The Christmas Secret (5 page)

Elizabeth turned and rushed out the door. Her heart felt as numb as the cold air that hit her face.

E
lizabeth left Helen’s house and hurried down the street. She planned to see if Slim Weaver, the man who ran the livery stable, would give her a ride to the train station. She had to get out of town before she ran into someone she knew. As she neared the Old Corner Store on the southwest corner of Center Square, Howard Glenstone stepped out. He wore a dark brown suit with a beige bow tie and looked as dapper as ever with the ends of his cocoa-colored hair sticking out from under his top hat.

“It’s good to see you, Elizabeth.” Howard’s handlebar mustache twitched rhythmically as he smiled and gave her a nod. “Where might you be headed on this chilly fall day?” A whiff of Howard’s bay rum hair tonic wafted up to her nose.

“I’m … uh … on my way to the livery stable,” she mumbled, refusing to meet his gaze.

“I’m heading to my office, but I’d be glad to give you a ride.”

“No thanks. The livery’s not far, and I can walk.” Knowing she had to hurry or she would miss her train, Elizabeth continued walking at a brisk pace.

“What’s your business at the livery stable?” Howard asked as he strode along beside her. “Are you in need of a new horse?”

“I’m sorry, Howard, but I’m in a hurry and really can’t talk anymore.”

“Oh, I see.” He gave her a nod and turned toward his exquisite-looking emerald-green carriage with gold mountings. Howard was not only handsome, but he was also a man of wealth and prestige with many business holdings. He would no doubt make some lucky woman a good husband—just not her. She would forever remain an old maid.

When Elizabeth arrived at the livery stable, she spoke to Slim about giving her a ride to the train station.

“Sure, no problem.” Slim offered Elizabeth a toothless grin. “Goin’ to Philadelphia to do some shoppin’ for your weddin’, I’ll bet.”

Elizabeth made no reply as Slim helped her into the buggy. She didn’t feel right about not answering his question, but she couldn’t tell him the truth. It wasn’t like her to be antisocial. She felt awkward, almost guilty, treating those she’d known since childhood with this silence, but for now, she had no other choice. The fewer questions, the better.

As the horse and buckboard left the livery stable, Elizabeth glanced over her shoulder and caught sight of David’s employee, Gus Smith, crossing the street. She wasn’t sure if he’d seen her or not but was relieved to see that David wasn’t with him. She certainly couldn’t deal with seeing him right now.

David urged his horse to move quickly as he headed down the road toward the cabin. He’d stopped by the Cannings’ to see Elizabeth, but Abigail, who’d just returned home from shopping, said Elizabeth wasn’t there. She thought Elizabeth might have gone to the cabin. But as David approached the cabin, he didn’t see any sign of Elizabeth’s buckboard. Could she have come on foot? It was worth checking.

David tied his horse to the hitching rail, sprinted to the cabin, and was surprised to find the door ajar. The room was cold, and there was no sign of a fire having been built in the fireplace. He glanced at the mantel and noticed an envelope with his name on it.

He tore it open, and as he read the note, his heart started to pound.
What? Elizabeth isn’t going to marry me?
For some reason she thought they couldn’t be together. But why? In all the time they’d been courting she’d never given him any indication that she didn’t care for him. Until she’d taken ill several days ago, everything had appeared to be fine. Had she been lying all this time, pretending to love him when she didn’t? Could there be another man? But if that were so, why hadn’t she told him sooner? Why wait until now … less than two months before their wedding? And why had Elizabeth come to the cabin to clean and get it ready for them to move into if she wasn’t planning to marry him? None of this made any sense.

The only thing David could think to do was to find Elizabeth and hear from her own lips why she’d written the note that had caused all this doubt to suddenly enter his mind.

He stuffed the note in his jacket pocket and hurried out the door. He had to go back to Elizabeth’s house. If she wasn’t there, he’d speak to Abigail about the note. It couldn’t end like this. He had to find out why Elizabeth had changed her mind about marrying him and win her back.

A
s Elizabeth sat on the train heading for Coopersburg, she stared out the window at the passing scenery, feeling as gloomy as the gray sky above.

She was leaving behind the only home she’d ever known … and the only man she’d ever loved enough to marry.

“Are you all right, dear?” the elderly woman sitting beside Elizabeth asked.

Using the corner of her handkerchief, Elizabeth dabbed at the tears wetting her cheeks. “It’s nothing, really. I’m just feeling a little weepy right now.”

The woman nodded. “I understand. We women are sometimes prone to crying, even when there’s nothing to cry about.”

Elizabeth gave no reply. She certainly had a good reason to cry but wasn’t about to tell this stranger her problems. It was bad enough that she’d told Helen the truth. In another time she might have welcomed a conversation with this kindhearted woman, but instead, she leaned her head against the back of the seat and closed her eyes, trying to calm the knot in her stomach. This was certainly not a journey she’d ever imagined taking.
I do hope Helen keeps my secret. Please, Lord, help me not to be afraid, and lead me down the right path in the days ahead.

As David urged his horse toward Elizabeth’s house, his shop came into view. As he approached the building, Gus stepped out and motioned him to stop.

David halted his horse. “What is it, Gus?”

“I could use your help putting some wheels on that fancy, plum-colored carriage we got in the other day.”

“You’ll have to manage on your own for a while,” David said. “I’m going over to the Cannings’ house to talk to Elizabeth right now.”

Gus shook his head. “I don’t think she’s there, boss.”

“How do you know?”

“Saw her with Slim Weaver, and it looked like they was headin’ toward the train station in his buckboard.”

David’s heart gave a lurch. Apparently Elizabeth had followed through with her threat to leave town. He certainly hadn’t expected her to leave so soon.

David quickly told Gus about the note he’d found in the cabin.

“So she gave ya the mitten, huh?”

“Yes. I’m afraid she has discarded me as her boyfriend,” David said with regret.

Gus frowned. “Sorry to hear that. Thought you two was madly in love.”

“That’s what I thought, but I guess I was wrong.” Inside, though, David still had a hard time believing it.

“I’ve got to go now. I need to find out where Elizabeth has gone!” David clutched the reins so tightly that his fingers ached as he clucked to the horse. Hurrying through the streets of town, he nearly collided with one of the elderly street vendors hawking his goods. As he pulled his horse to the right to dodge the vendor’s cart, he heard the man’s rhythmic chant: “Scissors to grind! Razors … scissors … penknives to grind!”

David continued on, until he came to the Cannings’ large, gingerbread-trimmed home. He secured his horse to the hitching rail, sprinted up the porch steps, and gave the bellpull a yank.

Several minutes later, Abigail answered the door. “May I help you, David?”

“I went to the cabin, hoping Elizabeth was there, but I found this instead.” He pulled the envelope from his pocket and handed it to her.

“What is it?”

“A note from Elizabeth. She left it on the fireplace mantel for me.”

Abigail slipped the note from the envelope and gasped when she read it. “This is certainly a shock! I had no idea Elizabeth was planning to leave town or that she had decided to break her engagement.” She patted her flushed cheeks and pushed a stray tendril of dark hair into the chignon at the back of her head.

“My helper, Gus, said he saw Elizabeth with the man who owns the livery stable and that it looked like they were heading to the train station. Do you have any idea where she might be going?”

Abigail slowly shook her head. “I wonder if Elizabeth left a note for us somewhere in the house. If she did, it might say.” She opened the door wider and bid him in. “If you’d like to take a seat in the parlor, I’ll have a look around.”

David seated himself on a dark blue, circular sofa, while Abigail hurried off to another room.

Several minutes later she returned, holding an envelope and wearing a glum expression. “I found a note from Elizabeth on Charles’s desk in his study.”

David leaped to his feet. “What does it say?”

“Pretty much the same as the note she wrote to you—that she’s come to realize she can’t marry you and has decided to go away. She also said she was sorry that she won’t be here for her birthday or Christmas.”

“Did she say where she was going?”

“No, and I dread telling Charles when he gets home from his trip. He’s going to be very upset.”

“He can’t be any more upset than I am. Elizabeth was supposed to be my wife.” David frowned. “I don’t understand what went wrong. One minute she seemed so happy about marrying me, and the next minute she says she can’t marry me at all. It doesn’t make a bit of sense.”

Abigail sank to the sofa. “Maybe she’s not ready for marriage. Maybe she’s still too immature and has made herself sick thinking about it.”

David flinched. The thought that Elizabeth had made herself sick because she didn’t want to get married made him feel guilty. Had he pushed her too hard? Should he have waited another year to propose?

He turned toward the door. “I’d better go. I need to get back to my shop, but before I do, I’m going by Helen’s house and see if she knows where Elizabeth went.” He hurried out the front door.