Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Madeline heard the persistent knocking on the door, but she was elbow deep in pie dough. She was making apple dumplings for dessert this evening. Elijah wanted them so she had him go to the mercantile and buy a small basket of apples before school today.

Violet was sitting at the dining room table sewing. The dress was almost done except for the hem, which she was able to sew on her own. She heard the knocking and called out to Madeline. “Someone is at the front door. Do you want me to answer?”

“No. I’ll get it. Keep sewing, dear. You want to wear your dress for the first day of school tomorrow, right?”

She heard Violet bouncing on the chair. It made a consistent little creaking noise, probably from all the constant kicking and bouncing the girl did. Madeline smiled at the thought as she cleaned her hands and hurried to the front door. Whoever was there was certainly not going to just go away.

Stuffing the cleaning rag into her apron pocket, she blew a tendril of hair from her cheek and flung open the front door. Her eyes widened and she shrieked out loud. Her worst nightmare had come true. “Miss Periwinkle! Is it you? Oh, my goodness! What are you doing here?”

Madeline was excited to see her and yet the dreaded thought of coming for Elijah ran through her head. What was she going to tell the woman?

Miss Periwinkle stood holding a large piece of luggage, along with a tote filled to the brim. “I’ve been sent by the orphanage to follow up with Elijah after the letter you sent gave the board some pause. Since this is the first time we’ve sent children on the orphan train, we want to make sure the experiment is positive for everyone involved. I’ve been elected to travel here and make sure Elijah finds a good home.”

“Well, of course it was a positive experience. Elijah is doing well and no danger has come to him. He is in my care.”

Miss Periwinkle frowned. “I’m afraid that won’t be good enough for the board. I’m instructed to bring him along with me if you fail to find him a home. Are you going to invite me inside?”

“I’m sorry. Don’t mind my manners, Miss Periwinkle. You showing up on my doorstep surprised me. Please. Come inside.”

“Your doorstep? That’s interesting.”

Two ladies from church that Madeline had learned had appointed themselves to visit other townsfolk stopped directly in front of the house when they saw Miss Periwinkle coming inside. At first she hadn’t paid much attention to them, but when she spoke next her heart stopped beating for a moment as they both gasped at her words.

“Yes. Miss Periwinkle, it will soon be my doorstep. You see, Mr. Adams, my employer and the local blacksmith, has asked me to marry him. We will be adopting Elijah.”

“Truly? You are not playing one of your foolish games, are you, Madeline? Remember, I’ve known you from the time you were a few months old.”

Madeline smiled. “I would never lie about something like this. We have plans today as a matter of fact, to visit the church right after Robert gets off work and marry right away. We discussed it last night and want to give Elijah a good home.”

As she told Miss Periwinkle the fabricated story, she went to close the front door and heard the gasp. Both ladies stared at her in shock, slapped their hands across their faces, turned and hurried off down the street.

Oh, dear! She was in a predicament now! Miss Periwinkle hadn’t seen the ladies and their shocked faces. She took the older woman’s things and set them by the stairs. “Why don’t we go into the kitchen and have a cup of tea?” At least that would give her time to try to think of a way to get out of this mess!

“Do you have coffee? I haven’t had a good cup since I left the orphanage.”

“Of course. Would you like to meet Violet? I’m in charge of her while her brother works. Her brother is the man I’m about to marry,” she whispered to Miss Periwinkle.

“Why are you whispering?” she asked, lowering her voice too.

“I’m not sure why,” Madeline told her. “Okay, I’ll be honest. We haven’t told the children yet that we are marrying until the very moment we do. So, please don’t spoil the fun for us, Miss Periwinkle.”

She gave Madeline a concerned look, then a wide smile that Madeline had never noticed came upon her face. That was a first for the older woman.

There was coffee left in the kettle, so she poured two cups and sat down at the kitchen table across from Miss Periwinkle. “How was your trip here?”

“It was very loud and annoying until it became nice. I met a lovely gentleman on the last leg of the train ride. As a matter of fact he hired a buggy and drove me here from Mill Ridge. He said he owns the local café in town. I was glad for the company. It was a long four days.”

“I’m sure you’re not in a hurry to return, are you?” She was hoping Miss Periwinkle would see that Elijah was fine and quickly go back to Lancaster even though it was nice to chat with her, she wanted to fix her mistake before it ruined everything.

“Well, I haven’t thought much about the return trip yet. I wanted to stop here first and make sure that you were doing well, then check on Elijah and spend some time with the both of you.”

Madeline wanted to scream, but she kept an even smile instead. “That’s lovely. Elijah is in school and won’t be home for hours.”

“He will be at your wedding ceremony. I can visit with him then. I’m sure you will want to spend some time with your new husband, so perhaps I can take the child and keep him busy. Even Violet. It will be nice to only have two children to be in charge of. Now, if you will direct me to a spare room, I’ll take my things and unpack. I can also use a quiet rest period before all the activities this evening.”

The only spare room would be the one behind the kitchen where Madeline was staying. “I’m afraid all the rooms are full. Although, I can share a room with Violet while you take my room.” Madeline stood, ready to move her things to make room for Miss Periwinkle.

“Why would you say that, Madeline? If you are about to become a bride today, you won’t need your current room any longer. You are becoming a bride today, are you not?”

Madeline hesitated slightly, then nodded. “Of course I am.” She gave the older woman a smile and went for Miss Periwinkle’s luggage, taking it to the room off the kitchen. Madeline quickly gathered her own things, stuffed what she could fit back into her own suitcase and got them out of her room. Both of her hands were full since not everything fitted into her piece of luggage.

“Let me help you with that, Madeline. You go up the stairs first and I’ll follow.”

Madeline was so grateful that Violet was busy working on her sewing or the cat would be out of the bag by now the way Miss Periwinkle was talking about her upcoming marriage.

She stumbled her way to Robert’s bedroom and slowly opened the door. She’d never been inside the room. She stepped inside first, then Miss Periwinkle followed with her arm full of things. The older woman set the dresses on the edge of the bed. “This is a very nice room and it’s quite large. It will fit the both of you.”

Madeline just smiled, her mind racing in a hundred different directions. She had to slip out somehow and let Robert know about the turn of events happening right inside of his home.

This was going to explode in her face. Madeline had that dreaded feeling and she was rarely wrong.

“There now. Let’s get your hair fixed up so you can put one of your best Sunday dresses on. This day may turn out to be quite eventful after all. I can be rest assured the orphan is with a proper family and you, my dear, are happy.”

Madeline was in big trouble.

Big.

Big.

Trouble.

*****

“Congratulations, old buddy!” Sheriff Mac stopped by the blacksmith shop with a new order for nails. He wanted to put up some shelving in the pantry of his house.

Robert had been busy fixing up a customer’s order when he felt the slap on his back. He saw how the sheriff was beaming and frowned. “What’s the congratulations for? I haven’t done anything,” he told the man, then went back to what he was working on. He wanted to get done with this latest project so he could go home to one of Madeline’s hearty meals.

It was funny how Robert always had taken his good old time going home before. Except when Violet needed him. There were nights he had to stay really late to finish a project and after she settled in bed, he’d come back to the shop and try to finish up.

Now, all he wanted to do was finish it the next day and get home to see what’s for supper. And Madeline.

How did he have such strong feelings for a woman within a few weeks? Was this normal? Maybe he wasn’t right in the head. Like his sister, maybe he had mental issues that he needed to fix. Did it run in the family like some of her doctors tried to suggest? He didn’t think so but now he was second-guessing himself. All because of feelings that he had never experienced before. Maybe the sheriff had the answers.

He put the hot poker down he was working with and straightened his back, stretching tight muscles that ached. “Am I going crazy?”

Sheriff Mac grinned. “I don’t think so. Unless you have some kind of dark secret, I’d say you were about as sane as the next man.”

“I’m serious, Mac. I want to close shop and I still have work to do. It’s because I want to get home to Madeline.”

He frowned and stared at the sheriff, who was grinning from ear to ear. “Well, heck, Smithy! It’s your wedding night. Of course you’re going to be a little wound tight.”

Had he heard the sheriff right? “My wedding night?” He shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The sheriff sobered. “Gladys and Gertie Miller spread it all over town. They were gathering a committee together for the reception afterwards. You are marrying Miss Emmett, aren’t you?”

He was speechless. “I had no intention of marrying Madeline tonight.” At the confusion on his face, the sheriff backed out of the shop. He almost ran into someone standing behind him.

When he moved out of the way, Madeline was standing there with another woman alongside her. She was older and wore a frilly hat with feathers tucked in the band. When he stared at Madeline’s face, he noticed it was bright red.

“I think the two of you had better make up your minds because everyone in town is expecting a wedding later today.” Sheriff Mac nodded to Madeline and Miss Periwinkle and left the shop.

Everyone stood there, not saying a word.

The door opened again as the sheriff peeked in. “Miss Periwinkle? I’m heading to the church to volunteer my services. Would you like me to escort you also? They sure could use an extra hand.”

Miss Periwinkle looked from one to the other. Why did Robert feel as if he had been scrutinized by this older woman? He didn’t even know what was going on.

Who decided he was going to marry Madeline. When he looked at her face he knew.

It had been her.

Had she proclaimed to the whole town they were about to be married?

--—

Madeline stood in the blacksmith shop not knowing if she wanted to turn tail and run for her life. Which was about to fall into a million little shredded pieces. She had heard loud and clear what he said.

I had no intention of marrying Madeline!

With one sentence he had shattered any dream for the two of them. She hung her head, feeling like the whole world had let her down. Honestly, Madeline knew she had let herself down. This time her lies had finally done the damage it was intended to.

“I’m terribly sorry, Robert. I lied.”

He looked so frustrated as he drew a dirty hand through his hair. “When I said I’d like to see where this friendship of ours leads to, I had no idea you took me so seriously. I don’t think a woman is supposed to tell everyone in Cooper’s Ridge she’s marrying a man until he asks her first. Do you?”

She shrugged. “I had no intention of this happening. Miss Periwinkle showed up at the door this morning. She said that Elijah would have to go back to the orphanage if he didn’t have a family to adopt him.”

He stared. His eyes were still the brightest blue she had ever seen, but they weren’t sparkling like usual. She didn’t want to disappoint him. “Elijah means the world to you, doesn’t he?”

“Of course he does. I’ve known him since he was a few months old. He’s almost like my child.” Her lip quivered. She was sorry to have caused all this trouble. “I’m so sorry to involve you.”

He turned away from her for a moment, then ran his hand through his hair again. Robert turned back to her. “I wanted to court you.”

“You what? Court me?”

He nodded. Clearly, Robert was upset at what she had done. “I hadn’t planned on asking for your hand in marriage today because I wanted to court you first. I actually enjoyed spending time with you without the children.”

“I, um, I’m not sure what to say to your admission. Does this mean there is a possibility that you’d consider marrying me?”

“If I had a choice, then, yes.”

This whole conversation was taking a wicked turn. She no longer feared the look on his face. He was going to go ahead with the ceremony! Her heart flipped. “Are you saying what I think you are saying?”

He grinned. “I guess so. The whole town is at the church waiting for us.”

Her eyes got huge. “The whole town?”

Robert’s tone was serious. “The whole town. The moment one person heard the words, a wedding, the townsfolk flew into action. This is not the first time this has happened since I’ve been here. If we don’t give these folks a wedding tonight, there will be trouble in town tonight, that’s for sure.”

She stared at him. “Are you joking with me?”

He came forward and put his arms around her. “I never joke about such a serious subject. I guess it’s up to us to save this town from disaster. We better get home and get ready before these people get roused up. The whole town may fall apart if we don’t marry soon!”

Madeline giggled. She wrapped her arms around his neck. “We have a son to adopt and that means if we don’t get married right now, he will be an orphan forever.”

“Now you’re being silly. No one is an orphan forever!” he told her.

“Maybe you’re right,” she said, looking into his eyes.

He kissed her mouth softly. “As long as we can make it happen, Elijah will never have to call himself an orphan again.”