Wings of a Dove (12 page)

    Allie twisted in the soft bed and turned once more toward the window and the brilliant moon that flooded the small room with silver light. She fingered the narrow edging of hand-tatted lace on the sleeve of her nightgown, glancing down at the long white garment once more. She had been lying abed for an endless time, and she was certain she was the only person in the whole house who was not sleeping.

    In the bed closest to the wall, Sarah was snoring softly, moonlight illuminating her features. Allie didn't want to look at Sarah at all, especially during the long hours of a sleepless night.

    Closing her eyes, Allie admitted with shame that a part of her dislike of her new sister arose from jealousy, for Sarah was very pretty.

    She was not pretty like Mother Case, with small, delicate features and light skin. In truth, Sarah resembled Papa Case, and that puzzled Allie, because Papa Case was not a very pretty man. Sarah had Papa Case's dark hair, but it was thick and shiny. It was almost as beautiful as Mama's had been. Her skin was a warm peach color that made her green eyes seem all the brighter and made the thick, dark lashes that she had been fluttering so annoyingly at Delaney seem even longer. Her face was narrow, like Papa Case's and James's, but it was pleasantly feminine and beautiful. She had well-shaped lips that smiled often, white teeth that were straight and even, and a deep dimple in one cheek that she went to great pains to display.

    Allie frowned again. Sarah had bragged that she was fourteen, four years older than Allie and only a year younger than Delaney. But Sarah was years and years older than she in many ways. Allie had not been certain what the girl meant by many of the things she had whispered in the darkness of the room after Mother Case had put out the lamp and closed the door behind her.

    Allie felt puzzled again as she remembered how Sarah had laughed mockingly and said, "So you'd rather be sleeping with Delaney than sleeping in here with me. Well, I don't blame you, 'little sister.' I'd rather be sleeping with Delaney, too."

    Allie had become angry then and had muttered, "Delaney let me sleep with him because he's my friend. He doesn't let everybody be his friend, and he wouldn't want you to sleep with him."

    Sarah had laughed all the harder. When she finally got control of herself, she had whispered in a low hiss, "Oh, but Delaney will be my friend, you'll see. He'll be a better 'friend' to me than he is to you. It isn't hard at all for me to make friends."

    Allie had turned on her side then, away from Sarah, but the    girl's laughter had followed her. Sarah had fallen asleep a short time later, but Allie was still awake. She did not think she would ever be able sleep in this room with that hateful Sarah sleeping so close by.

    Guilt suddenly overwhelming her, Allie felt dangerously close to tears. How ungrateful she was. Her prayers had been answered. She had a home and a family, and she had so much more. She had never had such a beautiful room, even if she had to share it with Sarah. There were lace curtains at the windows, clean white linens that smelled of soap and fresh air on the bed, a soft pillow under her head, a fluffy mattress underneath her, and at her feet was a beautiful pink coverlet, identical to the one on Sarah's bed. On the floor between Sarah's bed and hers was a soft woolen rug to protect her feet from the cold when the weather began to touch the mornings with a chill. It was a beautiful rug, in light shades of pink and yellow and blue, and Mother Case had woven it herself.

    Her eyes moving to the small wardrobe in the corner of the room, Allie remembered the tenderness with which Mother Case had opened the door and shown her four lovely dresses hanging there that were now hers alone: three for daily wear and one for the Sabbath. Mother Case had then taken her to the dresser and pulled out the second drawer, telling her that the nightgowns and dainties within were now hers. Allie had not needed to be told that all those beautiful things had once been little Annie's, and her heart wept for the little girl who had been called home so very young.

    Remembering a time when she would have thought her present circumstances as close to heaven as she could come, Allie closed her eyes in despair. She wasn't happy. She wasn't. She felt strange, uncertain, and uncomfortable. She was powerless against her new sister's unexplained resentment of her. Here on this farm, where her only friend was out of her reach, she felt more alone than she had ever felt in her life.

    Closing her eyes, Allie tried, as she had several times before, to pray, but the Lady seemed deaf to her whispered appeal. In her mind she saw her prayers floating up into a dark, silent void, only to become lost in the echoing shadows there.

    The threat of tears even heavier than before, Allie brushed a strand of pale hair back from her face. With newly formed resolve, she glanced again toward the other bed. Satisfied that Sarah was still sleeping, she sat up, swung her legs over the edge of the bed, and put her small, bare feet down on the rug, not bothering to slip into the sturdy slippers waiting there.

    The bed creaked when relieved of her weight, and the sound reverberated in the silence, turning Allie toward Sarah's bed once more. Sarah continued to snore and Allie made a small grimace. She wondered if Sarah knew she snored. It was not very pretty to snore.

    Within moments Allie was at the door to the hall, and then she was moving toward the staircase.

    Her heart thumping in her chest, Allie took a last look back down the darkened hallway. She stared toward the door to Mother and Papa Case's room. Beyond it, the door to James's room was in shadow. She knew they would be angry with her if they knew where she was going. For some reason James seemed to like Delaney even less than he liked her, and Mother Case had made her wishes very clear about remaining in her room.

    Allie swallowed tightly. She would never have disobeyed Mama like this but while Mama was alive, she never needed anyone else.

    Carefully, Allie put her foot on the first step, and then the second, and the third. Within seconds she was at the bottom of the staircase and reaching for the knob to the front door.

    She ran breathlessly across the yard toward the barn, grimacing as small pebbles cut her tender feet. A few moments later, her heart pounding, she stood at the door. With a deep determined breath, she pulled it open.

    The dark cavern of the silent barn met her eyes, and Allie's heart hammered more heavily in trepidation. It was so dark in there. Soft, unidentifiable sounds met her ears: a slow, steady thumping; a scratching, as of tiny feet; a low, eerie whine. Her eyes slowly becoming accustomed to the dim light, she squinted toward the loft and saw the faint glow of a lamp in the rear. In the shadows ahead of her, she spied a ladder leading to the loft. A cool night breeze lifted the pale, limp strands of her hair, and chills raced down her spine, but Allie knew those chills were entirely unrelated to the change in temperature. Summoning her courage, she plunged through the darkness toward the ladder.

    Allie's feet met the first wooden rung, and then the second.

  Suddenly more frightened to go back than to go ahead, she climbed faster, her hands trembling as she reached the top. Hesitating as she reached the loft, she squinted into the semidarkness.

    There in the flickering shadows created by the small lamp hanging on the wall was Delaney. He was asleep on a bed of straw in the corner. Bed linens from the house lay folded and unused beside him. Instead, he had chosen to cover himself with the blanket provided by the Society, the same blanket that had served them both during the long journey from New York.

    Relieved at the sight of him, Allie crept across the loft floor. Again hesitant, she paused. Would Delaney be angry? Would he tell her to go back to the house?

    Delaney moved restlessly in his sleep, and Allie stared a moment longer. His face was younger, more boyish in repose. He did not look like the Delaney whose fierce expression had become so familiar to her, whose light eyes, often so chillingly cold, could smile in reassurance even when his lips did not. Allie took a step closer, her long white gown brushing the tops of her bare feet, catching the straw on the floor as she walked. Delaney turned once more, the chain around his neck, visible in his open shirtfront, catching the light.

    Abruptly he was awake. His reflexes startlingly quick, he sat up and stared at her. His low voice was clear, without a trace of the fogginess of sleep.

    "What's wrong, Allie?"

    Allie was unable to respond. How could someone who was sufficient in himself, who knew no fear, understand that she… she was lost.

    "Allie…"

    Still she hesitated.

    Delaney raised a hand toward her in invitation. He had but a moment to wait before Allie rushed to his side. Curling his arm around her, he drew her down beside him. His expression was sober as he looked into her colorless face.

    "Tell me what's wrong, Allie."

    "They… they put you out here, and they put me in therewith Sarah. I'd rather be with you, Delaney. I told Mother Case and Sarah that I'd rather sleep with you than in the house, but Sarah laughed. She said she'd rather sleep with you, too, and I    told her you wouldn't want her with you because she wasn't your friend. Sarah said she was going to make herself a better friend to you than I am. She says it's easy for her to make friends."

    Delaney was silent, his light eyes startlingly visible in the darkness as they searched her face. Allie did not realize she was crying until he raised his hand and brushed the tears from her cheeks. Suddenly ashamed of her weakness, Allie drew back against his arm. Her voice was a low whisper.

    "I prayed to the Lady, Delaney. I tried to talk to her, to ask her to help me, but she didn't hear me. The words left my lips, but they didn't reach God's ear."

    Silent and still for long moments, Delaney slowly reached inside his shirt and withdrew his medal. Frowning, he took her hand and placed it in her palm. He squeezed her hand tightly shut around it.

    "Allie, don't worry. Everything will be all right. Sarah is vain. She thinks she can fool everybody with her pretty face, but she can't fool me. I've seen too many girls like her before."

    Finally expressing the thought that had caused her the deepest misery, Allie whispered again, "Nobody wants us here, Delaney, nobody but Mother Case."

    "She's the most important one, Allie. Mr. Case will do whatever he can to make her happy, and when he gets to know you, he'll be just as happy as she is to have you here."

    "But James is angry."

    Allie felt Delaney stiffen.

    "He'll get over it."

    Allie lowered her eyes. "I prayed to the Lady, but… but I don't think I'll ever like Sarah."

    A hint of a smile touched Delaney's lips. "You're going to have to pray real hard on that one."

    His smile contagious, it turned up the corners of Allie's lips as well, and then Delaney's smile came full and bright. It lit the darkness inside her with its warmth as his arm tightened around her with a small squeeze.

    "You can stay a little while, Allie, but you have to go back to the house. You wouldn't want Mrs. Case to know you came out here, after she told you not to."

    Relaxing against the straw, Delaney urged her to lean back
 

with him. She thought she saw him smile again as he turned toward her so that she could hold his medal with more ease.

    "You're going to have to pray quickly tonight, Allie. The Lady isn't tired, but I am." He took a short, weary breath and allowed his eyes to drift closed. "Remember, only a few minutes."

    Allie closed her eyes as well, a familiar peace touching her senses as she held the medal in her hand. She could feel the Lady close to her. She could talk to her now, and know the Lady would send her prayers flying into God's ear. And when she prayed, she would not pray only for herself. She would pray for Delaney, too. She would pray that Papa Case and James would like them both, and she would pray that Sarah…

    Allie's warm thoughts came to an abrupt halt and she tried again. She would pray that Sarah…

    Her light brows working into a small frown, Allie took a short, firm breath. She would have to save that prayer for another time.

    An uncharacteristic frown drawing his light brown brows together, James pulled on his boots and stood up. He had not slept well. He had opened his eyes to see the first streaks of dawn mark the night sky, and his mind had begun working again.

    Things had not gone well on the farm in the past months, and it appeared that the Cases were in for more of the same. The fever had hit Annie so unexpectedly. She had been such a happy little girl, everyone's favorite with her dark, shining curls, her laughing eyes, rosy cheeks, and infectious smile. She had seemed to have an endless capacity for loving. Unlike Sarah, who had been self-centered and vain as long as James could remember, Annie had seemed to take her happiness from giving joy to others. Pa had often said the Lord had saved them the best for last.