“No. I imagine she was left at home.” He almost choked on his own breath when he realized what Tansy was implying. “You don’t think . . . It’s not possible.”
“Of course it is. If a man is awful enough to lie to his own children and steal from others, what’s to keep him from putting his only daughter in harm’s way too? And wouldn’t it make sense to force her to dress as a boy?”
It was a horrible thought, that Isabella might have been involved in some way. And yet it explained so much.
Hale let out a shuddering breath and leaned his face into his hands. How did this keep getting worse? “I have to ask her. If she’ll even speak to me.” He dropped his hands. “She’s kept her distance from me ever since we returned. She didn’t say a word to me on the walk back to town.”
“She’s upset. Give her the night and speak to her in the morning.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. The last thing he wanted to do was confront Isabella with some other awful suspicion. “If it’s true, I don’t even know if I’m supposed to be angry with her for keeping something else from me, or sympathetic for what she was made to do.”
Tansy reached across the desk and squeezed his arm. “You’re allowed to be both. But keep in mind that if she participated, she’s probably ashamed. Especially after hearing what the sheriff told you about her father’s selfishness.”
Hale shook his head, trying to make sense of it all. “What am I supposed to do if that is her on that poster? Am I supposed to turn my own wife over to the sheriff?” He couldn’t imagine it. Even at his most upset, he couldn’t see Isabella sitting in a jail cell.
Tansy sat back again, wrapping her arms around herself. “I don’t know.” She paused. “Have you . . . I don’t like saying this at all. But have you considered sending her away?”
“Divorcing her? You needn’t be so delicate,” Hale said with a humorless laugh. “And no, I won’t do that.”
“Hale . . .”
“I made her a promise, and I intend to keep it, no matter what trials come our way.” He stood, putting a close to the conversation.
“All right. Eat your supper. I’ll come back for the plate.” Tansy rose and left quietly.
Hale stared down at the plate of ham and beans. It was cold now, and he wasn’t hungry. Not after this latest revelation.
You don’t know for certain, he reminded himself as he fell back into the chair.
But he did know. Tansy’s idea explained everything. Everything except why Isabella had kept it from him yesterday, though.
He pushed the plate aside and tried to think through the entries on the ledger. But try as he might, his mind couldn’t slow down enough to analyze the column of sums.
What if it was true, he said nothing, and the sheriff eventually figured it out? What would happen then? It would certainly spell trouble for Isabella. Would he and Tansy find themselves in jail alongside her for keeping her secret? There would be no one to run the boardinghouse. It would close, but it wouldn’t matter because they’d be finding themselves sentenced to prison too. He could hardly imagine Isabella in prison, much less Tansy.
Have you considered sending her away? Tansy’s despicable suggestion floated through his mind again. He didn’t want to think about it. He didn’t want to give it any credence at all.
But what if there wasn’t any other choice?
Chapter Sixteen
“I’M SO SORRY,” ABIGAILRegis said. “I only just took on someone else to help me. I’m afraid we don’t have enough work for another person.”
“Oh.” Izzy tried not to show her disappointment. Abigail was a long-time resident of the boardinghouse, and the last thing Izzy wanted was to make her feel uncomfortable.
