eyes welled with tears. The piece of hairpin lace must have taken hundreds of hours to complete. The fact that it would now adorn a sham marriage made her inwardly cringe. Nevertheless, she couldn’t dim the joy shining from Greta’s eyes.
“Thank you, Greta. I’ll treasure it always.”
“Miss Granger!”
There was no mistaking the booming voice that reached them from the main room. Ezra Batchwell and his retinue had returned, and he was eager to see that the formalities were finished.
Lydia hugged her as well, then Iona.
“Best wishes,” Lydia said, before backing out of the room.
Iona took a handkerchief from where it had been tucked in her sleeve. Sniffling, she dabbed her eyes. “May this be the first of many happy days,” she whispered, her voice husky with emotion. “I always cry at weddings.” Then she hurried from the room, leaving Willow alone.
From below, Willow could hear the deep murmur of male voices combined with a few higher pitched ones. She knew she wouldn’t be given much time to think.
But even as she considered running downstairs, calling the whole thing off and confessing her deceit...
She couldn’t do it.
Not just because the thought of that many eyes turning her way in censure made her quake, but because Jenny had been her friend. Her first real friend. Those babies downstairs were Jenny’s and they were motherless and defenseless.
No. Not defenseless.
They had her.
And they had Charles.
Pinning that thought in her mind, she smoothed a hand over the ribbon at her waist, adjusted the veil around her shoulders, then headed for the door.
* * *
Charles shifted nervously from foot to foot, feeling as if a herd of ants were crawling beneath his skin. At Ramsey’s insistence, he’d taken time at the Hall to wash his face and hands, slick back his hair and don the clean shirt, vest and tie that Gideon had loaned him.
He swallowed against the dryness of his throat, easing a finger beneath the tie, which seemed to be cutting off his ability to breathe. He was sure that Gideon had tied it too tight—probably on purpose, since he’d joked that Charles would soon feel the noose of matrimony closing around his neck for the second time.
From the corner of his eye, he could see the two wee bairns being rocked in the arms of the Claussen twins.
Charles knew better than most what would happen to the babes if they weren’t claimed. If Ezra Batchwell had exploded at the idea of having women on the premises, there would be no containing his ire at the thought of a pair of children running about. As soon as the pass cleared, they would be taken to the nearest foundling home. Once there, they could be separated, or worse, live their childhoods in an institution—a fate that Charles had himself endured and wouldn’t wish on his worst enemy.
No. If Willow was agreeable, he’d see this charade to the end, then sort things out when they’d both had time to plan what was best for the youngsters.
As if she’d heard him, Willow suddenly appeared at the top of the steps.
For a moment, the air left Charles’s lungs. For a month now, he’d caught glimpses of the girl—at the Devotionals, behind the counter of the cook shack, or peeking between the curtains of the Dovecote. He was ashamed to admit that he hadn’t paid her much mind.
He regretted that now, because the woman who stepped toward him was beautiful. The soft cotton dress she wore seemed to highlight the fairness of her skin, the dusting of freckles across her brow and cheeks. And that hair...it shone in the lamplight like a blazing sunset.
She moved to stand beside the fireplace, and then turned to face him.
Ignoring Batchwell’s scowl, Charles caught her hand and leaned to whisper next to her ear. “You don’t have to do this.”
Nevertheless, when he met her gaze, those cornflower-blue eyes blazed with determination.
“They need us,” she whispered.
“Enough!” Batchwell barked. “Let’s get this over with.”
Even then, Charles kept hold of Willow’s hand. Despite her bravado, he could feel the chill of her fingertips and the trembling of her extremities. When he repeated his vows, she clung to him even tighter. As she offered her own promises, he thought he heard a quaver in her voice. Then, before Charles could credit how quickly his life had altered course, there was a cheer and someone was pounding him on the back.
“Kiss the girl!” a deep voice shouted, and Charles could have sworn it was Gideon Gault. Knowing that all eyes were upon them, Charles brushed a light kiss over Willow’s lips.
When he drew back, her cheeks were pink with color, and he automatically drew her into the lee of his arm as the women rushed to offer their congratulations.
Soon, his home became noisy with chatter and laughter. For too long, his house had been a sterile, quiet place. He’d learned to endure the silence, but he’d never grown used to it.
However, when Ezra Batchwell pounded his walking stick on the floor, reality came rushing back as the row house became quiet again.
“It’s late and some of you need to be at your shift within a few hours. I think it’s time we all went home.”
There were murmurs of disappointment, but the women rushed to shake Charles’s hand and kiss Willow on the cheek. Then they gathered their wraps and reluctantly headed into the cold. The men followed more slowly, until only Batchwell, Bottoms, Jonah Ramsey and Gideon Gault remained.
Rather than offer his congratulations, Batchwell stomped toward the couple, his dark eyes blazing. “You broke the rules,” he growled. “You knowingly brought a woman to our valley and then lied to us all.”
Charles stiffened. He might not have invited Willow to join him in Bachelor Bottoms, but he had lied to his employers. Since there was no response he could offer at the moment to clarify the situation, he remained silent.
“Get out,” the man rasped through clenched teeth. “You, of all people, are aware of the directives of this mining community and the requirements for employment. I don’t care if there’s a blizzard or a blocked pass, you and your...wife...will get out of this house, out of this valley, out of this town. Immediately!”
“I resign. From my job, my position as lay preacher, and member of this community!”
Charles couldn’t prevent the words that burst from his lips. It was as if they came from another person—another source.
“And as an outlier to the community, I claim the same ability to shelter in one of the row houses like the other families who were marooned here by the avalanche.”
Ezra Batchwell grew so red-faced that
