Hays stood on the makeshift dance floor with over two dozen nervous bachelors waiting for Ruby and Julia Brown to arrive and give them instructions for the auction.
Evening had settled on Hartville, allowing the stars to lay a canopy across the dark sky. Paper lanterns had been strung over the street from Mortenson’s Mercantile to Collingswood & Henderson’s Hardware. The tables Hays and Reverend Longley had built were lined up on either side of the street, with the dance floor between them. A stage had been erected nearby, and the Hartville band sat there tuning their instruments.
“How do I look?” Gage asked, pulling his collar away from his neck. “If I don’t suffocate first, I might actually survive this horrid affair.”
“You’ll be fine,” Hays promised. “Connie said she would bid on you if no one else does, so you have nothing to fear.”
“I almost fear dancing with someone more than I do standing up there alone.” Gage nodded at the stage.
Ruby and Julia appeared in fancy gowns, their cheeks glowing. They swept onto the dance floor as if they had no cares in the world, but Hays knew better. They had done a good job planning the street dance, and they should be proud. He hadn’t been sure they would pull it off, but they had. He was grateful they had stepped forward to help Emma.
“Gentlemen,” Ruby said, drawing all eyes to her, “we will begin the auction in one hour, at exactly nine o’clock. We’ll have everyone stand near the stage, and we’ll call you up one by one.”
Several of the men shuffled their feet, and some, like Gage, adjusted their collars yet again.
Hays tried to pay attention, but he was watching for Emma to arrive.
He hadn’t stopped thinking about her all week. They had parted awkwardly when he brought her home after kissing her, but they had seen each other several times since then and had mended their tenuous relationship. She refused to be alone with him again, but he wasn’t deterred.
Connie appeared on the edge of the crowd wearing a beautiful pink gown. It was the first time since her mother’s death that she had worn anything other than black. She looked lovely—but concerned. Her gaze landed on Hays and she tilted her head toward the bank next door to Mortenson’s Mercantile.
Hays nodded and wove his way through the growing crowd to meet her.
“Is everything all right?” he asked when they finally met.
“No.” She pulled him deeper into the shadows near the building. “I can’t find any of the money we made at the bazaar.”
“What do you mean?”
“Emma and I counted the money after the bazaar ended, and it was just over half of what we need to build the school. We put the money in the church safe and then went home to prepare for the dance.” Connie’s eyes filled with panic. “When I stopped at the Longleys’ on my way here, Emma handed me another envelope full of money that had been donated after I left. She asked me to put it in the safe. But when I went into the church, the safe was open, and all the money was gone.”
“Did Reverend Longley remove it?”
“No. When I was at their house he said we’d leave the money in the safe until Monday morning, when we would take it to the bank.”
Hays surveyed the crowd, suddenly feeling too warm to be wearing his evening suit. “Does Emma know?”
“No.” Connie’s voice was low. “I didn’t have the heart to tell her. I want her to enjoy herself this evening. She was so proud of the bazaar and all the hard work everyone put into the event.”
“Good. I don’t want her to worry.” She had worked harder than anyone and deserved to have some fun tonight.
“Who do you think could have done it?” Hays asked.
“It was someone who has access to the safe combination, because it wasn’t broken.”
“But who would have access?”
“The only people who know the combination, besides the Longleys and myself, are members of the elder board.”
Another thought began to plague Hays. “What if the auction doesn’t make enough money?” Emma would be heartbroken and whoever had done this would win. Was it the same person who had started the petition? He wished he had discovered who that was.
“What can we do?” Connie asked, her eyes troubled.
An idea came to Hays, one that would work. “Connie, we need to make sure the bachelor auction makes enough money to pay for the school.”
“How can we do that?”
“You’re going to bid on me. I’ll go last and you can calculate how much money the other bachelors brought in. Whatever is needed at that point is how much you’ll bid. My father offered to help pay for the school, but Emma refused. Surely he will give me the money for this.”
Connie’s eyes grew round. “You want me to pay that much money for you?”
“Yes.”
“But what will people think?”
“Does it matter? Emma needs that money.”