“Please let her stay. She won’t be here long.” Addie motioned to Esther. “Come in. What brings you here?”
Esther was dressed simply in a brown-and-orange calico print. Her hair was done in a single braid down her back. She looked for all the world like she might burst into tears.
“Are you ... sure?”
“Goodness, Esther, do come in and sit by the bed so that we can talk.” Addie motioned to the chair.
Esther came forward and took hold of the back of the metal chair. “I had to come.”
“I’m glad you did.”
“You look ... I mean, the beating ... uh...”
“Yes, well, I am on the mend. They plan to let me go home soon. So you see, it’s not so bad.”
Esther slowly moved around the side of the chair to sit.Her gaze never left Addie’s face. “I had to come and tell you how sorry I am for my part in this.”
Addie nodded. “Why don’t you start at the beginning and tell me what happened?”
“Your brother Hiram came to me after you had been particularly hard on me one day. At least I felt it was hard, and that you were purposefully seeking me out to give me a bad time of it. He said he wanted help in seeing you.”
She continued to explain all that she and Hiram had talked about and how the situation had played out with their messages and meetings.
“I never thought he’d hurt you like this,” Esther said, shaking her head. “I’ve never known anyone like that.”
“No, I would imagine not. Hiram had a lot of meanness to him, but I think there was also a fair amount of plain evil.”
Esther nodded. “He just had a way of convincing me it was right to help him. I never ever thought he’d try to kill you.”
“He didn’t really try to kill me. If he’d wanted me dead, that’s where I’d be. No, he wanted my gold and a way to live out his life without care. Hiram always felt the world owed him something.”
“I heard he was dead. Your other brother too.”
Addie nodded. “Yes, I’d like to think their souls are at rest, but unless they got right with God before taking their last breath ... well, it’s in God’s hands. Sadly, however, I know that neither one had ever held any respect for God.”
“Addie, will you forgive me?” Esther blurted out all at once. “I’ve done so many bad things in my life, and I’ve treated you horribly. I’m really very sorry, and I promise I’m a changed woman.”
Addie smiled. “Of course I forgive you. You had only toask. Perhaps I should say not even that because I forgave you when it happened.”
A sob broke from Esther. “Thank you. I was so afraid that you wouldn’t be able to forgive me or that you’d die, and I’d never have the ability to ask for forgiveness.”
“Now you have asked, and I have given. Seek God’s forgiveness as well, and it can be finally laid to rest.”
“I have sought Him. I begged Him to forgive me and make me a better person. I don’t want to be all hateful and bitter. I know the girls don’t like me because I’ve been mean to them as well.”
“So ask their forgiveness too. I think you’ll be surprised at how generous they can be.”
Esther wiped her tears. “Thank you. You have no idea how much I needed your understanding and forgiveness. Nothing felt right. I couldn’t sleep or eat or even begin to focus on doing my job.”
“Then have peace of mind. It is done.”
Esther nodded. “It is done.”
Addie was more than a little anxious about her hospital wedding. The newspapers had caught wind of it and wanted to cover the event as a sort of closure to the front-page story they’d done on her. She couldn’t help but worry that further exposure could bring out other people from her past—people who could stir up trouble and point to her questionable history.
“Don’t let the devil spoil your day,” Pearl stressed as she helped Addie dress for the occasion.
“It’s just hard not to worry. I suppose it’s a habit I need to break.”
