“What about us?” Mr. Garrett asked, looking nervously at his wife.
Silas stared at them. What did a man say? “I’m torn. Like I told Will, I understand where you were coming from. But I can’t risk spending the rest of my life looking over my shoulder wondering if Milly’s going to be taken from me again.”
“I’m sorry,” Mr. Garrett said.
“I know.” Silas let his gaze rest on Mrs. Garrett. “But I suspect this wasn’t your plan. I need to know that she’s sorry.”
Mrs. Garrett still didn’t speak. Silas returned his attention to Mr. Garrett.
“I believe that you love Milly very much and would do just about anything to be with her. You’ve compromised when I think your wife would have preferred not to. So here’s my offer—I want a written apology, detailing what you did, including the fact that you took Milly without my permission. You will not interfere with how I raise Milly, nor will you make disparaging comments about me or anyone I choose to bring into Milly’s life.”
His heart ached for the one person who had been most hurt by all of this. “You will also send a written apology to Rose for how you’ve treated her. And you will treat her with respect and dignity. You will not make any unkind remarks about her.”
He looked around the room, noting the solemn expressions on the deputies’ faces. Most of them were eager to put the Garretts in jail. They all had families. Children.
“I’ll allow you to see Milly. But your visits will always be chaperoned by a person of my choosing. If they or anyone else reports back to me that you have violated my conditions, you will never see Milly again.”
Mrs. Garrett finally looked up at him, tears in her eyes. “And if we don’t agree?”
“I guess that’s up to the jury.”
His gut knotted as he gave those final terms. He didn’t want to refuse them the opportunity to spend time with a beloved grandchild, but he’d tried. And he had to keep Milly safe.
“I agree to your terms,” Mr. Garrett said. “You’re being more than reasonable.”
Silas took a deep breath, then looked over at Mrs. Garrett. “I need both of you to agree. It’s pretty clear who’s in charge here, and I’m not going to put Milly at risk.”
Tears rushed down Mrs. Garrett’s face, a great waterfall that seemed to go on endlessly. “But you can remarry, have more children. Milly is all we have left.”
“You’ll have no contact with her if you’re in jail.”
With a sigh, Silas gave them a final glance. “If the decision to cooperate is this hard, then it’s not going to work. You’ll be resentful and try to thwart me at every turn. I want you to have a relationship with Milly. I tried giving you that, but you tried to take more. Which leaves me at the terms I’ve offered you. Take them or leave them.”
Silas closed his eyes and said a quick prayer, hoping he was doing the right thing. Hoping God would guide the Garretts in making the best decision for Milly. Or at least making it all right if they didn’t.
“You have until the rest of our party arrives from Leadville to make your decision. If you can’t, in good conscience, with a right heart and a good attitude toward cooperation, commit to my plan, you will be arrested.”
His hands shook as he made his final plea. He didn’t want the Garretts to grudgingly agree to his terms, then have things be a constant battle. He didn’t want them to go to jail, either. But the outcome was no longer his to determine.
And somehow, he had to be all right with how it all turned out.
Chapter Nineteen
Rose was resting peacefully when the bedroom door opened and her sister, Mary, walked in, carrying a wailing Matthew.
“Mary! What are you doing here?”
“Bringing you a baby who only wants his mama. Even if we hadn’t gotten that telegram, we were already loading up a wagon to come meet you.”
Smiling, Rose held out her arms for her baby and set to work comforting him.
“I’m sorry he was so much trouble.”
“It’s not your fault. From what Will says, it was a good thing little Matthew wasn’t with you on your journey.”
“Of course you’d talk to your husband first,” Rose teased.
“Of course.” Mary smiled. “He took Rosabelle right out of her basket and refuses to let her go.”
Her sister’s expression changed to one of deep concern. “He says you’re pretty sore from the ride.”
“I can barely walk,” Rose said. “I don’t think I was this sore even after having a baby.”
“Well, Maddie is in the kitchen, making up some kind of poultice or some such, and she’ll be in to tend you.”
“Thank you.” Rose gave her a smile. “I am sorry for all the fuss. I didn’t realize...”
“You love Milly like your own. What mother wouldn’t go after her child?”
Rose’s heart sank. “But she’s not mine. And she won’t be. I told Silas he’d need to find someone else to care for her.”
“What would you do a fool thing like that for?” Maddie entered the room, carrying a strange-smelling pot.
“I won’t have Milly tainted by my poor reputation,” Rose said softly, adjusting Matthew in her arms. “It’s bad enough Matthew will suffer for it. I won’t do that to Milly.”
“That is about the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard you say, Rose Stone, and I have heard you say some pretty stupid things.” Maddie banged the pot with her spoon, then turned her attention to Mary.
“You go find what Milly’s gotten herself into. I know the men think they’re watching her, but you know how much that little girl likes mud. And those men don’t know a thing about what’s it like to have to wash a little girl’s muddy dresses.”
Mary shook her head, giving Rose a sympathetic glance. “I would stay because I have a feeling that you’re about to get a talking-to that’s going to hurt far worse than your body. But if you really believe that having you in her life hurts Milly, then I’m pretty sure you deserve it.”
Maddie pulled up a chair and sat beside the bed. “I know they put liniment on you, but that stuff’s best suited for animals. This here poultice will take away the sting.”
She uncovered Rose and started smoothing it on her legs. Rose leaned back against her pillows and started to relax.
Until Maddie spoke.
“I’m told that you can’t seem to accept that most people don’t look down on you for your sin.”
Keeping her eyes closed, Rose shook her head. “Not you, too. I know you mean well. You see me through the eyes of someone who loves me. But the people in town, they see me for what I’ve done.”
“You’re right, they do,” Maddie said, kneading Rose’s aching muscles. “They see how you help out at all the church functions. They see you doing good deeds for the people of Leadville. They see that you are the only one who can stand to give the Widow Thomas the time of day, bringing treats and the children to visit her. They see that you read to Mr. Bennett because his eyesight is failing. They see what a good—”
“Stop!” Rose opened her eyes and stared at Maddie. “I know you mean well, but so many others whisper behind their fans, turn and walk the other way when they see me coming, and I can’t bear for Silas to be so dishonored.”
“Silas, is it?” Maddie’s voice was all sweetness, and Rose knew her mistake.
“Milly, too. Mostly Milly.”
“You have feelings for Silas.” Maddie’s hand dug deep into Rose’s thigh, hurting her.
“Ouch!”
“Gotta get deep in there. You aren’t used to riding like that.”
“I know.” Rose sighed and kissed the top of Matthew’s head. Everyone was right. She couldn’t have done it if not for Milly.
Looking at Maddie, she said, “You’re right. I do have feelings for Sil
as. He’s a good man. I know what happened in the past was what he thought he had to do for the sake of his family. He is kind, patient, loving, self-sacrificing...”
“Not bad to look at,” Maddie added, her eyes twinkling.
“There is that.” Rose smiled. “But he’s so much more. And more than I could have ever hoped for back when we first knew each other. He’s changed for the better, and I am so proud to know him.”
Mary was right in that this would hurt more than her body. Admitting her feelings for Silas, when she knew it would only cause him harm... It had been so much easier when she denied how much she cared for him.
“So why not pursue him?”
“Because he deserves a woman who brings him honor, not dishonor.”
Her chest ached as she said the words. Could she stand seeing him with another?
Maddie removed her hands from Rose’s legs. “So we’re back to that, are we? Do you really think that the sum of who you are is your mistake?”
Rose turned away, not looking at her.
“Oh, no you don’t. You look at me, and you listen. You listen well.” Maddie stood over her until Rose turned to face her.
“What I’m about to tell you, well, I suppose it’s common knowledge, but folks don’t talk about it anymore. And I’d just as soon forget it myself. But you need to hear. Has anyone ever told you how I came to work for Frank?”
Rose shook her head.
“Do you know why we send gifts to Miss Betty’s pleasure house every week?”
Rose shook her head again.
Maddie squared her shoulders. “Because Miss Betty and I used to be partners—that’s why.”
The words sounded as ill matched as ice cream and Christmas. “I’m sorry. I don’t understand what you mean.”
“I mean partners. Fifty-fifty. We’d both gotten so tired of living in tents and taking care of customers that we pooled our money and built that place. We were the first place of its kind to get a real building, and boy, were we raking in the money.”
Maddie gave her a proud look. “Oh, yes. I was known as one of the finest madams this side of the Mississippi. When I was younger, folks would stop in the middle of the street and stare on account of my fine looks.”
The image didn’t make sense in Rose’s mind. She tried to picture Maddie, one of the most respected women in their community, living that life.
And she couldn’t.
“So what happened?”
Maddie sighed. “Catherine Lassiter happened. She was the kindest woman you’d ever want to meet. I’d be in the General Store, no fancy Mercantiles and shops back then, and she’d greet me like I was the finest woman in town.”
With a smile, Maddie patted her hand. “I do wish you’d had the chance to meet her. She had a way of making everyone feel like they were the most important person in the world.”
Matthew cooed as though he’d met Catherine and agreed.
“I suppose, though, that is how she saw people. All equal in God’s eyes.”
Maddie reached for Matthew, and Rose let the other woman take her son. “One day, when I was at the General Store, and very obviously in the family way, she asked me if she might make a quilt for my baby. I told her she was mistaking me for someone else because no one would want to give a child of mine a quilt.”
As Maddie cradled Matthew, she looked Rose in the eye. “And do you know what she said to me?”
Rose shook her head.
“She said, ‘I know exactly who you are, Maddie Black. And that baby of yours deserves a welcome to the world like any other baby.’ I was so ashamed, I ran away.”
A tear trickled out of the side of Maddie’s eye, and she wiped it with her free hand. “But Catherine, she started paying me visits, bringing me things for the baby, telling me that Jesus loved me, and therefore so did she.”
More tears rolled down Maddie’s cheeks, but she didn’t bother with them, continuing her story.
“It took a lot of visits for me to believe her. Just when I started to think God might maybe care for a woman like me, my baby died. No one knows why. Those things just happen sometimes. I thought it meant God hated me. I was terrible to be around then, and Betty said I was scaring away customers. Catherine came and took me to the parsonage, which was smaller back then, but she gave me a room of my own, and she took care of me until I was right in the head again.”
Maddie gave Matthew another kiss. “When I finally got it in my head that God loved me, I gave my whole life to the Lord. I walked away from my partnership with Betty, and I came to work for the Lassiters. And that’s been my life ever since.”
She turned her gaze on Rose, so warm it almost burned. “Folks pass through Leadville so much that most of the people who were around then are long gone. But there are those who still remember. Maybe some still hold my past against me, but I’d like to think that I’ve overcome the things I used to do.”
She’d seen how people in town respected Maddie. Rose had never heard a word spoken against their housekeeper.
“Integrity,” Maddie said slowly, “is not about doing something good once and a while but about doing the right thing over and over until it becomes the standard for one’s character. People without it are always going to look down on you for one reason or another. But everyone else is going to forget that past mistake and see you for who you’ve become.”
The same lesson Silas, Will and everyone else had been trying to get through to her, but she’d been too focused on the harsh judgment from Flora and the Garretts to believe them.
Maddie handed Matthew back to her. “Now, I am going to finish giving your muscles a good rubdown, and you are going to have some words with the Lord, asking Him to show you how He sees you. And when I am finished, I will hear no more nonsense about you refusing Silas and not caring for Milly because you want to protect them. If you don’t love him, fine. I will be the first one to make sure you don’t marry him. But if you love him, you’d best give it your all. I know a lot about what goes on between a man and a woman, and I can tell you that it is rare to find a man who loves a woman as deeply as Silas loves you.”
So much to consider. Rose nestled Matthew in next to her and closed her eyes, pondering Maddie’s words and asking God to show her the clear path.
* * *
Silas finished loading the rest of the supplies into the wagon they’d be driving back to Leadville. As it turned out, Wes needed some things from his brother, so they’d be bringing two wagons home, one laden with supplies.
He looked around for Will. They hadn’t resolved what was going to happen with the Garretts, and he was starting to feel uneasy.
What if they couldn’t work things out?
He’d already backed down on his threat, since he’d told the Garretts he wanted their answer when Frank arrived, but they’d all been so busy, he hadn’t wanted to push. Now he wondered if he shouldn’t have pushed anyway.
The door to the house opened, and Maddie came out. She’d spent most of the time since they’d arrived yesterday closed in the room with Rose, not letting anyone disturb her recovery. Selfishly, he’d hoped to talk to Rose for a while, but everyone kept telling him to give Rose her space.
Plus, he missed holding little Matthew, but no one would take the baby from his mama.
Maddie said something to Frank, then walked over to Silas. “We’re going to have Rose, Matthew and Milly ride with you in this wagon, and the rest of us will follow in the other.”
“You’re letting me ride alone with Rose?” Silas stared at her.
“You all have some things to talk about. Figured we’d let you have some privacy, but where we can see you, for propriety’s sake.”
Silas wanted to laugh because Rose was right in that everyone was entirely too focused on the appearance of propriety. But he a
lso understood.
“Thank you. When are we leaving?”
The front door opened again, and Rose came out, carrying Matthew and holding Milly’s hand. They looked like the picture-perfect family. He still didn’t know how he was going to make that picture a reality, but he wasn’t going to let Rose go easily.
She smiled at him, the color back in her cheeks, and once again, he couldn’t help but think she was the loveliest woman he’d ever seen.
Will emerged next, followed by Mrs. Garrett, flanked by a deputy, then Mr. Garrett with a deputy, and then Flora, her father gripping her elbow tightly.
“Silas,” Will said, standing between him and the Garretts, looking official. “I believe the Garretts have something to say to you.”
“I’m sorry,” Mrs. Garrett said slowly. “I was only thinking of myself and our loss when we took Milly. I agree to your terms. We will cooperate with you in every way possible moving forward.”
Then Mrs. Garrett turned to Rose. “I apologize for all the hurtful things I’ve said to you, and for not giving you a chance. Anyone can see that Milly loves you, and I, well, I suppose I feared that if Milly loved you, she wouldn’t be able to love her mother, or us, anymore. But I was wrong. And I hope you reconsider finding her a new nanny because Milly needs you.”
Milly. Three times she’d said Milly. If ever there was a sign that Mrs. Garrett was sincere in her apology, the fact that she so easily used Milly’s name was that sign.
“Thank you,” Rose said, looking the older woman in the eye. “I accept your apology, and I forgive you.”
Then she turned to Silas, smiling at him. “As for my position as Milly’s nanny, I’m not sure I can go back to that.”
The smile on her face didn’t ease the tension knotted in his stomach. There was no letting him down easy when all he wanted was Rose, and Rose in Milly’s life.
“But I’d like to share my thoughts on Milly’s care more privately.”
Rose gave the others a smile, and Will nodded at her briefly before ushering the others into the waiting wagon. It wasn’t until the wagon pulled away and waited at the gate that she turned her attention back on him.
For the Sake of the Children Page 22
