“Oh, Nick, I’m so sorry. How terrible for you.” She gripped his arm with her hand. “Have you spoken to Papa?”
“Yes. He convinced me to go, in fact.”
She nodded. “He would. He was estranged from his own father once.”
“Yes. He told me about it.”
“He did?” She looked surprised. “He never speaks of it to anyone outside of the family.”
“Maybe he’s starting to think of me as family.” Nick stopped short of asking for her hand. It was too rushed and definitely the wrong time.
They reached the train station just as the ticket office was closing. Nick quickly asked for a ticket on the next train to Boston.
“The trip will take over twenty hours. There’s a layover in Albany,” the stationmaster told him. He handed him the tickets. “You’ll board at four thirty a.m.”
“Thank you.” Nick handed him the money and took the tickets.
Elise watched him, her expression questioning. “You didn’t get a roundtrip ticket.”
He heard the veiled sadness in her voice. “No. I don’t know what I’ll find when I reach Boston. The letter sent to me by Mrs. Schmitt was already over a week old. He may be gone by now.”
She nodded and again put her hand on his arm. “I will pray for you both.”
Elise didn’t feel much like conversation as they sat and shared a meal. She hated that Nick was leaving and she had no way of knowing when—or if—she would see him again.
“I hate that I have to go. I don’t want to be parted from you,” he said.
She looked up from a plate of untouched noodles and sauce. “I know. I don’t wish to be parted from you either. I know it’s the right thing to do, however. I won’t make you feel regret for that. I’ve long prayed that the walls might come down between you and your father.”
“You have?” Nick looked at her oddly. “Why?”
She shrugged and toyed with her noodles. “I know there won’t be any peace in your heart until the issues between you and your father are resolved. You love him, despite everything.”
“I do.” He sat back and seemed to be considering her comment.
“It is the right thing to do, then.” She forced herself to eat a bit of the food.
They ate without talking for several minutes, and to Elise it felt as if a monumental weight had been placed on her shoulders. How was she going to keep Booker Duran under control?
“Is my departure all that’s bothering you tonight?”
Her head snapped up. “Why would you ask that?”
Nick smiled. “I talked with your father. I know your sister is leaving Oswego to escape an abusive husband. I can’t imagine you are bearing that well.”
“No.” Elise forced herself to relax. “She’s so upset, and I cannot make it right for her any more than I can for you.” She smiled. “My mother always had a talent for making bad situations better. I had hoped to inherit some of that skill from her, but it seems I only make things worse.”
“That’s not true.” His voice was full of compassion. “You have made my evening quite a bit better. Your sister will heal in time.”
“It isn’t that easy. I feel terrible for her. Marriage to a man of high social status was all she wanted. She thought he was in love with her, but it turns out he only married her for her large dowry. He already had a mistress who was with child.”
Nick’s eyes fired with anger. “He’s a cad, and she is better off without him. Although I know it’s hard on your father to think of coming between a couple God joined together.”
“Did he say that?”
“Yes. Not in those exact words, but it was definitely implied. Still, what can he do? He can hardly leave her to be abused by that man. I don’t believe that is the will of God.”
“Nor do I. I hate that it is even an issue for Papa to deal with. He’s so broken over this entire matter.”
