| |
* * *
Sidney could not believe his wedding day had finally arrived. He looked in the mirror in one of two back rooms at the church and thought he looked better in his new suit than he ever had before in his life. His only regret was that he had almost ruined this day by letting Belle’s fantasies get a grip in his mind. Never again would he allow a woman—or man, for that matter—to muddle his thoughts until he no longer knew which way to turn.
Irene had done nothing but attend to him and his shop ever since she’d caught Belle snooping in her purse. He’d thought several times about confessing to her his role in the scheme, but each time he came close, the coward in him came out.
There was a knock on his door and Emile entered. “How are you feeling?” he asked.
“All right,” said Sidney.
“No cold feet then? It’s not too late to change your mind, you know.”
Sidney glared at him. “What are you talking about? Why should I change my mind?”
Sidney shrugged and carefully said, “No particular reason. I just thought Belle might be on your mind. The rumors going around about her make it sound as if she and Irene are ready to duel over you... though I must say the rumors are more flattering to Irene than to Belle.”
“Belle is no longer a part of my life. She has warped my brain so entirely that for a while I could not think straight. I almost—” He stopped talking then, realizing he was about to say too much. He told his brother everything about his life, but he’d told no one that he’d asked Belle to look inside Irene’s purse.
The guilt weighed on him. He’d already heard from both Summer and Emile that Belle refused to leave the house. She wandered about from room to room all day, and at this very moment was probably seated in the parlor staring listlessly out the window, which had become her sole source of enjoyment.
Irene’s happiness, however, had never been greater. Sidney only wished his own was as great as his soon-to-be bride’s. He let out a sigh and let his chin drop to his chest. “Darn it,” he muttered.
“I’m sorry,” Emile said. “I’ll not mention Belle to you again.”
Sidney shook his head. “That’s not it. I’ve got to talk to Irene. There’s something I must confess to her before I go before God and take her hand. I must stop playing such a coward.”
He left the room then. Emile had a confused look on his face but stayed where he was, his brotherly sensibilities enough to tell him to stand back just now.
Sidney knocked on Irene’s door and heard a voice call to him from inside. “Who is it?”
“It’s Sidney. I need to speak with Irene.”
The door opened, and Meadow’s head peeked out. “You can’t be here,” she said at once. “It’s bad luck to see the bride before the ceremony.”
Sidney nodded. “I know, but I must speak with her nevertheless.”
“It’s all right, Meadow,” said Irene from behind the door. “I don’t believe in superstitions.”
“Well, I do,” said Meadow, who shut the door. He knocked again and heard the two women going at it inside. A minute later, the door opened, and Meadow looked at him with an irritated expression. “You have five minutes. And you cannot look at Irene as you speak to her. You must make sure and look away.”
“How am I to avoid seeing her?” he asked.
“She’s behind a dressing screen. Just keep your eyes averted and you’ll be fine.” Meadow walked away then, but she continued to cast her gaze his way as she went.
Sidney went into the room. There was a screen at the back of the room, but he saw no sign of Irene. He called out her name, and she responded in the affirmative.
He shut the door and began to pace. “I have to speak with you,” he said quickly, before he could change his mind. “There’s something I must confess.”
“Whatever it is,” said Irene, “I forgive you. Now go before Meadow charges back in here like a bull.”
He sighed. “It’s not so simple. You must hear my confession.”
She let out an exasperated sigh. “All right, go ahead, but make it fast. The ceremony is about to begin.”
Sidney stopped before the desk that was being used as a vanity and put his hands on the table. “Last week, I saw you go into that saloon and meet with that man.”
“Oh?” Irene said.
He waited to hear more, but she apparently was waiting for him.
“That’s right,” he went on. “And I went in after you.” He kicked over a large bag that was leaning against the desk, filled with rouge and powders and other such things. He’d not noticed it till now. An envelope similar to the one Belle had taken from Irene’s purse last week fell out. He bent over to put it back.
“Why did you follow me?” Irene asked.
“I thought you were going into the saloon by mistake, at first. That you didn’t realize it was such a sordid place. I went after you to warn you, then I saw you sitting with that man and I... I became suspicious.”
Sidney studied the envelope now instead of returning it to its place. The voice in his head told him to press on with what he’d been doing and put it away, but it had Irene’s name on it. The seal was the same as the last one, but it had already been broken. Today’s date was written on the outside of the envelope.
“I must stop you before you go any further,” said Irene. “I saw you in the saloon that day.”
He started. “You did?”
“Yes. After I left the saloon, I turned back because I remembered a question I’d forgotten to ask the man who’d made the travel arrangements for me, and I saw you come out, so I hid and watched you.”
The hairs on Sidney’s arms stood on end. “You did?”
“Yes, I wanted to see why you were there.” She laughed now. “How silly that we both had such misgivings about the other. If only we’d spoken to each other right away, all confusion might have been avoided. Of course, I realized quite quickly you’d been following me, but later I understood why when I caught Belle in my bag. Clearly, she’d put ideas into your head.”
The envelope in his hand began to burn. He knew that Irene was lying. He wasn’t entirely sure how he knew; he just did. He opened the envelope and pulled out the parchment that lay hidden inside. It was not a honeymoon schedule as he’d seen last time. This seemed to be a list of trains running back and forth between Missouri and Kansas... and every stop they made as well as the conductor’s names with amounts of money written in next to them.
“Have you seen the travel man since then?” he asked her.
“Not at all,” said Irene. “And I thank God I had no need to. He was an unpleasant sort of fellow.”
Sidney drew in a breath. “Are you certain you’ve not seen him again?”
She hesitated. “Well, perhaps once. In passing only, though. Why?”
He stared at the paper before him. It was written in the same hand, with the same seal. It must have come from the same man. Which meant Irene was lying to him.
“Irene...” he said, his voice dropping. “I can’t marry you unless you’re honest with me.”
She stepped out from behind the screen now in a white wedding gown that fell around her in waves of ruffles and lace, and they looked at each other. She saw the envelope in his hand and, without a word, walked across the room and snatched it from him. “You’re no better than that snoopy friend of yours.”
“Irene...” he said.
“You’re going to break our engagement because of a train schedule?” she demanded. “I was only checking the dates of departure for our honeymoon. I was afraid we might have to change things since we postponed the wedding last week, but luckily nothing interferes with our plans.”
She tossed the letter back into her bag and glared at him. Sidney wanted to believe her... but he couldn’t. Something in her eyes spoke of betrayal. A brightness which gave away her lie. He hadn’t thought of it before, but he was beginning to think it had been there since the very day they’d met.
“I’m sorry,” Sidney said. “I can’t go through with this.”
Irene’s eyes flowed over with tears. “You’re not serious.”
“I’m afraid I am.”
“Belle has her hooks into you,” she said. “That’s all this is.”
“That’s not it,” he said and meant it. He felt that his eyes were finally open, and now that they were, he could not close them again.
The tears that streamed down her cheeks suddenly paused as if on cue. She took a step toward him, and Sidney took a step back. “You’ll be sorry for this,” she said, her voice filled with hatred, then she turned and left the room just as Meadow reappeared.
“You saw her in her gown!” Meadow cried, yelling at Sidney. “I told you that’s bad luck! Now you’re bound to catch the same cold my stepchildren had last week, poor things. Or maybe you’ll both catch a cold, or your honeymoon train will derail. Or worse!”
Sidney looked at her. “There’s no need to worry,” he said, his heart pounding. “We’ve had all the bad luck we’re going to get. The wedding’s off.” He turned and left the room before Meadow could question him further and hurried out of the church feeling like a skunk, but at least he was a free skunk. Now, he just had to find Belle.
* * *
