Stealing Her Heart

by Cyndi Raye

  Which very well may be a reality that she’d have to face in the future. A man like Duke would not stay single long in Belle. She could name a dozen women that would want to be his wife. The barn raising was coming up. Martha supposed he’d get a bunch of invitations from there. Instead of looking forward to the festivities, she almost dreaded it.

  Well into an hour, she remembered to get the lemons squeezed and took a pitcher to the hard working men outside. “Come and get it!”

  It didn’t take long for Tommy and Duke to take a seat at the table. Martha almost wished she had some cakes for them to enjoy. She placed a hand on her hip and looked at them both. “Why, this won’t do! Take those dirty hands and give them a cleaning before you sit at my table,” she instructed.

  Duke gave her a wink and followed Tommy to wash his hands at the outside pump along the side of the house. A few minutes later, they both had water dripping from their faces and hands.

  “Much better. Here you go,” she told Tommy, handing him a glass. When she gave a glass to Duke, their fingers brushed as a warm feeling rushed her from head to toes. This was nice. But, she wasn’t interested in him in that sort of way. She had to remember that at all times. No matter what.

  Besides, if he knew she was about to do some snooping around while they continued to work outside, he would not have a smile on his face like he did right now. Duke and Tommy were discussing the next project, painting the front porch. “I’ll walk up to the mercantile and pick up the supplies we need.”

  “The front porch will look nice if it’s painted,” Martha chimed in. “I think if we ask Mercy, she may give up a few of her potted plants to make this look even more homey. Plus, now that I am here so much, it will be easier to take care of them.”

  Duke gave her a warm smile. “Thank you, Martha. My mother loves flowers.”

  It made her happy to offer them. She didn’t think Mercy would mind at all. Making a mental note, she would wait until the porch was painted to bring them over.

  “What are you drinking there?”

  Martha waved. “Hello, Mr. Parson. Are you taking your daily stroll?”

  “Yep, sure am. Then I saw what looks like lemonade. Now, I’m thirsty.” He leaned against his cane a little harder, making it obvious he wanted to be invited, too.

  “Come on up, Mr. Parson,” Duke chimed in. “You don’t need an invitation.”

  The old man grumbled something about it being polite to at least ask, but made his way to the porch like there was a fire lit under his feet. Martha looked to see Duke noticed too. He shook his head and shrugged.

  Martha liked that quality in Duke. Helping your neighbor to feel welcome was important to her. Duke helped the old man sit at the table and refilled his empty glass, handing it to him. “I must get back inside since I only have a few more hours to work. Enjoy the lemonade, boys.”

  Once inside, Martha looked back to see the three men relaxing in the chairs and heavy into a conversation. She wanted to trudge upstairs to see if there was any chance of finding any revealing photographs.

  There were three rooms upstairs. She went to the first room, finding a large bed and a dresser. The rest of the room was empty except for a carpet bag setting on the dresser. Was this where Duke slept? The floor boards creaked and groaned as she walked across them trying to be as quiet as possible. Even though they were outside, he may hear her up here. It was not where she wanted him to find her. Although, she could always say she was perusing the rooms for future cleaning.

  Martha thought the floor would be so cold in the winter time. What it needed was a nice rug in front of the bed. How would his sister get upstairs to sleep? Would Duke have to carry her up? She tried to keep her mind on her task but found herself thinking of Duke the whole time she looked through the dresser drawers. There wasn’t any evidence that Thomas Rider even used this room. After deciding there was no photos, she went on to the next room.

  It was also empty. There was another smaller bed and one dresser against the wall. A small night stand sat beside the bed. Martha kneeled down and peeked under the bed. Nothing. She looked through each drawer to find no evidence there either. With a heavy sigh, she left the room and when she flung open the door to the third room, her heart fell to her feet.

  Piles of clothing, a few trunks and frames with family photographs filled one wall. Martha hurried to the wall to search for the tell-tale photograph. There were so many. Thomas’s mother had liked to spend money on card portraits throughout the years. She remembered her mother complaining how extravagant it was to have so many photographs.

  Yet, her mother was one of the first to be there when the photographer was hired. Martha remembered having to pose several times as the whole family stood still until the man called out to them to freeze. She shook her head at the memory. Her mother was long gone, but the memory lived on.

  Her eyes swept the room for any evidence of her younger years. Bright red color whipped in front of her from a photo on the wall. It was the one she had been searching for. The photo she had remembered being in. There was her family staring at the camera. Her mother, God rest her soul. Her father stood beside mama, making her smile. His long moustache always twitched when he laughed. He was long gone, too.

  Memories rushed back and she never heard someone come up the steps. Duke’s voice caught her off guard and she jumped in the air when he called out. “Martha, do you need help with anything?”

  Her heart was racing so fast she thought it may leap right out of her chest and out the window to fall to its death in the front yard. She hurried to the stairs where he stood. “I was looking to see how much work these rooms will need. I know we are nowhere near starting them, but I wanted to get an idea. Follow me, I have a great plan if you’d like to hear about it.”

  Martha made her way past him and started down the steps, hoping he’d follow behind. She didn’t want him to see the photo she had discovered. Even though it was hanging on the wall, she didn’t think a stranger would notice a ten year old lanky girl. But her looks hadn’t changed much.

  She had to get rid of that photo, one way or another. Now that she knew exactly where it was, she’d find a way to make it disappear.

  Before anyone else would ever lay eyes on it again.

  Chapter 9

  “Didn’t you say you had an idea?” Duke stood in the center of the parlor staring at her.

  She almost forgot what she had told him upstairs, she was trying so hard to get out of that room before he discovered her secret. By the time they made it down the stairs, she had made small nervous talk about how the kitchen was coming along. She had kept her distance since every time he was so close it made her pulse quicken. “Did you know there are more rooms on the first floor?”

  “I assumed there were, but hadn’t checked. It’s been quite busy since I’ve been trying to get so much outside work done because I know my mother and sister will love sitting on the huge porch.”

  Martha told herself he wouldn’t think anything of her being upstairs snooping since she had discovered the extra rooms. He probably thought she was being curious since she had to do all the cleaning. Soon, the photo would be gone and she wouldn’t have to explain to anyone again. She motioned for him to follow her. “This may look like an ordinary wall, but take a look at these fixtures. All we need is to find a way to open this up.”

  She had found the hinges the other day and realized Thomas had closed off the rest of the house since he’d been here. He had painted the wall and door the same, covering the hole where the door knob was so it appeared like it was part of the wall. She didn’t know why he did it, but it was time to open up the large space she knew they’d find behind the door.

  “I imagine there are more bedrooms or large open spaces. If your sister is in a wheel chair, this will be perfect for her bedroom so she won’t have to be carried up the stairs. It will give her more freedom to get around the house.”

  Duke gave her an incredulous look. “That’s nice of y
ou to think of her.” He felt around the perimeter of the door to see if he was able to open it by himself. But the paint had seeped into the frame around the door, sealing it closed. “I may need some tools to get this to open.”

  He went outside on the porch to confer with Tommy, who was arguing with old man Parson. When the two saw Martha and Duke come through the door, they both stopped and stared. “What is it?” Tommy asked.

  “There is a door in the wall that probably leads to more space. For some reason it is sealed off and we can’t open it. Tommy, can you run to the tool shed out back and find me something to pry it open?”

  Old man Parson stood. “Follow me, young ‘uns. You can just go through the side door.”

  “Side door? I never noticed any other doors except the front and back door.”

  “That’s because the side door is covered with unruly bushes that I have to look at every single day. It’s a disaster!”

  Martha took Duke by the arm and pulled him along. “Come on, let’s follow Mr. Parson. This is so exciting!”

  The four of them trampled through the rubbish along the side of the house to discover the old man was right. Huge bushes covered a small side porch. A large French style double door opened easily when Duke turned the knob. “I had no idea,” he said, stepping inside.

  The old man stood a bit taller knowing he had solved a problem. Martha helped him inside and stood there, in awe of the huge room that had been hidden from the rest of the house. “This is lovely. All it needs is a little sprucing up. The perfect space for your sister, Duke.”

  “I believe you are right,” he told her.

  Martha walked around the room then, admiring the beautiful furniture still in the room. an Italian walnut bedroom suite sat in the room with a huge dresser on one side, a dressing table and matching bed posts and headboard. The intricately carved wood was not cheap.

  “How in the world was Thomas Rider able to afford this type of furniture?” Martha knew his mother had inherited some things from a relative but she had no idea of the luxurious items in their possession.

  “Your sister will love it,” she said, running a delicate hand over the pattern.

  Duke stood beside her. “I believe you love it as well.”

  She grinned. “It is quite exquisite. Any woman would be happy to have such a wonderful bedroom. I believe your family will love this old home.”

  He agreed. “Let’s see the rest of this hidden wonder.” She followed him through another door, to find a small hallway with three more rooms.

  “This place is like a castle,” old man Parson mentioned. “Why would that crazy idiot close this off?”

  “Because he was crazy?” Martha shot out. The old man laughed and then shook his head.

  “I believe the hallway is large enough Molly’s wheelchair will not be a problem.”

  Martha agreed. “Let’s take a look at the other rooms.”

  They followed each other into each room, discovering another room almost as big as the first one. Except it didn’t have the open doors, but it did have a door to the large room. “This will be perfect for my mother. She can stay near Molly.”

  The next room was smaller, but again it had a door that led to the other. “This will make a nice sitting room for mother. That way she can have her privacy if she wants it.”

  When they went into the last room across the hall, Martha froze in the doorway. More photos filled the walls. One of them showed her entire family when she was about eight years old. As she studied the photos, she found another one where she was holding a fishing rod, along with several cousins and Thomas Rider in the background.

  A fear so strong came over her, she closed the door. “There are some things in there that belong to the previous owner. I’ll remove them as quickly as I can. Why don’t we see if we can open the door to the parlor through this side. I see a door at the end of the hallway.”

  Everyone turned to where she pointed. Duke gave her a passing look and then followed the rest. She let out a huge sigh. Her heart was hammering like a woodpecker banging on a tree. She kept a few steps behind the rest to give herself time to calm down.

  Old man Parson exclaimed in a loud, shrill voice. “Look, there’s a key!”

  Duke took a hold of the large pewter key and turned it. The latch sprung open with a click. He looked directly at Martha and grinned. Then he pushed his shoulder against the door several times until it flung open with a loud crack. The light that shot in lightened the whole hallway.

  They were back in the parlor. “Tommy, that door comes off and stays off. I want this area open so my sister can manoeuvre her wheel chair through. Can you work on that this afternoon instead of working outside?”

  “Yes, sir. I’ll go get some more tools.”

  “I best be going home and resting. That was a lot of work we just did.” The old man went through the screen door and headed home.

  Duke and Martha shared a grin. “He must be utterly exhausted watching everything.”

  Martha giggled.

  Duke smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. She lowered her eyes to the floor not wanting him to see how much she enjoyed his company. “I better get back to work,” she told him, scurrying off to the kitchen. A bead of moisture dripped from her brow as she filled a bucket of water and soap to scrub the kitchen walls. This wouldn’t take long but she had been interrupted twice today so she worked extra hard to get it finished.

  Worry ate at her for the next few hours. She had to get back to that third room and collect all the photos. One way or another it had to be done. At three o’clock, Martha finished up, then went to find Duke. He was working side by side with Tommy, who was enlarging the opening to the hallway door.

  When Duke noticed her standing there he looked up from the floor and smiled. “What do you think, Martha? Tommy made the doorway bigger so Molly’s wheelchair can get through without getting stuck.”

  “That’s a wonderful idea. Carson will be off school in a few minutes, so I must be going. I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow.”

  She left before he was able to say another word. Worry that he’d go back in that room and take a closer look nagged at her the whole way to the school house. The sooner she destroyed the photo, the better she’d feel.

  At this point, there was no way she could explain herself without lying through her teeth!

  Chapter 10

  Martha clapped her hands together. She had hurried to the mansion after dropping off Carson. He was going fishing again with the Martins after school, so she had a few extra hours to work. That would be plenty of time to get done what she intended to do today. “If I may have your attention, I’d like to organize a fire-burning day today.”

  Duke looked up from his plate of flapjacks. His cheeks were filled and all he could do was nod.

  “Very well, then, I think it will be better if we empty out all of the prior owner’s belongings instead of doing it room by room. This will get rid of everything at once and we won’t have to worry about going back and forth. What do you think?”

  Knowing Duke was filling his belly with her delicious recipe of thick, fluffy flapjacks, she wasn’t giving him any time to disagree. She had her mind set when she arrived this morning. Her mother told her the way to a man’s stomach was with food. Unfortunately, her prior husband had been mostly drunk and never took the time to sit and have a good meal.

  It seemed to work with this group of men. Even old man Parson was coming over for breakfast every morning she cooked. He claimed to be out taking a walk, just like the doc had ordered. Then he’d give her that starry-eyed look and if she didn’t invite him to eat, he’d grumble how no one paid any attention to an old man like him. She shook her head. The old man was lonely and finding a soft spot in her heart for him was not hard to do. Even if he did blurt out whatever came to mind first before thinking.

  For the next few hours, Martha got busy, piling all of Thomas Rider’s belongings from the parlor onto a pile she had s
tarted on the back porch. It had to be lugged from there to the burn pile, which was along the side of the house facing Mr. Parson’s home. Once she made a pile pretty high, one of the two men would help to carry it the rest of the way to the burn pit.

  Everything was going well. Old man Parson went back home to relax, his belly full. Tommy and Duke worked outside in the front yard while she worked inside.

  Martha hurried down the hall to the third room they had checked the day before. More light was coming through the corridor now that the opening was larger. Light from the parlor shone down the hallway.

  She turned the knob and went inside. Working quickly, she took the photo off the wall and slipped it inside her pocket. It left a large open spot on the wall anyone who walked in would notice.

  Martha, began to take all the photos from the wall to make a pile on the night stand. Sweat poured down the side of her hairline, causing her to push strands of red hair back from her face. She’d feel much better when the photo was burned up and gone to ashes.

  A pair of boots was heard coming down the hall, the sound of shuffling getting louder. Martha tried not to act nervous, but bent over a pile of household items and began to stack them alongside the photos. The one in her pocket was hidden from view except the corner kept digging into her thigh.

  “You are quite the busy lady,” Duke told her. “Here, let me get those for you.” He took a pile of things from her hand and began to walk back out. “I was getting ready to start the fire when I realized we are out of matches. Tommy and I are going to walk to the mercantile to stock up on some things and pick up more matches. Is there anything you need?”

  He sounded normal. Not suspicious at all. Whew! Martha grabbed a pile of photos on the stand and followed him out. “Nothing I can think of. We should get this burned before the day is out.”

  “If not, we can have a bonfire tonight and watch everything go up in smoke like fireworks. Would you like that? You can bring Carson along.”