The Nanny's Little Matchmakers (Love Inspired Historical) (5 page)

“They’re doing quite well, all things considered. They miss you terribly, but we’re getting along. It would have been easier had you at least sent word.”

He’d forgotten about how readily she spoke her mind. This was the second time in a matter of minutes she’d taken him to task as if he were one of the children instead of her employer. As much as he should remind her of propriety, he knew her chastisement of him came from a place of caring for his children.

Yet the gleam in those blue eyes told him she wasn’t finished with him yet.

“My lawyer was in contact with my brother. I believe he kept you apprised of the situation.”

“Apprised?” Polly’s voice rose slightly, but then she lowered it again, looking over her shoulder at the bedrooms. “If by
apprised
, you mean he let us know you were alive, then yes. We were
apprised
of the situation. However, when one engages a nanny and tells her of the scandal of his wife’s death, he should also
apprise
the nanny of the fact that he is considered a suspect.”

Polly was right, of course. He should have told her. But he hadn’t realized his arrest was so imminent. He’d already known that getting anyone to care for his difficult children was challenging enough, but then to have his extenuating circumstances on top of that...it seemed like madness.

“My lawyer has advised me not to speak to anyone about the case. It didn’t occur to me that they would arrest me like that.”

She frowned at him. “The press perhaps, but the person entrusted with your children should know what to expect. You should have at least informed me of the potential issues and how you’d like me to address them with the children.”

Mitch let out a long sigh. Right again. But Polly didn’t understand what was at stake here. He’d sheltered the children from the truth about their mother for years.

“I haven’t known what to say,” he said quietly, looking down at his hands. He’d always tried to be strong for his children, and yet now, when they faced the biggest challenge they’d ever faced, he had no idea what to do.

“They just lost their mother, and now their father has gone off without word and I’ve had no explanation for them. You have to say something.”

Mitch’s heart clanged to the bottom of his stomach, threatening to pull him under. How did a man tell his children that their beloved Mummy was dead, and everyone thought their father did it?

He didn’t look up at her. Couldn’t really, considering that he already felt the weight of her eyes on him, and to have to face them would be too much. Why was Polly affecting him this way? She was practically a child, and yet the wisdom and experience coming from those eyes...

“I don’t know what to say,” he said, repeating his earlier words, looking forlorn, still not meeting her gaze.

“How about letting them know you didn’t do it and that you’re working to find the real culprit?”

Her words hung in the air between them, and it should have been easy enough to agree with her.

But then Polly spoke again, so quietly, it was almost indecipherable. “Unless, of course, you killed her.”

Had she tossed a red-hot coal and hit him squarely in the chest, it would not have burned as hard as her words. Mitch jumped up from his chair and stood, towering over her, where she knelt.

“Get out!”

Polly calmly picked up the supplies she’d used to bandage his leg, then rose. “And who will watch your children the next time the deputies come for you?”

Even the accusations from the investigators hadn’t stung so much. They’d spewed horrible, disgusting details about Hattie’s death, and never had he felt so violently toward them.

“How dare you?”

“How dare
you
?” Polly stepped into his space, mere inches from him, bringing her face as close to his as possible, given that she stood nearly a head shorter than he. “You hire a woman to care for your children, get arrested for a grisly murder and don’t have the courtesy to tell her the truth about what happened. At least be so good as to declare your innocence.”

The sparks flying from her eyes only served to stoke the fire in him. “I told them when they arrested me that I didn’t do it. What more do you want?”

“No,” Polly said, taking a step back. “You told them that they knew you didn’t do it. It’s not the same as telling me what’s happening, and to reassure me that you did not, in fact, kill your wife. It’s not the same as telling your children that you didn’t kill their darling Mummy.”

Everything in Mitch’s body burned. But as he thought of the only answer he had, he suddenly went cold. “I shouldn’t have to.”

He walked toward the fireplace, putting his hands out for the dying embers to give him some warmth. Something to chase away the ice that had seized his heart. “I’ve never been anything but honorable in all of my dealings. In how I treated Hattie and the children. How could anyone think...”

Memories washed over him. All the times he and Hattie fought, with Hattie storming out and him not hearing from her for months. The scandals Hattie always found herself in, and him, stoically standing by, saying nothing, because he didn’t want the children to think ill of their mother.

No, he had never said anything. The papers had always said enough, and regardless of whether or not their stories were true, they said it anyway. What was there for him to say?

Mitch turned back toward Polly. “I didn’t kill Hattie,” he said quietly. “I hope that satisfies you. But that is all I will say on the matter, and should you require any more information, I suggest you find other employment. For I will not speak of it.”

His threat, as much as he’d like it to have more power, floated on the air. Losing someone who cared for his children as much as Polly would be a blow. But already the rumors and innuendos swirling about were too much for Mitch to handle. All were complete lies, of course, but he’d seen how good friends had already closed their doors to him, not wanting to be involved with something so scandalous. And with the way the investigators had already twisted his words and actions, his lawyer had told him that the less he said to anyone, the better. One of the “witnesses” was Mitch’s former housekeeper, who’d told the investigators about the violent last argument he’d had with Hattie.

The argument had been violent. But it had been Hattie who’d thrown the lamp at him. Hattie who’d screamed obscenities. Hattie who’d slapped him so soundly it had made his cheek bleed from where her nails had scratched him. She’d stormed out, slamming the door behind her, and he hadn’t heard from her since.

Absently, he rubbed the spot on his cheek. The scratches had faded, leaving only invisible scars that left him wondering how he’d gotten caught up in the madness in the first place.

Polly remained standing where she’d been, the shadows too dark for him to see her eyes, and he was glad. He’d just begun to get to know her, just gotten to like her, and now he was driving her away.

Mitch cleared his throat. “I’d also like to make it clear that I won’t have you gossiping about my family. If anyone asks, a reporter shows up or anything of the like, you will say nothing. I was arrested based on rumor, and I will not have anyone in my employ who is prone to idle talk.”

“I would never gossip about anyone,” Polly said quietly.

“Perhaps,” Mitch said slowly. “But just as you needed to hear that I didn’t kill my wife, I need to hear that you won’t be talking to anyone about my family.”

Polly nodded. “You have my word.” Then she hesitated. “But...my family...”

“I would rather you not share with them.” Who knew what, even in innocence, might be shared. And, with all the comings and goings in the parsonage, what would be overheard and misconstrued.

She didn’t say anything, but instead, walked over to him and placed her hand on his arm. Then, with those eyes that seemed to probe deeper into his soul than he was comfortable with, she spoke softly.

“It must be incredibly lonely keeping yourself so closed off. As much as they make me crazy sometimes, I don’t know what I would do without my family to talk to. I understand that it must be difficult to talk to someone you barely know, but I hope you know that you don’t have to go through this alone.”

Mitch’s throat clogged with anything he might have said in response. What did Polly know of his life? Of the difficulties he could not, would not, share?

Then she squeezed his arm, sending a current through him that seized his heart. “Even if you reject my friendship, please at least consider opening up to your brother. He cares for you deeply, and I know he wants to help even more than he has.”

He closed his eyes, willing himself to breathe. Andrew was the last person he’d confide in. Yes, he loved his brother, but how could he let his brother know just how bad things were? How could he disappoint him so?

Polly’s soft lilac scent filled his nostrils.
She
was the one he wanted to confide in. Wanted to wrap his arms around her, and have her tell him it was going to be all right. But then he would have to admit to feelings that he didn’t have the right to have.

Mitch took another deep breath. “I have everything under control,” he said, pulling away. “We should both turn in for the night. Morning will be here before you know it, and I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that the children are early risers.”

“Of course,” Polly said, bowing her head. She seemed to understand without him having to tell her that theirs needed to be a more formal relationship. There would be no confidences shared, no...none of the things that sometimes crossed his mind. He couldn’t afford to have his heart so ensnared again.

He started for his bedroom, but Polly stopped him. “If you’ll just give me a moment, I’ve been sleeping in there with Isabella. It seemed easier to be closer to the children.”

“It’s all right. I’ll take the other bedroom. After the nights I’ve spent in a cell, any bed has to be more comfortable.”

Another dip of the head. “As you wish.”

No, nothing was as he wished. But as he watched Polly retreat back into the bedroom, he knew it was the only way to keep his heart safe.

Chapter Five

T
he children were already eating breakfast when Mitch entered the kitchen, hair tousled and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Polly had hoped he’d be able to sleep in, but with the room just off the kitchen, and the ruckus that always came with mealtime, she should have known his peace wouldn’t last long.

“Papa!” five voices chorused as they all jumped from the table and wrapped their arms around him.

As much as she wanted to hold Mitch’s inability to be forthcoming against him, and wanted to stay angry with him, she found that as she watched the loving interaction between father and children, she couldn’t bring herself to do so. For the first time since he’d gone away, Louisa was actually smiling.

“I see Polly still has all her hair,” Mitch said, looking up at her and smiling. “I hope that means you were all well behaved.”

The cross expression returned to Louisa’s face as she made a noise. “Well, she wasn’t as horrid as Mrs. Abernathy, but we would have done just fine without her.”

As the younger girl wound herself up for what Polly imagined was yet another argument for why she should be allowed to take care of her siblings, Mitch seemed to sense the direction Louisa was taking as well.

“I don’t want to hear it,” he said, shaking his head. “I need an adult taking care of you, and Polly is doing a wonderful job.”

“How would you know? You’ve been gone.” Louisa’s dark eyes flashed, and she stepped away from her father, crossing her arms over her chest.

Polly turned to help Isabella get back in her chair, but not before she caught the reciprocal flash in Mitch’s eyes.

“It couldn’t be helped,” he said, his voice quiet, yet with an undercurrent of tension that made Polly’s heart ache.

She supposed he couldn’t be forthcoming with the children; after all, having their father be accused of killing their mother was a tragedy no child should have to experience. Losing their mother was bad enough, but to have to face the potential involvement of their father...

Polly took a deep breath. She’d been judging Mitch harshly, when he’d simply been doing the best he could do.

“Would you like some breakfast?” she said, straightening as she smiled at him. “Your brother thoughtfully provided a housekeeper to help with the cooking and such since apparently you hadn’t had time to engage one. Lucy has just gone down to get some more milk, but I think you’ll be pleased with her.”

Mitch nodded slowly, then sat at the head of the table. “Thank you. I guess I hadn’t realized what a mess I’d left behind.”

He spoke slowly, as though the remorse for the difficult position he’d left everyone in had finally dawned on him.

“We made it through just fine,” Polly said, handing him a plate. “Now we need to move forward as best as we can.”

She’d have liked to have told him that she was sorry for her accusations the previous night. The five accusing glances, even from little Isabella, must have weighed incredibly heavily on him. He didn’t need the additional pressure from her.

The back door opened, and Lucy bustled in. “There’s a crowd gathered out front, and they were asking me all sorts of questions.”

Mitch had just raised a forkful of eggs to his lips but hadn’t taken a bite yet. The fork clattered to the table as he jumped up and went to the front window.

He muttered something indistinguishable as he turned back toward the kitchen area. “Reporters.”

“Like when Mummy has a show?” Clara asked, her eyes lighting up momentarily, then dimming. “They don’t know she is gone?”

“No, you dolt. It’s because Mummy is dead. They all want to know how we feel about losing her.” Louisa’s face darkened, but fire filled her eyes. “Why won’t they leave us alone?”

Mitch looked over at Polly, his eyes locking with hers. A silent reminder that the children didn’t know the circumstances that hung over him.

How were they supposed to carry on with their lives with the reporters hanging about? One ill-placed question, and Mitch would have a great deal of explaining to do.

“Let’s forget about them and enjoy our breakfasts, shall we?” Polly tried to sound cheerful, but as the sullen children stared at their congealing eggs, she found she didn’t have much of an appetite either.

Isabella, however, was too innocent to understand the darkness surrounding her family, and she devoured her meal. At least one of her charges was eating.

Mitch made a show of finishing his breakfast. “It was delicious. Thank you, Lucy.”

He acknowledged their housekeeper with a smile, but his eyes weren’t in it.

How had Polly come to take such an interest in him? To notice his moods and his features? She shook her head. Just part of the job. Of course she had to be sensitive to Mitch’s moods—for the children’s sakes.

“I suppose we could start our lessons.” Once again, Polly tried to sound cheerful, but she was met with dull expressions. Typically, the suggestion of lessons would have elicited a few groans, or some argument. But with the mention of their beloved mummy, their grief came back up again, swallowing them into a pit of mourning that left them incapable of feeling anything else.

“Or, I was thinking, we could go to the parsonage and take our lessons with the children there today.”

“Wif Nugget?” Isabella’s big dark eyes brightened as she hopped off her chair and bounded toward Polly.

In the days Mitch had been gone, the children had spent a good deal of time with the parsonage children. Partially because it was easier than keeping them cooped up in the tiny apartment when they were clearly used to living in a larger home. But also because Polly had seen how much the children needed to be around others their own age. Nugget had taken a shine to Isabella and relished finally having a child younger than herself to mother.

Oddly enough, Isabella seemed to relish the attention just as much.

“Yes, my sweet. With Nugget.” She ruffled the little girl’s hair, then looked over at Mitch. “With your father’s approval, of course. It might provide a nice distraction.”

Mitch gave her a warm smile. “Yes, that would be nice. Thank you.” Then he looked over at Lucy. “Had anyone followed you to the back?”

“No, sir. It’s not a well-used entrance, and the only reason I knew of it was because the other Mr. Taylor suggested it to avoid the reporters.”

Then he turned his attention to Polly. “Let’s go now, before anyone discovers it.”

* * *

Madness. That’s what the whole situation was. He would take the children out of the apartment now, so they wouldn’t see the people standing in front of the building holding signs that said Murderer, but what then? Eventually, they’d have to come home, and those people, as well as the reporters, would still be there.

Everyone thought he’d killed Hattie. The newspapers in Denver already blasted the headline that he’d killed her in a fit of passion. Passion. Ha! He hadn’t experienced passion toward Hattie in so long, he couldn’t even remember what it felt like. But the sensational headlines sold papers, and convicting him of Hattie’s murder would get the sheriff reelected. No one cared about the truth.

Had it not been for his lawyer calling in a favor with the governor, who’d called in a favor with the judge to allow Mitch to be released on bail until his trial, Mitch would still be sitting in a jail cell.

He appreciated the way Polly bundled up the children and hurried them out the back door.

“Let’s be as quiet as we can,” she said softly, putting a finger to her lips. “We’re hiding from those people, and we don’t want them upsetting you further.”

Five heads nodded at her.

“Lucy, you take the older two and meet us at the parsonage. If they see a woman and two children walking down the street, they won’t realize it’s us. I’ll go with the younger three, and Mitch, you may follow in a few minutes.”

Efficient. Strong. And yet, there was a tenderness to her voice that made him think she really did care for the children and sparing their feelings.

Then she looked at him, piercing him with those blue eyes. “I’m assuming you know your way around town enough not to take a direct route? No sense in leading them there, though I know Uncle Frank will do his best to shield everyone.”

Mitch nodded slowly. “You’ve thought of everything.”

Polly shrugged. “We’ve had to deal with our share of reporters over the years. Don’t worry, your children are safe.”

The tension seemed to evaporate from his chest, and suddenly, he felt like he could breathe again. Polly had very easily managed everything in his absence, and for the first time in a long time, he could almost believe that everything would be all right.

“Thank you, Polly. I’ll see you all there soon.” He kissed each of his children as they passed and almost bent to kiss Polly as well. Then he shook his head. Where was he coming up with all this ridiculousness?

Habit, of course. He just kissed every head that passed, especially now, knowing how very precious each moment with them was.

Polly seemed to sense his hesitation because she ducked her head away, but not before he caught the pink tingeing her cheeks.

As he exited, Mitch was pleased to note that none of the reporters or people carrying the horrible signs had discovered the service entrance. Perhaps it was because the rear stairs led to the storeroom of the Mercantile, then out the back door of the Mercantile. People probably didn’t even realize the two were connected. He could only hope that the commotion didn’t hurt his brother’s business too much. Iris was expecting another child, and they’d just built a nice house down the road.

Though no one had seemed to notice Mitch’s departure, he still carefully wound his way through town, taking alleys, backtracking and going the most unlikely routes possible. When he finally arrived at the parsonage, he could hear laughter coming from the backyard.

Polly opened the front door before he could knock. “Good. You made it. Everyone is waiting for you in the parlor.”

Everyone? “I thought I told you to keep my family business private.”

“And I have,” she said, looking him so firmly in the eye that if he were one of the children, he’d obey her immediately. “However, if you think that you’re going to be able to continue to shelter your children from the reporters and those people with the awful signs, then you can’t keep them at the apartment. Uncle Frank has said that we can all stay here until the furor dies down.”

He should be angry with her. Had every right to be angry with her. Polly MacDonald was so efficient at managing everything around her that she’d forgotten that he was an adult, perfectly capable of managing himself.

Except in this instance, she was right.

If they went back to the apartment, the children were bound to see the signs. Were bound to ask questions like, “Did you kill our mummy?” just as Polly had.

“Thank you,” he finally said. “But I don’t see why everyone needs to be gathered in the parlor over all of this.”

“Because you’re in a serious situation,” a deep voice behind him said.

Mitch turned to see a tall man younger than he sporting a badge prominently on his vest.

“Will Lawson,” he said, holding out his hand as he examined Mitch.

Mitch shook, wondering what this lawman was going to do in the situation. Polly had mentioned a close family friend being a lawman, but that didn’t mean the man was going to be on his side. None of the lawmen in Denver seemed to care about the truth. Why would this guy be any different?

“Mitch Taylor, but I suppose you already know that.”

“Seems to me you’re in a bit of a pickle.”

“My lawyer is handling things.”

“Fair enough. But I’m happy to do some investigating of my own.”

What would Will find that the deputies in Denver hadn’t already found? Supposedly, they’d exhausted every lead, and everything seemed to point right back to Mitch. The last thing he needed was more evidence suggesting he was guilty.

Back in Denver, Mitch had hired an investigator of his own, a man who promised he’d find something on the real killer. That man now worked for the deputies, claiming there was nothing that said Mitch didn’t do it.

Mitch swallowed the lump in his throat. “Thank you, but I believe my lawyer has everything in hand. I’d hate to take you from your important work here in Leadville.”

“It’s no trouble,” Will said, obviously not accepting the easy way out that Mitch had given him.

What was the other man’s agenda?

“All the same, I think we’ll be just fine.”

Actually, they weren’t. That was the trouble. So much evidence was stacked against him, or at least that’s the way it seemed. It didn’t appear to matter that they couldn’t prove that Mitch had been at the murder scene, or that Mitch had any connection to whatever had been used to bludgeon Hattie to death. But that’s what happened when all they really wanted was someone to take the fall so the sheriff looked like a hero.

Mitch turned to Polly. “I believe you said people were waiting on me.”

Her brows furrowed as she pursed her lips, but she didn’t argue with him. She meant well, he knew, but Polly didn’t understand what he was up against. What he’d always been up against. People were constantly trying to be his friend, hoping to gain access to the amazing Hattie Winston. And now that she was gone, every charlatan in town was offering “help” with the case, only their motives weren’t so pure. Whether it was to prove his guilt, or get the inside scoop for the latest newspaper, all the supposed offers of help never had Mitch’s best interests in mind.

Did Will have Mitch’s best interests in mind? He had no idea. He’d barely met the man, and while Polly’s recommendation might mean something to some people, Mitch had too much at stake to trust just anyone.

Polly led him into the parlor, where Pastor Lassiter, Gertie and Maddie sat waiting. Before Mitch could speak, Pastor Lassiter stood.

“Now I know you object to receiving help, but I have to say that in this instance, you are going to accept what we offer. Those children of yours need protection, and if they’re staying with us, no one is going to know who they are. Folks around here are used to us having all sorts of children running around, and not one will question who these children are. Pride isn’t going to keep your children safe.”