Fair Game, page 8
part #2 of A Fair to Remember Series
A red haze clouded Seth's vision. More than anything at that moment, he wanted to reach out and throttle the leering brute. But that would give them the opening they were looking for. More, it would put Dinah at risk. He restrained himself with an effort. "You've delivered your message. Now go crawl back under whatever rock it was you came from."
The bearded man chuckled. "Just so you know, we'll be watching. Don't get any cute ideas." He winked at Dinah, then jerked his head at his companion. Together, the two swaggered off down the alley.
Seth watched until they were out of sight, then turned to Dinah. She crouched behind him in a ready stance, clutching a broken chair leg she must have spotted in the pile of rubbish. His anger ebbed away at the sight of her. She looked like she was ready to wade straight into the fray, and split a head or two while she was at it.
"They're gone," he said softly. "You can put that down now."
Dinah stared down at her hands, wrapped around the improvised club. "I don't think I can."
Seth followed her glance to the whitened knuckles and the viselike grip. He reached out and gently pried her fingers loose, one by one. The chair leg rattled on the pavement.
At this proximity, he could see she still trembled uncontrollably. He gripped her shoulders to calm her. The face she turned up to his was pale. Unshed tears clumped her lower lashes together. Ignoring the warning voice in his brain, he put his arm around her shoulders and started her moving ahead. "Come on, let's get you home."
She held on to his arm all the way back to Blackstone Avenue. Seth helped her up the steps to the front porch, glad she had quit shaking at least. "Why don't you have a cup of hot tea as soon as you get inside?"
Dinah nodded absently. Then her gaze sharpened and she stared at a point behind him.
"What is it?" On the alert for danger after their recent encounter, Seth turned in time to see a curtain drop across a window in the house on the opposite side of the street.
Dinah gave a shaky laugh. "It's only Mrs. Boggs, the neighborhood snoop. I'm sure she thinks we should have had a chaperone accompanying us, especially the way I've been clinging to you."
The door of the boarding house swung open, and a bright-eyed, middle-aged woman beamed a greeting. "I thought I heard voices. I hope you've had a lovely evening?"
Dinah shot a weary smile at Seth. "It's been... an interesting one, at least. You remember Pastor Howell from the other evening, don't you? Seth, this is my landlady, Mrs. Purvis."
Seth took the hand she extended and suppressed a grin when she pumped his arm up and down enthusiastically.
"Won't you come in? I just took a cake out of the oven."
The offer appealed, but he didn't want to overstay his welcome. "I'd better be going. I think Miss Mayhew has had enough excitement for one night."
He turned as the door closed behind the two women, and he noticed the curtain flutter in the window across the street again.
* * *
Agriculture, Electricity, Fine Arts, Fisheries. Dinah divided the day's reports into stacks according to their departments. Her fingers carried out the task at hand with her usual efficiency, leaving her mind free for thoughts of Seth. Would he be pushing his rolling chair over near the Electricity Building again this morning?
Machinery, Manufactures, Mining, Transportation. She slipped the stacks into their respective files, then slid the drawer shut and stood leaning against the cabinet, thinking again about the events of last night. She remembered how frightened she had been when those two ruffian had leaped out at them, and how protected she felt when Seth leaped in front of her and faced them down.
"What are you mooning about?" Millie's voice cut into her daydream.
"I was just thinking about the girls and last night's Bible class." Dinah busied herself with straightening her desk.
Lila sniffed. "I can think of a lot of things I'd rather do with my evenings than spend time nursemaiding a bunch of unruly ragamuffins."
"Hardly unruly." Dinah tried not to let Lila ruffle her feathers any more than usual. "They happen to be very sweet little girls. It isn't their fault they were born into those circumstances. Being around them has really opened my eyes. It makes me very grateful for the ways God has blessed me."
Lila's lips curled in a sneer. Before she could speak, Mr. Thorndyke opened his door and leaned out. "Lila, would you come back here, please? I need you to take some dictation."
"Right away." Lila picked up her pad and smiled at Dinah and Millie. "I guess that depends on your point of view. From the looks of things, I'd say I'm the one being blessed." She spun on her heel and disappeared into the back office.
Millie raised one eyebrow and tapped her pencil on her desk. "Don't think that little interruption got you off the hook. Sweet as they may be, you can't tell me those little girls put that dreamy look on your face. Lila can't overhear anything now, so tell me the whole story and don't leave anything out."
Dinah started to protest, but being able to share her thoughts about Seth was too tempting to pass up. "All right." She cast a quick look over her shoulder to make sure they were alone, then pulled a chair up to Millie's desk.
"His name is Seth Howell," she began.
"You mean the pastor who runs the meetings for those kids?"
"That's him. I can't get him out of my mind. I've never met anyone like him."
Millie's eyes lit up, and she propped her elbows on her desk. "So is he showing any interest in you?"
Aside from protecting me from street thugs? "He hasn't come right out and said anything, but he's been very attentive. He's quite the gentleman, very respectful."
Millie wrinkled her nose. "I guess he'd have to be if he's a preacher." She sighed. "I tend to like a more rugged type myself. It doesn't sound like you've set your sights on any stalwart physical specimen. Let me guess."
Millie pursed her lips. "He has weak eyes and round shoulders from studying all the time. That means he wears spectacles. He has soft, clammy hands, and he quotes Scripture at every turn. Am I right?"
A picture of Seth standing off the two hoodlums floated into Dinah's mind, and she giggled. "Not exactly."
"Well, maybe not the spectacles, but the rest is close, right?"
Dinah shook with laughter. "Maybe you'll get a chance to meet him someday. Then you'll find out just how wrong you are."
And maybe someday she would find out whether Seth could see her as anything more than a children's Bible teacher.
8
"The stone hit Goliath squarely in the forehead, and the giant fell to the ground, dead." Dinah watched the way the girls stared at her with fascinated expressions. Relief washed over her. Finally, she had their complete attention! The hours of study and prayer had paid off.
The feeling of success made her voice light and bubbly. "Who can tell me what this teaches us about trusting God?"
The silence stretched out. Dinah felt her forehead pucker. What's wrong? I know they were listening.
"Doesn't anyone have an idea?" This time she found it harder to keep the cheery lilt in her voice.
The girls wriggled in their seats, and their gazes shifted to the floor, the walls, anywhere but at her. Martha slouched against the back wall, arms folded. A sneer twisted her lips.
Dinah willed herself to keep her smile in place. Her teeth clenched so hard her jaw ached. Maybe a leading question would help. "Do any of you have giant-sized problems in your life?"
Rosemary and Frances looked up at her and gave solemn nods.
"My daddy comes home drunk sometimes and yells at all of us," Rosemary told her. "It scares me when he does that."
Frances bobbed her head in agreement. "Mine, too. And sometimes he loses money gambling and we don't have enough to buy food. Then my stomach feels like there's a giant-sized hole in it."
"Good!" Dinah declared.
The girls' eyes widened, including Martha's.
Dinah waved her hands, wishing she could erase her words and start over again. "No, I don't mean good that you're facing a problem. I mean good that you'll be able to understand what this story means."
Sweat trickled down the back of her bodice, and she wiggled her shoulders to make the itch go away. "Now, I want you to think back to the story I just told you. Think about what David did when he had to face a giant. How does this help us know what we should do when a big problem comes our way?"
Rosemary looked at her doubtfully. "We should always keep some rocks in our pocket?"
Anastasia shot her hand in the air. "My brother has a slingshot. Maybe he could make one for me, too."
A quiet snicker came from the corner where Martha stood.
Dinah clapped her hand to her forehead. "No, no. That's not it at all." Anastasia glared and Rosemary's lower lip quivered.
Dinah felt pressure behind her eyelids and blinked furiously. She was not going to break down and cry in front of these girls. And especially not in front of Martha, who seemed more than willing to pounce on every mistake Dinah made.
She filled her lungs and thought back to the notes she had made on the lesson. "What it means is that David trusted God. He didn't need the armor King Saul offered him. He didn't try to face the problem on his own. Instead, he prayed for God's help and expected Him to answer."
There. At least that came out the way she intended.
"So when problems come our way, we can do the same thing: take them to God, pray about them, and expect Him to answer. Do you see now?"
Anastasia slouched in her seat and muttered, "I still think I'll ask my brother to make that slingshot. A pocket full of rocks wouldn't hurt, either."
Dinah opened and closed her mouth, but no words came out. She had come tonight looking forward to teaching her girls the merits of trusting God in all things. Instead, she had stirred up a group of tiny marauders, ready to stone anyone who stood in their way.
She searched for an appropriate comment and blurted out the only response that came to mind: "Let's pray."
While petitions for the girls' safety and spiritual growth flowed from her lips, her heart sent up a separate plea. What's going on, Lord? I tried so hard! I studied—You know I did. And I did my best to make Your message plain. But I'm not getting through to them, not at all.
She pressed her hands tightly together. Help me get through this evening and do better next time. For their sakes, Lord, help me do a better job.
Raising her head, she put on her practiced smile. "Time to go home now. Do each of you have someone to walk with? This rough neighborhood isn't safe for little girls to be out alone."
Five pairs of eyes turned on her. At their disbelieving looks, she went back over her words and stifled a groan. In a few moments, Seth would escort her back to her cozy boarding house on Blackstone Avenue, but this "rough" neighborhood was the only home these girls had ever known... and their families and neighbors were what made it that way. Could she have said anything better calculated to point out the differences between them?
"Wait," she said in a weak voice. "I didn't mean—"
Martha pushed away from the wall. "Come on Jenny. Time to go home."
Dinah watched the last of the group trail out, her words of protest stuck in her throat. She leaned her forehead against the wall. The pressure from the hard surface made her head throb, but that discomfort didn't compare with the pain in her heart.
She had done it again—taken one step forward, then slid two steps back. Maybe three or four, judging from the stiff set to the girls' shoulders when they left.
Lord, I'm beginning to feel like I have a giant problem of my own... and it's me.
Dinah squeezed her eyes shut, wishing she could take back every misspoken word. Would she ever get it right?
When she closed the door of her room, she saw Seth already waiting for her across the hall. It took a conscious effort to square her shoulders, lift her chin, and greet him with a confidence she was far from feeling.
She walked past him and headed toward the outer door, knowing he would follow. Her actions were rude, she knew, but she wanted to avoid his questions about the class at all costs.
She paused on the stoop and waited for him to catch up. Seth hadn't voiced any outright objections since the night of the tent meeting, but she had felt his uncertainty about her ability to lead the girls' class from the first. She simply couldn't deal with his questions right now. Maybe she should jump right in and steer the conversation on her own.
When he fell into step beside her she looked up at him. "How did your class go this evening?"
Seth blinked at her reversal of their usual roles, then his eyes lit up. "It went very well." Enthusiasm infused his voice when he went on. "The boys really picked up on the meaning of the story of David and Goliath. They seemed to know the answers before I even asked the questions, and they came up with some great comments on their own. It's amazing how much truth they're able to absorb, even without a lot of biblical background. How about the girls?"
Dinah sighed. So much for staving off the inevitable. She wondered if the question was a mere formality. It was obvious he had his doubts about her. Truth be told, he probably already suspected how inadequate she was. But she wasn't ready to admit defeat yet.
She summoned up her brightest smile. "Just fine. They really seemed enthralled by the story." That much was true, anyway. In the interest of accuracy she added, "They might be a little weak on applying the truths of the lesson to their own situations."
Seth's brows knit together. "But that's the whole point of the class, to show them how the Bible relates to their lives."
Dinah's sense of failure intensified. Couldn't he at least say something encouraging? After all, she had done her best. Hadn't she spent the last few evenings studying the lesson up in her room after work? And she'd prayed... oh, how she had prayed! But to no avail, it seemed. To have the girls respond as they did was bad enough. To hear Seth's lack of approval made it all the worse. She could feel the tears getting ready to flow in earnest.
Turning her head aside, she dashed the moisture from her eyes. She wasn't about to let him see how miserable she felt. Why was his approval so important to her, anyway? Wasn't she doing this for God, rather than Seth?
God had called her to this work, and she would go on with it, whether she had Seth Howell's approval or not. Hadn't tonight's lesson touched on that very topic? When God called someone to fight a battle, He meant for them to obey regardless of what people around them thought. Seth's opinion shouldn't matter to her one whit.
But it did.
The realization struck her with the force of a blow. What was wrong with her? I'm supposed to be following God. I don't need to get caught up in whether or not I meet Seth Howell's expectations.
Seth took her elbow and guided her away from a pile of trash littering the sidewalk. Dinah recognized the heap of rubbish from the last time they walked this way. This was the place where the thugs had jumped out at them.
She cast a longing glance at the pile of debris, wishing for the solid feel of the chair leg in her hands again. Or maybe Anastasia's pocket full of rocks.
The girls had a point. With danger lurking in the shadows of these streets, it was easy to see how they could feel the need of something tangible for protection.
Seth's hand tightened on her elbow, and his face took on an intent, watchful look. So he felt it, too. Dinah bumped against his arm and realized she had unconsciously drawn closer to him.
Seth glanced down, and his face softened. His hand slid down her arm to grip her fingers. "You can relax. They aren't anywhere around."
Dinah returned the pressure of his fingers, enjoying the sense of closeness it brought. She wished she could leave her hand in his. Despite her uncertainty about Seth's feelings for her, she knew instinctively that this was a man she could trust. Everything about him proclaimed a measure of security and strength that drew her to him more with each passing day.
But how could he care about someone as incompetent as she was?
Dinah laced her fingers through the strings of her reticule. Her steps might feel as though her feet were weighted down with lead, but she forced the corners of her mouth to turn upward. She would keep that smile fixed firmly in place until she could sort out her wayward feelings in the privacy of her room.
9
"Mrs. Johnson, I want to know who is responsible for this." Mr. Thorndyke stood in the outer doorway leading to the vestibule, clutching a fistful of papers in his hand. His face reminded Dinah of storm clouds over Lake Michigan.
The office supervisor handed a stack of files to Dinah and turned to face him. "Responsible for what, sir?"
"I just missed a meeting with Mr. Palmer and some of the other fair officials. I missed it because it was listed on my schedule as taking place at eleven o'clock instead of at ten." Mr. Thorndyke closed the door behind him with a bang. "Among the things to be discussed was this report from Frederick Skiff over in Mines and Mining, regarding increased security for the Kimberley diamond exhibit." He waved the papers in his fist.
"I arrived just as the meeting was breaking up. I did manage to add the information they needed from me before they all left, but I looked like an incompetent, arriving an hour late. Worse yet, I missed having a say in the decisions that were made, decisions that will affect the smooth running of this exposition."
Mrs. Johnson looked unaccustomedly rattled. "That's dreadful! I have no idea how that might have happened."
"I do." Mr. Thorndyke advanced on the room, directing a stern gaze at Dinah, Millie, and Lila in turn. "Skiff sent the details of the meeting to me days ago, attached to this report. He said he turned the report over to one of the girls from my office. He didn't remember which one, but—"
"I think I know who it was." Lila rose from her desk. Her skirt swayed gracefully as she closed half the distance between her and Mr. Thorndyke. Every eye in the room was riveted on her.
"I hate to point fingers, but Dinah is new and she has made a lot of mistakes since she's been here. I've corrected a number of them myself." She directed a sad smile up at Mr. Thorndyke's stony face. "I'm so sorry I didn't catch this one."
