A Worthy Suitor

by Jennifer AlLee

  “I see.” Albert nodded slowly. “You’ve missed several lessons. Are you sure you’re up for it? You might be a bit rusty.”

  Gwen bristled with mock pride. “I’ll have you know, sir, I’m just as good now as I was a week ago.” Which wasn’t spectacularly good, but they both knew that.

  “Well, then, let’s go.”

  When they reached the archery range, it was busier than usual. “I’m surprised to see so many people here,” Gwen said.

  Albert scratched the back of his neck. “I’ve been told that my notoriety has sparked something of an interest in the sport of archery. It certainly is strange what inspires people.”

  Gwen couldn’t come up with a counterpoint to that. “Oh, dear. You didn’t bring your equipment, did you?”

  He shook his head. “I didn’t think I’d need it. But I still have friends here. Let’s go to the equipment shed and get what we need.”

  “I’m afraid if I leave this spot, someone else will take it, and then we might never get a target.”

  Albert frowned. “I’m not leaving you alone.”

  Now he was just being silly. “I’ll be perfectly fine. Look, I’m surrounded by people. No one can get to me here.”

  “No.”

  Gwen sighed. She really hadn’t wanted to say this. “Truth be told, my foot is giving me quite a lot of trouble today. I’d rather not walk any further than I have to.”

  Albert’s face softened. He obviously understood, but was fighting the idea of leaving her alone to fend for herself. Only there was nothing for her to fend off. Charles wouldn’t show his face around this many well-armed men and women.

  “I’ll be fine. I promise.”

  Finally, he gave in. “All right. I’ll be five minutes. I’m going to run over, grab the equipment and come back. And you’re not to move from this spot. Do you understand?”

  He spoke to her the same way he’d spoken to Rachel. Gwen held back a smile. “Yes, I do.”

  “All right.”

  Gwen watched him sprint away to the small building where the bows, arrows and other archery equipment were kept. His movements were so fluid. It was a shame she’d never be able to run with him like that.

  A tug on her skirt pulled her from her reverie. She looked down and saw a young boy of about six looking up at her.

  “Are you Miss Banks?”

  “I am.”

  “Good.” He closed his eyes tight as if trying to make a wish or remember something. Then he looked back at her. “Your sister’s been in an accident. The car went in the lake. Follow me.”

  Fear clutched Gwen’s heart. “Who told you to come get me?”

  The boy didn’t answer. He just repeated what he’d said before. “Your sister’s been in an accident. The car is in the lake. Follow me.”

  Then he ran off the archery range.

  Gwen didn’t know what to do. This could be a ploy to lure her away, but it also could be true. She couldn’t take the chance that Matilda had been in an accident and do nothing about it.

  “Wait!”

  Ignoring the pain in her foot, she ran after the boy, catching sight of him just before he dashed into the foliage at the edge of the range. Every fiber of her being told her this was a bad idea, but there was that one thought that outweighed everything else.

  If Matilda is in trouble, I have to help her.

  So she ran. She ran through the bramble and past tree branches that pulled at her clothes and hit her face. She ran after the boy toward the lake, each step bringing more pain, more worry. Until finally, when a hand shot out and grabbed her arm, yanking her from her feet, she was almost relieved. And when the sweet-smelling rag covered her mouth and nose, one final thought filled her head.

  At least Matilda’s all right.

  * * *

  Someone was moaning. As she tried to move one achy limb and then another, Gwen realized the moans were coming from her.

  She opened her eyes slowly. She was sitting on the ground, surrounded by trees. From the bite of bark on her back, she realized she must be leaning against one. Slowly, memories returned. She’d been chasing a boy. He’d told her that Matilda was in trouble. But Matilda was fine. Gwen was the one in trouble.

  Charles stood several feet away from her, looking down with distain.

  “You just couldn’t leave it alone,” he said. “All you had to do was go along with it, and everything would have been fine. But you don’t know your place.”

  Her head ached from whatever he’d used to knock her out. It made clear thought difficult. “What are you talking about?”

  “If you’d just accepted me as your beau, none of this would have been necessary.” He began pacing, as if working out the justification in his own mind. “The robberies, the lies, none of it would have happened if not for you.”

  Righteous indignation was quickly sweeping the cobwebs from Gwen’s mind, and thoughts were coalescing. “You and I never were and never would be a match. How could my refusal to marry you result in all this criminal activity?”

  “You don’t understand.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “None of you understand.”

  “No, I don’t. But if you explain it, maybe I can help.”

  Charles sneered. “The time for help is over. But if you want to know why, I’ll tell you.”

  Truly, Gwen just wanted to keep him talking. Albert would be looking for her. Any number of people on the archery range would have seen her chase the little boy. They would tell him what they saw. And judging from the trees and plants surrounding them, Charles hadn’t taken her very far. If she could keep him occupied, it would give Albert a chance to find her.

  “Please, Charles. Please tell me.”

  “I have debts. A lot of them.”

  “Lots of people owe money.” She tried to sound sweet and understanding, the way Charles expected a woman to sound. “Those things can be worked out.”

  He laughed in a hard, angry way. “Not with these people. They don’t take kindly to late payments.”

  “I see.” Gwen could think of only one possibility that would cause such a reaction. “These are gambling debts, aren’t they?”

  His glare was answer enough. The facts were coming together in Gwen’s head. So Charles had a gambling problem. He had lost a great deal of money and now owed some very bad people.

  “But what does this have to do with my father?”

  Charles paced faster. “I borrowed money from the company. I thought if I could leverage it, then I could pay everybody and no one would be the wiser.”

  So he embezzled money and placed bigger, riskier bets in order to win enough money to pay everyone. The man was totally delusional.

  “It didn’t work, did it?”

  “Of course it didn’t work,” Charles yelled. “If it had, I wouldn’t be here talking to you.”

  A faint rustle off to the left caught Gwen’s ear. It wasn’t a sound that would be made by an animal that frequented these woods. It would come from something bigger and heavier. Something like a man. Albert. She had to keep Charles talking.

  “So you curried favor with my father and secured an invitation to our home.”

  “Yes, that did work out just as I’d hoped. But then I met you, and you were so difficult.”

  Of course, she’d given him no reason to believe he could win her over. But Matilda had. “I don’t understand why you didn’t focus your attentions on Matilda instead of me. That still would have accomplished your purpose.”

  “No.” He shook his head. “It had to be the eldest daughter, or else the plan failed.”

  It took a moment for the implication of that to sink in. As the eldest daughter, Gwen would be in charge of their parents’ estate if anything happened to them. Her stomach flipped and grew sour.

  “Then I realized this community is full of rich, needy women.” He continued his ramblings. “So I changed my focus. And I found I could pick up a few baubles here and there. But it’s not enough.”

>   A twig snapped. Charles stopped walking and looked around.

  “What about the ledger?” Gwen brought his attention back to her. “Why did you steal that?”

  “He brought it home with him from work. Said it had important client information in it. I thought I could use it somehow, but he’s got it written in some bizarre code that only he understands.”

  That explained most of it. Except for what he was doing with her now. “Charles, why did you bring me here? How will this help?”

  He looked at her like she was daft. “You’re my hostage. Your father gives me the money I need and lets me go on my way, and he’ll get you back.” His voice rose until it was high and brittle. “I’m desperate. They’re going to kill me.”

  How much money had Charles gambled away? His plan was ridiculous, but his grip on reality seemed to be slipping by the second.

  Maybe, if she reasoned with him, she could get out of this. “Charles, there has to be another way. If we could just talk—”

  “No, talking won’t help. I’m done talking.”

  He rushed at her, grabbed her arm and hauled her up. She screamed. Behind her, someone burst through the trees.

  “It’s over, Drexler.”

  Detective Sutter.

  Charles tightened his arm around Gwen’s neck, holding her back firmly against his side. “It’s not over until I say so. Unless you want me to finish her off now, I suggest you put down that gun.”

  “You know I can’t do that. Let’s just talk this through.”

  “No!” Charles screamed at the detective.

  Gwen shut her eyes. Please Lord, help me.

  From behind Charles came the sound of a wild turkey. Gwen’s eyes flew open. Albert. It was him.

  A moment later the whistle of an arrow split the air and a howl came from Charles as the tip sank into his shoulder. He loosened his grip on Gwen enough for her to drop to her knees and escape his grasp. Sutter ran forward and knocked Drexler to the ground.

  Gwen tried to crawl away, but strong hands wrapped around her upper arms and lifted her to her feet. She looked up and almost cried with happiness.

  “Albert. You saved me.”

  Sutter had Charles facedown on the ground, a knee firmly in the small of his back as he handcuffed the man.

  It was over.

  “Thank you, Detective.” Gwen looked back up at Albert, the only man she had eyes for. “I don’t think I can walk right now. Would you please help me?”

  Without a second thought, he scooped her up into his arms, and they followed the detective and his prisoner back to the archery range.

  * * *

  After all the explanations had been made, and the police had gotten the information they needed, it had taken a great deal of talking to convince Father that the family should stay at the picnic. He was determined to take Gwen back home and tuck her into bed. In the end, Mother had become the voice of reason.

  “The girl needs her rest,” Father said.

  “The woman has been through an ordeal, and now she needs to have a bit of fun,” Mother countered. “Besides, Gwen is old enough to make up her own mind.”

  Father could find no argument against that.

  Thankfully, Rachel had been enjoying an auto ride with Jason and Matilda, and had no idea what transpired with Charles. When they returned, Rachel promptly fell asleep on the picnic blanket while Albert filled in the others.

  “That’s remarkable,” Jason said. “How were you able to find them?”

  “I knew she’d followed the boy into the woods. After that, it’s really thanks to Gwen.” He smiled at her. “She taught me about tracking. And Gwen has a unique gait, so I was able to follow her.”

  A unique gait. What a beautiful way to describe her limp. “And then, he made the sound of a wild turkey to let me know he was out there.”

  Albert squeezed her shoulder. “I wasn’t sure if you’d realize it was me.”

  “How did you know?” Matilda asked.

  “I’d told Albert the story of how wild turkeys had been released into the woods for the huntsmen, but the turkeys didn’t stay around. There are none in these woods anymore. He knew I’d know that.”

  Jason shook his head. “You two are meant for each other, that’s for sure. You’re a hero now, Albert, so I dare anyone to trouble you about your class.”

  Matilda wrapped her fingers around Jason’s arm. “With that, I think we’ll give you two some privacy.” She pulled Jason away with very little trouble.

  Albert laughed. “You know, when I first met Mr. Adler, I thought him something of a buffoon, but he’s really quite perceptive.”

  “I’d have to agree,” Gwen said.

  Albert grew serious. “I have something to ask you.”

  She could only force out one word. “Yes?”

  “Gwen, I—”

  “Excuse me!”

  A booming voice cut off the question. A short, stocky man with a walking stick approached. Gwen remembered him from the Ashford party. It was Mr. Winchester.

  “Forgive me for interrupting you young people. I’m Wallace Winchester.” He held out his hand.

  Albert shook it heartily. “Of course. We’ve met once before. So good to see you again. This is Miss Gwendolyn Banks.”

  “Miss Banks, a pleasure. So sorry to hear about the business going on lately.”

  Gwen smiled her thanks. “Yes, but I’m doing quite well now. The true criminal has been captured, and Mr. Taylor’s good name has been restored.”

  Mr. Winchester grinned. “More than just restored. From what I hear, Mr. Taylor is a hero who saved the day with a bow and arrow. Which is what I wanted to talk to him about.” He turned to Albert. “I heard you lost your sponsors for the competition. Terribly shortsighted of them, to my mind. But you are just the kind of man I want representing the Winchester Archery Company.”

  Gwen’s heart soared.

  Albert was struck nearly speechless. “Mr. Winchester, that’s wonderful. Thank you.”

  Mr. Winchester slapped Albert’s back. “Fabulous. We can discuss the details tomorrow. For now, I say we all should enjoy this most festive picnic.”

  Without waiting for a response, the man was off, calling to another person about whether or not they planned to participate in the three-legged race.

  Gwen laughed. “It’s going to take some energy to keep up with him.”

  “Oh, no. If I can keep up with you, I can keep up with anybody. Which reminds me.” He took her hand. “I was going to ask you a question.”

  “Yes. You were.”

  “I wondered, how would you feel about being courted by someone below your station?”

  Gwen played along, making a face as though she were considering it. “That depends. Does he have prospects?”

  “Yes, tons. He works hard. He’s honest and loyal. And there’s talk that he might be participating in the games.”

  “That sounds very promising.”

  “You should know, he has a sister. She’s a handful, but he loves her. She’ll probably always need to live with him. Would you be able to deal with that?”

  “Oh, yes. I would expect nothing else.” Suddenly, Gwen couldn’t stand the game any longer. “Albert, I love you.”

  A smile lit his face. “I love you, beautiful Gwen. And although we’ve only known each other a short time, I intend to ask your father for your hand.”

  “That makes me very happy, indeed.”

  They looked into each other’s eyes, content with everything they saw there.

  “I want to kiss you,” Albert said, “but I don’t think this is the right time or place.”

  “I agree. We’ll know when it’s right.” She leaned closer and lowered her voice. “But I do hope it’s soon.”

  He laughed. “You can count on that.”

  They enjoyed the rest of the afternoon. Finally, when the sun went down and people were gathering for the grand finale of the evening, they excused themselves and took a walk away fro
m the crowd. Finally, standing at the edge of the lake, surrounded by God’s creation, and under a sky filled with the moon, the stars and fireworks bursting in a riot of colors, Gwendolyn Banks received her first kiss from Albert Taylor, the Archer of Tuxedo Park, and the man who’d hit the target of her heart.

  Epilogue

  Tuxedo Park, New York

  Not quite one month later

  For the first time ever, Gwen was concerned about her dress as she walked through the woods. She gathered the skirt together, holding up the hem to keep it from dragging through the dirt and leaves.

  “I love you, Gwenie, but I will never understand why we had to come to this place, today of all days.”

  Gwen looked over her shoulder and smiled. Matilda held her skirts even higher and practically tiptoed her way along, her head turning left, right and left again as though she was afraid some vicious animal would spring out of the trees and attack her. Or worse, dirty her lovely gown.

  “This is a very special place to both Albert and me,” Gwen said. “I can think of no better spot for our wedding.”

  Behind Matilda, Rachel skipped and frolicked, taking time to examine the plants she saw along the way. She dropped to her knees in the dirt, paying no mind to her dress whatsoever. “Gwen, look at this beautiful fern.”

  Gwen stopped and nodded in approval. Three weeks ago, Rachel hadn’t known a fern from a dandelion. But she’d started accompanying Gwen on her nature walks and had proven to be quite an adept student. In fact, now that Rachel was no longer confined to the house, she was blossoming in a number of ways.

  “Yes, it’s a beautiful plant,” Gwen said. “We’ll come back another day to catalog it. But for now, we need to be going. Albert is waiting.”

  “Ooh, that’s right. This is the day you become my sister!” Rachel popped to her feet and ran ahead, passing Matilda and Gwen.

  “Should we stop her?” Matilda asked the question even as she suspiciously eyed a shadowy clump of foliage.

  Gwen shook her head. “No. We’ve been out here a number of times. She knows the way.”

  Bringing up the rear, Mother and Father walked in contented silence. Like most parents, they wanted to know their child would be happy, and Gwen knew they had worried about her over the years. No doubt they’d had times when they thought this day would never come.