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Secrets & Charades

By Cindy Ervin Huff

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CHAPTER 1
Missouri
March 3, 1873
“Young lady, my marital status is none of your concern.”
Evangeline Olson paced about her medical clinic. “What
possessed you to answer an ad in the Matrimonial Times on my
behalf?”
“Aunt Evie, please,” Maggie said.
Evangeline steeled herself from Maggie’s doe-eyed pleading.
“No.” She waved a dismissive hand. “You got yourself into this
mess, and you can get yourself out.” Her heart was beating a
tempo perfect for flight, and she reached the door to her bedroom
at the back of the clinic before Maggie could respond. Without a
backward glance, Evangeline slammed the door. The pounding in
her head muffled Maggie’s pleas through the closed door.
“Aunt Evie, I have all of his letters. Read them.”
Evangeline slid to the floor, back against the wall, forehead in
her palms. At twenty-eight she had chosen a career over marriage.
A headache thumped in her temples. Deliver me from interfering
family.
“Are you listening? Please, I’m begging you. Just read them. If
you don’t like what you read, I’ll write him an apology.”
Evangeline remained silent.
“They’re on your desk. Mother says the truth is easier to
remember than a lie. You’ll find a journal on the desk where I
copied all my correspondence to Jake.”
***
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Secrets and Charades
Charleton, Texas
March 8, 1873
From his bedroom window, Jake Marcum could see the sunlight
spill down the hillsides. His body dripped with sweat from another
battlefield nightmare. He massaged his forehead, attempting
to dislodge the visions of cannon fire and the echo of screams.
Bending over the porcelain basin to wash his face, he touched the
jagged scar across his left cheek.
The clanging of the oven door and the aroma of coffee pulled
him away from his haunting memories. When he reached the
kitchen, the housekeeper was already busy with breakfast. “Mornin’,
Selena.”
“Buenos dias, Señor Jake.” She pulled steaming-hot biscuits
from the oven.
Cookie Slade’s morning ritual of humming did nothing to ease
Jake’s restless thoughts. “Want some coffee, Boss?”
Jake took the cup and headed outside. Cookie limped along
beside him.
The porch stretched across the front of the house, unprotected
by the overhanging roofline. Cookie lowered himself to the top
step, careful not to spill his coffee, and Jake plopped down beside
him. They gazed for several moments at the mountainous vista
before them. Jake appreciated Cookie’s patient silence. Both men
faced forward—their usual position for serious conversation,
something eye contact tended to obscure.
“Ever since you sent that proposal to Miss Olson, you been off
your feed.” Cookie tasted his brew and waited.
Jake watched the soft, billowy clouds move across the morning
sky. “It’s in the Lord’s hands now.”
“Sounds like you need a mite a convincin’.”
Jake studied an ant crawling across his boot. “You know I gotta
do this for Juliet. She needs more book learnin’, more genteel
ways.”
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Cindy Ervin Huff
“It ain’t like you jumped into this.” Cookie adjusted his stiff
leg. “You been writin’ this woman for a year. Why her? You had a
passel of desperate gals respond to your advertisement.”
“Right enough. But Evangeline was the only one who wanted
to write for a while. She wanted to get to know me first.”
“Speaks kindly of her character.”
“Yeah, it does.” A familiar longing deepened his heartache.
“Life in this place took my family, Cookie. Juliet’s all I got. My
brother and his wife would a wanted their daughter raised like a
lady. They’d want her to get a better education.”
“True. And neither of us wants to see Juliet sent off to boardin’
school.”
“I’m not ready to have more family taken from me, not even
for boardin’ school.” Jake savored his cooling coffee. “What if
Evangeline hates it here?” He pulled her picture from his pocket.
“I been lookin’ at this picture of her and her niece every day since
she sent it.” He’d memorized her features: high cheekbones, full
lips, taller than her niece. In her letters, she’d described her eyes as
green that changed with her moods, and the color of her hair as
not red, but burgundy. Jake turned the picture slightly for Cookie
to see before securing it in his shirt pocket once more.
“She’s a looker.” Cookie’s eyebrows lifted, and his smile revealed
a missing tooth.
“Makes me wonder why she ain’t married. Her letters are cordial
and friendly. Her writin’ don’t tell me if she has a disagreeable
nature. I hope marryin’ her makes things better for Juliet.” Jake
stared into his coffee mug as if searching for confirmation he was
doing the right thing.
Lord, I can’t turn back now. Either she says yes, or she don’t. I’m
trustin’ you.
Jake’s eyes drifted toward the grove of trees shading the
cemetery.
Maybe this ain’t in the cards for me. You know I only loved one
woman, and that be Nora. It hurt to have that love throwed away. But
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Secrets and Charades
if it’s Your will for this woman to become my wife, help me truly learn
to love her.
***
Jordan, Missouri
March 12, 1873
Evangeline knelt at a simple wooden cross marking the grave of her
dearest friend. Fiona MacDougal had been her comforter, healer,
and faith restorer. But most of all, she knew the truth and loved
her anyway. The dear woman often said Evangeline’s past had no
hold on her future.
“Oh, Fiona.” Evangeline’s voice broke.
The Irish brogue whispered through her memories, taking
her back to their last bedside conversation. Fiona seemed to have
drawn closer to her Lord near the end. Her eyes had sparkled with
heavenly light.
“Evangeline, I have seen a vision.”
“Yes, Miss Fiona?” She perched on the edge of the bed, giving
her full attention.
“I saw ye in a new place with large mountains and wide plains,
and the wind was blowing ye hair. Ye face be more serene than I
ever seen it afore. Ye seemed younger, and love glowed from thine
eyes, the love a woman has for a man.”
“Ha!” The word flew from Evangeline’s lips before she could
check it.
Fiona’s scowl rebuked her. “Don’t be like Sarah and laugh at a
word from the Lord.”
“Please forgive me.” Evangeline touched Fiona’s cool, thin
hand. “Are you sure this isn’t your wishful thinking?”
“No, lass, I had the feelin’.”
Evangeline stayed quiet. Her friend’s sincere belief in the feelin’
and the visions that accompanied it were discounted by some as a
symptom of old age. Fiona’s feelin’ had always been on the mark.
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Cindy Ervin Huff
But maybe this time …
“In that new place, lass, the Lord promises healing and
wholeness. The thing ye have been resisting, the gift He desires
to give, is there. Open the eyes of ye heart and the ears of ye spirit
and be prepared when the call comes. I know in me spirit it will
be soon.”
Evangeline patted Fiona’s hand. “We will wait and see.”
“Evangeline Felicity Olson, don’t patronize me.”
“Forgive me. I meant no offense.”
“Please, child, I have such an urgency in me heart for ye to
understand that this vision is truly meant to be. Promise to keep
thine heart open.”
Evangeline kissed her cheek. “I promise to try.”
“I will pray it will open very wide to His will.”
The memory of Fiona’s intense look lingered as Evangeline
gazed at the grave. Moisture trickled down her cheek. “Miss Fiona,
I need you so much. I’m scared. Whether I like it or not, your
vision may be coming true.” She wiped her face with the back of
her hand, then traced the deep grooves forming Fiona’s name. A
shiver of loneliness coursed through her body. Her legs cramped
from kneeling. “I’ve been reading the rancher’s letters. Perhaps this
is the answer to my dilemma. Maybe a new start is the right thing.
He is a man of faith. At least he writes of faith.” She sat upright
and began pulling weeds from around the tombstone.
“Yesterday, I compared the date on Maggie’s first letter with
the date in my journal where I recorded your vision. The dates
match. Maybe that’s why I am drawn to his letters. You told me to
keep my heart open. You know too well my resolve never to marry.
Going West to find love, is that even possible for me? Jake wrote
that he needs someone to help his niece Juliet become a lady. I
think I could be a good mother to a twelve-year-old, but a wife is
another matter entirely.”
The approaching night air chilled her as she gazed at the sunset
between the trees. The shadows and light blended together to
form what looked like a cross between the branches. Evangeline
felt peace wash over her as Fiona’s words filled her heart.
Lass, the Lord will guide ye. Don’t forget that wherever ye go, He
will go with ye.
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