Rebecca Hagan Lee - [Borrowed Brides 02] (27 page)

“Can’t I stay with you?” Tessa asked David.

“I’m afraid not.” David didn’t want her to leave. He didn’t want the sheriff to take her. “You must go with the sheriff.” He touched Tessa’s cheek with one finger. “Be brave a little longer.”

Tessa stood up and gathered her courage. She faced the sheriff. “Are you taking me back to jail, Sheriff Bradley?”

The lawman took her by the elbow. “Nope. Jail’s full, Miss Tessa.” He winked at David. “Full of those pesky reporters. I thought I’d take you to my house. The missus should have dinner on the table about now. I’m hungry. How about you?”

“I don’t think I can eat anything, Sheriff Bradley.” Tessa declined the offer of food, but she appreciated the sheriff’s invitation. She knew his jovial manner was meant to put her at ease. She doubted whether many of the county prisoners were invited to the sheriff’s house for dinner. “But a cup of tea would be nice.”

“Then, tea it is.” Sheriff Bradley escorted Tessa into the aisle.

She hated leaving David. Their time together was limited and she wanted to spend as much time with him as possible. Tessa wanted enough memories of David to last a lifetime, if need be.

She looked back at her attorney. “David, will you be okay? I think we have some bacon left and fresh eggs at the apartment if you’re hungry. I baked bread yesterday. You can make a sandwich. And Of course, there’s coffee and—”

“Tea,” David said. “I know.” His dark-eyed gaze roamed over her face. She was beautiful. She grew more beautiful and more precious to him every day. A corner of his mouth turned up in a semblance of a smile. He ached to kiss her. “I’ll be fine, Tessa.” It was just like her to focus all her attention and concern on someone else.

“You didn’t have any breakfast,” she reminded him.

“I’ll grab something at the hotel restaurant,” he promised. “Now go with Sheriff Bradley. I need to make some notes before the trial begins.”

“You won’t forget to eat?”

“I promise.”

Tessa allowed the sheriff to lead her down the aisle. “Will your wife mind very much if you bring me home with you, Sheriff Bradley?” she asked the lawman. “I’d hate for you to get in trouble with your wife.”

“Well,” the sheriff answered, “shortly after your little dispute at the mercantile, I had a talk with the missus about how looks can be deceivin’.” He grinned at Tessa, a wide, big-toothed grin full of humor and goodwill. “From what I hear, you conducted yourself like a real lady. Not like some we could mention. That’s good enough for me. And the missus never has cared much for Margaret Jeffers and her highfalutin ways.” He opened the courthouse door and allowed Tessa to precede him. “I think the missus will like you just fine.”

David stuffed a stack of papers into his satchel. He waited until the sheriff escorted Tessa out the door. He watched from the window as they crossed the street.

If Tessa’s behavior at the mercantile and in the courtroom could change the sheriff’s first impression, there was hope for the jury. She wasn’t a murderess. She didn’t act like a murderess or a woman of loose character. She looked delicate and fragile and every inch a proper lady. She would impress the jury. David knew that firsthand. She’d already impressed the hell out of him.

But if the jury appeared to doubt Tessa’s story, he would have to rely on Coalie.

Tessa wasn’t going to like it. She’d fight tooth and nail to keep Coalie from testifying if it came to that, but David didn’t plan to give her a choice. Not when he was fighting for her freedom and her life. He’d simply present her with a
fait accompli
.

With that thought in mind, David exited the courthouse through the rear door and walked down the street. He stopped first at the jeweler’s, then continued on to the telegraph office to send for Coalie.

“You can’t!” Tessa whispered furiously. They stood outside the courtroom, waiting for the townspeople and the reporters to disperse before they made their way to the rented buggy. “I won’t let you do this.”

“Tessa, you’ve got no choice.”

“You promised,” she accused. “I should have known better than to put faith in your promises.”

“I promised I wouldn’t go get him,” David corrected. “And I won’t. Mary will bring him here tomorrow morning.”

The day-long session of court had ended. Finally. At five in the afternoon, the jury had handed down an indictment of Miss Tessa Mary Catherine Roarke on a charge of the murder of Arnie Mason. Judge Emory called the attorneys into his chambers and announced that Tessa Roarke was to be released into David’s custody once again, but for her safety, that bit of information would remain confidential. As far as the crowds of reporters were concerned, Miss Roarke was being held at the Peaceable jail. The trial would begin at ten the following morning.

“You gave me your word,” Tessa reminded him.

David ground his teeth in frustration; a muscle jumped in his jaw. He’d expected Tessa to be angry and perhaps a bit disappointed in him when he told her he’d sent for Coalie, but he’d also expected her to understand why he did it.

“It’s just a precaution, Tessa. I don’t know how things will go. Jury trials are unpredictable.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Damn, I’d hoped this wouldn’t be necessary, but I’m not taking any chances.”

“Coalie’s a little boy,” Tessa reminded him. “He shouldn’t be exposed to this.” She turned her full anger on David. “I thought you cared about him. How can you expose him to this…this
circus
?”

“I do care about Coalie. I care very much,” David told her.
But I care about you more.
The thought popped into his head and wouldn’t go away. Once the trial was over, he intended to show her just how much he cared for both of them. “I wouldn’t have had to do this if the trial hadn’t turned into a circus,” David explained. “Don’t you see, Tessa? You’re the first woman in this county to be indicted for murder. The first to stand trial. The first to face a jury of your peers made up of both men and women. This is news. And unfortunately we’re caught up in the middle of it.”

“But I didn’t kill Arnie Mason,” Tessa said.

“At this point it doesn’t matter whether you did or not. He’s dead, and the citizens of Peaceable want a killer to stand trial. The newspapers want to sell papers. And the county attorney and the judge want to make a name for themselves in a precedent-setting case.”

“What do you want?” Tessa’s gaze was penetrating, direct.

“I want your freedom.”

“Wouldn’t you like to make a name for yourself as well? To go back to Washington a winner?” Tessa lashed out at him. She wanted him to admit he cared for her, that he wanted her, even loved her a little. But she knew better. David Alexander would rather run from his feelings and suffer in silence than admit he needed her. “Is that why you took my case?”

Nothing could have been further from the truth. It hurt to know she thought him capable of using her to advance his career. He didn’t give a damn about Washington or even about his career. He knew what was important in life now. He knew what he wanted. He wanted Tessa. Damn her! Couldn’t she love him? Just a little bit?

David gripped her elbow harder than he intended and propelled her toward the buggy. “I’ve spent the past year trying to escape notoriety,” he told her. “I’ve separated myself from my family and most of my friends so I wouldn’t have to face them day in and day out, wouldn’t have to see the doubt on their faces. I came to Peaceable to escape scandal.” He lifted her up into the buggy, then climbed in beside her and gathered the reins. “I don’t need this. I don’t want this.” He looked at her. “I never wanted my privacy invaded or my name splashed across the front pages of any more newspapers. If I’d known things were going to happen this way, I never would have taken your case!”

“What are you going to do?” Tessa taunted. “Foist me off on another attorney? One who doesn’t mind making a name for himself?” She meant to wound him just as he’d wounded her, and she knew where to strike. “Or do you intend to run away again? Abandon me and Coalie to the wolves the way you abandoned Caroline Millen and her baby?”

David whitened. The bronze color left his face. He recoiled as if she’d landed a mighty blow. A mortal blow. Icy contempt filled his dark brown eyes.

“No, contessa.” The title was a sneer and the tone of his voice a mockery of politeness. “I plan to win this damned case. I plan to hand you your freedom on a silver platter so you can leave Peaceable and get the hell out of my life once and for all.” David met her gaze. Her blue eyes filled with emotion and became a deeper, darker shade until they reminded him of bruises against her white face. David tried to stop the flow of words that rolled off his tongue, but he couldn’t help himself. He thought of Coalie and what she’d said, and he couldn’t prevent himself from issuing a warning.

“You asked me what I want. Well, Tessa, I’ll tell you. I want freedom. Yours and mine. I want my apartment and my office and my cat. I want my life the way it was before you turned it upside down. I want to get back to normal.”

David saw the look on her face and knew he’d hurt her. But he’d meant to hurt her. He’d wanted her to feel the same heart-rending pain he felt. “And I’m going to use whatever means necessary to get what I want.”

* * *

By the time they arrived at his office, an uneasy truce had been declared. Tessa shed her coat at the front door and slipped into the routine she and David had established. She prepared a supper neither one of them wanted to eat.

David cleaned up the dishes afterward while Tessa put on a kettle of water for tea.

They worked together as they’d done for the past few days, but there was a difference. The sense of companionship had disappeared. They were separated by a chasm too wide for either of them to cross.

David finished the dishes, then worked at his desk, making notes and poring over the pages of his lawbooks. Tessa sipped her tea and embroidered on a sampler the sheriff’s wife had given her to “occupy her hands.”

They didn’t speak. They were simply waiting until it grew dark enough for one of them to escape to bed.

The knock on the front door startled them. David got up from his desk to open it. Lorna Taylor and Jewell Bradley stood on the sidewalk, each holding a covered basket.

“We hope we haven’t come too late,” Jewell said, “but this is the first opportunity I’ve had to slip away.”

“What can I do for you ladies?” David asked, stepping back and allowing the women to enter the office. He closed the door behind them.

“We’ve come to see Miss Roarke.” Lorna looked up at him. “And to bring you a little something.”

Tessa rose from her chair. “Please come in.” She ushered the ladies toward the table. “Won’t you have a seat? I just made a pot of tea.”

“That would be nice,” Lorna said, placing her basket on the table before seating herself.

Jewell followed Lorna’s lead. Opening her basket, she removed a pan of fried chicken and a plate of big fluffy biscuits. “We tried to get here before you had time to fix supper,” Jewell said to Tessa, “but those pesky reporters have been making a nuisance of themselves in front of the jail.”

“Why?” Tessa asked.

Jewell chuckled. “Because, my dear, that’s where they think you’re being held. Judge Emory let ’em think you’d be at the jail to throw them off the scent.”

Tessa looked to David for confirmation.

He nodded in agreement.

“We had a devil of a time getting here,” Lorna told them, “but it was quite an adventure.” She poked Jewell in the ribs. “Just like when we were girls.”

“Yes,” Jewell agreed. “My Jimmy stalled ’em while Lorna and I slipped out the back way with your supper. A couple of the reporters spotted us, but we gave them the slip by walking behind the funeral parlor.” She spoke in an eerie whisper. “Then we skirted the cemetery.” She shivered with delight. “I haven’t had so much fun in years.”

“This is kind of you.” Tessa took down two cups and saucers from the new set of dishes David had bought and set them before the women.

“Aw, pooh,” Lorna scoffed, unpacking the items from her basket—an apple cake, a jar of strawberry preserves, and a plate of fried peach turnovers. “It isn’t kind at all. It’s the least we can do after the way this town has treated you. It’s the same as we’d do for any neighbors. The same as we’d do for our friends.” She smiled at Tessa and David.

“And,” Jewell added, “it’s our way of thanking you for standing up to the town bully.” Her brown eyes sparkled merrily at the memory of Margaret Jeffers’s setdown. “I was ashamed of myself for not coming to your aid.”

“Me, too,” Lorna admitted.

“But you didn’t have to do anything,” Tessa protested, filling their cups with tea.

Jewell looked up and caught David hovering in the background. She motioned to the vacant chair. “Come over here and sit down. Have a piece of cake. I know you’ve already eaten supper, but there’s always room for dessert.” She patted her ample stomach.

“Yes, David,” Tessa said, “please sit down.” She got him a cup and saucer and poured tea into it.

“I really need to work,” he told them. “There’s a lot to do before tomorrow’s session.”

“We don’t mean to keep you from your work,” Lorna said. “We know how important it is.” She smiled at Tessa.

“That’s right,” Jewell agreed. “We just wanted to show our support for you, Mr. Alexander, and most of all, for Miss Tessa.” Jewell met Tessa’s gaze. “My husband, the sheriff, doesn’t think you’re guilty, and I’ve seen for myself what a fine lady you are. And, well, what I’m trying to say is that we’d be right pleased to call you our friend and neighbor.”

“That pleases me very much,” Tessa replied. “I don’t know what else to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything else,” Lorna told her. “Just know that I’ll be in that courtroom tomorrow supporting you, and Jewell will be at home preparing your lunch and supporting you as well.”

Tessa’s blue eyes had begun to sparkle. She dabbed at them with the corner of a tea towel.

David smiled broadly, then crossed over to the table and sat down. “Well, ladies,” he announced, lifting his cup of steaming tea. “I’d say this calls for dessert and a little celebration.”