The Deputy’s Duty

“Good night, Lanna.”

“Good night, Joe.”

All he wanted was forever with her.

He took a step back and something brushed his cheek. It had started to snow. Perfect, heavenly flakes fell all around them like heaven’s blessing. With a wobbly smile and a bob of a curtsey, she slipped through the door and out of his sight.

But never again out of his heart.

SEVEN

The next morning, Lanna headed off to work, though she felt as if her feet didn’t even touch the ground.

Snow had fallen heavily through the night, frosting the world. Everywhere Lanna looked, it was flawless and perfect. Inches of white icing glimmered silently beneath the rising sun. But she didn’t mind the below-zero cold or the deep snow she was struggling through-not one bit, for she was carrying the happiness of last night with her like a treasure.

My dream always has been and always will be the same. You. His words felt embedded in her soul, her deepest wish come true. Joy brightened within her like the sun in the aqua-blue sky and seemed equally as endless. Joe hadn’t said the words, but she had felt them in his sweet kiss. He loved her as she loved him.

She felt as if she were still waltzing in her best slippers instead of wearing her sensible winter boots. As she passed houses with gray smoke curling from their chimneys, she relived the events of last night for the hundredth time. Every step of their waltzes. Every word of their talks. Every promise. Love is like faith, he’d said. When it’s true, it’s strong enough to hold you up, come what may.

That is exactly how it felt, she thought, as she trailed up the back walk to the servant’s entrance. The Wolf home looked quiet this morning. Everyone inside was probably recovering from a very late night. She stopped outside the door. She knocked the snow from the hem of her skirt, cloak and boots, still thinking of Joe.

Would she see him today? Her spirit brightened at the possibility. Maybe, with any luck, he could walk her home in the afternoon. They would have time to talk some more, maybe this time of more personal things and of their future.

She turned the door handle and shivered into the entrance hall.

“Lanna. There you are.” Geneva marched into view, arms crossed, imposing. “You’re late.”

“Late? I don’t start until seven o’clock.”

“I expected you at six.” Her mouth compressed into a thin, displeased line. “This is unacceptable.”

“I-I-” She stammered, glancing around. Was it possible she had made a mistake? Was everyone else on the cleaning staff already here? She shrugged out of her cloak and quickly went to hang it up-and realized the closet was bare. There wasn’t a single jacket or muffler or glove inside. No one else was here.

Take a deep breath, Lanna. She filled her lungs and deliberately hung up her cloak. Remember how important this job is to your family. You need to keep her happy. “I am sorry for the confusion. I’m here now and ready to work.”

“Hmm.” Geneva did not budge. “After yesterday’s dismal performance, you and I need to talk. We must come to terms, Lanna.”

“Terms?” She swallowed hard, bracing herself for a lecture.

“Termination terms.” Geneva strutted closer and held out a small envelope. “Your final wages, less the hours I docked from yesterday’s inadequate work.”

Inadequate? Lanna bit her tongue against the rising anger within her. The real problem had been with Geneva. Had she been left alone to do her work, the floor would have been finished an hour ahead of schedule. But what good would arguing do? Geneva might no longer be her employer, but she was Joe’s mother.

“Here, take your pay and go.” Geneva thrust the envelope in Lanna’s direction.

She took it, and as her hand closed over the packet, the consequences of it hit her. She had been fired. Her family had lost their income. She didn’t know how she was going to explain this to her parents. They were depending on her. They would understand, but understanding did not pay the rent.

With a trembling hand, she slipped the envelope in her skirt pocket and reached back into the closet for her cloak. This was devastating and unfair.

She turned to face Geneva, lifting her chin, determined to hold on to her dignity. “Goodbye, Geneva.”

“A word of advice before you go.” There was a smile on her face, but it was cold and cruel.

Lanna’s instincts told her to walk out the door quickly, but she hesitated. She knew whatever Geneva would say would be about Joe-and after last night she had to know.

“My son is a very fine catch for a girl like you. Your family connections may have been…adequate before, but now? Ours have improved by far and yours, why, they are abysmal. Don’t get your hopes up, girl. Joe will not court you. I assure you, Lanna, there is no way I will allow Joe to associate our family name with you people.”

Lanna’s heart sank. Her hopes shattered. So, Geneva was going to try and break them apart. But Joe had been clear about his feelings last night. Surely those feelings wouldn’t change because of his parents?

She kept her head up and walked toward the door. Her hand quaked as she reached for the handle. She kept Joe’s sweetness last night close to her heart. She could not let Geneva take that from her with a few harsh words.

But Geneva wasn’t finished. “Let’s agree on one thing, Lanna.” Geneva’s footsteps knelled closer. “You are not worthy of my son. When he learns of my feelings, you are going to be the loser. Do you think he will choose a penniless cleaning woman? No, I will make sure he does not. My son is a good man and he honors his parents. Do you understand me?”

Those hard words were like bullets to her heart. Geneva was going to fight this? The sweetness she held on to began to slip away. She stumbled forward, her lungs tightening. She couldn’t breathe. She had to get air. She felt as if she were drowning in sorrow.

Letting Joe go had been the hardest thing she had ever done. If she stood up to Geneva now and lost, she would have to go through that pain again. How could she let her hopes get any higher and give more of her heart only to lose Joe in the end?

She wanted to discount Geneva’s tirade, but reasonably she could not. She wanted to be able to ignore her heartless words and stride out the door. But she could not bring herself to twist the doorknob.

Geneva would win. Family was the one thing that mattered most to Joe. That was why he had left her in the first place, to follow his parents and help his father with his new job.

“You know I’m right, Lanna, don’t you?” Geneva’s harshness faded, leaving the bitter notes of pity. “I’m sorry for your situation, but family comes first. My son is my highest priority. I cannot allow him to marry someone so far beneath him. You have my word on that.”

The conviction in Geneva’s voice was colder than the frigid morning air. Finally, Lanna opened the door and, head down, stepped out into the cruel wind.

Then she stopped, remembering how Geneva had manipulated her before. Well she wasn’t a naive girl anymore. She steeled her spine and whirled to face the older woman. “You told me Joe would marry someone better once and that didn’t happen. It won’t happen. I know Joe.”

“Yes, but he didn’t marry you, did he? And believe me, it will not happen now. Miss Beauchamp and her aunt will be visiting soon. My son will have a February wedding and it won’t be to you. I am his mother. Do you really think he would risk losing me over a little thing like you?”

She hesitated. She thought of the letters she never wrote, believing Geneva. But then she thought of all that Geneva could do to keep them apart. She took a step back, her hopes taking a hard fall. There was nothing left for her to say. Her dreams felt as broken as the ice cracking beneath her boots. She would lose Joe. The moment Geneva delivered her ultimatum-Lanna or his family-it would be over for good, forever.

But her own love would burn on, unstoppable and pure.