Just Above a Whisper (27 page)

Her mind on the dirty task ahead, along with the hymn she was humming, Reese had just touched the ground with both feet when Gerald Jenness stepped around the corner of the building.

“Gerald, what are you doing here?”

“I came to see you.”

“Why?” Reese put it bluntly.

“Why not?” Gerald asked, and Reese had it in her heart to feel sorry for him.

“I’m working, Gerald.” She kept her voice kind. “I can’t visit right now.”

Gerald heard the words but was nowhere near ready to leave. Indeed, he’d been so lonely for weeks now that it only just occurred to him that he could seek out Reese and not wait until he ran into her in town.

“What’s it like inside?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“Do you go in all the rooms?” Gerald asked, looking as though he was going to head toward the door.

“Gerald, I have work to do.”

“I won’t get in the way.”

“You’re going to get me fired,” Reece stated, her hands coming to her waist. “You can’t be here.”

“What’s he’s like? Kingsley?”

“That is also none of your business. Now go.”

Gerald’s look became stubborn.

“You have to leave,” Reese repeated.

“You’re afraid of him, aren’t you?”

Reese’s gaze narrowed and her voice grew firm. “You’re going to be the one filled with fear if you don’t leave. I’ll chase you off with the broom.”

Gerald looked into her face and knew she meant it. And in truth, he didn’t want to get her into trouble. He opened his mouth to say he’d be back, but Reese had held her arm out, pointing him away from the house.

Gerald’s own face registered anger then. She was treating him like a child. Without another word, he stomped his way around the corner and left.

“You handled that well.”

Reese heard the softly spoken words behind her and started violently. She turned to the man whose voice didn’t match his size.

“Excuse me, sir?” Reese questioned, wondering what she had missed and if indeed she was about to be fired.

“You avoided his question about your fear of me very nicely,” Conner explained, his face open. “That was crafty. I’ll have to remember that about you.”

Eyeing him a moment, Reese asked, “Remember what exactly?”

“That you’re crafty.”

Reese thought she would be sacked at any moment, but Conner’s smile was kind, warm even, as he turned and went back inside.

Reese didn’t move for at least a minute. She’d thought she was alone; she hadn’t heard a thing. And what exactly had Conner Kingsley heard?

Turning her back on the house, she set to beating the rugs, her mind too unsettled to hum. It wouldn’t do any good to wonder. If he was going to fire her, he’d certainly let her know.

“Thanks for letting me read this,” Douglas remarked to Conner on Sunday morning when he returned the letter before services. “It’s good to hear that your niece is out of the woods.”

“Isn’t it? She’s been on my mind a lot. Dalton and Susie too,” Conner said, mentioning his sister-in-law.

“Maybe he’ll come and visit,” Douglas suggested. “I thought he hinted at that.”

Conner smiled. “A surprise visit. He’s not very subtle, is he?”

Douglas laughed and asked, “How is it going with Reese?”

Conner’s eyes got large. “She’s moved from fear to defiance. If I even look at her, that chin comes up. If I was a man spoiling for a fight, I’d know just where to go.”

“Good,” Douglas surprised him by saying.

“Why is it good?”

“Because that’s a little more normal. Reese is not afraid of much.”

“So you often find her contentious?”

“No, not really, but Reese doesn’t suffer fools lightly, and she can’t stand to be treated like one. If ever you underestimate her, you might find yourself being told where you’ve gone wrong.”

“I sure ended up in trouble over not wanting her to work this week, and she didn’t have to say a word.”

Douglas had to smile, having heard the entire account. “I understand she was at my house.”

Conner shook his head, thinking he’d been completely blind that day.

“She even made us a pie when she came back. Now is that forgiveness or not?”

It was time for Douglas to check on his family and get up front. Smiling all the while, he reached up to put a warm hand on Conner’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze before moving on his way.

Troy and Conner had left laundry for Reese. Laundry was not her favorite chore—the table was always too low and her back would ache miserably. But Reese was planning to work on it as soon as she got done with the kitchen floor.

On her hands and knees, working in one corner, she was unaware of the way Troy came upon her. Just taking a short cut through that room, he stopped short.

Troy stood and looked at the hole in the bottom of Reese’s right shoe and couldn’t help but notice the lack of stockings. He could not have helped but notice her new dress on Sunday, but at work it was the same two dresses day after day. In fact, since the fall she’d been only in the brown dress, and Troy realized she must have ruined the other.

His shortcut forgotten, he began to back out of the room, but Reese heard him.

“Did you need something?” she asked, turning on her knees a little.

“No, just taking a shortcut.”

“Don’t slip on the wet floor,” she warned cheerfully, returning her focus to the corner.

Troy thanked her, made sure he still had the papers he’d come home for, and exited the house to walk back to the bank.

He didn’t know how, but he had to find a way to get shoes for Reese. He thought about giving her extra money for another dress as well but knew he shouldn’t push the issue.

He was going to be gone over the weekend to Linden Heights, but as soon as he next saw Alison Muldoon, he would ask her whether she had any ideas concerning shoes for Reese Thackery.

Twelve

“I made you some sandwiches for your trip,” Reese told Troy on Friday morning. The two were standing in the downstairs hall. “They’re wrapped in this cloth, along with some fruit and cookies.”

“Thank you,” Troy said, taking them from her before looking into her eyes.

“You can’t go hungry on the train,” Reese spoke softly, feeling self-conscious.

When Troy continued to stare, Reese couldn’t hold her tongue.

“What’s the matter?”

“I was going to ask you something stupid.”

“What was it?”

“I was going to ask why you haven’t married, but then I remembered your papers.”

“Mrs. Greenlowe just mentioned marriage to me,” Reese said, her voice sounding young with wonder. “I don’t know why.”

“Don’t you want to be married?”

“I don’t know if I’m the marrying kind,” Reese admitted, making herself not think about her dreams.

“Why would you say that?”

“I’m too tall, too thin, and too redheaded. It’s a not a good combination.”

“Says who?”

“I don’t know,” Reese shrugged.

“Conner mentioned that a young man came to see you.”

“That was Gerald,” Reese said softly, still feeling bad for him. “He’s Mr. Jenness’ son. He’s in his teens and very lonely.”

“And you don’t want him pining after you?”

“He’s a good deal younger than I am and not a believer, so no, I don’t.”

“You’re wise to wait.”

Reese smiled a little. “I don’t think I have a choice about that.”

Troy smiled back at her and told her to enjoy the weekend.

“Don’t be afraid of Conner,” he warned her. “He won’t bite.”

Reese was able to laugh a little, finding it to be true. He wasn’t as frightening lately, and Reese didn’t really think he was out to harm her, especially since he didn’t drink. On the other hand, she didn’t know how a man that large could get around without making any noise.

“Have a good time,” Reese said.

“Thank you for the food.”

Reese didn’t move when Troy took his leave. She stood in the hall, feeling almost sad to see him go. Conner had come from the study to walk him to the door, and Reese couldn’t hear their conversation. However, she was still standing in the hall when Conner came back.

“Where is Troy’s wife?” she asked, her voice quiet and thoughtful.

“She died more than three years ago.”

Reese figured as much.

“But he’ll see his daughters this weekend?”

“Yes, and his granddaughters.”

Reese nodded, feeling happy for him.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” Conner suddenly said.

Reese looked at him, a bit of her guard returning.

“What did your father do for Mr. Zantow?”

Reese looked surprised.

“I mean,” Conner clarified, “Mr. Zantow didn’t run a large business or farm. It’s hard to imagine him needing a male servant when he himself was a carpenter.”

Reese nodded. “My father spent the first six months working on the house. He was fairly handy with a hammer, and the house needed lots of repairs. After that he would go for wood and do a lot of cutting and splitting, the back-breaking type that Mr. Zantow hated.”

Reese fell quiet for a moment. “He didn’t live much longer than that, so I don’t know what he would have done all these years.”

“And did you work the whole time or only until the contract became yours?”

“I did the cooking, but I didn’t start cleaning before my papers.”

“No wonder you’re such a good cook,” Conner complimented, and Reese looked surprised again. “You see,” Conner added, “sometimes I’m not scary at all.”

Always feeling a need to leave before things grew awkward, Conner told her he’d be at the bank until dinner, gathered his satchel, and went out the front door.