Chapter Thirty-Two
“Now, really, this is too much,” the boarding house mistress said. “I don’t know why it’s hard to understand that I keep this house as a place for women.”
“I’m not looking for a room.” Adam felt as if ants were crawling under his skin. “I’m just looking for someone. A…friend of mine. She told me that she would be staying here.”
His heart pounded painfully. What if he had taken too long to get here?
Rachel must have left the ranch hours before he had noticed her absence.
And once he had noticed, it had taken him several more hours to determine that he was going to go after her.
He had been quick once he’d made the decision, but it had still meant a lot of wasted time.
But she said she wouldn’t be on a train until tomorrow at least. That was what was in the letter. She should still be here.
I’ll just feel better when I see her.
The boarding house mistress was a rail-thin woman in her fifties with gray hair and a narrow face.
She stared at him in hostile dislike. “You can’t believe I’m going to give you any information about the women staying in my establishment,” she scoffed.
“You must see how unsafe a place this would be if I told every man who walked in off the street who was here.”
“I already know she’s here,” Adam said. “I’m not asking you to do anything except let her know that I’m here to see her. You can do that, can’t you? That doesn’t put anyone in any danger.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Why don’t you tell me who you’re here to see,” she said slowly. “I’ll decide if I’m going to do anything about it once you’ve done that.”
“Rachel Foster.” He gripped his hands in fists, trying to control the urge to start shouting. “She’s here with her sister Jennifer. All you need to do is give them my name—Adam Summers. I’m sure they’ll want to see me.”
He wasn’t sure at all. If Rachel had wanted a conversation with him, she’d have had one before leaving this morning.
Maybe she would hear his name and tell the house mistress to send him away.
And if she did, he would have to go. It was the only decent thing to do, much as it would destroy him to do it. He would respect her decision.
But first, he was going to try one more time.
He looked around the boarding house. It didn’t seem that well taken care of.
The floorboards were rough and full of splinters.
There was a long table in the middle of the room—that was where meals were served, he imagined—but it was covered with dust. There were circles in the dust, places where plates must habitually be set.
The thought of Rachel spending time here, even a short amount of time, made his skin crawl.
She was so tidy, so committed to keeping things clean.
She must really want to get away from me.
I have to believe that she’ll change her mind when I apologize for the way I spoke to her—for turning her away. I have to believe she’ll want to come back.
At the sound of Rachel’s name, though, the house mistress’s eyes had grown wide. The hostile look disappeared from her face. “You don’t know,” she said.
“What don’t I know?” Fear spiked through him. It was hard to imagine that this could be anything good.
“She was here,” the house mistress told him. “They both were. But they’re gone now.”
“Gone?” The word hollowed out the pit of his stomach.
“No. That…that can’t be. They were supposed to catch a train tomorrow.
They weren’t going to leave today. That’s the reason they came here in the first place.
They needed a place to stay for the night before they left town for good.
They can’t be gone already.” His voice had taken on a pleading quality that made him feel ashamed—after all, what could this woman do about it?
If they were gone, they were gone. Could she be lying, though?
Maybe. Maybe they’re still here. Oh, please, God, let them not have slipped through my fingers!
Of course there was no answer from that quarter. Perhaps he had been wrong even to think of trusting God again. Maybe that had been a mistake. The moment he placed his faith in God after years of hesitating to do so, he was about to lose someone he cared for again.
Ruth, you were wrong. God does want to take everything away from me.
“I don’t know anything about a train,” the house mistress said. “The man—the father—he told me they were going to a chapel in Oakdale.”
“The father?” That couldn’t mean anything good. “What father? Whose father?” There was really only one possible answer to that question, and yet he desperately yearned to have it wrong somehow.
“I don’t know whose father he was. He referred to his daughter,” the house mistress said. “But he didn’t tell me which of the women he was talking about. Although now you tell me they were sisters, so I suppose he was both of their father.”
“They left with him? Willingly?” Shivers were running through his body.
He clenched his hands—it wouldn’t do to give in to the urge to strike something right now.
The rage he felt was beyond anything he had ever experienced, though, and he didn’t know how to contain it.
“They would never have gone with him willingly. I can’t believe that.
You must have realized they were being coerced.
Why wouldn’t you involve the sheriff? Why wouldn’t you call someone and let them know what was happening? ”
“Excuse me.” The house mistress drew herself up haughtily.
“Don’t speak to me that way, Mr. Summers.
I run a very responsible establishment. I care for the women who stay here, and I would never let someone be dragged off against her will.
This was their father. And what’s more, he had one of the women’s fiancé with him—again, he didn’t tell me whose, but they both seemed very relieved to have found these two. ”
“You mean to tell me that you rented a room to two women who were very obviously trying to find a place of their own to stay and then just handed them over to the first men who came looking for them? What kind of place is this?” His voice was loud, and he knew he was probably disturbing people, but he didn’t care.
She folded her arms and stared at him. “This is a fine thing to say, but you must realize you were just doing the very thing you’re accusing these men of.
I wonder if Miss Foster and her sister were trying to hide from you.
Perhaps they went readily with their father because they knew he would keep them safe from the person they were truly trying to be free of. ”
“You said they were going to a chapel in Oakdale.” There was no time to argue with this woman. “Do you know the name of the chapel?”
“I think I’ve given you enough information about these people’s private affairs,” she told him brusquely. “I think you ought to leave now, before I do involve the authorities.”
“Listen,” he told her, feeling desperate. “The men who came and collected those women are not good people. Didn’t you notice that one of them had a bruise on her face?”
“I did notice that,” the mistress said sharply.
“I wouldn’t like to guess as to what happened to her, but I will say that when a man turns up asking questions about a woman, clearly not knowing where she is, it almost always gives me reason for concern.
I do not think your intentions are pure, and I am not going to give you any further information.
Please leave. I will send someone for the constable if you remain here any longer. ”
There was no point in arguing about it, since leaving was what he needed to do anyway. “If they come back here,” he said, “for any reason, please tell them that I was here. Even if you’re right about me, it can only be to their benefit to know that I was looking for them.”
“Oh, have no fear about that,” she told him darkly. “I will most certainly let them know if I see them.”
Adam nodded, turned, and left the boarding house.
It was so dark and dingy inside that for a moment being out in the sunlight felt like the solution to a problem.
For a moment, Adam could allow himself to believe that things were going to be all right.
All he needed to do was to find them, and he had a good idea of where to start.
Oakdale was a small town. How many chapels could it hold?
He stood for a moment in the patchy grass of the boarding house lawn and tried not to allow his spirits to sink. He had to remain strong. He had to believe that there was a solution to this.
But the more time passed, the more it weighed on him just how much peril Rachel and Jennifer were in.
They had been taken by the two men most likely to wish them harm.
Nathan Foster had shown through years of neglect that Rachel’s well-being was of no concern to him.
He would use her however he thought best to get him what he wanted.
And as for Levine, he’d already caused harm to Jennifer, and he had threatened Rachel the last time he had seen her.
He wouldn’t hesitate to do the same thing again. And Foster wouldn’t stop him if he did.
I have to get to them as quickly as I possibly can. I have to stop Levine before he does serious harm.
He had tied Chestnut to the rickety fence that ran around the property. The horse stood with his head erect. He had not begun to graze, nor had he allowed his neck to drop idly. Adam had the strange sense that the horse understood something urgent was happening.
He unlooped the rope from the fence and used the rail to boost himself up onto Chestnut’s back. “We’ve got a bit of a ride ahead,” he murmured, slapping the horse gently on the shoulder. “Oakdale isn’t too far, but we’ve got to go quickly.”
He kicked Chestnut into motion. Again, it was as if the horse understood—he broke into a gallop as quickly as if he had been taking verbal directions.
Adam was thankful for the fact that he had such a well-trained, reliable horse.
In a moment like this, it was vital. He had to get to Oakdale before it was too late.
If they’re going to the chapel, it means they mean to go through with the idea of a marriage between Jennifer and Levine.
I know there’s no way either of the women went along willingly.
That means that Jennifer is going to be married against her will…
and it also means they had some plan in mind when they forced Rachel to go with them.
They could have just left her behind. They chose not to.
It was an idea that filled him with cold horror. Whatever they wanted with Rachel, it couldn’t possibly be anything good. It would probably be something ruinous, and the only way to stop it would be to reach them before the marriage was finalized.
Because once they left that chapel, who knew whether he would ever be able to find them again?
He pushed Chestnut to go even faster, and once more, he prayed—God, be with Rachel until I get there. Please don’t let any harm befall her. If you have ever been with me, please, I beg of You—be with me now.