While Love Stirs (34 page)

“Good afternoon, ladies.” The butler held the door upon their return to the house. “Miss Charlotte, you have a gentleman caller, a Mr. Lewis Mathis, waiting in the drawing room. I told him I wasn’t sure when you’d be back, but he insisted on waiting.”

She hurried into the drawing room. “Lewis, has something happened to Molly?”

He jumped to his feet. “No, she’s fine. The doctor said she can leave on Monday or Tuesday.”

“Then why are you here?”

He glanced at the other women standing by the door. “Can we go somewhere private to talk?”

She blinked and followed his line of sight. “Yes, let’s go to the garden.”

He followed her out the back door and down a path. Charlotte sat at a bench flanked by two special rosebushes. They’d once belonged to her mother, and Tessa had insisted on bringing them from the farm when they lost their house. They’d brought one bush for each sister, so the third bush was now planted at Hannah’s.

Lewis remained standing. “The doctor is courting you?”

She nodded. “It hasn’t been very long.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Hurt crept into his tone. “You went to the picture show with me the other day. You let me believe there was a chance for us.”

“You have a right to be upset with me.”

“I’m not upset.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I’m disappointed. But I think I already knew you weren’t as taken with me as I was with you.”

“Your friendship means so much to me.”

“If things don’t work out with him, would you consider me for a suitor?”

She stood and took Lewis’s hands. “You deserve a girl whose face lights up when you walk into a room. You’d always know you weren’t my first choice. I don’t want that for you, Lewis. It was wrong of me to hold on to you just in case. I know that now, and I want more for you. And if you’re honest with yourself, I think you’ll see you want that for yourself too.”

He looked down at their clasped hands, then back at her face. “It’s going to be hard to find someone better than you.”

“It won’t be as hard as you think, and I know you will.” She stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “I’m sorry for any hurt I’ve caused you. Truly I am.”

“Goodbye, Charlotte.” He squeezed her hands, then released them. Instead of returning through the house, he followed the path around to the sidewalk.

Charlotte hugged herself, tears spilling as guilt washed over her. Holding on to him had been selfish and had given him false hope. She’d hurt him—all because she was afraid to be alone. Would she never learn?

She ran her fingers beneath her eyes and turned to go into the house. A flash of movement drew her attention upward. Nurse Pierce and Joel stood in Aunt Sam’s window. She sucked in her breath. Had they been watching her exchange with Lewis?

40

Joel crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Charlotte in the garden below. Her nervous reactions and Lewis’s attentions all made sense now. How had he allowed himself to be duped again?

“I’ve seen that young man come here more than once,” Nurse Pierce whispered. “And I believe he’s telephoned as well. What do you think they’ve been doing on those road trips?”

Grinding his teeth together, he whirled to his right and marched from the room. If Mrs. Phillips hadn’t been indisposed when he arrived, he might have missed Charlotte’s tawdry display.

“We’re just
friends.”
Her words echoed in his head.
Friends, my eye
!

Joel gave no explanation to the butler as he plowed through the house to the garden, anger coursing through his veins. He’d thought she was different.

He swung the door wide and came face-to-face with Charlotte.

She jammed her hands on her hips. “How long were you spying on me?”

“Long enough. How long did you think you could go on seeing both of us? One man in the city and one on the road. Very handy.” His tone dripped with venom. “And you told me you two were just friends.”

She took a step back. “We
are
just friends. I was making that clear to him.”

“If that’s true, then quit your job with the gas company.” He gave her a solid, unblinking stare. “Walk away from him.”

Surprise siphoned the blood from her face, then her back became ramrod stiff. “You’re telling me if I want to be with you, I have to give up everything so I won’t be near Lewis—a man with whom I have only a friendship?”

“I can’t see any other way.”

“I can.” Fury sparked in her eyes. “Get out.”

Joel stared at her for several moments, his chest heaving. Deep down he hadn’t wanted to believe it, but he must have been right about her and Lewis. If not, why would she act this way? And now she was choosing Lewis over him. How could this be happening all over again?

Without a goodbye, he marched back through the house. Getting involved with Charlotte had been a mistake from the start. He should have realized he would end up getting burned.

Hot, angry tears threatened to fall from Charlotte’s eyes as she pounded the piece of steak with her meat mallet. Seeking solace in the kitchen had done little to quell the ache in her heart.

She gave the meat another whack. She’d like to tenderize Joel Brooks. How dare he tell her what she had to do.
Whack.
And why didn’t he believe her?
Whack.
If he’d given her the chance to explain, he’d have found out the truth.
Whack.

“You do know the steak is already dead?” Hannah asked as she entered the kitchen.

“Did Tessa ring you?”

Hannah nodded, then poured herself a cup of coffee. “I see you chased poor Mrs. Agle out of her kitchen again.”

“I told her to enjoy an evening off.” She set a heavy crockery bowl on the counter before cubing several slices of bread.

“Will you tell me what happened?”

It took only a few minutes to fill her sister in. She dropped the
bread cubes into the bowl and started chopping an onion. At least it gave her an excuse to cry. “I don’t know what came over him.”

“It’s hard to imagine Joel reacting like that. He really told you to quit?”

“He did.” Charlotte added garlic and sage to her stuffing. “That’s when I told him to leave. I’m not going to have another man telling me what I should do, Hannah.”

“You shouldn’t have to. I’m proud of you for standing your ground.”

“I just wish my ground wasn’t so hard.” She sniffed. “Hand me that melted butter off the stove.” She poured it into the bowl and then wet the bread cubes with beef stock. After a quick stir, she spooned the stuffing atop the pounded flank steaks, rolled each one up, and tied them with string.

“Do you think there’s any hope for the two of you?”

“If he thinks he can tell me who I can be with or what I can do whenever he doesn’t like how I’m acting, then there is no future for us.”

“What if he was simply overreacting? Jealous men do odd things.”

Charlotte slammed the oven door with a bang. “I think it’s better that it’s over. I don’t know if I could ever trust him again.”

Giving the rope a hard yank, Joel secured the swing to the tree branch. He climbed down the ladder and tested the swing’s strength before turning to face the eager orphans. “Okay, who’s first?”

Several hands shot up, but one caught Joel’s eye. He’d wondered if Jacob would ever return to his jovial self following the death of little Harvey. Even though Joel had tried to spend a little extra time with the boy, this was the first sign of Jacob making an effort to have fun again.

“Jacob, come on up and give it a go.” He held the swing until the boy clamored on. “Now, we need you to go high and test it out, understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

Joel gave the swing a starter push, but Jacob took it from there, pumping his arms and legs and launching the swing toward the clouds.

A few minutes later, the boy slowed and hopped off. “It’s a good swing, Dr. Joel. I was up so high I bet Harvey could hear me laughing.”

“I bet he could.” Joel ruffled his hair. “Now, go help Alice Ann get on the swing. She’ll need someone big and strong like you to push her.”

Jacob skipped away and Mattie walked over. “The gas company’s installation man is here to put the stove in. Where’s Charlotte? I thought you were going to surprise her.”

“She won’t be coming.” The thought added another weight to his heavy heart. It had taken Charlotte awhile to convince him to let the orphanage have the stove, but once she did, he’d wasted no time in arranging to have it installed.

He spotted the gas man carrying in a length of pipe. Mrs. Goodwin planned to keep the children out of his way with a picnic in the backyard. Hanging the swing had been Joel’s idea. Every child should have a good swing.

“Why is Charlotte not coming?”

“She just isn’t. Okay?”

Mattie eyed him critically. “Joel Brooks, what’s going on?”

He should have known Mattie would see right through him. “She and I won’t be courting any longer.”

“Oh, Joel. What did you do?”

“Me? What about her?”

“Yesterday you were happy as a lark. I can’t imagine Charlotte doing anything in that short period of time to make you call an end to your courtship.”

Thinking about what he’d witnessed reopened the raw wound, and the last thing he wanted to tell anyone—even his sister—was that once again a woman had played him for a fool.

Mattie laid her hand on his arm. “I’m sorry. I can see something happened. What was it?”

He drew in a long breath. “Charlotte’s been living a double life.”

“Are we talking about the same Charlotte? I find that hard to believe.”

Some of the older girls heard Mattie’s raised voice and now seemed intent on listening to the conversation. Joel suggested they walk across the yard to the picnic table to talk. Once they were seated, he rubbed the kink in his neck. “You know Charlotte travels for her work with the gas company. I knew she had a traveling companion named Molly Larkin who accompanied her, helped set up her lectures, and acted as a chaperone of sorts.”

“Okay.”

“And I knew she traveled with a singer who performed prior to her lectures to draw in a larger crowd.” He leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “What Charlotte failed to tell me was this performer was a man close to her age named Lewis Mathis.”

Mattie’s eyes widened. “So you ended the relationship?”

“No. I was taken aback by Lewis when I went to meet Charlotte in Red Wing, but I didn’t say anything. The way he acted toward her irritated me, but I kept my mouth shut.”

“For once.”

He scowled at her. “Are you going to let me finish?”

“Yes. Go on.”

“On the way home, I asked her about him and she assured me they were simply friends.”

“And you didn’t believe her?”

“I did until this morning. I drove over to pick her up to bring her here, but first I went upstairs to check on Mrs. Phillips. While I was in Mrs. Phillips’s bedchamber, Nurse Pierce called me to the window because she wanted to discuss something in private with me. That’s when I saw Charlotte—in the garden with Lewis, holding hands.”

Mattie paled. “Holding hands?”

He nodded and swallowed hard. “Then she kissed him.”

“
She
kissed him? How?”

“With her lips.”

“That’s not what I mean and you know it.” Her brows pulled together. “Was it a passionate kiss? Or was it a friendly kiss on the cheek?”

“What difference does it make? Nurse Pierce told me he’s been there before, and he’s telephoned Charlotte too. Clearly she’s lived a double life. She’s had one fellow on the road and one at home.”

Mattie stood up and shook out her skirt. “She admitted to that?”

“Of course not. She insisted they were only friends.”

“She kissed him on the cheek, didn’t she?” She pursed her lips. “You know what? You’re a fool, Joel Brooks.”

“I know that!” He hit his thigh with his fist. “How could I fall in love with two unfaithful women?”

She shook her head slowly and chuckled. “That’s not why I said you were a fool.”

“This isn’t funny. Charlotte was the most passionate, creative, and warmest woman I’ve ever met. I was planning a future with her. Do you think I wanted to discover this?”

“No.” She took his hand and tugged. “Let’s talk about it while we help Mrs. Goodwin set out the food. She looks like she has her hands full trying to keep the children out of the gas man’s way. Who’s that with her? And why is he smoking around the children?”

“Karl Ottosen. He’s a good man and he’s the chairman of the orphanage board, but he’s never without that cigar.”

When they reached the picnic baskets, she opened one of the lids and withdrew two jars of canned peaches. She passed them to Joel before reaching in for another two. “You’re a scientist. Take a look at things with Charlotte in a logical way. She may very well have stepped out with this Lewis fellow a few times before she met you. After all, they are on the road together, and they are both young and single. She was free to do so, wasn’t she?”