The Roswell Legacy by Frances Statham (parable of the sower read online .TXT) 📗

“Surely Jonathan and Ginna can weather this unpleasantness if they’re forced to, Rad. But I am sorry that you’re the one having to deal with it.”

Rad searched Allison’s face. Puzzled at her reaction, he said, “I thought this news would devastate you, Allison.”

“Perhaps I have even more devastating news to share with you, Rad, than the actions of Mr. Quail.”

It was now Rad’s turn to become alarmed.

Allison continued. “Heaven knows I’ve spent these last several hours rehearsing what I was going to say to you tonight. But all of the finely turned phrases have left my brain. So I suppose I’ll have to start somewhere, if I’m to tell you.”

“Allison, wait. Before you say anything, let me tell you this. I know you’ve been unhappy here in Washington this past month. I’ve sensed it, yet I could do so little about it because of the meetings. But I don’t want you to go back to Bluegrass. I want you with me for the rest of the summer.”

“Do you, Rad?”

“Of course, even though I haven’t stood on a soapbox to tell you. I suppose no man shows his true feelings every day, especially after twenty-five years of marriage.”

“What would you say, Rad, if I told you that we weren’t really married?”

“I’d say you have a mighty poor memory, my dear.”

Allison reached out and touched a pink petal that had fallen from the bouquet. As she brushed her finger across its velvet texture, she said, “I’ve just learned that Coin Forsyth is still alive.”

Without taking her eyes from the tablecloth, she waited for the full impact of her words to take effect.

The overwhelming silence was finally broken by a sudden chattering of squirrels in angry protest at the neighbor’s cat, which had crept into the yard.

“How long have you known?”

Rad’s voice sounded different, impersonal, with all the caution of a man holding a government inquiry.

Allison finally looked up and met his eyes. She longed to reach out to touch him, to feel his strong hand on her own, but he had withdrawn, much too far away for her to reach.

“How long?” she repeated. “Ever since I called on Ginna’s mother the other day.”

Her sense of outrage erupted. “He married my own sister-in-law, Araminta. And Ginna is their child.”

Rad should have been more shocked at her confession. Yet he only felt relief. If Coin Forsyth had married again, then he was not free to take Allison from him.

“He changed his name to Forsyte. I have no idea why, unless it was easier for him in England. He was just as shocked as I was to learn that we had both survived the war.”

“Then you’ve seen him?”

“Yes. This afternoon in the park.”

“What does he want to do about this …” Rad hesitated. “… this turn of events?”

“He wants to meet with you to decide what’s to be done about Jonathan and Ginna.”

“How many people already know the truth?”

“Only the four of us—Araminta and Coin, or rather, Charles, and you and me.”

“Ginna doesn’t know? Or Stanley Quail’s wife?”

“No. And Charles thinks we should keep it that way, for the protection of all concerned. I’m sorry that this has put you in such an awkward position. If you think there’s even the remotest chance of scandal, then I’ll leave Washington immediately.”

“And what would that solve?”

“Well, with the pension investigation and the special session, it’s imperative for your reputation to remain unblemished.”

“You act as if everyone else around here is lily-white, with no skeletons in the legislative broom closet. That’s not true. But do you think I care about my own position here, Allison? Lately, I’ve been thinking of retiring from Congress. But I’ll leave when I’m ready. This matter won’t precipitate it even if the whole world finds out.”

“But it’s such an awkward mess. And I’ll be uneasy until you and Charles have talked and come to some conclusion.” Allison hesitated. “He’ll be at the medical clinic at Trask by nine o’clock tomorrow morning, but won’t go into surgery until half past ten. Is there a possibility you could meet with him tomorrow morning?”

“Of course, Allison. I’ll make the time. I suppose I should confirm the appointment?”

“It won’t be necessary. He said he would leave the morning open.”

“Allison, before I see him, I have only one question to ask you.”

“Yes, Rad?”

“Do you still love him?”

“I love you, Rad. The man I saw in the park today is a stranger.”

Rad nodded. He tried to disguise the relief that swept through him with her forthright answer. He pushed himself back from the table and stood. “I’ll be in the library,” he said, and left the summer porch.

But afterward, as Allison slowly gathered the dishes to take to the kitchen, she realized that she had not been entirely truthful. Of course she loved Rad. And the Charles Forsyte she’d met in the park had been a stranger to her. But for a woman, a first love was always a powerful force, finding a place in the heart that no later love could ever dislodge. Coin Forsyth had been Allison’s first love, a fact that she had never been able to forget.

That night, when Allison and Rad retired for the night, he made particularly intense love to her. Allison knew that it was Rad’s way of proclaiming that he alone had rights to her body.

The next morning, Rad carefully dressed for his meeting with Charles. It was not often, he mused, that a man was called upon to be this civilized.

As he walked downstairs to breakfast, Browne was already in the dining room.

“How was your revival meeting last night, Browne?”

“Got a little out of hand, sir.”

“Why? What happened?”

“Well, Crete got to speaking in tongues and fainted dead away. Then, when she didn’t come to, Bessie got upset and threw the holy water on her to revive her. That caused Crete to jump up sudden-like, and her arm whopped Deacon Jones on the side of the head.”

Rad chuckled. “Is Crete all right this morning?”

“Yes, sir. She’s in the kitchen cooking