the fine leather couch. He poured himself a small brandy. “Do you want one?”

“No, it isn't good for the baby.”

He examined her for a moment, then picked up his snifter and sat down on a chair opposite her. The fire in the grate made the room warm, and the lit lamps added to the soft atmosphere. “So, tell me about this farmer.”

“I'm going to fire that old soldier the minute I get back.”

He toasted her with his glass. “No you're not. You care a lot about that old man. He's obviously deeply concerned about you.”

“He had no right.”

Madison shrugged. “Maybe, but the cat's out of the bag now. So, tell me.”

“Nothing to tell. His name's Jake Reed, and I'm carrying his child.”

“Can't say that I'm pleased. I wanted your children to be mine.”

Loreli smiled. “You already have children. Their names are double eagles and treasury notes.”

He toasted her again. “Touché.”

Then he said, “Seriously now. I've been trying to get you to marry me for years, and now I find out that not only is Trevor Church ahead of me in the line to your heart, but I'm behind a farmer as well?”

She chuckled.

“What's he grow?” Madison asked.

“Corn, and he raises hogs.”

“You're pregnant by a hog farmer?”

“Yes, I am.”

“He must be some man.”

“He is.”

“Do you love him?”

She met Madison's eyes, then looked away. “I do, but he doesn't love me.”

“Is he insane? Loreli, if you're carrying his child, that means you made a conscious decision not to take any precautions. You're too savvy for this baby to have been an accident.”

She didn't respond.

“So, I guess I've answered my own question: you love him
very
much.”

Loreli's mind gently sailed back to her memories of Kansas. She saw Jake on the porch, and the girls,
her girls,
ripping and running through the day. Lord, she missed them. “Like I said, he doesn't love me.” She told him the story of all that had happened to her while she was in Kansas. “I never did like Church,” Madison said. “Glad the twins were found safe.”

“So were we.”

“So why don't you want Reed to know about his child?”

“I don't want him forced into marrying me. What if I did marry him and someone else from my life shows up with bad intentions?”

Madison shook his head. “What if they don't? You'll have spent your entire life without because you're worried about a scenario that may never come to be.”

“So, you think it was silly of me to leave?”

“Hell, no. Your instincts were right. What if Trevor had returned and taken the girls again? You said no one knew where he was.”

“We didn't,” Loreli said.

“Well, with you gone, there would have been no reason
for him to stay there, but he's no threat anymore, princess. Write to your farmer and tell him about the child. Fathers are very important. I'd not be the person I am today had my old man not been in my life. Why am I encouraging another man's suit?”

Loreli grinned. “Could it be because you're such a good friend?”

He shrugged. “Could be. I think I'm going to send you home now. I feel the need to get drunk.”

She stood. “Okay.”

He held her eyes, then said seriously, “Whatever you decide, know that I'll be here for you and the child, no matter what.”

“I know.” She walked over and kissed him on the cheek. “Good night, Madison.”

“Good night, princess.”

After she left, Madison poured himself a drink, then moved over to his large mahogany desk. He opened a drawer and withdrew some stationary. Taking up a pen, he began to write.

 

The girls were asleep, and Jake was enjoying the dark and the solitude. November nights were cold in Kansas, so he threw more wood onto the fire in his room and sat down to read the day's mail. A few pieces were from the Knights of Labor and the Republican party, but he set those aside for later. He instead picked up the fancy envelope that had been waiting for him along with the rest of his mail at the post office in town. The return address showed it had been sent by a man named Madison Nance in Philadelphia. The name wasn't familiar. A curious Jake opened it.