Mary made me promise to wait until she’d heard news from her brother. I left only briefly to find a job to support us, but when I returned, Mary was gone, and it’s taken me all this time to find her.”
Mary’s eyes narrowed at the vile man pretending to be the loving suitor. What was he up to? When she’d refused to participate in his foul plans, he’d cast all sorts of insults at her.
“Imagine my surprise at finding her here, her brother building the family a fine home down the block, the pillars of Leadville society caring for the poor.”
Of course. Ben knew they had money. What he’d stolen back in Ohio hadn’t been enough to keep him long. So now he was here, trying to get himself a rich bride.
Mary removed herself from Ben’s grasp, noticing that Mr. Lawson had wound his way to the front of the crowd that had gathered. At least now he wouldn’t be confronting her. He’d said he’d wanted to find Ben. Well, here he was.
“That was a long time ago, Ben. So much has happened since we last saw each other.” She gave him a long, hard look. “I’m afraid it wouldn’t be right to take up where we left off.”
“So, that’s how it is.” Ben gave a long, exaggerated sigh. “Now that she’s a wealthy heiress, she doesn’t want anything to do with a lowly workingman, taking what odd jobs he can to support himself.”
With a long look of sadness that she couldn’t believe the others didn’t see through as being completely fake, he continued, “Back in Ohio, Mary said that love was all we needed. But now that she’s had a taste of the good life, she can’t bear the thought of a simple rented room.”
Oh, the nerve of the man... Mary shook her head, wishing she could ask God for a way out, but knowing that since her sin was what had gotten her here in the first place, God wasn’t likely to offer his assistance.
Of course!
Mary gave him what she hoped was a look of deep regret, then turned her attention to the crowd. “While it’s true that at one point I may have had feelings for Ben, I’ve had time to grow and reflect upon my relationship with the Lord. Given that Ben doesn’t have a relationship with Christ, it isn’t right for us to be together.”
Of all the things Ben most despised, it was anything to do with the church. In her foolishness, she’d thought that by loving Ben, she could get him to love the Lord, but in the end, it had only rent a hole in her own faith that she wasn’t sure could ever be repaired. At least that was one mistake she’d not repeat.
Ben stepped in front of her and clasped her hands with such fervor she thought they’d break. “Oh, Mary darling, then all your prayers have been answered, because I’ve been going to church.”
More lies, she was sure, but with the oohs and aahs from the gathered crowd, she wasn’t going to let him get away with it.
“Which one?” The words came out more peevish than she would have liked, but she simply couldn’t allow anyone, least of all Ben, to think they had any future.
His grip on her hands tightened, making her wince with pain. “Lots. I’ve been moving around, searching for you. But now that I’ve found you, and I see what a wonderful job this church is doing for the poor, I believe I’ll be staying.”
She knew she’d been beaten. The only way out was the truth, and by the way everyone had all fallen under Ben’s spell, Mary knew that not one of them would believe it. An accomplished thief and scoundrel, Ben knew all the tricks of worming his way into people’s hearts.
“Please,” she whispered, “don’t do this. Just go, and I promise, we’ll talk later.”
But Ben didn’t release her hands. “I could never bear to leave my beloved’s side.”
He bent, and as he kissed her hand, he whispered, “I still have your aunt’s brooch. If you don’t cooperate, I’ll be sure it’s found in your possession.”
Every hope of getting out of this situation undamaged shattered. To Ben, it was just a brooch he’d stolen. From what she’d seen in the satchel that night, one of many. But to Mary, it was one more reminder of how she’d failed her family and wreaked so much havoc on their lives.
How much more would she have to suffer for the foolishness of believing herself in love? For thinking that a man could love her? No one would believe she hadn’t stolen the brooch. Just like they wouldn’t have believed her the night she’d discovered the extent of Ben’s deception. He’d planned things too well and set her up to look too guilty.
Mary pulled her hands from his grasp, shaking them to rid herself of the lingering kiss he’d placed there and to bring the blood back to the fingers he’d crushed.
“Then I hope you know how to do dishes.” She gestured to the pot that lay nearly forgotten on the ground. “Because now that supper’s over, we’ll have plenty to wash.”
Never mind the fact that she hated washing dishes. Ben hated doing them even more. Actually, the man hated any kind of work, so if there was any blessing to be found in the situation, this was it. Surely he couldn’t keep up this act with dishes to be faced.
“Now, darling.” He grabbed her hand again and brought it to his lips. “You know that I would love to help, but I’ve only just got to town, and I still need to secure lodgings. I’ll return first thing in the morning, and we can talk about our wedding then.”
She fought the urge to slap the face so close to her hand. Instead, she turned away, trying to ignore the whispers of how romantic it was.
“Tomorrow, my love, tomorrow.” With a look that could only be described as a threat, Ben was gone.
She should have felt relief as she watched him leave. Even more relief at noticing that Mr. Lawson had also disappeared. She gathered the dishes and brought them next door to the parsonage. But when she entered the kitchen, the murderous glance her sister Rose shot her only brought more discomfort.
“You evil, evil sister,” Rose hissed, standing in Mary’s way. “Oh, I recognized him right away. All those trips to the mercantile and errands to town. To think you almost had me fooled.”
Rose knew. She’d known all along. What should have brought relief to Mary’s torment only made it worse.
“Rose, I—”
Her sister gave her another look of sheer hate. “Don’t bother. Nothing you say can make it better. When I think of all the times I had to stay at Aunt Ina’s to look after the little ones so you could go to town on an important errand.”
With a shake of her head, Rose continued, “All that time, you were going to see him, weren’t you?”
Mary couldn’t deny it. Couldn’t pretend that she hadn’t done her best to find every excuse in the world to see Ben, leaving Rose to mind their younger siblings. Rose hadn’t been as good as she had been at protecting them from Aunt Ina’s wrath. But Mary hadn’t known that at the time.
Or maybe she’d been too head over heels to notice.
Either way, it didn’t matter. Because Mary had been wrong, terribly wrong.
“I’m sorry,” she
