“It hurt me, Mr. Woodland. David had broken my heart, but as much as I wanted to hate him, I still wanted to marry him. I would doanythingto make him love me again.”
“Yes, I understand.” He nodded.
She licked her lips and wiped at her moist eyes again. “Anyway, I decided to confront him about his feelings for Miss Johnson. I followed him one evening and knew he left the house, so I waited for him in his barn. I knew he’d be bringing back the horse.” Her shaky hand lifted to her throat. “When he returned, I stopped him. He appeared startled to see me. I could smell another woman’s perfume on him, and I didn’t need to ask where he’d been. I knew. Yet,” she paused as a small sob released from her throat, “I still wanted him to love me and only me.” She sniffed. “So I acted out of desperation.” Her tears fell faster as her voice broke. “I threw myself at him, Mr. Woodland. I acted like a harlot, and…and he didn’t stop me. I gave him my innocence, and he didn’t try to stop me, even though he didn’t love me.”
Inwardly, Nic groaned.Frederick…where are you? I can’t help this young girl!“Oh, dear,” he said softly, only because he didn’t know what else to say.
“When I left the barn, I wasn’t ashamed of what we had done. At the time, I felt that David would do the right thing and marry me. I waited three weeks to hear from him, and when I didn’t, I feared the worst. Yet, just the other day he sent me a missive, wanting to meet me in his barn at night. I thought for sure he was going to tell me that he wanted to marry me.” Her lips quivered and she cried, covering her face with her hands. “But he wasn’t there. It was the next day when you had found his body buried in the sand.”
Nic held his breath. So Miss McFaddenhadn’tkilled him? Or, had she just skipped over that part? “When you went to the barn, you didn’t see him at all?”
She lowered her hands again. Tears pooled in her eyes and streaked down her face. “No. I hadn’t seen him before that, either. I only received his missive.”
“Why then, are you so upset? Do you think you know who killed him?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know who killed him. The reason why I’m so upset is because…because…I’m with child!”
Groaning, Nic scrubbed his palms over his face. Good grief, he hadn’t seen that coming. There was no way he could help this young woman. He didn’t even know where to begin. Frederick would, though. Therealclergyman was needed now!
“Oh, Miss McFadden. This is not good.” He shook his head.
“I know.” She tugged on his sleeve jacket. “That’s why I’m here. I don’t know what to do. Please help me.”
“Yes, yes, of course, my child.” He took her hand and squeezed it. “But what I need for you to do is return home and pray. I will pray tonight as well, and I shall have an answerfor you tomorrow.” At least, he hoped he’d have one. Frederick better know what to do in this situation.
“I will.” She nodded. “I thank you, Mr. Woodland.” She stood and lifted the hood back over her head before leaving the church.
As soon as she was out of the church, Nic leaned his forehead against the bench in front of him. Frederick had said them switching roles would be easy. He’d said that nothing would go wrong.
Frederick was very wrong!
Another noise disturbed his thoughts and he jerked up, listening closer. It sounded more like footsteps, but they were coming from the clergyman’s private chambers. He jumped to his feet and hurried toward the room. It’d better be his cousin, because he wasnotin the mood to meet up with any thieves right now.
Chapter Sixteen
Nic threw openthe door and barged inside. The woman standing by the desk froze. In her hand was a piece of paper. Wide, frightened eyes stared at him. Within seconds, she sighed in relief, placing her hand on her bosom.
“Oh, Nic. Why did you frighten me so?” Tabitha asked.
His body relaxed and he breathed a heavy sigh. Happiness welled inside him, erasing all the confusion he’d felt only moments ago. She looked so lovely in her beige dress with white over-lace. Her hair was in ringlets today, and he wished he could stroke her curls as he kissed her passionately. With any luck, he’d get his wish.
Quickly, he stepped inside and closed the door. “You don’t know how pleased I am to see you.”
“Yes, well…you could have shown it differently instead of bolting in here like you had fire on your heels.”
He chuckled and moved closer to her, but she stepped back around the desk, keeping it between them. “I thought you were a thief.” He shrugged. “I didn’t know what else to think of the noise inside thisprivatechamber.”
“Oh, that.” She placed the paper on his desk. “Well, I didn’t want to interrupt the meeting you had with Miss McFadden.” She arched an eyebrow. “Shame on you, Nic, for making that girl think you could help her.”
“You heard?” His hopes lifted.
“That was not my intention. I had come to see you, and I figured this room would be the best place we could talk. But then Miss McFadden arrived before I could make my presence known. I was just about to leave you a note.” She pointed to the paper. “I’m sorry I overheard her confession, but really, it was unavoidable.”
“That’s very understandable. Let me reassure you, I don’t plan on taking care of this. I’m not qualified to act as a clergyman. This is Frederick’s job, and I will relate Miss McFadden’s story to him and encourage him to take care of the poor young woman.”
She nodded. “That is a very unfortunate thing that happened to her. My heart goes out to Miss McFadden.”
Although he wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and kiss her, it was obvious she was keeping her distance from him for a reason. So he must not act like the overeager lover. Casually, he sat on the edge of the desk and gently swung his leg.
