The Eyes Have It

  Chapter 14

  “Fowlkes,” I could hear the barely concealed anger in my father’s voice. “What is the meaning of this?”

  “Ah, Lowell, glad you could join us,” Mr. Fowlkes sounded practically jovial. “Come in, we were just about to have tea.”

  “Tea,” my father exploded, “I didn’t come here for tea! Where’s my ingrate of a daughter and that damned gold-digger she thinks she’s going to marry?”

  “I strongly suggest you calm down, Tate,” although his tone was mild, there was no mistaking the warning in Mr. Fowlkes voice. “All will be made clear shortly.”

  As Mr. Fowlkes preceded my father into the sitting room where Mrs. Fowlkes and I were waiting, I noticed that my father was a half head shorter than Mr. Fowlkes. He had always seemed so large to me, looking at him through the eyes of a child, but I could see that he really wasn’t much more than a few inches taller than my 5’6”.

  James will absolutely dwarf him, I thought inconsequentially.

  As soon as my father caught sight of me his face contorted with rage, “Where is he?” he demanded. “Not here…the coward…that’s just as well because I forbid you to marry him. Do you hear me? I…”

  “Mr. Tate,” Mrs. Fowlkes interrupted in a kind but firm voice. “Please have a seat,” she requested, somehow making it sound more like an order.

  My father looked like he wanted to protest, but after a moment’s hesitation complied.

  “Allison,” she turned to me with an encouraging smile, “Would you mind fetching the Wilsons and let Elsee know it is time to bring in the tea. I’m sure we could all use a calming cup.”

  Glancing one last time at my father—he looked positively apoplectic—I left the room. When I arrived at the kitchen, James didn’t look much better. He hated having to play games, and it was wearing on him. For a moment, a feeling of impending doom threatened to overwhelm me, striking fear and dread in my heart for the Wilsons and seeing no way that any part of the situation could possibly end well.

  James, attuned to my feelings, inhaled deeply a couple of times in order to regain some semblance of calm and attempted a smile for me. I closed my eyes and shook my head in despair. I felt Elsee’s reassuring arms around me. Grasping her tightly, I returned her hug fiercely, tears filling my eyes.

  “Trust the Fowlkes,” she murmured in my ear. “I don’t believe in coincidences; God sent me here to work for a reason. Have faith.”

  I nodded, not trusting my voice, and released her. Another pair of arms took over, wrapping me in a warm cocoon.

  “I love you,” James whispered.

  “I love you so much,” I tried to control the break in my voice, but he heard it.

  “Do you need a minute?” he asked in concern.

  Shaking my head, I moved out of his arms, straightening my dress and smoothing my hair.

  “Do I look like I’ve been crying?” I asked anxiously.

  “You look beautiful,” James replied softly.

  “Not helping,” I remonstrated, “Elsee…?”

  “Not a tear stain in sight,” she answered after examining my face.

  I smiled my thanks at her.

  “You growl at me for saying you’re beautiful, but she gets a smile for that?” James shook his head in mock amazement. “Just what kind of woman are you?”

  “The kind you will hopefully love forever.”

  “You know I will,” he planted a tender kiss on my lips.

  “James,” Elsee interrupted us gently, “You take that tray and I’ll…”

  “Let me take that one,” I offered.

  “Are you sure?” Elsee asked uncertainly.

  “Yes, I am,” I returned firmly picking the tray up. “If you’ll lead the way…?”

  I was surprised to see that my father had calmed down considerably and was sitting in the armchair next to Mrs. Fowlkes chatting. She was truly a miracle worker. My hopes soared. When he saw me carrying in one of the tea trays, however, it was clear he was just biding his time until his next explosion.

  “What the hell is this?” he asked, angrily pointing at me. “Lost all your money have you Fowlkes and can’t afford any servants,” he sneered.

  Carefully setting the tray down on the coffee table, I straightened up and, shaking with anger, opened my mouth to berate my father when out of the corner of my eye a movement caught my attention. Mrs. Fowlkes was shaking her head ever so slightly at me. Remembering my earlier promise to allow them to do the talking, I swallowed my angry words and sat down quickly.

  “My considerable fortune is quite intact I assure you,” Mr. Fowlkes replied mildly.

  James set his tray close to mine and, taking my left hand in his, sat down next to me. Elsee hovered uncertainly, staying close to the doorway. None of us had thought to talk about Elsee’s role in the unfolding drama and I understood her dilemma all too well, could almost hear the questions she must be asking herself. Was she there as the housekeeper? If so, with the delivering of the tea, her job was over. Was she there as my future mother-in law? In that role, she should stay and have tea.

  Discreetly urging James over, I patted the space next to me silently offering her a seat, even though the settee was clearly a two-seater. Thankfully, under the cover of Mr. Fowlkes mild reply to my father’s rude comment, Mrs. Fowlkes motioned Elsee over to sit next to me, making her decision for her.

  “But I digress; we are here for you to meet Allison’s fiancé and his mother,” Mr. Fowlkes directed his attention to the three of us on the settee.

  Standing as if on cue, James extended his hand to my father as he introduced himself “Mr. Tate, I’m James Wilson…”

  Totally ignoring James, my father turned back to Mr. Fowlkes asking suspiciously, “What is your connection to all of this? I don’t remember you showing any interest in my daughter before.”

  I knew it was coming, but I was still unprepared for the way my stomach lurched and then plummeted to my feet. My father’s previous anger was going to seem calm compared to what we were about to experience.

  “The young man politely trying to introduce himself to you is the son of our housekeeper,” Mrs. Fowlkes quietly informed him.

  The silence that followed was totally electric. Terrified, my eyes glued on my father’s face, I truly thought he was in imminent danger of having a heart attack. Although he usually presented a calm, cool, collected facade to the world, I had seen him in the towering rages he reserved for when he was home and no one of importance was watching, but those rages were nothing compared to the storm that was building within him at that moment. Eyes and veins bulging, his face quickly moved from red to purple, until he remembered to breathe again, and then back to red. His explosion of breath was so loud in the quiet room that Elsee and I jumped involuntarily, startled.

  “OVER MY DEAD BODY…!”

  Fearing for my safety, James stepped between us. That seemed to infuriate my father beyond words. For a moment, I thought he was going to take a swing at James.

  “Can we sit down and talk about this rationally?” James asked reasonably.

  I could see all of his preconceived notions quickly disappearing into thin air, but he felt he owed it to me to attempt to make peace for my sake. I knew it was all wasted effort.

  “If you know what’s good for you, you will leave my daughter alone,” my father replied coldly.

  Although he sounded calmer, which might lull the others into a false sense of security, I knew my father well enough to know that all he had done was switch to a cold, calculating mode far more dangerous than his towering rages. He had never presented much of a physical threat even at his angriest, but mentally he was Machiavellian. I shivered in fear.

  “I love your daughter, and she has agreed to marry me,” James stated emphatically.

  “Then I hope you are prepared to face the consequences,” the threat that was inherent in my father’s statement was what Mr. Fowl
kes had been waiting to hear. “I am done here,” my father averred shooting one last glare towards James before turning to leave. “You will regret tangling with me, that I can promise.”

  “Lowell,” Mr. Fowlkes intervened smoothly, “I have some information that I believe will be of great interest to you.”

  My father, already in the foyer, either didn’t hear Mr. Fowlkes or was completely ignoring him.

  “My information tells me you are being considered for an appointment to the Texas State Supreme Court since one of the current justices is most likely going to step down sometime this summer for health reasons,” Mr. Fowlkes continued casually as if talking to himself.

  Returning to the entryway of the sitting room, my father had eyes only for Mr. Fowlkes, giving him his full attention. The rest of us were barely breathing.

  “Be a terrible shame if someone like my wife for example, happened to have some verifiable information that might hurt your chances of getting that appointment,” he continued shaking his head in mock concern.

  “What do you mean?”

  The stillness of my father’s face was chilling.

  Instead of answering, Mr. Fowlkes turned towards us and said, “Elsee why don’t you take James and Allison out back and show them the thing we discussed?”

  “Of course, Mr. Fowlkes.”

  Elsee got up and, giving my father as wide a berth as physically possible, preceded us from the room. I kept my focus on Elsee’s back, unwilling to meet my father’s eyes as I followed her.

  “Allison…” my father began in warning as I drew level with him.

  “You will be able to talk to Allison later, Lowell. Come sit. I am afraid the tea has grown cold,” Mrs. Fowlkes said mournfully.

  I wasn’t able to hear anymore. When we got to the kitchen, James spun me around and into his arms.

  “I am so very sorry I didn’t believe you,” I could hear the horror in his voice.

  “NO!” I objected on the verge of tears, “I’m sorry, about everything. You’d be better off without me. I’m not worth it. He’ll find a way to hurt you and your mother and it will be entirely my fault!”

  “I’ve said it before and I will keep on saying it until you believe me; you are not responsible for other people’s actions, Allison,” Elsee said reprovingly. “Now I want none of this ridiculous talk about it being your fault.”

  “But it is!” I insisted, pushing my self out of the warm, loving arms of the man I adored more than I’d ever imagined I could. “I knew better than to go against my parents’ wishes, but I selfishly wanted both of you in my life no matter what the cost. I just had no idea how painful it would be to think of either of you getting hurt.” Tears flowed down my cheeks unchecked. “If anything happened to you…I would never be able to forgive myself.”

  “Nothing is going to happen to any of us,” James’ jaw clenched and there was stark determination on his face. “I’ll do whatever it takes to see to that,” he avowed, pulling me back into his arms murmuring inaudibly in my hair “Whatever it takes.”