Her Safe Harbor: Prairie Romance (Crawford Family Book 4) (7 page)

“And what does he say to that?” Julia asked.

“He says little, but I’m certain you know, Julia,” Jolene
said with a throaty laugh, “there is something to be said about an earthy man
in the bedroom.”

“Jolene!” Julia said, but covered her mouth to stifle a
laugh.

“I hate to see Max upset, Jolene,” Jennifer said. “You must
wait and come another time when Max can come with you. He is so worried about
you!”

“Sometimes it’s best to have a conversation with those we
love, even if it becomes loud or angry,” Julia said and wandered to the window.
“Imagine how much less pain there would have been in the long term for our
family if I’d been honest with Jolene about Turner and me right away?”

“You were seventeen years old, Julia, and your mother, our
mother, directed you to do what you did. There is no shock or shame in doing as
you’d been told,” Jolene said.

“Perhaps we shouldn’t discuss this.” Jennifer’s face
reddened. How could her sisters be so casual about the events that tore their
family apart? It was so much easier to avoid arguments and these painful
issues, and so much better when an issue seemed to go away for having ignored
it, rather than focusing endlessly on things others were saying or doing. But
did
the unpleasantness ever go away?

Jolene looked at Jennifer and tilted her head as if
observing something new about her sister. “I believe you’ve learned an
unfortunate lesson at Mother’s hands. You do not like confrontation and will go
out of your way to avoid it. I am the same to some degree but have been able to
overcome it.”

“I avoided everything so much I boarded a train to marry a
man I’d never met,” Julia added, and turned. “It is a hard habit to break,
Jennifer. But you must.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Jennifer replied. Jolene was
staring at her and Julia was looking at her with pity. She faced accounting
problems head-on, but what of the troubles in her life?

* * *

Jennifer was seated in the front
parlor with her sisters and Julia’s husband, Jake, discussing their museum
outing of that afternoon.

“The best part of the day was the meal,” Jake declared.

“Oh, Jake,” Julia said with a laugh. “You would say that.
Can you imagine how excited your sisters, Flossie and Gloria, would be to see
all those beautiful paintings? In a few years, when the children are older, I
will bring them here on the train. What do you think, Jake?”

Jake smiled at his wife. “I think that once you get an idea
in your head, you hang on to it like a dog with a bone. Boarding in this town
would be plenty expensive, though, if the prices I saw on that restaurant menu
are typical.”

“You and your sisters and brothers-in-law and their children
would be more than welcome to stay here if you decide to come,” Jolene said to
Jake. “Maximillian wouldn’t hear of allowing our family to stay at a hotel.”

“What wouldn’t I allow?” Max asked as he came into the room,
Zebidiah following him.

Jolene grasped Max’s hand and tilted her cheek up for a
kiss. “Julia would like to bring her sisters-in-law to Washington to see the
museums and other sites. I told them you would never allow them to stay at a
hotel and that we would be happy to have them here.”

Max kissed Jolene’s cheek and hand and turned to Jake. “Your
family is welcome to stay anytime.”

“You seem to be in a better mood than you were this morning,
Maximillian. How did things go at the Senate?” Jolene asked.

“The Senate is full of backstabbing sycophants without the
wherewithal to form an educated opinion,” Max said, and smiled. “My problems of
early this morning, though, relating to my beautiful wife who does not always,
if ever, mind her husband, are solved for all concerned.”

Jolene raised her brows. “Really, Maximillian? Do tell.”

Max put his arm around Zeb and pulled him forward. “Zeb is
going to accompany you to Boston and stay until you and Melinda are ready to
come home. What do you think of that?”

“I think Zebidiah’s considerable talents will be wasted and
that you need him for important government business,” Jolene said.

Max shook his head. “He is the only man I trust to take care
of you, other than my newly made friend and relative, Jake, who has women and
children of his own to guard, and Eugenia’s husband, Calvin.” He knelt down in
front of Jolene’s chair and clasped her hands. “There are threats made every
day, according to what the Pinkerton agent told us. To ourselves and to our
families, and I take them seriously.”

“Poor Zebidiah. What does he have to say about this
arrangement?” Jolene asked.

“I serve at the senator’s pleasure,” Zeb replied. “If this
is how I can best be of service, than I am happy to comply.”

Everyone stood as dinner was announced, but Jennifer could
not think of food or the lovely time she’d had with Jolene, Melinda, and Julia
and her family that afternoon. She’d been thinking about the precious memories
she would have of the laughter and the lightheartedness she’d felt that day,
only wishing her father was with them. But then Max announced that Zeb would be
traveling with them to Boston. The idea of Jolene and Mother under the same
roof again had left her sleepless with worry, but now, with the chance that
Mother would be introduced to Zeb, she could barely breathe! She locked arms
with Jolene.

“This is unwise,” she whispered to her sister. “What if
Mother were to meet Zeb? She would be rude and cruel.”

Jolene looked at her and stopped them in the long hallway
before they followed the others to the dining room. “Mother will certainly meet
Zebidiah as he will be staying at Willow Tree.”

“Oh, no! He must not. Mother will not like it, and you know
how she can be. I can’t even imagine what she’ll say to . . .” she trailed off
and looked at her hands folded at her waist.

“Are you concerned about Mother’s behavior toward me?” She
led Jennifer to a settee. “We are not doing anything untoward. I am a married
daughter visiting her mother and father and I will have a trusted escort, as my
husband’s profession can attract an undesirable element. There is nothing to be
ashamed about. Nothing strange unless you allow Mother’s influences to rule
you. Do you really think Father would keep me from staying at Willow Tree?”

Jennifer shook her head. “No. I’m certain Father misses you
and Julia, and Jillian, too, and will be very happy for you to stay.”

“Then you must not let Mother set the tone for this visit.
We will manage Mother together, find out more about her illness, and spend time
with our father. I intend to send out a letter to him tomorrow. Come. Come and
eat and try to relax. Nothing dreadful will happen. I promise.”

Chapter Seven

Jennifer and Jolene sat together on
a plush sofa talking quietly in the private car of the train they were taking
to Boston. Zeb sat on a bench seat near the opposite window with Melinda, who
was giving him a running narrative of everything she saw as she looked through
the glass at the landscape as it went by. Jennifer was white-faced, distracted,
and looked ill, Zeb thought, with even more of her usual reticence. Jolene had
barely left her side, and he wondered if she knew what troubled Jennifer. He
doubted it though. If Jolene knew, then Max would know and that would mean Max
would be on this train to Boston intent on making sure Jennifer’s tormentor was
gone from her life permanently.

“You are not paying any attention to me,” Melinda said.

“That is not true,” he replied. “You just told me you
counted twenty cows in the last pasture before it was out of sight.”

Melinda giggled. “It was thirty goats, but you were very
close.”

“Miss Burberry?” Jolene said to the middle-aged woman seated
at one end of the car, book in hand. “Would you take Melinda to the dining car?
There is a table in my name for five. You may order drinks and soup if you would
like. We will join you in a few minutes.”

“Certainly ma’am,” Miss Burberry said and rose, waiting for
Melinda to follow her.

“What are you going to talk about Mother?” Melinda asked.
“That is why you are asking us to leave, am I right? I am nearly thirteen. I
don’t know why I can’t stay.”

“You may not stay because I have requested privacy with your
Aunt Jennifer and Mr. Moran,” Jolene said.

“Come along, Melinda,” Miss Burberry said. “We will order
lemonade or cold tea and pretend we are grand ladies.”

Jolene waited until the train car door latched firmly and
looked at Zeb. “Our family home, Willow Tree, is not always a comfortable place
to be, mostly because of our mother.”

Jennifer stood and huffed a breath. “We shouldn’t be talking
about this. Perhaps he should be staying at a hotel.”

“If you would prefer I stay at a hotel, I will be glad to,”
Zeb said.

“Jennifer, please sit down. No. I don’t believe you should
stay at a hotel, and I don’t believe Maximillian would be happy if you did. He
was very specific in his instructions, was he not?”

“Very specific. But I’ve no wish to upset your sister.”

Jennifer seated herself at the end of the sofa and Jolene
rose and sat down beside her. She picked up Jennifer’s hand and squeezed it.
“Our mother is a very unhappy person. She has been known to be cruel and
malicious, and now she is unwell. Our father loves her even with all of that,
and tries to please her, and maintain peace. It is difficult. Jennifer is, and
I am as well, I suppose, embarrassed that you may be subject to her insults. I
will introduce Melinda to her and then take her to stay with Maximillian’s
sister and her husband. I do not want her subject to Mother’s rants.”

Jennifer wiped her eyes. “She will undoubtedly be mean to
you, too, Jolene. She said you and Julia are dead to her.”

“I did not acquiesce to her demands.” Jolene turned to Zeb.
“My husband trusts you implicitly and that is why he sent you on this trip with
us. I am asking for Jennifer’s and my sake that you do not repeat any of what
you see and hear. I have consulted physicians and am convinced my mother has a
mental illness above and beyond the physical illness that Jennifer has reported
to us.”

Jennifer was crying softly and covered her face with her
hand. Jolene was staring at him. “I would never repeat anything I heard or saw.
It is not my place to carry tales other than to Max in regards to your safety.
My father is . . . does not pay attention to the world around him. He is a
professor and he barricades himself in his study or at his university office.
He is not actively cruel but neglectful of those dependent on him. My mother,
when she lived, maintained peace in our family. I am able to navigate awkward
situations when it is called for.”

“Of course you are. That is why Maximillian is dependent on
your help with his fellow senators.”

Jolene stood, gave him a pointed look, and started to the
door. “Join us for lunch when you are ready.”

“I am sorry about your mother,” Jennifer said after Jolene
had gone from their train car.

“Thank you,” Zeb said, and knelt in front of her. “Please do
not be upset or worried for me. Have you heard the children’s rhyme? ‘Sticks
and stones may break my bones but words will never harm me’?”

“I have not,” she said. “But I should take it to heart,
shouldn’t I? I worry excessively about things I can do nothing about.”

“You do not worry when confronted with an accounting
problem, do you?”

“Well, no. It is in my power to solve those problems. Mother
is not one of those problems.”

“I believe you can do whatever it is you set your mind to.
Your father depends on you to solve the most difficult issues at your family’s
business. For all your beauty and style, you were never afraid to work hard. I
watched you while you were at the Hacienda helping with all the influenza
patients, myself included. And now you are facing problems at home that seem
insurmountable, and some may be dangerous, and yet you manage it alone.”

Perhaps this was the time to tell Zeb why her ribs were
tender. He was the only man, the only person really, to recognize her in her
own right. She was not an appendage in his eyes, rather fully formed as her own
person. He had said it to her, just then, and his words, as she repeated them
in her head, were more meaningful and dear than anything anyone else had ever
said to her. She was not a sister or daughter to him. She was Jennifer
Crawford, with her own hopes and dreams and strengths understood. She was
suddenly glad of his company and the extended time she would have getting to
know him.

“You are a very perceptive man, and you are too kind. But I
confess my greatest concern now is that we may miss luncheon.”

He rose and held out his hand to help her from her seat.
“You have read my mind or heard my stomach churning. We do not want to miss our
meal.”

* * *

“What is that ungodly racket?” Jane
Crawford said as she came down the grand staircase at Willow Tree.

“Look who is home, Jane,” William Crawford said to his wife.
“Jennifer is back, and Jolene is visiting, too, and has brought guests.”

Father looks terrified
, Jennifer thought to herself.
How
ridiculous! In his own home!
His behavior would have been normal for her as
well had she not escaped for the past month. She was determined to not let
Mother intimidate her or belittle her. She’d become accustomed to being treated
kindly and with respect. She recently decided she would not go back.

“Jolene is no longer a member of this family. She can take
herself and these people out of my house at once.”

Jennifer pulled off her gloves and handed them to Bellings
as she walked to her mother and kissed her cheek. “How absurd you are being,
Mother! Jolene is your daughter just as I am and Julia is. And she has brought
her daughter, Melinda. Come here, Melinda, and meet your grandmother.”

“I am not—” Jane began.

“You will not say one nasty word to this child. She has done
nothing to you,” Jennifer whispered as she leaned close. Her mother turned her
head sharply and eyed her.

“Hello. It is nice to meet you,” Melinda said to Jane and
then looked at Jennifer.

Jennifer smiled even as her stomach rolled while waiting for
her mother to respond.

But Jane merely nodded.

“Come along now, Melinda. I am taking you to your Aunt
Eugenia and Uncle Calvin’s. Your aunt wrote me that she is prepared to spoil
you with new dresses and fancy dinners and that your father and I are to say
nothing,” Jolene said.

Jolene and Melinda went back to the carriage where Zeb
waited to escort them to the Billingses’. Jennifer looked at her mother.

“You look very tired since I saw you last. How are you
feeling?”

“You are home less than five minutes and are insulting me
already?”

“It is not meant as an insult, Mother. I am concerned about
you, as is Jolene.”

“Jolene did not speak one word to me, and she has not been
in this house for nearly two years!”

“What did you expect her to say, Mother? You told her she
was not a member of the family and that she was to leave.”

“Well,” Jane said. “What is expected of
me
in light
of her behavior?”

“We are glad to have you home, Jennifer,” her father said as
he came to stand beside her. “We have missed you.”

“We are not the only ones to have missed you either.
Jeffrey—” Her mother suddenly folded at the waist. “William. William. Get me to
my rooms!”

“Mother!” Jennifer cried, and turned quickly to Bellings.
“Fetch Dr. Roderdeck immediately and see that Mildred goes directly to Mrs.
Crawford’s rooms.”

“No doctor!” her mother gasped as she straightened and took
deep breaths.

Jennifer locked eyes with her father, and then he looked at
his wife.

“Yes there will be a doctor, Jane. I will not have you
suffer like this,” he said.

Her mother suddenly looked old to her. Old and ill, even
dressed as she was in a stylish outfit, her hair fixed and her rouge applied
expertly. “Come along, Mother. I will help you to your rooms now that you have
caught your breath.”

“I will take care of your mother from here, Miss Crawford,”
Mildred, her mother’s maid, said as she took her mistress’s arm at the door to
her rooms. “You needn’t trouble yourself.”

“Thank you, Mildred. But I will help you and wait with
Mother until Dr. Roderdeck arrives.”

“That isn’t necessary, Miss Crawford. I am used to helping
Mrs. Crawford.”

“I am certain you are; however, it is necessary for me to
stay,” Jennifer said and swept past Mildred into her mother’s rooms. “Let us
get you changed into a dressing gown, Mother. I will wait with you until the
doctor arrives.”

After her mother was out of her day dress and in a gown and
robe, Jennifer watched her go from the stool at her dressing table to a chair
near the window, and finally pace from one end of the room to the other.
“Mother. Please lie down and rest,” Jennifer begged.

“I feel fine. I do not need a doctor.”

Jane jumped at the knock at her door. Jennifer hurried to
answer it and admitted Dr. Roderdeck to the room. “Her maid and I will wait in
her dressing room while you examine her.”

Jennifer sat on an overstuffed footstool while Mildred
stared at her. Dr. Roderdeck knocked on the dressing room door, and Jennifer
hurried to her mother’s side as she lay stretched out on the bed. She was
screaming.

“He is a charlatan! An imposter! He knows nothing about
modern medicine! Get him out of my rooms!”

“Dr. Roderdeck, if you are done here, please come with me so
that you may speak to my father. He is very worried for his wife,” Jennifer
said.

“Mrs. Crawford? Do you have any questions for me?” he asked.

“I will not have him telling your father his lies, Jennifer.
Escort him directly out of the house.”

“Rest now,” Jennifer said. “I will be back to check on you
shortly.”

“Your wife has a tumor in her stomach area. It should be
removed surgically,” the doctor said once seated in William Crawford’s study.
“She was difficult to examine, and I don’t believe she answered all my
questions truthfully.”

“What does that mean?” Jennifer asked.

“There is a mass, an abnormal growth, growing near or around
her stomach or intestines. I cannot say if it is cancerous or not. It may be
benign; however, we will not know until it is removed. It is pressing on her
organs and causing her discomfort as you know.”

“I doubt if Jane will agree to surgery,” her father said.

“You must convince her, Father,” Jennifer said. “You must.”

“This mass will undoubtedly continue to grow,” Dr. Roderdeck
stated as he stood to leave. “And the pain will worsen.”

“Mother must have this surgery. We can hardly allow her to
wither away in front of us,” Jennifer told her father after the door to the
study had closed.

“I cannot stand seeing her in so much pain. Is there any
medicine that may help her? Has he prescribed any?”

“He offered her morphine. She refused.”

William Crawford stood and stared out the long window. “Your
mother can be difficult,” he said finally. “I do not wish to talk about her
behind her back, but this ailment will only increase her anxiety and stress and
may prompt unpleasant words and situations. You should prepare yourself.”

“I am well aware of Mother’s moods and the miserable affect
they have on every member of this household, Father. Certainly you don’t
believe that no one noticed?”

“I will not tolerate harsh words about your mother,
Jennifer.”

Jennifer walked to where he stood and looked at him very
directly. “Father. How can you say you will not tolerate harsh words about
Mother? We know nothing else. We have lived with nothing but harsh words and
manipulations from her all of our lives. I will be kind to Mother, of course,
and make allowances for her physical condition, but I will not allow her to
belittle me. I won’t allow it anymore.”

Jennifer had spoken quietly, when she wanted to scream out
her frustration and anger, realizing at that moment that her father knew no
other way of life, knew only his place in her mother’s world and the excuses he
needed to make to justify his own existence. She watched him now, as he stared
at her, regret and sorrow on his face.

“I always hoped that I was able to make up for some of the
excesses of your mother’s personality, but it appears I have not. Have I been a
fool, Jennifer?”