Chapter Thirty-One
The boarding house was on the outskirts of town. It was a dusty, dingy place. Jennifer clutched Rachel’s suitcase more tightly to her, as though it was going to protect her from some unseen threat, and drew back toward the wall.
Rachel could understand the way her sister was feeling.
This place was definitely an adjustment.
There was dirt on the wooden planks that made up the floor.
The lighting was low, making it difficult to see into the corners of the room and casting ominous shadows on the faces of the people in the room.
Everyone looked like a phantom to Rachel, not like a real person—although perhaps that was because her life felt so transient at the moment.
She was caught between her past and her future, and it was impossible to latch onto anything at all.
She and Jennifer were shown to a tiny room with two beds and a single window by a tired-looking maid with hair falling out of a bun at the back of her head.
“Lunch will be served in an hour,” the maid said.
“And if you need anything, you can let a member of the staff know.” She withdrew to let them settle in.
“I’m starving.” Jennifer dropped the suitcase she had been holding, walked over to one of the beds, and collapsed on it. “I can’t believe lunch is still an hour away.”
“I can’t believe lunch is that close,” Rachel said. “It was so early in the day when we left.”
“We’ve been walking a long time,” Jennifer pointed out.
That was true. The walk had seemed interminable.
Rachel had spent most of it recalling how many times she’d made the journey into town on horseback or in a wagon, and how much easier it had been.
She had wished they could have taken a horse, but of course that would have been stealing, and she’d never have done such a thing.
“You made the journey on foot the night you came to us,” she told Jennifer.
“I had no choice,” Jennifer said. “And I also had no suitcase. It was easier that night. Besides…” She shrugged, moving her shoulders up and down even though she was lying flat on her back. “It didn’t seem such a long journey then. Maybe that was just because I was so afraid. I don’t know.”
“You’re not afraid now?”
“What is there to be afraid of? Nobody knows we’re here.” Jennifer’s voice was light. “And soon enough, we’ll be away from this town for good, and then they’ll never find us.”
Rachel walked to the window and drew the beige linen curtains closed.
She was less certain of their safety than Jennifer seemed to be.
And it wasn’t true that nobody knew where they were.
She had mentioned it in her note to Adam.
He wouldn’t tell anyone, of course. Things had ended badly between them, but she trusted him not to do anything that would compromise her safety.
But still…it didn’t seem impossible that they might be found.
“Maybe we should see if lunch can be brought to us in our room,” she said.
Jennifer turned her head on the pillow so she was looking at Rachel.
“This isn’t that kind of place,” she pointed out.
“Even I can tell that. This isn’t a place that brings you your meals on a tray in your room.
If we don’t go to lunch, we won’t get any lunch.
And I am not going to miss lunch. We didn’t get any breakfast.”
Rachel sighed, turning her back to Jennifer. She pressed both palms against the wall to steady herself. This wasn’t going to be easy.
She had come to realize that Jennifer’s life with Nathan had been just as tough as her own had.
But the difficulties had come in very different ways.
There had been so many days when she’d had nothing to eat, or when she and Edith had needed to sneak into the kitchen late at night to find something for themselves.
Meanwhile, she was sure Jennifer had never missed a meal.
She might have dealt with a sharper form of disapproval from her father, but she had never gone hungry, and that meant she wasn’t prepared for it now.
What will it be like trying to build a new life with her? The challenges we are equipped to face are so different.
But Jennifer was right, in her way. They did need to eat food.
Lunch at the boarding house was included in the fee they had paid to stay here.
They hadn’t been able to sell the jewels yet—they were waiting until they reached another city so that there would be no chance of Ted Levine finding out what they were up to—so for now, they were making their way using Rachel’s earnings from her time on Adam’s ranch and what Jennifer had managed to keep of her teaching salary.
Nathan had taken the bulk of that, but she had a little put aside.
Money was a concern, though. They couldn’t afford to say no to a free lunch.
“All right,” Rachel said with a note of warning in her voice.
“We’ll go down. But listen to me, Jennifer.
” She walked over to Jennifer’s bed and sat down on the foot of it.
“We have to be sensible about this,” she said.
“We can’t allow ourselves to linger down there.
People might see us. They might notice us.
Two young women traveling together…that’s a conspicuous thing, even if no one at all was searching for us.
And we know that you’re being looked for.
If we see anyone suspicious downstairs, we must leave at once, and come back up here before we’re noticed. We can’t afford to take chances.”
“Maybe he’s given up on trying to find me,” Jennifer said, but there was doubt in her voice.
Rachel shook her head. “He was very angry when he came to the house looking for you,” she said.
“I don’t believe he’ll give up easily. And Ted Levine is well-connected in this town.
We may be just outside of Silverleaf, not within the town limits, but there could easily be people here who know him and are willing to take information to him.
” She sighed. “I’m just not sure we should go down there at all.
Or at least, you shouldn’t. Maybe you should let me go and get some food for you. I’ll bring it back up here.”
Jennifer heaved a dramatic sigh and pressed both palms to her face. “I’m going to be cooped up forever, I suppose.”
“Only until we get out of this town and I can feel confident that you’re safe from him.
” Rachel took Jennifer’s hand. “You can’t imagine how it felt,” she added, her voice wavering slightly.
“Telling you what kind of man he was, only for you to ignore me. I don’t blame you, of course.
I know why that wasn’t something you were ready to hear.
But even so…” She closed her eyes. “I’m determined to get you away from Silverleaf, and away from him, with no further suffering. You’ve been through enough.”
Jennifer sat up and wrapped her arms around Rachel. “You are truly the best sister anyone has ever had,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry for making you worry.”
Rachel rose to her feet, thinking that she would go downstairs and see if she could speak to the cook about putting a plate together. But all at once, there was a knock at the door.
A shock of excitement shot through her.
Could it be Adam? Perhaps he’s seen the error of his decision and come to get me!
The idea stole her breath. All at once, she understood that she truly wanted to go back to Adam—that nothing would make her happier than to see his face. She tried to control the enthusiasm rushing through her, but it was already sweeping her away on wings of wild hope.
What if it’s really him? What if everything is going to be all right?
“Stay there,” she told Jennifer firmly and rushed to the door, pulling it open.
Her heart dropped.
Ted Levine was standing there, with Nathan Foster by his side.