The Housekeeper's Proposal Read online

  “Yes! Please,” she said.

  He walked over to the other side of the buggy and jumped up onto the seat beside her.

  “I missed you yesterday,” he said.

  “Me or my cooking?”

  “Both.” He laughed, then quickly sobered and looked into her eyes. “But mostly you.”

  Kate said, “I missed you, too.”

  They sat in silence for several moments, and Kate wondered if he had something on his mind that he hesitated to broach.

  Finally, he asked, “What are your plans for today?”

  “Besides slaving in the kitchen for you, I’d like to talk to Abe.”

  “Be careful.”

  “I will. You sound like Griff.”

  Again he sat in silence, looking down at his hands.

  “Is there something you want to say to me, Jeremy?”

  “Yes, there is,” he said finally. “I’m beginning to worry about you. What happens if you find out too much while investigating and it puts you in danger? I think you should go back home and forget about playing detective. I can easily hire another housekeeper.”

  “Are you firing me?” she asked, feeling a lump form in her throat.

  “No, of course not.” Jeremy took one of her hands and kissed it. “You’re the best thing that's ever happened to me both personally and professionally.” He dropped her hand, and grew serious again. “Helen was murdered and her body found on my property. That’s serious. I don’t think I could stand it if…darn it, Kate, you might be in danger. One thing is certain: there's a murderer on the loose, and he or she may very well be someone we know.”

  “What if I don’t want to leave?” she asked.

  “Come here,” he said softly, and he held out his arms.

  Kate went into his open arms, rested her head on his chest, and listened to his heart beating.

  “I’m growing much too fond of you to lose you, is all. I want you safe.”

  Kate looked up at him. “I want to help you clear your name.”

  “I know you do and I lo—respect that about you.”

  “Just let me stay a bit longer. If I get close to discovering something I feel might endanger me, I’ll leave,” she said. “Or, are you saying you don’t want a relationship with me at all?”

  “I want that more than anything, and that’s why I’m so worried,” he said. He touched her face. “I’m extremely fond of you, can’t you tell?”

  “I thought I could tell…but I might have been wrong. I think you’ll need to show me again,” she said.

  He kissed her lips lightly several times.

  “Is that the best you can do?” she asked.

  “It is for now. I’ll show you when we take our walk tonight exactly how I feel about you,” he said, kissing her nose quickly. “Now, I have to get to the yard.” He climbed down from the buggy and walked to his horse. “Be careful.”

  “I can stay, then?” she asked.

  “For now,” he said, and rode off with a wave.

  As she made her dinner preparations, Kate tried to think of how she might approach Abe.

  Geraldine came in and greeted her. “I missed you yesterday, Kate. I had no one to talk to. Ethel was in a foul mood again, and the men are off on Sunday,” Geraldine said. “Welcome back.”

  “Believe it or not, I missed you, too,” Kate said. “My aunt drove me crazy. When she comes to visit, she takes over the household. I couldn’t find a thing in the kitchen since she moved things where she thinks they should be.”

  “Mr. Walker walked around in a gloomy mood, as well, but he seemed better this morning. He told me not to fuss yesterday and that sandwiches would be fine for dinner,” Geraldine said. “He’s such a thoughtful man.”

  “Tell me, Geraldine: is Abe the one we’re to call to move heavy things for us if we have the need?” Kate had wondered ever since Ethel had told her Abe had come to turn the mattresses for her. She thought she might get Abe in to move something for her, which would give her an excuse to talk to him.

  “No, Jeb’s the one who does that. Abe's strictly a ranch hand. He works out in the fields with the cattle, fences, and things like that. Jeb’s job is to work in the stables, running errands, milk the cows, clean the stalls, and stuff like that.”

  Kate wondered why Ethel would have called Abe instead of Jeb to turn the mattresses. It would be very difficult to strike up a conversation with him, now.

  “Is there a relationship going on between Ethel and Abe, by any chance?” Kate asked.

  “Oh, no! I don’t think so,” Geraldine said. “I’ve never seen them together.”

  “He’d probably be too young for Ethel anyway, right?” Kate asked.

  “Actually, Abe is older than he looks, and Ethel is younger than she looks."

  Geraldine said. “How old do you think Ethel is?”

  “Hmm,” Kate said, pondering. “About forty?”

  “Yes. How did you guess?”

  “Jer—Mr. Walker told me once that he'd never hired anyone for the house under forty before.” Kate hoped Geraldine hadn't caught her slip—she and Jeremy had to be careful.

  .

  “Well, Abe is thirty-eight, unmarried, and on the ornery side, and Ethel is forty-two. Come to think of it,” Geraldine added with a wink, “both being irritable, they would make the perfect pair.”

  It bothered Kate all day that Abe had been upstairs to turn the mattresses for Ethel, and she had to ask herself why.

  Kate tried to sort the clues by writing a timeline of the events that had occurred since her arrival starting with Jeremy giving her, Geraldine and Ethel, the second floor bedrooms. Later, that same morning, Abe had turned the mattresses in the new rooms they’d be sleeping in. It was that same afternoon she’d found Helen’s body in the root cellar. On her ride the next day, she’d found the hole in the fence and saw her old home. Later in the evening, she and Jeremy took a walk to her old family home. Finally, on Saturday afternoon, she and Jeremy walked back to her old homestead and went inside. Each of the events seemed normal enough except—it should have been Jeb, not Abe, helping Ethel.

  She sat back and looked at her list of events and times. She paid special attention to what had gone on just before Helen had been found because someone had to have put Helen in the cellar between noon and six in the afternoon. Could there be a connection between Abe’s having helped Ethel and Helen’s body being found? Or was it just her vivid imagination taking over? She folded the paper containing the timeline and put it in her pocket; she’d have to show it to Jeremy later.

  Jeremy came home from work as Kate bustled around the kitchen, making the finishing touches to his dinner. She knew he’d gone to wash up. They had to continue acting like employer and housekeeper. She just wouldn’t look him in the eyes because, if she did, she knew her love for him would surely show. She froze while stirring her gravy. What had she just thought? Was it love? Surely, it couldn’t be love, not yet. Still…

  She wondered just how good an actor Jeremy could be.

  He walked into the kitchen and sat down at his place setting, as he usually did. She gave him a brusque greeting, filled his plate, and set it in front of him. He looked at the plate.

  “This looks fantastic.” He seemed to be trying to avoid looking at her, too, as he stared at his plate. “I love roast beef.”

  Kate knew he was trying hard not to look at her, so she walked back to the stove. “I’m glad. Let me know if you need seconds, but there is a dessert.”

  She settled down at the old wooden table with Ethel and Geraldine to eat her dinner. She could see Jeremy from where she sat so she’d be able to see when he was ready for dessert. He always laid down his fork and sat back with a sigh when he’d finished eating. When she saw him lay down his fork, she rose and brought him a bowl of rice pudding with a cherry on top. Jeb had picked her a whole bucket of cherries and she was planning to make a cherry pie for the next day’s dessert.

  He thanked her without looking at her
. As she walked away he said, “By the way, I’ve eaten too much again today. Would you like to accompany me for a walk after our tea?”

  She stopped, turned her head in his direction, and said, “Good idea. I’ll look forward to it.”

  When she got back to her table, Ethel had already left, but Geraldine was still sitting there, eating her peas, one at a time.

  “I hear you and Mr. Walker are going for another walk. Is there something brewing between the two of you?” she asked.

  “I think he’s become a bit more comfortable with me, but other than that, no—at least, not on my part. He likes to get some exercise, and I enjoy getting out of the house. I think he feels badly that I had to find Helen’s body the way I did, and he’s trying to make it up to me. Most of the time he talks about his childhood and how he started his lumberyard.”

  “It's a shame—you two would be perfect for each other,” Geraldine said. “I’d hoped…well, I suppose it’s none of my business, but I’ve felt sorry for Jeremy getting bound to that horrible woman. Someday, I hope he’ll find someone who’ll treat him like he deserves to be treated; he’s a wonderful man.”

  “That’s so thoughtful of you, Geraldine. I’m sure he’ll find someone eventually. He’s very handsome.”

  “He is. I wish I were twenty years younger, myself,” she said playfully.

  “Have you ever been married, Geraldine?” Kate asked the woman who looked about fifty, with salt and pepper hair and a stocky build.

  “I married, years ago, to a wonderful man,” Geraldine said. “We had just a few months together before the Civil War interrupted our marriage. He was killed at Lexington.”

  “Oh, no. I’m so sorry. Darned wars!”

  “He died for a good cause, in the union army. He joined because he didn’t think anyone should be owned and abused by another person.” Geraldine sighed wistfully. “I think he would have joined even if he knew he’d be killed. He felt very strongly on the issue of slavery.”

  “Then he’d be happy in heaven knowing the North won the war,” Kate said.

  “For sure he’s in heaven. He was a good, God-fearing man—oh, why’d I use that term? God isn’t to be feared. Why do people use that phrase?” Geraldine asked. “Everyone used to say that when I was growing up, and I always pictured God sitting on His throne with a frown, glaring at those of us who’d sinned.”

  “How do you picture him now?” Kate asked.

  “He’s smiling and has love in His eyes. His hands aren’t balled into fists, but He’s holding them out to us,” Geraldine said. “He loves us so much, He sent his own son to earth to save us from our sins. Does He sound like a God we need to fear?”

  “Certainly not! That’s beautiful, Geraldine. I think you’ve changed the image I had of him, too,” Kate said. “He is our Father, after all.”

  “Well,” Kate said as she pushed her chair back and stood up. “I see Mr. Walker has finished his dessert. I’ll serve his tea in the sitting room so we can discuss household matters, though I seldom have much in the way of news. Everyone here does their job and keeps out of trouble.”

  Chapter 12

  As soon as Kate and Jeremy were around the bend in the road and couldn’t be seen from the house, she slid her arm through his. He pressed it to his side and smiled down at her.

  “Have I done well with my acting?” he asked.

  “We were both excellent,” she said, “unless someone noticed we never looked at each other.”

  “I can’t look at you because I don’t trust myself not to show my affection,” he said. “Dare I hope you’re doing the same?”

  “I may be,” she said with a flirting smile.

  “Come this way,” he said, leading her through a wooded area. “We’re still on my property. I’ll show you my secret hideaway.”

  “Hideaway?”

  “Yes, where I go when I want to be alone.”

  After walking for a couple of minutes, they came to a small clearing in the woods surrounded by forest on all sides. An ornate bench sat in the center of a bare spot.

  Kate gazed around the area. “This is cozy.”

  “Have a seat,” he said, taking a seat and patting the bench beside him.

  She hadn’t been in the seat two seconds before she found herself in his arms.

  “I thought about this all day,” he said. “I remembered this place and planned to take you here. If there is ever an emergency and you need to escape the house, come here. No one knows about it.

  “I cleared this area a few years ago and brought the bench here. I needed a place to get away from my father on the days he acted more ornery than usual.”

  He pulled her onto his lap. “Now it’s our place.” He pressed her close, placed his lips tenderly on hers, and then pulled away. He did this several times until Kate became frustrated and held the back of his head to keep his lips on hers for a prolonged, passionate kiss.

  “Mmm,” he said, “I like your initiative.”

  “You’re a tease,” she said, looking into his dark gray eyes. She ran her fingers through his thick, dark hair. “So, you like it when I’m the aggressor.”

  “Yes, I do,” he said. “It gives me confidence that you want to kiss me as much as I want to kiss you.” He bent down and kissed her again, passionately. “I’m starting to feel something I’ve never felt before, but I’m afraid to say the word.”

  She reached up and pulled his head down to her lips for another passionate kiss.

  “Again, I agree, and feel the same way,” she said. “Could we just stay here forever?”

  “It’s so serene here, I wish we could. I plan to build a small cabin on this spot,” he said.

  “That would be a marvelous idea,” she said. “Listen to the different bird calls; this is a lovely place.”

  “It’s never been as lovely as it is today,” he said, hugging her to him. “Kate, Kate, Kate…what will I do with you?” He stroked her face. “You’re driving me out of my mind! I can’t think straight, I see your face everywhere I turn, and I’m afraid I’m hopelessly in love. There—I’ve said the word.”

  Kate’s heart thumped hard in her chest as she looked up at him and whispered softly, “I love you, too.”

  He stood and pulled her up with him. He stared down at her, piercing her with now serious eyes. “That’s why I want you to go home. I can’t bear to have you in such danger.”

  “If I go home, we won’t be able to see each other like this. Griff would never allow it,” she said. “I need to help clear your name.”

  I’d rather never see you again than have you hurt or killed,” he said. “I mean it—I love you too much.” He hugged her to him tightly.

  “Give me one more week, Jeremy, and then I promise I’ll leave,” she said.

  “I don’t know, I’m so afraid—”

  “I’ll be careful, please!” she begged.

  “All right. When you go home for church on Sunday I don’t want you to come back,” he said. “I’ll find a way to clear my name and then I’ll come for you. I want to court you properly.”

  Kate knew she had to find something before Sunday, and she knew where she’d start—Geraldine.

  After lunch the following day, when Ethel had gone back upstairs, Kate had her chance.

  “Geri, who do you think killed Helen?” Kate asked.

  “Maybe Jake.”

  Kate could only stare at Geraldine. “What? Why Jake?”

  Geraldine moved closer to Kate and practically whispered, “I think he and Helen had something going on.”

  Kate forced herself to act nonchalantly with her answer. “Why would you think that?”

  “I saw them laughing together a few times and Jake hugged her,” Geraldine said. “I didn’t think much of it—until she turned up dead.”

  “How many times did you see them together?” Kate asked.

  “She went out to the garden every day to sit near where Jake was working, talking to him," Geraldine said. “But I onl
y saw them hug once. I think it might have been the day before she went missing.”

  “What about Abe?” Kate asked.

  “I don’t know him well,” Geraldine answered. “I hardly ever see him.”

  “And Jeb?”

  “He’s as gentle as a kitten. I very much doubt he could hurt anyone. Jeb cried when they had to put a horse down last year. No, he didn’t care for Helen—none of us did except for Jake, really,” Geraldine said. “That’s why he’s the killer in my mind.”

  After she got her dinner in the oven, Kate went upstairs to sneak into the room Helen had used. The door was closed, so after entering, she closed it behind her. Once again, she searched the room. Surely, there would be something there.

  She opened the dresser drawers, rummaging through the clothes. She froze when she came across a ribbon with silver threads woven through it, just like the one she found in her family’s homestead. She slipped it into her pocket.

  In the bottom drawer, she found a wadded up piece of paper. She opened it carefully to see it was a letter to someone named Kenneth. She skimmed it, recognized it as a love letter, and slipped it into her pocket. She then turned to the closet and went through the pockets of every dress or skirt. In one pocket, she found an envelope addressed to Helen. The return address read, "Kenneth Otto, Hays Hotel." It was no wonder Griff couldn’t find him—Otto was his surname, not his given name. She pocketed that, too, but hadn't found the letter that had been inside the envelope.

  After looking inside shoes and under the bed, Kate finally sat down on the floor having decided there were no other places to look, when she spotted something beneath the dresser. She got down on her hands and knees and reached for the object.

  She scooped up a folded piece of paper and slipped it into her pocket. She straightened, opened the bedroom door a crack, peered around, and stepped out into the hall, closing the door behind her.

  Walking stealthily to her own room, she safely entered and silently closed the door. Once seated on a chair by the window, she emptied her pockets of the crumpled letter, the folded paper, the ribbon, and the envelope.