A Lady's Choice

by Sandra Robbins

  “Will she live?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “You must save her. She doesn’t deserve this.”

  Sarah blinked again and stared at the figure standing by her bed. “Ruth? Is that you? How’s Henrietta?”

  A warm hand touched her cheek, and she turned her face toward the voice. “Yes, I’m here. Henrietta’s fine. She just had a bad bump on the head. How’re you feeling?”

  Her muscles contracted as another coughing spasm shook her body. She tried to raise her head, but it was no use. When the spell had subsided, the reality of her situation became clear. A tear rolled from her eye. “I don’t think I’ll make it, Ruth.”

  “Don’t say that. Of course you’ll be all right.”

  The memory of what had happened in the cell returned, and she smiled. “It doesn’t matter now. Everything’s fine with me. I’m ready.”

  “Sarah, don’t talk that way. Do you want me to call your uncle and aunt?”

  She lay back against the pillow, her eyes closed. Alex’s face drifted into her mind, and she smiled. “Not my family. Someone else. Call Alex Taylor.”

  Ruth leaned closer. “How can I reach him?”

  “Telephone. He’s a lawyer at Buckley, Anderson, and Pike law firm in Memphis. Tell him I remembered his promise. It’s important for him to know that.”

  “I’ll call him.”

  Ruth turned to leave, but Sarah grabbed her skirt. Ruth bent over her. “What is it?”

  “You must tell him I remembered his promise.” She gasped, her ragged breath stressing each word. “Tell him I want him to bury me beside my mother.”

  Ruth patted Sarah’s hand before she slipped it back underneath the cover. “I’ll tell him. Now you get some rest.”

  Sarah smiled, sank back on the pillow, and surrendered to sleep again.

  Alex wrote his signature on the last document in the stack Lydia had brought him and handed it to her. “That’s the last one. Do you have anything else for me before I leave for the day?”

  Lydia took the last paper, laid it on the stack in her arms, and shook her head. “No, sir. That’s all I have for you today. I’ll take care of these so you and Larraine can be on your way.”

  She glanced at Larraine, who sat with her legs crossed and her elbows resting on the arms of the chair in front of Alex’s desk. Larraine straightened and smiled at Lydia. “Are you sure you’re through with him now?”

  Lydia gave a curt nod, but Alex didn’t miss the affectionate gleam in her eye. “He’s all yours, Miss Larraine. I hope you have a wonderful dinner tonight.”

  Larraine rose, walked to the middle of the room, and struck a pose worthy of a stage actress as she turned in a small circle. “Alex and I are having dinner with his sister and brother-in-law, who are in town. Do you think I’ll pass inspection?”

  Lydia smiled and nodded. “I know they will love you just like everybody else at the firm does.”

  Larraine crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow in Alex’s direction. “I hope so. It’s certainly taken Alex long enough to decide he wanted to introduce me to his family.”

  Alex’s face grew warm, and he pushed to his feet. “Edmund’s practice keeps him busy. They don’t get to Memphis often. But there’s no need to worry. They’ll enjoy meeting you.”

  “I hope so.” Larraine tilted her head to one side and smiled at him. “Like Lydia said, I want them to love me like everybody else here at the firm does.”

  “I’m sure they will.” Alex dropped his gaze back to his desk, picked up the pen he’d used, and placed it in the top desk drawer. Taking a deep breath, he walked to the coatrack where Larraine had hung her coat when she walked in. He removed it and held it up for her. “Ready to go?”

  He swallowed hard at the momentary look of disappointment that flashed on her face. She wanted him to reassure her that he loved her and would make sure his sister liked her, but the words stuck in his throat. Words like love and affection were no longer a part of his vocabulary. He had substituted companionship and friendship for them. Larraine knew this, but at times she appeared to want more.

  She tilted her chin up and smiled as she walked toward him. “I can’t wait to meet your family.”

  He held the coat as she slipped her arms into it and then reached for his topcoat and hat. Lydia crossed the office and opened the door. “Have a good time tonight.”

  Alex nodded. “We will, Lydia. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Larraine had just stepped out of the door when the phone on his desk rang. Lydia frowned and turned toward his desk. “I’ll take that, Mr. Taylor, and leave a message for you.”

  He shook his head. “No need for that, Lydia. Officially I’m still at work. I’ll get it.” He tossed his coat and hat on a chair, strode toward his desk, and picked up the phone. “Hello.”

  “I have a long distance call for Mr. Alex Taylor.”

  Alex frowned at the voice of the operator. Which of his clients would be calling him long distance at this time of the day? “This is Alex Taylor.”

  “Caller, I have your party on the line. You may go ahead now.”

  “Mr. Taylor, my name is Ruth Cochran. I’m calling from Fairfax, Virginia.”

  He searched his mind for a client who had ties to anyone in Virginia, but he could think of no one. “I’m sorry. Have we met?”

  “No, we haven’t. I’m a friend of Sarah’s.”

  The breath left his body, and he grabbed the edge of his desk to steady himself. “S–Sarah? H–how do you know her?”

  “I’m a guard at Occoquan Workhouse in Fairfax, Virginia. Sarah asked me to call you.”

  Alex’s fingers tightened on the telephone receiver. “She did? Why?”

  “Mr. Taylor, are you aware that Sarah came to Washington to work with Alice Paul and the National Woman’s Party?”

  “Yes.”

  “She began demonstrating with the group in front of the White House nearly two months ago, and she was arrested for picketing. She’s been a prisoner here ever since.”

  “What?” Alex exploded. “A prisoner? How is she?”

  “That’s why I’m calling. She’s very ill, and I thought her family needed to be called. She told me she had an aunt and uncle, but she wanted me to call you. She needs someone here for her.”

  Visions of Sarah in prison swam before his eyes. Why hadn’t Ben let him know? The answer popped into his mind. Ben was probably still on his honeymoon. But someone else in the office was supposed to call him. All this time he had assumed she was all right, and she was locked up in a prison cell.

  He closed his eyes and rubbed his hand across his forehead. “What’s the matter with her?”

  “She’s suffering from malnutrition because she went on a hunger strike, and now she has pneumonia. The doctor says there is so much infection he’s not sure she’ll live.”

  Alex’s heart raced at the words he heard. “Not live? It’s that serious.”

  “Mr. Taylor, I could lose my job for telling you this, but I think someone needs to know. After Sarah went on a hunger strike, the warden ordered her to be force-fed. They pushed a tube through her nostril and down her throat and fed her with a liquid. The doctor thinks some of that got into her lungs and caused the pneumonia.” A soft sob came over the line. “Mr. Taylor, when she was so sick, they shackled her to the bars of her cell and left her there all night. If she dies, it’s because they’ve killed her. Can you get word to her uncle that he needs to come?”

  Alex’s heart pounded in his ears, and he shook his head. “There’s no need for that. I’ll leave on the first train to Washington. Will you tell her I’m coming?”

  “I’ll tell her, and one more thing. She insisted I tell you something else. Let me see if I can remember the words correctly.” Ruth paused before she spoke again. “She said, ‘Tell him I remembered his promise.’”

  Alex’s heart swelled and tears filled his eyes. “Please tell her I remember too, and I’m on my way. Thank you for callin
g, Miss Cochran. I’ll be in Washington as fast as the train can get me there. And thank you for taking care of Sarah for me.”

  He hung up the phone and turned toward Larraine and Lydia. Tears stood in Larraine’s eyes, and she glanced at Lydia. “Would you excuse us for a few minutes, please?”

  Lydia dropped her gaze and nodded. “Of course.”

  Larraine waited until the door closed behind Lydia before she walked over and stopped in front of him. She threw her purse into the chair where she’d sat a few minutes earlier. “I suppose that was about Sarah Whittaker.”

  Alex’s eyes grew wide. “How did you know her name?”

  “My father told me about your little suffrage friend when you first came to the firm. I have to admit I was glad when she went to Washington. I thought with her out of the way, things would work out for us. I guess I was wrong.”

  Alex raked his hand through his hair and frowned. “Larraine, I’m sorry. I made her a promise that if she ever needed me I would come for her. That was a guard from Occoquan Workhouse on the phone. Sarah is a prisoner there and is dying of pneumonia. She wants me to come, and I have to go.”

  Larraine shook her head. “No, you don’t. Any promise you made to her is no longer valid. I know you’re going to ask me to marry you, and I don’t want my future husband running off to help out some old love. In fact, I forbid you to go.”

  Alex narrowed his eyes and stared at Larraine. “I can’t believe I heard you correctly. You forbid me to go?”

  She squared her shoulders and nodded. “I do. I’m sure my father would agree. Your place is here.” She turned toward the chair, picked up her purse, and smiled. “Now let’s have no more of this nonsense. Your sister and brother-in-law are waiting for us to pick them up so we can go to the club for dinner. Get your hat and let’s go.”

  Alex stared at her, and in that moment he saw what the rest of his life would be like if he married Larraine. How could he have been so blind to think he could marry a woman he didn’t love? His failure to support Sarah’s dream didn’t mean he had to sentence himself to such a life.

  He picked up his hat and coat from the chair and took a deep breath. “Larraine, I think we should cancel our dinner tonight. I’ll make your excuses to my sister. Right now I need to go home and pack so I can be on the first train to Washington in the morning.”

  Her face turned crimson, and her mouth pulled into a straight line. She advanced toward him, and jabbed her index finger into his chest. “Didn’t you hear me? You’re not going to Washington.”

  He pushed her finger away. “Didn’t you hear me?” he hissed. “Sarah is dying. I have to go.”

  “Call her family. Let them take care of her.” Suddenly the anger on her face disappeared, and fear replaced it. She lunged at him, wrapped her arms around him, and pressed her cheek to his chest. “Please don’t go, Alex. I love you. I don’t want that woman to come between us. Please stay with me.”

  Alex grasped her shoulders and pushed her back until he could stare into her face. “I’m sorry, Larraine. I tried to make it work with us, but I couldn’t. I love her, and I can’t turn my back on her. Now I’ve got to go.”

  Her palm cracked across his face, and he staggered backward from the blow. She gritted her teeth and glared at him. “If you walk out that door, don’t expect to come back. Your job won’t be waiting for you.”

  He nodded. “Somehow that doesn’t seem too important at the moment. Tell your father I appreciate the opportunity of working here, but it just hasn’t been a match. Maybe we’ll meet in court sometime.”

  Before she could respond, he strode across the floor and jerked the door open. Lydia stood in the hallway. “Mr. Taylor, I overheard part of your conversation, and I checked with the depot. There is a train leaving at seven in the morning headed toward Washington.”

  He smiled and nodded. “Thank you, Lydia. I’ll miss you.”

  “I’ll miss you too, sir.”

  Alex turned and hurried from the office. For the first time since coming to Memphis, peace washed over him, and joy filled his soul. He had no idea what he would find in Washington, but Sarah had remembered to call for him. Now all he could do was pray that God would spare her so he try to make her love him again.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Alex’s fingers, white from gripping the brim of the hat he held, trembled at his surroundings. The stark walls and the sparse furniture of the Occoquan Workhouse receiving area, where he stood with Ellen and Edmund, offered a depressing entrance into the facility. Smells of cooking food, perspiration, and human waste mingled in the air to produce a pungent odor that burned his nose and throat.

  A door opened and a middle-aged woman entered the room. The corners of her mouth drew down in a scowl, and her gaze darted over each of them. She stopped in front of them and crossed her arms. “I’m Matron Herndon. I understand you’re here to see one of our inmates.”

  Alex stepped forward and studied the woman’s face. “Yes, we want to see Sarah Whittaker.”

  The woman waved her hand in dismissal. “I’m afraid that’s impossible. She’s in solitary right now. Good day.”

  She turned to leave, but Alex raised his voice. “Just a minute. I don’t think you understand. We’ve come a great distance, and it’s important we see her.”

  The matron turned slowly and frowned. She glanced over her shoulder at two guards who entered from a door behind her. “I’ve told you it’s not possible, and that’s final.”

  Alex took a step toward her. “We understand Sarah is very ill. If that’s the case, we insist on seeing her.”

  She pointed to the two officers who moved closer to her. “I’m telling you for the last time, you can’t see her. Now get out of here before I have you thrown out.”

  Alex moved closer to her and shook his finger in her face. “Have us thrown out, and we’ll go straight to the newspapers and every judge in this city. If we find out you’ve harmed Sarah in any way, we’ll press charges against you for assault. If she should die, it’ll be murder.”

  Matron Herndon’s eyes flared, and she took a step backward. Alex pressed on, his finger wagging. “We know she’s here, so you’d better take us to your infirmary. I want my brother-in-law to examine her, or I’m going to tear this place apart!”

  “Matron, why don’t you let them see her? It would be better than having newspaper reporters all over the place.”

  Alex glanced in the direction of another guard who entered. Her voice was identical to the one on the telephone. She moved beside the matron and placed her hand on her superior’s shaking shoulder.

  “Let me take them to the infirmary, and you just go on with whatever you were doing. I won’t let them stay long.”

  Matron Herndon frowned. “I don’t know. The warden doesn’t want any visitors.”

  The guard smiled. “I know. But you may be saving him more trouble than he needs right now. The newspapers are already questioning his administration of this place, and we don’t want to give them anything else to hound him about.”

  The matron hesitated for a few seconds and nodded her head. “Maybe you’re right. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt just to let them see the girl. All right, take them to the infirmary.” With that, she motioned for the guards behind her to follow, and they disappeared through one of the doors.

  The woman who remained raised her fingers to her lips to signal silence. She walked to the door, placed her ear against it, and turned back to face Alex. “I’m Ruth Cochran. Follow me.”

  Alex breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m so glad you came along. I don’t know if I could have bluffed her much longer. Thanks for persuading her.”

  Ruth nodded. “Matron Herndon’s not very smart. She just follows orders. You’re lucky the warden’s not here right now, or you’d never have gotten inside.”

  Alex, Ellen, and Edmund hurried behind Ruth down a long corridor and descended a narrow stairway into the basement. The smell of antiseptic drifted through the air of the
hallway. Doors on either side opened into rooms filled with beds, and groans rose from the crowded quarters. Alex sensed the suffering humanity he passed, but he stared straight ahead. His thoughts today centered on Sarah and her nearness.

  Ruth stopped before a closed door and turned to face them. “You don’t have very long, so make it quick.”

  Alex nodded. “We don’t want to get you into any trouble, and we’ll hurry.”

  Ruth stepped aside for them to enter. “I told her you were coming, but I don’t know if she understood. Please brace yourself before you see her. She’s very ill.”

  Alex reached for the doorknob, but his hand trembled so he couldn’t turn it. He looked over his shoulder at Ellen and Edmund, swallowed, and tried again. The door creaked open, and they stepped into the room. Rays of light filtered through the tiny window over the bed and revealed a still figure lying there.

  His legs buckled at the sight of Sarah’s white face against the pillow, and he fell on his knees beside her. Ellen pressed a handkerchief to her nose, gasped, and walked to the other side of the bed. Edmund stood behind her, his hand on her shoulder.

  Alex studied the still figure and looked for signs of his beloved Sarah in this pitiful creature before him. Her dry, white skin appeared thin, and bones protruded from her skeleton frame. Bald spots covered her head, and her chest rose slowly in shallow breaths. The inflamed area around her left nostril drew Alex’s attention, and he looked up at Ruth. “What’s the matter with her nose? It’s crusted over with sores.”

  “That’s from the tubing they used when they force-fed her. Her nose would bleed for hours after each one.”

  Edmund stepped around Ellen and leaned over to study Sarah. “Force-feeding? That’s a form of torture. It has nothing to do with needed nutrition.”

  Ruth’s eyes teared. “I know.”

  Alex glanced up at his brother-in-law. “Edmund, what do you think?”

  Edmund felt Sarah’s forehead before he took a stethoscope from his coat pocket. He placed the ends in his ears and the other against Sarah’s chest. Concern shadowed his face as he lifted her emaciated wrist to check her pulse.