“Where are the children now?”
Charlie shrugged. “I don’t know. I took them to a church, and I never found out what happened to them.”
“Your friend, Ian, he escaped?”
Charlie nodded. “He got away before they tortured him.”
“And that poor boy.”
“Georgina, you need to think carefully if you really want to follow this path to San Francisco. A young girl like you. That is what these men prey on.”
“I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
Charlie pulled her close to him. “I want you to be safe. You are very important to me.”
“I am?” Georgina squeaked.
“Yes, you are. And perhaps if my story didn’t convince you, this will.”
Charlie leaned down and kissed her.
Georgina was ready to close shop. It had been a busy day. The customers came in non-stop until an hour ago. Georgina sold out of every cake and cookie she baked and most of the jelly tarts.
One of her last customers stopped by with a letter. It had been misdelivered to their residence instead. When Georgina looked at it, she could see that the numbers were transposed. She thanked the woman with a complimentary cookie and put the letter in her pocket.
Charlie looked at her and shook his head. Then he left, saying he would be back later to walk her home. He needed to find a church and pray.
She reached her hand in and touched the letter. It was from Lawrence. It was the same bold strokes as the letter he sent her in Baltimore. She wasn’t sure she wanted to read it, especially after Charlie shared his story.
She patted her pocket and made a note that she would read it later. Charlie’s questions weighed heavily on her mind. Was Lawrence all that he appeared to be?
Would he do the right thing if he was called on to do it? Thinking back on his letters, he seemed very far removed from the day-to-day operations of the ships. Instead, he only shared with her stories of long voyages and exotic places. Was that really the life she wanted? It sounded too complicated, being on a boat all the time.
She wanted simplicity.
Maybe Charlie was right. She had finally found her home and she needed to stay. She finished up washing and put her pans out to dry. The last of the cakes for tomorrow would be ready and she could pull them out to let them cool until the following day.
Charlie returned to walk her home, but after their conversation, she wanted to be alone for a bit. She sent him on ahead with a promise that she would leave as soon as the last cake was pulled from the oven.
The front door to the bakery opened and Georgina heard the tinkling of the bell as the door passed underneath it. Maybe Charlie came back to see her.
The thought of never seeing Charlie again pained her heart beyond words. Everything he had done he did because it was the right thing. She couldn’t even tell her family about Lawrence’s letters and her plans to run away and marry him.
Charlie was right – if you had to hide it, it was wrong.
Georgina walked to the front of the store. There was a lady in a long deep blue gown. Her hair was white-blonde and piled in curls on top of her head. She wore a blue hat that matched the gown with a large feather coming off of it. In her hand there was a parasol.
Georgina had never seen a woman like her before. She screamed rich. In fact, she hadn’t seen a woman quite like her in the short time she had been in Creede, and she had seen quite a few people.
“I’m sorry, we’re closed,” Georgina said.
“This won’t take long.” The woman looked at Georgina and wrinkled her nose like she caught wind of a terrible smell. “I’m looking for a Georgina Jacobs.”
Georgina put the towel in her hand down. “I’m Georgina. Who are you?”
“My name is Victoria Sweeny. You’ve been corresponding with my husband.”
Charlie returned to the bakery the next morning. The door was locked and there was a note on the door saying closed until further notice.
That’s odd, he thought. Georgina didn’t say anything about closing the bakery.
He hoped she hadn’t left for San Francisco. He knew she had received another letter from that man. Charlie was so angry that she accepted it and put it in her pocket he had to leave the shop.
Didn’t that kiss mean anything? It certainly did to him. He wanted to do everything in his power to keep her in Creede. With him.
He quickly walked to Maybelle’s house and let himself inside the garden gate. He knocked on the door and waited to see if anyone would answer. He knew that Maybelle was still having difficulty walking with the splint on her leg.
But someone in the Jacobs family should be there and answer the door. He knocked once more. He was just about to leave when the door cracked open. Georgina looked at him. “I saw the bakery was closed.”
“I know,” she croaked out. “I couldn’t stand being there today.”
“My word, Georgina, are you alright? Should I go get the doctor? Did something happen to your aunt? Where’s your family? Did they leave?” Georgina didn’t respond. “Give me a moment and I’ll go get Cassie.”
Georgina started to hiccup. “It’s alright. You don’t need to get anyone. My family is just out for a walk this morning.”
“So, your aunt is alright then?”
“She’s fine. It’s me.”
“May I come in?”
Georgina opened the door wider and turned, walking towards the kitchen. Charlie followed her inside. Georgina sat down at the kitchen table and wiped her nose with a handkerchief.
Charlie noticed her eyes were swollen and her cheeks were red. “What happened?” He sat down next to her and took one of her hands in his. He covered it with his other hand and gently rubbed it.
“I am such a fool,” she finally said.
“Talk to me.”
“I don’t even know where to begin.”
“How about at the beginning?”
“You know how I told you about Lawrence and moving to San Francisco?” Charlie nodded. He didn’t want to think about it because losing her would be like losing a piece of himself. “Well it turns out that Lawrence didn’t actually propose. He wanted me to come out there… and… and…” Georgina started crying again.
“Shh,” Charlie whispered, rubbing his hand on her back. He didn’t know if it was providing any comfort, but he always felt better after his mama would rub his back while growing up. “He wanted you to what?”
“I just kept thinking of what you told me. His wife came to see me yesterday.” Charlie paused his circular motions and snapped his head up to look at her. “Oh, Charlie, I’m so ashamed. I’m not a loose woman, really I’m not.”
“I know you aren’t. Why would you think that about yourself?”
“I corresponded with a man I didn’t know. I was determined to move out to San Francisco to get away from Baltimore.” She looked at him once more. Her eyes filling with tears. “I kissed you!”
Charlie gave a little chuckle. “Hopefully the last one wasn’t too bad.”
Georgina wiped her nose again. “It appears Lawrence has a habit of doing this. He places ads in the newspaper and women write to him. After a period of time he invites women out to San Francisco and takes them to his apartment near the docks. I was told he seduces them and then tells them he has no intention of getting married because he already has a wife.”
“That is dreadful. He is the worst kind of man.” Georgina nodded at his assessment. “Why doesn’t she leave him?”
“I asked the same question. Apparently, he married her for her money. She is the one who is rich. Her father owns the ships, not Lawrence. He was simply a deck hand when they married. She has a child to think of, so I guess I can’t fault her. A divorce would be messy and costly. I gave her the letter, so I wouldn’t read it.”
“So, you aren’t leaving for San Francisco?”
Georgina shook her head. “Didn’t you hear a word I said? The man I thought I was going to marry already has a w
ife. I told my parents about it and they were not pleased that I lied to them. And now I’m going to be an old maid forever.” Georgina started to wail, the sound cutting right to his heart.
He lifted his hand and rubbed his chest. The pain started to dissipate. He knew what he needed to do. What he wanted to do.
“No, you won’t,” Charlie said.
“How do you know, Charlie Stockton? I didn’t have any prospects when I was in Baltimore. I certainly don’t have any prospects now.”
“Yes, you do,” he replied softly. “You have me.”
Georgina stopped her crying to look at him. “You are truly a good friend, Charlie, but I know you don’t want to marry me.”
“It is you who wouldn’t want to marry me, but I need to speak my piece.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m scarred, Georgina. You saw my back. Since the incident in Baltimore, I’ve thought that love would never be mine. So, I avoided women. You were safe. You told me that you’d be leaving some day, so I kept my distance. I never thought I’d fall in love with anyone. But I did.”
“You fell in love with me?” she squeaked.
“I kissed you, didn’t I? I’m more than your friend. I would do anything for you. Even if it meant I had to let you go. If I’m not making myself plain, let me tell you this. I love you, Georgina Jacobs. With all of my heart. I think I fell in love with you when you were the first thing I saw when I woke up at the hospital in Baltimore.”
Georgina flew into his arms, nearly knocking him off his seat. “Oh Charlie, I love you too. I fought it because I didn’t want to lead you on, but I do love you. Your back symbolizes the pain you went through doing what is right. It is a testimony to that.” She kissed his face. “I do love you. Scars and all.”
“Will you marry me, Georgina Jacobs?”
Georgina nodded and Charlie lowered his head, capturing her lips in a kiss. “This will definitely make my father happy.”
Georgina tilted her head. “How so?”
“He will have an excuse to stop sewing costumes and start making wedding clothes. It could be a whole new line of business for him,” Charlie laughed.
He kissed Georgina once more. When he was done, he pulled back and smoothed her hair with his hands. There was still flour clinging to her hair, so he gently brushed it away. “Feel better?” he asked gently.
Georgina nodded. “I do.”
“I’m glad I took a chance on living again. I’d still be sitting on my sister’s settee if it wasn’t for you and Mr. Pennyworth.”
“Mr. Pennyworth?”
Charlie nodded. “Said he was my guardian angel. I wasn’t sure at first, but now I have no doubt.”
“Remind me to tell you about a friend I met on the train out to Creede.”
“I want to hear it. Can you tell me this evening?” He released her with a kiss on the forehead. “I would like you and your family to come by for dinner tonight. That way we can make a formal announcement to our families.”
Georgina nodded. “Can I tell them first?’
“Of course. Now escort me to the gate and then go get yourself cleaned up.” They headed into the garden when a terrible sound reached their ears.
It started low, like a guttural cry and then a scream tore out from beneath the shed. “That sounded like Mr. Gladstone,” Georgina said.
Charlie ran over to the shed and knelt down. “You won’t believe this,” he said, grabbing Georgina’s hand to pull her down next to him.
“What is it?”
He peered back under the shed and saw the cat with three kittens already nursing. It was cleaning the fourth, which had just been born.
“Mr. Gladstone is a girl.”
Epilogue
November 1893, Bachelor, Rev. Bing’s church
Georgina held tighter to the flowers in her hand. She looked at her father just before the sounds of music filled the air.
The organ proclaimed the prologue of the march, and then went right into the beat that would carry Georgina down the aisle to her love.
She could see Aunt Maybelle sitting next to her mama on the left side of the church. The rest of the pews were filled with people she didn’t know. They were friends of her aunt.
Charlie would be moving into Aunt Maybelle’s house with her after the ceremony. Maybelle decided she was going to head back East when the family departed, so she left the house, and the bakery to Georgina and Charlie as a wedding gift.
It was fitting, that their wedding cake was the chocolate cake that they had created that afternoon in the bakery. It was born by accident, just like their love.
On the right of the church, was Charlie’s family. How she had come to love them as her own. Charlie’s father sat in the first pew next to Frances Brown. Georgina thought there might be something happening between the two older folks but couldn’t be sure.
At the end of the aisle, standing in front of the reverend, was Thomas looking extremely handsome in his black suit. Hal had sewn it for him, fitting Thomas as soon as the family arrived in town. Thomas was holding a small pillow with a ring tied to it and he beamed at his sister.
She was almost afraid to look at Charlie. She knew she wouldn’t be able to hold back the tears if she looked at him. Thank goodness she was wearing a long veil that hid her face. A blotchy bride was not beautiful.
She felt her father give her hand a squeeze.
“I have never seen a man more in love than that man looking at you right now,” her father whispered. “I’m so happy for you, my darling daughter.”
Georgina tried to wipe the tears away, but the lace of her veil got in the way. Instead, she gave a loud sniff trying to hold back her emotions. She heard a chuckle from Charlie as they arrived to stand in front of him.
Georgina felt her father pat her hand and then place it in Charlie’s. “Take care of her, son,” she heard her father say.
“I will, sir,” he responded and held Georgina’s hand in both of his own.
Georgina pivoted and handed her bouquet of wild flowers to Cassandra, who was standing behind her.
“You look beautiful, Georgie,” Thomas blurted out. The congregation laughed.
“He’s right you know,” Charlie said, leaning forward. “You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
Georgina smiled at his praise. The dress was worn by her mother and her grandmother. Lorraine had carried it on the train, promising severe consequences if it so much as got a speck of dirt on it.
The dress was a white ensemble, that was starting to darken slightly due to age. The fitted jacket was embellished with glass beads, each one painstakingly sewn by hand. Glass buttons held the jacket closed. There were no other adornments on the jacket.
The long skirt was made of the same fabric and flowed around her legs. Cassandra spread the dress out, so the yards of fabric laid on the ground behind Georgina.
Aunt Maybelle presented Georgina with a silk purse and a pair of new silk slippers to decorate her feet.
The long veil was secured to her hair by pearl pins and a crown. The lace draped over her face blocking her sight.
She felt beautiful.
And loved.
Oh, so loved.
“You haven’t even seen me under all this lace,” Georgina laughed.
“Maybe,” he shrugged. “But I know.”
Reverend Bing cleared his throat. “Dearly Beloved…,” he began.
The ceremony went by like a whirlwind. Georgina recited her vows and tried to control the shaking of her hands when Charlie slipped the gold band on her finger.
When it came time to kiss the bride, Georgina felt Charlie lift her veil and drape it over her head.
His dark eyes were smoldering as he leaned down and kissed her. Georgina lifted her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. There was no such thing as too close when it came to her feelings about this man.
Charlie finally broke the kiss. He cupped her face with his hands and pressed a swif
t hard kiss on her lips before taking her hand and tucking it under his arm.
“Are you ready to greet the world, Mrs. Stockton?”
Georgina gave him a little laugh. “I am, my husband.”
As they walked down the aisle, Georgina thought she caught a glance of Mrs. Pennyworth sitting in the last pew. Next to her was an older man in dusty clothes.
She could see Mrs. Pennyworth wipe her eyes and the man tilted his head towards her. He then clasped the woman’s hand and they disappeared into the air.
“Did you see that?” Georgina asked.
“I did. They finally found each other.”
“Just like us.”
“Yes. Exactly like us.”
Charlie led her through the doors of the church and out into the sunshine. The sun was warm on her face. She closed her eyes and lifted her chin towards the sky.
Her future was beautiful, after all.
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The End
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Sneak Peek – Tempting the Tailor
Hal and Frances are getting their own story – check out Tempting the Tailor.
A widow who thought she would never love again.
A widower still mourning his dead wife.
An angel determined to give them a second chance at love.
After her beloved husband passed, widow Frances Brown thought love was meant for the young, not her. Hired to keep house and act as a chaperone for a young lady, Frances finally had something to fill her days. What she didn’t count on was meeting the young lady’s bitter father, Hal Stockton.
Beauty and the Baker Page 9
