Lady in the Mist - Laurie Alice Eakes [117]
“Yes. He’s supposed to be listening.” She blinked against the impact of his deep brown eyes on her heart. “Part of me wants to pray you’ll stay, but I’m afraid to. Whether or not I have faith in God can’t depend on whether or not—” She stopped, hearing her own words.
Dominick smiled. “Whether or not God answers your prayers the way you want Him to?”
She nodded.
“If He doesn’t, it’s because He has other plans. Better plans.”
“My family dying when I still need them is a better plan?” Tabitha pulled away.
“We can’t always know why God arranges things as He does. That’s faith.”
“How can you have faith and think you need to atone for your past?”
“I . . . can’t.” Sadness clouded Dominick’s face. “I know God can forgive me. But I don’t know how. What I’ve done . . .” He looked away. “And now I’ve just told you two people you care about aren’t who you think they are.”
“You think they’re involved.” Tabitha stiffened her spine. “We can’t convict them on a single sheet of paper you found and Raleigh disappearing. Donald Parks disappeared too. And Mayor Kendall is in Norfolk.”
“Is he?” Dominick tilted his head as though listening. “He only said he was going there. He rode, so there’s no servant to verify the truth of it. And Raleigh? For all we know, he’s gone because he’s taken Parks to his British contact.”
“Dominick, you can’t mean—”
But of course he did. He made a great deal of sense. Too much sense. And she could help make sense of things too.
“Whether or not Mayor Kendall is in Norfolk can be proven.” Tabitha smoothed down the front of her dress, seeking strawberry stains. “I can go under the guise of visiting the new mother there, and find out.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“If you’re caught, you’ll be flogged.”
Dominick winced but shrugged. “I’ll risk it.”
“No—” Tabitha broke off. She would ensure that he didn’t go, but not by trying to talk him out of it. “It’s too late to leave today. We’d be benighted on the road.”
“But you can’t travel on Sunday.”
“It’s the best day to travel. The roads will be quiet and I can be assured Kendall won’t leave Norfolk—if he’s there.”
“If you go, I’ll follow you.”
“You can’t. I took your key.”
“I’d like it back so I can look out for you.”
“No.”
“Do you know what it’s like to be treated like a prisoner? I had more freedom as a vagabond in England than I have here.”
“If God cares about you, He’ll see to your welfare.” She crossed her arms over her middle, daring him with her eyes.
“Oh, He cares. I have no doubt about that. He cares about what I’ve done . . .” He turned away. “Very well, go to Norfolk. You know where to find me if you need me.”
“I’ll walk back with you.” She tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow. “I want some of that jam that should be finished by now.”
“And to ensure I go home and stay there.”
“Maybe.”
“Oh, Tabitha.” With a noise half like a growl and half like a laugh, he stopped, turned, and kissed her. “Just don’t lose the key.”
“I’ll give it back to you when I return.” She took his arm again and they returned to the mayor’s house.
“I’ll be gone for a few days,” she told Letty. “Will you watch over Mr. Cherrett here? He’s . . . got a wandering eye.”
“Not since he met you, he don’t,” Dinah said with a giggle.
“Does he indeed?” Letty met Tabitha’s gaze and nodded.
She understood. Tabitha could rely on her to ensure that Dominick did nothing to jeopardize his position.
A little mollified, Tabitha returned home to pack and ordered Japheth and Patience to be ready to leave at first light. They would spend most of the morning traveling the rough road to Norfolk, and Tabitha would call on Sally Belote as her excuse for being there.
In the morning, Dominick knelt at his attic window and listened to a wagon rumble out of the village. Tabitha was on her way to Norfolk. If he was right and Kendall was involved, she was walking straight into danger.
“I should be with her.” He pounded his fist against the windowsill. “Lord,