“We’ll see about that, Mistuh Steed.” He waved angrily at his partner.
Joshua chuckled softly. “Why, Mr. Boswell, I believe it was you who said that in Savannah if something is legal, it isn’t robbery. Might I suggest that in Savannah if something isn’t provable, it isn’t arson.” His voice went suddenly flat and hard. “Especially if the men making the accusation are held in contempt by respectable officers of the law and all gentlemen of integrity.”
For several seconds, Boswell just stood there, the eyes almost black in their fury, his hands clenching and unclenching. Berrett was too shaken to remain standing. He collapsed into a chair and began mopping at his forehead.
Finally, Boswell walked back behind his desk and retrieved his chair. He sat down slowly, his eyes never leaving Joshua’s. “What do you want?”
Joshua felt a tiny leap of exultation. The man was far from down, but at least Joshua had his attention. “You’re paying Mrs. Mendenhall a stipend of about two thousand dollars per year. The home in which she lives is worth about twenty thousand dollars.”
“That house already belongs to us,” Berrett cried. “Donovan Mendenhall gave us title to it.”
“It will take a long and costly court battle to have her evicted.”
Boswell nearly snorted outright in disgust. “We can afford it. Mrs. Mendenhall cannot.”
Joshua nodded thoughtfully. “Assuming, of course, you don’t have any costly fires.”
Berrett’s mouth dropped open. “Blackmail and extortion are against the law in Georgia, young man!” He was nearly screaming at Joshua. “You’ll spend the rest of yo life in prison.”
Joshua ignored him. He spread out his free hand, looked at his fingernails closely, then finally looked up at Boswell. “There is a simpler solution.”
Boswell’s eyes were little more than narrow slits now, but Joshua could see something new in them. Respect. “I’m listening,” he said.
“A twenty-five-thousand-dollar, one-time settlement.”
Berrett shot right out of his chair, spluttering, his eyes like a startled possum’s. “
What?
”
“Shut up, Theodore,” Boswell said quietly.
“But . . .”
Boswell whirled on him. “Shut up!” Without waiting to see his partner’s reaction, he turned back to face Joshua. “Go on, Mistuh Steed.”
* * *
“Will, would you and Olivia go downstairs and play? I have some important business to discuss with your mother.”
Caroline whirled around in surprise, but Joshua was not looking at her. He was watching her son steadily.
“Yes, sir.”
Olivia’s lower lip shot out in that pouty look which she had so mastered. “I want to stay. I don’t want to go downstairs.”
Caroline felt a touch of irritation at Joshua’s request. He was so assured of himself, so completely confident. “I have not kept secrets from my children, Joshua,” she said. “I don’t mind if they stay.”
Will’s eyes darted back and forth between his mother and Joshua. Joshua merely smiled at him. That was enough for Will. He straightened his shoulders and took his sister’s hand. “Come on, Olivia.”
“But I don’t want to go.”
“Come on,” he said more forcefully, starting to pull on her.
Caroline was caught. One part of her was peeved at Joshua for ordering her children around in her own house. Yet she was also deeply grateful that after almost two years a man had come into Will’s life who commanded the same respect and adoration he had for his father. “Olivia,” she finally said, “go with Will. Joshua and I will only be a few minutes.”
Knowing when she had lost, Olivia sniffed, pulled loose from her brother’s grasp, and marched out on her own.
“Thanks, Will,” Joshua said softly. Will gave him a little wave, then pulled the door shut behind him.
Caroline decided she did not want to quarrel with him. It had been a pleasant dinner, and Joshua was wonderful with the children. They really enjoyed his company. She smiled wryly to herself. As if their mother didn’t. “My, my,” she teased, “this must be terribly important.”
But Joshua did not smile. He took her by the arm. “I think you’d better sit down.”
She laughed, tossing her head so her hair bounced on her shoulders. “I feel like a little girl who’s about to be spanked by her father.” But she let him steer her to a chair and sit her down.
He pulled up a chair to face her, but to her surprise he didn’t sit down. Rather he began pacing in front of her. Slowly the humor in her died. She had never seen him quite this serious before. “What is it, Joshua?”
He stopped, his eyes earnest and dark beneath the furrowed eyebrows. “Caroline, I . . .” He stopped and came to his chair. He turned it around so the back was to her, then sat down facing her. It was as though he wanted the chair as a shield between them if things did not go well.
She was completely sober now too. “What is it, Joshua?” she asked again.
“I . . .” He let out his breath in disgust. “Caroline, I’m not a man who’s good with words. I’m not one of your polished Southern gentlemen.”
She smiled warmly at him. No, he definitely wasn’t that. But that was part of what made him so attractive. “I know what you are, Joshua. You don’t have to apologize for that.”
Her words seemed not to sink in. He was obviously struggling. “I don’t know how to say this, so I’ll just lay out what has to be said and let the chips fall where they may.”
“Fair enough.”
He took a quick breath. “I know about Boswell and Berrett and what they did to your husband.”
Caroline’s mouth dropped open. If he had reached out and kicked her, she couldn’t have been more stunned.
“I know it all,” he went on, the words pouring out now. He told her about what he’d done since he had seen her go to their offices. He told her about his investigations and about hiring lawyers to check and double-check the contracts. By the time he finally stopped, his hands were clenched on the back of his chair, and she could see the beads of perspiration on his forehead. But that did nothing to lessen the anger she felt.
“What right do you have to pry into my affairs?” she asked coldly.
He didn’t dodge her anger. “None. But I did it anyway. Because I don’t want to see you lose everything.”
“I can handle my own problems,” she snapped.
“Caroline, I have as much admiration for you and your capabilities as for any woman I have ever known, but you are going to lose. Even the best lawyers in the city are saying that. You will lose this house. And you will probably lose your pension.”
She jumped up, turning her back on him. She didn’t want him to see the fear on her face. She had lived with that thought now for over a week, the dread like some great knot inside her.
“Those two are jackals, Caroline,” he said softly, standing now too, but not coming to her. “You fight them, they’ll tear you apart.”
“I’ll manage,” she shot back at him.
“No, you won’t,” he snapped angrily. “You don’t know how to deal with men like that.”
She whirled, her eyes blazing. “And I suppose you do.”
He reached in his coat pocket and withdrew some folded papers. “Will you sit for just another minute or two and listen to me? Then I’ll leave. If you wish, I won’t come back.”
“I—”
“Please, Caroline. This will only take a minute.”
Breathing hard, she finally nodded and returned to her seat. He took a deep breath, then let it out slowly, painfully. “What I have here is an offer from Boswell and Berrett. They want to buy you out once and for all.”
Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “For how much?”
“They are willing to pay you twenty-five thousand dollars in gold.”
“What?” She shot to her feet. “My husband invested twice that amount in their company. This house is worth almost that much alone.” She was near tears, but this time they were tears of anger. “You call this helping me?” she asked incredulously.
“Sit down and listen for a minute!” he roared.
She rocked back, shocked by the anger in him.
“Please, Caroline,” he said more softly. “Just one more minute.”
She sat down slowly, her lips tight. “All right, Joshua, I’m listening.”
He put the papers back inside his coat. “I don’t know how they did it, or what they held over your husband’s head, but the contracts he signed are legal and binding. They’re foolproof. Your lawyer has already told you that. I’ve had the best lawyers in town tell me the same thing. You fight them on this and you’re going to lose.”
He leaned forward, his eyes boring into hers. “Do you hear me, Caroline? You’re going to lose.”
“I haven’t lost yet,” she said stubbornly.
He threw up his hands. “Come on, Caroline! You’re not one of those plantation girls with a face full of makeup and a head full of cottonseed. Wake up. You think just because you don’t want something bad to happen, that makes it go away?”
She finally dropped her gaze. He was right, but it hurt like fury to have to admit it. The very thought of the triumph in Mr. Boswell’s little pig eyes galled her more deeply than she could express.
“They’ll let you take all the furniture.”
“How gracious of them,” she said bitterly.
He ignored that. “There are two conditions.”
She didn’t look up. For the first time, a bleakness came into Joshua’s voice. “You will have to sign papers renouncing all claims to the business.”
Her head came up. “Only that?” she sneered. “What else?”
He took a deep breath. He couldn’t meet her eyes. “Having you around is an embarrassment to them. You will have to agree to leave Savannah.”
For a moment her eyes widened, then instantly they turned dark. “
Now,
is that all, Mr. Steed?” she said, the words coming out clipped and hard-edged.
He nodded.
She stood slowly now, the fury in her giving her an icy calm. “Well, thank you for all you’ve done, Mr. Steed. But you go back and you tell your two friends I shall see them rot in hell before I give in to them.”
He moved a step closer to her, facing her anger. “Well spoken, Caroline,” he said softly. “And when you’re out of your home, with no money and no food, you cut that pride of yours into strips and fry it up and see how long it feeds your children.”
She flinched as though he had struck her.
He stepped forward and took her by the shoulders. “Look, Caroline, I don’t blame you for not wanting to see those two pieces of cow dung win this.
But they are going to win!
If I wasn’t absolutely sure of that, I wouldn’t have gone to see them. If you stay and fight, they’ll strip you cleaner than bleached buffalo bones on the prairie. This way, at least, you come out with something. This is a small fortune.”
For a long moment she stood there, looking up into his eyes. She felt the anger calm a little. But only a little. “You really think I ought to do this?” she asked in disbelief.
“Yes.”
“Leave Savannah?”
“They’ll drive you out one way or the other.”
She looked away, her eyes taking in the room around them. She loved this house. Donovan had let her pick out the furnishings from the finest stores in the north. This was her home. “And where would I go?” she whispered.
Joshua dropped his hands from her shoulders and stepped back. His eyes were wide and filled with uncertainty. Surprised, she looked at him more closely. “What, Joshua?”
“How about Missouri?” he asked softly.
There was a sharp intake of breath, and her head snapped up. For what seemed like an eternity, they both stood frozen, eyes locked together, then finally she shook her head. “You have an incredible sense of timing.”
There was a small tic around the corner of his mouth, but other than that his face remained impassive. “I told you, elegance is not my long suit.”
He took the papers from his coat again and handed them to her. “There’s the offer. All it requires is your signature.”
She took the papers slowly, her eyes never leaving his face. She felt as though she had been in the sun too long. The room seemed to be whirling around her.
“I’ve got a shipload of cotton to get to St. Louis. It leaves in three days. I wish there was more time, but I’ve already stayed here over a month longer than I should have.”
Three days!
He shook his head, not looking at her, half talking to himself now. “This is crazy.” Suddenly he looked up. “If you say no, I’ll understand.” He gave a short, explosive laugh. “It was an insane idea.” He pointed at the papers in her hand. “But the offer is not, Caroline. Don’t throw it away without giving it careful thought.”
He shrugged, looking suddenly helpless and vulnerable. “Well, I’m sorry for spoiling a lovely evening.” He turned and moved swiftly to the door.
“Joshua . . . ”
He stopped.
“I . . . I don’t know what to say.”
“Don’t say anything. I’m at the hotel. If you don’t come, I’ll assume that’s your answer.” He opened the door, then stopped again. This time he did not turn around, and she had to step forward to hear him. “I’m not Donovan Mendenhall, Caroline, but I’ll try and be a good husband to you and a good father to your children.” Then he turned and was gone.
* * *
It was ten o’clock the following morning when there was a soft knock on Joshua’s hotel room door. In an instant he was up. He grabbed his coat and put it on quickly, then went to the door, not daring to hope.
“Good morning, Joshua.” She looked drawn and very tired.
For a moment he felt his pulse quicken, but instantly he pushed it aside. Sometime during the long night, he had decided Caroline would come to see him either way. She had too much class to answer him by simply staying away. He smiled briefly. “Good morning, Caroline.”
Her green eyes were wide, filled with anxiety. “Can we walk?”
“Of course.”
As he pulled the door shut and turned to join her, she produced the contract from Boswell and Berrett. He stopped.
“You didn’t tell me about the clause that has to do with you.”
“I didn’t want you to think that I made the offer of—” He caught himself. “The offer to go to Missouri because I was after your money. I didn’t want them to think that either.”
“Do you think
I
would have thought that of you?”