you thinking, riding home alone with that man?” Clementine shook her head. “The things I’ve heard him say suggest he’s just as dangerous as Berkshire.”
“I agree.” Nancy stood and put a hand to the small of her back.
Faith noticed that Nancy was showing quite a bit more than she had prior to Christmas. “Look at you. You’re rounding out nicely.”
“Sometimes my lower back aches, and I’m certainly more exhausted at times.” Nancy smiled. “However, I’m so delighted to be in this condition that you will not hear me complain about a single thing.”
Smiling, Faith got to her feet. “I’m spent. After listening to Gerome Berkshire’s nonsense in that overheated hall, and then hearing Samuel Lakewood drone on, I could use a bath.”
“I believe there is plenty of hot water and fresh towels.”
Clementine walked to the window and pulled back the drapes just enough to peer outside. “I wish the rain would stop. I can’t bear the idea of dealing with flooding, even if we aren’t in any real threat here.”
“I agree. The rain has been quite tedious.” Nancy suppressed a yawn. “I hope Seth gets back soon. I know he’ll be soaked to the bone.”
“Where did he go on such a foul evening?” Clementine asked, coming away from the window.
“It was a deacons’ meeting at church. I’m sure it won’t last much longer, and he has the carriage, so hopefully he’ll make the trip quickly when they conclude.”
Faith turned to Clementine. “Oh, I nearly forgot. I asked Mr. Lakewood if it would be all right to bring you and Mimi to his donor meeting. You mentioned wanting to hear me speak, and I thought it might give me some additional protection. Berkshire will no doubt be there.”
“I’d love to come. I’m sure Mimi would—”
A thunderous crash sounded from the second floor. Nancy gasped and headed for the stairs. “You don’t suppose Mrs. Weaver has fallen, do you?”
She raced up the stairs despite her expanding abdomen. Faith and Clementine followed without delay.
Mrs. Weaver’s room was near the back stairs at the end of the hall, and it was clear that some sort of ruckus was going on inside.
“Mrs. Weaver, are you all right?” Nancy didn’t wait for an answer but produced her key and unlocked the door. “Mrs. Weaver?”
“I’m—I’m quite . . . all right,” the old woman replied, her voice barely heard.
Faith made certain they had light before assessing the situation. If Mrs. Weaver had fallen, she would need to examine her. But there was no thought of that once Faith turned back to where Mrs. Weaver lay tangled in her covers—on the floor. The slats in the bed had broken or shifted enough that the collapse had caused a terrible crash.
But this was not the reason for everyone’s immediate silence and dropped jaws. There beside Mrs. Weaver in the rumpled mess was a small black woman who stared back at them as if she feared for her life.
CHAPTER 8
The wide-eyed black woman clutched the covers to her neck as her gaze darted from face to face. Faith could see she was terrified and knelt beside her to offer reassurance.
“I’m a doctor. Are you injured?”
The gray-haired woman shook her head. Mrs. Weaver, on the other side of the bed, finally spoke. “Help me up from this mess, please.”
Clementine pulled back the tangle of covers and assisted Virginia Weaver to a sitting position. The mattress was lopsided, with part of the top and right side still positioned on the rail, while the left side and lower part had landed on the floor.
Mimi burst into the room. “What on earth happened?” She stopped and gaped when she saw the small black woman.
“Are you all right, Mrs. Weaver?” Nancy asked as the old woman adjusted her mobcap.
“I am well.” She got to her feet with Clementine’s help and reached for her flannel robe. “What a disaster, and now my secret is known.”
Nancy smiled. “Can you explain what’s going on?”
Mrs. Weaver allowed Clementine to help her with the dressing gown. “This is Alma. We’ve been together since childhood, and I will not be parted from her. She was my slave, but I freed her, and she has long been my friend.”
Faith again smiled and offered her hand to the elderly black woman. “Might I help you to your feet?”
Alma gave a hesitant nod.
Taking great care to cause the woman no pain, Faith all but lifted the tiny soul from the floor. She couldn’t have weighed more than eighty pounds, nightclothes and all.