California Romance (60 page)

Ellie felt tempted to ask for dinner in her room but reconsidered. Ever since arriving in San Francisco, she’d been eager to meet Charles’s brother—who defied Stanhope expectations by serving down-and-outs at his Rescue Mission.

Ellie finished her bath and towel-dried her hair until it curled under against the nape of her neck. She slipped into the pale blue dimity dress Maria had laid out for her and fastened the ribbons on her flat slippers. Her heart quickened to double time. What would the man Joshua admired so deeply think of her? Had Josh mentioned her to his uncle? If so, would the street missionary find her worthy of his beloved nephew?

One look into Marvin Stanhope’s keen gray eyes set Ellie’s doubts at rest. He bore a strong resemblance to the other Stanhope men. Ellie immediately felt at home with him and delighted when placed beside him at the glittering dining room table. He plied her with questions about Joshua.

Ellie clasped her hands and spoke more freely than she had felt comfortable doing except to Josh’s father. She tingled with excitement. “He is wonderful,” she said, aware of Marvin’s keen interest and the way Mrs. Stanhope and Edward leaned forward to hear. “If it hadn’t been for Joshua, a mountain lion would have killed my brother, Tim.”

Mrs. Stanhope’s silver fork crashed to her fine china plate. Her face paled, and she stared at Ellie. “A mountain lion! Why haven’t you told me about that?”

Ellie wished she had bitten her tongue instead of blurting out the news in an attempt to show how splendid Joshua was. “I–I’m sorry. I knew it would worry you.”

Mrs. Stanhope’s voice rose a full octave. “What happened?”

“A rifle shot wounded the lion. It came toward Tim and Joshua. Tim’s rifle misfired and knocked the lion down. The rifle landed at Josh’s feet. He grabbed it and knocked the beast senseless. The other men came and killed it.”

Mrs. Stanhope raised a handkerchief to her lips with trembling hands. “I knew no good would come of my son going to Madera.” She whirled toward her brother-in-law. “This wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t lured Joshua to your mission when he was only a boy.”

“Settle down, Mother. Uncle Marvin didn’t send Josh to Madera. God did.” Edward spoke gently, and his father nodded in agreement.

Edward’s unexpected defense of his brother caught Ellie by surprise. She wouldn’t have expected him to admit that God was responsible for Joshua’s choice. Was the prodigal twin softening toward spiritual things?
Please, Lord
,
let it be so. I can hardly wait to write and tell Josh what Edward said
.

Some of the color returned to Mrs. Stanhope’s face. She beckoned to Maria, who gaped in the background. “You may serve dessert now.”

When the maid left the room, Ellie said, “You can all be proud of Joshua. He’s doing a great deal of good under difficult circumstances.”

Mrs. Stanhope bridled. “Why should my son be experiencing difficult circumstances after all he gave up here?”

For the second time, Ellie regretted speaking before weighing her words as she’d been doing since coming to San Francisco. Her heart sank. “Some of the board members disagree with his methods.”

Edward chortled. “That’s nothing new. I remember hearing of trouble in the ranks of Bayview Christian a time or two over Josh’s…uh…sometimes unorthodox means of getting his message across.” Not giving his mother a chance to answer, he immediately turned back to his uncle. “How are things at the mission?”

Ellie gave a secret sigh of relief and drank in every word of their guest’s reply. But when he turned to her and said, “Miss Sterling, would you consider coming to the Rescue Mission and singing?” the hush that fell over the diners left her paralyzed. Edward’s mouth fell open. His father’s eyes twinkled. And Mrs. Stanhope looked as if she’d been turned to stone. Why didn’t someone say something to break the shocked silence?

Ellie thought of her Chinatown ordeal. The Rescue Mission was located in one of the worst parts of San Francisco. Panic sent perspiration crawling down Ellie’s body. How could she deliberately go to a place so filled with danger and sin? Something terrible might happen to her.

“Trust Me.”

Ellie swallowed hard and took a deep, unsteady breath. When she released it and spoke, her words came out in a whisper. “I will go.”

“No!” Edward leaped to his feet, overturning his chair. It crashed to the costly carpet with a muffled thud. Fury mottled his face. “Are you insane? I won’t hear of it. It isn’t safe.” He glared at his uncle. “How dare you make such a suggestion? Unspeakable things happen down there.”

His uncle softly replied, “Psalm 118 says, ‘The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?’ Ellie will be perfectly safe. You can deliver her in a closed carriage with a bodyguard if you wish. Once inside the mission, every man there will fight to defend her should the need arise, which it won’t.” The zeal in the man’s eyes made him look more like Joshua than ever. “Edward, Letitia, think. Who needs the Sierra Songbird more? Those who already know the way, the truth, and the life? Or the lost sheep?”

A glorious light crept into Charles Stanhope’s face. “I will personally take Ellie to the mission.” He raised a commanding hand when his wife started to protest. “The subject is closed. Marvin is right. Ellie can do more good with her songs and stories down there than we may ever know.” He smiled at Maria, who had brought a silver tray holding frozen pudding to the table. “I suggest we finish our dinner and prevail on our songbird to favor us with a number.”

To Ellie’s surprise, Mrs. Stanhope and Edward subsided, but the storm clouds hanging heavy in their faces showed they didn’t consider the matter settled. Ellie did. She had given her word.

Weary beyond belief from the day’s events, Ellie found herself wound tightly after their guest left. Her brain raced like a caged squirrel.
Beryl. The
Chronicle
article. Chinatown. Marvin Stanhope’s plea
. Knowing she would not sleep until she rid herself of the memories, Ellie snatched writing materials and wrote a letter to Tim, a letter in which she poured out all her wrought-up feelings.

At last she slept. The next morning, the hastily written missive began its journey to the Diamond S.

A
few days later, Edward stalked into the breakfast room where Ellie was having a solitary meal. He flung a copy of the
San Francisco Chronicle
on the table in front of Ellie. “Read this,” he thundered. “How did that meddlesome reporter get wind of it?”

Ellie glanced down:

S
IERRA
S
ONGBIRD TO
P
ERFORM AT
R
ESCUE
M
ISSION

“How can the reporter know this?” Ellie cried. “Who is his unnamed source?” She fixed an accusing stare on Edward. “The only person I told how I felt was you!”

The anger in Edward’s face changed to chagrin. He clutched his head in both hands. “I was so upset about your going to the mission that I blurted it out to Beryl. Ellie, I am so sorry.”

Appetite gone, Ellie pushed back from the table and slumped in her chair. “This must be her revenge for the speculation about us.”

Edward dropped into a chair next to her. “It’s more than speculation, Ellie. I’ve broken with Beryl for good. She blames you.” A corner of his mouth lifted in a lopsided smile. “It really is your fault, you know. No man in his right mind would marry a woman like Beryl when there are girls like you in the world.”

“Stop.” She raised her hands in mute appeal. “You know how I feel about Joshua.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Edward cocked one eyebrow and became his usual fun-loving self. “If good ol’ Josh were anyone but my twin, I’d fall in love with you. He is, and I won’t.” A scowl replaced Edward’s teasing expression. He folded his arms across his chest and added, “I can’t say the same for the present pastor of Bayview Christian. Watch your step, Miss Sterling, or you’ll be Mrs. Michael Yates in spite of yourself. He’s determined to get to the top. What better way to achieve success than with the Sierra Songbird as his wife?”

Ellie didn’t say so, but Edward’s evaluation matched her opinion of Michael. He never lost an opportunity to praise her and send languishing looks her way. Suddenly lighthearted by Edward’s promise not to fall in love with her, she brushed aside the thought of Michael, clasped her hands, and gave a mock sigh. “Oh, to be loved for myself alone, not just to help fulfill someone’s ambitions.”

Edward twirled an imaginary mustache in the best stage villain tradition. “Beware, my pretty. Greed and ambition lurk in the hearts of men.”

Ellie laughed at his nonsense. “Are we practicing this morning as usual?”

Edward abandoned his dastardly role. “Of course. You want to sing your best for the derelicts as well as for society—unless I can talk you out of going to the mission.”

“You can’t.”

“I know. You, young lady, are a very determined person.”

A few hours later, Ellie had need of every ounce of determination she could muster. Maria appeared at her open door. Her dark eyes sparkled. “You have a visitor. Senor Yates is waiting in the library. Senora Stanhope says you are to come at once.”

“Bother!” Ellie laid down her Bible. “Just when I thought I’d have time to study.”

The Mexican girl came closer. “You read about
Jesús
, sí?”

“Sí.” Ellie smiled at her. “Jesus is my best friend.”

Maria touched the silver cross she wore. “I love Jesús, too. But I think Senor Yates wants to be more than a best friend.” She clapped one hand over her mouth and left before Ellie could reply.

Unnerved by Maria’s comment, Ellie reluctantly went down the curving stairway. Singing at Bayview Christian meant working closely with the Reverend Michael Yates. She’d known for some time he saw her as a means to an end, and it troubled her. If he’d come to declare his intentions to marry her, how could she turn him down without incurring his wrath? She entered the room lined with rare editions and fine paintings and chose a chair rather than the settee in order to distance herself from her uninvited guest.

After inquiring after Ellie’s health as if she were an invalid, the young minister said, “Miss Ellie, I’ve come to lay my heart at your feet and beg for your hand in marriage. I need a wife.” He gave her an ardent look. “In all my many travels I’ve found no one so eminently suitable as you.”

Ellie covered a giggle with a cough. The first part of his proposal sounded like it had been lifted from an advice to the lovelorn article in the
Chronicle
. Ellie had started to read Three Easy Ways to Ask a Lady to Marry You, but had been interrupted after the first suggestion:
“Be bold.”

I wonder what the other two ideas were
. Ellie stifled another giggle.
Michael must not have read them either. Telling me he’s found no one else suitable surely couldn’t be part of the article
.

Michael paced the room, and his smooth voice painted their future in eloquent, glowing terms. Face aflame with zeal and self-importance, he ended by saying, “Think of it, Miss Ellie. There’s no limit to what we can do together. We’ll lead multitudes to Christ. First we conquer San Francisco, then the nation. I’ll go down in history as one of the greatest preachers of all times.” He placed one hand over his heart. “And you will be my inspiration.”

Although disgusted by his conceit, the prospect of the glorious future he promised sliced through Ellie’s common sense. What an opportunity to show those persecutors who had made her feel like Job’s granddaughter!

As if sensing her response, Michael knelt at Ellie’s side and captured her hands. His hazel eyes gleamed. “I’m determined to marry you. Help me fulfill my dreams.”

Ellie came to earth with a dull thud. His dreams? What about hers? Even if she loved Michael, which she didn’t, as his wife she’d never be more than a small star hitched to a flaming comet. “I don’t love you.”

He squeezed her hands. “You will.” Confidence rang in every word.

It sounded to Ellie like a veiled threat. She remembered Edward’s warning:
“Watch your step…or you’ll be Mrs. Michael Yates in spite of yourself.”
How could she convince him otherwise?

Tell him who your real father is
, a little voice replied.
If Michael knew your background, he’d thank his lucky stars for saving him. Of course, telling him would also bring your house built on sand crashing down around you and end your career
.

Never! She snatched her hands free and exclaimed, “Michael, I love another man.”

He leaped up and glared down at her, face redder than his hair. “Stanhope, I presume. Why have you been leading me on and making me think—”

Ellie shot out of her chair and planted her hands on her hips. She wanted to scream but kept her voice low. “Reverend Yates, I’ve never led you on. You’re the one who has obviously planned a future and worked me in like the missing piece of a puzzle. I don’t fit into your life. I never will.”

A vein throbbed in Michael’s throat. He gave an unpleasant laugh. “Edward Stanhope has nothing to offer you but a tarnished reputation. When you come to your senses you’ll be knocking on my door, begging me to marry you. Just don’t count on my still being available.” He stomped out, leaving Ellie cold and shaken.