“Is she promised to anyone?”
“Not that I know of. Of course, her father is quite the force to be reckoned with. He gets into fights all the time, and many of them are regarding Melody. I’d tread lightly.”
Charlie laughed and headed once again for his office. “A beautiful and godly young woman is worth any effort to woo.”
Jefferson shook his head as he glanced toward the ceiling. It sounded like Charles Decker might become a rival for Melody Doyle’s affections, and that was the last thing Jefferson wanted to have to contend with. He’d long had his eye on Melody. She was a beautiful woman. Tiny andslender. He guessed he could span her waist with his hands. Her blue eyes were huge, and her sandy-brown hair, almost always plaited in a single braid, reached her waist. Jefferson liked to imagine it flowing free in the wind. And even better still, her father had a healthy balance in his savings account.
No, he didn’t want to deal with Charles as a rival. Already he was trying to figure out a way to keep the two separated. He supposed he’d have to start attending church services since it seemed likely that Charles would. Decker had already mentioned that it was a requirement of living at the Coopers’ boardinghouse. Imagine forcing people to attend church.
Still, he knew religion was important to Melody, and if Jefferson was to have a chance with her, he’d need to at least pretend interest in God. It shouldn’t be that difficult. He had grown up going to church with his parents. His father insisted that men of importance should be a part of as many prominent social organizations as possible. Church was merely one of those. The idea of boring sermons about ancient patriarchs of the Bible, however, did not interest Jefferson in the least, especially when contrasted to sleeping in on Sunday morning. However, Melody’s church did meet at night. It wouldn’t be that hard to participate.
And he was determined to impress his father.“When you’ve madeyour first thousand,”his father had told him,“bringproof to me, and I’ll double it.”That was just the first step in a line of conditional promises, and Jefferson intended to meet each and every one.
Jefferson went to where he had put a stack of loans whose payments were due in the next few days. He started thumbing through to put them in date order. There was also a stack of loan requests that were now Charles Decker’s problem. He gathered them and took them to the older man’s office.
“I have several loan application requests for you to consider. However, two of them have no collateral to back up their requests, and I know nothing about the men and have not been able to secure references.”
Charlie looked up from his desk, where he was studying one of the bankbooks from last year. “Leave them here with me, and I’ll see what I think. Do you know when the customers intend to return for an answer?”
“Most will be here Friday. That’s when your brother usually met with folks. That way if his answer was no, he wouldn’t have to worry about seeing them again until Monday because the bank would be closed. Sometimes applicants would return to beg. If it was yes, well, then it didn’t matter because they weren’t complaining.” Jefferson left Decker’s office and glanced at the clock. It was almost eleven, and he was starving.
He stopped and headed back to Charlie’s office. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to take an early lunch and go now.”
“Of course. That’s more than fine. I’ve got plenty of work to keep me busy.”
Jefferson couldn’t imagine what was so urgent. Jacob Decker had put things in order before going, and quarterly reconciles weren’t due until the end of the month. It didn’t matter. As long as Jefferson could leave and maybe catch up to Melody.
He took up his hat and headed outside. The day was a bit chilly, but the sun shone without a single cloud to block its rays. When Jefferson lifted his face, he relished the warmth. It seemed like a good omen of things to come. Things that might include Miss Melody Doyle.
Charlie stretched and glanced at the clock. It was nearly noon. Surely Jefferson was due back before long. Generally, they didn’t take hour-long lunches. Although, he had been here less than a week, and who could say what his employee’s regular schedule was. Jacob had headed back to Chicago in early March, so Jefferson had been running things for a little less than a month. He might have gotten lax in his routine.
They would have to speak about the schedule in more detail and make certain that it was well understood. Charlie didn’t mind a little late return now and then, but he definitely needed to establish himself as the one in charge. He didn’t want Jefferson thinking that since he’d been in charge the last month he could do as he pleased.
Melody Doyle came to mind once again, pushing aside any worries about Jefferson. Charlie felt quite smitten. She was beautiful, to be sure, but her heart for God was even more appealing. She had invited Charlie to church without any hesitation at all, had even asked if he was a man of God. She wasn’t the least bit pretentious and didn’t flirt or put on airs. She fit many of Charlie’s criteria for a wife on those counts. Perhaps as they got to know each other through church and banking business, Charlie could get to know her better personally.
The door opened just then, and Jefferson strolled in as if he owned the place. He had a general sense about him that seemed to suggest he was used to being in control. Perhaps Jacob had been sicker than he’d let on. Had his brother been so often out of the office that Jefferson could do as he liked?
“Glad you’re back. I was beginning to worry.”
Jefferson gave a look that seemed to be a cross between a smirk and annoyance. “Sorry about that.”
He didn’t sound that sincere. Charlie gave a nod. “Well, we need to be on top of things here.”
The younger man seemed to consider Charlie for a moment, then nodded. “I lost track of time. It won’t happen again.”
Charlie thought about inquiring as to what he’d been doing but decided against it. Jefferson hadn’t really done anything wrong.
“When do you usually take your lunch, Jefferson?”
The man shrugged, as seemed to be his common habit. “Your brother and I didn’t stand on the formalities of a schedule.”
“Well, I think it best if we do. I suggest that if you’re given to early lunches, then perhaps you would like to take your lunch from noon to twelve thirty. I’ll take mine from twelve thirty to one.”
“Just a half hour?”
“Yes, unless there’s something special that you must attend to. We can always make an exception. The bank will be open from nine in the morning until five in the evening. That should allow for everyone’s banking needs, don’t you think?”
“That has been our normal practice, but your brother liked to have a full hour for lunch.”
