A Hearth in Candlewood (32 page)

With no further prompting, Emma removed her gloves, laid them on the counter, and retrieved the letters from her reticule. She skimmed each letter, first Warren’s, then Benjamin’s, and finally Mark’s. By the time she finished, her eyes were brimming with tears of joy. ‘‘They’re coming! They’re all coming in April for my birthday! We’ll all be together again, just like I dreamed we’d be!’’ she gushed, too overjoyed to worry about whether or not she would still be at Hill House in April. Wherever she was living, they would all be together again, and that’s all that really mattered.

Beaming, Mother Garrett swiped at her own tears and hugged Emma. Hard. Aunt Frances added hugs of her own before Emma stored the letters safely back in her reticule.

Mr. Atkins returned, still wearing a smile. ‘‘Good news?’’

‘‘The boys are all bringing their families home for a visit. In April.’’

‘‘I’m anxious to meet them. Oh, and before I forget, I got the note you sent earlier. We’re about ready to deliver the supplies you ordered.’’

‘‘Actually, I’d like a few more.’’ She handed him the list she had made after returning from the trash pit.

His eyes widened. ‘‘If I didn’t know better, I’d think you might be building some sort of pen at Hill House.’’

‘‘I do believe we are, assuming we can convince either Steven or his brother to help us.’’

Mother Garrett gasped. ‘‘A pen? Whatever for?’’

Emma grinned. ‘‘I’ll tell you all about it on the way home.’’

34

T
HEIR PLAN WOULD SUCCEED OR FAIL,
according to His will.

The next morning, promptly at nine-thirty, a full half hour before the Leonard brothers were to meet at Hill House, Emma arrived at the Emerson Hotel. Dressed in a deep crimson cashmere gown that complimented her trim figure, she was rested and confident that they had all done what they could, and far more than she could have hoped.

She had no idea how Opal had fared at Andrew’s home or whether or not he had gone to see his brother instead of waiting until their meeting today. She had no idea how successful Garnet had been when she had registered at the hotel yesterday, either. Emma was not even sure Mr. Langhorne would be waiting for her in the hotel dining room as she had requested in the note she had asked Liesel to deliver to him. She was certain, however, that the Lord was watching over all of them this day.

She squared her shoulders. ‘‘Be not afraid,’’ she whispered before entering the hotel and following the scent of Widow Stokes’s odorous perfume to the dining room. A number of guests were gathered about, eating breakfast or ordering it.

Her heart sank. Mr. Langhorne was not among them.

Her heart beat faster.

Zachary Breckenwith was sitting at a table to her right.

He returned her shocked look with a smile that was more friendly than professional, but he made no attempt to speak to her. However unexpected his presence might be, she was both reassured and comforted to have him close by during the final moments of their plan, even though he had no idea of the drama unfolding before him.

Widow Stokes, on the other hand, had taken a table in the very center of the room. She was sitting alone, which was troubling for two reasons. First, she and Andrew were supposed to arrive at the dining room together. Second, they weren’t supposed to arrive until later, after James and Andrew had their meeting at Hill House.

Walter Emerson, the proprietor, quickly approached and garnered her full attention. ‘‘Widow Garrett. How good to see you again. I’m as surprised to see you here as I am pleased.’’

‘‘Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear I’ll be staying. I was supposed to meet—’’

‘‘Mr. Langhorne. Yes, I know. He sent word down that he’s been delayed for a few moments but asked if you’d mind waiting for him. I have his usual table set aside so you can talk privately,’’ he suggested, escorting her to a table in the far corner and helping her into a seat facing the wall.

She had no sooner set the fully cleaned hat on the table when Mr. Langhorne appeared and slipped into the chair opposite her, giving him full view of the dining room at her back. ‘‘I apologize. I’m usually very punctual,’’ he offered, glanced at the hat on the table, and frowned. ‘‘I thought I told you to put that in the trash pit.’’

‘‘As you can see, there was no damage done at all, and I thought the least I could do was to return it to you and offer you a good meal, considering the inconvenience you’ve suffered. It seemed a pity to discard a perfectly good hat.’’

He took the hat from the table, set it on the seat of a side chair, and smiled. ‘‘Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Widow Stokes’s bonnet. I hope it wasn’t too uncomfortable for you to come here to the hotel, especially since she seems to be having breakfast here now, as well.’’

Emma blushed, more from the realization that part of their plan was working than from the embarrassment she hoped he would assume was the source of her discomfort. ‘‘Obviously you’ve heard about what happened.’’

‘‘In truth, I thought you’d have rid yourself of that chicken by now. Our breakfast notwithstanding—which was a very kind gesture on your part—that chicken is proving very costly, given the price of chocolates and new bonnets.’’

Her blush deepened. ‘‘Indeed, it has, but I do believe we’re very close to resolving the problem.’’

The waiter finally appeared and interrupted their conversation. Once they had placed their orders, Mr. Langhorne directed the conversation right back to Widow Stokes. ‘‘I understand Widow Stokes has come to Candlewood hoping to make a few investments with the very sizable inheritance she received from her late husband.’’

‘‘Which reminds me of my other purpose for wanting to meet with you today,’’ Emma said. ‘‘I’ve given our last meeting a great deal of thought, and I wanted to reassure you, in person, that I have no intention of speaking to either James or Andrew about your business dealings with them. Whatever they decide to do will be entirely up to them.’’

Instead of responding, Mr. Langhorne stared past her. When she ventured a discreet look over her shoulder and saw Andrew Leonard sit down with Widow Stokes, her heart skipped a beat. At least he was here.

‘‘Mr. Langhorne?’’ she asked, hoping to distract him from staring at the other table.

He flinched and met her gaze again. ‘‘Yes, you . . . you were saying?’’

‘‘I was going to say that I hoped we could set aside the problems we’ve had between us.’’

‘‘Yes, yes, of course,’’ he managed before breakfast arrived. While the waiter set the plates onto the table, Mr. Langhorne had the opportunity to observe what was happening.

All Emma could do was stare at the wall and hope and pray Andrew and James had met last night or earlier today and ended their feud. Given Andrew’s arrival here now, she suspected they might have done that, but she could not be sure.

Until Andrew arrived at their table only seconds after the waiter left and greeted them both.

Exhaustion etched his features, and he looked as if he had not slept all night. When he spoke to greet them, his voice was firm but raspy.

‘‘Both of you probably have business to discuss. I should leave,’’ Emma said and started to rise.

Wearing a smug smile, Mr. Langhorne urged her back into her seat. ‘‘Please don’t. You may as well hear the news firsthand. I trust you do have news?’’ he asked Andrew without rising or inviting the man to sit down.

‘‘I’m hoping to save you a trip all the way out to see me, which may be the only good news I have for you,’’ Andrew said. ‘‘I spoke with my brother again at great length only last night. We’ve both decided against selling the land at this time, which is what I just told Widow Stokes, despite the fact that her offer was substantially more generous than your own.’’

Mr. Langhorne bolted to his feet, and his face turned scarlet. ‘‘I made my offer months ago, and I’ve waited all this time for you to convince your brother to sell. If this is an effort on your part to spike the price of my offer, it won’t work. Do you take me for a fool? I know that woman only arrived in Candlewood yesterday.’’

Andrew clenched and unclenched his fists, but his gaze was rock steady. ‘‘Widow Stokes came to Candlewood precisely to speak to me. Once you made your offer, did it not occur to you that I might also seek out other buyers? Or that I might consider once I sold the land to you or anyone else, my brother could be forced to sell out if the new owner refused him passage on the toll road?’’

Mr. Langhorne’s spectacles slid down the length of his nose, and he shoved them back abruptly. ‘‘What about the business you wanted to open here in town? Are you really going to let your brother force you to abandon that idea, as well?’’

Andrew let out a long breath, as if further exhausted by Mr. Langhorne’s questions. ‘‘Right now, restoring peace in my family is far more important than anything else I might want to do. This, I might add, is what I told Widow Stokes just now and what I intend to explain to my mother when I leave here and go to Hill House. I can always open a business later. For now, my brother and I are going to combine our farms and work together for a change. It’s what I want. It’s what my brother wants. And I believe it’s what will please my mother the most.’’

He paused and looked directly at Emma. ‘‘James is meeting me at Hill House later this morning, just as we planned to do, but I have a few errands to attend to first. Would you care to join us? I’m not sure which one of us my mother will be going home with, but I’m sure she’d like to say good-bye to you before she does.’’

Overwhelmed, Emma swallowed the lump in her throat. ‘‘Mr. Langhorne and I were just about to have breakfast. Perhaps it might be better if—’’

‘‘I’ve lost my appetite,’’ Mr. Langhorne snapped, grabbed his hat from the chair, and stormed from the room.

Andrew watched the man storm from the dining room, looked back at Emma, and grinned. ‘‘It appears the plan has worked perfectly! I’ll see you back at Hill House as soon as I’ve finished my errands,’’ he promised and promptly left her sitting at the table all alone, stunned by their apparent success.

Seconds later Zachary Breckenwith eased himself into Mr. Langhorne’s empty seat, smiled, and pointed to the breakfast platter in front of her. ‘‘It’d be a shame to waste good food. You haven’t had much time to eat. Why don’t I fill you in on a few details while you eat, and then I’ll take you back to Hill House?’’

Emma clutched the edge of the table. ‘‘W-what details? What are you doing here?’’

His smile broadened. ‘‘Helping, I hope. At least, that was the plan. I came here this morning simply to be near in case you needed help. I didn’t want you to face Langhorne alone,’’ he added.

‘‘You knew about the plan? How? The last we spoke, you were going to be away for at least a month. Opal and Garnet said they’d dined with you and your aunt in Bounty, but that was before we’d even thought of this plan.’’

‘‘All true,’’ he admitted. ‘‘With the canal being repaired, I decided to ride back to Candlewood instead of sitting around Bounty waiting to continue on to New York City. I met Miss Garnet on the toll road on my way back when she was on her way to Andrew’s late yesterday. She told me what you had all planned and recruited my help with this part of that little scheme of yours. I hope you don’t mind.’’

She swallowed hard. ‘‘As my lawyer, I’m surprised you’d want to be involved in a scheme of any kind.’’

‘‘I’m not here as your lawyer,’’ he said softly.

When his eyes locked with hers, Emma’s heart skipped a beat and she smiled. ‘‘I’m glad,’’ she whispered. Feeling a bit awkward and unsure of herself, she turned her attention back to more reliable concerns and drew in a deep breath. ‘‘Do you know where Andrew went now? I’m not sure what errands needed to be done, but I should think he would want to go directly to Hill House to see his mother and tell her the good news that her sons have resolved their troubles with each other.’’

‘‘James is there now, so I’m sure she already knows. At least, that was the plan.’’

‘‘I thought they wanted to tell her together.’’

‘‘I believe they changed the plan a bit. That’s all right, isn’t it?’’

She laughed nervously. ‘‘I suppose it is, as long as everyone is happy, except for Mr. Langhorne, of course.’’ She peeked over her shoulder and saw that Widow Stokes had left the dining room. ‘‘It’s a shame Garnet has to stay here until tomorrow, just for appearances like we planned. I know she’d like to say good-bye to Aunt Frances before she leaves.’’

He grinned. ‘‘That wasn’t Miss Garnet in the dining room. That was Miss Opal. They switched places early this morning. Don’t ask me why. That’s what they wanted to do.’’

Emma leaned closer and lowered her voice to a whisper. ‘‘I never can tell them apart without their pins, let alone being all gowned up, but I do know that what one sister does, the other one has to do, too. But Garnet—I mean Opal—can’t leave now and go back to Hill House! Mr. Langhorne will find out, and then everything we’ve all done will come undone. She has to stay until tomorrow.’’

‘‘Miss Garnet isn’t leaving,’’ he countered. ‘‘Widow Stokes is leaving. Poor woman. She’s so distraught about losing out on buying the Leonards’ property, I believe she’s packing to leave town as we speak. I’d plan on seeing Miss Garnet for dinner. Your mother-in-law apparently invited everyone to stay for dinner to give Widow Leonard time to decide whether she’d like to go home with James or Andrew. When I stopped at Hill House earlier, while you were still getting ready to leave for your meeting at the hotel, she invited me to join you for dinner, as well.’’

Mr. Breckenwith smiled and pushed his chair back from the table. ‘‘Since you don’t seem to have an appetite, shall we go? On our walk back to Hill House, I’d like to hear more about this railroad you think is coming to Candlewood.’’

————

The walk back to Hill House was short and conversation steady, and Emma’s heart was filled with both joy and sadness. Though her mind was distracted both by Zachary Breckenwith’s presence and his support, her heart was troubled by the dilemma facing her now.

Having the Leonard brothers resolve their differences would no doubt ease their mother’s heartache, for which Emma offered a host of thankful prayers. At the same time, however, she was saddened by the prospect of saying good-bye to Aunt Frances, a woman who had taught her the power of faith and a woman who had truly become a member of her Hill House family.