Chapter Ten

The dishes had been accumulating on the shelves in the pantry since the funeral. They were washed with notes of gratitude handwritten by Adelaide for each contributor.

“You can leave most of them at the church,” Adelaide instructed. “And make sure to invite the Reverend and Mrs. Davis to supper tonight.”

“Why?” Cory asked. “The last thing we need are more visitors.”

“Tell him I need some spiritual guidance.”

“Are you all right?” Cory examined Adelaide for signs of illness. “Maybe I shouldn’t leave you.”

She patted her hand. “I’m fine, but I need to talk with him.”

Cory gathered an armload of dishes and headed outside. Tyler led Nell close to the house. The buggy wasn’t much more than a two-by-four-foot box on top of wheels, but the fold-back roof provided protection from the sun. She stored the dishes on the floor in back of the two-person seat.

Adelaide carried Cory’s bonnet and its contents along with a few more dishes. “These are for Paula.”

Tyler put the bowls and tins under the seat. “You have a lot of dishes.”

Adelaide handed the bonnet to Cory. “The people of Darrow Falls like to help.”

“You’re fond of this town,” Tyler said.

“It’s been my home for a long time.” Adelaide looked around. “Hiram and I came here right after we were married. He was a surveyor and skilled carpenter. We built this place from nothing. I’m going to miss my farm.”

“You’re selling the place?”

“I’m moving in with my daughter at the end of next month.”

Cory put on her bonnet. “You can visit.”

“I can’t visit if strangers buy the farm,” she said. “Too bad I don’t know a young couple starting out on life’s journey.”

“Maybe Douglas will buy it,” she suggested.

“Mr. and Mrs. Raymond will have to live on the college campus.”

Cory hadn’t thought about that.

“The morning is half spent,” Adelaide said. “You better head out.”

“How long will you be gone?” Tyler asked.

Cory smiled. “Are you going to miss me?”

“I should leave as soon as you retrieve my valise.”

His words wiped the smile from her face. Why was she conflicted about wanting him to stay or go? If he was leaving to help Noah, didn’t that mean they believed in the same thing?

“Will you tell me where I can find Noah?” Tyler asked Adelaide.

“We’ll see. While you wait, you can do some chores. The wagon wheels need greased, and the garden needs weeding.” She looked at the two young people. “I have some tasks to do in the house.”

Tyler turned to Cory. “Are you sure you want to do this? I can take my chances with Edward.”

She wasn’t helpless. “I’m quite capable of retrieving some documents.”

“I’m sorry for involving you in this. I’ll be out of your life as soon as possible.”

“It’s not like you have any reason to stay.” Cory wished he would deny it.

“You’ll be glad I’m gone. You and Douglas can plan your future, and I can try to start a law practice somewhere in Canada.”

“Canada? You’re not going back to Vandalia?”

“When Noah left, I knew he couldn’t return. I sold everything. There’s nothing left in Vandalia for me now.”

“What’s in Canada?”

He looked around at the farm. “I bet nothing like this, but I’ve disrupted your well-ordered lives since I arrived.”

She didn’t want him to leave on unfriendly terms. “You haven’t been too much trouble.”

Tyler watched as she put on her gloves. “You’ve been a whole lot of trouble to me.”

“What do you mean?” she demanded. “I said I shot you accidentally. Besides, it was a flesh wound. You can’t hold that against me. If you hadn’t grabbed the gun, it wouldn’t have gone off. At least I took care of you and didn’t make you walk to the inn. You ought to be grateful instead of finding fault with me.”

“I’d silence you with a kiss, but Adelaide might be watching like before.” He nodded toward the kitchen window.

Cory saw a movement behind the curtain. Did he think he could kiss her any time he liked? “What makes you think I’d let you kiss me?”

Tyler leaned in close. “The way you kissed me in the barn this morning.”

“You kissed me,” she excused. “I couldn’t get away.”

Tyler laughed. “Honey, you didn’t try very hard.”

He spoke the truth, and his overconfidence was insulting to her feminine mystique. Men needed to win a woman’s affection. She’d been an easy conquest, and now he had no reason to stay. Once she retrieved his belongings, he would be gone and out of her life. Cory held out her hand. “Where’s the letter?”

Tyler gave it to her along with a key. “Room three. It’s off the breezeway on the first floor.”

She secured the letter and key in her handbag dangling on her wrist. “Where should I look for your belongings?”

“I didn’t unpack except for a few personal items on the dresser. Don’t let Edward see my valise. He may recognize it. Gold-lettered initials,” he explained.

“What should I do if he does?”

“I don’t want you to take any chances,” Tyler said. “Let him have it. Tell him I left it behind.”

Cory was confused by his answer. She knew the papers were important. “Are you sure?”

He offered his hand to assist her into the carriage. “You’re risking enough, darling.”

She missed the metal step into the carriage as she registered the endearment he had spoken. Tyler caught her around the waist as she slipped. “I like your natural curves much better,” he whispered in her ear as his hand rested against the hard corset.

Cory realized the undergarment created a sturdy barrier between his hand and her flesh. So why was her heart beating so rapidly? She closed her eyes and wondered if he would kiss her.

“You better hurry.” He helped her into the carriage and handed her the reins. “Not too fast and yield to the big wagons.”

Cory frowned. “This isn’t my first buggy ride.”

He patted her knee. “Get going.”

Cory chewed on her bottom lip. Why hadn’t he kissed her? First Douglas and now Tyler. What was wrong with her?

****

Cory dropped off several empty dishes at neighboring farmhouses on her way into town. Everyone asked how Adelaide was doing. Cory made brief, pleasant talk and thanked the women for the meals. It was nearly noon before she arrived at the center of Darrow Falls where the road intersected with Church Street and River Road to form the town square. The Community Congregational Church was on the north side of Church Street. The cemetery was next to it, and the funeral parlor was beyond Mill Street, which formed the eastern side of the square. Town Hall was built facing north on River Road, the southern border of the town square. Sheep grazed on the large expanse of grass surrounded by businesses and homes.

The Town Hall was built of local sandstone and was two stories high above a cellar that served as a jail. Town meetings and business transactions were conducted on the main floor. Offices for the mayor, his clerk, and the sheriff were on the upper floor. The mayor settled most local issues. Anything more important than a drunken brawl or bill of sale was settled by the Court of Common Pleas in Akron.

Cory tied Nell opposite the church under a tree along the edge of the town square. She saw the Reverend Lawrence Davis talking with two women.

Adelaide wanted her to invite the Reverend Davis and his family for supper. She would never get away with a brief visit. The Reverend liked to hear the sound of his own voice even when he wasn’t in the pulpit.

“Miss Beecher!” His voice boomed across the square.

Cory glanced around, anticipating Edward’s appearance in response to the cannon-like proclamation of her name.

The two women greeted her and made excuses for leaving. Cory thought they looked relieved.

“Look at all the dishes.” He examined them more closely. “They’re empty.”

“Adelaide is returning them,” she explained. “I was hoping to leave them in the foyer where people can claim them when they come for the holiday celebration Wednesday.”

“I’m working on my message for Independence Day as we speak. Mary! Beth!” he called out. “I’ll have the women help you unload the dishes. I must resume my work.”

Cory wondered if he would have put off writing his mid-week sermon if the dishes had contained food. The Reverend Davis was more than double the size of most men.

Mary appeared in a dull gray dress that strained at the seams. Mary enjoyed company and food as much as her husband.

Beth was the opposite of her parents in girth. She had a willowy figure, and her dress was ill-fitted on her slender frame. Her straw-colored hair and pale complexion added to her delicate appearance. Blondes were in fashion, and Beth had the coloring and disposition to be popular. She never had a harsh word for anyone and was always the first to volunteer her services.

Cory should have hated her, especially since she had been Douglas’ first choice for a wife. But Beth had turned twenty-one, a landmark age for a woman. She was considered a spinster by Darrow Falls’ standards. Cory couldn’t understand why she had refused Douglas when she appeared to have no other prospects.

“You’re all invited to supper tonight.” Maybe she’d have an opportunity to speak with Beth alone about Douglas.

The Reverend reappeared, some pages in his hand. “Supper?”

Cory recalled her instructions. “Miss Adelaide needs some spiritual guidance.”

“Spiritual guidance,” he repeated. “We’ll be happy to come.”

“I hope you don’t mind the late invitation.” Cory handed Beth several bowls.

“What about those?” Beth read the name on the card for the dishes stacked in the front. “I’m sure Mrs. Stone will be by Wednesday if you want to leave her dishes here.”

“It’s not out of my way.”

“Paula has quite a few interesting visitors.” Mary lowered her voice. “Strangers from the South.”

The two biggest gossips in town had probably spent hours discussing Edward Vandal and his men. “Maybe they’re in town for the holiday,” Cory suggested.

“Not these men.” Mary carried a few dishes inside. “Chasers if you ask me.”

Cory feigned surprise. “Chasers?”

The pastor’s family lived on the lower level of the church. Mary arranged the dishes on a narrow table in the foyer between the twin staircases to the second floor sanctuary. “I don’t like it one bit. We’re a peaceful community. Why can’t they stay home where they belong instead of coming to our town and upsetting everyone?”

Beth patted her mother’s plump hand. “They’ll be gone soon enough, Mother.”

****

Dinner and an hour later Cory took the short ride along Darrow Falls Road to the corner of River Road. Darrow Falls Inn was a two-story building painted a bright red with an abundance of gingerbread trim. An open breezeway provided access to private rooms on the first floor. One of them was Tyler’s. To the left was the main entrance with a kitchen and large dining room. A wrap-around porch provided an area for boarders to sit and chat with travelers on the roads through downtown.

Darrow Falls Inn was a scheduled stop for the stagecoach traveling east to west along River Road. A barn with stables and a corral was behind the inn. The nearby train depot added to the clientele. The public house attracted travelers and the latest news.

Paula Stone greeted her. She was a stout woman with a face full of freckles and a high round forehead. “Jennifer Beecher.” She waved as she bustled down the steps.

“No, I’m Courtney.”

“But you’re one of the Beecher girls, right?”

“Yes. I’m the oldest.”

“I never can keep you girls straight.”

“No one can.” Although each one of them had a different hair color, they were grouped together as the Beecher girls. Even Paula, who had witnessed them traveling from the Beecher farm past her inn to the downtown for years, failed to match a name to a face. What happened to one Beecher girl, happened to all. And as the oldest, Cory set the example for her younger sisters.

“What brings you to my humble abode, Courtney?”

Cory hardly considered Darrow Falls Inn humble. Paula was known for her hospitality. Her elaborate meals filled the dining hall with diners from far and near.

“I’m staying with Adelaide and wanted to return some of your dishes. She was grateful for the meals you sent.” She handed Paula the note inside one of the empty bowls.

“I figured she wouldn’t eat unless someone put something in front of her.” Paula took the dishes and placed them on a table. “Why don’t you stay for lunch? I always make plenty.”

“I’ve already dined with the Reverend Davis and his family, and I should return to the farm and help Adelaide.” She looked around. Edward and his men weren’t among the guests sipping coffee and eating dessert.

Paula read the lines Adelaide had penned. “Such a lovely note. It’s such a shame she has to move away now that Hiram has passed.”

“She’s going to miss Darrow Falls and all her friends.” Cory lowered her voice. “Would it be all right if I used your outhouse before leaving? It’s a long drive back to Glen Knolls.”

Paula looked at her hooped skirt. “You could use one of the chamber pots in an empty room.”

“The outhouse is good enough.” Cory pressed in the collapsible crinoline to show she could fit inside the privy. “Behind the barn?”

“Near the hollyhocks. If your skirt doesn’t fit, there might be some clean pots nearby. Or do like I did when I was a girl and squat in the weeds.”

Cory headed for the outhouse. Once out of sight, she turned toward the open hallway. The number three was painted in white against the red door. She reached into her purse and removed Tyler’s key. She glanced around and listened for any footsteps on the wooden floor. Hearing none, she inserted the key, turned it, and entered.