Katie: Bride of Virginia (American Mail-Order Brides 10)

by Sylvia McDaniel

  Betty reached out and grabbed her hand. “I know, dear. I believe you.”

  Katie squeezed her hand back. “Good. Daniel doesn't deserve to be treated that way.”

  “Thank you. No, he doesn't.” The older woman sighed. “I will rest while you bake the cookies and then I'll help you decorate them.”

  “Good idea. I'll put the next batch in the oven. You go.”

  The thump, thump, thump of her wheels rolling down the hall left Katie alone in the kitchen. Hurriedly, she washed the dishes, hoping to finish before the first tray of cookies came out of the oven.

  A loud knock on the door drew her attention. When she reached the door, she glanced out the window and saw Frank's carriage sitting outside. She opened the door. “Good morning, Frank. Is Daniel expecting you?”

  “Katie, can I come in. I need to speak with you.”

  “Of course,” she said, opening the door. “I'll send for Daniel.”

  He halted her arm. “No, don't.”

  “I only want to speak with you.”

  A trickle of alarm spiraled down her spine. Daniel had asked her not to let any men come into the house and to always let him know, but this was his friend. There was an urgency in his voice that she responded to.

  “Of course, please have a seat,” she said, sinking in the chair opposite Frank.

  “I know you think it's probably strange that I drove out here to talk to you, but I learned some new information late yesterday and it kept me awake all night. Finally, I decided I had to come warn you.”

  Katie stared at her husband's business partner, unease gripping her stomach. “What did you learn, Frank?”

  “Last night I saw Eloise's father for the first time since the funeral. He told me that when Eloise died, Daniel inherited money her grandmother left her.” Frank sighed and took Katie's hands in his, staring into her eyes. “The vineyard was out of money. He had no money left.”

  Nausea rose in Katie, her stomach clenching with the need to lose the contents of her stomach. Why hadn't Daniel told her about Eloise. They had yet to have a discussion about his wife, where he told his side of the story. And she desperately needed to hear from her husband.

  Pulling her hands from his, she stood and began to walk around the room. “So you think he killed her for her money?”

  Frank rose and came to her side. “What else? He loves this vineyard. It's been his dream since he learned about Thomas Jefferson's attempt to make wine at his beloved Monticello. Daniel needed that money to help him hang onto his dream.”

  For a moment, Katie felt skeptical. This didn't make sense. The man she'd fallen in love with would never be this diabolical. He wouldn't kill his wife to take her inheritance. “So why would he bring you in as a partner if he already had the funds?”

  Frank laughed. “It's brilliant. Because this way the town didn't know he needed her money. How would it appear to people if they learned, his wife died of exposure, his vineyard was broke, but now suddenly he received an influx of cash from his dead wife's estate?” He paused, nodding his head. “Don't you see it's all coming together. Daniel killed Eloise to save the vineyard.”

  Katie frowned. What he was saying made logical sense, but her heart refused to believe what he was divulging. Her body and soul didn't believe Daniel could hurt anyone in order to save his vineyard.

  “For your safety, you should come with me,” Frank said pacing the floor. “At least until the sheriff investigates and we learn the truth, you'll be safe.”

  There was no way she was leaving with Frank. Daniel would never forgive her, if she went with him and she wasn't convinced Frank's story was real. Her instincts were telling her Daniel was innocent and she didn't know what Frank was doing, but this couldn't be good.

  “No. I don't believe Daniel killed Eloise. It may appear from what you're saying that he did, but in my heart, I know he wouldn't harm her. He told me he loved her and I believe him.”

  “Please come with me. You're in danger. I'm trying to save your life.”

  Something wasn't right. Her husband was not a killer. Images of the factory fire and how they'd all run for their lives to escape the flames came to mind. Bob Brown was a killer. He'd deliberately set the place on fire while his workers were inside. Daniel was not a cruel man like Mr. Brown. Daniel did not kill Eloise.

  “I appreciate you driving out here to express your concerns, but I'm not worried.”

  Frank's emerald eyes flashed with anger. “When he hurts you, I'm not responsible.”

  “You're right. You're not.”

  She walked to the door. “Thanks for coming by, Frank.”

  The man huffed out the door while she watched him leave. Was she crazy for not going with him? Only time would tell.

  #

  Later that evening, Daniel watched his wife who sat on the loveseat, working on a piece of needlepoint. He loved to gaze at her as she concentrated on her pulling the needle and thread through the canvas.

  His life was so much better this last month since she'd come into his house and made it into a home. Even his mother was happier and seemed to be getting around better. And her disposition was such an improvement.

  But who could remain unhappy around his smiling, warm wife. The room brightened when she stepped in with her smile and laughter. She was like a breath of fresh air and sunshine swirling through the room, leaving it a better place.

  No, he hadn't ordered a mail-order bride, but thank God, Frank had seen his need and placed the ad that brought Katie to him.

  She glanced at him. Tonight, he could sense something was bothering her and whatever it was, he wanted to fix it and bring back the bubbly girl that made him smile.

  “What?” she asked, staring at him.

  “I'm just enjoying watching you,” he said. And he was. Quickly he'd learned that Katie was excellent with needlepoint, sewing, and decorating cookies. She would be an excellent mother to his children and in so many ways he'd been blessed with her arrival.

  Her eyes looked away and he knew she was troubled. “What's wrong?”

  Putting the canvas down, she gazed at him, her emerald eyes darkening. “When are you going to tell me about Eloise? I haven't heard your side, but everyone has given me their version of how she died. People have told me you killed her. And when you won't talk about that night, I begin to have doubts. You should trust me enough to talk to me about what happened, and you don't.”

  Sorrow gripped him, squeezing his chest at the thought she would believe he killed his first wife. At the idea anyone thought him capable of murder.

  He wanted to run away from the ugliness, his muscles unable to sit any longer. Rising from the chair he moved closer to the fire, hoping it would warm the ice flowing through his veins.

  “I'd been working late every night the week she died. It had been a brutal winter and I'd had the crew out at night watering the vines, keeping the fires burning in the fields, to keep the vines from freezing.

  “Eloise had been distant. She'd not shared my bed since October and the worst part was I didn't know what I'd done. Trying to keep her happy, I gave into most of her demands. She didn't like living outside of town. She hated that my mother lived with us. And she wanted me to go to work for her father in Raleigh.”

  He paused, remembering that awful night. The way his wife had laughed when she told him about the affair. The pain of her betrayal gripped his insides. “When I came in from the fields, for the first time in months, she was waiting for me. Told me she had found someone else. Someone who would treat her the way she deserved to be treated. Someone who would give her the life she wanted. Said she was leaving in the morning.”

  “What did you do?”

  Laughing he looked at the woman he knew he was falling in love with. Katie listened to him, worked with him, and made him look good. Yet he couldn't give her his complete trust. The differences between the two women were suddenly so clear.

  “At first, I tried to talk her into staying. I wanted
to work things out, but she wanted no part of any reconciliation. The realization that my marriage was over slammed into me like a boulder. I'd loved Eloise deeply. But her mind was made up and I wasn't going to change it.”

  And here was where everything became fuzzy. He'd slept hard that night. He'd been exhausted and after their argument had several glasses of wine. He'd not been drunk when he went to sleep, but he'd had enough wine that he slept well that night.

  “When I left, Eloise, she was retiring for bed. Mother called me into her room and poured me a cup of tea. I didn't mention that Eloise was leaving in the morning. We talked about the wine and then I went upstairs to bed. I was so tired and as soon as my head hit the pillow I was asleep. The next morning when I woke up, she was gone.”

  Daniel remembered the feeling of knocking on her bedroom door, and when she didn't answer, opening to see the empty room, the bed that had not been slept in. Her suitcase open like she hadn't finished packing.

  “Did you try to find her.”

  “Of course, I did. I was the one who searched the woods. Who found her cold body half buried in the snow,” his voice choked. “There was blood on the snow from a gash on the back of her head. But the weirdest thing was she had no coat on, no shoes.” He shivered at the memory. “No one should die like that.”

  He walked to the window and stared out at the falling flakes, remembering the horror of finding her dead. “I'd give anything to find out what happened and why she went out that night.”

  “Do you still love her?” Katie asked, her voice soft and mild.

  No, he no longer loved Eloise. He was falling for Katie, but he didn't want to tell her while they were talking about his dead wife. Turning, he faced Katie. “No. Our marriage had never been a happy one and when she said she was leaving, I actually felt relief.”

  At first he'd been upset, but then he realized how he could never have made her happy and it was probably for the best she left. This way another man could try to give her what she wanted in life.

  “Did you kill her?”

  His head jerked, feeling like he'd been slapped, her words stung. “Never.”

  “But you want to know who did?”

  “Of course. Not only to clear my name, but so I would know who had done this to Eloise. She deserves justice.”

  He gazed at the woman he was rapidly falling for. She had been so trusting, believing in him, and he'd avoided telling her his side of the story. He'd been wrong and didn't know how to make it up to her. Last night had been the best night of his life and somehow he wanted to hold onto what they'd had together.

  “Come to bed, Katie,” he said softly.

  She glanced away, her face tightened as she bit her bottom lip. Did she not believe him? Daniel felt his heart wrench inside his chest like someone had punched him. He should have told her the first night she arrived, before she was influenced by other people's version of the truth. But he'd been trying to put the past behind him.

  “I need some time. I'll be up soon, but right now I just want to sit here and think for a few moments.”

  His stomach tightened, nausea rising. “This is why I hadn't told you. I didn't want you to believe I'd killed her.”

  She said she didn't believe he'd killed Eloise, but still there was something holding her back.

  She sighed. “I don't think you killed her. I just need some time to consider what you've told me. I learned about Eloise from everyone else until tonight. Tonight I finally hear your side. Is this a sign of you finally trusting me?”

  “I do trust you,” he said.

  “Then why whenever something happens in the vineyard do you believe it's me?”

  “Before you arrived, I wasn't having any problems and now suddenly every time I turn around something has gone wrong. What am I supposed to think?” he said, having a hard time believing his sweet wife would create havoc in his vineyard, but then he would think back to how his first wife had acted and he feared Katie was doing the same. He felt torn.

  “Did you ever consider that maybe someone wants you to think it's me.” She sighed and hung her head. “I'm not Eloise, Daniel, and I refuse to battle her ghost.”

  It wasn't fair to compare her to Eloise. He knew it and he was trying, but he'd been burned before. “I'm doing my best, Katie. Really I am. But Eloise betrayed me and I fear you will too.”

  #

  Katie watched her husband climb the stairs, his retreating back so strong and muscular. Had she fallen in love with a murderer? No, there was no way Daniel would have harmed Eloise.

  Her husband was an honest, hard-working soul, but never a murderer. But what could have sent the woman fleeing into the snow?

  The only people in the house were Daniel and his wheelchair ridden mother. Neither seemed capable of forcing Eloise into the cold. Unless it was the lover his mother claimed Eloise had.

  But who could that be? And did they work here in the vineyard?

  So many questions swirling around in her head and she truly did not know who to believe.

  Tears sprang to her eyes. Daniel expected her to trust him when he said he hadn't killed Eloise, but he couldn't trust her when it came to the accidents in the vineyard. Sitting in the parlor she let the tears slide down her cheeks. Pain clenched her chest. The very idea that the man she loved thought she could harm their crops or destroy their wine, broke her heart.

  Tomorrow the ladies from the church would be attending a tea party she was putting on and she would have to face them knowing they suspected her husband of murder and he believed she was causing damage to the vineyard.

  Had the journey from Lawrence been worth the heartache she'd found here in Charlottesville?

  Chapter Ten

  Daniel was late this morning. He'd overslept after not being able to rest peacefully most of the night. Katie had not come to bed until late. He'd missed the feel of holding her in his arms and this morning she was busy preparing for her tea. Neither one of them had slept well.

  “Before you leave for the fields, would you bring up a couple of bottles from the wine cellar?” she asked.

  He really didn't have time, but he wasn't about to deny her any small request at this point. Hurrying down the cellar stairs, the smell of alcohol stunned him. When he reached the bottom he stared in shock, his chest aching with pain.

  Broken bottles were strewn about like a cyclone had lifted them and smashed them against the floor. At least two cases of his best wine was evaporating on the ground. How could this have happened without anyone noticing the noise?

  After hearing his story last night had she gotten her revenge by shattering his best wine?

  Since her arrival someone had been doing their best to try to destroy the vineyard, but why? And why would Katie harm the very livelihood that kept her off the streets? It didn't make sense. Nothing was making sense these days and somehow he had to learn who was behind this. It had to stop, now.

  If it was Katie...his chest tightened and his head began to throb. Had he once again chosen a woman who wanted to destroy him?

  Sinking down on his heels, he touched the wine littered floor. It had been here for a day or two as it was already evaporating.

  Fortunately, the destruction was either a warning or they'd been interrupted in their attempt to demolish the wine in the cellar. They'd only gotten to two cases, but still it was enough to frighten him.

  Grabbing two bottles, he hurried up the stairs. Katie was sliding what looked like a coffee cake into the oven.

  She turned and smiled at him, in that way that chased the dark thoughts from his heart and brightened his day. There was no way she could be behind this devastation.

  “Thank you. I have your breakfast almost ready,” she said.

  When he didn't move, her facial expression drained like an hourglass. “What's wrong?”

  He wanted to see if she was lying. “Someone broke several cases of wine in the cellar.”

  “Oh no,” she said. “Why is this happening?”
<
br />   “If I knew the answer to that, the mystery would be solved. When was the last time you were down in the cellar?”

  She frowned. “The night of the party, Why?”

  “I just wanted to know.”

  She bit her lip, her eyes darkening. “I forgot to tell you, but the night of the party, Martha found several shattered bottles. When I came in to take the glasses to our guests there was wine and glass strewn across the kitchen. I even checked people's clothes for wine stains, but nothing.

  “I didn't tell you right then because I didn't want to spoil the party for you. Then afterwards you and Frank were in that heated discussion and after that I learned you hadn't sent for me. And I forgot.”

  The fact she hadn't told him left him leery. They were under attack. How could he fight if he didn't know when to battle? Unless of course the enemy had infiltrated the base. Anger churned through him and he took a deep breath. “You should have told me.”

  “I meant to, but things were a little hectic at the time.”

  “I'm going to have one of the men come over and put a lock on the cellar. No one is to go in or out without me here, do you understand?”

  “Of course.” Her brow drew together in a frown. “Daniel O'Malley, you don't think I did this, do you?”

  “I don't know what to think. This all started when you arrived. But that doesn't mean you're the one behind this.”

  As soon as he said the words, he knew he should have kept his suspicions to himself.

  She whirled back to the stove, dished up his eggs and laid the plate down on the table.

  “Enjoy, I need to make certain everything is ready for my tea.” And walked out of the room.

  Whatever progress they'd had made as a couple was looking bleaker by the minute.

  #

  Two hours later, Katie was still indignant over her husband's lack of trust and suspicions. She'd been trying all morning to put her hurt feelings aside, but it was hard. The man she loved, who she admired and felt grateful for, thought she was trying to destroy him and his precious grapes.

  It took a lot to make Katie mad, but right now not only had his accusations hurt, they'd left her disillusioned and questioning why she was here. Marriage was built on trust and Daniel obviously thought the worst of her.