Chapter Twenty-One
The schoolyard was quiet this time when Rachel arrived.
She had deliberately waited until Mason had arrived at home to make sure that the children wouldn’t be there.
She wanted the chance to speak to Jennifer privately—but she could only hope that luck would be on her side, and that Ted Levine would not be in there too.
She hesitated outside the door. The wind that blew around her felt ominous, as if the very air was trying to warn her away from this encounter.
It was a bit fiercer and colder than she would have expected, and she hadn’t dressed accordingly.
She wore no coat over her thin brown dress.
Rachel wrapped her arms around herself to protect against the chill, and to hold herself together against the uneasy feeling blossoming within her.
The wind doesn’t mean anything. That dread is coming from me, because I know now that Ted Levine really is an unkind man. I’m afraid to meet him.
She closed her eyes and offered a brief prayer, murmured aloud, but just barely.
“God, be with me—help me to make Jennifer see that this man is no good for her. Help me to show her the danger she’s in so that she can get herself out of this predicament before something happens that she’ll always regret. ”
Steeling herself, she walked to the door and tugged on the handle.
The door didn’t budge.
Rachel frowned and pulled again, but she might as well have been trying to drag the whole schoolhouse along by that handle—nothing was moving.
She stepped to the side, to one of the windows, cupped her hands around her face, and peered in.
The schoolroom was dark and empty. Nobody was here.
Rachel’s stomach sank. This was a possibility she had not considered, although of course she should have—that Jennifer would simply go home as soon as the students left.
She had pictured her stepsister remaining at the schoolhouse for a few hours, perhaps to prepare her lessons for the following day.
But now it occurred to her that she was only thinking of things that way because that was what she would have done in Jennifer’s shoes.
If she’d had a job while she was living in Nathan Foster’s house, she would have spent as much time as possible out of the house.
She would have remained at her job for hours past the time when she could have chosen to go home.
Jennifer, though…of course she didn’t have that same trepidation about returning home. She wasn’t forced to work as a maid in that house. It was probably a source of relief to her to get home at the end of a work day.
She turned around and looked back out over the schoolyard.
It was dead and empty, as though no one had been here in a very long time.
There were no toys left out in the grass, no footprints in the dirt to indicate that children had been at play.
They had been, of course, and she knew it.
Mason had been at school today. But there was something about seeing the schoolhouse and the schoolyard abandoned that made them seem drained of all life, strangely sad.
What would it have been like if she had arrived here to find Jennifer with Mr. Levine?
She shuddered at the very idea of it—that man made her skin crawl.
But it was for that very reason that she couldn’t allow Jennifer to remain in contact with Levine.
She had to reach her stepsister. She had to give warning.
And she felt suddenly sure that she needed to do it today.
I’ll go to their house. I’ll find her there, and I’ll tell her what I know.
Her heart pounded as she crossed the yard and passed through the school gate.
Back out on the main road, she took the familiar route that would lead to her family’s house.
Her surroundings faded away. If anyone was around, if anyone was paying attention to her, it didn’t register.
She was aware of the sweat on her palms—she wiped them uselessly on her skirts—and of a buzzing between her ears.
The last time she had seen her mother, it had gone so poorly. Sandra had begged her to come home, and Rachel had refused. What would her mother say when she saw Rachel now? Would Rachel be welcomed or turned away?
It doesn’t matter. I don’t need their approval. I need to speak to Jennifer, that’s all. Once I’ve done that, I can leave and go back home, and nothing anyone says or does will impact me.
As she resolved this, she arrived at her stepfather’s house. The door was closed, and so were all the windows—she couldn’t see in. But as she watched, the pale blue curtains in the window moved slightly. Someone was moving around in the kitchen.
Oh, please, God, let that be Jennifer. If anyone else answers that door, it’s going to be unpleasant for all of us.
She’d come all this way. There was no choice now but to take the final steps. She headed up the stone path that led to the front door and knocked before she could permit herself to hesitate—before fear could get the better of her.
There was a clattering from inside, and for a moment, Rachel couldn’t breathe.
Her mind called up multiple images at once.
Jennifer answering and inviting her into the house—they would sit at the table and discuss Mason, and things might be friendly.
Nathan, if he was the one to come to the door, would order her off the property, and would refuse her the chance to see Jennifer.
But the worst outcome would be if it was her mother who opened the door.
How would Rachel face her? Every time she looked at her mother, she saw the woman who had raised her.
The woman who had loved her so much when she was young—she still looked the same, even though the years had taken a toll.
Sandra’s face was lined now, and her hair was gray, but she was the same woman, and it was horrible to see the shell of her mother.
Rachel would have to face that scooped-out, hollow feeling if she was going to get to Jennifer, and she wouldn’t turn her back on her stepsister.
The door began to open.
Rachel caught her breath…
Then she gasped and flung herself forward. “Oh, Edith!”
Her old friend caught her in her arms, laughing in surprise. Her embrace was warm and familiar as she held Rachel against her soft body, and for a moment, Rachel was a little girl again. Tears threatened, even though she was nothing but happy to see Edith.
“Well, my goodness!” Edith said with a happy laugh.
“What are you doing here, Rachel? I didn’t expect to see you back anytime soon!
” She hesitated, holding Rachel at arm’s length, and Rachel saw that she wore the same brown apron they had once both worn.
“You look better than you did. You have color in your cheeks. You’ve been outside—well, of course you have, everyone has seen you riding around town with that man.
Oh, goodness, listen to me go on. Come in, quickly. ”
“Is everyone at home?” Rachel followed Edith into the house, discreetly wiping a few tears from her cheeks. Edith had been kind enough to pretend she hadn’t noticed them, but it was almost certain that she had. Edith always noticed things like that.
“Your mother is asleep,” Edith said. “Taking an afternoon nap—shall I fetch her for you?”
“No,” Rachel said quickly. “No. Let her rest.” Let me avoid having to see her. It’s not a good idea. It will be too difficult for both of us.
She pulled out a chair and sat at the kitchen table. It felt odd and forbidden to sit here in the middle of the day like this. She and Edith had always taken their meals either early in the morning or late in the evening. During the day, servants did not eat at the kitchen table.
But I’m not a servant in this house. Not anymore. I’m a guest.
“Let me get you something,” Edith said. “Water? Lemonade?”
“Edith, you don’t have to do that,” Rachel said quickly. “We’re friends. It’s not your job to serve me. Please, sit with me.”
“Well, I’d like a drink,” Edith said. “Will you join me for one?” She didn’t wait for an answer. She took out a pitcher of lemonade and poured some into two glasses. Then she placed one before Rachel and pushed the sugar bowl toward her as well.
Rachel smiled. “You remembered.” She added two lumps and stirred.
“Of course I remembered!” Edith beamed. “How many times have you and I had lemonade together? Oh, you must tell me everything about your new life. Is that man treating you well?”
“Yes, well enough.” Rachel pondered as Edith took the seat opposite her at the table.
She hadn’t come here to talk about Adam, and maybe she wasn’t ready to do it.
It would be difficult to put a finger on exactly how things stood between the two of them.
It was enough that Edith not have to worry about it.
“So my mother is asleep,” she repeated, taking a sip of her lemonade.
It was perfectly sweetened, and though Rachel had not felt homesick until this very moment, a pang of grief suddenly hit her for the life she’d left behind.
Things had been difficult here, but there had been good things too.
Edith was one of those things. Her friend was truly irreplaceable.
“Are Nathan and Jennifer at home?” She held her breath.
“Nathan is in town.” Edith gave her a soft smile. “And Jennifer is in her room,” she said. “She’s been spending a lot of time there lately. I think she may be leaving us sooner than her father realizes.”
An uncertain tremor passed through Rachel. “What do you mean? Why would Jennifer be leaving home?”
“I think she may have an admirer.” Edith’s eyes were far away, her expression gentle.
She rested a hand on the surface of the table, and Rachel could all but feel the soft strength in her touch.
“She’s been receiving letters. She doesn’t want Nathan to know about it.
I’ve seen her rushing out to collect the mail, sorting through it, running back to her room with something hidden in the folds of her skirts…
someone is writing to her, and she’s keeping it a secret. It sounds like an admirer to me.”
“Why are you so happy about it?” Rachel stiffened, thinking of who the admirer might be.
Edith’s gaze came back into focus. She frowned at Rachel.
“It’s a beautiful thing, falling in love,” she said.
Her voice wasn’t stern, exactly, but there was a light rebuke there.
“I know you and Jennifer haven’t always had the easiest relationship, but it would behoove you to find forgiveness in your heart and to wish her well.
Remember what the Bible taught us about forgiveness.
Scripture says we ought to be generous with it, even when it challenges us—especially in those moments. Isn’t that what we always discussed?”
Rachel shook her head. Edith had misunderstood her reaction, but it would be too difficult to explain everything now. “I need to speak to Jennifer,” she said, getting to her feet. “I need to talk to her before Nathan comes home—I don’t want to still be here when he returns.”
Edith rose to her feet too, and now she did rest her hand on Rachel’s shoulder. “That’s wise,” she murmured. “I expect him back in about an hour—be quick. No one need know you were here, unless you’d like me to fetch your mother?”
Her voice was wary, and Rachel was already shaking her head as the question was asked.
The part of her heart that still belonged to her childhood self would have loved to see her mother, to beg for love from the woman who had shut her out so long ago.
But she wouldn’t get it. There was no reason to invite that heartbreak.
***
Jennifer was sitting on the edge of her bed when Rachel opened the door without knocking. She started and shoved something under her pillow. Rachel saw a flash of white and heard a crinkle that let her know it had been a piece of paper.
“What are you doing here?” Jennifer asked, a note of guilt in her voice. “You’re not back to stay, are you?”
“No,” Rachel said mildly. If she let on how urgent this was, Jennifer would get her guard up. “I wanted to talk to you, that’s all.”
“Talk to me about what? About Mason?” Jennifer rose to her feet, but she glanced at her pillow, betraying the fact that she was still thinking about what was hidden there.
Rachel decided to get to the point. “Jennifer…are you receiving letters from Ted Levine?”
A flash of anger darkened Jennifer’s face. She took a step forward—and a little to the side, positioning herself between Rachel and the pillow. “What business is it of yours if someone writes me?”
Rachel spoke quickly. “He isn’t a good man, Jennifer. You need to be careful.” She held up both hands, palms outward. “Adam told me all about him—they have history. He’s careless with women’s hearts and with the law, and I wouldn’t want to see you get in over your head.”
“No.” Jennifer’s voice was low. “You just don’t want me to be happy.
You’ve always been jealous of me. Jealous because Father loves me more, and because I was able to go to school and become a teacher and you’ve never been anything but a maid, and you never will.
” She was shaking, her hands clenched in fists.
“You want to ruin what I have because you’re so jealous.
” Her voice broke on the final word. “You don’t want me to be happy.
I knew it when you came to the school and saw us that day.
I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt.
I tried to believe you could truly be my sister. But you can’t. You never could.”
“Jennifer…”
“Get out.” Jennifer turned her back on Rachel.
“Never come here again. Don’t talk to me about Ted.
Get out now, or I’ll yell for your mother, and you know that once she comes out here, you won’t be able to leave.
You won’t get out of this house before Father returns home. I know you want to do that.”
We really are sisters. Only sisters could know each other well enough to target each other’s fears and insecurities so perfectly.
And because Jennifer had found the right thing to say, Rachel retreated.
But she couldn’t leave without trying one more time. “Please think about what I’m telling you,” she implored. “I wouldn’t lie about this, Jennifer. Ted Levine is not a good man. You should get away from him while you still can.”