Rorey's Secret (24 page)

“How long is this chapter?” Willy asked after a while.

“Only three or four pages more,” I told him. But what pages those were. The story moved to young Silas Marner’s past when he’d stood accused of a crime he did not commit. Betrayed by a friend and rejected by a misguided congregation, he was left to disgrace, with no one willing to believe his innocence.

Everyone in the room was quiet. Sarah sat looking at Franky.

I was about to ask her to go and see if the water was warm, but before a word was said she got up and disappeared up the stairs.

“Great book,” Willy taunted his brother. “She musta thought Mrs. Wortham was gonna read chapter 2.”

18

Sarah

Halfway up the stairs, I got to thinking about what Rorey might think and what Rorey might say if I just walked in asking her questions. Franky’s book was hard to listen to, with hard words put together in ways that weren’t easy to understand. At least for me when I was hearing it out loud. But then came the part about William Dane accusing Silas, when he surely must have done the wicked deed himself. And all I could think about was Franky and Rorey.

I walked the rest of the way pretty slow, my mind trying to tell me two different things. Maybe Rorey was trying to cast the blame for her own fault on to her brother. Just like William Dane. Maybe she’d caused the fire her own self.

But she already told me the way it was. Lester didn’t even come. She wasn’t in the barn. She wouldn’t lie.

I took another step, thinking of Franky fleeing his father’s accusations and sitting alone in the woods. He’d never once tried to blame Rorey, despite what she was saying about him.

Because Franky was the one in the barn. Franky set the fire
, a voice in my head was trying to say.

But I took another step, wondering why Franky hadn’t just said that Rorey was lying about it. At least about some things. I knew she was. As I slowly climbed the last few steps toward my bedroom door, I knew Rorey was lying, as sure as Silas Marner’s false friend had lied to get Silas in trouble. And I was feeling uncomfortable hot about it, because even though not everybody believed Rorey now, most of her brothers did, and mine did too. And so did her father when he wasn’t trying real hard to please the pastor.

It wasn’t fair, because Franky would tell us straight out if he really had dropped a lantern or something. Hard as that would be for him, he’d fess up. I knew he would.

I stood at the top of the stairs. The thought entered my mind that Rorey was probably sleeping and maybe I should just let her sleep. But I pushed the thought out of my head and opened the door. “Rorey?”

She rolled over on the bed but didn’t open her eyes.

“Rorey, come on. I know you’re not asleep.” I went right over and climbed on the foot of the bed, bouncing all the way across so I could sit against the wall. I didn’t care how much I jostled her in the meantime.

“Sarah, what are you doing?”

“You missed supper.”

“I don’t care. I’m tired.”

“Maybe you just don’t wanna be down there with my dad. And your brothers.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Maybe you’re feeling guilty. Are you, Rorey? Seeing them hurt?”

“Shut up. I’m tired.”

“I know. Everybody’s tired.”

“Then go to sleep. Let me sleep.”

“You didn’t say nothing to Daddy, you know. Or Berty. Or Frank. I noticed that. Most everybody else had at least something to say. At least to ask if they’re doing all right.”

“It’s mostly plain they’re gonna be all right. Mr. Wortham’s all right, isn’t he?”

She looked absolutely awake now. I had her attention. But I wasn’t sure of what I was seeing on her face. Anger? Fear? It seemed like both, and maybe a lot of other things all stirred in together.

“It’ll be a while before he’s really okay,” I told her. “He’s got busted-up ribs, Rorey. And a cut on his leg big as my hand, plus being knocked clear unconscious with something hitting him in the head. He coulda died, Rorey! My daddy almost died!”

“I’m sorry for him,” she said real slow and soft. “I’m sorry he got hurt.”

“So how’d the fire start?”

“I . . . I told you.”

“Yeah. You were waiting up for Lester. And because it was so dark, you took a lantern—”

“I never said that!”

“You didn’t have to. You were expecting him in the barn, so that’s where you were, and maybe you heard a noise or something, I don’t know, but somehow the lantern got tipped and it happened too fast to do anything much about it. Right, Rorey?”

“That’s not what happened!”

“Yeah? Maybe Lester was on his way. You think he was on his way? But when he saw the fire, he prob’ly just turned tail and run off ’cause it’d be a whole lot more important to him not to get caught over there than to stay and help your family save what they could. Don’t you think? Isn’t that like Lester? Right?”

“Shut up, Sarah! You don’t know nothin’!”

“Franky prob’ly just heard you like before. And so you decided to blame him because it would be easy, wouldn’t it? Everybody picks on him anyway. Your pa and your brothers would believe you because they think he’s clumsy and odd. So you figured you could tell them whatever you wanted and they’d listen—”

“I didn’t make it up. Franky was in the barn! He was!”

I’d always envied Rorey’s cute dimpled cheeks and strawberry blonde curls, but right now she looked so ugly to me I couldn’t hardly stand it. “Sure he was! Trying to save your pa’s animals. But the fire was already started. Wasn’t it? You tell me! Right now!”

“Oh, Sarah, leave me alone!” Suddenly something changed in her. She turned from me and sat facing the other way, hugging at her knees.

“Tell me what happened, Rorey.”

“You’re gonna tell.”

“You should’ve told already! What’d Franky ever do to you that you’d try gettin’ him in so much trouble?”

“Shut up.”

“No! It’s not fair. Rorey, you know it’s not!”

She turned around at me, and she hardly looked like herself at all, her face was set so hard and angry. “It’s not fair for Franky to act like he’s my pa or somethin’! It’s not fair for him to act like he’s so wonderful all the time and try to be your folks’ favorite! And the pastor’s favorite! But he sure ain’t Pa’s favorite, I can tell you that!”

“I know that. I think everybody knows that. But it don’t tell me why, or what happened.”

“I told you what happened.”

“No, you didn’t. You told me what you want people to think.”

“Leave me alone.”

“You know Franky didn’t try to blame you or Lester. Didn’t say a word about it.”

“I don’t care.”

“You should. He could tell people you’re lying. He knows you are. Unless he thinks you’re so confused you don’t know any better. Wouldn’t that be something? You trying to get him in trouble, and him making excuses for you.”

“Sarah, shut up!” She jumped off the bed. For a minute I thought she was going to run out of the room, but she didn’t. She stopped at the dresser where Katie and I kept our clothes and turned back around.

“Franky’s not so wonderful. Pa says we’d still have Mama if it weren’t for him.”

Whatever I’d been thinking, whatever I might have said, those words stopped me cold. “What?”

“We’d still have Mama if it weren’t for him. Pa would be happier, an’ things’d be easier—”

“What are you talking about? She was sick. I remember. Mom went over to help, but there was nothing she could do. How could that be Franky’s fault?”

“You just don’t understand.”

“Then tell me!”

She sat down on the floor, and my mind whirled about. Was she lying to me again? Or would Mr. Hammond really say such a thing? It made me wonder how he treated Franky when none of us Worthams were around to see.

“Pa said Mama used to be stronger’n him. Strong as an ox. She could throw hay or throw him if she wanted to. She could do work like two men. But that changed when she had Franky. Even ’forehand. She got sick as a dog when she weren’t never so sick with the older ones, an’ after he was born she couldn’t hardly do nothin’. She never did get her strength up. Lizbeth had to start doin’ most her work.”

“Rorey, there’s no way that could be Franky’s fault. It’d be real stupid to blame him—”

“Just listen. That ain’t all. Couple weeks ’fore Mama took sick worse the last time, Franky dropped a whole basket a’ eggs, an’ most of ’em broke. We was needin’ ’em awful bad, an’ Pa got on to him over it. You know Franky. He just runned away. In the col’ weather like a fool, an’ it was freezin’ rain outside.”

“Your pa musta been too hard on him.”

“He was sick a’ us not havin’ stuff ’cause a’ Franky losin’ an’ breakin’ everythin’! All a’ us was! How would you feel if you was wantin’ breakfast an’ your brother busted up the eggs! We didn’t have much a’ nothin’ else! You know that!”

“Oh, Rorey. He must’ve felt terrible.”

“I don’t know ’bout that. I only know Mama got up outta bed an’ went lookin’ for him, her an’ Lizbeth an’ Sam, an’ she hadn’t oughta been out. She took a spell or somethin’ an’ fell over by the woodshed an’ she couldn’t even get up. They had to help her in, an’ she was still only worryin’ over Franky. An’ if he hadn’t even run off, it never woulda happened! She never did get better, Sarah! She just got worse an’ worse, an’ if Franky wasn’t such a fussbudget clumsy coward, she mighta been okay!”

I could only stare at her for a moment. “If you and your pa are holdin’ that against him, I don’t know what to think. All that was just accidents.”

“Well, you don’t know what it’s like havin’ him for a brother. Pa says he’s bleary headed, all caught up daydreamin’ in the middle a’ somethin’ regular like puttin’ up hay, till he don’t even know what he’s doin’. Gotta watch for him all the time. Only thing he can do right is work wood with your pa.”

I sighed. “So why’d you go blaming him, Rorey? Don’t he have enough problems?”

She shook her head. “It wasn’t even my idea. Lester said I should tell everybody Franky did it. He said they’d believe me on account a’ the way Franky is.”

I felt an awful tingly feeling down inside me, cold and sour all at the same time. “You mean Lester did come?”

She was quiet for a minute, looking at me strange like she hadn’t realized she’d said that. “Yeah,” she finally answered. “I knew he would, because he likes me, Sarah, no matter what you think. We was in the barn an’ pretendin’ it was a dance hall an’ there was music playin’. I wished you’d a’ seen. I was hummin’ an’ singin’ ‘Tea for Two,’ an’ Lester was twirlin’ me aroun’ like we was good enough to be in a show!”

“How’d the fire start?” I asked, feeling heavier than I’d ever felt in my life. Didn’t she know all the trouble she’d caused? Wasn’t she even one bit sorry?

“He was leadin’ me, an’ we was dancin’, but then goin’ backward I think my foot hit the lantern. We didn’t mean to, Sarah. We didn’t really do nothin’ wrong.”

She looked like the same Rorey sitting there in front of me. My friend for more than seven whole years. But I didn’t feel like I knew her very well at all, and I was suddenly getting really hot about it.

“So he told you to blame Franky, and he run off without stayin’ to help? And you let everybody risk their lives and think it was Franky’s fault? You almost killed my daddy, Rorey. You almost killed him, and you haven’t even said you were sorry! You haven’t even cared!”

She stood up slow, staring at me. She took a step backward, looking strangely white. “No,” she said. “I didn’t hurt him, Sarah. That wasn’t my fault.” She turned and took a step for the door.

“Yes, it was! It was an accident, but it was still your fault! And you’re the coward, Rorey Jeanine, because you didn’t tell anybody! And you could have! You could have come right out and said you were sorry!”

She took off running down the stairs. I should have let her go. I should have just been quiet. But I was so mad right then that I didn’t think it through. I wanted her to hear me. I wanted her to stop and tell me, or my daddy or somebody, that she was sorry.

“Lester doesn’t care about you!” I yelled after her. “Or he’d have stayed to help your pa! He only wanted to make sure he wasn’t gonna get the blame, that’s all!”

I ran down the stairs after her, not even caring that surely the others were hearing me by now. She got to the bottom of the stairs and kept right on going. So did I. “Daddy and Bert and Franky all got hurt because of
you
! While you were standing there doing nothing! Franky was trying to save my daddy, and you’re telling people it was all his fault!”

“Shut up!” she screamed at me. “Shut up!”

Suddenly Mom was grabbing at me, and Kirk was grabbing for Rorey. “Girls! Girls!” Mom hollered. “What on earth?”

Rorey broke away from her brother.

“
She
did it!” I yelled. “
She
set the fire! I’m just trying to get her to say she’s sorry!” I tried pulling away from Mom, but Robert got hold of me too. Rorey went charging through the kitchen and out the back door with Kirk behind her. I didn’t pay any attention to where anybody else was.

“Lester was there, Mom!” I cried. “They were dancing in the barn and kicked over the lantern like a couple of fools! But she told everybody it was Franky! Just because she hates him, and Lester said to and—”

“Sarah.”

At the sound of my father’s voice I stopped.

“Sarah, come here.”

He was in the chair in the sitting room, right where he’d been before. I went toward him, suddenly trembling.

“Pumpkin, it was still an accident, wasn’t it?” he asked me.

“Y-yes.”

“Then you need to tell her you’re sorry for yelling at her. And don’t do it again.”

“But Daddy—”

“She’ll have to come to terms with the rest. And that’s not your job. Is that clear?”

19

Julia

Kirk and Franky both followed Rorey. I didn’t know where she was going. It wasn’t toward home, that was sure. I didn’t know if it might be better just to let her go and cool off a minute. Surely she’d be back. But nothing like this had ever happened before, and I wasn’t really sure what she might do.

I thought about following after them, but I had Katie and Emmie in the washtubs and Sarah all in a huff and Samuel to think about. And Bert, sitting here in the kitchen soaking his ankle in salts and looking at me funny.