Embers of Love (13 page)

Mrs. Vandermark came from the commissary just then, carrying several letters and a basket containing a variety of articles. Dr. Clayton offered to take the basket, but she waved him off.

“Thank you, but we have to get on home and the wagon is just over there in the shade. It’s good to see you again, Dr. Clayton. Do you think you could join us this evening for dinner? I figure if I don’t ask, you won’t just show up.”

“It hardly seems right to just drop by unannounced.”

“Around here, we don’t stand on such concerns,” Mrs. Vandermark replied. “I told you we wanted to see you joining us regularly, yet you haven’t been out since nearly a month ago. So will you join us this evening?”

He couldn’t think of anything he’d like better. “I would love to. May I bring something to help with the feast?”

She laughed. “Nothing but yourself.”

Deborah reached past him to take the basket from her mother. “We’ll see you tonight then, Dr. Clayton. I’ll take this now, Mother. Goodness, but it must weigh twenty pounds. What all do you have in here?”

Her mother laughed. “Only a small portion of what I needed. They’re bringing the rest by train when the supplies come in. Good day, Dr. Clayton. Dinner will be on at six.”

He watched them leave and felt a genuine loss in their going. The Vandermarks were among his few friends in Perkinsville. He especially enjoyed his conversations with Deborah, but knew it was probably just as well that she lived well out of reach. He had to remain focused. If he strayed from his purpose, others would suffer.

C
HAPTER
11

Lizzie had never expected to see Stuart Albright again, yet here he was standing in the Vandermark living room. He pinned her with a stare that might have withered her had Deborah and G. W. not been standing at her side. A few feet away from Stuart, her mother, Harriet Decker, was conversing with Euphanel. It was all like a very bad dream.

Rob sauntered into the room casually after bringing the two visitors by wagon from Perkinsville. He just happened to be in town on one of his many Saturday evening courtships when someone from the boardinghouse had announced there were folks looking for the Vandermarks.

“It’s wonderful to get to meet you,” Euphanel told Harriet Decker. “Your daughter has spoken of you on many occasions.”

“Elizabeth is a thoughtless young woman,” her mother replied. “She has left us these many weeks worrying after her well-being.” With a quick glance around the simple room, the woman added, “And I see for myself it was with good cause.”

“Mother, there is no need for rudeness,” Lizzie interjected, trying her best to ignore Stuart’s continued glare. “Mrs. Vandermark and her family have been quite good to me. I have very much enjoyed living here with them.”

“Oh, the pleasure’s been ours, Lizzie. You are a great help to us,” Euphanel said.

“And you are an incredible teacher. Did you know, Mother, that Mrs. Vandermark has won awards for her canned goods? She’s been teaching me, and I find it all so very fascinating.”

“Well, that’s enough of that,” her mother replied. “We’ve come to take you home.”

Lizzie stiffened and looked to Deborah first and then G. W. “But I’m perfectly happy here.”

“But you have a husband who is not perfectly happy for you to remain here,” her mother said as she crossed the distance to where Lizzie stood. “You shamed this family by running away as you did. We were able to cover it up with the excuse that you were ill and needed to come west to take the cure, but now you need to return home.”

Lizzie shook her head. “No. I’m of age, and I choose to remain in Texas. And I hardly know why you call Mr. Albright my husband. We are not married. As you recall, I left before the ceremony.”

“But not before signing the papers,” Stuart declared. “It matters not that the traditions of religiosity were not performed. You are, by law, my wife.”

She would have laughed had Stuart’s expression not silenced her with its intensity. Married? How could it be? She had of course signed the papers given to her prior to the ceremony. They had been witnessed, and the minister had said that . . . that . . . Oh, what was it he had said? Something about it not being official until he joined them in the sight of God and man. Deborah and her father had both been convinced she wasn’t bound in any legal manner.

“I can see we’ve taken you by surprise,” her mother remarked. “See there, Mr. Albright. She didn’t run away as your wife. She simply had bridal nerves and thought herself still free to do as she pleased.” Her mother looked back to where Lizzie stood. “You know how I feel about marriage. I didn’t want you to marry in the first place. I saw no use in it. However, you’re married now, and that changes everything.”

Lizzie stumbled backward and might have fallen had G. W. not shot out his hand to take hold of her. Stuart’s eyes narrowed. He had always been very possessive of her – it was one of the things that drove her mother into fits and one of the reasons Lizzie had chosen to marry him.

“I cannot be married to you,” she said in a barely audible voice. “I made no vow.”

“Your vow was your signature. Now we must return to Philadelphia. I have work to do. My father is also quite anxious that I assist him with his legislative affairs, as well as our family investments.”

“I won’t go,” she said, shaking her head slowly. She looked at Euphanel and then Deborah. “I don’t want to go.”

“You needn’t go if you do not want to,” Deborah said matter-of-factly. “Honestly, this is the most preposterous thing I’ve ever heard.” She stepped in front of Stuart. “Why would you wish to be married to a woman who doesn’t love you?”

He laughed and Lizzie felt her knees grow weak. “Frankly, I have no love for her, either. In time, she will grow comfortable with my presence, and I shall enjoy being seen with her on my arm.” He sobered slightly. “In time I might even become fond of her.”

“And this is the life you want for your daughter, Mrs. Decker?” Deborah asked. “You would desire her to live in misery – to be used as ornamentation by this man?”

Lizzie saw her mother’s face contort. “As women, we will always be used by men. We might as well be the ones to decide who that man will be. My daughter gave her word. I care far more about her keeping her word than about whether or not she made a poor choice of masters.”

Lizzie could bear it no longer. “I can hardly believe that you, of all people, would say such a thing. I thought you believed women superior to men! I thought you said women had no need to be chained to a husband – they needed only to expand their minds with education and use them, in turn, to better their lives.”

Mrs. Decker looked taken aback for a moment, but it was Stuart who spoke. “I believe the choice was already made. This argument is a moot point. You are my wife, and you will return with me to Philadelphia.”

Deborah’s mother stepped forward in an attempt to calm the waters. “Why don’t we have some coffee or tea? We can all think better if we sit down and try to relax a bit. No doubt you two are very tired. You’ve been traveling for days, and we know how uncomfortable the train trip here can be.”

“I have no desire to take coffee or tea,” Stuart replied.

“Then you can return to Perkinsville,” G. W. said casually. “I’ll escort you back.”

Stuart looked at him in disgust. “Excuse me?”

“My brother is offering to take you back to the boardinghouse in Perkinsville,” Deborah interjected. “That way Mrs. Decker and Lizzie can have a bit of a discussion over coffee.”

“Elizabeth doesn’t drink coffee,” her mother declared.

“Oh, yes I do,” Lizzie said, feeling ever so daring to voice her new vice. It made her feel only marginally back in control. “Furthermore, I’m tired. I had no idea that you would be here. I’ve been up since four this morning helping with chores and making jam. I am ready now to retire for the evening. I’m sorry if this is a problem for either of you, but I will speak to you more about it tomorrow.”

With that she turned and left, hoping – really praying – that no one would try to stop her. When she reached the stairs, she felt a surge of triumph. Deborah and Euphanel were busily commenting on how Stuart and Mrs. Decker could return in the morning as early as they liked, or perhaps prefer to meet at church.

“We always attend church, if possible. We’d be happy to have you here for dinner afterward,” Euphanel told them.

Lizzie shook her head and continued to make good her escape. She could scarcely draw a breath. How could it be that she’d had no word of warning from her father? Perhaps he didn’t know her mother’s plans – after all, they were no longer civil to each other and didn’t even live in the same state.

Throwing herself across the small bed, Lizzie wanted to cry. What if Stuart spoke the truth? What if she truly was married to the man? The very thought chilled her to the bone. He’d make her miserable for leaving him at the altar.

The door to the room opened and Deborah stepped inside. Her expression was a mixture of sympathy and determination. “Are you all right, Lizzie?”

“How can I be?” She made the effort to sit up, but what she really wanted was to crawl under the bed instead. “I cannot believe he followed me here. I can’t believe Mother came here, either. What is happening? Has the world come to an end and someone failed to notify me?”

Deborah sat opposite Lizzie on the edge of her own quilt-covered bed. “Mother has managed to ease tensions for the moment. She invited them to join us here after church tomorrow. That will give us time to consider what is to be done.”

“But what
is
to be done? Stuart says that I’m legally wed to him. I don’t see how that can possibly be.”

“I don’t, either,” Deborah said thoughtfully. “I don’t know a great deal about the law, but perhaps I can speak with Dr. Clayton before church tomorrow. He might have some knowledge.”

“If only my father were here, we could ask him,” Lizzie said sadly. “Oh, and my life was just starting to settle into place. I was actually happy.”

Deborah nodded. “So was G. W. I don’t think this will brook well with him at all. Did you see the way Mr. Albright looked at him when he kept you from falling backward?”

“I did. That’s Stuart’s way. He cannot tolerate any other man touching me or speaking to me overly long. Oh, Deborah, I simply cannot bear this. Why is this happening?”

“I don’t know, but I firmly believe all things happen for a reason.”

“Yes, but this is for a very bad reason. Of that, I’m sure.” Lizzie got up and began pulling pins from her blond hair. “I don’t wish Stuart ill – I never did. I’m sure that Father would have made that clear to him.”

“It’s not your father who puzzles me,” Deborah said, following Lizzie’s example. She crossed the room to where they shared the simple dressing table and placed her hairpins in a decorative ebony box. “What is your mother doing here? She should have been quite happy that you didn’t marry. It would have given her a great story to tell her suffragette friends. She could have gone on and on about how you finally came to your senses, realizing no woman needs a man to make her complete.”

Lizzie picked up her brush and began to run it through the long waves of hair. “That’s right. I cannot imagine her caring one whit about Stuart’s feelings, and obviously she doesn’t care about mine.” She grew thoughtful. “What is she doing here?”

“We shall have to figure that out.” Deborah picked up her own brush. “But in the meantime, I don’t think you should fret. Let’s send a telegram to your father. Perhaps with his connections he can advise you best on the matter.”

Lizzie gave a heavy sigh. “I certainly hope he can. I don’t want to find myself Mrs. Stuart Albright.”

–––––––

Sunday dinner at the Vandermark house was an unusually serious event. Rob and Uncle Arjan sat on either side of Stuart and occasionally made comments to him, while Deborah made sure that Lizzie was sandwiched between herself and Uncle Arjan.

A last-minute addition was Dr. Clayton. Deborah had thought it a good idea to include him. It gave their side a man of learning to balance against Stuart Albright. At least that was her thought on the situation.

Lizzie was too nervous to eat and pushed her food around the plate so much that Deborah wanted to take away her fork and spoon. Instead, she launched into comments about the sermon that day, hoping it would draw the focus away from the underlying tension in the room.

“I am quite frustrated with the sermon this morning,” Deborah began. “I know the preacher meant for us to take away the lesson of what God’s people can do when they come together, but I think there are serious issues with the story that did not get discussed.”

“Such as what?” her mother asked, immediately realizing Deborah’s intent.

“Well, in reading through chapter nineteen of Judges, I found myself completely at odds with the entire matter. You have a man who is a Levite. That was supposed to mean great things in those days. They were faithful when the rest of Israel fell down to worship the golden calf during Moses’ absence. They were blessed because of it. They were appointed to be rabbis and teachers of Israel. The Lord was their inheritance, rather than lands and properties.”

She could see from their expressions that Stuart and Lizzie’s mother had no more understanding of the topic than did the dogs sleeping on the front porch.

“So you have this Levite and he has a concubine, which in those days was, if I understand correctly, an acceptable position as a second wife. Although she couldn’t be endowed, so her children couldn’t inherit. At least, I think that’s what the rabbi told me.”

“You spoke with a rabbi? But you aren’t Jewish,” Harriet Decker said in surprise.

“Our Deborah believes it’s important to get to the heart of the matter and understand a situation – or in this case, a Bible story – from all angles,” her uncle explained.

Deborah nodded. “I went to a synagogue in Philadelphia after reading this book the first time. The rabbi, a very forward-thinking man, explained several things to me. In fact, he was the one who taught me about the Levites. Anyway, so you have this man and his wife and she plays the harlot or, as the rabbi told me, the Hebrew word is
zanah
. And while its primary definition is whore or participating as a whore, it can also mean to dislike – to hate. He said it is entirely possible that the woman hadn’t committed adultery but had merely fought with her husband. They could simply have had a fight, and she went home to her father’s house. This could explain why the husband doesn’t require her to be stoned. It would also allow for why her father let her stay with him – he surely wouldn’t have done so if she were an adulterous woman.” Deborah tapped her finger to her chin.