A Touch of Forever, page 22
Lily had better luck with gloves, and when that package was boxed, she gave it to Lizzie to carry. Her daughter swung it back and forth like a pendulum as they crossed the street to the sheriff’s.
Lizzie made herself at home on Ben’s lap once he dropped his chair from its angled position behind his desk to rest on all four legs. She carefully set her package down so Ben could help her off with her coat and scarf.
“What’s in there?” he asked. “Is it for me?”
She giggled. “No. They’re Mama’s new gloves. She’s going riding.”
Ben’s dark red eyebrows climbed his forehead as he looked up at Lily. “Riding? Does she mean that?”
“She does. Roen asked me if I wanted to go out on a survey with him. I said yes.” Lily took the coat and scarf that Ben was dangling at the end of his arm and hung them up. She added her own outerwear to the next empty peg. She pointed to the packages she had dropped on the bench when she walked in. “Boots and a belt. Woolen undergarments. Pants. I still have to visit Mrs. Fish and see if she has something that will serve as a shirt. Flannel would be best, I think. I might have to make it myself, but I should be able to find the time.”
Lily sat in one of the chairs for visitors that Ben kept opposite his desk. “Have I sprouted an extra head?” she asked. “Grown a third eye? You’re looking at me as if I have.”
Ben’s eyebrows settled back in place, although the small vertical crease between them remained. “No additional head. No third eye. I’m stunned, is all.”
“But not alarmed?”
“No. Is that why you’re here? To find out if I would be?”
She nodded. “I’ve been questioning my judgment of late.”
“It’s hard to know what to say to that, Lily. Probably nothing I can say with Miss I-hear-everything sitting on my lap.” He tapped Lizzie’s nose when she beamed at him. “Yes, I’m talking about you.”
Lily sighed, nodded again. “Have you heard anything about train arrivals? Seems it’s been a while since one came in.”
“Are you expecting something?”
She thought quickly. “I ordered a set of kitchen knives from Sears and Roebuck.”
“Well, I checked this morning because folks have been asking. The word the stationmaster has is that the 462 is moving again but that only happened late last night. Hope your knives are on it.”
She nodded.
“So where is Roen now?”
“On his way to Thunder Point. He said you spoke to Remington about it.”
“I did. There won’t be any trouble.”
“I didn’t think there would be. Roen wouldn’t have asked me to go with him if he thought differently.”
“Well, you’re right about that. He didn’t let you stray far last night.”
“No, but he didn’t stop Jim from refilling my wineglass. Now that I think about it, neither did you.”
Ben chuckled. “Had too much, did you?”
Before Lily could comment, Lizzie said, “Mama was sick. She had her head in a pail.”
“How do you know?” asked Lily. “You were sleeping when Clay carried you upstairs.”
“I was a possum.”
“And too proud of it,” said Lily. She looked at Ben. “Nothing gets past her.”
“I’m aware.”
“I also stopped by to hear what you think about me asking Mrs. Rushton to mind Lizzie tomorrow while I’m gone.”
Ben gave Lizzie a bounce on his knee. “Why don’t we just put this one in a cell? Even Hitch can mind her there.”
Lizzie’s distress was immediate. “Like Pa?”
“He’s teasing, Lizzie. No one is going to put you in a cell.” To Ben, she said, “She’s heard stories. Don’t tease, not about that.”
Ben’s cheeks warmed with color. “Sometimes I think I know better and then I learn that I don’t.” He kissed Lizzie on the forehead. “Sorry.” His reward was that Lizzie settled more comfortably against him, once again perfectly at ease. He looked at Lily over the top of her daughter’s head. “I’ll arrange it with Mrs. Rushton. If there’s a problem, I’ll let you know. Otherwise she’ll be at your house by the time the other children leave for school. Will that suit?”
“Very well. Will you ask her to stay after school in the event that Roen and I are late returning?”
He nodded. “She’s going to thank me for this, you know. It’s not a secret that she’s hoping for Ridley to announce there’s a baby coming.”
Lily’s gaze dropped to Lizzie and then returned to Ben. “What about you?”
“I reckon it’s the same for me.” He shrugged philosophically. “In the meantime, I’ve got this little one to keep me occupied.” He gave Lizzie another bounce and groaned softly when she giggled. “Though not so little any longer.”
“School next year. Right now she’s playing teacher to her doll. You don’t want to know what things that doll is learning.”
Ben laughed. “Coffee? It’s fresh.”
“No, but I’ll get you a cup.” She stood, picked up Ben’s empty mug, and went to the stove to refill it. “Where’s your deputy this morning? I didn’t see him out.”
“You’re going to find this difficult to believe, but he’s with my mother and Fedora Chen. They’re target shooting a couple of miles south of the station. Ellie asked me to accompany her and Fedora, but I knew—”
Lily finished for him. “But you knew how Hitch feels about Fedora and gave him the assignment.”
“Yes, but how did you know about Hitch and Fedora?” Before she could answer, he responded to his own question. “Oh, Clay. Of course.”
“And Hitch confirmed it when he was at my house helping Roen move.” She set Ben’s mug in front of him and cautioned him not to burn his tongue or spill coffee on her daughter, then she sat down. “Why target shooting? And for whose benefit?”
Ben chuckled. “Probably Hitch’s. Ellie used to be a crack shot when she worked at Twin Star so I imagine the skill will return relatively quickly. It’s because of Fedora that Ellie wanted to do this. She thinks Fedora needs to be able to protect herself, and when Fedora mentioned that her father taught her how to shoot game, Ellie hit upon this notion. Hitch might be the least experienced with a weapon. He hasn’t had cause to draw his Colt once except for practice.”
Curious, Lily asked, “Do you think Fedora needs protection?”
“I do. But she has my mother’s. She has Hitch’s and mine. I don’t know what kind of gun my mother has in mind for her, but if it’s bigger than a derringer, it’s not a good idea.”
“Maybe you can talk her out of it.”
Ben’s eyebrows rose again. “My mother?”
“Oh, well, maybe not, but Fedora might listen to you.”
“We’ll see.”
Lily didn’t think he sounded hopeful. “Fedora’s had threats?”
“Invitations to leave town, I’d call them. Menacing looks almost daily.”
“Is there something I can do? Would it help to invite her to dinner, for instance? Make it known that we accept her.”
“I doubt that she’d come. She, um, she keeps her distance from Roen when she can.”
“Why? Has he done something to her?”
“No. No, nothing like that. It’s his job with the railroad. There’s a history there, not with Roen, not even with Northeast, it’s just that it’s the railroad. Your husband is guilty by association.”
Lily found it odd to hear Roen referred to as her husband. She hadn’t heard it before, not even last night at the Songbird. He was Roen or Mr. Shepard to everyone. She wondered if people avoided it, thinking of Jeremiah. “I’d still like to think about it,” she said. “I’ll discuss it with Roen.”
She stood and went to get her coat. “I still have to go to the dress shop. Lizzie, come here.”
Ben lifted Lizzie off his lap and gave her a gentle push toward her mother. “I like your idea about inviting Fedora to dinner, but I’m thinking we can make a larger gesture if Ridley and I host the dinner. You and Roen and the children will come, of course, my mother and Mr. Butterworth, Fedora and Hitch.”
Lily stared at him. “I don’t know, Ben. Ridley might have objections to hosting a dinner party of that size.”
“She won’t,” he said confidently. “She’s said before that we should entertain, and I was the one who objected. Ridley will be pleased that I’ve changed my mind.”
Chapter Twenty-three
Ridley appeared on Lily’s doorstep two hours later when Lily was working on her shirt. Lizzie answered the door and invited Ridley inside. “It’s the doctor,” she announced importantly, ushering Ridley into the parlor.
“Don’t get up,” said Ridley. “I see you’re working.” She set her medical bag on the end table beside the sofa and took off her coat. “I hear you’re going out to Roen’s work site tomorrow. I didn’t know you rode.”
“I don’t. Not well. And I haven’t for years. He doesn’t seem to think it’s a problem. We’ll see.” Lily invited Ridley to sit. “Since none of us is ill, I imagine you’re here to ask me about Ben’s dinner party plans.”
“Oh, Lord, that man. He keeps things interesting.”
“Did he say it was my idea?”
“He said you had the germ of the idea.”
“Well, that’s true. The scale of what I planned was considerably smaller. I thought I would invite Fedora to dinner. Ben expanded on that theme. If it helps, don’t feel obligated to ask us to attend. I would not be hurt in the least.”
“Not invite you? I’m here to make sure you know you’re wanted. You wrangle four children. I need you.”
“Nonsense. You’ll have Mrs. Rushton. And Ellie. She manages an entire hotel.”
“Ellie respects me as a competent physician, but I’m not certain she respects me as competent wife.”
“Oh, I don’t believe that.” She caught Ridley’s stricken expression. “I’m sorry. It only matters if you believe it. I know that. What do you want from me that Mrs. Rushton can’t provide?”
“Your presence,” said Ridley. “Your calm. You can’t imagine what dinner parties were like in my home in Boston. My mother would invite upwards of thirty people and then not attend the dinner herself. My father made excuses, but the responsibility to play hostess fell to me. It was an agony. I know this isn’t the same, but it feels as if it could be the same. I was prepared to host two or three people, but this idea of Ben’s is considerably more daunting than what I had in mind. You handled yourself so beautifully last night that I think you can help me manage this.”
Lily’s smile was wry. “I was drunk.”
“So? I can keep your glass filled as well as Jim Springer. And with better wine.”
Amused, Lily laughed. “I don’t think that will be necessary, or at least I hope it won’t be.”
“You’ll come, though, won’t you? It will ease my mind considerably if I know you’ll be there. Fedora’s, too, I imagine.”
“I don’t know Fedora except to see her. Oh, you mean because I’ll be there with Roen. Ben told me she is wary of him.”
“Say you’ll be there. All of you.”
Lily glanced over at Lizzie, who was sitting quietly on the floor pulling yarn through a sewing card. “What do you think, Lizzie?”
“We should go. I heard Fedora eats with chopsticks. I want to see that.”
Lily groaned. “We’ll be there,” she told Ridley. “And the wine needs to be very fine indeed.”
* * *
• • •
Roen arrived home before Lily had to make a decision about whether to hold the meal for him. He washed up and came to the table, surprised to find Clay no longer sitting at the end opposite Lily. “You’re in my seat,” he told Clay.
“No, Da. You take that one now. This is my place here beside Ham.”
“It was his idea,” Lily said much later as Roen prepared for bed. “I never would have suggested it.”
“I wouldn’t have either.” It had been a noisy dinner this evening, reminding Roen of his family dinners growing up. Everyone had something to report about his or her day. Hannah received a star and had her name put on the board for a perfect spelling score. Ham had to pound erasers after school because he spoke out of turn. It wasn’t his fault, of course. Janie Wilmot, the prettiest girl in the class, talked to him first, but if that was true, she had mastered the ability to whisper, whereas Ham had not. Clay was called on to solve equations at the board, which he did easily, but he also wrote over Hannah’s name. There was lingering resentment about that, and Hannah dealt with it by poking Clay with her foot under the table. Roen reported on his ride out to Thunder Point, which was not particularly eventful except that he didn’t tell it that way. He held them captive with a tale about spotting Old Man McCauley slipping in and out of the rocky terrain, prospecting for gold with a pickaxe and a canvas bag full of dynamite. It hardly mattered that Clay and Hannah were skeptical. Ham and Lizzie were rapt.
“You were the only one who didn’t share anything at dinner,” he said, opening the wardrobe for his nightshirt. “Ah-hah! I see a new shirt in here. And pants.” He took them off the peg and held them up against his waist. “Definitely not for me. Did you get these at Hennepin’s?”
“I did.”
“Did he ask why you wanted them?”
“No. And I didn’t offer. Mr. Addison didn’t inquire about the boots either. They’re on the floor beside the wardrobe.”
Roen put away the pants and picked up the brown leather boots. He examined them with the critical eye of someone used to calculating measurements, then compared them to Lily’s left foot, which was outside the covers while she rolled her ankle and alternately curled and pointed her toes. “An observation,” he said, setting the boots down, “and a question. These boots are too big for you, and what in the world are you doing?”
“I know about the boots,” she said, continuing to exercise her foot. “I already crumpled newspaper in the toe of each and I’m going to wear two pair of socks. They’ll be fine. I walked around in them when I got home.”
“And the other?”
“It’s something Ridley showed me. I hurt my knee a few years ago, and this is one of the exercises I do to strengthen my leg. All done.” She slipped her foot back under the covers.
“How did you hurt your knee?”
“Tumbled down the stairs. It swelled to half again the size it is now.”
Roen didn’t point out that he had never seen her knees. It seemed like the safer option. He reached for the lamp and turned back the wick. He stopped short of extinguishing it, choosing to keep the room dimly lit. After performing the bedtime rituals, he began to undress. He looked over his shoulder once to see if Lily had turned to watch him, but she was still lying on her back, her attention fixed on the play of light and shadow across the ceiling.
“Did you speak to Mrs. Rushton about Lizzie?” he asked.
“Ben did that for me. She’ll be here before the other children go to school, and she’ll stay until we return, even if we’re late. I spoke to Clay about getting the horses from the livery.”
“So he knows you’re going with me?”
“He does. He’s disappointed, of course, that he’s not the one going, but after he thought about it, he declared it was an excellent thing I was doing and that I shouldn’t be afraid that you won’t take good care of me. He brought up last night and the pail as proof that you were capable of handling emergencies.”
“Huh. You’d think he’d have mentioned that I pushed him out of the way when someone shot at us.”
“I had that thought, too, but my condition last night was fresh in his mind, and I think he derived some satisfaction bringing it up again.”
Roen chuckled. “Then it’s all taken care of. Are you looking forward to going?” He slipped his nightshirt over his head and then stood to let it fall to his knees before he removed his trousers and drawers.
Lily said, “I’m looking forward to catching a glimpse of Old Man McCauley.”
“Hah! So you were listening at dinner. You had your head bent over your plate and you didn’t comment so I wasn’t sure.”
“All of that was in aid of not laughing, but I will say that if the two younger ones have nightmares about that prospector, they are your responsibility.”
“Oh. Well, I guess I can manage that.”
“You’ll have to. I’m snug.”
“Hmm.” Roen straightened the comforters on the floor. “I notice that you put the bundling blanket in the middle of the bed again.”
“I wondered if you’d seen it.”
“Well, I have. It belongs on the floor with me.”
Lily finally turned on her side to look at him. She propped her head on an elbow. “Sleeping on the other side of the bundle doesn’t make this a marital bed. If I don’t think it’s a violation of our agreement, then I’m not sure why you do. You’ll be more comfortable sleeping here.”
Roen was not as certain, but he said nothing.
“You can’t sleep on the floor indefinitely. Is it that you don’t think you can trust me to stay on my side? I can understand why you’d think that after last night, but I promise it won’t happen again.”
“Lily, have you considered that I might not trust myself?” Roen thought her silence was telling. “So you haven’t.”
“But . . . last night . . . you didn’t . . .”
