“I don’t know why you think you need new curtains. Nothing is wrong with the old curtains!” the older man standing next to her complained.
Alice smiled. “We have several lovely pieces of fabric I think you may like. You can take a look at it.”
“That would be lovely, dear.” Both older people followed Alice to the fabric section. Alice showed the woman all of the options.
“I don’t remember this pattern. Is it new?” The woman pointed to one of the bolts of floral fabric that Mark had delivered.
“Yes, that was actually sold by the man over there, talking to Lewis.” Alice pointed in their direction. “We just received them this week, and there will be more coming in different designs.”
“That’s nice, dear,” the woman said absentmindedly as she browsed through the fabrics.
Her husband stared at Mark. “Who is that man? He looks familiar, but I can’t place him.”
“His name is Mark Brooks, and he recently inherited his business from his uncle,” Alice explained.
The man snapped his fingers. “Oh, yes! I knew his uncle. Mark resembles him!” Then the man frowned. “I heard he was going around, trying to sell anything he could to anyone who would buy from him.”
His wife spun around and eyed Mark suspiciously. “How should we know if we can trust him?”
Alice hesitated. She wanted to tell them that Mark was true to his word, but she still didn’t know him all that well.
The older woman continued. “I think he’s just another crooked businessman, trying to swindle the hardworking people of Nowhere out of their money!”
“Is there a reason you think that?” Alice asked gently. She now understood why Mark had said that the people of Nowhere seemed to have something against him.
“Not yet. But I don’t trust him!” the woman practically shouted.
Her husband patted her arm. “Now you’ve gone and upset yourself, Dolly. Are you sure you need this fabric for the curtains? We could come back tomorrow.”
Dolly thought about this. “Maybe. I would feel more comfortable if that man wasn’t in here while I’m trying to shop. What’s he doing, anyway?”
“He and Mr. Darcy are discussing some business affairs,” Alice said simply.
“Hmph.” The older gentleman shook his head. “We’ll come back another day.”
The couple shuffled out of the shop, casting wary looks at Mark. Alice watched as they walked out the door. Lewis and Mark didn’t look up from their discussion. Alice wondered what they were talking about that had them both so focused on the conversation. She was glad that they hadn’t heard the older couple’s conversation. She had a feeling that it would have made Mark feel terrible.
Alice returned to unpacking the cans of beans and arranging them on the shelves. She tried a few configurations before she decided which one was best. When she was finished, a few other customers walked in, so she went over to help them.
Soon, it was time for lunch. Alice looked around after the last customer of the morning left the mercantile and realized that Mark was gone. She switched the “Open” sign to “Closed” and found Lewis at his desk, reviewing paperwork.
“Did Mr. Brooks leave?” Alice asked, hoping she didn’t sound nosy.
“Yes, he went back to his warehouse. I still don’t know if I can fully trust him, Alice, but I do appreciate that he’s trying.” Lewis rubbed his eyes.
“Lewis, you should get some rest. You seem exhausted.” Alice hoped she wasn’t being rude, but her brother-in-law looked terrible.
“I’ll get rest this evening, after all my work is done and my family is provided for,” Lewis said. Alice could tell from his tone that there was no changing his mind.
She left Lewis alone with his thoughts in the mercantile as she went upstairs to prepare lunch for Ruby and the children.
Chapter 5
When Alice walked into the Darcy family’s living quarters, she saw Ruby putting a pot on the stove.
“Ruby Darcy, you need to lie down and rest,” Alice said sternly. She tried to imitate Edna Petunia’s and Cletus’s tone when they were giving the girls a serious talk.
Ruby looked up in surprise. “Alice, what are you doing here?”
“I’m here to help you. I’m not going to do anything until you lie down, though,” Alice said with a smile. She helped her sister, who had started to show a bit, lie down on the sofa.
Little Jasper raced into the living room. “Aunt Alice!” Jasper flung his arms around his aunt as Ruby eased her body down onto the sofa.
“Hello, Jasper. Do you want to be my helper today?” Alice asked, a gleam in her eye. If she could keep Jasper busy, then maybe Ruby could get some sleep.
Ruby wasn’t going down without a fight, though. “Alice, you’re already doing so much for our family. You’re helping at the mercantile every day, and you’re also helping with the books. Lewis says you’re a natural. I don’t want to burden you with even more work.”
Alice shook her head. “Ruby, it’s no trouble at all. Normally, I eat my lunch downstairs with a book. Instead, I’ll come up here, fix lunch for you and the children, and eat with you all.”
Ruby sighed. “I don’t know. I hate that I feel so helpless.”
“You’re not helpless. You’re still doing a lot around the house—I know. Lewis told me,” Alice said, staring at her sister. She wasn’t going to budge. She knew how important it was that her sister get a lot of rest.
Ruby looked down guiltily. “It’s just so difficult for me to sit still. I want to do everything I can to make sure my baby is healthy and happy—but I still need to take care of all of the other children, too.”
Alice felt awful. Ruby seemed like she was about to burst into tears at any moment. She put a reassuring hand on Ruby’s shoulder. “It’s going to be all right, Ruby. You’re probably just tired. Lewis looked tired, too.”
Ruby nodded sadly. “We both couldn’t get much sleep last night. One of the twins had an earache, and we were up all night taking turns checking on her.”
“Is she feeling better?” Alice wondered.
“Yes, the girls are playing in the bedroom,” Ruby replied.
“I’m glad to hear that. But now, it’s time for you to get some sleep. You can lie down here or go to your bedroom if you’d like. I’m going to make lunch—and Jasper is going to help me!” Alice held out her hand to Jasper, and he took it. She led him into the kitchen and looked through the pantry.
Jasper helped Alice get all of the vegetables and spices out. Alice carefully combined them to create a stew. As the stew simmered, Alice went back into the living room to make sure Ruby was following her instructions. Ruby slept peacefully on the sofa, right where Alice had left her.
Next, Alice went into the bedroom where Ruby’s daughters were playing with dolls made out of cloth fabric. “Hello, girls!”
The twins stood up to hug their aunt, and the youngest girl gurgled on the floor. Alice knelt down and kissed her on the top of her head.
Alice’s heart felt full surrounded by her nieces and nephew. She imagined having a home of her own one day that she would fill with all of her favorite books and decorations. And, much more importantly, a husband and children. She wondered if they would look like her, as Ruby’s youngest daughter looked just like Ruby. Or maybe her children would take after their father.
Suddenly, Alice thought about Mark’s features and how they might look on a child with her fair skin and coloring. Alice gasped, surprised by her own thoughts.
“What’s wrong, Aunt Alice?” one of the girls cried.
Alice smiled. “Oh, it’s nothing, sweetheart. I just remembered something, and it startled me.”
“What did you remember?” the other twin asked.
“It’s something that won’t make sense to you now, but it will when you’re older.” Alice stood up and brushed her hands off on her lap. “Who’s ready for some lunch?”
The girls followed her lead and cheered. The
twins helped their younger sister toddle into the kitchen. Alice served all of the children a bowl of soup and also prepared one for herself. She decided to let Ruby sleep a little while longer, so she kept the stew over the heat while they ate.
Alice loved spending time with Ruby and Lewis’s children, and she decided she’d help out around the Darcy household much more often. She knew she may never get the chance to have a family of her own, so she was going to have to be content with her numerous nieces and nephews.
As Alice listened to one of Jasper’s stories, she realized it was almost one o’clock—the time the mercantile re-opened after lunch. She poured a bowl of soup for Ruby and set it on the table, then gently woke her sister up.
“I’m going back downstairs to work now. I made you some soup. It’s in the kitchen,” Alice told her sister softly.
Ruby smiled. “I already feel much better. I didn’t realize how badly I needed some rest. I can’t thank you enough, Alice.”
“No need to thank me. I know you’d do the same if our positions were reversed,” Alice said. “Now, I should get back to work before your husband wonders where I am!”
“That’s right,” Ruby said, remembering. “He told me he had so much to do today that he wasn’t going to be able to come upstairs for lunch. Please make sure he doesn’t work too hard.”
“Of course.” Alice smiled at her sister. Ruby and Lewis were two peas in a pod. She just hoped that for their sakes they would be able to find a little time for rest and relaxation. Soon, there would be a new baby in their home that would require undivided attention and love.
When Alice got downstairs, Lewis was still at his desk with several papers scattered in front of him. Alice changed the sign on the door back to “Open.” A few eager customers strolled in, and Lewis came to the front to join Alice in helping them. The afternoon rushed by, and soon it was time for dinner.
Alice insisted on preparing dinner for Ruby and her family. Lewis finished paperwork downstairs in the mercantile while Alice made fried chicken, one of Edna Petunia’s favorite recipes, in the kitchen. Alice wasn’t hungry, since she knew she would get a full meal at the Sanders’ house in a short time, so she said goodbye to the Darcy family and walked downstairs. She found Lewis at the bottom of the stairwell.
“Thank you, Alice. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Lewis called as he walked up the stairs.
“You’re welcome. Good night!” Alice prepared to walk out the front door. She had a key that she could use to lock it for the night. When she got outside, she was startled to see Mark Brooks waiting outside the door. “What are you doing here?”
“I was hoping to ask Lewis a question about some products he ordered from my uncle several months ago. I’m trying to balance my books, and something’s not quite right,” Mark explained. “But I see that the mercantile is closed. I’ll come back again tomorrow.”
“You came all this way? You were just here this morning.” Alice was shocked. Did Mark have any other customers besides the ones in Nowhere?
Mark looked sheepish. “I’m still looking for a place to stay in Nowhere. I hoped that if I went around and introduced myself to people, they would allow me to stay. So far, I haven’t found a place yet. Instead of making the drive back, I thought I’d stop in and see if Lewis had any ideas.”
Alice looked through the window to the clock on the wall in the mercantile. She had a short window of time that she could use without being late to dinner. She pushed open the door again and held it open for Mark. “Come on in. I’ll try to help you, but it has to be quick.”
Mark’s eyes widened. “Thank you, Alice.” He pulled a few leather-bound ledgers out of his briefcase and set them down on the table in the mercantile.
Alice went to the back of the mercantile and retrieved a book that showed all of Lewis’s orders from the past two years. She brought it to the front of the room and sat down next to Mark at the table. “What seems to be the issue?”
Mark opened one of his books and flipped through to a page where he had circled a few notes. “This doesn’t match up with my accounting records.” He pulled out another book. “See?” As Mark pointed toward the line in question, his arm brushed against Alice’s shoulder. A ripple of pleasure moved throughout her body. She felt her face flush. She moved her chair away slightly. She needed to focus if she was going to help Mark in time for dinner at the Sanders’ home.
Alice opened Lewis’s ledger and found dates that matched up with Mark’s books. She pulled out a notepad and pencil and did a few quick calculations. “I see. I think your uncle may have made an error when he wrote this down. Lewis ordered four crates of dishes, but your uncle wrote down six. That means it probably looks like you received less money than you were owed.”
Mark looked at Alice in amazement. “How did you figure that out so quickly?”
Alice looked down modestly. “I’ve always enjoyed arithmetic.”
“You’ve probably saved me hours of searching for this error, Alice,” Mark told her. “I’d love to do something for you in return.” He leaned a little closer to her.
Alice felt conflicted. She loved the feeling of Mark moving closer to her, and she desperately wanted to be close to him. At the same time, she felt improper being alone with him in the mercantile after hours. She had taken a chance, knowing that she could help him quickly and hopefully save Lewis time later, but she was starting to think that she had made a mistake.
Mark couldn’t help himself. He knew his actions were probably crossing the line, but he had felt an undeniable magnetic pull toward Alice since the moment he had met her. She was beautiful and skilled at everything she set out to do. And now she had demonstrated that she also had an impressive intellect to complement her looks. She was everything he had always imagined wanting in a wife.
Mark wasn’t sure what more he could do. He had told her that he intended to marry her and asked her out on a proper date. She had rebuffed his advances at every turn, and yet he couldn’t stop thinking about her. Although he also felt strongly about making things right with Lewis, the only reason he was making daily check-ins at the mercantile was to be close to Alice whenever possible. He had other employees who could have easily made the deliveries. But he had grown accustomed to getting a warm smile and pleasantries from Alice, and he couldn’t stop.
Mark wanted to kiss Alice, but he didn’t know how she would react. Still, he couldn’t help but drift closer and closer to her. Alice seemed like she wanted him to kiss her, too. She was staring at him with what he hoped was longing in her eyes. Mark closed his eyes and pressed his lips to hers. Mark felt an immediate connection with Alice as soon as they touched. His only thoughts were how he could explore more of Alice’s delicate body.
Suddenly, a loud voice rang throughout the room, startling Mark and Alice, who sprang back from each other. “What on earth is going on in here?”
Alice meekly looked up. It was Lewis.
“I came down here to get a few papers I wanted to review tonight, and I see you two in here consorting like this?” Lewis seemed upset. “I thought I could trust you, Mark. But it appears you just wanted to take advantage of my sister-in-law.”
“Please, let me explain—” Mark protested.
“I’ve seen enough. Alice, I’ll take you home.” Lewis said the words with finality. It was a command, not a request.
Alice opened her mouth to say something, but the look on Lewis’s face made her change her mind.
Mark gathered his things. He looked at Alice one last time. “Thank you, Alice, for your help. I’m sorry that I crossed the line. It won’t happen again.” Mark tipped his hat to both Alice and Lewis and exited through the front door.
“I’m disappointed in you, Alice,” Lewis told her. Alice looked down at the floor. “Let’s get in the wagon.”
Lewis and Alice both went outside, and Alice finally finished locking the door. If only Mark hadn’t interrupted her the first time, she would be home right now with Edna Petunia, Cle
tus, and the other sisters who still lived in the family home. They would be laughing and preparing for dinner. Now, she had upset and offended Lewis, who she knew was only looking out for her.
Lewis helped Alice climb into the wagon, and she sank low into her seat, feeling embarrassed and ashamed. Still, there was a small part of her that kept replaying the moment Mark’s lips had met hers over and over again. When he had kissed her, she’d felt alive and invincible, like nothing could ever hurt her. She wished they hadn’t been interrupted, so Mark could do it again. A little shiver ran up her spine as she thought about Mark. His lips had been soft and had felt wonderful against her mouth.
Lewis sighed loudly, and Alice snapped back to attention. “I’m sorry, Lewis. I know I let you down.”
“I just don’t want to see you getting hurt, Alice. That’s all.” Lewis flicked the reins and the horses took off, headed for the Sanders’ house.
Lewis didn’t say anything else on the short trip, and Alice didn’t have anything she wanted to talk about. She was embarrassed that Lewis had walked in on her in such an intimate embrace. Then again, Mark should have known better than to kiss her in Lewis’s place of business. And she wasn’t blameless—she had kissed Mark back. Alice looked forward to arriving home and getting out of the wagon so she didn’t have to sit in uncomfortable silence with her brother-in-law.
Chapter 6
When they got to the house, Lewis surprised Alice by parking the wagon and getting out alongside her. He tied the horses up and walked toward the front door.
“What are you doing?” Alice was confused.
“I need to have a talk with Edna Petunia and Cletus,” Lewis explained.
Alice’s stomach churned. “About me?”
“It’s for your own good, Alice.” Lewis pounded on the door.
Martha, another one of Alice’s sisters, answered. “Hi, Lewis,” Martha said, brightening a bit. Lewis was kind and protective of all of his sisters-in-law, and they liked him, too.
Alice Page 4
