In Times Gone by

by Tracie Peterson

  Caleb turned his hat in his hands, but his gaze never left Arthur Morgan’s face. “Mr. Morgan, I am of the firm belief that Kenzie is capable of making up her own mind in matters of the heart. She’s lived under my roof and care for these last months, and I’ve come to know her quite well.”

  “I suppose you fancy yourself in love with her too?” Morgan sneered. “It hardly seems appropriate that a single woman should live in the same house with a single man.”

  Caleb raised a brow. “I owe you no explanations, Mr. Morgan. I will say that I have no interest in Kenzie other than that of a concerned friend. However, you would do well to guard your thoughts and speech. I am an honorable, Christian man and do my best to overlook mistakes, but once warned, I believe that should suffice.”

  Morgan looked at him for a moment, then gave another shrug. “Surely if you’ve ever been in love, you know what it is to want to protect that person. I don’t want Kenzie hurt.”

  “She’s already been hurt, and now she’s dealing with a very confusing situation. If you love her, you will give her time to sort through her thoughts and feelings. If the love she once held for you is real, then she will realize that and come back to you.” Caleb got to his feet. “I do hope you will be considerate in this matter.”

  Morgan followed him to the door. “I won’t stand idle and let someone else take her away from me. I doubt any man worth his mettle would. I hope you will convey that message to your dear friend Dr. Fisher.”

  Caleb turned and met Morgan’s gaze. There was something hard, almost cold in his eyes. He was a man of power and wealth who was used to getting what he wanted. “I will let him know how you feel, and I will also relate what happened here today to Kenzie. I think it only right that she knows you care more about having your own way than about her feelings.”

  “I didn’t say that,” Morgan protested.

  “But that is what you’ve implied.” Caleb looked at him, daring him to dispute it.

  Morgan’s shoulders slumped a bit. “I can’t stay here forever, waiting for you and the others to decide whether or not I can see her. Kenzie knows me, and I believe she still loves me. No one would write such an impassioned letter without having deep feelings.”

  “She has deep feelings, of that I can vouch. But whether any of those remain as love for you, I cannot say.” Caleb donned his hat. “Good day, Mr. Morgan.”

  Victoria looked at the others seated around the table and found it difficult to hold her tongue. Her situation was completely impossible, but she was reliant upon these people for her very existence. Unless, of course, she could find some of her old friends. Her family had long been associated with other powerful families. Surely with their help she would be able to battle the likes of Caleb Coulter and her cousin.

  “I must be getting to work,” George Lake announced, standing. “However, let me say that my time spent here with you has given me a new perspective on life.” He looked at the old woman he’d been sitting beside and smiled. “I am grateful for new friendships.”

  “Cousin George, we are very glad you could stay with us, even for a short time,” Kenzie said, smiling at him. “I am happy, however, that you’ve been able to purchase another house. Especially now that you and Mrs. Andrews are planning to marry.”

  Mrs. Andrews smiled up at George Lake. “I never figured to have a whirlwind romance and marry again, but George and I are well-suited. I think we’ll be quite happy together.”

  “As do I, my dear.” George gave her a smile and a bow. “But for now, I must attend to business. I have meetings with the Ghirardelli people prior to my regular working hours.”

  Once he’d gone, Mrs. Andrews got to her feet and began collecting their breakfast dishes. “I’m going to bake a cake for our dinner tonight. George told me he has a fondness for carrot cake. Apparently his mother used to make it.”

  “Might I help you, Mrs. Andrews?” Victoria’s cousin asked in her sweet, charming way.

  Victoria hated Judith more than she could say. It wasn’t just for appearing and upsetting the normalcy of Victoria’s life. Judith’s very demeanor irritated her. Judith was capable and strong, yet everyone loved her and befriended her. Victoria’s strength and abilities did exactly the opposite and always seemed to offend. It didn’t matter, however. She wasn’t going to change to suit the likes of Judith and her friends.

  “I’d love to have your company, Judith,” Mrs. Andrews said. “Just give me a few minutes to deal with these dishes, and we’ll get it all planned out.”

  Judith smiled and turned to Camri and Kenzie. “I hope Caleb had no trouble with Mr. Morgan. Caleb cares so much about you, Kenzie. I’m certain he will be able to help Arthur understand your feelings.”

  “Maybe he can help me understand them too,” Kenzie said, getting to her feet. “I’m going to work on that inventory, Camri.”

  “I’ll help you.” Caleb’s sister rose and gave Victoria a nod. “You can join us, if you like.”

  “I’m not a laborer.” Victoria picked up her cup and sipped the tepid contents.

  Camri merely shrugged and followed Kenzie from the room. That left Judith and Victoria to deal with one another. Victoria narrowed her eyes as she scrutinized her cousin. Judith was like a beautiful china doll, just as her twin sister Cora had been. Victoria had hated Cora too. Everyone always fussed over her and spoiled her. She had been Grandmother’s pet because of her circumstances. Victoria could still remember Grandmother explaining that someone had stolen away Cora’s twin sister when they were babies, so they needed to give Cora extra attention and care.

  “Is there something you wish to say?” Judith asked.

  Victoria considered her reply for a moment. “I don’t imagine anything I have to say will be of importance to you.”

  Judith frowned. “I think it is. I’ve wanted to be your friend from the start, Victoria. I know you think I’m to blame for all your loss, but I’m not. I never desired to interfere in your life at all.”

  “And yet you did, and now, when you have the chance to make things right, you won’t.”

  “I’m sorry you feel that way. Grandmother told me you and the others would be unhappy with her decision, but she had her reasons. I think it’s important that you know them. Your father was apparently not a very good businessman, and while I do not like to speak ill of the dead, Grandmother said he wasted or lost most of the inheritance left to him by his father.”

  Victoria shrugged. “That was no secret. Oh, I’m sure Grandmother and Father thought it was, but Bill told me the truth of it. Our father was a fool, and Grandmother had to rein him in and impose her way of doing things in order to assure that Bill and I had something to inherit. And before you tell me that she didn’t leave more to Bill because of his manipulation and conniving, I already know that as well. Bill took matters into his own hands.”

  “Even to the point of murder,” Judith interjected.

  “Yes, even so. Would that he had been better at it.” Victoria hoped her comment would get a rise out of Judith, but when it didn’t, she continued. “Grandmother was demanding and imposing. You have no idea what we went through, having to live under her rule. You only knew her a short time, and like Cora, you instantly became her pet.”

  “She tried to impose her will on me, but I stood my ground,” Judith countered. “Maybe that’s the real reason you hate me. I didn’t care about the money, so her threats of disinheritance didn’t work on me.”

  “That’s because you grew up without money. You had a miserable, impoverished existence, so losing what you never had wasn’t important to you. I, on the other hand, have never known want. Even though Grandmother was harsh, she was meticulous about seeing that proprieties were met. I had the finest—although rather childish—clothes, the best horses and carriages, the nicest furnishings. Now you intend to strip that away from me.”

  “I have no such intentions,” Judith replied. “I have only the desire to see you properly protected and your reputation u
pheld. I was so relieved for you when Mr. Rosedale dissolved the engagement. However, if you go off and live a life of wanton pleasure, your reputation will be ruined, and you’ll never find a decent husband.”

  Victoria laughed. “You know nothing. With my inheritance, I can buy any husband I like.”

  “Wouldn’t you rather have one who loves you? I can speak from experience—the love of a good man is worth everything.”

  “Ah yes, your ‘good man’ Caleb Coulter. Did it never dawn on you that he only wants you for what he can get? You weren’t engaged when I went away in April, yet just two months later, you are. Funny how that worked out. You became an heiress and then found yourself engaged almost in the same breath.”

  Judith frowned. “Caleb and I love each other, and that is why we decided to marry. It has nothing to do with my inheritance.”

  Victoria shook her head. “There’s no way to prove that. No way at all.” She got to her feet. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going for a walk. And before you chide me to be careful of my surroundings, I assure you that I won’t venture far. I wouldn’t be caught dead in the company of the ruffians who inhabit this neighborhood.”

  She left Judith and made her way outside into the fresh salty air. There had to be a way to best Judith and Caleb Coulter. Victoria wasn’t used to people refusing her demands. Even Grandmother’s denials had often been sidestepped by Victoria appealing to her father.

  “If only I could take everything away from her,” she murmured.

  A thought came to mind. At first it was just a thread of an idea, but within a moment of its inception, Victoria had the answer to all her troubles.

  “I’ll take Caleb from her.” Victoria smiled. “I’m prettier and know far more about men than she does.” She glanced down at her black dress. “I’ll rid myself of this ugly thing and get out one of my prettier gowns. I’ll do up my hair and appeal to his masculine nature.”

  The sound of a wagon approaching caught her attention. Victoria turned and found Caleb driving the wagon toward the warehouse, an automobile following directly behind him. She decided there was no time like the present to put her plan into play. She hardly waited for him to stop the wagon and climb down before she went to him.

  “Caleb, would you help me?” She made her voice soft and sweet.

  He looked at her in surprise. “If I can.”

  The car came to a stop beside the wagon. “Is this where you want it, Caleb?”

  “That’s fine, Micah. I’m just glad to have it back.” He looked at Victoria. “The army confiscated my car just after the earthquake to help with their transportation needs.”

  Micah gave them a wave. “I’m going to speak to Kenzie.”

  Caleb nodded, then turned back to Victoria. “What is it you need from me?”

  She put on her most sorrowful expression. “I’d like to see my family’s house. I know it’s been burned, but I need to see it. Their graves too.”

  “I can arrange that.”

  “Would you go with me? I’m afraid, with all the time I’ve had to think about things, that I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed.”

  He smiled. “Of course. I’d be happy to take you. Let me take care of few matters, and we can leave directly.”

  “Thank you, Caleb. I know I haven’t been very cooperative, but . . . well, I’m trying to face this the best I can.”

  “I understand. I just want you to know that we truly have your best interests at heart. No one wants to see you unhappy.”

  She sniffed as if about to break into tears. “Thank you. I see that now.”

  “I’ll see if Judith wants to join us.”

  “I’d rather you didn’t. I’d like a few private moments with my grief.” Victoria hurried to explain. “I don’t like public displays of tears and such. They make me uncomfortable.”

  Caleb nodded. “Very well. I’ll let Judith know what’s going on and tend to a couple of other things, and then we can go.”

  An hour later, Victoria stood at Caleb’s side, looking at the blackened remains of her once-stately home. Seeing it like this and knowing this was where her father and brother had met their demise struck a chord deep inside her. She wasn’t sad as much as displaced. Her entire life had been lived here, and now it was gone.

  All that she’d known here, all that she’d enjoyed, was like a veiled memory. She couldn’t pull anything good from those thoughts, with the exception of distant memories of her mother. Thoughts of Mother always made her melancholy. Mother was the last person Victoria had ever loved, and when she died, Victoria had been determined never to love anyone else. She had put up a shield of indifference around her heart, and it remained firmly in place.

  Mother had loved her. She had perhaps been the only person who truly did. Everyone else had been far too concerned about Cora and Aunt Edith. The kidnapping of Judith had ruined any hope that Victoria might become the favorite. But Mother had assured Victoria that she was her pride and joy and that no one else would ever mean as much to her. Not even Bill.

  Mother’s death had been harder than anything else in Victoria’s life, and even now, the loss of the house and remaining family hurt only because it severed her final connection to the woman who had loved her most. Tears came to Victoria’s eyes, and she used them to her advantage.

  “It’s just too terrible.” She buried her face in her gloved hands.

  As she had hoped, Caleb put his arm around her shoulders. “I’m sorry, Victoria. I’m sure it must be very hard for you.”

  She raised her face, lifting her eyes in a way that she knew would be appealing. “I thought I didn’t care. I thought I could avoid the pain.”

  He gave her a sympathetic smile. “We all do our best to avoid pain, but rarely are we successful. I know your family wasn’t overly interested in God, but He is my mainstay and the one I turn to at times like this. He gives me peace and comfort when no one else can.”

  Tears slipped down her cheek. “I’d like to know more about God. Would you be willing to tell me about Him? I would like to have that peace and comfort.”

  “Of course.” He gave her shoulders a squeeze. “Come on. Let’s leave this place, and I’ll share a little with you about God’s love.”

  He led her back to the car, and Victoria did her best to hide her delight. Things were going better than she could have hoped. It had never occurred to her that winning Caleb would be easier if she appealed to his religious nature. He was devout in his beliefs and would never deny an opportunity to share them with another. She could easily manipulate this for her benefit.

  CHAPTER

  13

  I knew you’d want to hear this news right away,” Judge Winters told Caleb.

  Kenzie didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but she was mending some clothes at the opposite end of the table from where Caleb and the judge sat. If they had meant for their conversation to remain private, she presumed they would have gone to Caleb’s office in the warehouse.

  “So nearly all of the work we did was for naught?” Caleb asked.

  “We can’t look at it that way. Just because so much of the physical record was burned in the fires, it doesn’t mean we can’t still see Ruef behind bars.”

  Caleb shook his head. Kenzie had never seen him look so defeated. “But now we’ll have to start over.”

  “Not exactly. Some records remain, and there is still the driving force of Spreckels and others who want to see Ruef pay for what he’s done. President Roosevelt has appointed Special Prosecutor Francis Heney to help us. That, along with Spreckels’ pledge of a hundred thousand dollars, will put strength behind our mission.”

  “It just seems like we’ve been pushed back so far that we’ll never be able to overcome. Especially now. Schmitz and Ruef want to play benefactor to the city. They’re doing whatever they can to come out on top, and unfortunately, people are buying into their act.”

  “Caleb, it doesn’t change the fact that Ruef has taken money to the tune of hundreds of thousands of
dollars, maybe even a million or more, to turn a blind eye to unsafe building practices. A great many buildings crumbled to rubble in the earthquake and fires due to substandard building materials. That isn’t just going to fade away unnoticed. It’s the talk of every anti-Ruef committee.” He patted Caleb’s shoulder. “Have faith. That’s what you’d tell me.”

  “You’re right, of course. It’s just not going to be easy. I thought we were close to seeing something accomplished.”

  Judge Winters got to his feet. “I have a feeling we’re closer than you think. But now I must be on my way. I have some court business to deal with this afternoon.”

  “Let me walk you out,” Caleb said, standing.

  “No, don’t bother. I know you’ve got plenty to tend to, as I recall you plan to move today.”

  Caleb nodded. “Temporarily, at least. I’m not sure what the future holds. Judith and I have discussed living here once we get it set up properly. With the earthquake, things were rather hectic, and now we’re back to this political nonsense.”

  “Don’t let this business with Ruef rob you of joy in your young lady. The future holds good things, son. Of that I’m convinced. Keep your faith in God rather than the people of this world. You won’t be disappointed in Him. And never fear, I’ll be praying.”

  Caleb squared his shoulders. “I know you’re right. Thank you for everything.” He shook the judge’s hand. “I appreciate your mentoring and prayers.”

  The judge bid him farewell and left. It wasn’t long, however, before a loud knock sounded on the warehouse door. Kenzie watched as Caleb went to answer it. She stiffened at the arrival of yet another bouquet of flowers from Arthur.

  “Kenzie?” Caleb said her name as more of a question. “Do you want to receive these?”

  She shook her head and joined the men. She reached for the card and read it. Please let me come to you. My heart isn’t whole without you. Love, Arthur.