Chapter 8
A FEW DAYS LATER
Archie sat in the main room of the boarding house reviewing the primary school’s current curriculum.
It was thorough and thoughtfully planned out.
He didn’t see many changes he would make, beyond a few small tweaks here and there—which was excellent, because he didn’t really have the focus to overhaul a single lesson plan, let alone a whole curriculum at the moment.
Not when all he could think about was that he had a son he’d never known about.
A son! Did he love books as much as he did? He seemed intelligent, from the little he’d spoken with him, but did young Samuel Sutton have his penchant for learning or was he more practical like his mother? He had so many questions.
Questions Gertie clearly did not want to answer.
“Excuse me, Mr. Goodman, but there is a man here to see you.” Mrs. Potter’s face was pinched, her mouth drawn into a flat line and her eyes scrunched up.
Whoever was here to see him, the lady of the house did not approve. Not in the least. The question was, who was here to see him? “Please send him in here. If needed, we’ll adjourn to my room. Thank you.”
She nodded curtly and turned to disappear.
A few moments later she returned, ushering in a man clad in plain brown clothing.
Nothing was particularly remarkable about his dress or person, except for how unremarkable he was.
But despite that, it was easy to recognize Charles Fletcher, Gertie’s father.
The man walked in looking unhappy and they hadn’t even spoken yet, though the man drew himself up to his full height and looked Archie right in the face. “Leave my daughter alone, Mr. Goodman.”
“Well, good day to you, too, Mr. Fletcher.” Archie stood up, refusing to be hovered over for what appeared to be a less than friendly visit. “I am afraid I don’t understand your demand.”
“I saw you with her in the meadow near the cottage the other day. You nearly ruined her life once, I won’t bloody well watch you do so again.” The man’s face turned a deep crimson color.
To be fair, Archie couldn’t be sure if it stemmed from embarrassment at his failings as a father or his anger at the moment.
But it didn’t truly matter. “Mr. Fletcher, your daughter is a grown woman and with a grown child of her own. I am quite certain she is capable of sending me packing if she so chooses, without any further interference from a wastrel father.” Archie’s anger at the interfering man roared to life in the most unexpected manner.
Impossibly, the man’s face somehow turned redder. “She doesn’t need the likes of you in her life. If you don’t go away quietly, I shall go to Reverend Mason.”
Archie snorted derisively. “Go to him and tell him what, exactly? That I am courting a local widow?”
Mr. Fletcher was incandescently angry now, and the first inkling of misgivings scratched at the back of Archie’s mind. Perhaps he’d let his own anger get the best of him here? But it was too late for such hindsight.
The man stepped forward menacingly and spoke in a low growl rather than the belligerent bellow of before. “No, I’ll tell him that you got my daughter pregnant out of wedlock and refused to do right by her—which makes you morally unfit to teach the children of Rivenhall.”
Archie sucked in a sharp breath. The man was threatening to ruin his career!
He’d be dismissed immediately if Mr. Fletcher laid such claims, true or not—at least, mostly true or not.
“I was never given the chance to do the proper thing. That is an unfair characterization, sir. I loved your daughter then and I love her now.”
Oh my. He did still love her. That was a bit of a shocking revelation.
Archie had realized immediately that he was still attracted to her, that he maybe even cared for her…
but he’d thought his heart long closed off to such deeper emotions.
This was quite the problem. “May I also add, Mr. Fletcher, that if you choose to openly make such a claim to Reverend Mason, you will be damning your daughter as well as myself. What of her reputation? What of your grandson’s future in Rivenhall?
I do not believe you would wish to harm them in such a fashion. ”
Gertie’s father hesitated and stared mulishly as his words sank in.
He seemed frozen in place for long moments until the muscle along his jaw began ticking.
“I am sure the good Reverend will see fit to protect the innocent in all this if I tell him. Leave her alone, or better yet, leave Rivenhall entirely. You have two weeks to decide what your priorities are—or I go to the Reverend.”
The man stormed out of Potter’s Boardinghouse, leaving a stunned Archie standing in the main sitting room. Would the man truly risk damaging Gertie’s reputation like that? He hoped her father wouldn’t, but something in his gut said otherwise.
He needed to speak to Gertie and ascertain what her thoughts were. This affected her as much as him, and there was no way he would not be fully forthcoming with her about what was happening. He refused to let anyone drive a wedge between them without her consent this time—not even her own father.
Perhaps only two heartbeats later, Reverend Mason walked into the sitting room of the boardinghouse. Archie’s throat nearly closed up as he considered whether his new employer might have overheard any part of his conversation with Mr. Fletcher.
“Good morning, Mr. Goodman.” The always taciturn Reverend Mason nodded as he strode in.
“Good morning, Reverend Mason.” He nodded in return and motioned to the settee across from where he had been sitting before his first visitor had arrived. “Please join me.” A pot of tea and a pot of coffee sat on the low table in front of them. Archie motioned toward the vessels. “Tea or coffee?”
They both sat down, and the Reverend inclined his head politely. “Neither, thank you. I was coming to tell you the cottage is nearly ready for you to move in. I noticed Charles Fletcher was just leaving.”
“Yes, he stopped by to have a word with me.” Archie jammed a finger down the collar of his shirt and tugged. Were his clothes shrinking?
“Ah. He is one of my flock who has returned after years on the wrong path. Much like teaching, it is reassuring to know one has reached their congregation with their message of the Lord.” The Reverend nodded.
Archie’s stomach knotted. Had the man overheard their conversation? Did he know about Sam? He reached out for his cup of tea, but his hand shook violently, rattling the china cup on the saucer as he tried to pick it up.
“Are you feeling all right?” the Reverend asked suddenly, intent on Archie.
“I went for a brisk walk this morning and haven’t had breakfast yet. I perhaps overexerted myself in doing so.” Archie thought he could feel a fine sheen of sweat breaking out on his forehead as the Reverend watched him closely.
“Well then, perhaps I should leave you to find yourself some sustenance.” The Reverend rose. “We can chat tomorrow, perhaps.”
“Yes, of course. I’ll come by the rectory.” Archie stood on legs that felt as solid as a newborn calf’s. “Thank you for stopping by, Reverend.”
With that the man departed, leaving Archie to sink into his chair once more.
What on earth was he supposed to do?
Perhaps he should just do as Gertie had asked, and leave her and Sam alone. Let them live their lives in quiet obscurity. It certainly seemed the safer option.
But now her father is demanding he leave the town altogether.
With no job and surely a cloud hanging over him for leaving so suddenly, he would be hard-pressed to find another position.
Whether he stayed or went, he was putting his career at risk.
At least if he stayed, he also had a chance at having a family—however belated that might be.
With a new determination to fight for the people he cared about most this time, Archie stood and strode from the sitting room. He needed to go find Gertie and discuss this with her.
After all, it was her decision too.
Gertie sat in the lodgings over the bakery and waited for Archie to arrive.
He’d sent a note asking to meet with her, and it was best if they did so in private.
Or at least, in relative privacy. The timing of Archie’s request was excellent, as she’d sent Sam over to the surrounding villages to make deliveries.
He would be gone most of the day, leaving her free to meet Archie while the apprentice they’d hired to come in one day a week manned the store.
She was terribly nervous about why he’d asked to come.
After their time together in the meadow, she’d known he would eventually demand a formal introduction to her son—to their son.
Was that what this was? He’d stayed away for a few days, but she supposed he’d needed time to digest the realization that he was a father—however belated that knowledge might be.
A knock at the door made her jump.
Drawing in a deep breath, Gertie rose and went to the door.
She swung it open to find Archie there, looking handsome as always with his spectacles perched on his nose and that one unruly lock of dark hair flopping in his eyes.
She resisted the urge to reach up and push it out of the way for him and instead stepped aside, inviting him in.
“Good afternoon, Archie.” She tried to smile at him, but all she could manage was a nervous quirk of her lips. What did he want from her?
“Gertie.” He seemed as wound up as she felt. As though someone had tuned the strings of a piano too tight.
“Please, have a seat.” She waved a hand at one of the four chairs in the space.
Without a word, he took a seat, his back rigid and upright. “I’m afraid I come bearing bad news.”
“Oh, my.” Gertie sank into her chair and clasped her hands in her lap. “Well, I suppose you had best get to it. News like that does not get better with age.”
Archie barked a mirthless laugh that only caused the hairs on the back of her neck to rise in response.
“You are not wrong. Nothing is going to make this better, so I shall simply put it forth for you. Your father has come to me and demanded I leave you alone—no, leave Rivenhall entirely. Furthermore, he has threatened that if I do not, he will go to Reverend Mason and inform him of our history and its…result, while claiming that I deserted you.”
Gertie thought she was most certainly going to be revisiting her lunch for a moment as his words sank in. Her father? Threatening to expose the truth he’d worked so hard to hide all those years ago? “But—but why?”
Archie looked as distraught as she felt.
“I believe he sees this as a chance to redeem himself as a father. To defend your honor or some such. I think he is certain I shall leave in lieu of putting you at risk, so it is possibly an empty threat on his part—but the Reverend walked into the boarding house moments after he left. I’m worried he might have already learned our secret, though he did not say anything at the time. ”
Gertie’s lungs tightened as she attempted to draw breath.
This just got worse and worse. Once again, Papa was blundering into her life, and in an attempt to be fatherly, he was making a mess of things.
“Oh Archie, I am so sorry.” Her gut churned.
“I must apologize for my father’s bullying.
I shall go and deal with him straight away—I assure you, he will not run you out of town. ”
Archie offered her a worried smile. “While I appreciate your effort, I am not sure you can do any good if the Reverend overheard any of our conversation.”
“Let me start with my father. Then we can broach the issue of the Reverend if required together.” She offered him a smile that was admittedly wan, but it was the best she could muster.
“Thank you, Gertie. I don’t really deserve such kindness after leaving you as I did.” He winced as he acknowledged the truth—despite the extenuating circumstances.
She pressed her lips together. “Tell me something, Archie. If Reverend Goodman had sent you my letter, what would you have done?”
His brow drew together in confusion. “What do you mean, what would I have done? I would have returned to Rivenhall and married you immediately.”
“Precisely my point. If given the opportunity to do the right thing, you most certainly would have done so. You were a good man then, Archie, just as you are now.” She smiled softly at him, knowing in her heart that her words were true. If only things weren’t so complicated now…
“Thank you, Gertie.” He laughed a little awkwardly. “I seem to be saying that to you a lot in this conversation.”
“Never you mind that. Now, let me get my coat. It seems our quiet courting has come to an end.” She grabbed her coat and turned to the door.
“Come along. You can’t stay here and have Sam walking in to find you without an explanation.
” Her smile fell. “Oh Archie, it’s not to say I won’t introduce you, not ever—but I need to explain things to him first. Tell him gently. You understand don’t you?”
He nodded. “Of course, Gertie. It seems that our secret will be out regardless of our desires, so we—you should properly prepare him.”
“Thank you, Archie. Now I’m off to see Papa so I can wallop some sense into him once again.” She gritted her teeth more than smiled as she locked up behind Archie.
The question was, would he see sense? Or was he still just as obstinate as he’d once been?