A Circle of Time (22 page)

“You told him about the baby?” Don Carlos whispered in a tone of disbelief.

“Only that she believed it died. José got real upset at that and asked me more about the baby and where Isa was now. I told him her loving papa keeps her locked up in the west wing of his estate like some kind of animal.”

“You told him that?” Don Carlos yelled the words.

“It's the truth, ain't it? You ain't paying me not to tell anyone Miz Isa is insane. Only to not tell that her baby lived and that her pa made sure his family never knew about it by—”

“Be silent, woman, or I
will
silence you! That is a lie you fabricated or Ned told you while he was delusional. You will never utter a word of it to anyone, do you understand?”

“You're sure paying a lot of money to keep a lie secret.”

“That is my business. Are you certain you said nothing of this to Velasquez?”

“He'll find out soon enough on his own. He's not delicate and soft-in-the-head like your Isa, or hiding from the truth like your wife. Mark my words, Señor Hoity-Toity, sooner or later, your dirty little secret will be discovered. Then even God may not forgive you.”

Over here, Allison,” Joshua said, leading her along the edge of the forest after they left the cabin. “This is where Sadie disappeared. She was carrying something wrapped in white cloth and looking around as if she thought someone might spot her.”

“Probably going off to hide the gold candlesticks. Maybe she hid the gold coins, too. Can you tell where she went?”

“Shhhh,” Joshua warned, holding a finger to his lips. He pointed to a barely worn path and gestured for her to follow him. They crept along the path, pausing frequently to listen. Soon they heard the sound of scuffling and dry leaves crunching.

Joshua motioned for Allison to stay while he went ahead. She was about to protest when they heard grunting and another scuffle. Joshua darted ahead and ducked under a bush. Allison hiked up her skirts and followed him.

Together they peered through the branches. At the foot of a huge tree, Sadie was tugging a heavy boulder away from the trunk. On the ground lay a bundle wrapped in a white pillowcase.

She grunted and groaned until she had hauled the boulder far enough from the tree to reveal a large hollow at the bottom of the trunk. Sadie sank onto the boulder and heaved a deep sigh. Then she turned to the tree and pulled a burlap bag from the hollow. The bag appeared heavy, and it clanged as she lifted it and untied the top.

Sadie unwrapped the white pillowcase and drew out two solid-gold candlesticks. As she examined them, the raised, ornate surfaces caught the soft afternoon sunlight and reflected it onto the surrounding brush. She gave a satisfied grunt and tucked them back in the pillowcase, then lay them carefully in the burlap bag.

Before retying the bag, Sadie unbuttoned the top of her blouse and removed something from around her neck.

“This should see me through my old age.” She chuckled, holding up a thick golden rope. At the end of the rope, the ruby-studded cross glittered in the afternoon sun.

Allison's eyes opened wide; she squeezed Joshua's arm. In amazed silence they watched Sadie bend and place the cross inside the burlap bag.

“On second thought...,” she muttered, retrieving the cross and replacing it around her neck. She tucked it back inside her blouse and shoved the bag inside the tree. “You'll be safe here till morning.”

With a satisfied grunt, she heaved herself off the boulder, wiggled it back in front of the hollow, and hobbled down the path toward the cabin. Before Allison and Joshua could move, they heard Sadie gasp.

“What're you doin' here?”

Allison and Joshua froze. Since their view of the newcomer was obstructed by trees and brush, Allison's ears became antennae straining to pick up every sound.

“I said, what're you doin' here? How did you get away?” Sadie's voice became high-pitched and whiny. “Why're you staring at me like that?”

“You are the woman,” said a soft female voice. Allison had to strain to hear.

“What woman? I don't know what you're talking about.”

“The woman, that night...”

“Go back home. Go on. I don't know what you're—”

“You know, don't you? Tell me where my baby is.” The voice had a dreamy childlike quality.

“I don't know what you're talkin' about. Now, let me be—I don't got time for your nonsense. Go on home, now, you hear?”

“I heard you tell Papa my baby is still alive. I always knew it. I heard its cry the night it was born. I hear its cry still. Tell me where my baby is. Please tell me.”

“Get out of my way, Miz Isa.” The edge of nervousness was gone from Sadie's voice. She was back in control. “Go home and ask your papa. Ask him what he did with your baby. Ask him what he did with José.”

“José? My José?”

Sadie snickered. “Well, he never was mine. Only had eyes for you, he did. Lot of good it did him.”

“I am going to meet José tonight. He is coming for me. He sent me the ruby cross. It means that if he cannot get to me, I should meet him in our secret place. I'll go to the edge of the world and wait—forever, if I have to. And now I have a surprise for him. I will take him our baby.”

“And just how're you goin' to do that, Miz Isa?” Sadie's voice was beginning to take on a sarcastic tone.

“You know where my baby is. You told Papá. I could tell he believed you. He was very angry and frightened. Papá does not readily show fear.”

“Maybe you're not as era—as affected as they think,” Sadie said dryly. “But there's nothing more I can tell you, Miz Isa. Your papa don't take kindly to anyone who spoils his plans. I have nothing to tell you. Ask him.”

“I cannot ask Papá. You know I cannot,” she said, beginning to sound agitated. “If I go back there, he will lock me up. Then I may never find my baby or see José again.”

“Well, I'm sorry about that. But if I tell you anything, he'll know it was me. There's no tellin' what he'd do. No, if I were to tell you, I'd have to be assured I could get away from here and have enough to live on...”

“You want me to pay you? I would give you anything—everything I own to get my baby back, but”—Isa stifled a sob—“I have nothing.”

Sadie snorted. “You're an heiress!”

“I have nothing! Papá disinherited me when I eloped with José. I cannot risk going back and asking Tere for help. And Mamá has already betrayed me once.”

“Well, now, that's just too bad.”

“No! Do not go.”

Allison heard the sound of a scuffle.

“Git out of my way, Miz Isa, or I'll forget my so-called place.”

“You cannot leave without telling me,” Isa cried.

“You give me no reason to tell you. ”

“You are a greedy woman! Papá paid you a great deal of money to keep quiet, I know he did. He promised to pay you, and he always keeps his word.”

“The holy word of the Cardona Pomales, eh? And is my word any less honorable? He paid me to keep my mouth shut, and by takin' his money I promised to do just that. But you expect me to break my word just because you're the hoity-toity Isabel Cardona Pomales?”

“You, honorable?” Isa shrieked. “You're a despicable blackmailer with a heart of serpents!
¡Desgraciada!
You know how I am suffering, yet you only wish to profit from my misery.”

While Sadie and Isa were arguing, Allison and Joshua crept along the path, hiding behind low bushes, until they had a good view.

“Whoa, calm down now, missy,” said Sadie. “I didn't mean to get you—”

“Tell me where my baby is!” Isa screamed. “My child could be in danger, or suffering! I know my baby needs me. Now tell me!”

“Stay where you—”

“Tell me!” With the scream of a mountain lion, Isa lunged forward, tackling Sadie at the waist and throwing her to the ground. “You will tell me where my baby is, or I will strangle it out of you!”

The heavy woman collapsed on her back, the wind knocked out of her, with what might as well have been a crazed lioness ripping and clawing at her chest. Suddenly, Isa froze.

“Abuelita's ruby cross?” Isa held the cross, still attached to the gold rope around Sadie's neck. “What are you doing with this?”

“He—he gave it to me.”

“José would never simply give you my cross.
¡Canalla!
What have you done to him? Where is he?”

“Get off—” Sadie began to struggle.

In less than a second, Isa was sitting on Sadie's chest, pinning the woman's struggling arms with her knees. She yanked the golden rope over Sadie's head and slipped it over her own. Then she entwined her strong fingers in the woman's gray-streaked hair. Screaming, Isa lifted Sadie's head by the hair and pounded it into the ground. Over and over, she lifted and pounded, lifted and pounded.

“¡Canalla!”
she cried. “
¡Desgraciada!
Where is my baby?”

“Joshua,” Allison half whispered, half cried, “she'll kill Sadie!”

The next moment, Joshua, with Allison close behind, was sprinting to Sadie's aid. He grabbed Isa from behind, wrapping his arms around hers. But Isa was wild and much too strong. She pushed him backward and ripped herself free. Before he could get up, Isa fled into the forest.

Allison leaped over Joshua and raced after her. She could hear Joshua's footsteps close behind.

“Isa,” she called, “come back! Please come back. We want to help you. ”

But Isa kept running, her wild hair like flames streaming after her, and soon, she vanished into the woods.

When they returned to the spot where they had left Sadie, she, too, had disappeared.

As the shadows of evening crept like a dark specter over the meadow, blending the edges of the cabin with those of nearby trees, Allison and Joshua snuck to the edge of the clearing.

Sadie's silhouette was plainly visible against the soft yellow light of the lantern as she paced back and forth behind the drawn curtains of the tiny kitchen window. Smoke wafted from the stovepipe, bringing with it the aroma of roasting meat and reminding Allison she hadn't eaten since noon.

Joshua's stomach grumbled. “She's there, can we go now? I'm starving.”

“I guess we managed to save her from being murdered. She's not likely to go back out tonight or let anyone inside. That should keep her safe. At least, till tomorrow morning.”

“Good, so can we go?”

“Hmmm, in a minute,” Allison replied absently. “Joshua, how do you suppose Sadie got the ruby cross? Jose couldn't have given it to her. He didn't have it anymore, and we gave it to Magda.”

“Maybe she stole it from Magda. Did you notice some of the stuff she had in that burlap bag?”

“No, I couldn't see the bag very well. Sadie was in the way.”

“Well, I could,” Joshua said in a disgusted tone. “I saw a silver candelabra and some other silver and gold trinkets Sadie Thompson could never afford. They all came from the estate. Remember what Miz Teresa said about things disappearing when Sadie was around? She stole them, sure's I'm standing here.”

“Probably planning for her old age,” Allison muttered. Then she shook her head. “I don't get it. How could she have gotten the ruby cross away from Magda?” She paused. “What if—what if you were right about José? What if he did contact Magda before tonight? Like yesterday when you were preoccupied with Becky and I was back in the future?”

“You think José went to see Magda?”

“We haven't seen Magda for two days. For all we know, he may have been hiding out with her all this time. And Magda may have shown him the ruby cross, explaining how she knew he was still alive. He could have taken it back then—it was his.”

“Are you thinking Sadie didn't really give away that information about Miz Isa and the baby the way she told Don Carlos?”

“It would make sense. Sadie wouldn't give away that kind of information for free. She might even have told José about Don Carlos wanting him killed and how instead Ned had him shanghaied.”

“All in exchange for the ruby cross?” Joshua considered that for a moment. “But it doesn't make sense. If José talked to Magda, she would have told him the baby wasn't stillborn. He didn't have to pay to learn that.”

Allison shook her head. “Joshua, don't you see? Magda only knew the baby was born alive. She didn't know what happened to it afterward. It could have been sick and died soon after. She had no idea Don Carlos had conspired with someone to get rid of the baby. There's more to the secret than what we heard. Remember? Don Carlos never let Sadie finish telling what she knew.”

“That's true. We still don't know what happened to the baby. And Sadie refused to tell Isa.”

Allison shuddered at the first thought that entered her head. “Oh, Joshua,” she said, feeling ill. “What if he did something horrible to it?”

“You mean had the baby ... killed? His own grandchild? Like it was a litter of unwanted kittens?”

“How horrid! How could anyone want to harm a baby?”

“All I know is that Don Carlos is a very proud and controlling man. His daughter ran off with someone he didn't approve of, and she was in the family way.”

“But she was married.”

Joshua glanced at Allison, then looked away. “They weren't married. They never got a chance—Don Carlos stopped the ceremony. The baby was illegitimate. That's why they eloped—Miz Isa was already ... with child. When Don Carlos found out, he rushed Miz Isa away to the convent. He didn't want anyone outside the family to know ... about the baby.”

“But to do something so cruel and heartless to his daughter, whom he claims to love, and to his own grandchild...”

“He couldn't stand the shame she brought to him and to his family name.”