Mama knelt on the floor next to Lena, speaking softly to her, telling her how good the tea would be for her and for the baby. “Just open your mouth like a little bird.”

  Lena, as entranced with Mama as we all seemed to be, obeyed. Mama lifted the cup to Lena’s lips and tilted it just right. Mothers know how to do these things, I thought. Nurse the sick, comfort the brokenhearted, love unconditionally even when we’d made terrible mistakes. Motherhood made a woman strong, more capable than she ever thought she’d be.

  “Will the tea be good for the baby?” Delphia blurted out. “Or will it cause her to miscarry?”

  “It is all right,” Mrs. Wu said. “Not for getting rid of baby.”

  Good God, there was something that did that? This whole day had been quite educational. I think I preferred naiveté after all.

  Lena swallowed the entire cup of the potion. Mrs. Wu gestured for Delphia and me to leave. “Leave this to us. We take care of her and fix her up for whatever happens next.”

  What would happen next? Delphia and I locked eyes before filing out of the bathroom. Once back in our room, we fell into each other’s arms. My sister was shaking like an aspen leaf in the autumn, and I soothed her, even though I was also overcome with the day’s events and the unanswered questions. What about Lena and the baby? What about the poor boy she loved? Would Mr. Masters toss them aside like trash? All of this would have to wait. For now, we had to save her life.

  What about James and me? With his father here, how could he do anything but his bidding? They’d surrounded James like wolves. Would he be strong enough to tell him what he truly wanted?

  Yes, I thought. He would be. He would do it for us. For me.

  21

  JAMES

  I sat listening to the three men who had such influence over my life discuss politics and business without really hearing them. Alexander, although polite, was not his usual jovial self, and mostly nodded or answered a question if asked. I could tell that the situation with his daughter and me weighed heavily upon him. As it did me, of course.

  The revelation that Lena loved another man hadn’t fully sunk in when we were speaking earlier. But now, as I sat here, I thought about how tortured she must have been. Forced to leave him behind when all she wanted was to stay with him. Or was this man a scoundrel like Jesse? Had he rejected her, too? No, that wasn’t what she’d said. Her father forbade her to continue on because he was poor. Masters couldn’t let his daughter have what she wanted. I couldn’t understand why. It wasn’t like my family, who needed a good marriage to save them. He was cruel and unfair, claiming to love his daughter but only if she did what he wanted.

  The clock in the corner of the room ticked away the seconds and seemed to say: tell him, tell him, tell him.

  However, something was happening upstairs that kept me silent. Whatever it was had dragged Quinn from the conversation. Delphia hadn’t looked at me when she’d come into the room, breathless and red-faced. She’d gone to her mother and whispered something in her ear. Whatever it was she said had caused Quinn to jump to her feet so abruptly that a vase rattled and would have fallen over had I not snatched it up at the last second.

  As much relief that Lena’s confession and absolution had given me, the worst of it was yet to come. I had to tell our fathers. My stomach clenched at the thought. They could not force me, I told myself. It would be only my guilt that would hold me back. I thought of Addie’s face when she laughed or when she was pensive, waiting for the next sentence to come to her, and such a longing filled me that I could no longer stay silent.

  My mother and sister could come here. They would not be on the streets. My father would have to find another way.

  “Excuse me,” I said, interrupting Masters, who was talking about the evil of taxes on the rich. “I have something to say.”

  All three men turned to me. Alexander’s eyebrows raised before he gave me a nod of encouragement. I took hold of it with all my might. I would be part of this family. Where I belonged. To whom I belonged.

  “What is it?” Father asked, sharply and with his usual impatience whenever I spoke.

  “I’m not going to marry Lena. I’m in love with Addie Barnes. I can’t in good conscience marry another. Lena knows. She doesn’t want to marry me, either. We’ve spoken and decided to call off the engagement.”

  “Well done, son,” Alexander said quietly. His eyes sparkled with goodwill. He was on my side. I must take courage from it. Right now, however, my insides quivered. I thought I might be sick.

  “You must be mad.” My father turned the color of a boiled beet. “It’s already done. We’ve decided. Worked it all out.”

  “This is ridiculous.” Masters lurched out of his chair with such violence that I thought he might punch me. “It’s not up to you, young man.” Despite his threatening countenance, his voice sounded controlled and even. Yet I knew the anger simmered just under the surface ready to burn me at any moment. “We’ve made an agreement. One you cannot decide, upon some whim about some twit of a girl, to disregard. My daughter’s reputation is at stake.”

  “Twit of a girl?” Alexander said. “That’s my beloved daughter you’re talking about.”

  “Whatever she is,” Masters said, “is no concern of mine. It’s my own daughter I’m trying to save here.”

  I took in a deep breath, gathering courage. Addie. I must do this for us. “Lena and I want to marry for love, and we don’t love each other. You know as well as I that she loves another.”

  This time the pot boiled over and Masters shouted at me, spittle flying through the air. “That’s a bald-faced lie. She adores you. You’re all she’s ever wanted.”

  “Even if that were true,” I said, “would you really want her to marry a man who doesn’t love her?”

  “I don’t give two figs about love,” Masters said, still shouting. “Money runs the world, not love.”

  “Not in Emerson Pass,” Alexander said, calmly. “Here love wins. Always.” He stood, facing Masters head-on. “I mean you no harm, Maxwell.” He turned to my father. “Nor you, Mr. West. I’m sincerely sorry for your troubles. However, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave my home. James loves my daughter, which makes him part of my family. And I always protect my own.”

  “That’s what I’m doing, you blasted idiot.” Masters glared at Alexander. “My daughter’s in trouble. I need James to marry her. He must marry her.

  “Do you see, Father, what’s happened here? Masters was using me to hide the fact that his daughter got into trouble with one of the staff. They’d announce after the honeymoon that we were having a child. No one would do the math too carefully.” I turned to Masters. “‘The baby came early,’ you’d tell everyone as you handed out cigars. Meanwhile, your daughter would be miserable. I would be miserable. Both of us trapped because you won’t let her marry the man she loves.”

  “What if I were using you to cover up my daughter’s terrible mistake?” Masters shook with rage. “Your father needs financial rescuing. You want to keep your job. Lena needs a husband. We all get what we want.”

  “Why do you care?” I asked, bold now. “Why not just let her marry this man, poor or not? What does it matter to you? That’s the part I don’t understand. It’s not as if you need the money like my dear old dad here.”

  “It matters because I would be humiliated in front of all the people who so badly want to keep me out of their world. If I allow her to marry the gardener—what does that say about us?”

  My father’s voice trembled. “Please, James, you have to do it. For me. For your sister and mother.”

  “You’d have me marry a woman pregnant with another man’s child?” I asked.

  “If it saves us, yes. You, my son, could save us with this one unselfish act. You’d be the family hero.” Father’s earlier anger had changed into a simpering cajoling. He would be nice to me until he got what he wanted. Not this time.

  “You must save yourself, Father. You got yourself into the mess, and you must get out of it.”

  “You’ll never work in publishing again,” Masters said. “Your precious book career—all will be lost. Is it really worth it? This idea of love?”

  I closed my eyes for a brief moment as images of the last month played before my eyes. Addie on the swing. Addie laughing by the creek. Addie’s tear-filled eyes when she admitted her feelings for me. Kissing her soft mouth, feeling the way her body yielded to me. “I would walk to the ends of the earth for Addie Barnes. I’d even turn my back on my family and the career I love to be with her. At first, I couldn’t imagine being responsible for the downfall of my family. This career I love—I’ve worked so hard to get where I am—it will hurt deeply to lose it. But none of that matters. Because now I know that without her, nothing has any meaning. Without her, I would be lost, regardless of how convenient your money made everything, Mr. Masters.” I glanced at Alexander. “I belong here anyway. It’s been my home since the very first summer I came here with Fiona and Li. I’ll find another career and make a family with Addie.” I faced my father, making myself look him in the eye even though his anger frightened me. “Father, I’m sorry for your troubles. I truly am. I wanted to save you. I thought more than anything I wanted to be the hero in our family story. For that matter, all I’ve ever wanted was for you to love me and be proud of me. There was this hole where you should have been. It’s filled now with someone else. I have Addie’s father now. He doesn’t make me beg for approval or understanding. He sees me for who I am, who I want to be. He notices me and respects me. I never knew what that was like until I came into this house.”

  I was saved from further reprimand from Father when a noise at the front door proved to be Theo, carrying his medical bag. From the hallway came the sound of footsteps and then Quinn’s voice. “Darling, thank goodness you’re here. Lena’s in the bathroom upstairs.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Theo and his mother dart past the doorway of the sitting room toward the stairs.

  “What is wrong?” Masters asked Alexander. “Why is he here?”

  I couldn’t hear his reply because of the buzzing between my ears. What had Lena done to herself? She’d been hopeless, I realized now. There didn’t seem to be any solution to her problem. She simply wanted to end her suffering. She’d thought we’d all be better off without her.

  “You did this.” Masters lunged for me, but I was too quick and jumped up and out of his way.

  “No, you did this.” I pointed a finger at him. “This is all because of you. She loves him. Why can’t you let her have him? Wouldn’t it be better than having her kill herself? And the baby? Think about the baby.”

  Mr. Masters paled and staggered backward into a chair. “Why does she want him? He’s nothing. Trash.”

  “The question is not about her,” Alexander said. “We do not choose who we love in this life. The question is about you. Do you love your daughter enough to forgive her and welcome her back into your home regardless of who she’s married to or the mistake she made? It’s up to you now. You must stand up for your daughter.”

  Mr. Masters’s arrogant expression drained from his face and was replaced by one of bewilderment. His aggressive stance seemed to dissipate as his hands dropped to his sides. “What if…what if…” Masters couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud.

  But we all knew. What if she didn’t make it?

  “What will I do then?” Mr. Masters asked, his voice breaking. “She’s all I have.”

  “Oh, for God’s sake.” My father’s entire being trembled with rage. “What’s it matter? You’re rich. You can buy a new daughter if you want. What do I have?” He jabbed a red finger in my direction. “All I’ve got is this miserable excuse for a son. My own boy deserting his family. Can you imagine that, Masters? Would you boo-hoo about that?”

  Alexander was on his feet by then. He grabbed my father by the shoulders and spoke to him quietly but firmly. “You, sir, are no longer welcome in my home. I’ll arrange for tickets home. You will depart on the late-afternoon train.”

  “Leave it to me, Barnes,” Masters said. “I’ll send him back.”

  “Please, Masters, take pity on me.” My father whined now, ridiculous and small. I was no longer afraid of him. He was a worm, not worthy of my love or fear. “The same arrangement we talked about can still work.”

  “But what do you give me?” Masters said. “What could you possibly have that would entice me into rescuing you and your family?”

  “You could feel like a good man,” Father said. “A man who keeps his word. Unlike my poor excuse of a son.”

  I blinked away tears. How had I spent so much of my life trying to please this unfeeling man? No matter what I did, it would never be enough.

  “Father, go now. No one wants you here, especially me.”

  “What do I tell your mother?” His lips parted in a snarl, revealing pink gums and his slightly crooked teeth.

  “Tell her the truth.” I was amazed at how calm I felt. Relieved, too. I was finally free of this web he’d woven to trap me. He’d been doing this all my life, and I’d allowed him to. No more. I was a grown man, one who could make whatever life I wanted. With Addie. “Tell her you were trying to trick me into marriage to save yourself. Admit that you love no one but yourself.”

  “You’ll rot in hell,” Father said, sputtering. “All of you will. Turning on a man like this.”

  “Jasper will help you with your bags,” Alexander said. “Safe travels.”

  And that was that. My father, out of ideas of ways to get what he wanted, stalked out of the room and my life. I knew this would be the last time I ever saw him or spoke to him. I thought I would feel something other than relief, but that was not the case.

  Alexander and I sat with Masters and waited for Theo or Quinn to come with word of Lena. I sat quietly and prayed as hard as I’d ever prayed. I prayed for Lena’s recovery and for her father’s heart to soften and for the unborn baby and his or her father.

  “How did you do it, Barnes?” Mr. Masters said, startling me from my sudden piousness. “Raise all these daughters without losing your faculties?”

  Alexander smiled. “It’s not always been easy. They’re all different and have had various troubles. We’ve just dealt with them as they come.”

  “What would you do?” Mr. Masters asked him. “If one of yours wanted to marry someone completely wrong for her?”

  “I think our definition of who is right or wrong for our daughters is different,” Alexander said. “I’ve never cared about their wealth or position but rather their potential.”

  “Potential? What do you mean, Barnes? Are we talking business sense?

  “Not really, no. I judge them on what I believe is their aptitude for giving my daughter a joyful and love-filled life.”

  “That’s just it. She marries this…this gardener—and her life will be miserable. How will they support her and a baby? She’ll live in squalor like my mother did and grow old and bitter before she turns twenty-five. He’ll end up leaving her, just like my father did, and then where will she be?”

  “Offer him a position working for you,” I said, blurting it out even though no one had asked for my opinion.

  “Preposterous,” Mr. Masters said. “He knows nothing about business and has no education. What would I have him do?”

  “Start him out in an entry-level position,” Alexander said. “Give him a chance to prove himself. Like you did.”

  “Like I did?” Mr. Masters scowled.

  Alexander continued. “You worked hard and made clever decisions and now instead of living in squalor, as you put it, you’re one of the richest men in America. Isn’t that what you believe in? What you’ve done? It would be easy for you to give him a chance. Easier than losing your daughter, isn’t it? And a grandchild? You’ve no idea the joy a child of your child will bring you.”

  “What would I tell people about him?” Masters asked. “That my daughter married a gardener?”

  “Tell them he’s an American,” Alexander said. “And in America, we have the chance to better ourselves—to become more than our father was. A little help from you, Masters, and the boy might surprise you. I’m sure you’ve surprised people along the way.”

  “People underestimated me,” Masters said. “That gave me more ambition, just to prove them wrong.”

  “My point exactly,” Alexander said.

  “He might be dumb as a block of wood for all I know.” Masters rubbed his temples as if his head hurt. It probably did. Remarkably, the ache behind my eye had disappeared.

  Masters sighed and looked down at his hands. “I’ve made a shambles of things, haven’t I? To take her own life? Because of me. If she doesn’t make it, I shall never forgive myself. It’s only that I’ve wanted to give her everything this world can offer. The life my mother never got, or Lena’s mother, either. They both died before I could give them what they deserved. But Lena? She’s been my pride and joy. My everything.”

  “You can make this right,” Alexander said. “God willing, you’ll have a chance.”

  22

  ADDIE

  From up above, Delphia and I watched as James’s father got into the back seat of one of our cars. Jasper, who apparently would drive him to the station, put Mr. West’s suitcases into the trunk.

  “He’s going?” Delphia whispered. “What’s happened?”

  “I don’t know.” We knew nothing, other than we’d seen Theo’s arrival and heard hushed voices behind the closed door of the guest room where they were hopefully making Lena better.

  Jasper got in the car and pulled out of the driveway, faster than usual, I noted, with some humor.

  “What could have happened?” Delphia asked again, then answered her own question. “James told him. That has to be it. He finally told him he can’t marry Lena.”