Читать книгу The Runaway Bride - Noelle Marchand - Страница 13

Chapter Five

The door to the sheriff’s office flew open, banging against the inside wall and allowing a burst of sunlight to paint the room. Sean’s hand hopped to his gun. He rose so quickly from behind his desk that he sent his chair toppling to the floor. The door swung closed behind the man who scanned the otherwise empty room. After seeming to establish they were alone, Richard focused on Sean with narrowed eyes.

“Mr. Wilkins, what can I do for you today?”

Richard strode toward him with fire in his eyes. “Sean O’Brien, I ought to tear you limb from limb. No, I ought to lock you up in your own jail cell, scoundrel that you are.”

“Hold on just a minute, sir. Those are some pretty strong words.” He righted the chair without taking his gaze from the advancing man.

Richard pressed his fist on the top of Sean’s desk. The man paused to catch his breath, then his blue eyes locked with Sean’s in anger. “Did you think I wouldn’t find out? She is my only child. I trusted you. I put her well-being in your hands. You were supposed to protect her but all you did was expose her to slander.”

A chill crept down Sean’s spine. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

Richard’s eyes narrowed as his voice turned steely, and he tossed a piece of paper on the desk. “Don’t lie to me. You can read it for yourself.”

“A letter?”

“Yes, it’s from a Mrs. Drake. She writes in stunning detail how the two of you arrived alone and unchaperoned at her boardinghouse.” He glanced down at the letter. “She says she tried to discover the reasons for this moral gaffe but you were hostile toward her while telling an incredibly dubious and conveniently difficult to disprove tale of being abandoned by your chaperone at some point during your five-day journey to town. She insinuates that you and Lorelei…that you… Well, it is quite obvious what she believes had been going on between you two. I want to believe it isn’t true but if it is, so help me…”

“It isn’t true.” He wavered. “Well, not entirely.”

“What does that mean?” Richard took a deep breath and seemed to calm down a bit, though his grim expression didn’t change. “Can you prove this woman wrong?”

“Yes. No.” Sean swallowed. “Not completely and not immediately. Listen, this can all be explained, but first I think it would be best if Lorelei were present during this conversation.”

Richard held Sean’s gaze for a long moment, then with a short nod he agreed, “Then send for Lorelei.”

* * *

Lorelei hurried down the raised wooden planks of Peppin’s sidewalk at a pace polite society would frown on. She could already feel herself starting to perspire. She would arrive at the sheriff’s office looking flushed and wrung out. Not that she was trying to impress anyone at a time like this. Surely, something must be dreadfully wrong for her father to summon her through a messenger. His tone in the note had been abrupt, almost harsh. It was so unlike him that she was worried that something was seriously amiss. Had he been robbed? Threatened? Attacked? What disaster could have struck that required him to turn to Sean?

Her anxious thoughts hastened her steps the last few feet into the sheriff’s office. Surveying the room, she noticed Sean sitting at his desk with her father seated comfortably across from him. Both men stood as she entered but remained oddly silent.

Obviously nothing was wrong with her father’s constitution. He even had a bit of color in his cheeks. She paused a moment to catch her breath before venturing farther into the silent room. “Papa, whatever is the matter? I thought something must have happened.”

“I’m afraid it did.” He looked sterner than she’d ever seen him.

“What did?”

“That.” He pointed to the desk.

Her confused gaze lingered on her father a moment before she followed his finger to the object on the desk. “A letter?”

“From Mrs. Drake.”

“Mrs. Drake?” she echoed in confusion.

Sean’s hand briefly touched her arm, drawing her gaze to his for the first time since she’d entered the room. His eyes were filled with what seemed to be concern and caution. “Lorelei, it seems that Mrs. Drake was concerned about our lack of a chaperone during our trip and decided to write your father about it.”

“Oh, no,” she breathed before she could stop herself. Her eyes widened as her mind raced through a thousand scenarios of how the next few minutes might play out. Very few of them were good. Her eyes collided with Sean’s inscrutable gaze before she turned to her father. “Obviously Mrs. Drake must have misunderstood the nature of my relationship with Sean.”

Sean nodded. “I was about to explain that to your father when we decided to send for you. Perhaps it would be best if we all sat down.”

Once they all pulled out a chair, a moment of silence echoed through the room as everyone seemed to calm down and collect their thoughts. Her father let out a tired sigh. “Start from the beginning.”

* * *

Sean leaned forward slightly in his chair, not enough to heighten the mood, but enough to call attention to himself. “Sir, when I finally met up with Lorelei she was traveling with a preacher, his wife and their children. After four days with them, I convinced Lorelei to come home to Peppin with me. The couple took umbrage with our leaving to travel in the wilderness by ourselves for a few days and insisted we find a chaperone. One of the local women offered to chaperone us for a wage, which we agreed upon. We set off with her in good faith, but we were only two days into our trip when she ran off with our money and Lorelei’s valise. We considered turning back and rejoining the preacher and his family, but by that point, we thought they’d probably moved on, and that it would be faster to push on to town rather than trying to track them down. We finished the trip alone.”

“In the wilderness, alone for a few days, you say?”

“Yes, sir.”

The man looked as if he’d aged a few years since entering the office, but he nodded. “I see. Continue.”

“Well, that’s it.”

“What do you mean ‘that’s it’?”

Sean shrugged. “There’s nothing more to tell.”

Lorelei pinned her father with her blue gaze and a raised eyebrow. “Were you expecting more, Papa?”

“Don’t be smart with me, young lady,” he said even as his skin appeared to flush a bit.

“In defense of my honor as a gentleman and Lorelei’s as a lady, I would like you to know our behavior was circumspect on the trip home. She slept on one side of the campfire and I slept on the other.” He met Richard’s gaze. “I mean this as no insult to your daughter’s sensibilities, but I want you to know I never touched her.”

“All right, I get the point and I appreciate you making it.” Richard shook his head. Rising to his feet again, he began to pace. He turned to face them. “I understand what happened wasn’t your fault, and I believe you when you say you began the trip with a chaperone. I do, but I’m afraid that Mrs. Drake’s account…”

“It’s embellished, to say the least,” Sean said.

“Perhaps so.” He agreed. “That isn’t the only thing that concerns me. This letter was hand-delivered to me by Mrs. Greene. She is aware of the contents and was quite adamant that I do something to fix the predicament.”

“No wonder she glared at me in the bank,” Lorelei muttered.

Sean grimaced. Mrs. Greene and his family didn’t have the best history. After his parents’ death, she’d taken it upon herself to guide their orphaned family on the straight and narrow. Unfortunately, that somehow translated into her being rather harsh and overly critical in her judgment of them. She was hardest on Ellie but wasn’t particularly fond of Sean, either. He cleared his throat. “Surely you can just explain to her that there has been a mistake.”

Richard shook his head. “I suggested that idea in my office, but she stood by her niece’s account and painted a picture of the incident that whipped me into a fury. Sorry about that, Sean.”

“It’s understandable, sir. I reckon I’d act the same way if I had a daughter.”

He stopped pacing to face them. “Even if we could prove your chaperone abandoned you, the fact remains that you traveled alone for days in the wilderness.”

“It wasn’t our fault,” Lorelei insisted.

“No, but can you imagine the scandal? It could easily be construed that you two had some sort of affair only days after you were supposed you marry another man. If word gets around about this…” He shook his head and sat back down.

“Knowing Mrs. Greene,” Sean interjected, “she may have already told everyone.”

“I asked her to let me deal with this my own way first. She promised she’d keep quiet until I speak to her again but vowed that if I didn’t hold you accountable she’d make sure the town would.”

Sean clenched his fist. “What does that mean exactly?”

“We don’t want to find out.” Richard turned to Lorelei. “I need to talk to your mother about this. We’ll decide together what to do.”

“But, Papa—”

He shook his head. “I think its best that you go on home. I’ll be there shortly.”

Lorelei watched her father for a long moment, then left without a glance Sean’s way.

Richard turned to him. “Come to our house for supper this evening. I’ll know what to tell you then.”

Without waiting for a response, the man left. Sean stared at the door for a long moment, then sighed. There was nothing left for him to do but straighten the chairs and prepare himself for that evening. Waiting—his least favorite thing to do. He needed something to occupy his time. He glanced around, his gaze landing on the Bible at his desk, and suddenly the choice seemed obvious. He’d read his Bible and maybe even say a little prayer. He could only hope it would help.

* * *

“I know we are all anxious to address the issue foremost on all of our minds,” Richard Wilkins began, then glanced at her and Sean as if to be sure they were listening before he continued. “I won’t keep the two of you in suspense any longer.”

Lorelei glanced at Sean to gauge his reaction. His gaze was intent on her father’s face as if it might give some hint to the outcome of her parents’ decision. Certain she wouldn’t be able to swallow another bite of her blueberry pie, Lorelei placed her plate on the small table that rested between Sean’s chair and where she sat on the settee. Her mother and father sat side by side in chairs across the room, letting Lorelei know that they were unanimous on whatever decision they had reached.

As if reading her thoughts, Richard said, “My wife and I spent quite a bit of time in thought and prayer about this matter. We ask that you both refrain from commenting on what we say until you have heard us out completely. Is that understood?”

“Yes, sir,” Sean agreed.

Lorelei nodded. Settling back in the settee, she clasped her hands nervously in her lap.

“You both have good reputations and I think you know that in a town of this size reputation is everything.” Leaning forward, he looked at them intently. “It affects everything from who speaks to you on Sunday to who will do business with you. It’s a precious commodity.”

Her mother nodded gravely. “I know this will be difficult to hear since the two of you did nothing wrong, but I’m afraid there will be no way to avoid a scandal should any of this come to light. It’s in your best interest to try to head that off if possible.”

Richard smiled wryly. “I’m afraid I’m not giving either of you much of a choice. I’ll not have my daughter’s name bandied about as a common trollop. We’ve already seen with Mrs. Drake that people will turn the facts into whatever sordid scenarios their imaginations lead them to believe. What’s worse is that the story would grow with each telling, and, believe me, people would tell.”

Lorelei’s stomach clenched as her father’s gaze narrowed onto Sean. “I’m giving you six weeks.”

“Six weeks, sir?”

“Yes.” Richard straightened, his jaw firmed. “You have six weeks to court my daughter. At the end of those six weeks, I will expect a proposal.”