“I do, but there’s still so much that frightens me. I don’t want you to be hurt in all of this. What if my brothers come after you? They’ve threatened to kill you before, what’s to stop them from trying it?”
“I don’t know. I suppose nothing, but Addie, I don’t want to live like that. I refuse to live in worry and fear, watching and waiting for trouble around every turn. I believe God has ordained our union, and I won’t be afraid to move forward with it. I don’t want you to be either.”
“I’ll marry you.” The words were simple, but hearing them impacted Addie quite thoroughly. She had agreed to marry Isaac. She was going to be his wife, perhaps mother to his children. She trembled at the very thought of her love for him.
Isaac understood and leaned forward to half embrace her. “You won’t regret this. I promise. We’re going to be happy together, Addie. We’re going to have a good life, and God will oversee the rest. I’m going to go now and make arrangements. We’ll get the pastor to come up here and perform the ceremony. Then later when you are well, we can have a church wedding with all the frills you like.”
“I don’t need frills. I just need you.”
Esther sat with the other Camera Girls waiting for Mr. Fisher to speak. He and Pearl had called a meeting before allowing the girls to go about their business. They said it was critical, and that no one was to be excused from it. Shecouldn’t help but wonder if that meant Addie Bryant too. She hadn’t seen Addie in days and wondered if maybe the girl had managed to get herself fired. Maybe that was what this meeting was all about.
“Girls, I’ll get right to the point of this meeting,” Otis said, coming to stand at the front of the small photography shop. “Some of you know that Addie Bryant was attacked and viciously beaten. She was very close to death, but we managed to get her to the hospital, and she’s now recovering. We don’t know for sure who was responsible for this, but we believe it was her brothers.”
Esther felt as if she’d been hit in the stomach. Her breath caught in her throat. Was Addie’s near-death experience due to what she told Hiram?
Otis continued. “I have descriptions of each of them so that you might be on the lookout for them. I don’t want any of the rest of you harmed, so I want you to team up in pairs to cover the expo together. I realize that this could have the effect of reducing your salary, so I plan to go over your sales and make sure that you keep an average wage.”
Esther pushed her guilty conscience deep down. It wasn’t her fault. Addie brought this all on herself. After all, it was a family matter. She couldn’t be to blame for that.
The girls murmured amongst themselves. Esther knew that several of the girls were already planning whom they’d work with. No doubt Bertha and Mary would go out together. Most of the girls had made good friends in the job, but Esther had put off having much to do with anyone. She was superior in every way to these young women. Most of the Camera Girls came from poor backgrounds and families who had absolutely no social standing. Esther’s familywasn’t that way. At least not really. They did struggle for money, but that was because of her father’s medical bills.
“I want each of you to keep an eye out for these men. They are considered very dangerous,” Otis said, handing out pieces of paper.
Esther glanced down and saw that they were very accurate descriptions of Hiram and Shep.
“Don’t try to do anything to encounter these men on your own. If you see them, then find the nearest policeman and let them know. I don’t want any of my girls hurt.”
“Oh, it’s just terrible,” one of the girls declared. “Poor Addie. She never hurt anyone and to think of her nearly dying.”
Esther swallowed the lump in her throat. She didn’t like the way guilt was resurfacing. She didn’t know that Hiram would actually try to kill Addie. She knew he disliked her, as Esther did, but that degree of physical harm was never even a thought.
Finally, they were dismissed. Esther found herself without a partner, however, so Pearl suggested she just stay in and help with the shop.
“I wouldn’t want you out there risking your life, and neither would Addie.”
“She wouldn’t care about me,” Esther muttered.
“Nonsense. She’d care very much. I know you don’t seem to get along very well with the other girls. I figure it’s probably a rivalry thing. You want to make more money than the other girls, and they no doubt feel the same. But I know Addie doesn’t feel any malice toward you.”
“Maybe she should.” Esther felt more and more compelled to make her confession. After all, what would happen if Hiram decided to do to her the same as he’d done to Addie?
“Esther, I’ve watched you work, and I know that you’remost unhappy. Otis tells me that your father has been ill, and that you’re working to help pay his medical expenses.”
“Yes.” She put up her defenses. “What of it?”
Pearl shrugged. “It’s just that I know it must be hard for you. It’s never easy to see our loved ones suffer. You’re a good daughter to care so much for your family.”
It had been a long time since anyone had offered Esther praise. She did her best to remain unmoved and said nothing.
Pearl smiled. “I’m sure they must appreciate you very much. I know if I had a daughter offering up her time and money in such a manner, I would cherish her. Addie’s the closest thing to a daughter that I’ve ever had. She’s been so good to us, and I pray fervently that no additional harm comes to her. But with her brothers loose out there, I fear the worst.”
Esther nodded, looking to the ground. The battle going on within her was almost too much to contend with. How could she continue to keep her secrets when what she knew might save Addie’s life? Hiram Bryant meant nothing to her. He might even mean to harm her to make sure she didn’t tell anyone about him. That filled Esther with sudden fear.
“I have to tell you something,” she blurted out. “Something about Addie’s brothers.”
Pearl fixed her with an odd look. “What do you know about her brothers?”
“I’ve met them. Well, mainly Hiram.”
