“Tildy, how’d you like to come to this house and work?”
“In this pretty house?” Her eyes widened.
“Yes, and I can assure you that no one will ‘knock you around.’ ”
Tildy could only nod as her throat closed in happiness.
“Then come first thing the day after Christmas, and I’ll have”—Nellie swallowed—“I’ll have spoken to my father by then.”
The girl nodded, her eyes still wide, and backed out the door. “Thank you,” she managed to whisper before Nellie shut the door.
Nellie was heedless of the cold room; she forgot all about making food for her family. She opened the letters and began to read. It was all there, all of Jace’s love, and a daily account of how he was selling everything he owned in order to come to her in Colorado. He talked of their future together. He told her of his family. She read about his mother’s singing, about his father working so hard running Warbrooke Shipping. He wrote of his brothers and his Taggert relatives in Maine. In one letter he sent her a tiny sketch of an Australian orchid done by his Aunt Gemma. He wrote of his Grandpa Jeff and the old mountain men living in California and promised to take her there on their honeymoon.
By the fourth letter Nellie was crying. By the last letter she was crying so hard she didn’t at first see Mae Sullivan standing over her.
“Mae,” Nellie said, startled, “I didn’t hear your knock.”
“The door was standing open.”
“That’s odd. I’m sure I closed it.” Nellie was trying to dry her eyes on the sleeve of her nightgown, pretending she wasn’t actually crying at all.
“Oh, Nellie,” Mae said, and she began to cry, too. “I couldn’t sleep all night long. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to sleep again until I tell you the truth.”
Nellie sat in stunned silence as Mae poured out the whole story, saying that every female in town was half in love with Mr. Montgomery, and half out of jealousy, half out of anger, they had told Nellie that he had tried to kiss them.
“It just didn’t seem fair,” Mae wailed. “He never even looked at any other woman in town. You hooked him before we even got a chance at him. And then, too, you were so fat we all thought he must be crazy for wanting you, so we figured he wanted your father’s business and was courting you to get it. We just couldn’t believe he really liked you. Oh Nellie, I am so sorry for what we said. Mr. Montgomery never even looked at another woman in this town except you.”
Nellie clutched the letters and gaped at Mae. All she could think of was the awful, awful wrong she had done Jace.
“I’d better go,” Mae said, sniffing. “I hope everything turns out all right for you. I hope you marry him and live happily ever after.” She turned quickly and left the house.
r /> Nellie sat where she was. Now what did she do? Jace was leaving today.
Before she could form another thought Berni entered the kitchen. “I thought I heard someone up.” She looked at Nellie’s letters. “Has something happened? Anything you want to talk about?”
“I…no,” Nellie said. She wasn’t used to talking about her problems to anyone. “I must get breakfast ready.”
“In your nightgown?”
“Oh, no. I must change.” She was having difficulty thinking clearly.
“Nellie,” Berni said, “talk to me.”
The next moment Nellie was seated at the table and pouring out everything to Berni. “I misjudged him. He was always kind to me, yet I believed the worst of him. How could I have hurt him so much?”
“Everyone hurts the people they love. What you have to do is go to him and tell him everything.”
“I couldn’t.”
“It’s not humiliating to tell the man you love that you love him. Half of love is groveling. You must—”
“I would do anything, say anything to get him back, but I can’t leave’ the house. I must prepare breakfast, and my father is having investors to dinner tonight. I must—”
“Keep them comfortable, right?” Berni snapped.
“Yes, I guess so. It doesn’t make sense, but I can’t leave them.”
“They’ll sleep as long as you’re gone.”