Before the Dawn (24 page)

Leah had the answer to her question.

“You were the one who borrowed the money from him,” came Seth's voice. “I told you it was a bad idea.”

“I had no choice. Where else was I going to go, to you?”

“Then sell some of your furniture,” Seth told her casually.

“No,” she shot back. “I've a reputation to maintain.”

“You won't have anything to maintain when he evicts you. The house is
his
after all. Didn't Louis leave it to him and that grandmother?”

So Cecil had been right, Leah thought. The house had been left to Ryder and Little Tears.

“I was not going to turn my sister's house over to ignorant savages. I gave the old woman some money for the deed and sent her away.”

Stunned and disgusted, Leah shook her head.

Seth said, “Well, whatever happens with you, my own problems may be solved. Here, read this.”

There was silence for a moment, and then Leah heard Helene ask, awestruck, “Does this mean what I think it does?”

“Yes. She's got some White judge back East trying to get the settlement overturned.”

Leah realized they were talking about her now.

Helene asked sarcastically, “And how's this going to help you?”

He didn't hesitate. “Maybe the will will be reinstated. Then I'll court the widow.”

“Ha! As if she'd have you. Your brother's already mined that claim.”

“But that's over. He sent her packing. She told me so herself.”

Helene's voice held a bitterly amused tone. “You must be blind. That night at Cordelia's, he never took his eyes off of her. Wake up, Seth. To have her you're going to have to go through that Indian. A woman like her will spread her legs for any man if the price is right, and your brother can pay.”

Leah wanted to burst in and straighten Helene out once and for all, but forced herself to stay put. She needed to hear more.

“Well, I'm not going to worry about her and Squaw Boy,” Seth said confidently. “He only wants to bed her, and once that's accomplished, he'll discard her like the rest.”

“And she'll need a sympathetic shoulder to cry on,” Helene replied knowingly.

Leah imagined them both smiling triumphantly, and her lip curled disgustedly. She'd fallen into a nest of vipers.

Seth spoke then. “I will see what I can do about keeping Cordelia under control though. She's threatening to write about Leah if I don't keep my distance. I'd no idea she'd come so unglued over a few innocent evenings.”

“Jealousy does that. I told you she'd be a liability one day. She's not going to let you discard her so easily.”

Leah's eyes went round. Seth and Cordelia?

Helene added, “Tend to Cordelia, but continue to pursue the widow. If Ryder wants to interfere, let him. In the end, he'll be doing us a favor.”

Leah didn't know what to say or think. They were trying to weave her into a malevolently spun web that would reach her no matter where she turned.

Helene asked, “Do you really think you can gain her heart?”

“I know I can.”

Leah rolled her eyes sarcastically.

“Well if you can, our financial worries will be over. It may be a lengthy court fight to get back Louis's estate for Leah, if the court entertains it at all.”

“This Raddock sounds pretty influential, but I don't care about the time. Once I have the pigeon in my coop, I can wait until I'm seventy for an estate that size.”

“Just so you understand it may take years.”

“Oh, I've already thought about it. I'll do whatever's necessary.”

“Even marry her?”

“I'd marry the devil himself if gets me close to Louis's money.”

Leah let out a sigh.
Seth, Seth, Seth
, she said to herself. Granted, he'd almost taken her in with his manners and his charm, but now—now she knew the truth, and it didn't sit well. So, he'd court the devil himself, would he?

As if she'd just arrived, Leah walked over to the door and knocked soundly.

When Seth opened it and saw her, his composure slipped, exposing wide startled eyes. He immediately composed himself and his face broke into a broad smile. “Leah? How wonderful to see you, but what are you doing here?”

“The clerk at the telegraph office said he sent a telegram here for me. Eloise wanted to visit a sick child so I asked her to drop me off. She'll be back in a short while.”

Seth gestured Leah inside, where the sparse furniture matched the house's overall run-down appearance.

“How are you Helene?” Leah asked.

Helene answered distantly, “Fine, and you?”

“I'm well.”

Leah turned her attention back to Seth, “So, was there a message for me?”

“Ah, yes. It's right here.” He went over to a small table where the note lay.

Leah took it from his hand and read:

“Judge Raddock's been very busy it seems,” Leah voiced. She then asked Helene, “Did Seth tell you about the judge's efforts on my behalf?”

Helene nodded. “Yes, he did. How long have you known him?”

“Not very.”

“Men just melt in your mouth it seems.”

Leah's chin rose. It was a nasty thing to say. “Did life turn you this bitter, Helene, or were you born this way?”

Helene threw back her head and laughed. “Touché. I forgot, you aren't afraid of me.”

“No, I'm not.”

“Well be afraid of whoever poisoned Cecil. If the pattern proves true, you'll be next.”

“Aunt Helene!” Seth snapped.

It was the second time she'd repeated her theory concerning Cecil's possible poisoning. Coupled with Saturday night's eerie dream of Cecil, Leah began to wonder if maybe she should talk with someone about that possibility, but whom? Leah waved off Seth's false show of support. “It's all right. Helene's simply worried about my well-being.”

Helene nodded. “Leah's right, of course, Seth. We wouldn't want another of Louis's women to come to a tragic end. There's enough death ringing his name.”

Leah wondered how the two would react if they knew she'd overheard their conversation. The sound of a wagon outside distracted her thoughts and sent Seth to the leather-shaded windows. “It's Eloise, Leah.”

Leah nodded. “Okay. Thanks for taking care of the message. Good afternoon, Helene.”

“Good-bye, Leah. Oh,” she said as if suddenly remembering something, “I've ordered new furniture for the house, so tell Eloise I'll be selling some of my old things tomorrow, and that she should let her friends from the church know, in case they'd like to stop by.”

Recalling Helene's adamant refusal to put her furniture on the block earlier, Leah guessed she'd changed her mind and chosen to swallow her Creole pride and attempt to pay the piper. So Leah simply nodded, asking innocently, “Will the sale be at a certain time?”

“Yes, from ten in the morning until four in the afternoon.”

“I'll tell her.” With a wave, Leah left them to their plotting.

 

That night as Leah lay in bed, she admitted being disappointed with Seth. She had known Helene didn't care a fig about her, but Seth, too? Leah turned over and punched her
pillow. Even though she hadn't seen herself getting serious about Seth, it pained her to know he'd been leading her down the garden path. She assumed Ryder knew all about this side of his brother but had left her to find out on her own.

Ryder.

So far, she hadn't heard from him. After their parting Saturday night, she wasn't sure she wanted to. He'd declared himself to her as no other man had before, and even now his blunt words made her blood rush. She didn't see him proposing marriage, nor did she expect him to, but she didn't see herself in the relationship based on lust alone; she wanted more from life than that. She also didn't see herself revealing the details of her marriage to Monty because she didn't think he'd understand why Monty believed the marriage to be such a necessity. In fact, Ryder might feel that it proved Monty cared about someone else's child more than his own flesh and blood. If she knew him better, maybe she could take the plunge, but she didn't. Even though she'd gone to his bed a virgin, that fact hadn't changed any of his other assumptions; it only added more fuel to the fire. Yes, he knew she'd scrubbed floors and where she'd attended school, but what else? He knew neither her heart nor her soul, and until he did, she thought it prudent she keep the truth to herself.

The next morning, Eloise came out to the cabin. “Leah, there's an invite here for you. It seems Sam and Mable have gotten engaged, and they're throwing a party.”

“What?” A laughing Leah took the invitation—sure enough there was the announcement scrolled on the fancy paper in black and white. The party would be two Saturdays away at Sunrise, and both she and Eloise had been invited. “I knew he was seeing her, but engaged?”

“Yep. I think it's sweet.”

“I do, too. Sam's a nice man. I hope he'll be happy,” Leah said.

Eloise cackled, “I know Mable will. A lot of other widows around here won't be, but Mable sure will.”

 

It was the end of May; the rhubarb in the garden was high, and the summer flowers were peeking above the earth, signaling that warm weather had finally arrived.

A few days before the engagement party Leah and Eloise went into town. While Eloise did errands, Leah went over to the telegraph office to wire Eloise's address to Judge Raddock. She also asked the clerk not to send any more of her messages to Seth. She wanted them sent to Eloise's. The less Seth and his aunt knew about her doings, the better she'd feel.

The day of the party, Leah had to pound on the closed door of Eloise's artist's room in order to draw her attention to the time. “Eloise, we're going to be late!”

“Okay,” she called back. “Just give me a couple of more minutes, and I'll be right there.”

Leah shook her head. Eloise was working on a new piece and had been spending every free waking moment sequestered in her sanctuary. Leah had no idea if the creation were a painting or a sculpture, but she did know if she left things to Eloise, the party would be over and done with before Eloise called it a day.

Leah went back to her cabin to dress. For the past few weeks she'd set aside the expensive attire she and Cecil had purchased in Boston in favor of simple skirts and blouses. Eloise had been trying to convince her to purchase a pair of denims, insisting they were much more comfortable for gardening and the like, but Leah hadn't the nerve so far. Tonight's event required elegance, however, so she opened the wardrobe holding her fancy gowns and tried to decide which one she would wear. As she viewed each of the four gowns in turn, it suddenly came to her that the midnight blue dress she'd worn that night with Ryder wasn't there.
She thought back. Last she'd seen it, the gown had been pooled on the floor before the fire! Surely she hadn't left it behind? The answer to that question seemed quite obvious since the dress wasn't here hanging with the rest.
Good lord, how do you ask a man for the return of your dress,
she asked herself. Sighing, Leah took down the first gown her hand found and laid it across the bed.

 

When Eloise pulled back on the reins to stop Ol' Tom in the paved drive leading to Sunrise, Leah was overwhelmed with mixed feelings. On one hand, she couldn't be happier for Sam and felt honored to be among the invited guests. On the other hand, there was Ryder; she didn't need to say more.

The happy couple greeted them at the door. Sam was dressed to the nines in black-and-white formal attire. His eyes shining, he gave both Leah and Eloise a big hug, and thanked them for coming.

Beside him stood a Mable France whom Leah hardly recognized. Gone was the frumpy woman dressed in the formless, white-aproned costume of the servant. In her place stood a confident, buxom woman in a beautiful blue gown that showed off her ample figure to advantage. The severe bun had been replaced by an elegant twist, and there was a smile on her face.

“Thanks so much for coming,” Mable said.

“Thank you for the invite,” Eloise replied, speaking for both herself and Leah.

Mable then added, “Sam why don't you take Eloise out back with the rest of the guests. I'd like to speak with Leah for a moment.”

Leah was a bit surprised by the woman's request but let Sam and Eloise go on ahead. She then asked Mable, “What did you wish to speak with me about?”

“I owe you an apology,” Mable said.

“For what?”

“For being so tight-mouthed with you when you first arrived. I thought you'd be like Helene, ordering me around, looking down your nose, but you're not.”

Leah found the confession touching. “I appreciate that, but may I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Were your family's men really killed in one of the Montague mines?”

Mable nodded. “Yes, they were. And although I hate to say it, I'll go to my grave cursing Louis Montague's name because of it. He refused to invest in the safety measures his men wanted.”

Leah nodded understandingly, then confessed, “Cecil told me some of the stories. My late husband wasn't a very benevolent individual in those days.”

Mrs. France nodded. “No he wasn't, but I changed my mind about you that morning you spilled the coffee.”

“Why?”

“Because you went and got the mop.
She'd've
made
me
clean it up, but you took care of it yourself.”

“It never crossed my mind to have you do it for me.”