Jancy enough before, but this cemented it. The man had to be beyond depraved to force himself on a girl. “Did Jane Ann’s father know?”
Addie nodded. “She said he did, and that Ezekiel had threatened her father if he uttered a word to anyone, saying he knew how to make him disappear.”
“So, Jane Ann’s baby boy is…” His sentence trailed.
“My half brother,” she supplied. “Zelda and I knew we couldn’t let that baby fall into Ezekiel’s hands, so Zelda wrapped him up warm and left town under cover of darkness.” Addie shook as though chilled despite the early sunshine.
Ridge pulled her close and rubbed her arms. “Let’s put our clothes back on.”
“I need to tell you everything, and I might not be able to start again if I stop.”
“Okay, love.” He was still curious how this could’ve led to Addie being sent to prison. Confused, he shared his warmth, kept rubbing her arms and listening to her story.
“Zelda told me she’d go to her brother at Seven Mile Crossing. I held Jane Ann as she drew her last breath and folded her arms across her chest. Before I could move, Ezekiel burst in—along with Jane Ann’s father and about half a dozen men from the town. Ezekiel was furious to find the babe gone. He accused me of murdering Jane Ann because I was jealous of the baby. I tried to lie and say she’d had a stillborn and Zelda had buried the babe. I later found out one of Ezekiel’s spies had watched everything through the window. The man had seen Zelda escape into the night with the babe and tried to catch her, only she lost him somehow.” Addie shuddered in the grip of the memories, reliving that horrible night.
“My—Ezekiel—became enraged. I’d never seen him out of control like that,” Addie continued. “He grabbed me by the throat and choked me until everything went black. When I came to, he demanded to know where Zelda had taken the boy. I wouldn’t tell him anything, and he ordered the men to take me to the whipping post. They tied me there to wait until morning for my punishment.”
“Dammit!” Ridge tightened his arms around her, so in love with this brave woman he’d married. She’d suffered so deeply. “You don’t have to say any more.”
“You have questions, Ridge, and I want to answer them all. I expected the worst with the sunrise. Ezekiel ordered everyone to come watch. A good many wouldn’t look at me. He told them that I killed Jane Ann and stole her baby. He said if I revealed where the baby boy was, he’d be merciful and let me go. I told him hell would freeze over first.
“He handed Pickens a whip and ordered him to give me the first ten. Pickens delivered a few, I’m not sure how many, and the fiery pain running through me was so intense, I could barely draw breath. I think I lost consciousness for a bit.” Her voice was strangely flat, with no emotion. It sounded more like she was reciting a recipe from memory than a tragic story.
“Enough, Addie,” he begged. Her gaze had clouded, and he knew she couldn’t hear him.
“A circuit judge rode into town, and it turned out to be Judge Mabry from Waco. The judge made Pickens stop the flogging, then he and Ezekiel went behind closed doors to talk. After which they held a hastily arranged trial. One by one, five men stood and testified they watched me refuse to help Jane Ann, and while they ran for others to take charge of the childbirth, I killed her and got rid of the baby.”
“Did Mabry let you speak and tell your side?”
“No. All I was allowed to do was sit. So I sat there and listened to the judge sentence me to ten years in prison. He lowered it to three after Ezekiel convinced him that I posed no further threat.”
Ridge suppressed a chuckle. “He didn’t want you locked up and out of reach quite so long.” Now, having men waiting outside the prison to grab her made sense.
“Absolutely. He’s desperate to find the boy. No matter what they do to me, I’ll never tell,” Addie spat. “When all this came out, my mother was full of despair. She begged Judge Mabry to place me in solitary confinement, away from any guards who preyed on the women prisoners. She protected me the only way she could.”
“At least she did that much.” Pitiful little,