Chapter 26
The weekend passed in slow agony, and Roseanna kept the children close to her skirts – even when they were safely tucked away in the Sheriff’s living quarters.
When Hilda heard about the Chauncy family’s legal troubles, she quickly made her rounds to the local businesses on Monday. Some provided small donations to help the Sheriff and his family add tiny comforts to their home. Others vowed to refuse service to Mr. Matthews and his associates.
With the help of a winter storm that dropped twelve inches of snow in a single night, Judge Lemke was able to delay the preliminary court date until Friday, December 10 th .
Thankful for that small blessing, Roseanna redoubled her prayers and her efforts to present the best possible impression to the incoming judge. But mostly, she was overwhelmed with gratefulness for Ben’s staunch defense of her character and her children, admitting to Hilda, “He’s my hero.”
The matron’s cheeks stretched wide as a smile broke across her wind chapped face. “Just wait till you meet his Ma. You’ll see where that gumption comes from,” she advised with a wink.
“His Ma?” Roseanna blurted, suddenly more frightened of Ben’s mother than she was of Gerald Matthews.
“Don’t worry, girl. Jemima Chauncy is a salt-of-the-earth, God-fearing woman, and she’ll treat you like one of her own. You just wait, she’ll be here on Sunday, and you’ll see. She’s the woman you want on your side when it comes to any battle . . . especially one being waged in the heavenlies.”
Overwhelmed by everything she’d experienced since arriving in Roses Briar, the young mother burst into tears and burrowed her face into Hilda’s shoulder. “What am I going to do?” Roseanna wailed.
After drawing the girl toward the bed, Hilda gestured Caleb and Arthur over. “Your Ma could use some hugs, boys. Why don’t you come snuggle with her a bit while I brew up some tea.”
“Well, now what?” Ben wearily questioned after all of Rassbach’s loose papers were restacked and filed in the appropriate crates.
“Mind if I make a suggestion?” Ambrose Gilbert tentatively asked as he handed his notes through the bars of his cell.
“I’ve got nothing to lose.”
“The fella with Mr. Matthews? I’m thinking it must be Kenneth Lindsay. He’s the agent who notified us about Sheriff Danbury’s involvement with your wife. Now, don’t get feisty,” Gilbert cautioned, holding up his hands in a subtle defense. After the angry blotches faded from the Sheriff’s cheeks, he continued. “Kenneth is by the book. He is a good agent and a good man. But he’s operating in the dark. All he’s got is Gerald Matthews say so in this whole mess.
“You get word to him. Tell him to send word to Baton Rouge and Miss Sherman’s hometown. See if he can’t locate the missing sisters. If you can corroborate your wife’s story with other witness testimony, it just might give the court pause.”
Ben considered the agent’s advice and nodded his appreciation. “I’ll do that, Gilbert.”
“And don’t give up on nailing down Rassbach in the meantime,” Baxter Orville added. “We’ve got a lot of details to run down first, but you can bet once Judge Lemke signs the arrest warrants for the men who own this spur line, there’s gonna be a lot more folks looking for Simon Rassbach.”
“Excuse me,” Roseanna timidly interrupted. “I’ve got your food warming on the stove, but the boys are getting crabby. I need to get them tucked in for the night.”
“Is it that late already?” Ben questioned in surprise. Dark came early during Wisconsin winters, and it always messed with his sense of time.
“It’s after eight,” the flustered wife answered, hoping her words didn’t sound like an accusation. She remembered how her Ma scolded Pa when he was late to a meal, and Roseanna had no intention of being a quarrelsome wife.
“I’ll be down in a minute, darlin’. I wanna hug 'em all before they fall asleep,” Ben sighed, aggravated that he missed spending time with the boys that day.
Roseanna’s cheeks pinked, and she ducked her head in embarrassment. But the sweet term of endearment went straight to her heart, and a soft smile teased her lips as she hurried back to the main floor. “Darlin’,” she whispered in delight, suddenly feeling a thousand pounds lighter.
After spending a few quiet minutes with Caleb and Arthur, Ben knelt next to the borrowed cradle where Jacob was already sound asleep. “How’d you do it?” he whispered to the child, his question lingering in his mind long after Ben had settled in his cot.
“Is something bothering you?” Roseanna quietly asked as she settled on the edge of the rope bed Ben had managed to purchase from the trading post.
“I always knew the folks around Roses Briar were something special. But I realize it again every time I walk into this room lately.”
“It’s amazing, isn’t it,” Roseanna acknowledged, her voice soft with thankfulness. “It seems like Hilda manages to pull things out of thin air.”
“Like the cradle,” Ben answered in amazement. “I’m sure Atlas and Birdie intend to keep that thing full for a good many years to come. But here it is, with blankets to boot.”
“You have friends, Ben. They want to help you.”
He briefly thought about that before replying, “It’s true. We all help each other out - like that rocker. When Bjorn Jacquish delivered it a month ago, I thought Sheriff Danbury was plumb crazy. I mean, what respectable fella is gonna sit in one of those unless he’s full of years.”
Roseanna smiled, remembering the look on the former Sheriff’s face when he told her about it. “Arnold was proud of that chair. It was my wedding present. At least that’s what he said that day . . . that day when he met the stage,” she finished on a hoarse whisper.
“A month. Just a month,” the tired husband sighed. “How can that be, Rosie? I didn’t even know you or these boys existed less than thirty days ago. And now?”
“Now?” she prompted when the man went silent.
“Now I can’t wait to walk through that door each night,” he admitted. “You five have done something to me here,” Ben mused, laying a palm over his chest. “And I don’t know what I’m going to do if that man takes my sons.”