Moonlight on the Millpond (42 page)

“Are you warm enough?” Maddie asked Eden at the train station Monday morning. “Are you sure you have the lunch I packed?”

“Yes, thank you for everything, Maddie. I had a wonderful time.”

Before she could talk herself out of it, Eden hugged Maddie. Maddie hugged her right back, nearly causing Eden's eyes to fill. Eden then turned to her brother.

“Thank you for a wonderful weekend.”

“You're welcome. Come back and see us.”

“I'll do that. You take good care of Maddie. She's a treasure.”

“Yes, she is,” Jace agreed, initiating the hug this time, having been oddly touched to see Eden hug his wife.

“I love you, Jace,” Eden whispered just before she broke contact and hurried onto the train. She had wanted to cry again and thought she was going to fall to pieces if she didn't get herself out of there. She climbed aboard, waved from the window, and settled back for the ride.

Outside, Jace and Maddie returned to the sleigh. Jace needed something from the livery, but Maddie stayed snuggled under the mound of quilts and blankets they had brought for the ride. Her nose was cold by the time they left for home, but she didn't mind. The sun was shining off the snow, and it was a decidedly gorgeous morning.

Clara was working over the kitchen table when they arrived back. She had a beef roast in the oven and was putting the final touches on a pie. Maddie simply joined her in the work while Jace went to his desk in the parlor.

“Did Miss Randall get off?”

“Yes.”

“She seems friendlier these days,” Clara commented.

“She
is
friendly,” Maddie agreed, thinking the word seemed somewhat inadequate. “She's done a lot of changing recently.”

“Must mean she wants something,” Clara said, and Maddie was glad she didn't feel that negative about the situation.

Maddie went upstairs to take the sheets from Eden's room, and that was when she found it: Eden had left a beautiful quilt for a wedding gift. It was done in yellows and greens, and her handwork was perfect. Maddie touched it, fingering the stitches, very glad that she hadn't argued with Clara even though she knew that woman was wrong. There was much she didn't understand about her sister-in-law, but of one thing she was certain: Eden was not being kind in order to get something. And even if Maddie had been tempted to feel that way, one look at the quilt would allay such notions.

“Are you all right?” Jace asked over breakfast. It was Tuesday, and they had the house to themselves.

“Yes,” Maddie told him, smiling in an effort to be convincing. She had lain awake for a long time, questions swirling around in her mind, and not one of them had an answer. “How are you feeling?” She hoped to divert his thoughts about her.

“I feel good. If I was getting sick, I must have changed my mind.”

Maddie laughed and said, “I'm glad. It's so cold out. Do you have much work in the barn today?”

“Nothing that can't wait if I start to freeze. What are you doing today?”

“I need to write a thank-you to your sister, and then I want to finish decorating in your old room.”

“What will Clara say?” Jace teased.

“I'm hoping she'll be
very
impressed when she sees what I've done.”

Jace went on his way a short time later, allowing Maddie to let her guard down. She could not get Eden's words about being desperate and miserable from her mind, and when she did manage to forget them, Mr. Muldoon's words about being ready for eternity crowded in.

“If I'm ready for eternity,” Maddie said to herself as she cleaned up in the kitchen, “why am I so fearful? What do I really think is going to happen to me?”

But these were just more questions without answers, and for a moment Maddie's anger spiked. She wanted to stop thinking about it, and right now she was finally angry enough to accomplish that. Knowing she needed to occupy her thoughts, she put together a bread dough to rise for dinner and then went upstairs, stomping all the way. She would lick this thing if it was the last thing she did.

Looking for the ax he'd set down on Saturday, Jace stepped out of the barn wondering what had so distracted him that he would leave it outside. He was ready to get back in out of the wind, but he glanced up at the house and found Maddie at the window.

Jace smiled at the sight, but she didn't see him. Her gaze had traveled to the distance, out over the fields of snow all around them. Jace watched her with pleasure until he thought he saw her wipe a tear from her face. He squinted to see if his eyes were playing tricks on him, but just then Maddie spotted him. With a huge smile and wave, she grinned down at him, and Jace figured he'd been imagining things. He went back to work and put it out of his mind, giving Maddie the very thing she was hoping for as she turned from the window and continued to wipe the tears from her face.

“Good morning, Clara,” Doyle greeted when she came in from the cold. “What did you and Maddie come in for today?”

“I don't work at the farm on Tuesdays or Fridays, so I'm not with Maddie.”

“How did you get here?” Doyle knew she did not have horses or a sleigh.

“Mrs. Davis was coming in, and I came with her.”

“A day off,” Doyle teased a little. “You're turning into a woman of leisure.”

Clara laughed, thinking that if he could see the work she was doing in her small kitchen, he wouldn't say that. She had decided to hang a spice cabinet of her own, much like Maddie's, and she was thinking about putting in another window on the east side of the room.

“What can we get for you today?” Doyle offered.

Clara was ready with her list but took her time because Mrs. Davis had several other stops. Doyle was busy, but Clara didn't mind. She let him be interrupted twice, even going so far as to sit by the stove for a time.

“How are Jace and Maddie doing?” Doyle asked when he joined Clara by the stove.

“Fine. As you know, Jace's sister was here over the weekend. She was actually decent to be around this time. Almost human.”

“We didn't see them this weekend,” Doyle told her, not the least offended but concerned about Eden. “What's going on with his sister?”

“I've wondered that myself, but Jace and Maddie seemed to enjoy her.”

“Do you think she wants something?”

“I mentioned that to Maddie, but she didn't comment.” Clara shrugged. “She's Jace's sister. I figure he can do with her what he likes.”

“But how did she treat Maddie?”

“Real fine. They got along just great, and Eden even made a quilt and left it for them as a wedding gift.” Clara shook her head. “Maddie already has it on the bed. It's beautiful.”

Doyle worried some about Eden's presence and the fact that they didn't see them all weekend. He listened to Clara talk about the amount of snow in the fields, but only half of his mind attended. Not until Clara said she had to finish her list did Doyle come completely back to the present.

He had many unanswered questions in his mind, but the one at the top of the list was how much to tell his wife. She would worry twice as much as he would, and maybe the whole episode was innocent. Doyle still had no answer when Clara left, and that bothered him. He only hoped that he would have it figured out before Cathy brought his dinner.

Maddie had pulled it off for the better part of a week, but it was no longer working. She was clearly distraught, and Jace had stopped believing her when she said nothing was wrong. They had quarreled twice over nothing at all, and Jace was finished. He came in for dinner on Friday, telling himself he wasn't leaving the house until Maddie told him why she was barely eating and pretending to be all right in his presence.

“This ham is good,” Jace said, trying to find the words that would get the truth from his wife.

“Is it?” she was forced to ask. She was still working on her tea and hadn't touched her plate. Watching her, Jace suddenly knew how he must handle this.

“Have I done something that's made you afraid?”

Maddie looked surprised. “I don't know what you mean.”

“Do you think I've brought liquor back into the house?”

“No, Jace. Such a thing never occurred to me.”

“Have I been harsh with you, or do you think I'm angry?”

“No,” Maddie answered soberly, sure she knew where he was headed with this.

“Then why can't you tell me what's bothering you? And please don't insult me anymore by saying nothing is wrong.”

Maddie set her saucer down, seeing how she'd hurt her husband. She wasn't upset or angry with him, but neither did she think he would understand.

“It's not your fault that I haven't talked to you, Jace,” Maddie admitted humbly. “But at the same time, you don't have tormented feelings about things like I do, so I assumed you wouldn't understand, or at the very least be weary of hearing from me on the subject.”

Jace stared at her for a moment, knowing this had to stem back to Sunday. He suddenly wished he had gone with the women so he could have heard what Mr. Sullins had to say. At least then he might have had a fighting chance to follow her logic now.

“I know it hasn't worked in the past, but did you try talking to Mr. Sullins after the service?”

Maddie's mouth opened in surprise.

“Jace, I didn't realize I never told you. We went to Mr. Muldoon's house. That was where your sister wanted to go, and I saw no reason not to.”

“What did Mr. Muldoon say that was so upsetting?” Jace asked, “or was it Eden?”

“It was both,” Maddie admitted. “Mr. Muldoon talked about being so sure of your destination that you never have to fear death or anything else. That made me remember what he said about baptism coming after a decision, and now I'm all confused. And then your sister said she had been miserable, and I find that I'm tormented over all the questions in my mind that never get answered.”