The Lightkeeper's Bride (23 page)

The Fosters joined them. “Is there anything I can do for your dear mother, Katie?” Mrs. Foster asked. The smile she directed to the baby appeared strained. “And how is your father?” She uttered the last word in a hushed tone, disapproval tugging at her mouth.

“I so appreciate your willingness to help,” Katie said, shuffling Jennie to the other arm. “I’ve spoken with Mama every day of late, and she’s quite improved. The servants have been taking good care of her. Papa is also growing stronger.”

“Would you care to join us for dinner?” Bart put in.

His mother shot him a quick glance, which Katie interpreted as a rebuke. A few drops of rain plopped onto the sidewalk. “Thank you, but I must get the baby out of the weather. It’s beginning to rain.”

Bart nodded. “Things will be back to normal soon. This quarantine will end and you’ll be back home. I’ll be able to take you to dinner and the nickelodeon.” His voice held deep satisfaction.

His mother’s smile was stiff. “And we’ll have a dinner party to announce your engagement.”

Katie saw Will tense. She clutched the baby to her chest a little too tightly, and Jennie squirmed. “We—we’re not engaged, Mrs. Foster.”

The woman’s brow lifted, and she glanced at her son. “After you’re engaged, of course,” she said.

Had Bart told his parents they were engaged? Maybe even purchased a ring? Katie’s throat closed at the thought. She wasn’t ready.

It was one thing to think about marrying him, but another thing altogether to actually take that step.

The woman under the tree moved again, and Katie realized that even if she were ready to marry Bart, she might not have the option if the woman told anyone the truth. Everyone, even Will, would think she had withheld the truth of her heritage. And she had. She needed to get Florence out of town before the Fosters and everyone else in town found out about her. But Katie had no idea how to accomplish it.

Jennie reached for Will. He took her, and Katie turned away. “I’m going inside the church a moment.” She desperately needed the release of tears and to seek God’s succor right now. There was no one to talk to, no one to share her problems with except God.

“We’ll be in the carriage. Take your time,” Will said.

Through a rapidly building blur of tears, she directed a pleading glance at Bart, and he nodded stiffly. If she’d offended him, she was most sorry, but she couldn’t stand here making small talk another moment. She lifted her skirts and hurried across the wet grass to the church door.

The scent of old wood and wax greeted her when she stepped inside and approached the altar. The solitude of the holy place descended on her. She sat on the front row in the wash of light from the stained glass window above the pulpit and clasped her hands in her lap. With her head bowed, she pleaded for strength to do whatever was necessary to care for her parents and for Florence to leave town before the truth came out.

Was that even something she could pray for? Wasn’t God all about truth? She’d been living a lie for twenty years. No, not a lie. Her true parents
were
the Russells. The woman who had birthed her was no more than a brood mare. Katie’s allegiance was to the mother who had soothed her hurts and braided her hair. Calm washed over her.

What gain would Florence receive from revealing Katie’s heritage? All leverage would be gone. The woman had as much to lose as Katie.

The door creaked behind her, and she turned to see a figure slip through the door. The wide chapeau betrayed her identity. “You shouldn’t have come. Someone might see you.”

“They’ll just think I was a fancy woman who is finally repenting,” she said with a saucy laugh.

Katie winced at such crude talk. “Why are you following me?”

Her satin skirts swishing, Florence drew nearer. “I thought about what you said when we spoke before. I think you need to know the truth now. My dear sister probably never told you the whole story, has she?”

Katie stared at the woman, willing her to tell what had happened so long ago. “Truth?”

“Albert was mine first. My sister was his second choice. I wanted to be an actress and Albert couldn’t deal with it.” Her beautiful face scowled. “No one tells me what to do. I was determined to show him I could succeed, so when I had the opportunity to join a vaudeville show, I took it. It was only after I left that I discovered you were on your way, but I wasn’t about to go back to Albert and hear his ‘I told you so.’”

Katie passed her hand over her forehead. “Y–you mean he’s my real father?” She’d always believed her parents were really her aunt and uncle. It explained so much. Why her father constantly said what trash Florence was. Every thought of her brought up memories of his own indiscretions.

Florence’s eyes flashed with triumph. “I knew you were an innocent to my sister’s scheming ways.”

Florence was close enough now for Katie to smell the perfume she wore. It was something spicy and overpowering. Strong enough to make Katie’s eyes water. Florence had left the gentle fragrance of lily of the valley behind.

Katie stood and faced the woman. “Yet they raised me and you didn’t.”

Florence’s eyes flashed. “Come now, you appear to have fared just fine.”

She reached out and touched a curl of Katie’s hair. It took everything in her not to shy away from her touch. “If you’re smart, my darling, you’ll run far away from that uptight man in the tweed jacket. I’ve seen his type before. He’ll expect perfection. What will he do when he finds out your real mother is a woman of the world?”

There was so much more to it than Florence was saying. Katie had to know all of it. “Why were we even in Mercy Falls? To ask for money?”

Florence winced and Katie realized she’d guessed right. “That’s it? You wanted money?”

“Raising a kid isn’t cheap! It was time he paid his share. But he paid up. Oh yes, indeed. My dear sister was determined to have you since she couldn’t have any of her own. It was the perfect time for them since only your father had arrived in town.” Florence fumbled with a sequined bag and withdrew an embroidered hanky. She dabbed at her eyes. “It wasn’t easy for me, Katie. Not easy at all. I love you. I always have.”

For a moment Katie almost believed it until Florence put down the hanky and Katie saw a hard shine in her eyes. “If you loved me, you wouldn’t want to cause trouble for me. You’d leave and never come back rather than try to ruin my life.”

“I wish I could, but I’m broke, darling. I don’t like putting the squeeze on you, but I have no choice.” Her voice took on a wheedling tone. “Surely your loving father has put the money I need at your disposal.”

Katie shook her head. “He has not. I’m not even sure how we will survive on the little left in the bank. It will be a while before Papa is back to work. His business is failing. We may have to sell everything.”

Florence’s placating manner vanished. “I know a lie when I hear it, Katie. I’ll give you a few more days. If you won’t give me the money, I’ll see if your intended can spare some for the mother of his wife-to-be.”

Katie watched Florence saunter toward the door and knew the woman would do exactly as she threatened, if only for revenge against Mama.

T
WENTY-FOUR

T
HE RAIN SETTLED
into a drizzle. Will peered through the curtain of gray toward the church. Still no sign of Katie. Jennie slept on Lady Carrington’s lap. The horses stamped their hooves impatiently. “I’ll be right back,” he told her. He shoved open the carriage door and stepped out into the rain.

The cold drops bounced off his hat. He skirted mud puddles and hurried to the door of the church. In the vestibule he shook the moisture from his clothes and glanced toward the sanctuary door, where he heard the low murmur of voices. He recognized Katie’s voice but not the other woman’s. Interrupting them might not be a good idea.

The woman drew closer to the door and said, “I know a lie when I hear it, Katie. I’ll give you a few more days. If you won’t give me the money, I’ll see if your intended can spare some for the mother of his wife-to-be.”

He stepped around a pillar and caught a glimpse of a gaudily dressed woman as she moved through the vestibule and exited the church. The smirk on her face raised his ire. He puzzled over the words he’d heard. It sounded as though she had demanded money from Katie. What had she meant about being Katie’s mother? She resembled Katie, but the woman didn’t seem to have any pox on her face, and she’d been out in public when she was supposed to be quarantined. But why would she attempt to blackmail Katie?

He moved back through the vestibule then opened the door to the sanctuary. The sound of soft weeping made him pause in the doorway. He saw Katie kneeling at the altar under the stained glass window. Sobs shook her shoulders and she fumbled for a hanky in the sleeve of her dress. She dabbed at her eyes then rose and turned toward the door.

She stopped when she saw him. “How long have you been there?” The skin around her eyes was reddened.

“Long enough,” he said gently. “That woman was your mother?”

“She’s not my mother!” Katie clasped her gloved hands together.

“But I overheard her say—”

She walked toward him. “Whatever you heard, it’s no business of yours.”

“Fair enough, but if you’re in some kind of trouble, I’d like to help you.”

She reached him and paused. “Why would you think I’m in trouble?”

“I overheard her try to blackmail you.”

Color stained her cheeks. “You listened?”

“I came looking for you and was in the vestibule. I didn’t intend to eavesdrop.”

Her shoulders slumped and she grabbed the back of a pew. “Oh what am I going to do?” she whispered.

“Let me help you, Katie. Who is that woman?”

She bit her lip and raised moist eyes to his. “The woman who bore me.
Not
my mother.”

“I don’t understand.”

“She abandoned me when I was five. She’s Mama’s sister. A–and it appears Papa is my real father. I’d always thought it was one of Florence’s men friends.” She bit her lip. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to tell you all of that.”

“I know how to keep a secret. But why is it a secret? If you were five, surely people know you are not Mrs. Russell’s daughter.”

She shook her head. “We couldn’t bear for people to know I was born to a woman who danced and entertained men. No suitable man would want anything to do with me. My reputation would be gone. I’d have to leave Mercy Falls in disgrace.”

He wanted to object to her conclusion but she was right. “You moved here after the Russells took you in?”

She nodded. “Papa had just moved to Mercy Falls. I assumed it was coincidence that Florence brought me here. Now I know it was because she wanted money from him. Mama wasn’t here yet, and we went to visit my father. I liked him right away. Perhaps I always knew . . .” She paused, lost in reveries, then shook her head and continued, “A few nights later Florence left me alone, something frightened me, and I found my way back to the Russell house. My father took me in, and when Mama showed up the next morning, everyone in town assumed I was their child. I never knew what happened to Florence.”

“Perhaps your father paid her off.”

She nodded. “I think that must be what happened.”

“And now she’s back, wanting more money.”

She tucked her hanky back into her sleeve. “She didn’t believe me when I told her Papa’s business was in trouble.”

“So she is threatening to ask Mr. Foster for money.”

She paled. “Yes, and she mustn’t. Mama . . . I would be ruined.”

He studied her panicked expression. “The truth usually comes out sooner or later. If Mr. Foster loves you, it won’t matter.” The thought of her marrying that fellow made him thrust his hands in his pockets.

“It matters to me.”

He offered his arm and she took it. He guided her toward the door. “So now I understand a little more about you.”

Her fingers tightened on his arm. “Whatever do you mean?”

A wave of tenderness surprised him. “Your intense desire never to be faced with a surprise. I understand now.”

Her smile was weak. “Would you care to translate?”

“You feel the need to control things so you’re never faced with a situation like that again. But you should remember that your real friends will stick by you. If others don’t, they never really cared about you.”

She thrust out her chin. “It must not come out.”

“Truth always comes out, Katie. Who you are has nothing to do with who bore you. God rejoices over you and who you are as a person.

That’s where your worth comes from. Not from fickle men. Or women.”

“I know that.”

They reached the door and he opened it for her. “Then put it into practice.”

She glanced up at him. “You don’t understand how important this is to me.”

He didn’t answer as she preceded him out the door. With her real mother in town, she hadn’t a hope of keeping this quiet. He’d seen the resemblance. It wouldn’t be long before someone else did too.

The rain pattered on the carriage top and the scent of wet ground filled the air. Katie pointed out the road to Will, who nodded and turned the horses. He sat hunched on the driver’s seat in a rain slicker. Rain sluiced off the brim of his hat. She thought she could trust him with her secret. What did it say about their relationship that she was so comfortable with his knowledge of her background? And moreover, that she so feared Bart and his mother finding out?

“Katie, dear, are you sure this is wise?” Lady Carrington asked. The baby slept in the crook of her arm.

Katie craned her neck to see through the downpour. The house would be visible any moment. “I must see how Mama is doing.”

“But the quarantine,” the older woman protested. “Your mother is still contagious.”

“I’ll stay well away from the window.” Ever since Mrs. Foster had mentioned it, she couldn’t get it out of her mind. The carriage had barely come to a halt when the rain slowed then stopped. Katie flung open the door and stepped down before Will could assist her. “I won’t be long,” she said.

His dark eyes held sympathy and concern. “Would you like me to come with you?”