Just Above a Whisper (45 page)

“I’m going to be in the side yard,” Reese popped her head into the office long enough to tell Conner, just as they agreed that she would. Conner had not insisted that she never venture outdoors but only that she tell whomever was at the house during the time when she did go.

“All right,” he agreed, and tried to take his mind back to the papers in front of him. It didn’t work. Giving up just ten minutes later, Conner went all the way down to the buttery workroom and out the door to find her.

To his surprise, she was eating her dinner on the bench. Conner didn’t wait to be invited but sat down, once again trapping her skirt.

“It’s a little cold out here,” he said, taking in her coat. It was rather threadbare in places.

“It is, but the fresh air is worth it.”

Conner smiled as his head went back, and he looked across at the trees that changed a bit more every week. The colors were amazing, colors only God could have imagined.

“Do you have a scar?” Reese asked, and Conner looked down to find her staring up at him.

“I do, yes.”

“Does it ever pain you?”

“Not anymore. It itched and hurt for many years, but not now.”

“Do you get tried of wearing your cravat all the time? Or are you used to it?”

“I’m used to it. It was more of a problem when I was a boy and none of the other boys wore them.”

Reese smiled. “It’s nice that your family is in banking. It would make you awfully hot on a farm.”

Conner smiled in return, more pleased than he revealed that she was relaxed with the subject.

“Well, I’d better get back to work,” Reese commented, having finished the last of her food and coffee. She started to stand but found her skirt trapped. She looked to Conner, who was taking a long look at the sky, seeming not to notice her predicament. After some moments he looked down and pretended to be startled.

“You’re still here.”

“As you see,” Reese said, fighting a smile.

“Problems?”

“Just one large one.”

Conner’s head went back as he laughed, and Reese found that she liked the quiet sound. He also shifted over and freed her skirt. Then with one fluid move he stood, reached for her plate and cup, and held the door to allow her back inside.

Watching from the cover of a few nearby trees, Gerald felt cold, much colder than the weather would merit. Deep in his heart he’d known that Reese Thackery was not going to fall for him, but somehow he’d hoped. And even today—arriving just before Conner made an appearance and hiding in the trees—he hadn’t heard the conversation, but he could see what was happening.

Just to be on the safe side, Gerald waited for them to go indoors before he slipped away. With every step that took him away from the big house, he asked himself what he was going to do.

“How are you doing?” Maddie asked her aunt when they stopped in for dinner on Sunday afternoon.

“We didn’t go to the meetinghouse today,” Cathy wasted no time in sharing quietly while the women finished putting the final touches on dinner. “Doyle’s not sure he wants to go to the meetinghouse on the green anymore, and I’m not sure I can go to the new one.”

“I go to the new one. Does that help?”

“That’s what Doyle asked me, and I just don’t know yet.”

“It’s a huge decision, and you must still have questions.”

“Yes, I do. Doyle can’t answer them all, but he keeps reading his Bible and telling me things.”

“Like what?”

“Did you know that in the first chapter of Genesis, God talks as though He’s more than one person? Doyle says that’s Jesus and the Holy Ghost too.”

Maddie nodded. “Jace and I read that not too long ago.”

“I never knew that.”

“Why did it strike you as important?”

“I think of Jesus having a beginning, but He doesn’t. I mean, I know He was born at Christmas, but it seems He was also present at creation.”

Maddie’s heart was smiling in amazement to hear these words coming from her aunt. She had been so angry just a few days before and was now willing to discuss Scripture. Maddie stayed quiet when her aunt brought up some more facts that Doyle had uncovered, completely unaware that the same conversation was going on in the parlor.

“How are things going?” Jace asked of Doyle.

“Pretty well, I think. I have questions, and so does Cathy, most of which I can’t answer.”

“That sounds familiar. Maddie and I still have questions every Sunday for Douglas Muldoon.”

“And has it helped? Have you gotten answers?”

“Every time. If he has to think about something, he gets back to us, but he usually has what we want to know.”

“How does he do it?”

“He’s just spent so much time studying, Doyle.”

“But how do you know you can trust what he says?”

“Because he shows me in the Bible. There’s no denying it when the written words are in front of me.”

“Like me seeing Jesus’ forgiveness of Zacchaeus and not just seeing that Zacchaeus was a short little man?”

“Exactly. God’s Spirit is opening your eyes to truths that have been there all along. And He’s given all of us good minds to understand.”

Doyle smiled, knowing that more questions would come, but right now he was at peace. He’d read the Bible off and on for years, but now, for the first time, it was making sense to him. And even at this moment, Maddie was talking to Cathy in the kitchen. Doyle prayed that God would see fit to open her eyes as well.

With a rather spur-of-the-moment decision and just a week after Dalton left, Troy decided to visit Linden Heights for the weekend. He was missing his family so much, especially his granddaughters who were changing from week to week, that he didn’t want to delay.

Reese didn’t have as much notice as before but still managed to make sandwiches and pack a nice meal for Troy to enjoy on the train. The ride was not overly long, but the weather had become very cold, and she was confident that having something to eat would keep his body warmer.

Conner did not see Troy off at the train station, but after asking Reese whether she could work indoors for a while, he ran errands on the green concerning some printing and the wood railing for the bank alcove. Reese took that opportunity to do some extra cleaning in Troy’s room. She moved all the furniture she could manage and left the room in sparkling order. Dust was always an issue, but she got what she could.

She finished just in time to put dinner on the table for Conner, who left again as soon as he was done, leaving Reese to her next big task for the day: the fireplace in the large parlor. The ashes had built up since the men were in there most nights, and Reese wanted it off her list. Swathing herself in an oversized apron and covering her hair, Reese went to work on a job that took the remainder of the day.

It was not a warm walk down the green for Reese when she left the big house that evening, but then her long legs always made fast work of the distance wherever she was going. She hadn’t visited Mr. and Mrs. Somer for a time and decided to stop in on her way home. It was a bit out of the way, but that didn’t deter her. And indeed, as soon as Mrs. Somer saw Reese, she was glad she’d made the effort.

“Oh, Reese, come in. We were just talking about you. Hank,” she called to her spouse and led the way for their guest. “Reese is here.”

Reese found Mr. Somer in a chair in the parlor, a smile on his face.

“Well, look at you,” Reese exclaimed, going to his chair and taking his hand. “You look fit to walk right out that door.”

Mr. Somer beamed with pleasure as Reese found a chair.

“We want you to come for dinner sometime, Reese,” Mrs. Somer began. “We want to thank you for coming that day.”

“I would enjoy that,” Reese smilingly agreed. “I hope you’ll let me bring something.”

“No,” Mr. Somer put in. “It’s our treat.”

“Yes, it is,” Mrs. Somer agreed. “Now tell us what’s going on in town. We’re not out enough these days.”

Reese left the Somer house with a smile on her face. It had been great fun to fill them in on her life and to see that Mr. Somer was a new man these days. For the first time in Reese’s acquaintance, he was not feeling donsie, as he liked to say, or even unwell. Not a word was said about his back hurting, and Reese had noticed that when Mrs. Somer looked at him, her eyes were alight with love.

Huddling a bit deeper inside her coat, Reese picked up the pace, glad to be going home. She knew the kitchen would be warm and tea would be waiting. Part of her wished that she could be in the garden watching for a certain tall gentleman to wander past, but it was much too cold for that, not to mention that as the weekend neared, Mrs. Greenlowe always grew a bit tired, and Reese knew it was a relief to her landlady to have help with the dishes and cleanup.

Reese let herself into the kitchen, enjoying the warmth that hit her, but she was surprised at how little activity there was. Mrs. Greenlowe was usually waiting, all the aromas of the meal filling the air.

“Reese?” Mrs. Greenlowe called to her in an odd tone of voice, and that woman rushed in the direction of the parlor.

Mrs. Greenlowe was on the floor, her head bleeding and her face pale.

“Did you fall?” Reese asked, running back to the kitchen to grab a towel. She was using it on Mrs. Greenlowe’s head when she found her arm gripped.

“He was here,” she said, out of breath.