A Hearth in Candlewood (4 page)

‘‘It’s a tad early for Mr. Westcott to make deliveries,’’ Mother Garrett remarked without looking up from the cookstove.

Emma recognized the driver at once, but he was definitely not Adam Westcott, an area farmer who supplied Hill House with milk and butter. Even though her heart dropped to her knees and back again, she gave Mother Garrett a hug and stepped back to remove her apron and smooth back her hair. ‘‘Apparently, I have less time than I thought,’’ she explained. ‘‘That’s not Adam West-cott; it’s James Leonard.’’

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Widow Leonard standing on the bottom step. Turning and offering her a smile, she said, ‘‘It seems you’ve been discovered missing. James is here.’’

The elderly woman paled.

‘‘I’ll have to tell him you’re here,’’ Emma continued. ‘‘Would you like to speak with him?’’

Widow Leonard held tight to the railing. ‘‘Not yet. Certainly not today. I don’t want to talk to James—or Andrew, either, for that matter.’’

‘‘Don’t worry. Just stay here in the kitchen. I’ll take care of everything.’’ Emma started for her office, where she expected to find James waiting at the door where she customarily welcomed arriving guests. She walked slowly but steadily, ready to do battle with a good dose of common sense and the sheer power of faith as her only weapons.

4

W
ITH GUESTS RISING, DRESSING,
and some dining already, the boardinghouse was literally coming to life while Emma waited for James Leonard in her office. She listened as he scraped his boots before turning a knob that sounded the bell above her door and announced his arrival.

She whispered yet another silent prayer all would go well, then unlatched the door that opened onto the side of the wraparound porch. Emma gratefully noted the sun had chased away the chill of the past few days.

Straw hat in hand, James nodded. ‘‘I hope I haven’t disturbed you too early,’’ he ventured, but he did not step forward. He was well over six feet tall and carried muscles heavy from years of farming. She found it hard to believe that Widow Leonard, a small slip of a woman, had given birth to this strapping man, her firstborn. A lifetime of outdoor work, however, had leathered his features, and the heavy hint of gray in the hair at his temples put his age at close to fifty, she supposed.

Surprisingly, his gaze was troubled rather than angry. ‘‘May I come in?’’

Emma stepped aside and closed the door behind him.

‘‘I’ve come about my mother,’’ he explained. ‘‘She’s here, isn’t she?’’

‘‘Yes, she is. Please, have a seat,’’ she insisted and pointed to the two straight-back chairs in front of her desk. While he took his seat, she moved behind the desk and took her own. Reassured by his meek demeanor, she assumed his brother was the one with the reputation for having a temper.

She relished the modicum of authority she wielded sitting behind the massive desk, as suitable for her needs operating the boardinghouse as it was for the former owner, and far superior to a dainty lady’s desk. Rather than trying to justify his mother’s presence here, which would definitely put her on the defensive, she held silent.

He cleared his throat. ‘‘Let me begin by apologizing to you. Taking in my mother when you already had an overflow of guests must have been incredibly inconvenient, but I’m very, very grateful that you were able to care for her.’’

‘‘We can always make room at Hill House for one more. We’re happy to have her with us,’’ she said. ‘‘I’m curious, though. How did you come to look for your mother here?’’

His dark eyes flashed with guilt. ‘‘I . . . I guess this is my fault. I must have misunderstood her. I thought she said she’d be going home with my brother, so when the storm hit and I lost sight of her, I just assumed she’d left with him. She’d forgotten some of her things, so I took them to my brother’s home first thing this morning. That’s when I found out she wasn’t there like she said she’d be. I headed straight for town, and when I stopped at the General Store to make some inquiries, I was told here would be the most likely place to find her.’’

Emma nodded.

He let out a sigh and toyed with the rim of his hat. ‘‘I guess I’m more relieved than anything,’’ he admitted and looked around the room before meeting her gaze. ‘‘If you’ll calculate her bill, I’ll just pay what she owes. I’d like to take her home with me for a few days before she—’’

Another visitor rang the bell and interrupted him.

‘‘I’m sorry. Excuse me just a moment,’’ Emma suggested. She rose, made her way to the door again, and nearly gasped upon opening it.

Andrew Leonard, all six feet of anger and determination, stood outside and glared at her. ‘‘I’ve come to take my mother home.’’

She stiffened her back. ‘‘Good morning,’’ she managed. ‘‘Please come in.’’

He eyed his brother’s wagon, hesitated, then charged past her to get inside without bothering to scrape the mud still clinging to his boots. Belatedly, he removed his hat.

Before she managed to close the door again, James had gotten to his feet, turned, and faced his brother. They were only a few years apart in age, but anger created a palpable distance between them.

She sliced the tension that separated the two brothers by walking between them to return to her seat behind the desk. Heart pounding, she folded her hands and rested them on top of her desk. ‘‘Gentlemen, if you’d both be seated . . .’’

James hesitated, his right cheek twitching. His hand tightened around the rim of his hat and, reluctantly, he took his seat.

Andrew, however, remained standing. ‘‘Kindly tell my mother I’m here to take her home.’’

James squared his shoulders. ‘‘As we were discussing, Widow Garrett, I’ll happily settle my mother’s bill before we leave.’’

‘‘Apparently my brother is under the mistaken impression that Mother is returning to
his
home,’’ Andrew argued. ‘‘Regardless of what she may have told you or anyone else, our mother is coming home with me. I certainly won’t begrudge paying whatever it is her lodgings have cost, but I have little time or energy to waste arguing with you,’’ he charged, directing his words to her and away from his brother.

Emma cast them each a hard look. She had neither the patience nor the wisdom of Solomon, but she had no intention of sending Widow Leonard home with either of these two men until the elderly woman made the decision to do so. ‘‘If and when your mother decides to leave is up to her,’’ she said and deliberately kept her voice soft but firm.

‘‘If and when my mother leaves is
not
up to her,’’ Andrew spat. ‘‘According to my father’s will, she’s to live with one of us, and she’s due, no, she’s past due the time when she should have come to live with me. So I’m afraid she’ll be leaving now. With me.’’

‘‘Since I can’t afford for her to stay here any longer,’’ James said firmly, ‘‘she’ll have to come home with me today.’’

Emma drew several long breaths to allow for a quick prayer. ‘‘In truth, gentlemen, your mother will not be leaving at all. She’ll be staying here a bit longer. You see, she’s not here as a guest, as you’ve both presumed. She’s living here now as a member of my staff.’’

James’s eyes widened. ‘‘Your staff? You mean to say you’ve actually hired her to work here?’’

‘‘Don’t be absurd,’’ Andrew charged. With his face flushed and his eyes bulging, he looked like a pot about to boil over on Mother Garrett’s cookstove. ‘‘In addition to the fact that she’s far too old to be working, there’s little of value—’’

‘‘Actually, she’s quite skilled with the needle, and she’s agreed to share her talent with all of us here at Hill House,’’ Emma interjected. ‘‘Like other members of my staff,’’ she continued, unwilling to give either man the opportunity to argue with her, ‘‘she’ll receive room and board, along with a small stipend, in exchange for her valuable services.’’

‘‘I want to speak with my mother. Now,’’ Andrew demanded as he took a step forward.

James rose from his seat so fast his chair nearly toppled to the floor. He caught the chair with his free hand and set it right before he locked his gaze with Emma’s. ‘‘I was here first. I’ll speak to my mother first.’’

Emma locked her knees together to keep them from shaking and managed a smile. ‘‘I do apologize to both of you. I know you’ve both traveled a long way this morning, but unfortunately, I don’t allow my staff to have visitors when they’re working. Your mother’s free time is from noon on Saturday until eight o’clock on Sunday evening. During that time, she can stay here and receive visitors or she can return home, much the same as the other members of my staff often do. Until then, I’m afraid I must ask you both to leave. I really must get back to my guests,’’ she announced and rose from her seat.

Andrew took another step forward and effectively blocked her way. ‘‘You have no right to keep me from seeing my mother, and I will not allow gossipmongers to label me as an ogre for putting my aged mother out to work when that’s most definitely not the case.’’

‘‘Nor will I,’’ James added, although he did not move from his position on the opposite side of her desk.

Emma swallowed hard. If it was indeed true that the two brothers were not speaking to each other because of some unexplained disagreement, at least they were now united against what they perceived to be a common enemy—her. Neither man, unfortunately, seemed willing to budge, which meant the standoff would continue and she might be forced to spend some time trapped behind her desk.

Unsure of exactly what to do next, Emma simply held her ground, quite certain neither one of Widow Leonard’s sons would resort to violence to get his way. For several long heartbeats, she heard her pulse pounding in her ears. When she glimpsed the sampler hanging on the wall next to the window, she let out a sigh and prayed each man would be swayed by her words.

‘‘You might do well to remember something,’’ she began and nodded toward the sampler. Each of the men paused and then, following her direction, glanced at the sampler and back at her.

‘‘ ‘Honor thy father and thy mother,’ ’’ she whispered. ‘‘I stitched that sampler many, many years ago. How I wish my dear mother were still here, that I might love her and honor her wishes, regardless of how old she had become or how old I had grown to be. My mother passed to glory long ago, but you’re both blessed to have your mother still here. It’s neither my place nor my intention to question why your mother has chosen to come and work here, but she’s not a child. She’s eighty-one years old. She has a sound mind and a right to decide her own future.’’

She paused and looked from one man to the other. ‘‘I pray someday she might want to return home to live with both of you from time to time. Until then, please honor her wishes to stay here at Hill House. And honor her request not to speak with either of you today. Perhaps you might like to speak to Reverend Glenn instead. As you know, he’s living here at Hill House now. I’m certain he’d be willing to discuss the merits of the fifth commandment with both of you.’’

James was the first to relent and step back from her desk. His shoulders were stiff with annoyance, but his gaze had softened. ‘‘I’m not sure why my mother is being so difficult, but I trust you will provide well for her here, at least temporarily. Tell her . . . tell her to send for me when she wants to come home.’’

When she nodded in reply, he walked past his brother and let himself out.

Andrew simply continued to glare at her. ‘‘James is a fool, and my mother is obviously becoming senile. You have until Sunday to convince her you made a mistake hiring her. I’ll expect her to leave with me after services,’’ he hissed, then turned on his heel and slammed the door shut the moment he stepped outside.

Emma briefly shut her eyes until her heartbeat slowed to a normal rhythm. With more than a little divine inspiration, she had managed to secure a few more days for Widow Leonard to think through her troubles before she had to face either of her sons. The nature of the wedge that had driven the two brothers apart still remained a mystery, but Emma had lived enough years and learned more about the variety of troubles that could drive families apart to know the root of the problem was related to either love or money.

James and Andrew had both been married for a good number of years. Money, either the lack of it or the opportunity to acquire it, was the more likely culprit. Given the change in the economy brought to the area by the building of the Candlewood Canal, the Leonard brothers were no doubt experiencing the same challenges that faced many other longtime residents: to change and grow with the times or to cling to the past.

Faith was the one anchor that would hold them steady.

Faith would strengthen the ties that bound them together as a family.

‘‘Simply faith,’’ she whispered and prayed James and Andrew might rediscover the power of faith in their lives to end the bitterness between them.

Until they did, Emma would put her own faith to work, perhaps with a little assistance from Zachary Breckenwith, who was her lawyer as well as her financial advisor.

After all her guests left today.

After Hill House was restored to proper order.

But well before either James or Andrew thought better of leaving their mother at Hill House and returned to force her to leave.

5

S
IX HOURS AND COUNTLESS ACHING
muscles after the last guest had left, Emma stopped cleaning long enough to take a turn around the first floor to survey the progress they had made setting Hill House back to rights.

She started in the center hall at the front door. Ditty had swept the wraparound porch free of dirt and debris left by the storm and wiped down the porch chairs after helping Emma remove the cots and bedding from both front rooms. Emma peeked into each room and smiled at the well-appointed parlors they had become once again. Instead of going through the dining room into the kitchen, which was under Mother Garrett’s control, she poked her head into the library, where the heavy scent of leather from the two new wing chairs added to the already strong masculine flavor of the dark-paneled room.

The sound of Ditty’s footsteps overhead as she tackled one of the smaller guest rooms reassured Emma the young woman was still hard at work. Before she rejoined her, however, Emma wanted to check on Widow Leonard and Reverend Glenn, who had both been relegated to the side patio for the day to keep them from having to move from room to room while the others cleaned.