Just Above a Whisper (39 page)

“Thank you, Reese,” she said, stepping inside. “Oh, my, this is beautiful.”

“You haven’t been here?”

“Not for many years. I’d forgotten how large it was.” She turned and smiled at Reese. “I’m glad you have to clean it, Reese. I’m not sure I’d ever get done.”

“There’s always something to do,” Reese explained, completely at ease with the whole idea. “Come in the kitchen.”

“Thank you. I came for that recipe. Did you remember it?”

“No, but I can write it down for you now.”

Maddie looked as they walked. As with everyone else, she wanted to ask for a tour but remembered that this was not Reese’s home.

“How are you feeling?” Reese asked, writing down the ingredients for a basting sauce to put on pork.

“Mostly just tired. Sometimes my stomach is upset, but not often.”

“What do you do for that?”

“Eating sometimes helps.”

“I’ve never had a stomachache a day in my life. I wonder what it will be like when I’m pregnant.”

“Well, Reese,” Maddie said softly. “Is there something you want to tell me?”

Reese’s laughter sounded in the room, and Maddie looked pleased. She also said she couldn’t linger.

“Let me know how it turns out,” Reese said, seeing her off through the front door.

“I will. Thanks, Reese.”

Maddie started down the walk toward her wagon but stopped. She turned and looked back at the house, still seeing Reese in her mind and the comfortable way she’d let her out the elegant front door.

Almost like she lives here
was the thought in Maddie’s head.
Or should live here
.

Maddie eventually turned for the wagon to begin her errands, but her mind had stumbled onto an idea, one she thought was most intriguing.

Lillie Jenness had taken Monday morning to run errands. She had quite a long list, not having shopped for a time, and it was nearly dinnertime when she got back. She’d worked ahead of time, however, and knew it would just take a few minutes to put the meal on the table.

She was shocked to find that Gerald had already been in the stew, his dirty bowl and spoon discarded on the worktable. It wasn’t like him to do such a thing, and Lillie wondered why he’d been so hungry. Shaking her head a little, she went ahead and put the meal on, quite certain he would not be around to join her but also planning to confront him over the act as soon as he arrived home.

Not until she’d eaten and gone upstairs to put some things away did she began to doubt her own conclusion. Someone had been in her bedroom. A meticulous housekeeper, leaving everything in order each day, Lillie noticed that the closet door was slightly ajar. And the quilt on the bed looked as if someone had sat down on it.

Lillie’s next thoughts caused her heart to race. She would not ask Gerald if he knew something, since that might make him ask questions in return, but she was pretty sure that Victor had come home. Lillie looked in the closet to see if clothing was missing but couldn’t remember exactly what had been there.

Going back downstairs to sit in the parlor and watch for Gerald, Lillie debated her next move. Did she tell someone at the bank? After all, she wasn’t positive that Victor had been home. Her head began to pound. What was the man doing? Why not just come home and be done with the matter?

Lillie lay back on the sofa. When her thoughts turned to unanswered questions about her spouse, they always caused anxiety. She knew the thinking was fruitless, but her mind still tried to picture Victor in some unknown location. Wishing Gerald was home to distract her, Lillie closed her eyes and actually hoped sleep would come.

Seventeen

“Is this safe to eat?” Troy teased Reese when she put dinner on the table.

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Well, you were upset with Conner earlier today, and you might have given me his plate.”

Reese found this highly amusing. She laughed as she met Troy’s eyes and then looked over to Conner.

“Is that what you think—that I’m upset with you?”

“It did cross my mind,” he stated calmly, his eyes watchful as always.

Reese laughed as she went back to the kitchen and then remembered something important. She returned to the dining room and went directly to Troy.

“I forgot to thank you for the shoes,” she said. “I’m sorry it’s taken so long, but each time I remembered, you weren’t around.”

“You’re welcome,” Troy responded, pleased that she accepted the extra money. “They fit well?”

“Yes,” Reese said, biting her lip in pleasure before slipping back into the kitchen.

Conner hadn’t missed a moment of that exchange, and Dalton had not taken his eyes from his brother.

“Something on your mind, Dalton?” Conner asked rather mysteriously, his eyes on his food.

“What would be on my mind?” the older Kingsley asked when Conner finally looked at him.

“I’m afraid to find out” was all Conner would say before going back to his meal.

Troy and Dalton exchanged a brief but knowing look. There was no point in confirming to Conner what he already knew was on their minds.

Reese was in Mrs. Greenlowe’s garden after tea on Monday, checking on the pumpkins and fall squash, when Conner came walking up. She had not been expecting him, but at the same time was not surprised that he’d come.

“Good evening,” she greeted when he came to the fence.

“Good evening to you,” Conner answered in kind, watching her bend one last time. “It’s at this time of the year that I feel lazy as a banker.”

“Why is that?” Reese had come to the fence.

“Jace Randall will be working every moment of daylight, and I have my evenings free.”

“He loves it,” Reese said. “And I suspect you have a certain affinity for numbers.”

“Ever since I was young. Math was always my favorite subject.”

“Was it because your family was in banking, do you think?”

“It might have been. My sister Nell isn’t great with numbers. So math didn’t come easily for all of us.”

“Is Nell older than you?”

“Yes. They’re all older than I am.”

“The baby,” Reese said, smiling at him. “You wouldn’t know it to look at you.”

“I ended up larger than my father,” he shared. “You can’t believe how proud I was to grow taller than he was. I would go shoulder to shoulder with him every time I could manage it, just to measure. He teased me and said it would never happen. I loved proving him wrong.”

“And he was proud,” Reese guessed.

“Yes, he certainly was.” Conner smiled fondly. “I’d already passed Dalton, who took it very well, so my father was the last milestone.”

“And what will you do when your own son passes you?”

“Just like my father, I can’t imagine it ever happening.”

“It would take a lot of food,” Reese said practically, making Conner laugh. He then noticed the vegetables in Reese’s hands.

“Here, give me those,” he said, taking them to the back door, which suddenly opened.

“Thank you,” Mrs. Greenlowe said, taking the produce and shutting the door before Conner could say a word. Reese had watched from down by the fence and laughed, knowing her landlady had kept the door open a crack, hoping to catch a few words.

“It’s almost too much for her that we whisper,” Reese said when Conner got back to her side.

“You don’t have to,” Conner informed her.

Reese shrugged. “It just sort of happens, I guess.”

For a moment they didn’t speak, but Reese had something on her mind, and she was ready to ask it.

“Can you tell me now? Can you tell me what happened to your voice?”

“It’s not a very fun story,” Conner began, but Reese didn’t interrupt. Instead she went to sit on the porch steps, and Conner joined her.

“My sister Maggie and I had just finished a visit here at my grandmother’s. We were a little late leaving for home in the coach, so darkness came fast. We hadn’t been on the road all that long when some men stopped us. They demanded money, but we didn’t have any.

“I remember the rain starting and my sister screaming. The next thing I knew I was in a farmer’s cottage. My throat had been cut and I couldn’t say a word, but at least I was alive. The drivers and my sister were killed.”

“I’m sorry, Conner,” Reese whispered even more softly than usual.

“It was a rough time. I had to learn to talk all over again. And since Maggie and I were closest in age, I felt like I’d lost my best friend.”

“How old were you?”

“Twelve. Maggie was four years older. We’d never had a bit of trouble traveling in the past. It seemed completely safe in our large coach. My mother grew fearful after that, and none of us came to Tucker Mills again. This is the first time I’ve visited in 14 years.”

“The memories must be overwhelming.”

“They’re awful and wonderful all at the same time. When I first arrived I kept seeing Maggie. This was the last place she was alive. I didn’t expect to feel the way I did after so much time.”

“But you had your faith, even as a child, didn’t you?” Reese asked. “I mean, it wasn’t completely hopeless, was it, Conner?”

“No, Reese, it wasn’t,” Conner answered, thankful for the reminder. “My sister had the sweetest spirit. Her love for Scripture was genuine, and her desire to serve was evident to all. I hadn’t read my Bible much until that time, but when I was well enough, reading it made me feel closer to her. In time, I grew closer to the Lord, and I’m still thankful for the way God used Maggie’s death to teach me so much.”

“How old were you when your voice worked again?”

“Almost 14,” Conner smiled. “I was bursting with words by then, and they were all about what I’d been reading in my Bible. When my mother died earlier this year, she had a rough go of things, but if she was having a good day, she often talked about my wanting to read my Bible all evening long.”

“I didn’t grow up knowing the Bible,” Reese confessed. “I feel like I’ve missed so much.”

“In some ways you have, but you’re in the place God wants you right now.”

“That’s what Douglas has told me.”

“We’re running out of light,” Conner said.

“For what?”