When they’d been served, Anna seemed to have recovered from her initial shock. Zelda was the perfect hostess, asking the right questions so that Anna was able to tell the story of their arrest and the growth of their friendship in a perfectly natural way. When Zelda got up to refill the pot, Elizabeth went with her.
“Who is this girl and why have you brought her here, sweetheart?” Zelda asked when they were in the kitchen.
“Zelda, I need your help.”
Zelda smiled and shook her head at Elizabeth’s foolishness. “The Old Man told us what happened to you and Jake with that mark and how you ended up with the suffragettes.”
“Suffragists.”
“What?”
“Never mind. I told him to meet me here.”
“And he’s been here for an hour, but we didn’t think you’d want your friend to see him.”
“No, I don’t. Thank you. But there’s a reason I brought Anna with me.” Quickly, she explained about Anna’s reaction to Elizabeth’s engagement to her brother.
Zelda’s well-bred jaw dropped. “You’re engaged to a mark?”
“David isn’t a mark. I’m just using him to . . . Oh, it doesn’t matter. However I explain it sounds horrible. Anyway, I’m not worried about that part of it. I’m worried about Anna and what’s going to become of her after I’m gone. I thought maybe you and Cybil could talk to her and . . . and explain things. She thinks she’s in love with me, and I can’t stand the thought of hurting her.”
“Maybe you’re in love with her, too,” Zelda suggested gently.
“I wish it was that easy. I do love her, but only as a friend.”
“We’ve told you before, it’s so much easier if you love another woman.”
“I know, men are so . . . complicated.”
“And unreasonable and smelly and—”
“Believe me, I understand! I wish I were like you and Cybil. Anna and I get along so well, too. But . . .” She thought of Gideon Bates and how deliciously complicated and unreasonable he was, although he did smell very good indeed. Her life would be much simpler if she really did hate him. “Anna needs to understand her feelings and what they mean, or at least what they could mean.”
“Cybil and I will figure out if this is just a schoolgirl crush or if she really is one of us. Now why don’t you go see the Old Man? He’s probably pretty worried by now.”
Nothing ever worried the Old Man, but she nodded and thanked Zelda and went upstairs to the room she used when she stayed here. Unlike the rest of the house, this room was in perfect order. He sat reading a newspaper in the overstuffed chair Elizabeth had bought with her first score. At the sound of the door opening, he’d crushed it and tossed it aside.
“What happened? Are you all right?” he asked, jumping to his feet.
“Didn’t you say that the last time I saw you?”
“I thought you were leaving the city.”
“Thornton’s thugs picked me up right outside of Dan’s.”
He swore. “If they laid a hand on you . . .”
“They were going to, but luckily, I knew enough about Thornton to figure out how to get away from him.” She sat down on the neatly made bed and explained what she had done.
“You’re really engaged to this Vanderslice fellow? How did you manage that?” he asked with some amusement.
“I told you he’s a lop-ear.”
“But that was dangerous. What if he hadn’t proposed?”
“He didn’t propose, and I’m still engaged to him. Sometimes I don’t think you appreciate my talents.”
“You may be right. So now we need to figure out how to work the deal with the rifles. I have been thinking about it. We were going to approach Thornton directly when this Vanderslice wouldn’t help him. All we need to change is that we’ll approach Vanderslice instead and ask him to help us deal with Thornton. Can you convince Vanderslice to cooperate?”
“Just tell me what you need, and I’ll make sure he does.”
He smiled at her fondly. “You’re right. I have never truly appreciated your talents.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Elizabeth could hear Anna sobbing before she was halfway down the stairs. She flew down the rest of the steps and raced into the parlor.
“What have you done to her?” she demanded, hurrying to Anna’s side.
“We didn’t make her cry. You did,” Cybil said.
“How could I make her cry? I wasn’t even here,” Elizabeth said, sitting down beside Anna and taking her hand. “I’m so sorry I left you. I don’t know what they said, but they were supposed to make you feel better!”
Anna dabbed at her tears and managed a reassuring smile. “They did make me feel better. Oh, Elizabeth, you have no idea. All these years, I knew I was different from other girls, and I thought I was the only girl alive who didn’t care if boys noticed me. Once I even told my mother that when I grew up, I was going to marry a girl because girls are prettier.”
“Girls are prettier,” Zelda said.
Anna smiled at that. “I think that was one reason I was attracted to the suffrage movement, too. So many of the ladies are unmarried and not interested in men. Cybil says some of them are probably like us, too.”
“I’m sure they are, dear,” Zelda said.
Anna turned back to Elizabeth. “You can’t imagine what a relief it is to know there are other women like me.”
“Then why were you crying?” Elizabeth asked.
“She was crying,” Cybil said, “because we told her you’re not like us.”
“And you’ll never love me the way I love you,” Anna said, tearing up again. “And I’ll have to watch you marry David.”
“But I’m not going to marry David,” Elizabeth said. Only when she saw Anna’s shock did she realize the mistake she had made. She clamped a hand over her mouth, but it was too late.
“What do you mean, you aren’t going to marry him?”
“Oh dear,” Cybil said, rising. “I think we need to leave these two alone, Zelda. They have some things to talk about.”
Zelda stood, too, but she stopped to take Anna’s hand before she left. “You are always welcome here, my dear girl, at any time of the day or night. And we have a salon every Monday evening. I hope you will come by sometime and meet our friends.”
“Thank you for everything. You’ve both been very kind.”
Cybil discreetly closed the pocket doors behind them, leaving Elizabeth to explain herself to a very confused Anna.
What could she say? The Old Man always said stick to the truth as much as possible. It’s easier to remember than a lie. “Anna, a lot of what I told you about myself wasn’t true.”
“I may be na?ve, Elizabeth, but I’m not stupid. I’d already figured that much out at least.”
“You did?” Elizabeth asked, horrified.
“Of course. How many times did I tell you that you aren’t like anyone I’ve ever known? And you didn’t seem to know much about the suffrage movement for someone willing to go to jail for it. And when we were unpacking your luggage . . . Well, I knew something wasn’t right almost from the first.”
“I didn’t want to lie to you, but I had very good reasons. I just hope when you hear them, you’ll be able to forgive me.”
“I’m very anxious to hear them, and I probably shouldn’t tell you, but I’m very anxious to forgive you, too.”