Chapter 10 - The Things Dela Never Told Him
For seven years, Warren Marsh had controlled rooms simply by entering them.
Bank offices quieted.
Waiters straightened.
Men with less money laughed at jokes that were not funny.
Women smiled because Warren Marsh’s attention could elevate a family’s social standing.
Dela had once mistaken that power for confidence.
Now, standing on a snow-covered street in Granite Falls, she saw something else.
Performance.
Warren’s smile was carefully measured.
His coat immaculate.
His voice controlled.
Everything about him said reasonable husband confronted by unreasonable wife.
“Delilah,” he said, “you look ill.”
Dela almost laughed.
Rufus’s jaw tightened.
Warren noticed him.
“Mr. Conn.”
“Marsh.”
“I understand you’ve been housing my wife.”
“She works for me.”
Warren glanced at Dela.
“Works?”
“Yes.”
“As a servant?”
Dela answered.
“As a housekeeper.”
Warren smiled.
“My poor darling.”
The phrase made her stomach turn.
“You run from a comfortable home to scrub floors for a mountain trapper.”
“I prefer his floors.”
That wiped the smile away.
Briefly.
Warren stepped closer.
Rufus shifted.
Dela touched Rufus’s arm.
Not because she feared him.
Because she wanted to handle this herself.
Warren noticed that too.
His eyes hardened.
“I came to take you home.”
“No.”
“You aren’t well.”
“I am.”
“You stole documents.”
“I preserved evidence.”
His face changed.
There.
That was Warren.
Not the charming husband.
The man behind the locked bedroom door.
He recovered almost instantly.
“What nonsense has this lawyer filled your head with?”
“Hannah Pierce hasn’t filled my head with anything.”
“Then Conn.”
“No.”
Warren looked at Rufus.
“Do you understand what she is?”
Rufus’s expression became cold.
“Careful.”
“She has episodes.”
Dela’s nails pressed into her palms.
“She becomes frightened. Confused. She invents things.”
“Like broken ribs?” Rufus asked.
Warren froze.
Only half a second.
Enough.
Dela saw it.
Rufus saw it.
Warren slowly returned his attention to her.
“You went to a doctor.”
“Yes.”
“I told you—”
He stopped.
Too late.
Dela’s heartbeat changed.
Warren realized the mistake.
Rufus spoke softly.
“You told her what?”
Warren ignored him.
“Come with me, Delilah.”
“No.”
His mouth tightened.
“I am trying to avoid humiliating you publicly.”
“You published my name in newspapers.”
“Because you disappeared.”
“I escaped.”
Several pedestrians had stopped.
Warren noticed.
He lowered his voice.
“Do you really want strangers hearing private matters?”
Dela looked around.
Once that question would have silenced her.
Privacy had been Warren’s favorite weapon.
What happened behind closed doors remained behind them.
Dela raised her voice instead.
“My husband broke three of my ribs.”
Silence swept through the street.
Warren went white.
Rufus stared at her.
Not surprised by the fact.
By the courage.
Dela continued.
“He prevented me from seeing a doctor afterward.”
“Delilah.”
“He repeatedly struck me during our marriage.”
“Stop.”
“Why?”
His control slipped.
“Because you are embarrassing yourself.”
Dela smiled sadly.
“No, Warren.”
She looked directly into his eyes.
“I’m embarrassing you.”
For one instant she thought he might strike her in public.
His hand twitched.
Rufus stepped closer.
Warren saw.
And stopped.
That single movement told Dela more than years of apologies ever had.
Warren could control himself.
He simply had not believed he needed to when they were alone.
Hannah Pierce emerged from her office.
“Mr. Marsh.”
Warren looked at her.
“Miss Pierce.”
“Mrs. Marsh has retained me.”
“She is incompetent to retain counsel.”
“Interesting opinion. The court hasn’t agreed.”
“It will.”
“Then you may make your argument there.”
Warren’s gaze sharpened.
“You’ve seen stolen property.”
Hannah smiled.
“Have I?”
“I’ll have your office searched.”
“Bring a warrant.”
“You think this amusing?”
“Not remotely.”
She descended the steps.
“What I find interesting is how quickly a concerned husband became concerned about documents.”
Warren glared.
Hannah continued.
“A hearing has been requested. Until then Mrs. Marsh remains free to live wherever she chooses.”
“She’s coming with me.”
Dela said, “No.”
Warren turned.
His voice became almost inaudible.
“You will regret this.”
Rufus moved.
Hannah raised a hand.
“Thank you, Mr. Marsh.”
Warren frowned.
“For what?”
“The witnesses.”
He looked around.
Half the street had heard him.
For the first time, uncertainty crossed Warren’s face.
Then he smiled again.
“Enjoy the mountain, Delilah.”
He leaned close enough that only she heard the next words.
“Winter buries many things.”
Then he walked away.
Dela remained still until the carriage disappeared.
Only then did her legs weaken.
Rufus reached for her.
Stopped himself.
“Can I?”
Dela looked at his outstretched hand.
Then placed hers inside it.
“Yes.”
His fingers closed carefully.
Steady.
Warm.
Not ownership.
Support.
That evening they stayed another night in Granite Falls because Hannah advised against traveling while Warren’s men might be nearby.
Dela sat with Rufus near the boardinghouse fireplace.
For a long time neither spoke.
Then Rufus said, “You were brave today.”
“I was terrified.”
“Same thing sometimes.”
She looked at him.
“Rufus?”
“Yeah?”
“There’s something else I never told you.”
His expression became wary.
“More ledgers?”
Despite herself she laughed.
“No.”
“Good.”
She watched the fire.
“I had a child.”
Rufus became very still.
“A daughter.”
Dela swallowed.
“Her name was Clara.”
“What happened?”
“She was born too early.”
Rufus lowered his gaze.
“I’m sorry.”
“She lived two days.”
The old grief rose quietly.
“Warren blamed me.”
Rufus’s head lifted.
“He said I wasn’t strong enough. That I had disappointed him.”
A terrible stillness entered Rufus.
Dela continued.
“I believed him for years.”
“Don’t.”
“I know that now.”
“Good.”
“But after Clara died, something changed. Warren became worse. Or maybe I simply saw him more clearly.”
She wiped one tear away.
“When you said you didn’t want a wife the first day I arrived, I almost laughed.”
“Why?”
“Because I had never wanted to be anyone’s wife again.”
Rufus looked at the fire.
“That still true?”
The question was quiet.
Not a proposal.
Not even an expectation.
Just truth asking truth.
Dela considered.
“I don’t know.”
Rufus nodded.
“That’s allowed.”
She looked at him.
“And you?”
“What?”
“You said you weren’t looking for one.”
“I wasn’t.”
“Wasn’t?”
His eyes met hers.
The room seemed suddenly too warm.
Rufus did not answer.
A knock sounded at the boardinghouse door.
The innkeeper opened it.
A deputy stood outside holding a telegram.
“For Mrs. Marsh.”
Dela accepted it.
Hannah had sent the message from her office only twenty minutes earlier.
She unfolded the paper.
HER HEARING HAS BEEN SET.
Then another line.
THE JUDGE IS EDWIN HARCOURT.
Dela felt the blood leave her face.
Rufus saw.
“What?”
She handed him the telegram.
Rufus read the name.
“Know him?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
May you like
Dela whispered:
“His name is in Warren’s ledger.”
