A Home at Trail's End (33 page)

“Just keep being my friend,” Malinda said softly. “That is most valuable.”

“You know I will.” She patted her back as Malinda stood. “Are you sure you don't want to stay and talk about this some more?”

“Will and I have talked it nearly to death.” Malinda went for her coat and bonnet. “Mostly I want to just forget about it. Forget about the whole thing. Perhaps a year from now it will be just a distant memory.”

“Would you like me to let people know about the postponement?”

Malinda brightened slightly. “Oh, Elizabeth, that would lighten my load considerably.”

“I will get right to it. Perhaps I should ask Reverend Holmes to make an announcement on Sunday.”

Malinda sighed. “Yes…please do that.”

“And I won't give specific details when I tell people,” she promised. “I'll just say that you realized you needed more time. After all, having a wedding right before Christmas was quite an undertaking. People should understand the sensibility of waiting.”

“Yes. Hopefully they will. But Hugh and Lavinia are aware of the troubles we're having. No need to make up any excuses for Lavinia.”

“Do Belinda and Amelia know?”

“I think they have their suspicions. But no, they are in the dark about the wedding getting called off. So are my children. Emily and Susannah will be so disappointed. They were looking forward to it. And they love their new stepsisters-to-be. I feel this is tearing our family apart.” She sniffed. “A broken engagement is very much like a divorce.”

“Perhaps it is only a postponement,” Elizabeth reminded her.

“No…I fear that we are calling it a postponement simply because it feels less painful. But the truth is I do not think Will and I shall ever marry.” As she went out the door she started crying all over again.

Elizabeth grabbed her coat and hat and insisted on walking Malinda partway home. She was unwilling to let her friend leave feeling so distraught. Linking arms with her, she was determined to remain with her until she appeared somewhat recovered. Eventually Malinda assured her that she would be fine.

“I just needed a shoulder to cry on,” she confessed. “Thank you.” She pointed to the sky, which was growing dark and foreboding. “You best get yourself home before it rains, dear one.”

As Elizabeth hurried back toward home, she felt very thankful for Eli. Not only was he a dear husband and good father, he was a very capable frontiersman too. In fact, as she went into the house, she wondered if he might be able to help Will Bramford. Perhaps Eli could invite Will to go hunting and fishing with him. He could teach Will some valuable skills and possibly help the frustrated attorney to feel more confident about himself. Perhaps Eli could even ask Will for legal counsel in regard to their Indian friends.

Chapter Twenty-Five

O
n Saturday morning, Elizabeth and Ruth walked over to her parents' house. Leaving Ruth to visit with her mother, Elizabeth set out to find Brady. She wanted to inform him that his cabin was being inhabited. And she hoped that he wouldn't mind. She found Brady and Asa working on a very similar-looking cabin.

“Good morning,” she called out.

They paused from chinking a log to greet her, and after some polite exchanges, Elizabeth asked Brady if she could speak privately with him. But then seeing her father's puzzled expression, she decided to include him. If she couldn't trust her father, she couldn't trust anyone. She quickly poured out the story of Mara and Rose.

“I thought I saw an Indian woman and child,” Asa said. “A week or two ago. I mentioned it to Clara, but she thought I'd imagined it.”

“You didn't imagine it, Father.”

“Do they like my little cabin?” Brady asked.

She nodded. “Very much so.”

Brady grinned. “Good. Musta been meant to be.”

“Yes. That's exactly what I thought too.”

“I never got a chance to make a table and chair for that cabin like I meant to do,” Brady told her. “But maybe when I get this one all done, I can make Mara and Rose some furnishings too.”

“I'm sure they would appreciate it. But in the meantime, I know they are just happy to be in out of the weather.” She looked up at the gray sky. “Speaking of weather, I wanted to make it to town before it rains. I'll let you get back to your work.”

“I'll walk back to the house with you,” Asa said.

As she and Asa walked, she told him about Malinda and Will. Without going into much detail, she explained about the change in wedding plans.

“That's too bad,” Asa said. “I know how much Malinda was looking forward to her wedding.”

“Yes. She was fairly devastated.” And now, since this was her father and she knew she could trust him, she confided some of the reasons for the “postponement.” Her hope was that perhaps he would have some answers for the unhappy couple. “So Malinda feels that if Will felt more confident about hunting and fishing and farming, perhaps he would be more confident about their marriage as well.”

Asa rubbed his chin. “I reckon that makes some sense. No man wants to feel as if he can't provide for his family and protect them.”

“So I've spoken to Eli about it. And I thought perhaps you and Matthew could extend your friendship to him as well.”

“I consider Will to be my friend. But I reckon I haven't reached out to him much. Everybody has been so busy.”

“Eli wondered about inviting Will to go hunting with you men.”

“That's right—we've been trying to plan our big hunting trip. In fact, Will and Malinda's wedding was complicating our plans. I reckon we don't need to be concerned about that now.”

“Would you mind if Will went along too?”

“Not in the least.” Asa paused a ways from the cabin. “Before we go inside, I want to talk to you about your Indian friends.”

“Yes?”

“Well, I understand why you wanted to tell Brady. It would have been mighty awkward if he'd gone over there for something and found he had squatters.”

“Yes. That was why I told him. And I suspected he'd be understanding.”

“And I know we can trust him not to speak of it to anyone.” Asa frowned. “I assume you don't plan on telling anyone else.”

“No.” She firmly shook her head. “Besides you and Brady and Eli and me, no one will know.”

He put his hand on her shoulder. “That's wise. You do understand that keeping Indians on your land could be dangerous. And not just to the Indians.”

She told him what Mara had said about white men burning her house down. “I felt so sorry for her. It was plain to see that she was terrified by the experience.”

“She speaks English?”

She filled him in a bit more about the mission and how Charles had been teaching her. “She seems quite intelligent.”

“Did she say when Charles is coming back?”

“She doesn't seem to know. But she is expecting another child.”

“Oh, my.” He shook his head.

She glanced over at their cabin now. “I wouldn't really mind if Mother knew about Mara and Rose. I know I can trust her.”

“If you like, I'll explain the situation to her.”

“Thank you.”

“I expect she'll want to help them too.”

Elizabeth nodded. “Well, they can certainly use it.” She sighed. “Perhaps I should tell Matthew and Jess too. Just in case they've seen them.”

“You know you can trust them not to speak of it. And I know Jess is a very compassionate young woman. She would probably want to help too.”

“So feel free to tell them if you see them. And, please, tell them about the wedding postponement too. That is my task today. I'm going to town to let everyone know. I plan to ask the reverend to make an official announcement from the pulpit tomorrow.”

“You are a good friend.” He nodded toward the house. “I expect your ma will want to walk to town with you. She said she wanted to visit the mercantile.”

“Then we had best be on our way.” She glanced at the clouds. “Or we may have to stop and take shelter at Malinda's.”

“And I'll get back to helping Brady.”

“I thought you were going in the house.”

He chuckled. “Sorry. I had to make an excuse to speak privately with you about my concerns for your Indian friends.”

She nodded. “Well, they truly are friends, Father. They are both very dear.”

Before long, Elizabeth and Clara and Ruth were on their way to town. As they walked, she told her mother about the postponed wedding.

“Oh, my—poor Malinda. She'd had her heart set on having the wedding before Christmas.”

“But Mama said they might have a spring wedding now,” Ruth said hopefully. “And there will be lots and lots of flowers then.”

“That's true enough.”

“So perhaps you can help me spread the word in town,” she told her mother. “You don't need to say too much. Just that it's been postponed. That way it won't be so shocking when Reverend Holmes announces it at church tomorrow.”

They walked at a fast pace, making it to the mercantile shortly after the rain began to fall. Shaking off moisture on the front porch, Elizabeth greeted Mrs. Taylor, who was just coming out. After exchanging pleasantries, Elizabeth told Mrs. Taylor about the change in wedding plans.

“Oh…well,” Mrs. Taylor said. “You know the old saying.”

“What's that?” Ruth asked.

“Thus grief still treads upon the heels of pleasure,” she recited. “Married in haste, we may repent at leisure.” She smiled. “William Congreve wrote that.”

“Yes, well, perhaps waiting a bit is the wise route,” Elizabeth told her.

As they shopped in the mercantile, the news of the postponement spread quickly. And although some expressed disappointment—ones who had been looking forward to the festivities—most were very kind and understanding.

Evelyn and her cousins Belinda and Amelia were helping to mind the shop, so Lavinia invited Elizabeth and Clara and Ruth to come upstairs. “Elizabeth has seen our home, but you two haven't,” she told Clara and Ruth as she led them into the apartment.

“It's so beautiful,” Ruth gushed.

“Oh, my.” Clara clasped her hands. “I don't feel that I'm on the frontier anymore.”

Lavinia laughed. “Yes. That's exactly my intention. Civilization in the midst of the wilderness. Would you ladies like some tea?”

Clara and Ruth both were happy to accept this unexpected invitation, but Elizabeth decided to use this opportunity. “I need to pay a visit to the Holmeses,” she told Lavinia as she peered out the window. “And it appears the rain has let up. Perhaps Mother and Ruth could have tea with you while I run over to the parsonage.”

“Mama's going to tell Reverend Holmes about Aunt Malinda,” Ruth explained.

“Oh, yes,” Lavinia said. “By all means go now, Elizabeth. We will be just fine here.”

So Elizabeth hurried on over to the parsonage, and since the reverend was out, she explained the situation to Mrs. Holmes. “Malinda would appreciate it if the reverend could make an announcement.”

Mrs. Holmes promised to relay the message, and then the two women visited for a while. For some reason Elizabeth felt that she could trust Mrs. Holmes, and although she didn't intend to tell her about the Indians, she wanted to question her about Mrs. Levine. “I know that you and the reverend are close friends with the Levines,” she began. “I have only had a few limited conversations with Mrs. Levine, although I feel I have some commonality since I too have been a widow. Are you very close friends with her?”

“Oh, yes. Martha is my very best friend here. I don't know what I would do without her.”

“I'm sure you must be a valued friend to her as well.” Elizabeth weighed her words. “It must have been difficult for her when her Charles married an Indian woman. I'm sure she must have relied on your friendship then.”