Corner of the Housetop: Buried Secrets (36 page)

It took nearly an hour to unload the bags and boxes and get them sorted in the stables. When he was finished, Derek led Blueberry down to the house. "You wait here. I just need to run these down to the kitchen," he told the horse.

Feeling a little annoyed at having to go in the house again after last time, Derek pushed the door open and looked around. He didn't see anyone, so he went in with the first box. When he got to the kitchen, he set it on the table. He looked around.

Everyone must be upstairs for tea
, he mused. He climbed the stairs and started for the side door when he heard Jonathan speak from behind him.

"What are you doing in here now?" Though he sounded impatient and exasperated, his tone was slightly amused.

Annoyed, Derek turned and glared at Jonathan. "There are some boxes from town that Devon told me to bring to the kitchen."

"You know you aren't allowed in here, no matter what Devon tells you to do."

"I'd get in trouble if I didn't bring it. I get in trouble when I do. What do you want me to do?"

"Did you ever think of going around front and ringing the bell?"

"To drop off a box?"

"That's what happens with other deliveries," Jonathan replied simply.

So I'm as good as a delivery boy now, am I?
he thought angrily.

"Or, better yet," he added, "tell Devon to bring it himself."

"After he told me to? That would go over well."

Jonathan's eyes narrowed at him. "There really is no limit to your lack in common sense. You need to start using your head or you are never going to keep out of trouble."

There were a few seconds of silence as the two glared at each other.

"Leave the boxes on the step by the side door and I'll have Beth fetch them. Do
not
come inside again unless my mother or I specifically tell you to. If Devon or anyone else, for that matter tells you to, please recall who the master of this house is before you let the orders of a slave override proper authority in your mind."

Glowering, but at a loss for words, Derek said, "Yes, sir," then continued towards the door. Once outside, he piled the other two boxes on the step and took Blueberry's lead. "I bet if I had just left these here in the first place he would have still been mad at me," he informed the horse.

When the wagon was put away, Derek led Blueberry to the stables. He noticed Devon in the corral with Lady Sarah Mary-Ruth.
Good. I won't have to bother with either of them for a little while.

After Blueberry was settled in his stall with fresh water, Derek climbed the ladder and picked his books and papers up off his bed. That small thrill of importance returned as he prepared to finish his homework.

Derek sighed as he looked out the carriage window. Everyone had been quiet during the ride to church and as the building came into view the tension behind the silence heightened. After his reprieve, Derek wasn't looking forward to returning to the general congregation.

When the carriage stopped, Gabriel was the first to climb out followed by Jonathan. Derek was about to slide across the seat when Mrs. Worthington stopped him.

"You will behave yourself. You will not speak to anyone. At the end of service, you will return here, to the carriage, and wait without so much as a whisper. Am I clear?"

"Then why'd you bring me?" he asked moodily.

"Because you are in severe need of guidance. Now get in there. Don't talk to anyone," she cautioned him again as he slid out. "Just sit and be quiet."

Derek rolled his eyes. "Yes, ma'am," he intoned, then strolled towards the church doors. He watched the rest of the town folk around him, greeting each other and smiling. As he looked back towards the building, he caught sight of the group of girls who he'd seen by the women's salon last month when he'd been in town with Devon. They were still chatting and giggling as if time around them never changed, only their location. To the right of the building, Aniline stood beside the Clayton's wagon, her eyes narrowed at him.

What did I do to her?

"Good morning, Derek."

Startled, Derek looked at the man who addressed him. "Oh, good morning, Mr. Cutter," he said as he passed him. Walking by the group of girls, who quieted as he approached and giggled even more loudly once he'd passed, he entered the building and made his way to one of the front pews. When he was settled on the hard, wooden bench, he contented himself with flipping through the hymnal. It wasn't long before Gabriel joined him.

"We're here pretty early, huh?"

"Sorry, Gabe, but I can't talk to you. Your mother says I'm not supposed to talk to anyone," Derek informed him.

"Derek."

Derek laughed a little, then said, "We're not any earlier than we usually are."

"I guess." Gabriel looked around.

"She's still out front."

"Who?"

"Aniline Clayton."

His cheeks turning red, Gabriel said, "Shut up. I wasn't looking for her."

"Of course not."

Just then, Jonathan stopped at the end of their row. "Move down," he ordered.

Derek and Gabriel slid as far as they could. Jonathan sat down and took the Bible from the cubby on the back of the pew in front of them and started to read it from a seemingly random page in the middle.

After a moment, Gabriel bend his head close to Derek's and whispered, "I wish I could invite her to my birthday."

Derek, who had been staring at Reverend Marks, who was staring at him, asked distractedly, "Who?"

"Aniline," he hissed in annoyance.

"So invite her. Wait. What? Your birthday?" He thought a moment. "That is coming up, isn't it?"

"In August," Gabriel answered indignantly, as though everyone should have known.

"Well, it's been a while since your birthday was of any accord to me."

"Only a year," he answered, annoyed.

Leaning towards them, Jonathan whispered, "You are sitting in a chapel. If you want to socialize, go outside. Otherwise, be respectful of other people's peace."

Rolling his eyes, Derek slumped in his seat a little. He looked around the room again, then stared at Gabriel, who was copying Jonathan and reading from his own Bible. Bored, Derek poked him in the side.

"What?" Gabriel whined.

"I said be quiet," Jonathan stated, his stern glare on his younger brother. "Both of you," he added, his gaze not shifting.

When Jonathan went back to reading, Gabriel glared at Derek.

Derek sighed, opened the hymnal again, and started scanning the pages for letters and words he recognized.

Slowly, the rest of the congregation filed in and service began. The invocation was a drone of phases familiar from every other prayer Derek had ever heard, and the first hymn was one he didn't particularly like. Following that was a long speech about the need to give to the Lord by way of financial donations to the reverend, and a short search for volunteers to bring the main dish for the fellowshipping dinner the following week. When that was over, they sang some more, then listened to an interesting sermon about the "elect of God," throughout which Mrs. Worthington kept casting Derek stern glares perhaps to make sure he was listening and understanding that he was, in fact, not among those chosen to be saved: this thought cause Derek to once again consider why she bothered bringing him to church at all. Afterwards there was another hymn of questionable spiritual use and finally a benediction to make sure everyone who'd been sleeping during the sermon and awakened by the singing knew what the original lecture was about.

"Oh Lord, we are so grateful to be among Thy elect. Please cast Thy favorable eye upon us and bless us to do Thy will. Bring peace to our lives and to the lives of our loved ones. We ask a special blessing to be upon those of our congregation who are suffering affliction and hardship. Stay with them. Keep Thy love with them, and draw them closer to Thee by their divine birthright as Thy chosen children. In the name of the Almighty Lord, amen."

"Amen," Derek muttered, grateful it was over. Not wanting to tempt Mrs. Worthington into a tantrum, he then stood and made his way to the door. Having to wait by the carriage didn't upset him at all.

When he was outside of the stuffy chapel, Derek sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"How was church?" Devon asked as Derek approached him.

"Same as always. Reverend Marks and God are siding with Mrs. Worthington and I'm a hopeless case. But I finally know why," he added cheerfully, a light of amusement glowing in his eyes. "I'm not 'elect' enough." Derek couldn't help but laugh.

Devon snorted and shook his head.

"So much for the theory that God loves everybody, huh?"

"Who says God loves everybody?" Devon asked with mild interest.

"Miss Catherine."

"How does anyone know who God loves, but God hisself?" the man grumbled.

Turning away from Devon, Derek looked down the small hill to the line of tall, brown reed grass that separated the green field from the beach. He hadn't been to the water in a very long time. He sighed.
I like to think Catherine's right
, he thought.
I think if anyone would know, it would be her. She seems like the kind of person someone like God, who can talk to anyone He wants, might talk to. I'd talk to her if I could pick anyone.

"Derek!"

Derek looked over his shoulder and saw Gabriel running towards him.

"What'd you run out of there so fast for?"

Smirking, he said, "I'm not suppose to talk to anyone, so figured I wouldn't stay longer than I had to and tempt myself. You know how I like to get chatty with the ladies from the choir."

Gabriel smiled and shook his head.

"Gabriel, what are you doing over there by your lonesome?"

Derek groaned as he turned and addressed the speaker: "Anthony, shut up unless you want another black eye to go with your first."

"I wasn't talking to you," he said, still walking closer. "I was talking to Gabriel."

"You'll get in trouble if your mother sees you talking to me," Gabriel warned, looking around at the faces of those who had already left the church building.

"She's still inside," Anthony stated. "Besides, I can just say Derek was giving you a hard time and I came over to straighten things out, since you didn't dare put him right by yourself; good, sweet boy that you are."

History did not support the notion that Gabriel would speak up in protest, so Derek just shook his head and walked away. A hearty declaration from Gabriel that it was a wonderful cover actually would not surprise him very much. Derek took less than five steps before Gabriel called after him:

"Derek, wait up. Where are you going?"

Turning, Derek stared at Gabriel.

Walking towards Derek, Gabriel said, "We're supposed to be waiting over there."

"I thought you'd want to talk to Anthony."

Gabriel shook his head. "I'm not allowed around him as much as he's not allowed around me."

Starting back towards the carriage, Derek asked, "Why's that?"

"Jonathan really doesn't like him, and he said if he saw me associating with him again he'd pound some sense into my head for me."