Courting Miss Adelaide (28 page)

She wanted to touch him, to hug him to her like she did Emma, but she kept her distance, afraid she’d be rebuffed. “You’re thinking about your father. Well, I’ve been thinking about him, too. Wondering why he left such a will. Maybe, before he died, he repented.”

Charles snorted. “Why would you think that?”

“Couldn’t the will be his way of bringing us together? Trying to give us the life he and my mother never had.” She took a breath. “Maybe Adam
wasn’t
trying to hurt you.”

“You have it all figured out, but it’s all conjecture. There’s no proof he repented. No evidence of that at all.”

As usual, Charles wanted tangible evidence, but weren’t a man’s actions proof of change? “You believe your father gave me half of the paper to hurt you, but think about it,” Adelaide said. “If he’d wanted to hurt you, he could have sold the entire paper right out from under you or left it all to Mary.” She held his gaze. “With the two-month time frame, he gave us a chance
and
a way out. Isn’t it possible he regretted what he’d done to his family?”

“What if he did? It doesn’t change anything, except maybe he got to die in peace,” he said, his tone bitter.

“Oh, Charles, if your father truly repented, then he’d have enormous remorse.” She sighed. “I’m heartsick he used my mother as an excuse to hurt you and your family. I wish I could undo that, but I can’t.” She took a deep breath. “Any more than I can change the fact my mother couldn’t love life, couldn’t love me…or maybe she just couldn’t show it.” Trying to make him understand, her voice rose, filled with earnestness. “We aren’t responsible for their choices. You’ll never forget what your father did, but you can forgive.”

“Forgive
him?
” Charles hurled the grooming brush across the livery and it thudded against a post, falling into a pile of straw. “I can’t.”

“With God’s help, you
can
forgive. You can do anything.”

“Did it ever occur to you God might not want to help me? God knows me better than you do, Addie. I’m not His man.”

Charles had said something like this before. “Why do you say that?”

He turned his back to her. “God can’t approve of a man like me. There are things you don’t know. Things I can’t tell you.”

She laid a palm on the back of his head, letting her fingers settle into his thick hair. “You can tell me anything. Anything, Charles.”

He didn’t speak, didn’t even look at her. She’d done her best. She had nothing left to say. Her hand fell away and her throat constricted. She could barely get out, “I’m leaving now.”

Charles touched her hand, halting her. “I’ll be there tomorrow with the committee. I want you to have Emma and William. You know that, don’t you?”

“I know.” She pressed a hand to her chest. “Until you let God in and learn to forgive, you won’t be able to move beyond your past.”

“Can’t we at least—”

“No!” She started for the door. “Nothing has changed between us, Charles. Nothing at all.”

Chapter Nineteen

I
n the uneasy silence the ticking pendulum of the clock echoed off the courtroom walls. Dwarfed by the imposing two-story coffered ceiling, Adelaide struggled to keep her composure. Across from her, Charles leaned against the witness stand. The rest of the committee sat at the prosecutor’s table, staring at her, their eyes hard and suspicious.

The courtroom, the only room available for their meeting, had seemed a fitting place to mete out justice to Ed Drummond, but instead, Adelaide appeared to be the one on trial.

Her gaze darted to the cased walnut clock, its hands pointing to half past two. With each tick, her anxiety grew until her breathing grew rapid and shallow, bringing an odd tingling to her limbs.

Where was Frances?

Mr. Paul’s pocket watch clicked shut. “Miss Crum, I don’t know what game you’re playing, but I, for one, am tired of it.”

These men were angry, ready to pounce. “It’s not a game, Mr. Paul. Mrs. Drummond wants to disclose Ed’s abuse of her and William.”

Mr. Paul scowled. “So you say, but I don’t see her.”

“Something must have detained Frances,” Adelaide said, trying to delay. “I’m sure she’ll arrive shortly.”

Despite her words, Adelaide wasn’t sure of anything and shot another glance at the timepiece. But clock watching didn’t make Frances materialize. Had Frances lost her courage and changed her mind? Had Ed learned of her plan and stopped her?

Adelaide closed her eyes and prayed harder for Frances’s arrival, her foot jiggling in rhythm to the ticking clock.

Charles folded his arms over his chest. “Mrs. Drummond isn’t that late. We’ll wait.”

Mr. Sparks scowled at Charles. “Graves, you’ve let this woman use
The Ledger
to spread her rebellion and disrupt the harmony of our little town. And now she claims the wife of one of our upstanding citizens is going to condemn her own husband.” He snorted. “She’s using this committee—”

“She’s doing nothing of the kind.” Charles’s gaze traveled around the group. “Gentlemen, let’s not take chances with a child’s life. Until we’re assured of William’s safety, the boy should be removed from the Drummond home.”

Grateful to Charles for standing up to the others, Adelaide gave him a wan smile.

Mr. Wylie shook his head. “Without Mrs. Drummond’s testimony, there’s no reason to disrupt William’s life.”

“Frances said she would be here,” Adelaide spoke up. “Her husband must have caught on—”

“And what, killed her?” Mr. Wylie leaned his chin on fisted hands, hunching his powerful shoulders, his tone scathing. “My, my, Miss Crum, you do have an active imagination.”

Bile rose in Adelaide’s throat, leaving behind the acrid taste of fear. “Oh, I hope not.”

“You’d better hope he
has.
Because, as things stand now, we won’t let Emma remain with you, a woman who’d accuse an innocent man to serve her own purposes.”

Adelaide felt the blood drain from her face and the room dipped slightly. Take Emma?
Oh, God, help me.

Charles crossed to the table, crimson coloring his neck. “Miss Crum doesn’t lie. If she says Mrs. Drummond asked her to set up this meeting, then it’s true.”

Mr. Sparks’s eyes narrowed. “Spoken like a suitor, Graves.”

Adelaide gasped and clutched her seat for support. “It’s not like that.”

Mr. Sparks tapped a pencil on the table in front of him like a gavel. “Perhaps not, but from what Roscoe Sullivan has told this committee, and from what I’ve seen with my own eyes, you two are, shall I say,
very
friendly? One could even say wantonly.”

“Mr. Graves has been seen leaving your shop after hours, Miss Crum,” Mr. Paul said, rising from the prosecutor’s table. He strolled past her, speaking with eloquence as if addressing a jury. “Surely, women’s hats aren’t the draw.”

Charles stepped in front of Mr. Paul. “You owe the lady an apology, Paul. Miss Crum is a woman of virtue. I won’t allow you to imply otherwise.”

No apology came from Thaddeus Paul’s narrowed lips, but he scuttled back to the table.

How could Mr. Paul, who’d known her most of her life, believe her a loose woman? Had the times she’d questioned the committee and her suffrage views fueled this reaction? Or was he retaliating for her reporting Jacob to the sheriff?

Adelaide rose. “I can’t believe you’d imply I’m lying and Mr. Graves is in cahoots with me.” She took a deep calming breath. “When all you need to do is ask Sheriff Rogers to ride out to the Drummond farm and make sure Frances and William are safe.”

“The sheriff doesn’t have time to snoop into the lives of decent citizens, any more than we do. We have businesses and farms to run.” Mr. Wylie turned to Charles. “Well, unless
you
have time for such foolishness, Graves. From what I hear, the paper is losing subscribers.”

Adelaide’s gaze flew to Charles and read the truth of Mr. Wylie’s words in his face. Hadn’t she heard the same from others in town? Her own shop suffered for a lack of business thanks to her attempt to make change in a town that viewed change as anarchy.

Mr. Wylie spoke a few whispered words to Mr. Sparks and Mr. Paul. The men nodded and folded their hands. Mr. Wylie rose. “The committee has decided how to proceed.”

Charles frowned. “I wasn’t consulted.”

Mr. Sparks kept his gaze on Adelaide, ignoring Charles. “We feel Miss Crum isn’t the proper influence on a young girl.”

Charles threw up his hands. “That’s ridiculous!”

“Emma will be returned to the Drummond home today,” Mr. Sparks continued.

Adelaide’s knees buckled and she dropped into the nearest chair, fighting for control.
God, help me keep Emma safe.
“Emma is afraid of Ed Drummond. Leave her with me until the sheriff investigates.”

Mr. Sparks settled onto the edge of the table. “You knew putting Emma in your care was a temporary solution.”

Memories of Emma’s nightmares stomped through Adelaide’s mind. To remove the child from her home would be cruel. These weren’t cruel men, not really. They just didn’t see the truth.

“Please, don’t take Emma to the Drummonds’. Leave her with me until you find her a new home.”

“The Drummonds are her guardians,” Mr. Paul said. “
If
Mrs. Drummond supports your story, then we’ll relocate the children.”

Emma would be yanked from her arms and thrust into the terror-filled world of Charles’s childhood and she couldn’t find the words to stop it. “Frances won’t admit her husband’s abuse in front of him. She’s afraid of Ed.”

Charles laid a steadying hand on her shoulder. The others took note of his touch, their faces set in lines of disapproval at the small act of kindness.

“Miss Crum is right. Mrs. Drummond won’t speak openly in front of her husband. Don’t risk leaving the children there.”

Mr. Wylie sighed. “I can’t believe Ed would hurt anyone. I’ve known him for years.”

Charles pivoted to Mr. Wylie. “My father was a churchgoer, who battered, bruised and broke the bones of his wife and two sons,” he said, his voice hoarse with emotion. “No one realized it, or if they did, they closed their eyes. Please believe me in this. You don’t know what goes on behind closed doors.”

The pain of the admission plain on his face, Charles stood silent. No one spoke. Adelaide wanted to soothe what his openness had cost him, but she didn’t dare, not with the suspicions the committee had already voiced.

“Talk to Sheriff Rogers. But whatever you do, don’t take Emma to the Drummonds,” Charles said in a pleading tone.

Mr. Paul cleared his throat. “All right, we’ll talk to the sheriff and bring the Drummonds in here for a meeting. See what they have to say. But let me make it clear, Miss Crum. Emma will no longer be staying with you.”

Adelaide stiffened. “What gives you the right to make that decision?”

“We’re the local arm of the Children’s Aid’s Society. Once this is settled, we’ll be in contact with Mr. Fry.”

“At the distribution, Mr. Fry said the children could refuse to go with anyone they didn’t trust. Emma won’t go back willingly. If you won’t let her stay with me, then put her with Laura Larson’s family. Emma will feel safe there.”

“We’ll take that into consideration,” Mr. Wylie said, “though we only have your word that Emma doesn’t want to return to the Drummonds and her brother.”

“Ask Emma where she wants to go. Ask her!”

“We’ll talk to the child, when we pick her up from school.”

Tears spilled down her cheeks. “Please, let me get her so I can tell her goodbye. Prepare her,” she begged. “I won’t cause any trouble.”

“Goodbyes will only upset the child.” Mr. Sparks thrust his hands into his pockets. “We’re acting in Emma’s best interest.”

Charles scowled. “This is a travesty! You think you know what’s best for a little girl you’ve barely met? Until you’ve gotten to the bottom of this, leave her with Miss Crum. As a member of the committee, I—”

“You are no longer a member of the committee, Charles.”

“What are you saying?”

“You’ve lost your objectivity where—” Mr. Sparks’s gaze moved to Adelaide “—Emma is concerned.”

The banker turned to Adelaide. “Don’t attempt to see or take Emma out of school. In your emotional state, you’ll frighten her.”

Mr. Paul leaned toward her, his gaze issuing a sharp warning. “If you refuse to abide by our decision, you will force us to place Emma in another community.”

Adelaide gasped. If they did that, she’d never see Emma again. With a shaky hand, Adelaide wiped her eyes.

“The matter is settled,” Mr. Wylie said. “Meeting adjourned.”

With no hope of changing their minds, Adelaide watched the men walk to the door, each step stomping on her heart until the intensity of the pain all but crushed her.

She looked at the defense table. She and Charles should have sat there. They’d been accused of lying and worse. Three men had proclaimed themselves judge and jury, grabbing the power of the bench, giving no thought on how the verdict would frighten an innocent child. Neither had they acted swiftly to protect a wife and child from abuse.

Through the window, against the overcast sky, tree branches danced in the rising wind. In the distance, she heard the rumble of thunder. A storm brewed, and Emma didn’t have an umbrella…

A sob pushed against her throat. If these men had their way, she wouldn’t see Emma again. Wouldn’t hold that precious child in her arms, wouldn’t share the love they’d just learned to speak. If these men had their way, she’d never teach Emma a new song on the piano or help her stitch silk flowers on a hat. If these men had their way, she didn’t know how she’d survive.

Tears spilled down her face and onto the fabric of her dress, marring the silk with the dark stain of loss.

Charles came up beside where she sat and handed her a handkerchief.

“You warned me, Charles,” she said, wiping her eyes. “The suffrage articles cost me Emma. I didn’t believe my neighbors would let politics destroy their sense of fairness.”

He gave her shoulder a squeeze. “It’s not over yet, Addie.” He tugged her to her feet and enfolded her in his arms.