Sister's Choice (33 page)

Exiting the courthouse, she saw Colby standing on the sidewalk. She was going to ignore him when he called.

“Hi, Maggie. That was some spectacle, wasn’t it?”

She gave him a cold glance and, without a word, walked on. She felt he was the enemy now and wondered that she had ever desired him.

She and her parents had a very quiet and subdued supper with Cousin Martha and her family. No one wanted to discuss the trial or ponder the possible outcomes. If the trial had been a contest, even Maggie, who was definitely prejudiced, couldn’t say who had come out ahead. Evan had told her once that a quick verdict often favored the prosecution, while a more prolonged one was good for the defense. Thus, she felt as good as she could when no word had come about a verdict after supper. The jury might deliberate through the night, maybe even for days, though that didn’t seem likely. Those men had farms and families to tend, and though they wanted justice done, they were also practical men.

Maggie passed a sleepless night. When she did manage to doze off, her dreams were unpleasant enough to wake her.

Everyone returned to the courtroom at nine in the morning. If the jury had reached a decision during the late evening or night, the judge would have held off to announce it until morning. This, in fact, had been the case.

When all were in their proper places, the judge turned to the jury and asked, “Has the jury reached a verdict?”

“Yes, Your Honor, we have,” said the spokesman. He passed a paper to the bailiff, who handed it to the judge.

The judge read the paper. “Will the defendant please rise?”

Today, both Evan and Tommy looked sick. But Tommy stood and Evan stood beside him.

“In the matter of the State versus Thomas Donnelly, the jury finds the defendant . . . not guilty.”

The entire courtroom erupted into a spontaneous outburst. There were cheers and perhaps some less than supportive sounds, but Maggie only heard the words “Not guilty!” Then she surged forward with her parents and others to congratulate Tommy and Evan.

She tried to embrace Tommy, but he turned away from her. When she approached Evan, he wasn’t as obvious in his rejection, but he ignored her, as well. He seemed to be distracted by someone else, thus avoiding her overture. Heartsick, she stumbled back on the fringes of the well-wishers.

The judge tried to call order so he could properly adjourn the court but finally just rose and exited. In all the hullabaloo it was easy for Maggie to slip out of the courthouse unnoticed. She tried to choke back the emotion that rose in her. If she was going to cry, she’d prefer it was in private, but she didn’t know where to go to be alone here in town. Somehow she made it to the alley behind the jail—a perfect spot to unburden one’s misery, as Evan had proved.

She sank down on the ground and let the tears flow. She wanted to be happy that Tommy was safe and that Evan had proven his worth to everyone who had ever maligned or doubted him. How she had wanted to embrace them and shout a cheer for them!

That they had rejected her was bad enough; that she deserved it was worse yet. She had betrayed Tommy, though some of her testimony may have helped him. She had humiliated Evan, but she had not intended to do so. She had lost two dear friends. And perhaps in Evan she had lost far more.

TWENTY-NINE

The next few days after the trial Maggie moped around the house—at least that’s what Mama called it.

“Maggie, why are you moping around the house?” she said more than once. “Before that trial I hardly ever saw you. Now you are getting peaked from staying indoors so much.”

Maggie would merely shrug and concentrate on her stitching. She had ten blocks finished for her quilt and only two more to go before all were complete. Twelve blocks with sashings would make a nice-sized quilt. Though her purpose in making this quilt had become completely muddled since she had started it, she still wanted to finish it. She wanted one finished quilt that she had made herself in her hope chest. At the rate her romantic pursuits were going, she might still end up with all twelve like Ellie.

However, she couldn’t spend all her time stitching. Boyd’s wedding day was fast approaching, the Sunday after next! Reverend Barnett had agreed to officiate, and Boyd had asked Zack to take part, as well, by saying a prayer and perhaps a few words. The wedding would be at the Wallards’ house, but Mama was going to help with the food for the reception. They had been baking all kinds of goodies to put away for the big day. When Maggie had come home from the trial, Grandma had surprised her by having finished her dress for the wedding. Maggie had been thrilled but also sad, though she tried not to show it. That dress would remind her of Evan. He had helped pick out the material.

Would he see her in the dress? Although he was invited to the wedding, would he decline the invitation for fear of seeing Maggie?

She didn’t understand why such a relatively small thing like her seeing him upchuck in an alley would have set him off so. However, she got an inkling there was more to it than met the eye when Ellie let something slip.

“Zack says stage fright can be a serious thing,” Ellie had said one day when Maggie finally confided what had happened. It was the time they often talked—at night in bed with the lamp turned low.

“What do you mean stage fright? What does Zack know of this?”

“Oh!” With a little gasp, Ellie covered her mouth with her hand. “I can say no more—”

“Not on your life! Tell me what you know!” Maggie demanded. She’d feared there was more to this, and if there was, she wanted to know so she could do something about it. She’d been waiting for Evan to take the first step, trying to give him time to get over his humiliation. But it might be up to her. Something had to be done. She was miserable without his friendship.

“Maggie, I can’t. Zack may not be an official minister yet, but since he is sort of an apprentice, he has to abide by certain ministerial rules.”

“Whatever it is, he told
you
. That doesn’t sound right.”

“I’m his fiancé. He ought to be able to tell me, as long as I follow the rules, too.”

“Tell me!” Maggie ordered.

“Girls,” Mama called from across the hall, “it’s late. Time to settle down.”

Quietly, Ellie asked Maggie, “Why are you so agitated about this, Maggie? Do you care for Evan?”

“Of course I care for him. He’s a good friend!” she quickly replied, barely able to keep her voice low as she emphasized the word
friend
.

“No more?”

“How do I know, Ellie?” she replied miserably but honestly. “Still, I can miss a friend, can’t I? Doesn’t mean it’s . . . well . . . ah . . . love or something!”

A moment of silence passed before Ellie responded. “Ask Zack. Okay? He will be the best judge of whether he ought to tell or not.”

Maggie talked to Zack the very next time she saw him, but he wouldn’t divulge what he knew. He did suggest she be patient with Evan because he was a mature, level-headed man who would soon get over what shame he might be feeling.

Evan knew he was behaving abominably. He should not have ignored Maggie after the trial. Yet he’d been so ashamed that she had caught him in his awful weakness. The forward steps he had taken after talking to Zack had nearly melted away after the encounter with Maggie.

Now that several days had passed and he was able to think more rationally, he realized how ridiculous that was. Heavens! She certainly must have already known how weak and inept he was. She’d seen him trip and fumble around like a circus clown. Watching him bumble around the courtroom couldn’t have been more shocking than watching him vomit behind it. Besides, how was she to know that it wasn’t an isolated incident?

Oh, she would guess. She knew him that well at least.

The incident in the alley, no doubt, was the cap on everything else. The nail in the coffin of his heart. She had already rejected him, so the alley scene surely must have cemented her decision.

As for himself, the incident had simply weakened his already faint courage. Before that had happened, he’d thought he would keep trying to win her. Did he have the strength now to keep bashing his head against a wall? His love for her had grown each day, each moment. He thought of her constantly, he missed her desperately. In the last two days he had decided several times to ignore his pride and go see her. He’d gone as far as to saddle his horse a couple of times. But he couldn’t mount because the fear of another rejection from her was more than he could bear.

One might think that events following Tommy’s trial would have bolstered his confidence. For two days following the trial, he’d been swamped with potential clients. It surprised him how many pending legal matters there were in the small county— people needing contracts reviewed, wanting legal counsel for land deals, for drawing up wills and a plethora of smaller items.

Nothing criminal, which suited him just fine, for it meant he wouldn’t have to appear in a courtroom anytime soon. He’d heard that winning an important public trial could make a name for a lawyer, but he’d not even considered that until the potential clients began pouring in, a couple from Astoria and even some from Portland. He saw that he could make a nice living here in Columbia County practicing what he was trained to do. He need not shame his family or give up something he fairly enjoyed, courtroom nausea aside. His father had told him how proud he was, and his mother . . . well, one cannot win every battle. His mother still wanted him to reach for the power and prestige offered in Boston.

Evan truly desired to remain in Maintown, if only he had a reason to keep him here. But how could he stay if that very
reason
thought him a fool and had rejected him?

On Friday night Zack came to see him.

“Listen, Evan, Maggie is asking about what happened in the alley,” he said. “She knows there is more to it than just a simple stomach upset. She thinks I might know something of the matter. I assure you I didn’t say anything to her. I’m afraid I did tell Ellie—I’m sorry about that. You’ll understand one day when you love someone and she is your best friend and confidante. But she promised to keep your confidence. Yet they are very close, and something might have slipped.”

“I never told you to keep it a secret,” Evan replied.

“Yes, but—”

“I appreciate your concern about keeping my shame quiet,” Evan cut in quickly, realizing Zack would be too circumspect to say exactly what he was thinking.

“That’s not it at all,” Zack replied, seeming upset that Evan would assume such a thing. “I never once thought you had anything to be ashamed of. I merely feel that since I plan to become a minister, I have to be careful in talking about my interactions with others. In any case, Maggie is upset, and that is why I have come to you.”

“Upset?” That shouldn’t have surprised Evan. He knew she was a caring woman. It was one of the reasons he loved her.

“She says you haven’t spoken to her since the trial. You two had become good friends, and you saw each other often. Even I could take your silence and absence as unusual. Perhaps it is not my place to interfere,” Zack added. “I just felt you ought to know.”

“It was selfish of me to ignore her as I’ve done,” Evan admitted miserably. “But Zack, she saw me vomiting in the alley. I was so humiliated! That doesn’t excuse my behavior. But . . . how can I face her when she knows just how weak I am?”

“God doesn’t care about your weakness. Why should Maggie?”

“Because she is human.”

“Do you truly believe her to be so petty?”

Evan reached for his spectacles, pushed up the bridge, and then straightened the earpiece. But he couldn’t avoid the truth that was so blatant before him. “It has nothing to do with her, or even God. It is all me! I thought when you and I spoke that day all would be better—it wasn’t you either, Zack! You gave me a new perspective on my . . . uh . . . problem, and that helped me through the trial. But when Maggie saw me, all my strides forward were lost. I had wanted her to see me as a warrior—a courtroom warrior, at least, because I had already proven I wasn’t a warrior on the battlefield. I suppose you know now that Colby whipped me a couple of weeks ago.”

“I heard.”

“Well, Maggie saw that, too. I thought if she could see me doing something Colby couldn’t do—but all she saw was a man stumbling and vomiting.”

“She saw you win a case and save a man’s life!” Zack insisted.

“Too little, too late.”

“Not for Tommy. And it is a sure bet, it’s not for Maggie, either.”

“It wasn’t as much my courtroom prowess that won that case as it was the obvious facts of the case.”

“I wonder if you will ever give yourself credit, Evan. I think you are your own worst enemy.”

“Don’t I know that!”

“You’re in love with Maggie, aren’t you?”

Evan nodded reluctantly. “And like a fool I told her so.”

“Ah!” Zack looked as though a shutter had been opened in his brain and light had suddenly been shed on a mystery. “Did she reject you?”

“Worse. She said I was her dearest friend,
but
. . .” Evan placed enough emphasis on that final
but
so that he didn’t need to say more.

“That must have hurt.”

“I don’t know how I can face her now.”

After a long pause, Zack said, “If you care for her, Evan, you must put aside your own pain and think of Maggie. She is devastated because she has lost two friends since the trial. Did you know Tommy has turned from her, as well?”

“I didn’t know.” Evan felt as if a fist was squeezing his heart. He knew what these friendships meant to Maggie. Thinking of her pain almost made him forget his own. “I will talk to Tommy.”

“And to Maggie?”

Evan knew he must do that. He had told her they would remain friends, and it would be selfish to go back on his word. If she needed his friendship more than his love, then love demanded that he give her whatever he could, whatever she needed.

While Maggie was practicing patience concerning Evan, perhaps the most she had ever practiced it in her life, she had another disconcerting visitor.

It was Saturday morning and the family was getting ready to go to Scappoose to see Grandma and Grandpa Newcomb. They would spend the night there and attend church with them on Sunday. Maggie was glad to get back to familiar routines. It made her feel that life was back to normal. She hoped it would fill the hole left by the loss of her friends. Maybe it would, but as thoughts of Evan flitted uninvited into her mind, she wasn’t very sure.