Cheryl Reavis (9 page)

She walked quietly to the dining room, remembering that Mrs. Kinnard and Valentina were in there with Robbie only after she’d opened the door.

“I...need my boots,” she said because she had no choice, quickly crossing the room to get them.

Mrs. Kinnard was sitting near the fire. Robbie stood happily in her lap, bouncing from time to time on her crisp, dark blue taffeta skirts and making them rustle in a way that was clearly appealing to an almost-ready-to-start-walking baby boy. Valentina opened her mouth to say something, but Mrs. Kinnard cleared her throat sharply, and her daughter stayed silent. Kate braced herself to hear a lecture on being seen in her stocking feet and her utter—but typical—lack of social decorum.

“Is Maria all right?” Mrs. Kinnard asked instead.

“She’s...distressed.”

“Yes,” Mrs. Kinnard said. “And she will remain so until she’s had a real opportunity to speak with Robert without interruption. This won’t do. This won’t do
at all.
” She stood and handed the baby over to Valentina, who was surprisingly pleased to have him.

“Hello, handsome,” she said to him. “
Where
have you been? I’ve been looking for you
everywhere.
Yes! I have!”

Robbie grinned and removed his fingers from his mouth and tried to stick them into hers, making Valentina laugh. “No, thank you, young master Woodard,” she said. “I’ve had my baby fingers today.”

“Mrs. Kinnard—I don’t think—” Kate tried to say. She was more than alarmed that Mrs. Kinnard had apparently decided to execute one of her heavy-handed plans—when the situation was precarious enough already. The last thing any of them needed was an unfettered Mrs. Kinnard in the middle of it.

“Miss Woodard, I am sure you will agree that there are some things about us here that you cannot begin to understand. I will be back in a moment,” Mrs. Kinnard said firmly.

Kate sighed. Short of trying to restrain her bodily, there was no way to stop the woman. She would just have to leave that to Max.

And she still needed to find Robert and tell him as tactfully as she could that his sister was refusing to see him. She sat down heavily in the chair close to the hearth and reached for her boots, but she didn’t put them on.

“You’re tired, aren’t you?” Valentina said after a moment.

“I... Yes.”

“Well, it’s been a very tiring hour.”

Hour?
Kate thought. Had no more time passed than that?

“Valentina, what do you think your mother is going to do?”

“Why, something for Maria, of course.”

“I’m not at all sure that’s a good idea.”

“My mother knows what she’s doing,” Valentina said, smiling again at Robbie, who wanted to bounce. “Believe me. My mother
always
knows what she’s doing.”

Kate looked at the dining room door, listening hard in an attempt to determine in which direction Mrs. Kinnard had gone, but the exasperating woman would pick now to go about quietly.

“My guess is she’ll be talking to Maria and the Colonel,” Valentina said. “Where are they?”

“The parlor,” Kate said. She sat for a moment longer, then began putting on her boots, but she stopped every few seconds to listen again for Mrs. Kinnard. The house was so
quiet
given the intense emotions that had just been unleashed. There was nothing, no sound whatsoever to tell her what was happening.

“Sergeant Major Perkins thinks of everything, doesn’t he?” Valentina said suddenly.

“I think he has to,” Kate said, but she had no idea what had precipitated the comment and no desire to learn.

“Mother thinks I should know how to do all sorts of things for babies. The War, you know. She said there was a lesson in that terrible event for all of us—one never knows when one will have to fend for oneself.”

“Yes,” Kate said. She had already realized the wisdom of that, especially if one happened to deliberately choose to go it alone. “You’re very comfortable with Robbie.”

“Mother thinks she taught me how to handle him, but she didn’t. She’d be very surprised if she knew who did. It was Sergeant Major Perkins,” Valentina said, whispering now. “He told me not to drop him and to just
talk
to him like I would anybody—as if he actually understood. He said babies like that because they don’t know they’re babies— Ups-a-daisy!” she said suddenly, because Robbie began to bounce in earnest. “He told me about this, too. He said be ready for the jumping—babies Robbie’s age love to jump. That’s what he said,” she added to Robbie, who grinned.

Kate turned her head sharply because she thought she heard rustling in the hallway. But if it was Mrs. Kinnard, she kept going, past the dining room toward the rear of the house.

Kate looked at Valentina, who was preoccupied with Robbie and apparently hadn’t noticed anything.

“I wish there was a rocking chair in here,” Valentina said. “Robbie is ready to nap, I think.”

But in lieu of rocking, Valentina began to walk around the room with him, humming softly—and telling him all about a new dress Mrs. Russell’s sister was making for her, down to the last detail. In a short time Robbie began to rub his eyes and his head began to nod. He fretted for a moment, then lay his head down on her shoulder. She made a few more rounds, then walked over to Kate and turned around so she could see Robbie’s face.

“He got very heavy all of a sudden. Is he asleep?”

“Quite asleep,” Kate said. “That was nicely done.”

“Oh, I think it’s Robbie, not me. Or so Mother says. She says young master Woodard is ‘unusually pleasant.’ I understand I wasn’t like that at—”

There were distinct footsteps in the hallway now—a lot of footsteps. Kate moved quickly to open the door and peer out. Perkins was getting the boys’ coats on, and Mrs. Russell was coming along the hallway supporting Warrie Hansen, whose eyes were red from weeping. Mrs. Justice and Mrs. Kinnard followed directly behind them; Mrs. Kinnard was clearly in charge.

Maria stepped out of the parlor just as Warrie reached the front door.

“I can’t stay here tonight, honey,” she said to Maria. “I just can’t. He ruined my girl. I can’t stay here.”

Maria didn’t say anything. She reached out and briefly clasped Warrie’s hand, then she bent down and kissed both boys. “Be good for Warrie and Mrs. Russell. I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said, and kissed them again.

“Is Warrie going to cry again?” Jake asked, frowning.

“I don’t think so,” Maria said. She reached into a pocket and took out a neatly folded handkerchief. “But if she does, you can give her this.”

He nodded solemnly. Having a remedy of sorts in his hand and ready if he needed it seemed to give him courage.

Kate moved out into the hallway closer to Mrs. Justice. “Where are they going?” she asked quietly.

“Warrie and the boys will stay at Mrs. Russell’s house tonight. Mrs. Kinnard thought it would be better for them if they weren’t here while Maria talks to Robert. Better for Maria, too. I imagine that’s how she put it to Colonel Woodard.”

And apparently Max had been convinced. He picked up both boys and carried them out to Mrs. Kinnard’s carriage—an exciting prospect apparently. Her carriage hadn’t reached the eminent status of a train or a New Bern boat, but as far as the boys were concerned, it clearly had its merits.

“Valentina!” Mrs. Kinnard called loudly. “Let’s get this baby bundled up. Mr. Perkins! Where are his things?”

“He’s all packed and ready to go, Mrs. Kinnard.”

“His cup? He will only drink from his silver cup, you know.”

It also happened to be the cup Mrs. Kinnard had given him at his christening, and Robbie’s eventual fondness for her gift had probably done as much to keep the peace in this town as anything. It was Max’s droll opinion that he liked it because he could see himself in it.

“Yes, ma’am. It’s in the basket.”

“Valentina!” Mrs. Kinnard called again. “Take Robbie and let his mother kiss him good-night.”

“Yes, Mother,” Valentina said. “Just let me get my coat.”

“Robbie is going with the Kinnards?” Kate whispered to Mrs. Justice as the sergeant major, Johnny-on-the-spot as always, helped Valentina into her coat.

“Yes—and the sergeant major, too,” Mrs. Justice said. “Just to make certain all goes well. I’m staying here in case Maria needs something. Or you, my dear,” she said kindly and, incredibly, Kate felt the sudden prickle of tears behind her eyelids.

She stepped back out of the way as Mrs. Kinnard and her entourage trooped out into the cold winter dusk. After a moment Max came back inside. He stood with Maria, but they weren’t talking, his unhappiness with the entire situation clearly visible on his face. Kate continued to wait by the dining room door. It seemed as good a place as any until she determined where she should go to be out of the way. But as strained as the atmosphere was, she was grateful that Mrs. Kinnard hadn’t decided she should be relocated to another house, too.

Even so, Kate had to fight down the urge to wring her hands and pace. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t experienced a family crisis before—indeed, she’d even been the cause of one. But this was different. This had nothing to do with trying to stay ahead of a monumental scandal. This was about hurt and anger and forgiveness—and who knew what else.

“Sergeant Major Perkins has put a campaign table and the latest army dispatches in Bud’s sitting room,” Mrs. Justice said. “He thought there should be some tea and buttered bread on hand as well—just in case you and the Colonel find you’re hungry while you’re waiting.”

It seemed that the Sergeant Major truly did think of everything. It wasn’t difficult to guess what he likely had in mind. Max would be both out of the way and close by in the sitting room—and occupied if he chose to be.

“Oh,” Kate said without meaning to when she saw Robert coming down the stairs. He looked tired, so much so that she wondered if he were up to this. He stopped near the bottom step.

Max barely looked at him. Instead he said something to Maria and caressed her cheek, then walked in Kate’s direction.

The sack and burn face,
Kate thought. Clearly Perkins wasn’t the only soldier who had one. She looked past him to where Maria stood waiting for her brother to come the rest of the way down. Tears were running down her cheeks, but she made no attempt to wipe them away. Maria had earned her tears, and thanks to Mrs. Kinnard’s impromptu rearrangement of the entire household, she didn’t have to hide them from her sons.

“I’m going to sit myself down by the fire in the kitchen and do some knitting now, Colonel Woodard,” Mrs. Justice said softly. “If you need anything, that’s where I’ll be.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Justice. You have been a great help to me this day,” Max said, but Maria still had his attention. He clearly didn’t want to leave her on her own to hear whatever Robert Markham was about to tell her.

“You’re welcome, Colonel Woodard,” Mrs. Justice said. “Maria is as dear to me as if she were my own. Don’t forget the tea,” she added as she walked away.

“It’s upstairs,” Kate said to Max. “I think perhaps we should go drink it.”

Max took a deep breath, stood for a moment then led the way toward the back stairs.

He’s too used to being in charge of everything, Kate thought. She glanced over her shoulder as she was about to follow him. Robert was looking in her direction. She gave him the barest of nods, hoping he would understand that she wished him the best in his endeavor to make amends.

Hoping.

And praying.

Please help him, Lord. And help Maria and my brother. Help them all to put this family back together.

She turned and quickly followed Max up the back stairs. When they reached the sitting room, he looked at the campaign table and the leather pouch full of dispatches, but he made no attempt to read any of them. He sat down in the nearest rocking chair instead.

“This—homecoming—has been the—”

“I know,” Kate interrupted, hoping to keep him from dwelling on the chaos he’d found on his arrival, not to mention her presence in the middle of it.

He sat and stared at the fire. After a moment Kate poured two cups of tea. Serving tea informally—with a brown glazed pottery teapot instead of a monstrously ornate silver one—she could handle. But neither of them drank it. They sat in silence, listening for some sound that would tell them what was happening in the parlor downstairs.

At one point Kate got up, intending to walk the length of the hallway to the head of the stairs to see if she could hear anything.

“No,” Max said. “I gave Maria my word I wouldn’t interfere. I think eavesdropping is included in that.”

“Oh, all right,” Kate said with a sigh, sitting down again. She looked at her brother, then at the dispatches. He didn’t take the hint. He continued to sit, and so did she. Despite their extreme attentiveness, the only noticeable sound in the house was Mrs. Justice stirring around in the kitchen below from time to time.

Kate leaned her head against the back of the rocking chair and closed her eyes. Every now and then she sighed. With the last one Max kicked the rocker on her chair with the toe of his boot, startling her enough to make her jump.

“Max!” she said in annoyance, and he gave her a hard look.

Then he stared at the fire again—and she had to suppress another sigh.

“What do you think of him?” he asked after a moment. “Robert Markham.”

“I think he wants what’s left of his family back,” Kate said without hesitation.

“He abandoned Maria when she needed him most.”

“There must have been a reason.”

“He’s asking a lot of her!”

“He’s her brother,” Kate said simply, because that particular kinship would erase a lot of sins. “He’s yours, too, regardless of how this turns out.”

Max made a noise of annoyance and moved to the campaign table, apparently deciding to read dispatches after all. He dumped them all out, paying no attention to the ones that slid off the pile and landed on the floor. He read. He stopped to sign his name from time to time. Then he read some more, but like Kate, he was still waiting.

Kate closed her eyes again, only to promptly open them.