Chapter 10 - A Mother in Everything but Blood
Samuel wanted to obtain a search order.
The judge refused.
A child’s memory, fourteen months old, was not enough to authorize searching Percival’s possessions.
So they waited.
Evelyn hated waiting.
She hated it more when Percival’s lawyers used the second day of hearings to attack Josiah.
A mine superintendent testified that Josiah sometimes remained away overnight.
A former tutor said the household became chaotic after Clara’s death.
A doctor described Abigail’s mutism.
Percival’s attorney asked the obvious question.
“Mr. Whitmore, did you seek adequate treatment?”
Josiah sat on the witness stand.
“I brought physicians.”
“How many?”
“Five.”
“And when none succeeded?”
“I tried others.”
“Did you reduce your business responsibilities?”
A pause.
“Not enough.”
Evelyn looked at him.
Percival’s attorney sensed weakness.
“So while your children suffered profound emotional trauma, you continued expanding your mines?”
“Yes.”
“You became richer.”
“Yes.”
“And they remained silent.”
“Yes.”
“Would you describe that as good parenting?”
Samuel objected.
The judge allowed Josiah to answer.
“No.”
A murmur filled the room.
The attorney seemed surprised.
Josiah continued.
“I failed them.”
Evelyn’s throat tightened.
“I loved them. I provided everything money could buy. Tutors. Doctors. Clothes. Security.”
He looked toward his daughters.
“But I was grieving, and I mistook providing for them for being present with them.”
Percival’s lawyer recovered.
“So Mr. Harrington is correct?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I know I failed.”
Josiah looked toward Percival.
“And I changed.”
His eyes moved to Evelyn.
“My wife showed me what my daughters needed.”
Something in her chest broke open.
“Not another employee. Not another doctor. Us.”
Percival’s lawyer glanced toward Evelyn.
“You married Mrs. Whitmore after knowing her less than one hour.”
“Yes.”
“A desperate act?”
“Absolutely.”
Another murmur.
“But I have made profitable decisions with less information.”
Laughter erupted.
The judge struck his gavel.
Even Evelyn smiled.
“Did you love Mrs. Whitmore when you married her?”
Everything inside Evelyn stopped.
Samuel objected.
Percival’s attorney argued motive.
The judge allowed it.
Josiah looked at Evelyn.
“No.”
It should not have hurt.
She knew.
But hearing it publicly felt like a door closing.
The attorney smiled.
“So this marriage was fraudulent.”
“No.”
“How can you say that?”
“Marriage does not require a man to be in love on the first day.”
“Convenient.”
Josiah never looked away from Evelyn.
“You asked whether I loved her then.”
The courtroom seemed to disappear.
“You did not ask whether I love her now.”
Evelyn stopped breathing.
Percival’s attorney froze.
Samuel’s mouth fell open.
Josiah’s eyes remained fixed on hers.
The judge cleared his throat.
The attorney hurried to another question.
Evelyn heard none of it.
Josiah loved her.
Or said he did.
No.
Josiah was not a man who said things lightly.
She knew that much.
After court, Evelyn escaped behind the building.
She needed air.
Josiah found her.
“You shouldn’t have said that.”
“Why?”
“Because now everyone knows.”
“I don’t care.”
“I do.”
His face changed.
“That isn’t what I meant.”
“What did you mean?”
She turned away.
He stepped closer.
“Evelyn.”
“You married me because you needed me.”
“Yes.”
“Then Percival told me you would never love someone like me.”
Josiah’s expression darkened.
“You listened to him?”
“No.”
She laughed shakily.
“Yes.”
He moved in front of her.
“What does ‘someone like you’ mean?”
“You know.”
“No.”
“Josiah.”
“I want you to say it.”
She hated him a little for that.
“Poor.”
He waited.
“Uneducated by their standards.”
He waited.
Her voice dropped.
“Big.”
Understanding reached him.
Evelyn looked away.
“Men have been explaining what is wrong with my body since I became old enough for them to notice it.”
Josiah’s expression became something between sorrow and anger.
“Look at me.”
She refused.
He gently lifted her chin.
“You think I married you despite the way you look?”
Evelyn’s eyes burned.
“I think you married me because your daughters needed me.”
“That’s true.”
Pain flashed.
Then he continued.
“And I wake every morning trying not to stare at you.”
She blinked.
His mouth curved slightly.
“You are the most distracting woman I have ever met.”
Evelyn stared.
“You have absolutely no skill at romance.”
“I had one wife for eleven years. I’m out of practice.”
Despite herself, she laughed.
He touched her cheek.
“Evelyn.”
His voice softened.
“I did not love you when I married you.”
“I know.”
“I think some part of me started the moment you stood between that dog and my girls.”
Her breath caught.
“And the rest has been occurring inconveniently ever since.”
She smiled through tears.
“That may be the least romantic declaration ever made.”
“I can try again.”
“No.”
She stepped closer.
“It was perfect.”
Then she kissed him.
Not because of the court.
Not because of the arrangement.
Not because the girls were watching.
They were not.
She kissed him because she wanted to.
Josiah froze for one heartbeat.
Then his arms came around her.
The kiss remained gentle.
Careful.
But it changed the marriage.
When they separated, Evelyn rested her forehead against his.
“What happens if we lose?”
“We don’t stop being married.”
Her eyes opened.
“You mean that?”
“Yes.”
“What about the reason you married me?”
“It became irrelevant.”
A courthouse door opened.
Samuel appeared.
He stopped.
“Oh.”
Evelyn stepped back, blushing.
Samuel looked delighted.
“I have interrupted something legal documents rarely improve.”
“What?”
His expression sobered.
“Thomas Vale arrived.”
Josiah straightened.
“Where?”
“Inside.”
“Will he testify?”
“Yes.”
“What does he know?”
Samuel looked toward the courthouse.
“Enough to destroy Percival’s financial case.”
Relief swept through Evelyn.
Then Samuel added:
“But he says the carriage accident had nothing to do with the money.”
Josiah stared.
“What does that mean?”
“He says Percival wasn’t trying to kill Clara.”
A pause.
“He was trying to frighten her.”
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And the person who actually tampered with the carriage, according to Vale, was someone who had been living inside Whitmore House ever since.
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