You’ve been awful quiet today,” Sally commented as she braided a ribbon into Jorgine’s hair the next afternoon. “Something troubling you?”
Jorgine glanced at her friend in the mirror. As much as she wished she could tell her friend about the previous night, it would be a mistake. How could she possibly understand the satisfaction she’d felt at delivering Lizzie’s baby or the indescribable joy of witnessing his first breath, hearing his first cry? Tears pricked the back of her eyelids even now at the beauty of it.
Yet Hudson had shown her another kind of beauty in his tender kiss.
Jorgine shook her head. “I didn’t sleep well, that’s all.”
“Probably got your nerves all worked up about last night.” She knotted her braided hair at the nape of Jorgine’s neck then reached for the hair pins. “Big Jim was none too happy with Mr. Hudson bringing you home just before dawn. I overheard Jim tell him it wasn’t fitting for a young lady like yourself to be out with a man unless he be her husband.”
She could only imagine what Hudson thought. “It couldn’t be helped.”
“Really.” She stuck a pin into one braid then stepped back, her hands on her hips. “You’d best be explaining yourself to me. I’m none too happy with Mr. Hudson either. What if your uncle’s men had come by to check on you? What then?” She shook her head. “Mr. Hudson knows better than that.”
“I guess that’s why he’s known as a rake and scalawag.” Jorgine sighed. If only Sally knew the real Hudson, the man who had held and encouraged Lizzie during her most painful hour. Her heart melted at the memory. But telling her the truth might put Hudson in danger. Better to let her friend believe the worst.
Sally scoffed. “You mean those rumors about his time in Atlanta?” She began pinning Jorgine’s hair again. “Don’t believe them.”
Jorgine stiffened. “Of course they’re true. Why, everyone says so.”
“If Mr. Hudson is a rake, then I’m pale as a bowl of sugar.” She shook her head again for good measure. “A rogue.”
Dear heavens, if Sally suspected Hudson’s secret, who else knew? Jorgine met Sally’s gaze in the mirror. “Everyone in Anderson County has heard about Hudson’s reputation.”
Sally glared back at her. “Have you ever actually talked to anyone who’s had a flirtation with Mr. Hudson? Can you name one?” Then she added, “I mean, besides you.”
“Me?” Jorgine squeaked. “When has Hudson Wallace ever flirted with me?”
“Only every time you see him. It’s like he can’t help himself with you.”
Jorgine shook her head. “You’re wrong.”
“All right then. Name someone else he’s had a flirtation with.”
“Well, there’s…” No, Jorgine had heard that from a friend of a friend. “And there’s…” But she’d never actually met the lady in question. Jorgine pressed her lips together. “But the stories from Atlanta…”
“Can anyone you know prove they’re true?”
Jorgine slumped slightly in her chair. Convincing Sally was harder than she’d anticipated. “Just because we don’t have proof doesn’t mean Hudson’s not a rake.” She chuckled. “I mean, who would want a reputation of a never-do-well rake?”
“I’ve been thinking on that.” Sally pulled up a chair and sat down next to her. “I think them stories benefit him.”
Sally was too close to the truth. Jorgine huffed. “You think he likes having such a reputation? Do his parents and Liv like it too?”
“Now listen to me,” she admonished as she straightened her collar. “Mr. Hudson always acted the gentleman before he went to Atlanta.” Sally glanced at her in the mirror. “Even when he broke your heart, he tried to be kind. Then he goes to Atlanta and suddenly he’s a rake. It don’t make no sense.”
Jorgine’s heart thudded in her chest. “People change, Sally, sometimes for the worst.”
“Maybe. But wouldn’t a rogue and a scalawag be the perfect disguise if someone was ferrying people to their freedom?”
It was useless trying to convince Sally of something Jorgine knew to be false. The man she’d worked with these past few weeks was caring, strengthened by the certainty of his convictions and fiercely devoted to the cause with a heart for the downtrodden. Her heart swelled with tenderness at the memory of the genuine joy on Hudson’s face when Lizzie’s son had been born. She pressed her fingers to her lips.
“Did that man kiss you?”
Heat flooded Jorgine’s cheeks. “Why would you think that?”
Sally pointed her finger at her face. “You’ve got that cow-eyed look Big Jim gets around Miss Jocelyn. Then you touched your hand to your mouth as if you was remembering something sweet.” She glanced toward the closed door then whispered, “So? Did he kiss you?”
She’d never been good at keeping secrets from Sally. Jorgine nodded. “It was right after we delivered a baby, and I guess we got caught up in the moment.”
“Y’all delivered a baby!”
“Shhhh!” Jorgine pressed a finger to her lips. “Big Jim might have his ear to the door. I don’t want to have to explain what happened last night, all right?”
Sally stretched out as if to get comfortable, her slim ankles crossed one over the other. “Maybe you should start from the beginning.”
Jorgine told her everything; the hours of intense labor Lizzie had endured and Jorgine’s fear of losing them both. Sally went wide-eyed when she heard how Hudson had stepped in to help her and sniffled loudly went Jorgine shared the moment little Joseph had been born. “Hudson only kissed me because I was nervous and he wanted to reassure me.”
Sally snorted. “Mr. Hudson don’t strike me as the type of man to go around kissing nervous young ladies just to comfort them.”
“You thought he was a rogue at first!”
“Like you said, people can change.” Sally threw Jorgine’s own words back at her. “But that ain’t why a man kisses a woman.”
“What other reason could it be?” Jorgine traced the lace doily on her dresser. How tender Hudson’s fingers had felt against her cheek, warm and reassuring. And when he’d kissed her, it wasn’t in the excitement of the moment. It had felt natural, as if they’d both discovered a home in each other’s arms. When he had reluctantly broken off the kiss, she’d known she was in serious trouble, and from the look in his dark eyes, she suspected he felt the same way.
“Do you love him?”
She couldn’t say the words out loud. Those were meant for Hudson. Jorgine met her gaze and nodded.
“Then you’d best be careful.” Sally took her hand and squeezed it. “Your uncle done promised you to Mr. Wakefield. I don’t know of any man who would take too kindly to his intended being in love with another man. You know how mean Mr. Win can be. That’s why you want me gone.”
Jorgine shook her head. “I’d never want you gone. You know that, don’t you?”
Her friend continued. “And Lord help us if your uncle finds out. He’ll lock you in your room until the wedding and kill Mr. Hudson, that’s for sure.”
She had no doubt Sally’s words were true. “Then we can’t let them find out.”
But it didn’t stop her from worrying. Uncle Richard was desperate for the wedding between her and Win to take place. But murder Hudson? Jorgine had to believe her uncle wouldn’t do anything so rash. If he did, he’d have to kill her first.