––––––––
No one expected January to be anything but rough for everyone. Victoria was restricted, first to the waiting area and then the courtroom. Even after she testified, she had to remain in the courtroom in case one of the attorneys wanted her to clarify something.
That meant she spent her evenings doing her best to take care of townspeople suffering from a variety of minor ailments, made worse by the general malaise that follows the holidays. And, that was not counting the added stress of Harding's trial placed on some of them.
And, of course, this time coincided with the girls' hitting their low points. Tempers at the Hendriksen place were short and volatile. But, luckily, the women had prepared the girls adequately, so usually, even they realized how badly they were acting, and apologized often, when they were calmer—if they remembered.
Late one afternoon, there was a knock at the door. It was so late, in fact, it was almost dark, and if Jake hadn't already come in for dinner, Miranda might not have opened the door. Although, such an unusual occurrence caused everyone to congregate at the back door.
When Miranda opened it, she discovered Victoria and Neil, both gray and wearing distressed expressions.
"I didn't expect you two so late. But, please, come in."
"No. No, we can't. We aren't staying. We just came to... to tell you some news."
Jake looked uncomfortable and announced, "I need to go bring in some wood." Then he made his way outside, with Neil following him.
Something was clearly wrong, so Miranda turned and told the girls, "Please, leave us alone for a moment." And, only after they'd gone, did she ask, "What wrong? What's happened?"
"It's over," the doctor answered.
"What? What's over?" she asked. Then, the blood drained from her face and said, "He didn't get off? You can't be telling me they found him innocent. Please, don't tell me he's free!"
Victoria stepped in and pulled her friend into a hug. "No! No, he's not free." Then a strange look crossed her face, and she added, "Well, some might say, 'he's finally free', but no. He's not at large."
"Then what happened?"
"He's dead!"
This was so unexpected, Miranda took several steps back, until she felt a chair. Then, practically collapsing in it, gasped, "Dead... but... how?"
"One of the bailiffs killed him. Shot him dead!"
"But... why?"
"He tried to escape. It was while he was walking to the witness stand. He grabbed one of the bailiff's guns and pointed it at the judge, but before he could fire, the other bailiff shot him."
"How awful."
"What? I thought you'd be relieved."
"I am. I mean, at least that it's over. I just never thought it would end like this... so violently.
"I suppose I'll have to tell the girls. They should be relieved."
"Would you like me to tell them? Or, be with you? I don't know what we could do to calm them. I mean, we mustn't backslide and give them the tiniest bit of laudanum. That would negate all the work they've done already."
"No, it's late, and I'm sure you and Neil haven't eaten dinner. And, I don't really have enough to feed the two of you. I was planning on cooking a roast tomorrow. Tonight, we're having the little amount of leftovers there are, augmented by scrambled eggs and toast."
"Aren't they eating anything else yet?"
"Not really," Miranda answered, "but they are beginning to eat a little more at one sitting. And, no one seems to be nauseous, anymore."
Neil and Jake appeared, each loaded down with firewood. So the ladies moved to make way for them. But, once they'd stowed the wood away, Victoria tugged on Neil's sleeve, and said, "Come on. Let's get back before it gets any later. I'm exhausted."
*****
Miranda stood in the doorway, watching their buggy drive away, before she turned to discover all four young women staring at her from the hallway.
"Come on, let's get dinner ready. You all might not be terribly hungry, but I'm sure Jake is starving." Then she began bustling around, all the while, avoiding their eyes.
Miranda sliced what meat was left on the roasted chicken carcass, carelessly dropping it onto a platter. Kathy sliced bread and Kit set the table. Colleen stood at the stove, stirring several pots of leftover vegetables and Lynn poured boiling water into a prepared teapot. And soon they were all gathered around the table.
Kathy and Lynn took tiny bites of food, along with bread and butter, and hot tea. Jake took most of the larger slices of chicken, slapped them on buttered bread, and headed for the back door.
"Surely, that's not all you're going to eat for dinner?" Miranda asked him.
"Well, if it's all right, I'll come back inside later for some tea and pie, if you ladies leave any, that is," Jake answered, before passing through the door and back into the cold.
Kit, always intuitive, looked up from the cheese dish she was placing on the large table, stared at Miranda, and sighed. But, she remained silent.
Once the girls had eaten as much as they were going to, Kit took them upstairs while Colleen cleaned up the kitchen. Miranda indulged in one last cup of tea. Then, with a deep sigh, she pushed her chair back from the table, stood up wearily, and headed upstairs.
Lynn looked up as Miranda reached the landing and called out, "Something's going on? Why did the doctor come out here and not stay longer?"
"Yes, Miss," Kathy added. "You looked funny all through supper."
"The doctor was tired and hungry and wanted to get dinner and then go to bed."
"But," Kathy picked up, "that doesn't explain why she came out at all."
"No," Miranda conceded, sighing deeply, "it doesn't. She wanted to tell me something. And now, I'm going to tell you."
"They let Harding go!" Kathy cried out.
"No! No, not at all."
"Then what?" she demanded. "What is it?"
Miranda sat down on the edge of Lynn's bed, and pulled the younger girl into her lap, as she patted the mattress beside her, for Kathy to come sit down next to them. Once she was there, Miranda began, "Something happened in court today."
"What?" Lynn asked, the pitch of her voice rising somehow within that single word. "Is it 'Sir'? Did they let him go?"
"No, they didn't. But, you are never to refer to him as 'Sir' ever again. Don't even think of him in that term," Miranda told her, and even she could hear the hard edge in her voice.
"Are you mad at us? At me?" the young girl asked, with a wounded look.
"No, of course, I'm not angry with you," she answered, as she hugged Lynn closer to her. "I'm not angry at either one of you," she added, smiling at Kathy.
"I didn't mean to speak harshly to you about... about calling Brent Harding 'Sir'. I know I shouldn't. But I still get upset at how you were all treated. However, I shouldn't take it out on you. I never meant to take it out on you." She hugged them a moment, before she continued, "Now, as I was saying the reason Dr. Thorne came out here so late this evening, was to tell us what happened in court today."
"Yes..."
"What happened?" Kathy asked.
"Mr. Harding tried to escape and was killed. It's all over, the trial, everything. And you never have to worry about him again. You never need to look over your shoulder. He will never hurt you, or anyone else, ever again."
"But you said we wouldn't have to worry about him again, before."
"Yes, and I meant it. However, I wasn't sure you believed me. I wasn't even sure you could allow yourself to believe that.
"Now, you can. He's dead. He's gone. And he will never hurt you two or anyone else ever, ever again."
Lynn looked into Miranda's eyes, and asked, "You promise?"
"I promise. So now you only need to worry about taking care of yourselves and your babies. Although, I hope you realize that you will never be doing that alone.
"I am very much afraid you're stuck with all of us, forever."
They both giggled, and answered in unison, "Oh, we've known that for a while now."