Eighteen

Ben thought the tale of Abigail, the rooster and the pie would amuse his wife, but Sue did not laugh. Instead, her forehead furrowed and she sank deep into thought. Knowing her well, Ben understood she was hatching some kind of a plan. He worried about how entangled they might become in Harry’s life. Should have refrained from telling of Abigail’s visit. But it was too late now. He sensed trouble brewing, whatever his wife might cook up.

“So Abigail is as smitten with Harry as I suspected,” Sue said at last. “That might bode well for our Harriet.”

“How could it possibly?” Ben did not grasp the purported wiles of romance. When he’d fallen in love with Sue, the courting went smoothly and without deception. Why did everyone not enjoy such flawless matches?

“Why, we have a triangle,” Sue explained. “It means we can try to make Harriet jealous as a means of winning her affection for Harry.”

“I don’t see Harriet as the type of woman to be jealous. I think Abigail’s presence is more likely to deter any idea of romance otherwise entering Harriet’s mind. You are barking up the wrong tree, sweetheart.”

“Perhaps, but do you have any better ideas?”

“I suggest we advise Harry to tell Harriet how he feels. Who knows, maybe it will spark something.”

“Silly man. I doubt Harriet even thinks of the man as anything other than an acquaintance. She has never been prone to romance. If you want her to dismiss the idea of Harry as even a friend, then go ahead and advise him to charge like a bull in a china closet. Bad advice indeed.”

Seeing Sue shake her head at him always disturbed Ben. He tried to please her, and he disliked the idea helping someone else’s romance might affect their own home’s tranquility. He resigned himself to doing whatever she wished, and hoped she’d be right. Yet, he had a bad feeling about the whole idea of meddling into others’ business, particularly in matters of the heart.

“I’ve already mentioned Abigail’s interest to Harriet on the ride back from the barn raising. Though, later, did mention Harry gave her no attention, engrossed in the work and paying attention to Harriet. Now know why, of course. The question becomes how to ensure Harriet sees Abigail with Harry, without dismissing it as one-sided affection. If she becomes jealous, then it might make her examine her own feelings for the man. Don’t you see?”

Ben reluctantly nodded. “What if Abigail beguiles the man?”

“Impossible.”

“Let’s hope so.” Ben knew how pretty young things like Abigail had a way of twisting men around their fingers. He’d witnessed such things. He worried for his new friend. “Harry is a babe in the woods when it comes to women. Mark my words,” he warned his wife.

“Picturing such a large self-sufficient man as a babe in the woods is difficult. But I understand your meaning. I will not let the triangle get lopsided. I will act with care. Cupids cannot be too vigilant in guiding how love unfolds.”

“Tell me your plan. What is it you want me to say to Harry?” Ben dreaded he was to play a part in what he feared would be an ill-fated conspiracy, but such was the duty of a loving husband.

“Explain to him I believe a bit of jealousy might make Harriet think about him in a different light. Since Abigail is so anxious to get attention, why not give her some?”

“You’re playing with fire.” Ben shook his head slowly. “I just don’t know.”

“I do,” Sue averred. “Trust me. Tell Harry whatever he plans to do, has to be in front of Harriet—a full display. Neither Harriet nor Abigail ever misses church. The easiest ploy is for Harry to sit with Abigail during the service. That will ensure Harriet will have a front-row seat to the charade.”

“But everyone else in town will see as well. That can’t be good. They probably already suspect Abigail has her attention focused on Harry. She’s probably been telling all her friends she plans to nab the man. His sitting with her will just reinforce the impression. I think Harriet will be hesitant to interfere with such widely held expectations. Listen to me, Sue. You’re stepping way over the line here.”

Sue’s lips thinned in annoyance. “You have had a straight road to romance. Not everyone has such an easy trek. Tell me frankly, had you ever believed Harriet would be the apple in anybody’s eye before you met and spoke with Harry on the subject?”

Ben rolled the question over in his mind. She had a point. “I’ve always liked Harriet, but I have to admit I think of her much as I think of a man.”

“And so does virtually everyone else in this town, including Harriet.”

He stared, incredulous. “So you think you have to introduce her to jealousy to transform her into a woman who might find love with Harry?”

“Yes I do. It sounds cruel, but that’s my plan.”

“It does not just sound cruel. It is cruel. And not just to Harriet. What about poor Abigail?”

“Oh, she will be just dandy. A girl of eighteen rebounds easily. Especially one such as she.”

“What if Harriet fails to experience any of the jealousy on which you’re counting?”

“Then I will be most surprised and put my thinking cap back on to figure out another plan.”

“In other words, you won’t give up. I really fear what you might think up next.”

Later, when Ben shared Sue’s advice, Harry was more than hesitant, complaining, “I have to sit with Abigail at church to make Harriet jealous?”

“That’s the idea Sue had when I told her about the visit Abigail made to your homestead.”

“Seems mighty risky.”

“I agree, and it’s up to you what you do.”

“But Sue is a woman, and she knows about things like this.”

“Maybe, but remember Harriet is not exactly the typical woman.”

“That’s for sure. I’ve never met anyone like Harriet.” Harry’s face softened when he spoke about the blacksmith.

Ben noticed the change, with its passionate undertone. He was looking at a man in love and he understood. Maybe Sue was right about lending a hand. The problem was Ben doubted it would be a helping hand. Could be a slap in the face of a budding romance. He had to caution the man. “I told Sue this idea might not work, and could push Harriet further away from any romantic notions. I think if the town sees you and Abigail together, they’ll assume wedding bells. Harriet will take it as she’s swallowed every other blow life dealt her—without complaint. I’m not in agreement with Sue. But I promised her I’d tell you what she thought.”

“What a pickle. You thinking one thing and Sue another.”

“I would just be straightforward with Harriet and tell her how you feel. I think she’d be pleased to hear of how you hold her in high esteem. I can’t imagine it would hurt.”

“Did you tell Sue your idea?”

“Yep.”

“And what did she say?”

“She thinks you’d scare Harriet away.”

“So do I.”

“Then I guess I’m outnumbered.”

“Guess so.”

“Fair warning, though. Be careful of that Abigail. She is deadly serious.”

“I will. I just hope Sue is right. I don’t feel right leading on Abigail. I trust your wife isn’t planning on my directing much attention to the girl.”

“I think Sue just wants to spark a tinge of jealousy in Harriet. She seems to think that will do the trick of directing her emotions toward you.”

~ * ~

That night Harry pondered the plan. It would be simple to stroll over to Abigail on Sunday and sit beside her during the church service. But the young woman would be encouraged by such a move. Later, he’d have to be gruff to disentangle himself. He despised that part of the plan. Moreover, he preferred to join Harriet at church. Sharing that hymnal last week and enjoying the sound of her melodic alto voice had been pure pleasure. Why must he give up such a joy in his life?

He actually had a nightmare that very evening. Abigail had caught him in a snare. He was struggling to get loose. Harriet was nowhere to be seen. He woke up in a cold sweat. Howler barked at him as he awakened. “Just a nightmare,” Harry mumbled. “A horrible nightmare that might well be a warning.” A cold wave of terror swept over him at such a foreboding thought. Who was right, Sue or Ben?

As Sunday approached, Harry was still indecisive. He didn’t like playing games. He’d never been a gambler. His nature was always to be straightforward. But then he’d never lost his heart before and could not help but fret over his total ignorance in the ways of romance. Sue on the other hand was a woman. She was Harriet’s best friend. Would she lead him astray? He thought not. That logic steered him toward the perilous triangle plan. He said a prayer that night. He wanted protection from the nightmare. He wanted forgiveness for using Abigail in such a selfish manner. He tried to explain he meant no real harm.

When people were gathering in church, Harry noted Ben and Sue were seated again with Harriet. Sue had told Ben to instruct Harry to say good day to them before approaching Abigail. She did not want Harriet to be guessing Harry might be unaware of her presence. No doubts were to exist in her friend’s mind that a very real triangle existed. That was absolutely necessary to create jealousy. Sue expected the green potion to work wonders.

Harry came toward their pew. “Good morning. Beautiful day, isn’t it?” They all nodded. He even noticed Harriet scooting down the pew to make some room for him to join them. He so wanted to sit beside her. What one had to sacrifice in order to win another’s heart puzzled the man. He felt uncomfortable, not wishing to rudely snub his heart’s true love, as required to pursue Sue’s strategy. Design of such a hurtful action to achieve romance struck him as more than a bit strange. He struggled to stick by his resolve to follow Sue’s advice. He again said a prayer Sue knew what she was doing, as he increasingly had his doubts.

He forced himself to continue down the aisle and seek out Abigail. He greeted her family with a nod of the head and quickly took a seat beside the young woman. He caught her expression of self-satisfaction and triumph. She looked too much as she had appeared in his nightmare and he felt a cold shudder. As Abigail smiled up at him, he knew she thought it was his excitement at her closeness. She actually snuggled up closer. He wanted to jump to his feet and seek refuge beside Harriet. It was all he could do to edge away and remain seated in the pew, effectively thwarting Abigail’s attempt to press against his flesh.

When it was time to sing, Harry could not help but notice Abigail’s shrill, unpleasant voice. It suited the woman who was no angel. He’d always had a sixth sense about people.

The sermon was lengthy, as it had been a week earlier, but Harry stirred not. He wanted nothing to draw further attention from Abigail. Though uninvited, she had placed her hand in his when they sat back down, just before the sermon. He did not know what to do without making a bit of a scene. Finally, he pulled out his hand and went into his pocket for a handkerchief. He wiped his brow. She smiled. He reckoned she thought he was sweating due to some attraction to her. He was more and more convinced this had been a very bad idea. When he returned the cloth to his pocket, he resolved to leave his hand there, no matter how uncomfortable, for the remainder of the service. It seemed the only way to gracefully reject Abigail’s advances.

By the time Harry had reached the threshold of the church with Abigail clinging determinedly to his arm, Harriet had vanished. He spotted Sue and Ben standing to the side. She nodded her approval, but Ben looked unconvinced. Parson Hastings, upon seeing Abigail’s hand clutching Harry’s arm, had the gall to say, “I’m available for wedding services.”

Harry, more than annoyed, snatched his arm free of the girl’s grasp, while she tittered in delight. The nightmare began replaying in Harry’s head and he stepped quickly aside. “Excuse me. I must get back to my homestead.”

Without a word to his friends, he climbed onto his horse and galloped away, Howler close behind. He had to get away and think. He felt desperate to escape from Abigail.

Ben whispered to his wife, “You’ve led him down a treacherous path, Sue.”

“It may seem that way, but all will be well. I’m going to go and speak with Harriet right now.”

“What am I supposed to do?”

“I don’t care. This is women’s talk. Why don’t you take a walk? I promise to be no more than an hour.”

“Okay, but I enjoy our Sundays together. Besides, with all the work I’ve been doing with Harry, I have some chores I need to take care of at our place.”

“Sunday is not a day for too much toil. Just give me an hour.”

Reluctantly, Ben agreed. “Don’t make matters worse,” he counseled.

She shot a look at her husband. Since she was calm by nature, Ben knew this as a bad sign, and wondered if Sue had begun to have her own doubts about the triangle strategy. Perhaps she was having second thoughts. That did not bode well for Harry.

Sue hoped to find Harriet at home, but she didn’t answer a knock on the front door. Strolling around to the back door, Sue found her sitting outside. Her friend looked up when Sue appeared but said nothing.

“You scurried off so fast, I was afraid you might be ill,” Sue hastened to explain her uninvited presence.

“No, I’m just fine. Thank you.”

Sue did not know how to get her friend to share her feelings. They had rarely spoken about such things. The exception was when Harriet’s parents had passed. She had wept like a baby and Sue had held her to comfort her. She knew when Harriet did feel, she felt deeply. Others in town had no idea the emotions Harriet held close to her heart.

Then she saw it. In the corner of Harriet’s eye was a tear. Confident this was a telltale sign of jealousy’s appearance, Sue heartened. She would tread with care.

“Harry looked fine today,” she began.

“Yes, he did. I imagine he and Ben are making good progress at his place.”

“They’d make better progress if uninterrupted.”

“Who’s been interrupting them?”

“Why, Abigail and her father stopped by the other day.”

“I know that.”

“You do?”

“Yes. Abigail told me.”

Now Sue was both surprised and worried. “Why did Abigail tell you she went by Harry’s?”

“She wanted me to help her get to know Harry.”

“How?”

“By suggesting to him when a woman gave him a pie as she had, he should invite her somewhere.”

“What nerve to ask you to do such a thing!” Sue exclaimed, feigning indignation.

“Why? She saw no harm.”

“You are not her friend.”

“I did point that out.”

Sue wondered if perhaps jealousy had entered her friend’s psyche long before she’d hatched her own plan. Suddenly regretting having been far too hasty with advice to Harry, she questioned, “You really did point out you were not her friend?”

Harriet nodded.

“Well, what did she say in response?”

“She merely said she thought it was not too much to ask for me to help her. She is rather self-centered.”

“I’ll say.”

“I explained to her I knew little of such things but felt if I did as she asked, Harry would know she had been the one to tell me about the pie and to ask that I arrange things. I also told her I didn’t think many men enjoyed being told what to do.”

“What was her reaction?”

“She admitted I might have a point. But she still extracted a promise.”

“And what was that?”

“If Harry asked me to advise him as to what to do about her bringing him a pie, I was to tell him it would be proper for him to ask her out somewhere. A picnic was her advice. I figured there was no chance of Harry asking such a thing. So, I did give my promise, just to get her to leave. She seemed quite satisfied with that, but it turns out she didn’t need my help.”

Now Sue realized she’d given downright bad advice to her new acquaintance. “You like Harry, don’t you?”

Harriet nodded. “He’s not like any other man I’ve ever known.”

“You should know he feels precisely the same way about you.”

“What?” Harriet was incredulous at her friend’s declaration.

Sue nodded her head emphatically. “He is totally taken with you, Harriet.”

“I don’t understand. He said a courteous good morning but then proceeded to sit with Abigail. I was mortified because I was scooting over to make room for him to join us.”

“He was following my very bad advice. You must not blame him.”

Now Harriet grew angry. “Do you mean you have been plotting with Harry against me and using poor Abigail?”

Sue shifted uncomfortably. Her friend’s temper rose, and no one wanted to face Harriet when she was mad. Her eyes blazed. “I wouldn’t say plotting,” Sue muttered in defense.

“What would you call it?”

“I thought making you jealous of Abigail would make you think about how you felt about Harry. I just wanted to get you to think about things. Harry is really a wonderful man.”

“So wonderful he was working with you to deceive me and didn’t mind using another person in doing so?”

“Not exactly. He was accepting my help to open the eyes of my best friend. He only did as I instructed. You must blame me, not him,” Sue repeated firmly, though she heard her own voice wavering.

“You’re twisting the truth. When Abigail approached me, I found the entire idea of getting someone else to put in a good word for you to trap someone into being a husband was repellant. What type of person would do such a thing? Now I find it’s not just Abigail who thinks in such a way. My very best friend and the man I had grown to admire do so as well. I want you to know I find it just as repugnant when the one being trapped is me.”

Harriet stood up, glaring down at Sue. “It’s bad enough he went behind my back to the Trolls. I don’t need anyone protecting me. I can take care of myself. I’ve done just fine. Why, the insolence of all of you appalls me!” She almost spat the last remark, then stomped into her house, slamming the door behind her.

Sue sat there, stunned at how wrong things had gone. What could she say to Harry? The very idea of Harriet being angry with Harry for wanting to watch out for her by warning off the Trolls was unthinkable. Sue hadn’t heard about that before now, but she found it charming the man had thought to take action in defense of Harriet. This man’s heart was sincere. Didn’t Harriet understand how people who cared for one another did what they could to help those they loved? She would do anything for Ben. Moreover, she knew Ben would do anything for her.

How could she make things right? Sue shook her head, wishing she’d listened to Ben. Why had she been so foolhardy as to act as if she knew best? Ben was not the only one who’d had a smooth road to romance. She had as well. Why had she so underestimated her best friend? That thought made her pause, as she now worried Harriet might no longer be her friend. Sue couldn’t think how she might manage without her. Deeply saddened, she stumbled, head down, back to Ben. When she met up with him, she fell into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably. He held her, but she felt no better, the full weight of responsibility for what had transpired descending onto her shoulders.

“I warned you,” he murmured into her ear.

“You did, and I’m so miserable.” Faltering, she moaned, “I fear I have lost Harriet as a friend. And I have no idea how to tell Harry. It is all my mess.” Then she sobbed again into his shoulder as he stroked her hair.

“What can we do?” she beseeched.

“Haven’t we done quite enough?” he snapped. “We should let them sort this out. I trust you told Harriet how he really feels?”

She nodded, her expression forlorn.

“Then let us hope love finds its way. What do you say we stay out of it from here on in?”

Sue reluctantly nodded, as he dried her cheeks, which soon became wet again. Tearfully, she added, “Did you know Harry went to talk to the Trolls after the fire at Harriet’s?”

“No, but I can’t say I’m surprised. He loves that woman and wouldn’t take to Thaddeus wanting to do her or her property harm.”

“Well, Harriet is spitting mad about it. She sees him as having gone behind her back. She’s insulted by the idea anyone thinks she needs protecting. She’s a proud woman, used to taking care of herself.”

“That’s Harriet all right. But if things are going to work out between the two of them, each has to learn some give and take. When you’re in love, you protect the one you love, and nothing’s ever going to change that.”

“Why would anyone want that to change?” Sue murmured. But then the tears came in another wave.

“Let’s go on home,” Ben suggested. “Things will look better in the morning. They always do.”