Dead Letter by Chautona Havig

Author:Chautona Havig [Havig, Chautona]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Havilah Press Publications
Published: 2019-03-08T22:00:00+00:00

My brave Royal,

I don’t know how much more I can bear to be apart from you. I’ve had more than one man threaten to whisk me away from here, and I fear Mr. Doone might actually succeed!

Come see me and remind me why I fell in love with you again. I don’t want to be a silly, fickle girl in a loveless marriage.

So confused and unsettled,

Jane

Chapter Nineteen

Tuesday afternoon, a letter from Royal assured her that he would protect her from any ruffian who dared to molest his beloved. Had the kisses added to the letter been genuine, Madeline would have blushed. Jane merely swooned.

On Wednesday, Mrs. Berman made her late to leave for her meal break, so Madeline chose to pick up her mail after work. The afternoon grew blustery, cold, and just as she stepped out the door after the bank closed, the first snowflake fell. I wonder if Ohio often has snow in April? How severe are their spring storms? Will it be a dusting, or will I have to walk through a foot by morning?

Mr. Johnson greeted her as she stepped into the post office. “Better hurry. It’s going to be a bad night.”

“Wouldn’t want to get stuck in a blizzard,” she teased.

“Never know…”

Two letters awaited her—another one from Royal and the other from Mrs. Barnes. The latter would likely make her cry, so Madeline tucked them both into her purse and, with head down, barreled her way down the street toward home. A hand shot out to steady her when she plowed into someone.

“Miss Jane?”

Frustration boiled under the surface, but Madeline doused the flame with a prayer for calm and smiled at Abner Palmar. “Oh, Mr. Palmar! I didn’t see you. Pardon me!”

“You looked concerned.”

“I just wanted to get home before the storm hit. Mr. Johnson says it could be a bitter night.”

Abner nodded. “It may as that.” He led her into the shelter of an overhang and leaned close. “I’ve been thinking about what you said—how I needed to think of Evie. I wondered if you would be blunt with me, Miss Jane.”

Try as she and Evie might, he’d traded Miss Sempleton for Miss Jane instead of simply Jane, and Madeline suspected further pressure would cause more distress. She made a show of looking serious and nodded. “I know I’m very silly sometimes, but I can speak plainly.”

Fidgeting transformed into ramrod posture so stiff that he began to tremble. It was entirely possible that it had nothing to do with nervousness and everything to do with the fact that they’d both have frostbite on their noses if he took much longer. Jane would have pressed him, but Madeline hadn’t the heart.

“Is it truly thinking of Evie’s feelings when I want the marriage more than anything? How does a man know if he’s only thinking of his own wishes and using his lady’s as justification?” Until he peered into her eyes with the intensity of a man determined for answers, Madeline hadn’t noticed how blue they were.

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