Sister's Choice (23 page)

“Heated?” Maggie’s stomach lurched. Could this have to do with Evan’s offer to speak with Colby about Tommy? “What was it about?” Maggie forced herself to ask.

“I don’t know. They wouldn’t say. But from what I heard, they came just short of blows. I’m sure Evan must have backed down—I can’t imagine him involved in fisticuffs, especially with someone of Colby’s superior physical hardiness.”

Mabel’s insult of her brother sparked ire in Maggie.

Mabel went on, “I suppose on the positive side, if they were arguing over Tamara, that could be helpful. But even Evan must realize he will never win Tamara with physical prowess.”

“I am sure you must be mistaken about the argument,” Maggie said hopefully.

“Nevertheless, there is no doubt that no love is lost between Evan and Colby. Naturally Evan is worried about the growing closeness of Colby and Tamara.”

“Closeness?” Maggie started to feel ill.

“I myself saw them the other day in the store, their heads together looking at yard goods, whispering and laughing. And why wouldn’t they be getting close, seeing each other daily as they do?”

“Well, there is nothing to be done about that,” Maggie replied defensively.

“In any case, Mother and Evan departed from the Stoddards’ forthwith, and thus there was no interaction between my brother and Tamara. Evan denies that he and Colby were arguing.” Mabel sighed. “I fear there is no way this can bode well for Evan. I have tried and tried to get him to pay visits to the Stoddards, but he always manages to make excuses, the biggest one being his involvement in Tommy’s trial. I hear you were the one to instigate this, Maggie. I cannot say it was a wise move.”

“Evan will save Tommy’s life!” Maggie retorted.

“My brother?” Mabel came just short of laughing. “Surely even you can see he is inept to the point of being almost foolish.”

“Mabel, how can you say such a horrible thing about your own brother!” Maggie exclaimed. Suddenly she perceived something that should have occurred to her before. Why was Mabel so interested in Evan’s love life? They had never been close growing up; even Maggie had seen that. Mabel had always been accepted by her peers, while her brother had been an outcast. And she had never done a thing to draw him in. Now suddenly Mabel cared about Evan’s happiness? It seemed very suspicious.

“I love Evan,” Mabel said without enough passion to give her words veracity. “But he has always been his own worst enemy.”

“Tell me the truth, Mabel,” Maggie said, “why are you suddenly so interested in Evan’s well-being?”

“He’s my brother. I want to see him hap—”

“Oh, come now!” Maggie sharply interrupted. “There is only one person whose happiness you really care about.”

“I am insulted!” Mabel huffed.

“Be honest with me, and maybe I can still help you.” Maggie placed a special emphasis on the word
maybe
because she didn’t want to commit to anything.

Mabel seemed to mull this over before speaking. “All right. It is very simple. I am engaged, but my mother has it in her head that it would be unseemly if I, the little sister, married before my older brother.”

“What! That’s ridiculous. Perhaps this might be a concern with two sisters, but between a brother and sister? I have never heard of such a thing.”

“Whether it makes sense or not, it is true. My mother has always had a soft spot in her heart for Evan. Perhaps it’s because he was born prematurely and almost died. I suppose it’s like how one loves the runt of the litter more than the other puppies—” When Maggie opened her mouth to protest yet another insult of Evan, Mabel hurried on, “Oh, settle down! One would almost think you loved Evan the way you are acting.”

Maggie snorted dismissively. “I just hate to see a nice person like Evan being insulted.”

“Regardless,” Mabel went on, “Mother has a special place in her heart for Evan. Lucky for me he was gone to his fancy schools so much of the time that it gave me half a chance. But Mother is afraid that if Evan doesn’t marry soon, he will never marry because of his . . .” Mabel seemed to reconsider what she wanted to say when Maggie gave her a dirty look. “His somewhat backward manner. She hopes, I believe, that by forcing me to put off my marriage, it will motivate me to push him, which I am doing, or trying to do.”

“I have never heard anything so conniving and unsavory,” Maggie said with an indignant huff. “You are treating Evan like a pawn on a chessboard.”

“It’s only because he doesn’t have the wits to help himself.”

Maggie jumped to her feet. “That’s it! It’s time you left, Mabel.”

Mabel did not move. She arched a brow. “Perhaps I should forget Tamara and set you up with my brother.”

“Why don’t you just butt out completely! Evan can take care of himself.”

Mabel rose in a languid fashion, as though to emphasize that she was doing so on her own initiative, not because Maggie had asked her.

“I plan to marry my Stanley next summer,” Mabel said. It sounded like a veiled threat. “Nothing is going to stand in my way. If I have to marry Evan off to Iris Fergus, I will. My earlier plan seemed to benefit more people, so I was willing to support it. If you care about Evan at all, you will continue to work with me in this.” She slipped her gloves back on her hands, smoothing each finger with great care. “Maggie, I don’t know what is going on in your little mind, but I suggest you try to grow up and act like a mature young woman. You will surely lose all around if you don’t take some affirmative action in this matter.”

Maggie didn’t know what to say to that and just stared with her mouth slightly ajar. Perhaps in her deceiving, twisted way, Mabel was right after all. But Maggie still didn’t know what more she could do to help the situation.

When Maggie made no move, Mabel opened the parlor door. “I will see myself out.”

Maggie watched her go. She heard Mabel bid the women in the kitchen good day before letting herself out. Maggie still did not move as she listened to Mabel drive her carriage out of the yard. Stupidly Maggie recalled the great time she and Evan had had in that very carriage.

Thinking of Evan made Maggie’s dander rise again. She didn’t mean to glare at her mother when she looked up to see her standing in the parlor doorway.

“What on earth went on in here?” Mama asked.

Maggie blinked and tried to rearrange her expression, but it was too late. “Now I know why you hate Florence Parker,” she said. “Mabel is cut from the same cloth.”

“For one thing,” Mama countered, “I don’t hate Mrs. Parker. Why would you say such a thing?”

“Oh, Mama, you know why. Everyone knows there is bad blood between you two.”

“We are not the best of friends, that is true, but I do not hate her. I don’t hate any living soul!” Mama was truly offended, and Maggie regretted raising this sensitive issue, especially when she had so many other sensitive issues to deal with.

“I’m sorry, Mama. Of course you don’t.” Maggie sighed. That still didn’t help with her own problems.

“Maggie . . .” Mama put an arm around Maggie’s shoulders. “I know you think you are grown up—” Maggie tensed, and Mama added, “You
are
grown up. But that doesn’t mean you have to shoulder your burdens alone.”

Maggie grasped eagerly at the olive branch offered by her mother. She’d been afraid of her mother’s censure, probably because she knew she deserved it. But seeing Mama reach out to her made Maggie remember that she loved her daughter. And having been reminded of Florence Parker, Maggie also realized that her mother had once been young and besieged with dilemmas and romantic difficulties, whatever they might have been.

“Mama, I have made a mess of things,” she confessed, unbidden tears springing to her eyes.

Mama nudged her over to the divan, where they sat, Mama still with her arm around Maggie.

“You can tell me about it, dear,” Mama said. “I promise I will be understanding.”

So Maggie told her everything. Well, most of it. She didn’t tell about the kiss, because parents had a way of blowing such matters all out of proportion. And she didn’t tell about the mud incident with Evan because it just didn’t seem pertinent.

Basically she told her how she had enlisted Evan in conspiring to keep Colby and Tamara apart so that they, Evan and Maggie, could have a chance with them.

“I now think I have made a deal with the devil,” Maggie concluded.

“The devil? You mean with Mabel?”

“She was the one who instigated it all in the first place. Now she says she’s going to get Evan married off before next summer with or without my help.”

“You don’t have to help her, do you?”

“No, but—” Maggie let out a frustrated breath. It all seemed so convoluted now that she was putting it into words. And silly, to boot! “I still want to win Colby, don’t I?”

“Do you?”

“Of course! That’s what this is all about.” Maggie thought her mother could be exceedingly dense at times. “But without Evan to distract Tamara, how will I ever have a chance with Colby? Tamara gets a chance every day to win Colby, while I get to see him just once in a while. And if Mabel starts to match Evan with someone else—well, that would be disastrous!”

Mama eyed Maggie. “Disastrous? That seems like a strong word.”

“Mama, you said you would try to understand.”

“Do you want to know what I think?”

Maggie wasn’t sure she did, but she shrugged and nodded.

“I think that if you and Colby are meant to be matched, it will happen without all these machinations. You are every bit as fine a catch as Tamara is, and I am not just saying that because I’m your mother. You are a lovely girl with many desirable attributes. If you and Colby are meant to be, it will be.”

“Did your mother tell you that when you and Mrs. Parker were tangling over the same boy?”

Mama smiled a rather mysterious smile. “So that is the story you have heard?”

“Is that what happened, Mama?”

“I am afraid I can’t tell you what happened. Florence and I swore to take it to our graves unless we both agree to tell. And Florence never will agree to such a thing.”

“Does it bother you that people are whispering behind your back?” Maggie was thinking of her own situation along these lines when she asked.

“I find it more amusing than anything. To think a plain old farmwife such as myself is fodder for the gossips!”

She chuckled, but Maggie didn’t believe her entirely. She’d thought the gossip about Tommy had been funny at first, too, but it had grown hurtful.

“Folks talk about me behind my back, too, Mama. But I don’t find it very funny anymore.”

“What are they talking about?”

“Me and Tommy. And don’t say, ‘I told you so.’ You wouldn’t want me to be anything but a true and loyal friend. Even Dad can’t dispute that.”

“That’s how we raised you.”

True to her word, Mama was understanding!

“Your father and I see that you are probably Tommy’s only friend besides Zack, and we couldn’t be so cruel as to cut him off from that. But do be careful, Maggie. People talk, and reputations can be ruined. That is just a fact of life. Please make sure Evan or someone is always with you when you are with Tommy. It isn’t that we don’t trust him or you, but tongues wag.”

“I know that, and I will be careful.”

Maggie snuggled up closer to her mother, and Mama’s arm around her tightened. It had been a long time since she had felt so close to her mother, physically and in her heart, as well.

TWENTY-ONE

Ada gazed out the kitchen window. The slanting of the afternoon sun showed more clearly than ever that the leaves on the willow tree in the front yard were starting to turn. The seasons came and went with an unrelenting regularity. Sometimes she wished she could stop or slow them for a while, but where would she have stopped them? Would she return to last spring when she was worried about her daughters getting married? Or before then when the children were young and she worried about them getting good marks in school, getting along with their friends, and building a good foundation of faith? Perhaps she would go back to when they were babes in arms or wee toddlers?

Each season of life had its appeal, to be certain, but also its drawbacks. When her children were babies, Ada had had to work like a slave, caring for their needs and the unceasing demands of the household. She now realized she had not been able to fully appreciate her sweet babies because of all the work needing to be done. When they were in school, she and Calvin had borne the responsibility of making sure their children grew up to be decent, God-fearing adults. And now that three of them were adults, the burden remained, didn’t it?

Of course they trusted God in all these things and derived strength and wisdom from Him, knowing He shouldered the burden with them. Yet they were still the parents, ordained by God to guide their children in life’s journey.

Ada sighed.

“Is something wrong, Ada?” Mama Spooner asked, snapping beans for supper.

Ada had almost forgotten she was there. “There really shouldn’t be,” Ada replied. “I had the most wonderful exchange with Maggie the other day. It truly lifted my spirits. Perhaps it is just seeing the leaves start to turn and knowing that winter is on the way.”

“You never did like winter much,” Mama said. “I always enjoyed the brisk air, the rain, and especially the clean covering of snow.”

“And the perpetually gray skies?”

“They make the evergreens more vivid,” Mama replied with a smug grin.

Ada dried her hands on a tea towel and sat at the table across from where her mother worked. Her darning basket was close by, and she drew it to her. She would never dream of sitting without something to keep her hands busy. After pulling out a sock with a big hole in the heel, she threaded a needle and set her darning egg in place.

“Mama, I do appreciate how you always look on the bright side of things,” Ada commented. “I suppose what I am really feeling is just how quickly time is passing. Boyd will be married in a few weeks, then Ellie will surely follow soon, even if it isn’t by Christmas. And at the rate Maggie is going, she won’t be far behind. Georgie turns fifteen soon and hardly needs me anymore. I’m not sure I am ready to be put out to pasture, to be useless. Is that how you felt when your children left home?”