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* * *
Lucille walked into the church and melted into the arms of her friends as each embraced her in turn after several moments of professed shock. Irene, the closest to her of them all, went last. She could not believe the thoughtfulness which Leonard had put into what she’d assumed would be a perfunctory ceremony, nothing more.
Not only were Lucille’s friends present, there was a bouquet of wildflowers waiting for her with Reverend Lerner, who promised her that Leonard had picked them himself. There was even a dress Leonard had purchased for her from a second-hand store, guessing at her size. It was not white but a pale pink, flowing to the ground in soft waves of silky fabric. Simple but beautiful.
He shrugged as she showed her surprise, his cheeks darkening. “I hope it’s okay,” he said.
Her chest tightened and she nodded with tears in her eyes. “It’s more than I’d dreamed was waiting for me,” she said. “I love it. Thank you.”
“There’s one more thing,” he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small gold and diamond pin shaped like a bird.
“My mother’s brooch!” she cried, taking it from his hand. “Where did you get it? I thought I’d lost it.” Tears fell over her cheeks now, and she quickly wiped them away.
“When you left town last winter and gave up your home, you left a few things behind that I knew you’d want again, so I saved them for you,” he said. “I have a little box of things at my house, but I knew this was the most important one. I knew you’d want it for today.”
Heat burned in her midsection and down her cheeks. She pulled Leonard into her arms, hugging him tightly right there in the church and not caring at all about it. Surely, God had brought this man back into her life in order to help her. She pulled away, her smile feeling as though it would never fade.
He returned her smile, and then her friends were grabbing hold of her and pulling her into Reverend Lerner’s private office, insistent on helping her dress but really wanting to know the details of her situation with Leonard.
“How could you not have written to me about this?” Irene demanded of her, dismayed. “You should have told me you were returning to Elmwood.”
“I’m sorry,” Lucille said, both flattered at the attention she was getting and wishing it would stop. She felt Irene was asking an even deeper question with her eyes, but it was one she could not answer in this room. Does Leonard know the truth about you?
Shame began to prick at her heart that he did not. She looked at Summer, Meadow, and Belle, and wondered if there was a way she could extricate herself from them so that she could talk to Irene privately about the matter, but they were too full of their own questions.
“I always knew you two belonged together,” declared Meadow. “What took so long?”
“I was afraid you’d never return,” said Summer. “I’m so glad you’re back.”
“Me too,” said Belle, the youngest of the sisters who all shared an uncanny resemblance. Bright blonde hair and blue eyes pervaded the trio, and their closeness in age, from nineteen to twenty-three with Summer being in the middle, made them appear almost as triplets rather than sisters separated by time.
Belle cleared her throat. “Did you enjoy your time away from Elmwood? Did you... meet anyone interesting?” She raised her eyebrows and gave Lucille a look that was almost as deep as Irene’s with meaning. No one noticed it but her, and all Lucille could do was nod her head.
“It was fine,” she said. “But Elmwood is my home. I missed it here. I missed all of you.”
They hugged her again then quickly got her into her dress, pinning her mother’s brooch carefully to it. It was not a true wedding dress, it was far too simple for such a thing, but that in no way detracted from its beauty or the kindness behind it. Her friends started to push her towards the door, bubbly and excited, and Lucille hesitated. She dug her foot into the ground just as the door started to open.
“I need a moment,” she told them when they looked at her questioningly.
Meadow opened her mouth to speak but was luckily distracted by the sudden appearance of her husband outside the reverend’s office. “Oh good,” she said. “Booker’s arrived. I was afraid he wouldn’t be able to get away from work. Had I known this was your wedding day, I’d have told him to come earlier.” She hurried out of the room then, followed by Summer and Belle who both went in search of their own husbands.
She still could not believe that Leonard had planned all this while managing to keep her return to Elmwood a secret.
Irene alone lingered behind. “What’s wrong?” she asked, shutting the door.
“Three guesses,” Lucille said.
“I know you too well for games, Lucy,” Irene scolded her lightly. “Your guilt is plain on your face. If you do not wipe it away, Leonard will soon catch on.”
Lucille drew in a deep breath. “I have to tell him the truth,” she said.
“What truth is that?” Irene chided. “That you are a train robber? That you’ve been in hiding these many months?”
Lucille’s bottom lip jutted out from her chin. “How can I go before God with such lies on my shoulders?” she asked.
Irene frowned, the muscles in her jaw tightening as she thought it over. “Has he ever asked you whether or not you’re a thief?”
Lucille paused. “No,” she said.
“Then you’ve told him no lies. Had he asked you and you’d denied, then you’d be lying.”
Lucille scrunched her brow together. “It still seems... wrong,” she said.
Irene rolled her shoulders back. “Shall I get him for you then? Do you wish to tell him now, just before your ceremony?” It was a dare. Irene knew perfectly well Lucy would do no such thing. She shook her head.
“No,” she said. “Telling Leonard now would only hurt him, I think. He truly cares for me.”
“Do you care for him?” Irene asked.
Lucy pressed her lips together and nodded. “I always have.”
“Then marry him and say nothing of your past. Of our past. Remember that you are not the only one who might get in trouble were the truth to come out.”
“I would never say anything about you or the others,” she said, horrified by the thought.
“I know you wouldn’t,” Irene said. “And that would only make things worse for you. If you were caught and refused to give us up, the judge who tried you would not go lightly on you.”
“I’ll say nothing,” Lucille promised her friend. “From now on, that life is behind me. No more robberies, even if we were giving that money to the poor. There are other ways to help those in need.”
“Agreed,” said Irene. “Besides, it’s become far too difficult for me to get away from my own husband for such things as robbing the rich. Theodore doesn’t suspect anything, but he would if I started to disappear for days at a time.”
Lucille paused. “What of the others? Do you think they wish to change their ways as well?”
Irene paused, thinking. “I believe so,” she finally said with a shrug. “But that is not for you to worry about. All that matters going forward is your new life. Marry Leonard and start over. Do not worry about what anyone else thinks, me included.”
There was a knock on the door and Summer poked her head in. “Leonard’s getting anxious, I think. Everything all right?”
Lucille and Irene exchanged a look. “Just fine,” Lucille said. Then, with a grin, “Come on, I’m getting married!”
* * *
