Sister's Choice (17 page)

“Oh, Evan! I’m sorry I didn’t tell you! Zack said I needn’t tell unless I was asked, and no one ever asked.” There, she’d said it, and she was glad she had finally told someone besides Zack. She took a steadying breath. “But it can’t be that important. Tommy was always saying things against his father. He even told me once or twice that he could kill him, but he never meant it. It was just blowing off steam.”

“I think you realize it could be very important,” Evan replied, still with that steady, calm tone. “Especially if the opposition knew about it.”

“Will you make me tell them?” Her lip trembled.

“No, of course not,” he soothed. “I am not required to do any such thing. But if the prosecution called you to the stand . . .”

“They can’t! They just can’t. I’ll lie if they do.”

“You cannot lie.” His tone was firm and unyielding. Then his voice softened. “I won’t let it come to that, but it means I can’t call you as a character witness.”

“Who else will you find?”

“There will be someone else in the community, I am certain.”

Maggie wasn’t so certain. Many tended to lump Tommy and his father together in their esteem. If Maggie’s own father, who was the most fair-minded man around, had ill feelings about Tommy, how would anyone else be found to stick up for him in court?

They drove in silence for a while, all thought of food gone. Maggie concentrated on the sound of the carriage wheels splashing through the mud. She thought she heard a funny thumping sound in a wheel but forgot all about that when Evan spoke again.

“Maggie, forgive me if this seems indelicate,” he said, “but it could be pertinent in Tommy ’s case—it may even give the prosecution cause to call you to the stand as their own witness, though a hostile witness to be sure.” He paused, then continued. “Is there more between you and Tommy than friendship?”

“What!” Somehow it bothered her more than ever that Evan, of all people, could think she’d have romantic feelings toward someone like Tommy.

“Stranger things have happened,” he said defensively.

“How do you mean
stranger
?” she challenged.

“Well, ah . . .” He paused awkwardly before continuing. “You are intelligent, bright, and beautiful, while Tommy is, you have to admit, a bit slow-witted. He hardly seems your type of man. Yet you do seem very attached to him.”

“I’m beautiful?” she asked, for the moment forgetting all else.

“Of course you are.” He swallowed, perhaps flustered that he had even noticed, much less admitted it. “Please, forgive me for my forwardness!”

She still was unsure how to respond to Evan’s compliment, so she chose instead to recall his other words and respond to them. “I’ve always felt so sorry for Tommy. The kids made such vicious fun of him. He desperately needed one friend.”

Evan nodded. “Somewhat like you have been with me.”

She wanted to make a ready protest, but she saw how he might interpret it in that way. Yet it was also very different. “I never felt sorry for you,” she tried to explain. “I feel more equal with you, Evan. In fact, I feel almost as if we are like me and Tommy only in reverse. I am Tommy and you are me because you are far above me in so many areas.”

He laughed ruefully. “That is an interesting analogy but hardly true. I may have had more education, but it doesn’t mean I am smarter than you. However, I will accept the notion of our being on equal footing. I like you a lot, Maggie, and I would hate to think you only felt sorry for me.”

“Banish that thought! I like you, too. Hey, how about that food?”

As Evan was directing the team to the side of the road Maggie heard that strange thumping sound again. She was about to mention it to Evan when the wagon lurched. Then suddenly the entire rear of the carriage tilted. Evan sharply pulled the team back, and as if in protest, both horses reared. He tried to control them, but that was almost impossible, and the carriage continued its tilting slide. Maggie hung on to her seat, bracing herself for the whole rig to overturn. Her fingers could not get a good grip on the leather seat, and she slid down the seat, stopping with a hard bump against Evan. He nearly dropped one of the reins but managed to save it with a finger and loop it back around his hand.

Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the movement stopped. The horses were still restive, and Evan had to keep a tight hold on the reins.

“Are you all right?” he asked Maggie, directing a concerned gaze toward her.

“Yes,” she said, though her voice was slightly shaky. “I hope I didn’t bruise your shoulder.”

“That is the least of our worries.” He pulled aside the curtain on his side and looked out. “We’ve slipped into a ditch and lost the left rear wheel. That was the odd sound I heard a while ago. It was probably coming loose.”

“Maybe we can fix it,” she said.

He looked at her as if she were crazy. Then, when she pulled her curtain aside and started to climb out, he seemed to remember himself. “You sit tight! I’ll look at it.” He handed her the reins, though the horses had finally calmed since the initial mishap, and climbed out.

“Make sure the horses are okay, too,” she said. Maggie didn’t like just sitting while he did the dirty work, yet she belatedly realized that a lady, as she wanted to be, would let the man fix the problem. Besides that, it was raining, and she did have one of her better dresses on.

After a few minutes he called, “The horses are fine.”

A few more minutes passed. She heard him sloshing around. The carriage shook once; then she heard a yelp.

“Evan, are you okay?” she called.

When there was no immediate response, she slid down the rest of the way on the seat to the driver’s side. The carriage tottered, and she realized it might have been a mistake to disturb the vehicle’s precarious balance. She paused a moment until the movement stopped, then jumped out. At least the rain had let up a bit. Just as her boots hit the mud, she heard Evan.

“I’m . . . I’m okay,” he said, his voice gritty. When she turned toward the sound, she saw why. He was clawing his way back up the ditch, his mouth and indeed his entire face caked with mud, his spectacles hooked over one ear, held up only by his nose, and the front of his suit covered with brown ooze.

Maggie thought he looked quite funny but wisely restrained the laugh that rose to her lips. “Oh, you poor thing!” she said as sympathetically as she could. “Let me help you—”

She took a step toward him.

“Careful!” he warned.

But regardless, her feet slipped out from under her. She landed on her behind and just kept going, sailing down the side of the ditch as if she were a ship on a brown sea.

“Yowl!” she cried, not entirely from distress. It was really rather exhilarating.

“Maggie! Maggie!” Evan cried, his voice registering true distress. “I’m coming for you!”

“Stop!” she yelled as she thumped to the bottom. But it was too late. In a moment Evan was at the bottom of the ditch beside her. He landed with a muddy splat! She could no longer restrain her mirth and nearly rolled in the mud laughing.

Evan stared, mystified. He was obviously unable to see the humor in this state of affairs. Filled with an evil desire to break through his seriousness, Maggie grabbed a handful of mud and tossed it at him like a snowball. She had a very good aim for a girl and struck him square in the nose.

“What—!” he sputtered.

She was practically howling now. In her amusement she closed her eyes for a moment, not aware of what a perfect target she made and certainly not expecting that the solemn Evan would react until a wad of mud suddenly filled her mouth.

She gagged, spitting and sputtering.

Bubbles of laughter finally escaped from Evan. Maggie gave him a shove, but she was laughing again, as well.

“Guess we don’t have to worry about getting dirty anymore.” Maggie giggled.

“I don’t think you were worried much about that in the first place,” he said dryly.

“I haven’t had this much fun in an age,” she replied, amusement still rippling through her voice.

“Still, I’ve ruined another one of your dresses.”

“I think I’ll go back to wearing overalls. You should, too,” she said. “Think of the fun we could have then! I’ll take you fishing and berry picking—I know a patch up by the pond that is good and ripe—” She stopped, seeing a very peculiar look on Evan’s face. “What’s wrong?”

Suddenly he was more flustered than when he’d had a mouthful of mud. “Nothing!” He scrambled to his feet. “We better see to the carriage.” He held out his hand for her, and as he drew her to her feet, his expression still looked strange, as if he’d gulped down more than mud.

After several attempts, they made it up the slippery ditch. Evan had to straddle the edge of the ditch precariously in order to examine the wheel shaft. Maggie stood close by on more level ground, her hands ready to steady him should he lose his footing again.

He scratched his head. “To be honest, Maggie, I haven’t the slightest idea how to fix this. We may have to walk the rest of the way home. Do you mind?”

“I don’t know,” she deadpanned. “I might get dirty.”

“At least it has stopped raining,” he offered.

“I say we eat something before we go. There’s a good four or five more miles to home.”

Using a jug of water that was kept in the back of the carriage and some napkins Mama had packed in the picnic basket, they cleaned some of the mud from their hands and faces. The meal of bread and cheese and apples was eaten with a liberal helping of grit, yet Maggie thought it was one of the best meals she’d ever had. They ate standing up in ankle-deep mud with the basket sitting on the floor of the tilted carriage. They talked and laughed some more over the incident, and when they finished eating, Maggie suggested they ride the carriage team home, since they were going to have to unhitch the horses and bring them back anyway. She almost regretted her suggestion. The five-mile walk with Evan would have been enjoyable. But the ride was almost as good and more of an adventure because Evan hadn’t ridden a horse bareback since he’d been a boy. He was having so much trouble making his horse, who wasn’t accustomed to carrying riders, go in the right direction that finally Maggie suggested they ride double and lead the second animal.

It was hard to tell under all the mud still caked on his face, but Maggie thought he got a bit pale at the idea of riding double.

“No,” he said, “I refuse to let this beast win.” And with renewed tenacity, he managed to get the animal to obey his commands.

It started to rain again, and by the time they arrived home, they were wet to the skin. Maggie would have liked to invite Evan to supper, but that was impossible. He needed to get home and take a bath and then see to the carriage. He did accept her invitation for the next day to have another dance lesson and supper afterward.

As soon as Evan departed, Mama set up the tub on the back porch and began heating water for Maggie’s bath. Standing by the fire in the hearth with a quilt wrapped around her shivering body, she thought about the day. Though it had gotten off to a shaky start with the visit to Tommy and his slip about what he had told her before his father’s death, it had ended rather pleasantly. If only Colby had been there instead of Evan! Yet if so, would she have had the same fun with Colby? Had she
ever
had such fun with him?

No, she couldn’t remember ever having such a day with Colby. She’d never even gone on an outing with him except to events where large groups of people were in attendance. Surely those couldn’t count. Besides, he’d always been pursuing Ellie, and Maggie had always been in too much of a dither around him to even begin to have a good time.

Here she was about to spend another day with Evan when it should be with Colby. But she couldn’t ask Colby. What if he said no? Moreover, it made her shaky inside just thinking of it.

When the tub was full, Maggie shed her muddy clothes and slipped into the nice warm bath. The back porch was covered, so it was protected from the rain, and Mama set up a folding screen to give her privacy. The Parkers had an indoor bathroom with a fancy claw-foot tub. Evan was probably using it right now. Suddenly Maggie turned red at the thought of Evan taking a bath.

Ellie poked her head around the screen. “Here’s a towel for you—what are you all red for? Is the water too hot?”

“Must be,” Maggie said, grasping at the ready excuse.

Ellie laid the towel over the back of a chair. “You sure had a miserable trip to town.”

“I don’t know. It was actually kind of fun.”

“That’s right. You don’t mind getting dirty. Evan must have been upset to ruin his expensive suit.”

“He was more worried about my dress. And he wasn’t that upset. We . . . well, it was fun. He’s a lot of fun when he stops being so serious.”

“Oh really?” Ellie arched her brow, a knowing glint in her eye.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, you have been spending a lot of time with Evan lately.”

“And you know why.” Maggie gave her head a shake, knowing her wet hair would spray all over Ellie.

Ellie squealed and jumped back. “Maybe you are barking up the wrong tree, Mags.”

“Oh, please!” Maggie laughed at the outlandish implication of her sister’s words. “Can you imagine the cow Mama would have if I took up with Florence Parker’s son?” She laughed harder. Around her giggles she added, “Almost as bad as if I took up with the fake minister.” The words were no sooner out of her mouth than she realized how insensitive they were. The stricken look on Ellie’s face didn’t help. “Ellie, I’m sorry! You know I was just joshing you. Mama loves Zack.”

Ellie took a shaky breath, then plopped down in the chair. “Do you really think she does? Oh, I think she does love him, but I’m not so sure she loves the idea of him being her son-in-law. The other day she questioned me about our future, and I didn’t have many good answers for her about how we would live, especially with his debt. She got that look, you know, the one where she really disapproves but is trying to hold it in.”

“I never liked
that
look.” Maggie soaped up her hair and gave her head a good scrubbing. “Do you love Zack?”