{"id":5362,"date":"2021-02-16T13:26:45","date_gmt":"2021-02-16T18:26:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whitefire-publishing.com\/read\/?p=5362"},"modified":"2022-08-10T13:50:50","modified_gmt":"2022-08-10T17:50:50","slug":"delia-and-the-drifter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whitefire-publishing.com\/read\/delia-and-the-drifter\/","title":{"rendered":"Delia and the Drifter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Melody Carlson<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

An arranged marriage to save the family from ruin?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delia Blackstone knows what her mother is up to\u2014she intends to marry her off to an older man who is all fortune and no future. And Delia\u2019s having none of it.
When a mysterious visitor appears on the family<\/a> doorstep and offers an opportunity for Delia to travel from Pennsylvania to Colorado, Delia knows it is time for her to strike out on her own and discover a new life. Along the way she encounters a handsome drifter who captures her heart. But is he interested in trading his exciting life of adventure for love?
Two murders, a missing will, and a number of puzzling relationships are enough to unsettle anyone\u2014even smart, capable Delia. Who can she trust? And can she trust her heart in matters of love?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t

Chapter 1<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania<\/p>\n\n\n\n

June 1884<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delia Blackstone never liked feeling suspicious about anyone. Particularly her own mother. But everything changed today. It all started right after breakfast, shortly after Father left the house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delia experienced mild interest when the unexpected stranger showed up at their front door. She didn\u2019t hear the actual words exchanged, but did note the sharp edge in Mother\u2019s voice as she directed the stranger to the front parlor. The old gentleman was obviously not there to see Father, but instead of playing host to the guest, like Mother would normally do, she took Delia aside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI need you go next door at once,\u201d she said abruptly. \u201cAsk Mrs. Taylor if we can borrow her silver punchbowl\u2026for this upcoming weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy can\u2019t I just use the telephone to\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWould I ask you to do an errand that didn\u2019t need doing?\u201d Mother gave her an indignant scowl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI just don\u2019t understand the urgency.\u201d Delia peered toward the front parlor, curious about Mother\u2019s strange behavior. \u201cDo you really need me to go right this\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGood grief, Delia, you never questioned me about every little thing before\u2014I suppose this is just one more delightful reward from your fancy education.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI apologize, Mother.\u201d Delia tried not to react to the sting of harsh words as she agreed to perform what seemed a senseless errand. With her two years of university just finished, Delia was now grappling with her parents\u2019 general disapproval of her. They had grown critical of almost everything. From her schooling, her opinions, her aspirations\u2026even her fashion sense\u2014or lack of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As she hurried next door, Delia intended to keep this visit short. She knew a simple errand to borrow anything from the loquacious Mrs. Taylor could easily turn into a social visit with tea and cakes and questions. To her relief, after waiting several minutes for someone to answer the door, she was informed the Taylors were not at home. She relayed the punchbowl message to the servant, requesting that Mrs. Taylor call her mother later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Delia turned up the walk to her own house, she spied the elderly man already partway down the street. His gait was slow, with a slight limp, as he laboriously made his way toward the streetcar stop. Apparently Mother had little to say to the old man, since it appeared she\u2019d given him his leave quite abruptly. But if that were the case, why was he invited into the front parlor in the first place?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delia hurried inside and discovered her mother descending the stairs with a deeply furrowed brow. \u201cWho was your visitor?\u201d she asked<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo one of concern,\u201d Mother answered briskly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naturally, this only added to Delia\u2019s growing interest. \u201cWhat did he want?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNothing.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThen why did he come here?\u201d Delia studied her mother. Why she was being so secretive about this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI really couldn\u2019t say, Delia.\u201d Mother\u2019s voice was laced with irritation as she smoothed her periwinkle satin skirt. \u201cWhy are you so fascinated by that old man in the first place?\u201d She narrowed her eyes with suspicion. \u201cPerhaps he is a friend of yours?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOf course not. I was simply curious. You are acting so mysteriously, Mother. Almost as if you have something to hide.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can be most impertinent.\u201d She waved a hand. \u201cWhy are you not cloistered in the library with your nose in a book like usual?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecause I have read most of the books in that library. At least the ones that interest me.\u201d Delia followed her mother down the hallway that led to the kitchen. \u201cBut I am<\/em> interested in your stranger\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDelia Adelaide Blackstone!<\/em> Stop being so nosey! Do you honestly imagine that old man\u2019s visit had anything to do with you?\u201d Mother pursed her lips tightly, her signal she was vexed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf he had nothing to do with me, I\u2019d think you\u2019d be more forthcoming.\u201d By now Delia\u2019s curiosity had blossomed into full blown suspicion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHonestly, Delia. I\u2019m worried your fancy schooling has ruined you for all practical purposes. Why did we ever agree to such madness in the first place?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecause Great Aunt Adelaide paid my full tuition before she passed away,\u201d Delia reminded her. \u201cThere was no hope of getting that money back. Furthermore, I was most eager to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, I\u2019m grateful it\u2019s over now. Why a young woman needs so much education is beyond me.\u201d Mother turned into the dining room, making a pretense of rearranging the bowl of pink peonies in the center of the large mahogany table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo you refuse to tell me about your mysterious visitor?\u201d Delia picked up some dropped petals, holding the delicate pieces in her palm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGracious me, Delia, do you think everything<\/em> concerns you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPossibly.\u201d Delia suddenly realized this might be the opportunity she\u2019d been looking for since coming home from university last week. She needed to raise an unsettling subject, one that had grown even more disturbing last night\u2014around this very table. She glanced over her shoulder. It seemed she and Mother were alone. \u201cIt concerns me\u2026that you and Father are very intent on marrying me off,\u201d she said quietly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mother\u2019s brows arched slightly, but her mouth remained a firm line, her eyes averted from Delia\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI suspect that this morning\u2019s visitor is somehow related to your plans, Mother. That might explain why you wish to keep me in the dark about him. Tell me, was your unexpected visitor Henry Horton\u2019s father?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo, no, of course, not.\u201d Mother waved a hand. \u201cThat is perfectly ridiculous. You always imagine things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe man seemed of the right age,\u201d Delia continued. \u201cHenry Horton must be sixty, and that old man looked well beyond eighty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHenry Horton is only fifty-two.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s ten years your senior, Mother. I cannot believe you wish to marry me off to a widower who is even older than my own parents.\u201d She glumly shook her head. \u201cAm I such a burden that you must foist me off on the first man who comes around?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHenry Horton is quite a catch.\u201d Mother scowled. \u201cAs you know, he owns a prosperous steel mill. And as you know, you have no dowry. Furthermore you are not getting any younger, dear. Good grief, you\u2019ll be twenty-one<\/em> in November. I was married by seventeen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo you have told me. Dozens of times.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThen you tell me, Delia, how many men will be interested in an overly educated wife who is getting a bit long in the tooth?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat makes you think Henry Horton is interested<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe told your father as much, just last night. And it wasn\u2019t the first time he\u2019s mentioned you\u2019re a fine-looking woman.\u201d Mother smiled in a catty way. \u201cFather believes Henry plans to make his intentions known very <\/em>soon.\u201d She clasped her hands together. \u201cDo you know how much this pleases us, dear daughter?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure your pleasure has nothing to do with Henry Horton\u2019s wealth.\u201d Delia didn\u2019t like being sarcastic, but sometimes it was impossible to hold back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat, pray tell, is wrong with being rich? Are you complaining that Henry\u2019s family owns one of the finest new steel mills in Pittsburgh? And if you are worried about playing mother to his three sons, don\u2019t concern yourself. The firstborn is older than you and the other two are nearly grown and away at school most of the time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo my wishes don\u2019t matter to you?\u201d Delia peered into her mother\u2019s pale blue eyes. \u201cYou would see me married off to a man I don\u2019t even care for?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou would want for nothing, Delia. You could sit and read books all day if you liked. I hear that Henry has an impressive library with bookshelves that go from the floor to the ceiling. Does that not appeal to you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHaven\u2019t you also heard that books can be borrowed from a lending institution without signing a wedding certificate?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYour education has made you most obstinate, Delia. Not an admirable trait in a wife, I should say.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf wishing to have a say in the choice of my husband is considered obstinate, I suppose you\u2019re right.\u201d Delia suppressed the urge to raise her voice and throw a childish fit. But did her mother truly think that she couldn\u2019t see through this marriage arrangement? Delia knew her parents\u2019 finances were unstable\u2014at best. She\u2019d noticed that some of the servants had been let go this past year, and that some old paintings and costly carpets and furnishings were missing\u2014assumedly sold to cover debt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delia suspected her family\u2019s money concerns were the main reason they were so determined to marry her off to Henry Horton. Never mind that the wealthy widower was short and round with stringy, thinning hair and smelled like stale tobacco and machine oil. Not that Delia was one to judge anyone based solely on appearances. But when she\u2019d spoken with him last night, while he was their guest for dinner, all he\u2019d talked about was the modernizations in his beloved steel factory. And when she remarked about the poor quality of the air near the steel mills, or the fact that many factories were unsafe workplaces, or that she was appalled to hear that they actually employed children, he had gotten rather annoyed with her. Not a good sign for a happy marriage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI should think you would be grateful,\u201d Mother said with a look of dismay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGrateful for what?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat your father and I are looking to your welfare, Delia. You should thank us for caring enough to secure your future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy<\/em> future?\u201d Delia frowned at her mother. \u201cDo you honestly believe that I am unable to\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhere are the twins?\u201d Mother used an urgent tone, as if the eleven-year-olds might be in some kind of imminent danger if left to their own devices\u2014which might be true, but nothing new. Delia recognized the distraction tactic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI saw Julius in his room earlier,\u201d Delia said flatly. \u201cI couldn\u2019t say where Julianne is keeping herself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, if you will excuse me, I must speak to Cook at once.\u201d Mother gave the peonies one last tweak then, with her bustled skirt rustling noisily, hurried toward the kitchen. Delia knew there was no real reason to converse with Cook right now. Mother was simply avoiding her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delia slowly went up the ornately carved staircase, ready to lock herself in her room until she figured a way out of this prearranged engagement plan that seemed to have taken on a life of its own\u2014and without her consent. At the landing she observed Julianne dart down the hallway, away from Delia\u2019s room, with a guilty expression on her pixie face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat were you doing in my room, little sister?\u201d Delia asked pointedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNothing,\u201d Julianne said curtly, and oddly similarly to their mother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThen why were you in there?\u201d Delia persisted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was, uh, looking for something.\u201d Julianne feigned innocence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delia smiled as she patted her sister\u2019s blonde head. \u201cCome clean, little sister. Tell me what you were looking for. Perhaps I can help. Although I can\u2019t imagine I\u2019d have anything of interest to you anyway. Mostly books and\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, but you do.\u201d Julianne brightened. \u201cYour earrings!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delia laughed. \u201cYou mean Great Aunt Adelaide\u2019s earrings?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes.\u201d Julianne nodded eagerly. \u201cThey\u2019re so beautiful.\u201d She frowned. \u201cBut I don\u2019t see why she left them to only you. What about me?\u201d Her lower lip jutted out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou were a very little girl when Auntie passed away,\u201d Delia reminded her. \u201cAnd, as I\u2019ve told you before, I will pass some on to you\u2014but not until you\u2019re old enough to actually wear them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Julianne scowled. \u201cA girl at my school isn\u2019t much older than me, and she wears earrings\u2026sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delia shook her head. \u201cMother would not approve.\u201d She reached for Julianne\u2019s hand, leading her into her room. \u201cBut show me which ones are your favorite. Perhaps they\u2019ll be the ones I give to you on your sixteenth birthday.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Julianne\u2019s eyes grew wide. \u201cTruly?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, as long as you don\u2019t pick my<\/em> favorite ones.\u201d Delia led her over to the dressing table where the carved box that Great Aunt Adelaide had left her was still open. For the most part, Delia wasn\u2019t overly fond of jewelry. And it only seemed fair she should share some of the pieces with her little sister\u2026someday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese<\/em> are my favorites.\u201d Julianne picked up the emerald earrings. Teardrops set in delicate gold filigree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToo bad, little one.\u201d Delia playfully tugged one of Julianne\u2019s ringlets, watching it bounce back into shape. \u201cAunt Adelaide would not approve of your choice. She always said that these emeralds perfectly matched my eyes, and she made me promise to wear them on my wedding day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Julianne scowled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut these beauties.\u201d Delia selected a similar pair with blue topaz stones. \u201cThese match your<\/em> eyes, Julianne.\u201d She held them up to her little sister\u2019s earlobes. \u201cOh, my!\u201d Turning Julianne to face the dresser mirror, she continued. \u201cThese are perfect with your eyes. Look how pretty!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Julianne smiled. \u201cWould you truly give them to me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you are sixteen.\u201d Delia put the earrings back in the carved box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Julianne looked longingly at them. \u201cThat\u2019s so long to wait. Couldn\u2019t I just keep them in my room? Just to look at sometimes?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delia firmly shook her head. She knew Julianne well enough to know she would probably sneak them out to wear to school. Chances are they would be lost long before she turned sixteen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat if I told you a secret?\u201d Julianne said suddenly. \u201cIn exchange for the earrings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA secret?\u201d Delia shrugged with disinterest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes! A secret that concerns you,\u201d<\/em> Julianne declared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat sort of secret?\u201d She suspected it would be related to Henry Horton. Hopefully Mother wasn\u2019t planning an impromptu wedding, although that might explain her sudden need for a silver punchbowl. Come to think of it, Mother had even spoken of weddings last night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was in the parlor when that old man came to the door a little while ago,\u201d Julianne said mysteriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat do you mean\u2014you were eavesdropping?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t intentional, Delia. I sneaked some sugar cookies from the kitchen, and I was eating them in the parlor when I heard Mother send that old man in there. So I had to hide quickly. I got beneath the round table, under the purple tablecloth, and just waited.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou hid in the parlor while Mother talked with her guest?\u201d Delia was both appalled and intrigued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes.\u201d Julianne nodded eagerly. \u201cAnd I got caught too. Now I\u2019m supposed to stay in my room all day as punishment.\u201d She wrinkled her nose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut instead, you go sneaking about in my room?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Julianne shrugged. \u201cI got bored.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo what did you hear?\u201d Delia fiddled with a garnet necklace, feigning disinterest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can\u2019t tell you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you can\u2019t tell me, why bring it up, silly goose?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecause I may<\/em> tell you\u2014if I didn\u2019t have to wait until I\u2019m sixteen for those earrings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat makes you think I want to know your secret that badly?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecause, I told<\/em> you,<\/em> Delia. They were talking about you<\/em>. And if I were you, I would want to know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Was it possible Julianne really had heard whatever transpired between Mother and the elderly stranger? Even if Delia didn\u2019t approve of her little sister\u2019s eavesdropping habits or hints to bribery, wouldn\u2019t she be a fool not to find out about the mysterious visitor? Especially since it concerned her. In all likelihood it was related to this arranged marriage that her parents were so determined to force upon her. She had to know!<\/p>\n\n\n