Mary exchanged a quick look with Pauline and let her friend answer.
“Actually DJ…Doc Reeves thinks it would be best if you stay here. He says he has plenty of room, and he thought it would be easier all around.”
His face registered shock and he cast an expression of surprise her way. “You mean…we’re to share a room?”
“Oh no, certainly not!” she rushed to assure him, knowing her cheeks were cherry red with humiliation.
“We haven’t worked out all of the details, yet,” Pauline said at the same time.
The girls shared a look once again, and Pauline added, “Doc’s going to talk to Mama and the girls about the sleeping arrangements.”
Uncomfortably aware of a man and woman passing by in a wagon as well as a man headed in the opposite direction on a horse, all three watching them with a seemingly copious amount of fascination, Pauline added, “Let’s get inside and work out a few things.”
They made their way down the front walk and up the steps to the porch, where Dwight held the door open for the girls to precede him. Once inside, he set his portmanteau by the door as he looked around at the tasteful foyer. One could tell the house had benefited from a woman’s touch at some point, as it certainly didn’t give the air of merely being a medical clinic or a bachelor’s residence.
The foyer was decorated in a rather refined style, with navy blue patterned wallpaper, a few small paintings of what might be the surrounding countryside, and a narrow, marble-topped table on which sat a lamp with a fringed shade. The floors were varnished hardwood that were clean and polished to a sheen.
“Doc’s medical office is in that room,” Mary gestured to the opening on the left; its pocket doors partially ajar.
She watched as Dwight gave her a nod and allowed himself to take in his surroundings again, his perusal eventually rising up the steps to a large landing. “What’s up there?”
Once more Mary’s face began to heat. “The bedrooms.”
Pauline cleared her throat softly and gestured toward the open pocket doors of the parlor. “Let’s go in here and sit down.” Making her way across the cozy room, she added over her shoulder, “When we talked about it yesterday, Doc said you can have the bedroom on the end, but you’ll keep your belongings in Mary’s room. That way…you can keep up appearances, should there be any unexpected visitors.”
Picturing such an event made Mary’s head nearly spin.
When the three were settled, the girls on a modest settee and Dwight in an adjacent chair, the stress of the ongoing pretense suddenly welled up in Mary and she couldn’t help but blurt, “I’m so sorry about all of this!”
Dwight’s brow furrowed and he trained his gaze on hers, looking genuinely puzzled.
“You’re sorry?”
She nodded and felt Pauline reach over to clasp her hand. The situation, and all of its residual effects, weighed on her conscience like a bull sitting on her chest.
“Mary, it’s not your fault. If anything, it’s the fault of that blackguard and I must say I’m ever so glad he’s where he belongs!”
“What blackguard?” Dwight queried, but Mary shot Pauline a quelling look.
“I don’t wish to talk about him. He’s the reason for this situation, let’s just leave it at that,” she stated, keeping her voice flat and hoping the subject would be dropped. “But I want you to know up front, Dwight Christiansen—I’m not a loose woman. I’m a God-fearing woman and I’ve always tried to live my life in a way that pleased my father and the Good Lord. And, I hate lying. It makes me feel dirty and…and…sinful. I only agreed to this because…well…Doc thought it would…” she paused to choose her words.
“Stop tongues from wagging against you?” Dwight softly prompted.
Looking down at her fingers, Mary twisted them together in her lap and nodded with embarrassment. “He said that we could pretend my husband was unavoidably away and that I couldn’t join him. Then, once the…event…happens, I could obtain a quiet divorce and we could tell people my husband met with an unfortunate accident.” Glancing up between her friend and her husband, she added, “That sounds so terrible—especially sitting here with the man I married and talking about your demise! I just don’t know how we can make the plan work with…well…” she gestured helplessly with one hand toward him, “with you here.”
She cringed as she said the last three words, knowing how they sounded—and knowing she didn’t mean them at all the way she had inadvertently delivered them. But, how could she tell him—or tell anyone—that now that she’d seen him and talked with him—and hugged him for heaven’s sake…the reality that they were married seemed more tangible by the second. If he knew I was even thinking such a thing, he would probably run from here as fast as he ran from that grasping hussy back in Louisville!
After a few tense seconds, Dwight leaned toward her and laid a gentle hand over hers, stilling their fidgeting.
“Don’t worry, Mary. This will work. I promise my presence here won’t cause you any trouble. Now…Elvira Fetterman, on the other hand…” he paused and she jerked her head up to see the amusement playing across his face. “No, sorry. I was just teasing. Pebs and I, and Mama and Livvy, we’ll see to it that she has other things to talk about, in case she forgets.”
Just then, Mary’s heart jumped in surprise as all three heard the back door open and footsteps echo into the kitchen. They all swung their attention to the doorway.
“Hey there! Doc? Are you here?” A woman’s voice called
