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Lily awoke feeling ill. It had been a long night, and she did not think she had gotten even a wink of sleep. She pushed the covers back and sat up, the knots in her stomach turning to butterflies all at once. Her stomach turned, and she barely made it to the chamber pot before the contents of her last meal spilled out of her.
When it was all over, she groaned and stood up, putting on the clean dress that Caroline had loaned her. She made her way downstairs, the smells of breakfast already underway nearly sending her to her knees again. She placed one hand on her stomach and willed it to settle. Thankfully, it complied.
She walked into the sitting room. Caroline was there with her three children and Dr. Shannon, who was reading the newspaper.
"You look dreadful," Caroline said, drawing her husband's attention.
"I feel dreadful," Lily said, taking no offense from her friend's remark. If she looked half as bad as she felt, Caroline's proclamation was an understatement.
"Did you get any sleep at all?" Caroline asked.
Lily shook her head.
Dr. Shannon said, "How's your appetite this morning?"
"What appetite?" Lily replied and fell into a chair.
Dr. Shannon frowned. "Does your head hurt?"
Lily closed her eyes and nodded. Her head had been hurting her since she'd found the blood.
"What about your muscles?"
Lily shook out her arms and her legs. "They are sore, but I think it is only the tension I've been carrying with me."
He rose from his seat and walked toward her, placing one hand on her forehead. "You're not warm. That's a good sign."
"I'm not ill," she said.
"I'm a doctor. It's my duty to check. You may be catching that cold that's going around."
"Lily's right," Caroline said. "She's not ill; she's just undergone a great deal of stress. It is only natural that she feels unwell. I would worry about her were it otherwise."
Dr. Shannon took one last look at Lily. "If you feel your throat turning sore, let me know at once." He resumed his seat and his paper.
"You're not going in to work this morning, then?" Caroline asked.
"No. I sent your housemaid out with a message to Della quite early this morning, then went back to bed."
"Good, I wouldn't think of letting you go to the factory after such a night as you've had."
Dewey and Hannah had been watching her with interest. Now, Hannah screeched wildly and pointed out the window. "He's coming!"
"Who's coming?" asked Caroline, turning to see who her daughter was pointing to. She shot Lily a glance. "It's Sheriff Chambers. He's coming up the walkway."
Dr. Shannon rose from his seat and went to the door, opening it even before the sheriff could knock.
"Good morning," said Dr. Shannon, inviting the sheriff inside.
Caroline called for the nanny, who had recovered from her illness, and sent the children upstairs with her. Ethan slept soundly in his bassinet.
"Good day," Sheriff Chambers said to them all. His eyes fixed on Lily. She'd gone running into his station last night, hardly able to articulate the problem, finally taking his hand and dragging him toward her house where he saw with his own eyes what she'd been trying to tell him.
"How are you feeling?" the sheriff asked her.
"Well enough, I suppose, under the circumstances." She hesitated, licking her lips, then asked, "Have you found Ray's body?"
He shook his head. "I've got men out looking, but nothing as of yet. If he was still alive, he'd not have gotten far with an injury like that."
"D-Do you think he may still be alive?" Lily didn't know whether to do the right thing and pray for Ray's safety, or do the better thing and pray for her own.
"Not really. No. There was too much blood." He looked at Dr. Shannon and Caroline, his eyes uneasy. "I've got a few questions I need to ask Mrs. Dickinson."
Caroline rounded her shoulders back. "I'm not leaving her. She needs the strength of her friends right now."
"Caroline..." Dr. Shannon said, "perhaps it's better we go in the other room."
"No," Caroline said, refusing to budge. Dr. Shannon looked apologetically at the sheriff.
"It's all right," Lily told Sheriff Chambers. "I'd like them to stay. I have nothing to hide from my friends."
Sheriff Chambers pushed his hat back on his head, revealing light-colored eyes that could have been either blue or green or a combination of both. His light brown hair peeked out from under his hat. He was tall and wide and had seen a lot in his time as a lawman. Whatever it was he'd seen had made him tough. It was written on his face and in his eyes. He was the sort of man most other men wouldn't want to mess with, sheriff or not.
"Fine by me," he said. "But you should know that some of my questions may be of a delicate nature."
"No more lies," Lily said.
He nodded respectfully. "What's your relationship with Edward Saunders?"
"He's my boss at the Saunders' Factory. He and his father, that is." Her heart was racing. What did Edward have to do with any of this? She had thought Sheriff Chambers was going to ask her about Ray's drinking or the money he'd won gambling the other night.
"What else?" the sheriff asked.
Lily blushed. "What do you mean?"
The sheriff's eyes darkened. "You know what I mean."
She looked at Caroline, who came over to her and squeezed her hand. "Go on. No one in this room will think less of you, whatever it is."
Lily squeezed her hand back. "Edward I are... friends."
Sheriff Chambers raised an eyebrow. "Friends?"
She nodded.
"How close of friends? Is your relationship intimate?"
Lily's blush deepened, and her jaw dropped open, as did Caroline's.
Dr. Shannon came striding up to the sheriff.
"How dare you ask such an impertinent question!"
Lily put a hand on his shoulder.
"It's all right," she told him and looked at the sheriff. "I suppose you've heard some of the rumors."
"I've talked with some of the girls at the factory," he said. "I just came from there."
"Did you speak with Edward as well?"
"No. He wasn't there when I went by."
"Not there at this time of day? But the work day has only just begun. Did you find out where he is?"
Sheriff Chambers hesitated. "Let's just get back to the question. Please define your relationship with Edward Saunders."
Lily bristled at the sheriff's tone. "We are good friends, nothing more. He has certainly never... that is, we have never... gone past the boundaries of friendship."
"Are you certain about that?"
"Yes, of course," Lily said, affronted.
Sheriff Chambers began tapping his fingers on his belt. "Has Mr. Saunders ever made any declarations to you?"
Lily hesitated. "Declarations? Well..." She wasn't sure what to say. She didn't understand this line of questioning and didn't want to get Edward into any sort of trouble.
Caroline said, "Sheriff, are these questions really necessary?"
"I'm afraid they are," he said.
Lily said, "Edward and I may have expressed some affection for each other, but we have never acted upon anything." Tears began to well in her eyes. "You know of my troubles with Ray, Sheriff, I'll not deny them as I have in the past. Edward is a friend on whose ear I can lean without judgment."
"I see. And when's the last time you saw Edward?"
"Yesterday morning, at work."
"And what did you—"
Lily let go of Caroline's hand and stepped forward. "Sheriff, I've been more than reasonable, I think. I'm not going to answer any more questions until you explain to me what's going on. Why are you asking so many questions about Edward? What about Ray? Have you found his body? Have you found his killer?"
Sheriff Chambers looked slightly uncomfortable now. He drew in a deep breath, and Lily watched his broad chest rise and fall.
"Edward was seen in a saloon yesterday morning, talking with your husband."
Lily's mind raced with confusion. "Edward spoke with Ray? About what?" A feeling of dread propelled itself forward in her chest. She fought to keep it from overwhelming her.
"It appears they were arguing about you," Sheriff Chambers said.
"M-Me?" Lily asked, reaching for the wall as her head grew light. She moved to it for support.
"The men who witnessed it say Edward attacked Ray. Punched him down to the ground."
"He did?" Lily could scarcely believe it. Something in her warmed and tingled at the thought of Edward standing up for her. No one had ever done that before.
"Yep. Threatened him, too."
Caroline squealed. "Threatened him? Surely you jest."
Dr. Shannon stepped up. "Now see here, Edward Saunders is a friend of mine. I'll not stand here and listen to you tarnish his reputation."
"I'm not tarnishing anything, Doctor. There are plenty of witnesses who saw what happened. They'll testify to it."
"Were any of them sober?" Dr. Shannon demanded.
Sheriff Chambers nodded. "The bartender was. He'll testify as well."
"Excuse me, Sheriff," Caroline said, "but testify to what exactly? So far, all you've told us is that Edward Saunders punched out a man who, I daresay, most would agree deserved it. That doesn't make him a killer."
"You're right, it doesn't," said the sheriff. "But that's not all that happened."
Lily held her breath. "What do you mean?"
"Edward threatened to kill Ray if he didn't leave town and leave you be."
Lily's heart began to ache. "No," she whispered.
"Yes," the sheriff said.
"He didn't mean it, certainly," Lily pleaded.
"How can you be so certain?" asked the sheriff.
Lily didn't answer though. She stepped away from him and folded her arms across her chest. "I'll not say another word to you without first speaking with my lawyer."
Sheriff Chambers scoffed. "Your lawyer? You're not under arrest. Neither is Edward Saunders. Not yet, anyway."
"I don't care," Lily said defiantly. "Until I speak with Robert Shannon, I'll not say one more thing to you. About Edward or anything else. Good day, sir."
Sheriff Chambers stared at her. "Good day to you as well," he said, tipping his hat and taking his leave.
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