Circle of Love(30)

“I wonder, did my mother ever tie ribbons in my hair?” Mary Beth asked. “I was so young when she died that I can’t remember.”

Lizzie, again in Mary Beth’s arms, patted the bow in her own hair. “Pretty,” she said.

“You are pretty,” Mary Beth told her. “You’re a very pretty baby. Someone will choose you right away.” She glanced up at Frances. “I feel like Lizzie’s my little sister. I’m going to miss her.”

Frances beckoned to Aggie, who was watching beside them. “I’ve saved a special ribbon for you, Aggie.”

Aggie took a step toward Frances, but stopped when Jessie said, “A ribbon won’t do Aggie much good. Her hair looks like cat fur. How are you going to tie the ribbon so it will stay on her head?”

“I don’t want a ribbon,” Aggie said. “I don’t need one.” She plopped into the nearest seat and stared out the window.

“Let’s all sit down,” Frances said, knowing that nothing she might say to Aggie right now would help soothe her feelings. “It’s only half an hour to Harwood. We all look fresh and bright, and if we sit still, we’ll stay that way.”

Eddie was waiting for Frances as she took her seat.

Frances lowered her voice to just above a whisper. “You set up that fight, didn’t you?”

Eddie nodded. “I’m sorry for all the yellin’ and such, but the fight worked out fine. Seth Connally was kept so busy he didn’t see me go through his carpetbag.”

“Eddie! That’s his private property. You didn’t have the right to do that!” Frances stopped, suddenly struck by something else Eddie had said. “Are you talking about Reverend Diller? You called him Seth Connally.”

“That’s who he is—Seth Connally. Just like I thought, he’s not a preacher and his name isn’t Diller.” Eddie didn’t stop for breath. “He’s got a big handgun in his carpetbag, along with a rolled-up Confederate jacket. And there were some letters from his brothers, and—”

“Eddie!”

“I didn’t read ’em.” He shrugged. “Mostly because there wasn’t enough time. But I read a newspaper clipping that fell out of one of the envelopes. It told about the Harwood Central Bank and—”

Startled, Frances interrupted. “Why would—” She gasped as she remembered the newspaper story. “Connally! The Connally brothers! Seth said he was planning to join his brothers. To rob banks? To rob the Harwood Bank? We have to do something to stop him!”

“There’s a telegraph—” Eddie began, but Seth squeezed into the seat with Frances and Eddie.

“No telegrams,” he said in a low voice to Frances.

Eddie, who was squashed in the middle, tried to wriggle free, but he froze as Seth warned him, “The gun’s no longer in my carpetbag. It’s under my coat—where I can get to it fast—and I’ll use it if I have to.”

Eddie gulped and huddled against Frances.

“You aren’t going to endanger these children, Seth,” she said.

“The children won’t be in danger,” he said. He slowly shook his head. “I was going to tell you everythin’ when we met in Kansas. I thought in the meantime I could trust you.”

Indignantly Frances asked, “Trust me to do what? Stand by and allow you to get away with robbery? Don’t you care about the children at all? You even used them to shield you when you came aboard the train.”

He looked puzzled. “I didn’t plan on them shieldin’ me. It was just a matter of belongin’ to your group. I wouldn’t have done anythin’ to hurt them.” He stopped and tilted his head, looking at her questioningly. “How did you figure it out?”

“A newspaper story about the New York City robbery,” she said. “And the fact that you may be dressed like a preacher, but you certainly don’t act or talk like one.”

Seth grinned. “Or think like one. As you reminded me, preachers don’t hold with revenge, do they?” He reached out a hand and lightly touched her cheek. “Don’t think badly of me, Frances. With a little forgiveness on your part, we could be happy together. I’d be good to you, and you could be happy with me. You like me. You know you do.”

Angrily Frances shook her head. “I did like you—as a friend—when I thought you were someone who could learn to put the war behind you. But I don’t like what you’re doing, Seth.”

“I told you what happened to my parents, and what happened to me in a union   prison. I have a right to take revenge,” he insisted.