ledger, and his face was pale from too little sun. Like the boy who had brought her the note, he seemed anxious, but he was too well mannered to bounce from one foot to the other or to rush to meet her. Yet even from yards away, she could sense his tension.
“Mrs. Brandt,” he said when she was close enough that he didn’t have to shout. “How good of you to come.”
“I must admit I was intrigued by your note,” she said, giving him her hand when she reached him.
“I’m sure you were more than intrigued,” he said, his face fixed in a smile that did not reach his eyes. He took out his handkerchief and dusted the bench for her to sit. “I’m sorry I had to ask you to keep this meeting a secret from my mother,” he said when they were settled.
“Your mother doesn’t have to know everything I do, Mr. Ellsworth,” Sarah told him with a smile.
“I’m sure she would disagree with that sentiment,” Nelson said, returning her smile ruefully. Mrs. Ellsworth considered it her duty to learn the intimate details of everyone else’s lives, and she devoted herself to the task.
“Now you must tell me what delicate matter has driven you to seek advice from a midwife,” Sarah said encouragingly.
His smile vanished instantly. “This is most embarrassing,” he said. “And please believe that I would not have involved you in this matter if I had any other resources, but-”
“Please don’t apologize,” Sarah said, hoping to relieve some of his social agonies. “I’m flattered that you felt you could safely confide in me. But I can’t help you if you don’t tell me the situation-and believe me, you needn’t stand on ceremony.”
Some of the stiffness went out of him, and he rubbed his forehead, as if it ached. “All right, although I’m not certain exactly where to begin.”
“This involves a young lady, I gather?”
Nelson nodded miserably.
“Then tell me how you met her.”
He drew his breath and let it out in a long sigh of resignation. “She came into the bank one day. She was so very frightened and obviously desperate. She wanted to make a loan, and she asked for the manager. He wasn’t in, so the clerk sent her to me. We don’t make loans to young women with no means of support,” he told Sarah, as if he were offering an excuse.
“No one would expect you to,” Sarah assured him. “But I’m sure you don’t make loans to young women under any circumstances.”
This was so obvious, it didn’t merit a response. “Her mother was ill and needed medical care,” he continued, “but they hardly had enough to live on. She was hoping to borrow some money from the bank, but I had to disappoint her. She was very upset. She was afraid her mother was going to die.”
“That
“The bank couldn’t lend her the money, of course, but I… Well, I couldn’t just turn her away, could I? There’s no telling what a young woman will do if she feels desperate enough. She even hinted that she… that she might have to… to…”
“To compromise her virtue?” Sarah supplied helpfully.
“Yes, yes,” Nelson agreed gratefully. “She was so innocent and sweet, I couldn’t bear the thought of her degrading herself. She only needed a hundred dollars, so I…” His voice trailed off, and he looked away in embarrassment.
Sarah’s imagination conjured several possible things Nelson could have done, but she doubted he was capable of any of them, although the fact that he needed her services proved she was at least partially mistaken in his character. “You didn’t take money from the bank, did you?” she asked, offering the only criminal possibility she could think of.
“Oh, no!” Nelson cried, horrified at the thought. “Nothing like that! I… I loaned her the money myself from my own funds.”
Although he had said she “only” needed a hundred dollars, that was still a lot of money. More than three months’ wages for a laborer. “You were very generous, especially when she probably had no hope of being able to repay you.” Unless, of course, she became Nelson’s mistress. Perhaps that would explain why Mrs. Ellsworth thought Nelson had been working such late hours.
“I had no illusions she would repay me, Mrs. Brandt. I was giving her the money out of Christian charity.” Nelson’s pale blue eyes were tortured, and his smooth banker’s hands made a pleading gesture as he silently begged for her understanding.
Sarah was still not certain what he wanted from her, but she was sure it wasn’t her absolution. “That was very noble of you,” she offered.
He recoiled as if stung.
“Are you saying you took advantage of her?” Sarah asked, still unable to believe him capable of such a thing.
“No, not… not then, at least. In fact, I never expected to see her again. As I said, I did not believe her capable of repaying the loan, so what other reason would she have for returning except to humiliate herself? Then one evening a week or so later, she was waiting for me on the street when I came out of the bank. She was even more distraught than before. Her mother had died, you see and…”
“And she needed more money,” Sarah guessed.
“Oh, no, that’s not why she came,” Nelson insisted. “She just wanted to tell me that she couldn’t pay the rent in her rooming house anymore, and she was being evicted, so she wouldn’t be able to repay my loan for a while. She didn’t know where to tell me to find her, since she didn’t know where she would be living and…”
“And you gave her more money.” This time Sarah wasn’t guessing.
“She didn’t ask for it,” Nelson assured her. “She didn’t even want to take it, but she was penniless. I couldn’t just let her be thrown out into the streets, could I? You know what happens to girls like that when they don’t have any money and no one to take care of them.”
Sarah knew only too well. “How much did you give her this time?”
“Not much. Just enough to pay her rent and keep her for a month. She was going to find a job, so she could support herself.”
This would be highly unlikely. Jobs for young women paid so poorly that the girls could hardly afford to give their own families a pittance for their board, much less provide their own independent accommodations. And a girl who’d lived a sheltered life in a respectable home wouldn’t last a day in one of the sweatshops. “I don’t suppose she was able to find a suitable position,” Sarah said.
“I had no idea it was so difficult for young women to earn a living!” Nelson said, outraged. “Poor Anna looked everywhere. I called on her several times to make sure she was all right, but she was becoming more and more disheartened. I offered to pay her expenses for another month, but that only distressed her more. I… I…” His pale face flushed, and he could no longer meet her eye.
“Am I to assume you gave her more than comfort?” Sarah asked as discreetly as she could.
“I have no excuse,” Nelson said, covering his face with both hands. “What I did was despicable. To take advantage of someone so helpless and unprotected…”
Sarah would reserve judgment until she’d heard the entire story. “There’s no use flogging yourself over it now. I’m going to assume that your indiscretion has resulted in this Anna being with child. Am I correct?”
“That’s what she believes,” Nelson confirmed bleakly. “I have offered to marry her. It is the least I can do, but…”
Sarah thought she saw the problem. “I’m sure you want to do the right thing, but marriage is a huge commitment, particularly with someone you hardly know. If there was no child after all, then it wouldn’t be necessary.”
“I’m not trying to escape my responsibilities, Mrs. Brandt,” Nelson quickly assured her. “I would feel obligated to marry Anna even if there is no child. I dishonored her, after all. But she… she refuses to consider it!”
This was not what Sarah had expected to hear. “Why won’t she marry you?” she asked in amazement.
“She said she doesn’t want to disgrace me. You see, she assumed from the beginning that I was married,
