Cheryl Reavis (24 page)

“It’s going to be all right,” Robert said gently.

“Is it?”

“Yes.”

She gave a heavy sigh. All these years she’d had some misguided idea of what Harrison’s life had been like, but his sincere words about Mrs. Howe—his mother—had changed everything.

I was blind, but now I see...

She pressed her face into his shirt again, even knowing Mrs. Kinnard was due. “I love you, Robert,” she whispered.

“I don’t think I heard that,” he said, and she looked up at him.

“Yes, you did,” she said, and he smiled.

“Rob?” someone said behind them, and they both looked around.

A woman and a man stood at the edge of the yard. They were both smiling.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but we have to catch the train. This must be Kate,” she said, stepping forward.

“Yes,” Kate said, looking to Robert for some guidance.

“This is Eleanor,” Robert said to her. “And her fiancé, Dan Ingram.”

Eleanor?

No wonder Perkins hadn’t wanted her to come outside.

“Pleased to meet you, miss,” the man said.

“Kate, do you mind if I have a word with Rob?” Eleanor asked.

“No,” Kate said. “Of course not.”

She stood there completely bewildered as they walked a short distance away. She suddenly turned her attention to Dan Ingram. He didn’t seem to find this situation awkward at all.

“You’re catching the train?” she said just to have something to say.

“We’re heading back to Wyoming. I was afraid I’d be going home by myself, but Eleanor said yes.”

“I...didn’t know she was here.”

“Nobody did except her mother and Mrs. Woodard. And then Rob. He told us about you—well, he told Eleanor, and she told me.”

Kate stared back at him. Clearly a lot had been going on while she was lost in her own troubles.

“If you don’t mind my saying so, you’re looking like you ought to sit down. How about we walk over there to the porch steps?”

“I— Yes,” she decided. Her mind was reeling. Sitting down was definitely a good idea.

When they reached the porch, she sat down on the top step and, surprisingly, so did Dan Ingram.

“It must have been a shock for her—finding out Robert was alive,” Kate said. She could see Robert and Eleanor from this vantage point, but she couldn’t tell anything about their conversation.

“At first. But then she remembered I’d done about the same thing after the war—run off from everything I knew. Only I went to Wyoming. You love him?” he asked bluntly.

“I— Yes.”

“Thought so. It’ll help him—if you tell him about it, that is, and you don’t go trying to do what you think is best for him. ‘Best’ is having the woman you care about say she’ll take a chance on you—however it turns out.” He stood. “Here they come.”

He offered Kate his hand, and she stood to meet them. Eleanor Hansen had no reticence whatsoever about calling Kate aside, clearly intending to say something she didn’t want Dan or Robert to hear. It occurred to Kate, as she and Eleanor stood looking at each other, that both of them were thinking of the same person.

Robert Markham.

“Yes,” Eleanor said after a moment.

“Pardon?”

“I thought you might be wondering if the things you’d heard about me were true. The answer is yes.” Eleanor smiled a wry smile. “It’s in the past, though. I know that now. Dan came all the way from Wyoming to make sure I know it. And Robert—he helped me to understand...some things. I never thought I’d ever hear myself say something like this, but I believe he’s going to make a fine minister.”

“So do I,” Kate said.

They stared at each other for a moment longer, the conversation clearly ended.

“Dan!” Eleanor suddenly called, holding out her hand to the man she was going to marry. As he approached, she gave Kate an abrupt goodbye hug.

“Be good to him,” she whispered in Kate’s ear. “He’s going to need someone like you. And don’t waste time worrying about what people will think.” Then she was gone, walking away on Dan Ingram’s arm to catch a train to a new life.

Kate walked back to the porch and sat down on the top step again as Robert joined her.

“What did you mean—when you said you weren’t bound to Eleanor in the way I thought?” she asked after a moment.

Robert looked at her. A slight breeze ruffled his hair. “She broke our engagement—before Gettysburg—but I still needed to find out if she was all right.”

“And is she?”

“Yes. Dan Ingram is a good man.”

“What about Warrie? Does she know Eleanor broke your engagement?”

“Eleanor told her. She would never have believed it if it had come from me.”

“This has been the most—” She stopped because she had no words for the events of this day.

“Are you all right?” he asked, his eyes searching hers.

“I will be—as soon as I take Harrison’s advice. And Eleanor’s.”

“And what would that be?”

She moved closer so their shoulders touched. “It would be this—Robert Brian Markham, will you marry me? If you think I’m groomed enough, that is.”

He smiled. “This is their advice?”

“Harrison’s. Eleanor told me not to worry about what people thought. And, since I’m not getting any younger—to quote Harrison—and both things seem reasonable, given our situation, I want to know—”

“Robert Markham! What would your mother say! Sitting out here like this where everyone can see you—”

“Mrs. Kinnard is here,” he advised Kate. “I’m...not sure,” he said to Mrs. Kinnard.

“And you, Miss Woodard. What do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m asking Robert for his hand in marriage—but he hasn’t given me his answer yet. Robert Markham, will you marry me or not?”

“I will, Miss Woodard,” he said. “The sooner, the better.”

“Good,” she said, using his own word for the situation.

He suddenly reached out and took Mrs. Kinnard by the arm. “Come sit with us, Mrs. Kinnard.”

“Robert Brian Markham—!” she protested, but he was relentless. She sat, and he put an arm around both of them.

“The very idea!” she said, but she stopped trying to get away.

“I know,” Robert said. “But you’re the only mother I have—you and Mrs. Justice. I’m happy, Mrs. Kinnard. I want you to be happy, too.”

“Well, this is
not
the way.”

Perkins came out the front door, took one look at the three of them and went back inside again.

“I love Robert with all my heart, Mrs. Kinnard,” Kate said. “And you’ve just heard him say yes to my bold proposal. Now. Would you be so kind as to arrange my wedding?”

Epilogue

A
t first Kate had been afraid Mrs. Kinnard would plan something with so much pomp and circumstance it would rival a coronation, but she hadn’t. An entirely different Mrs. Kinnard had seemed to be in charge this time, one who understood exactly what Kate and Robert wanted—a wedding that was warm and intimate and joyous all at the same time. And practical.

“We will want an evening wedding,” Mrs. Kinnard had said. “So you and Robert can slip away sometime during the reception. And if we schedule it a few days before Christmas, the church will already be decorated.”

Which had left Kate free to concentrate on her attendants. Having Maria as her matron of honor had been out of the question, because the wedding date would be too soon after the baby’s birth for her to assume the duties required of her—nearly two weeks of her lying-in period would still remain, Kate smiled suddenly, thinking of the beautiful little girl who had been welcomed into Max’s family—and hers.

Ann Maria Katherine Woodard.

Max and the boys were absolutely captivated by her mere presence, and what a job she would have later—keeping
all
of them in line.

And that had left the bridesmaid.

There had been only one other possible bridesmaid who met the age requirement that she be younger than the bride, only one who would see the position as both an honor and an “adventure.”

“Kate!” Valentina said now. “Hurry! It’s almost time!”

Kate took a deep breath. She could hear the swelling of the first chords from the organ.

“How do I look?” she asked Valentina as she smoothed the flounce on the underskirt of her dress.

“Beautiful,” Valentina said earnestly. “And wait till you see Robert. Thanks to Sergeant Major Perkins and Private Castine, he’s been polished to within an inch of his
life
.”

Kate smiled and followed her into the vestibule. She had no doubt that that was true. And how beautiful the church looked, all candlelit and filled with the scent of Christmas greenery and the boxes of oranges that would be given to the children on Christmas Eve and to the poor. And there were so many people—Mrs. Kinnard hadn’t quite accomplished the “intimate” part.

“Here I go!” Valentina said as the organist began playing her musical cue.

Kate could hear the creaking of the pews as people turned to see Valentina make her entrance.

“They’re playing the charge,” Max said mischievously as he offered Kate his arm. She smiled up at him. Clearly Perkins and Castine had done some work on him, as well.

“Max—”

“He’s a good man, Kate. Even I can see that, but if—”

“I don’t want to change my mind, Max.”

“All right then. I’m ready if you are.”

She stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “Thank you, Max. For everything.”

She could see Robert and his best man standing at the altar now. Harrison was grinning from ear to ear, and he poked Robert with his elbow as the music changed and she came into view.

She walked with Max down the aisle past a sea of faces, some smiling—Mrs. Justice and Robert’s former comrades—and some not—Mrs. Russell and her forlorn daughter.

“Dearly Beloved,” Chaplain Gilford began, his voice steady and full of authority. He was doing well now—thanks to Robert’s help—and she was so glad they had chosen him to perform the ceremony.

Kate barely heard the rest of it because she was looking into Robert’s eyes. It was as if all the many tributaries of her life had been flowing from some unknown source, colliding, joining, carrying her along to this very moment. It was so clear to her now. She could see it—in all that had happened to her and to him. She could see it in her finally understanding her place in Harrison’s life and in the remarkable way she and Robert had met. She could see it in his pain and sorrow over Samuel’s death and his coming home again. She loved Robert Markham with all her heart, and it was there, too. All of it—
all
of it, was God’s plan.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end...

When the wedding was over, she would tell Robert. She would tell her husband how new and joyous she felt.

She smiled suddenly, still looking into his eyes, her heart soaring. She said her vows firmly and with love, and she listened to Robert do the same.

My husband
.

She would live with him and grow old with him, and they would do their best to remember that no matter what happened, He would always be there.

* * * * *

Keep reading for an excerpt from
The Baby Compromise
by
Linda Ford.

Dear Reader,

Years ago, when crewel embroidery was so popular, one of my coworkers brought a beautiful example of her handiwork to the office to show us. As she was taking it out of the bag, she said she’d used this particular piece to teach her Sunday school class.

“How?” I asked her, curious.

“Well, I told them that this piece of embroidery was like our lives,” she said, holding it up so the wrong side, the side with all the knots and short pieces of dangling crewel yarn, was facing outward. “This is the side we see, the side that’s rough, and unfinished-looking and maybe hard to understand.”

Then she flipped it around to show the other side, a stunning array of colorful flowers, greenery and butterflies. It was absolutely beautiful. “And this is the side God sees.”

What a simple, yet profound, message, I thought then—and still do. It’s the message I kept foremost in my mind when I was writing Robert and Kate’s story.

I hope you enjoy reading it.

Love and prayers,

Questions for Discussion

1. By the time the story begins, Kate has experienced two great losses—the son she gave up for adoption and the young man she would have married had he not been killed in the final days of the war. How do you think these losses shaped her life? How do you think they shaped her faith?
   
2. Why did Kate suddenly decide to miss her train? What do you think might have happened if she hadn’t been in the Markham house when Robert Markham returned home after his long exile?
   
3. What were Kate’s first impressions of Robert and what did she ultimately decide about him? How did it affect her interactions with him? What did Robert think of Kate? How did his first impression affect his interactions with her?
   
4. Have you ever had to deal with anyone like the forceful Mrs. Kinnard? If so, how did you handle the situation? What did you think of the way Kate managed Mrs. Kinnard? What one specific thing do you think Kate’s brother, Colonel Woodard, understood about Mrs. Kinnard’s personality?
   
5. In what ways were Kate and Mrs. Kinnard’s daughter, Valentina, alike? In what ways were they different? What private hope did Valentina reveal to Kate regarding the kind of man she wanted to marry?
   
6. How did Mrs. Justice help Kate reach out to God? Do you think she gave Kate good advice? Why or why not? Have you ever had a spiritual mentor like Mrs. Justice in your life? What was that experience like? Have you ever been a spiritual mentor?
   
7. Why do you think Mrs. Justice, Mrs. Kinnard and the militant Mrs. Russell remained friends for so long? Do you still have friends you’ve known since your childhood? What do you think keeps that friendship going?
   
8. Why did Robert Markham let his family and friends believe he was dead and choose not to come home after the war? What caused him to change his mind? How was he finally able to find God? Why do you think his sister, Maria, was so surprised by this change in him?
   
9. Why did Robert choose to speak to the members of his church at the Sunday service? How did he feel about Kate being present in the congregation when he did so? How did he feel about Mrs. Hansen, the mother of his former fiancée, Eleanor, being there?
   
10. How did Robert help Kate when she first learned that her son might be in some kind of trouble? How did he help later when the trouble turned out to be real?
    
11. Why did Robert need his sister, Maria, and Mrs. Justice to help him understand his true feelings regarding Kate? What did Kate do when she found out about the “helpful” thing the two women had done?
    
12. What do you think of the decision Kate ultimately made regarding her son? Do you think it was the right thing for her to do? Why or why not? In what way did Robert help her reach her decision?