Moonlight on the Millpond

  Jace read the letter over, debating whether he should tell her to visit soon, but he didn’t write the words. He wasn’t angry with Eden anymore, just sorry for her, but the main reason he did not invite her was his current relationship with Maddie. It was on thin ice, and he figured that the last thing they needed was a visitor.

  Feeling as if he’d done the right thing, Jace sealed the letter and readied it for mailing. He and Maddie would be going to see the Shephards right after breakfast.

  It was a quiet couple who headed into town a few hours later. Maddie had no idea how her aunt would react to the news, and Jace knew he would have to face Doyle at the store. Jace had gone to Boston to see Maddie. There had been no talk of marriage.

  “I’ll put the team in the barn,” Jace said, heading that way.

  “I’m going right over to see Cathy,” she explained. “Should I look for you in the store?”

  “I’ll come to you unless Cathy doesn’t want to see me.”

  Maddie realized then that she’d been much too involved in her own feelings. The look on Jace’s face was hard on her heart. He looked vulnerable, dread filling his features. She had wanted to stay angry, but that wasn’t fair to him. Maddie put her hand on his arm.

  “Come over when you want. Cathy won’t send you away.”

  “She will if that’s what you want.”

  “I don’t want that,” Maddie told him. “I wish I knew what I wanted, but I don’t want you to be hurt or cast off.”

  Hoping it was true, Jace nodded and moved toward the store. He stepped inside the rear door and came through the back room to see Doyle talking to a man who looked as though he was only seeking information. By the time Doyle turned and shut the door, Jace was standing by the stove.

  “I have to talk to you,” Jace said. “Maddie’s at the house with Cathy.”

  “All right,” Doyle agreed, feeling more relieved than he let on. The older man was ready to give Jace the benefit of the doubt, so he motioned him to a seat by the stove and took one himself.

  “Did Maddie ever tell you about the picnic we went on last summer?”

  “Nothing specific.”

  Jace sat back a little, his eyes on the hot stove, wondering how this was going to go over, but he still began, telling himself to keep to the facts.

  “I was nervous that day so I grabbed a flask of liquor. Maddie got cold and drank some of it, not knowing what it was.” Jace couldn’t look at Doyle. “Your niece is a very loving drunk.”

  “Are you trying to tell me…” Doyle began.

  “No. All we did was kiss, but that’s not the worst of it. She remembered nothing. When I tried to kiss her later, she was furious with me because she didn’t remember a thing from the picnic.”

  Doyle waited, knowing more was coming.

  “I didn’t think wine or champagne would affect her in the same way. We were at dinner in Boston, and we had a bottle of champagne brought to the table. The stuff in that flask had been the real thing, but after the champagne, Maddie seemed fine…” Jace paused, knowing he had to finish. “I married her, Doyle, but she can’t remember a thing.”

  Jace’s eyes flew to the older man when a small laugh escaped Doyle.

  “You think it’s funny?”

  “I guess I do. It wouldn’t be if you didn’t love each other, but it is rather amusing.”

  “I wish Maddie thought so,” Jace grumbled.

  This really caused Doyle to laugh. The older man knew all about unhappy women. He waited on them weekly and at times was married to one. It delighted him to no end to learn that Jace was having a taste of that very thing.

  “I still can’t believe you’re laughing.”

  Doyle made himself calm down.

  “Is she all right?”

  “I think so. She naturally feels cheated, and I can’t say that I blame her. I feel cheated! I just hope she’ll get over it sooner than later.”

  “You’d better hope Cathy does too,” Doyle decided to add.

  Jace’s head fell back. He didn’t even want to think about what was going on over at the house.

  “If you can’t remember a thing, how do you know you’re married?” Cathy demanded, hoping with all her heart that Jace was not playing games with all of them.

  “I talked with Sherry—both she and Beth were there. Evidently we got back to the house right after dinner and told them we wanted to be married. Beth went for her reverend, and we were married in the main parlor.”

  “And your wedding night?” Cathy wasn’t done. “Did you have a wedding night?”

  “In my bedroom,” Maddie said quietly, her sober eyes causing Cathy to calm a bit.

  “Do you remember it, Maddie? Were you able to enjoy it at all?”

  “I don’t remember. Jace has apologized again and again, and I’m still a little angry with him, but I can’t remember a thing.”

  The question was in Cathy’s mind, but she debated asking it. It really wasn’t her business, but she wanted to know whether there was a night Maddie did remember. After all, they’d been married for five days.

  “I don’t want you to be angry with him,” Maddie suddenly said. “I feel guilty about the way I’ve treated him, and he feared that you would not even welcome him here after I told you what happened.”

  “I’ll not hold it against him, Maddie. If you’re upset with him, that’s punishment enough.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’re newlyweds, honey. The last thing a man wants is for his bride to be angry with him.”

  Maddie felt terrible. Jace was as hurt in all of this as she was. Maddie thought about how cold she had been to him. She thought now that that might have been wrong but wasn’t sure how to fix it.

  “I’m going to head to the store,” Cathy said. “I assume Jace is there.”

  “Yes.” Maddie rose as well. “I’ll go with you.”

  Maddie woke to a quiet room Monday morning, the other side of the bed empty. Most of Saturday had been spent with her uncle and aunt, and even part of Sunday. Jace had been a complete gentleman, kind and solicitous. Nevertheless, there was a wall between them that only Maddie could take down—something she had not done just yet.

  For a time Maddie lay there and then remembered that Cathy was not downstairs taking care of things. It was her job now. Maddie was up and out the bedroom door a short time later. It was time to get to work.

  “Clara, do we have any ginger?” Maddie asked midmorning, studying the recipe for pumpkin pie in front of her.

  “In the spice chest on the wall. Try the top left drawer.”

  Maddie actually found the spice in the next drawer down. She had cooked the pumpkin already, careful not to scrape the inside, since the sweetest part was closest to the seeds, or so the recipe said. The crusts were ready, and the batter was almost ready to fill them.

  Jace had gone to the mill, and Clara had arrived to work. It had taken Maddie a moment to get her bearings, but she kept reminding herself that these jobs were hers now. She had set to work in the kitchen, in the mood to bake. Sometimes Clara was next to her and sometimes she was off doing something else.

  “Maddie,” Clara said, suddenly arriving back, her voice thoughtful. “Are you and Jace going to stay in Jace’s room?”

  “I think so. Why?”

  “Have you looked at Woody’s room? It’s much larger.”

  Maddie stopped mixing and stared at the other woman.

  “I was trying to be respectful,” she admitted.

  “Death is a part of life, Maddie.” Clara’s words were matter-of-fact, but her voice was serious. “It makes no sense for the two of you to stay in the smaller room when you have a larger one available.”

  Maddie liked the idea, and Jace said she could redecorate. She assumed he wouldn’t mind. She had brought some things from Boston. A number of things, in fact. Even without touching the walls or painting, she could make some very nice changes.

  “Let me get these pies in the oven
,” Maddie told Clara, “and we’ll go to work.”

  Jace came in around dinnertime and found the downstairs quiet. Food was ready in the kitchen, but not on the table. Jace was moving to the stairs to find Clara or Maddie when he noticed the furniture stacked in the small room off the kitchen. His heart sank as he saw it was furniture from his bedroom.

  What type of statement was Maddie trying to make now? He knew he was still in trouble, but at least they were sharing a room. He realized all was not going well, but why was their bedroom furniture down here? That room was too small to hold it.

  Jace was at the bottom of the stairs, headed up to look for answers, when both women came down.

  “There you are,” Clara said as if he were late. She planted herself on the bottom step and said, “Dinner’s on. You should wash up.”

  “Dinner’s not on. It’s still in the kitchen.”

  “But it will be on by the time you wash.”

  Maddie peeked around Clara, her look much too innocent.

  “What are the two of you doing?”

  “We’re trying to get dinner on,” Clara stated, “but you won’t wash up.”

  Jace gave up. With a shake of his head, he went back to the kitchen. Obviously they didn’t want him to know something, but nothing in Maddie’s speech or demeanor said that she was more angry or upset than she had been.

  Jace left it alone. He had to get back to the mill right after dinner anyway. Whatever they were doing would have to wait until evening.

  “Jace Randall got married,” Hillary told her mother after school on Monday.

  “Do I know Jace Randall?”

  “You might not, but you know his new wife, Maddie Shephard.”

  Alison looked as surprised as she felt.

  “I didn’t realize there was even a wedding,” she commented.

  “They were married in Boston. At least that’s what Greta and Mercy have heard.”

  “Well, we’ll have to make them a gift.”

  “I think they’re having a party, so maybe we should wait.”

  Had Jace and Maddie heard the conversation at the Muldoon house, they would have been confused. Doyle and Cathy had just decided that a Tucker Mills reception was in order. They had begun to spread the word from the store but not seen the couple to tell them.

  Indeed, word would be all over town before they were informed.

  When Jace came in that evening, he washed in a quiet kitchen. It smelled as though someone had been baking, but tea was not on the table. He wasn’t irritated by this, just intrigued. It wasn’t until that moment that he remembered how odd the women had been acting earlier when he came home for dinner.

  Without calling for Maddie, Jace started toward the stairs again. This time there was no one there to stop him. At the top, he went toward his own room. The bed was nearly torn apart, and the furniture had all been moved. Indeed, there was little to recognize about it, but then he heard movement next door.

  He walked to Woody’s doorway and just stood there. Maddie’s back was to him. She was fixing lace curtains at the window, curtains he’d never seen before. She adjusted the valance just the way she wanted it and then turned.

  “I didn’t hear you,” she said after she started, a hand going to her pounding heart.

  “You must have been preoccupied because I wasn’t very quiet.”

  This said, Jace went inside. Woody’s room had been transformed. The quilt on the bed was full of color, both elegant and inviting. Little lacy cloths lay on the dressers, and beautiful pictures hung on the walls. Jace was very pleased, but the effect was far beyond simple pleasure. He was certain Maddie didn’t realize.

  “You said I could redecorate,” Maddie said, sounding nervous and wringing her hands a bit. “So I didn’t think you would mind.”

  “I don’t mind,” Jace said, still looking around and then at her.

  “So you think it looks all right?”

  “It looks beautiful.”

  Maddie nodded, looking relieved.

  “In fact,” Jace said, eyes still on her. “It gives a man ideas.”

  A hush fell between the couple. Jace’s gaze spoke volumes that Maddie couldn’t help but read. It was too bad for both of them that she wasn’t ready.

  “I think I’d better get tea on,” she said softly and watched as he nodded. “Is it all right if I do that?”

  “It’s fine,” he said, having tempered his reaction to hers.

  “I’ll go and do that now,” she explained unnecessarily, scooting past him in a bit of a hurry.

  “I’ll be right behind you,” Jace said, moving much slower. He hoped she would forgive him soon; either that, or stop being so inviting. If one didn’t happen, he didn’t know how long he could survive.

  Seventeen

  Jace looked out the window and noticed Maddie at the water pump. She pumped water into her mug and then stood outside to drink it. She drank three full mugs before she was done, and then Jace watched her hide the tin cup under the wooden partition that covered the mechanism.

  Jace darted away from the window when she turned to come back inside. He didn’t know why, but he was reluctant to be caught watching her. Clearly she had thought she was on her own.

  Jace went so far as to go to the desk in the corner of the parlor and pull out his account book. He had some thinking to do and figured the best way to accomplish that was to appear to be busy. And it worked. Maddie came back inside, peeking around the corner at him, and left him on his own. Jace said nothing, but he did continue to think.

  “A party?” Jace questioned.

  Doyle and Cathy were sitting in the Randalls’ parlor, and Cathy answered.

  “Yes, a reception for the folks here in Tucker Mills. We spread the word.”

  Both the bride and groom looked at her and then at each other.

  “Are you all right with this, Jace?” Maddie asked.

  “I was going to ask you the same thing.”

  “It’s fine,” Maddie said, hoping Jace wouldn’t see how worried she was. They had things to work out. They were not a normal married couple right now. Would everyone at the party see that? Tucker Mills was famous for its nosy life on the green. Maddie did not want their marriage to be fodder for the gossipmongers.

  “When were you thinking we would have this?” Jace asked, still wondering what he’d seen in Maddie’s eyes.

  “This Saturday night,” Cathy was pleased to announce.

  “As in four days from now?” Maddie asked.

  “Yes! We’ll have it right at the house. We’ll dance and eat for hours.”

  Maddie was not overly thrilled with her aunt. Why had they not checked with them before telling everyone? She thought that if anyone would be sympathetic to the way they had been married, it would be her aunt, but clearly even Cathy thought things were rosier than they actually were. But what could she do? Word had gotten out, and folks would be coming.

  Doyle changed the subject just then, and Maddie was somewhat pleased. There was no sense in fretting about the coming weekend. They would get through it one way or the other.

  Maddie’s gasp sounded in the room, and she almost sat up in bed. In the dream she’d fallen on the road, and a team of horses had been running out of control in her direction.

  “Maddie?” Jace called to her, his voice rough with sleep.

  “It was just a dream.” She had figured it out by then and turned on her side to go back to sleep. Jace was instantly asleep again, but Maddie lay there for a time, thoughts of death and heaven coming to her mind all over again.

  Clara was still coming every day, and Maddie was suddenly glad of that fact. She especially wanted her to come tomorrow, because there was something important she needed to go into town and do.

  “Well, Maddie,” Alison said with pleasure, opening the front door to her knock. “Come on in.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Muldoon. I hope I’m not catching you at a bad time.”

  “Not at all. We heard that c
ongratulations are in order.”

  “Thank you,” Maddie said, hoping she didn’t look as strained as she felt, but she was determined to see the only pastor who had enjoyed her questions. “Would Mr. Muldoon be available by any chance?”

  “He certainly is. Let me get him from the office. You go right ahead to the parlor, Maddie.”

  Maddie watched the woman walk away, realizing she was a good way along in her pregnancy. Maddie had not been aware of the Muldoons’ pending arrival and then remembered she was new back in town.

  “Hello, Maddie,” Douglas greeted, coming to shake her hand. “How are you?”

  “I’m not sure,” Maddie admitted. “I was hoping to ask you some questions.”

  “Certainly. Get comfortable and ask away.”

  “I can’t exactly remember what you said about heaven.” They faced each other across the room in their chairs. “Do you believe it’s there?”

  “Yes, I do,” Douglas answered.

  “Why do you?”

  “I’m glad you asked me that,” Douglas said, just like before. “I believe in heaven, Maddie, because I put such stock in what Jesus had to say. You see, I believe He’s God’s Son.”

  I think so too, Maddie thought to herself, just now realizing it.

  “And Jesus Himself tells us that He came from heaven.”

  “Where did He say that?” Maddie asked.

  “In John 6:38. The verse says, ‘For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.’ Now tell me, Maddie, why would Jesus make such a thing up? There would be no reason for Him to do so.”

  Maddie thought for a moment and then admitted quietly, “He wouldn’t. As you said, there would be no reason.”

  “That’s right. If you recall, I urged you to figure out what to do with Scripture. If you don’t believe the Bible to be the very writings of God, why would you believe a word of it? Because I believe the Bible is God’s Word without error, I can read those words said by Jesus Himself and know that they’re true.”