Refining Emma by Delia Parr

Author:Delia Parr
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Christian, Historical, Fiction
ISBN: 9781441208439
Publisher: Baker Books
Published: 2007-06-01T05:00:00+00:00

18

THE TIME HAD COME TO SHARE SECRETS, not keep them.

With Zachary Breckenwith on his way home and the residents and guests tucked in for the night, Emma climbed the center staircase in the dark. She wore a shawl to guard against the late-night chill of a winter evening that followed her up the stairs. She paused on the landing and waited as the grandfather clock struck the tenth hour before proceeding to Mother Garrett’s bedroom.

She smiled when she spied the light filtering through the crack beneath her mother-in-law’s door. As she approached it she heard hushed voices inside the room, but she hesitated for only a moment before she rapped. “Mother Garrett, it’s me. Emma,” she whispered as loud as she dared for fear of disturbing the others who were already abed.

The voices stilled. Slow, heavy footsteps approached. The door creaked open a notch.

Wearing an old-fashioned nightcap on her head, Mother Garrett poked her face out the door. “Is he gone?”

Emma chuckled softly. “Yes, he left some time ago. I stayed downstairs to do some paper work for a while before I locked up for the night.”

The door swung wide open. “Then do come in. Frances and I were hoping you’d stop in to see me before taking to your bed,” Mother Garrett whispered.

As soon as Emma slipped into the bedroom, Mother Garrett gently shut the door again. In stark contrast to the guest rooms, Mother Garrett’s bedroom was just as tiny and plainly furnished as Emma’s, with a single bureau with a small oil lamp, a bed, a footstool, and a rocking chair. Aunt Frances was sitting in the rocking chair—the very one Emma’s grandmother and mother had used and passed on to Emma, who had rocked each of her three sons in it.

Aunt Frances tugged at the heavy afghan wrapped around her shoulders. She smiled and patted the footstool nestled between her and the single bed covered with a rumpled patchwork quilt where Mother Garrett had apparently been sitting while chatting with her friend. “Sit, Emma dear, sit. I hope you’ll forgive a pair of old busybodies, but we’ve been waiting here for some time. We were wondering if you and that nice Mr. Breckenwith were having a good visit together like Reverend Glenn and I had tonight. Did you?”

Emma eased herself down onto the footstool and nodded. “We had a good meeting,” she offered, fidgeting a bit to get the list of prospective lawyers out of her skirt pocket. She handed it to Mother Garrett, who had sat back down on the bed.

“What’s this?” her mother-in-law asked as she unfolded the paper.

“Mr. Breckenwith gave it to me. It’s a list of lawyers he suggested I consult.”

Mother Garrett stared at the list for a moment, shrugged, and handed it back to Emma, who stored it away again. “I can’t see why you’d need another lawyer when you already have one.”

“Isn’t one lawyer enough for you?” Aunt Frances asked.

“Ordinarily, I should hope so,” Emma replied. She quickly detailed her

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