Love & Misunderstanding

Chapter Sixteen - Helene's POV

The household was in a state of disarray as my family got ready for church. Alexander was chasing after Giselle, Charlotte was struggling to calm Henry down, and Father was hobbling around, looking for his cane and yelling insults at his blasted amputation as usual. All the while, I sat at the bottom of the stairs and watched. I always enjoyed Sundays for the performance my family gave. It was almost as entertaining as visiting the theatre.

My mind then wandered to the issue of Caroline and Mr. Johnson. I had not had a chance to confront him since Caroline had told me her side of the story. Unfortunately, he had been gone on business a lot lately, so no one saw much of him. At the moment, he happened to be outside on the front porch, enjoying the fresh morning air. "This might be the only opportunity I have to confront him," I thought. I did not know exactly when he was leaving, or whether I would get another moment alone with him. It seemed ideal, since everyone else was distracted at the moment.

Getting up from my seat on the stairs, I slipped outside, confident that no one had even noticed me. As expected, he was sitting on the bench on the porch, reading a rather wore out bible. I smiled at that sight. At least I was assured that he had some faith. Although, I honestly could not imagine Caroline being so fond of someone who did not believe.

"What passage are you reading?" I asked, startling him slightly in the process.

"Verses four to eight in the thirteenth chapter of first Corinthians," he replied, setting the bible down, before turning his attention towards me. "Did you need something?"

I bit my lip, hesitation creeping forward. I was having second thoughts about whether or not I should get involved, but I knew that it was too late to back down now. "Why did you leave five years ago?"

He looked down at his feet, his handsome face turning sad. "It is complicated."

"Does it have something to do with Caroline?"

He looked back up at me with surprise. "What?"

I told him the story that Caroline had told me, about how he had apparently ran off with another woman, abandoning Caroline. He was horrified shocked by what he heard to say the least. However, I almost immediately noticed that there was not an ounce of guilt or remorse visible on his face. There was only pure shock.

"Where did she heart that?" he asked. "Who told her that?"

"Her mother."

A bit of anger surfaced. "That lying witch!" he exclaimed.

And now I knew that my theory was correct. Mrs. Gilmore was very much involved in this. Slowly the mystery was beginning to unravel. "Please, tell me what really happened," I requested.

He explained that Mrs. Gilmore had come to his uncle's shop in the lower part of town and threatened to run him out of business if he did not leave town. He told me how Mrs. Gilmore had claimed that he was not good enough for her daughter, and how she had labelled his entire family as nothing but filth. Hearing this shocked me. I had always known that Mrs. Gilmore was not the nicest woman, but I had never imagined her to be this terrible.

"That explains so much," I stated.

"You actually believe me?" he questioned

"Of course I do," I assured him. "I can tell that it was not guilt that drove you to act rather strangely in front of the Gilmore's. Besides, everyone in town knows that Mrs. Gilmore is not the most pleasant woman alive. Nonetheless, you should talk to Caroline and tell her what really happened."

He sighed. "Even if she did believe me, how would I manage to speak with her without her mother catching me?"

"Getting her to believe you will not be a problem," I assured him. I thought about it for a while before an idea came to mind. "Are you coming with us to church?"