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Between my sister and me, we managed to get Lena into the bathroom. As gently as possible, we had her sit with her back against the bathtub. Lizzie returned to us with a bucket in hand. Our Lizzie might be round and soft, but she was quick on her feet.
Mama knelt on the floor next to Lena, speaking softly to her, telling her how good the tea would be for her and for the baby. “Just open your mouth like a little bird.”
Lena, as entranced with Mama as we all seemed to be, obeyed. Mama lifted the cup to Lena’s lips and tilted it just right.Mothers know how to do these things, I thought. Nurse the sick, comfort the brokenhearted, love unconditionally even when we’d made terrible mistakes. Motherhood made a woman strong, more capable than she ever thought she’d be.
“Will the tea be good for the baby?” Delphia blurted out. “Or will it cause her to miscarry?”
“It is all right,” Mrs. Wu said. “Not for getting rid of baby.”
Good God, there was something that did that? This whole day had been quite educational. I think I preferred naiveté after all.
Lena swallowed the entire cup of the potion. Mrs. Wu gestured for Delphia and me to leave. “Leave this to us. We take care of her and fix her up for whatever happens next.”
What would happen next? Delphia and I locked eyes before filing out of the bathroom. Once back in our room, we fell into each other’s arms. My sister was shaking like an aspen leaf in the autumn, and I soothed her, even though I was also overcome with the day’s events and the unanswered questions. What about Lena and the baby? What about the poor boy she loved? Would Mr. Masters toss them aside like trash? All of this would have to wait. For now, we had to save her life.
What about James and me? With his father here, how could he do anything but his bidding? They’d surrounded James like wolves. Would he be strong enough to tell him what he truly wanted?
Yes, I thought. He would be. He would do it for us. For me.
21
JAMES
I sat listeningto the three men who had such influence over my life discuss politics and business without really hearing them. Alexander, although polite, was not his usual jovial self, and mostly nodded or answered a question if asked. I could tell that the situation with his daughter and me weighed heavily upon him. As it did me, of course.
The revelation that Lena loved another man hadn’t fully sunk in when we were speaking earlier. But now, as I sat here, I thought about how tortured she must have been. Forced to leave him behind when all she wanted was to stay with him. Or was this man a scoundrel like Jesse? Had he rejected her, too? No, that wasn’t what she’d said. Her father forbade her to continue on because he was poor. Masters couldn’t let his daughter have what she wanted. I couldn’t understand why. It wasn’t like my family, who needed a good marriage to save them. He was cruel and unfair, claiming to love his daughter but only if she did what he wanted.
The clock in the corner of the room ticked away the seconds and seemed to say: tell him, tell him, tell him.
However, something was happening upstairs that kept me silent. Whatever it was had dragged Quinn from the conversation. Delphia hadn’t looked at me when she’d come into the room, breathless and red-faced. She’d gone to her mother and whispered something in her ear. Whatever it was she said had caused Quinn to jump to her feet so abruptly that a vase rattled and would have fallen over had I not snatched it up at the last second.
As much relief that Lena’s confession and absolution had given me, the worst of it was yet to come. I had to tell our fathers. My stomach clenched at the thought. They could not force me, I told myself. It would be only my guilt that would hold me back. I thought of Addie’s face when she laughed or when she was pensive, waiting for the next sentence to come to her, and such a longing filled me that I could no longer stay silent.
My mother and sister could come here. They would not be on the streets. My father would have to find another way.
“Excuse me,” I said, interrupting Masters, who was talking about the evil of taxes on the rich. “I have something to say.”
All three men turned to me. Alexander’s eyebrows raised before he gave me a nod of encouragement. I took hold of it with all my might. I would be part of this family. Where I belonged. To whom I belonged.
“What is it?” Father asked, sharply and with his usual impatience whenever I spoke.
“I’m not going to marry Lena. I’m in love with Addie Barnes. I can’t in good conscience marry another. Lena knows. She doesn’t want to marry me, either. We’ve spoken and decided to call off the engagement.”
“Well done, son,” Alexander said quietly. His eyes sparkled with goodwill. He was on my side. I must take courage from it. Right now, however, my insides quivered. I thought I might be sick.
“You must be mad.” My father turned the color of a boiled beet. “It’s already done. We’ve decided. Worked it all out.”
“This is ridiculous.” Masters lurched out of his chair with such violence that I thought he might punch me. “It’s not up to you, young man.” Despite his threatening countenance, his voice sounded controlled and even. Yet I knew the anger simmered just under the surface ready to burn me at any moment. “We’ve made an agreement. One you cannot decide, upon some whim about some twit of a girl, to disregard. My daughter’s reputation is at stake.”
“Twit of a girl?” Alexander said. “That’s my beloved daughter you’re talking about.”
“Whatever she is,” Masters said, “is no concern of mine. It’s my own daughter I’m trying to save here.”
I took in a deep breath, gathering courage.Addie. I must do this for us. “Lena and I want to marry for love, and we don’t love each other. You know as well as I that she loves another.”
This time the pot boiled over and Masters shouted at me, spittle flying through the air. “That’s a bald-faced lie. She adores you. You’re all she’s ever wanted.”
“Even if that were true,” I said, “would you really want her to marry a man who doesn’t love her?”
