by Barbara Goss
As Nora lay on Alex’s bed, she could still detect his scent, which was comforting. Her stomach lurched with the thought of how much she missed him, and her fear of Sylvia’s plans for her.
All she could do was wait. She sat in Alex’s chair and stared out the window. She wanted to see what Alex had looked at for all those months. Then Nora heard a key in the lock, and she felt a lump in her throat.
In walked Sylvia, locking the door behind her. “Let me make one thing clear, Nora. I have never physically harmed anyone in my life, and I’m not about to start now. My intention to leave you stranded in the mountains was indirect harm; it doesn’t count.”
Nora simply stared at Sylvia, waiting for her to tell her why she’d been locked up.
“I hope you’ll be comfortable here. I thought this the best place for you. It’s filled with romantic memories, and you can have your own private bathroom. If it weren’t for you, my dear, Alex would still be here staring out of his window. You've ruined everything. Hiring you was a big mistake. I should have continued hiring older companions.
“So, now I have you, and you will stay here until you sign the merger papers. You see, Phillip is withholding marriage with me until the merger goes through. So, now that you have the authority, you will stay here until it’s signed.
“There will be no tricks this time. I would never trust Nathan again. It seems you’ve cast a spell on him too."
Nora wondered how Sylvia knew she had the power to sign the merger. Nora knew she was, at least, safe from harm, because without her, Sylvia had no hope of getting the papers signed. What she was frightened of was the fact that no one would know her whereabouts, so there could be no rescue. And…. She rubbed her palm lightly over her stomach and said, “People will be searching for me.”
“Who? A bunch of servants? I can handle them.” Sylvia walked to the door. “You’ll be fed and treated properly. I should probably charge you room and board.”
“You should charge me rent, for I may be here a long time, because I will never sign the merger,” Nora said.
“We shall see.” Sylvia unlocked the door and slipped out. Nora heard her lock the door behind her once more.
Nora searched the room looking for something useful to help her escape. Alex’s clothing was still folded neatly in his drawers, and his shaving equipment was there—all except his razor. Sylvia must have removed that. She must have had this planned.
Nora massaged her stomach. A doctor hadn’t examined her yet, but her menses had stopped. So far she'd missed three. At first she thought it was due to the stress of her mother dying, but now she felt sure she’d conceived, as her tummy had expanded into a tiny bump. She knew that last night they’d spent together had been magical.
When Nora failed to return home, the servants grouped together to discuss what to do.
“Mrs. Vanderhorn called Mr. Spencer when her mother died. I believe she told me he was her brother-in-law. He visits often. I’ll send him a message right away,” Jake said.
Sarah and Ina agreed that it was the best thing to do.
When Nathan arrived, the servants all talked at once.
Nathan held up his hand. “Whoa…one at a time. Jake, what’s wrong and where is Mrs. Vanderhorn?”
“That’s just it,” said Jake. “She goes to the cemetery to visit her mother’s grave every week, and today she never returned. We waited until dark to contact you, thinking she’d simply been delayed.”
Nathan paled. “That doesn’t sound a bit like Nora.” He paced. Then, he snapped his fingers, “I’ll take a drive to the cemetery and back to ascertain she isn’t hurt somewhere along the way.”
Nathan drove every possible route to and from the cemetery, but he saw no trace of Nora. He felt a lump of fear in his throat.
Nathan returned to the house. He had Jake take a message to Celeste, now his wife, telling her where he was and why, and he stayed the night. He slept on the sofa, so he’d hear Nora if she came home.
When she hadn’t returned by morning, Nathan feared something bad had happened. He went to the police department and reported her missing. He gave them a description of her and her last whereabouts. He checked the hospital for Jane Doe’s, but none had been found. He was at a loss as to what he should do next.
Nathan sat in front of the warm fireplace in the Vanderhorn den with his elbows on his knees, thinking. Who would want to harm Nora? Then, it dawned on him—his mother! He’d inadvertently told her that Nora had the power to make decisions at the mill, and he became filled with guilt at the thought. Could his mother have done something that horrible? And it was all his fault!
He decided he'd have to pay Sylvia a visit.
When she opened the door, Nathan burst into the house “Where is she, Mother?”
“Where is who?” Sylvia asked.
“Nora Vanderhorn. What have you done with her?”
“Me? I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“I’m going to search this whole house—”
“No. You aren’t. Not without a court order.”
“If you’ve nothing to hide...”
“It doesn’t matter, it’s my constitutional right,” Sylvia said blocking the doorway.
“Then, I’ll get one.” He returned to his carriage.
Nathan tried the police again, then, he went to the mill’s attorney to initiate obtaining a court order. The police had said there wasn't enough cause for a warrant. Nathan even told them about the previous kidnapping, but since he had no proof, they simply shrugged with a polite refusal. The attorney had said he would do his best, but Nathan was frantic. Would his mother harm Nora? He knew she wanted the merger to get Phillip to marry her. He also knew his mother was hurting financially. He went again and again to the house and begged Sylvia, he even offered her money, but she refused, and eventually stopped answering the door, even when he pounded.
After several days, Sylvia took a seat in Alex’s old room. “All you have to do is sign, and you can leave,” she assured Nora. “I am not asking you to sign away the whole mill, although that's not a bad idea. I only want the merger.”
"Nora lay on the bed. She stared at the ceiling and refused to answer her.
“Of course, if you force me to do this the hard way, I will. I can’t afford to live in this house without Alex’s room and board, which you took away from me. Now, I have a chance to marry well and you are once again in my way. I will play dirty if I have to.”
Nora still refused to answer.
“I’ll stop feeding you. Starting today, your meals will be nothing more than water and bread. I have to keep you alive, but not hale and healthy.”
Nora’s head swung around, and she stared at Sylvia, unable to hide the fear in her eyes, yet she kept silent. Nora knew that Sylvia had seen her fear, as Sylvia left the room wearing a satisfied smile.
Nora massaged her belly with worry. How long would it take without food to harm her unborn child?
Nathan and Celeste moved into Alex and Nora’s home, to make sure the servants stayed and were paid. They also wanted to be there if Nora miraculously appeared.
22
Alex carefully slid out of Doc’s carriage and walked, with the help of two canes, to the door. He couldn’t believe that, in a few moments, he’d be in his wife’s loving arms. He purposely hadn’t written her about his return; he’d wanted to surprise her.
As the early morning birds began chirping and the rising sun cast an orange aura of warmth over his home, Alex put the key into the lock, hoping to surprise Nora while she was still in bed.
The house was quiet except for dishes rattling in the kitchen, but he ignored it and made his way to the elevator. Once on the second floor, he walked to the bedroom he’d shared with Nora. He opened the door—and froze. He could not believe his eyes! Through the French doors, the sunlight glowed upon two bodies in his bed instead of one. Alex felt dizzy. He leaned on his canes heavily, and felt nauseous. He stood and stared, unable to believ
e Nora would be sleeping with someone else. He didn’t know what to do next. All at once, one of the pair in bed sat up. He couldn’t believe it! Nathan!
Alex was not a cussing man, but when he saw Nathan, he called him names God would not approve of. Nathan just stared, half asleep and stunned. Then, Celeste sprang up.
“What’s going on?” she cried, rubbing her eyes.
Alex’s mouth dropped, but then he closed his eyes, leaned against the wall, and sighed with relief.
Both Nathan and Celeste said simultaneously, “You’re walking!”
Once over his panic, Alex’s heart slowed its frantic beating and he asked, “Where is Nora?”
Celeste lay back down and covered her head with the sheet. “You tell him, Nathan.”
Alex’s heart skipped a few beats. “What? What’s going on?”
Nathan rose and slid into a pair of pants that had been on the floor. He grabbed a shirt and said to Alex, “Let’s go downstairs and I’ll explain everything.”
“No!” Alex shouted. “You will tell me here and now. Where is my wife?”
Nathan sat down on the bed and sighed. “She disappeared about a week and a half ago. She went to the cemetery as usual and never came home.”
“What?” Alex lost his balance, and Nathan jumped to steady him.
“That’s why I wanted to tell you downstairs, where you could be seated.”
Alex gazed around the room… He and Nora hadn’t even had time to furnish the room with much except the essentials. Alex sat down on the bed beside Nathan.
“What have you done about it?” he demanded.
Nathan filled him in on everything he’d done since Nora had disappeared.
Alex’s face grew red, “I think you’re right. It has to be Sylvia. She’s the only one who would do something like this.”
“I’ve been to the house several times. She denied knowing anything the first time I went, and she refused to let me search the house. She said I’d need a court order. After a while, she wouldn’t answer the door when I knocked.” Nathan said.
Alex held his head in his hands. Then, he shook his head. “We have to do something.”
Nathan helped Alex to the elevator and into the living room. “I don’t think she’d physically harm her. She is merely trying to get that merger signed.”
“How could she possibly find out I’d given Nora the power?” Nathan’s face dropped. “You?”
Nathan nodded. “It slipped out after her mother’s funeral.”
Alex looked at Nathan with disappointment. He then shook his head. “Can you take me to see my attorney?” Alex asked.
“Certainly. But I’ve already been there, and he is working on a court order to search the house.”
“No,” Alex said firmly. ““First we change the order, taking away any rights Nora has to make any changes at the mill, then I’ll see Sylvia, and if she won’t let me in, I’ll break the door down. Once Sylvia knows that Nora no longer has the power to sign the papers, she'll have no choice but to let her go free.”
Alex and Nathan stood knocking on Sylvia’s door. But she didn’t answer. “Are you ready?” Alex asked.
“Let’s go!” Nathan yelled.
They had brought two large sledgehammers with them that they used to break down the back door. Sylvia came running into the kitchen, her gaze switching from one brother to the other.
“How dare you!” She gasped.
Alex leaned on his canes and shouted, “I want Nora! Now!”
“I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“I changed the order with my attorney. She no longer has the power to sign the merger,” Alex said with satisfaction. He turned to Nathan and said, “I can’t do the stairs, so I’ll search down here. You go upstairs and look.”
Nathan bounded up the stairs, two at a time. He saw that the door to Alex’s old room was the only bedroom door that was closed. He ran to it, knocked, and said, “Nora? Are you in there?”
“Yes. Nathan? I’m locked inside.”
Nathan was relieved to hear her voice. He yelled, “I’ll be right back for you.” He ran down the stairs and announced, “Alex, I found her. She’s locked in your old room!”
Alex joined him at the stairway.
“The door is locked,” Nathan said. “I’ll need one of the hammers.”
No!” Sylvia cried. “Here.” She held out the key. “Take her and leave,” she said, wearily.
Nathan ran upstairs while Alex waited impatiently at the bottom of the steps. In a few moments, Nathan returned with his arm around Nora's shoulder. She looked down the stairs, and saw Alex waiting anxiously at the bottom.
Alex!” She ran the rest of the way down the stairs and flew into his arms so forcefully, she would have knocked him over if it weren't for him grabbing onto the door molding. He put his free arm around her and held her tight.
“You aren’t in a chair?” she asked tearfully.
“No.” He motioned to his canes. “I can walk, Nora.” He squeezed her. “Let’s go home.”
On the ride home, Nora and Alex didn’t say much; they clung to each other in grateful silence.
When they were home, Celeste and Nathan packed their things and said their goodbyes. “You two need privacy,” Nathan said.
Alex gave Nathan a brotherly hug. “Thank you for everything.”
After they’d gone and the servants had greeted them. Alex guided Nora to the elevator.
“I can’t carry you up the stairs, yet, but I eagerly await doing so,” he said, kissing her forehead, cheeks and neck.
Nora simply gave him a tearful smile. For her, to experience such drastic changes of mood in the span of only a few hours had made her numb. One minute she was panicking in Alex’s room, worried about their baby, and the next she was in the arms of her husband, whom she hadn’t seen in months. She felt overwhelmed.
By now it was evening, and the moonlight cast its magical rays directly across their bed. “Look, darlin’—moonlight,” Alex whispered in her ear as they stood in the doorway.
Nora smiled and took charge. “Now, it’s my turn,” she whispered.
She guided Alex onto the bed and slowly removed his clothing. Then, she removed her own. She didn’t bother with nightgowns or nightshirts. She crawled into bed, and then, they renewed their relationship with fervor.
Afterwards, Alex held her to him. “I missed you so much, darlin’. I’d have killed Sylvia to get you back.”
“I’m glad you didn’t have to. There is something I need to tell you, though,” she said.
“No…later. We have the rest of our lives to talk. I made love to you in an emotional whirl, and now I need to do it right. We’ll talk in the morning, Darling.” He kissed her tenderly.
In the morning, Nora lay stroking the side of his face. “Now that you’re walking, will you still need me?”
He swung his head around to look at her. “I’ll always need you, Nora. Always.”
She smiled. “Then, I’m happy that you’re walking again. Will you always need two canes?”
““No. Doc said I’d eventually be able to walk with only one. You can be my other one,” he whispered. “I never in my life thought I’d ever love anyone this much.” He traced her lips with his finger. “And you thought it was gratitude.”
Alex told Nora about the shock he'd suffered upon arriving and finding two people in their bed and what he’d thought.
“I felt a mixture of hurt and fury. I was too shocked to reason that you’d never do something like that.”
“What a horrible homecoming,” Nora said. “I’m glad you discovered who it was in the bed before storming out, or our ending might not have been as happy.”
Alex smiled. “I’m so ecstatic to be home and in your arms. I don’t think I want to even get out of bed today.”
“But we must.”
“Why?” he said, kissing her neck.
Nora laughed and pushed him away playfully. “Because I have to eat
. I’ve been on bread and water for days and…” she rubbed her tiny bump, “our baby needs nourishment.”
Alex, about ready to once more smother her with kisses, froze. “You’re joking.”
Nora shook her head. “I think it happened that last night together.”
“Oh, darlin’,” he murmured, “Come here!” He held her to him. “I’m delighted.” He gently pushed her away to search her face. “How long have you been on bread and water?”
“Three days,” she said.
“I can’t wait until I can carry you,” he said. “Let’s go down now and get a nourishing breakfast for you.”
After they’d eaten, Alex asked to see Evelyn’s grave. Jake took them to the cemetery where Alex spoke to Evelyn’s grave.
“Hello, grandmother-to-be. I wanted you to know that I am safely home, and Nora is securely with me.” He grinned at Nora. “And someone else is here to say hello—your grandson or granddaughter.” Alex rubbed Nora’s small baby bump. “All three of us want you to know how much we miss you and love you. If it’s a granddaughter, her name will be Evelyn.”
Nora smiled up at him with tears in her eyes.
“I love you so much, Nora.”
Nora squeezed his hand and said, “I love you more, and more each day.”
Epilogue
Before Nathan and Alex could turn Sylvia in for holding Nora against her will, she disappeared. Having taken as many possessions as she could, Sylvia had fled, leaving the house abandoned.
Nathan bought the house from the bank, and he and Celeste made their home there. Nathan returned to school and finally became an attorney.
