Light of my Life

Ten

TEN

Amelia's heart hammered in her chest as her mind began to clear. The knowledge that she'd actually helped the Stones kidnap children made her want to scream at the top of her voice and then cry herself to sleep. Yet, as she thought about Gracie and some of the conversations they'd had, something was not right.

Duke shrugged. "The mayor said his daughter's name was Georgia. I just assumed the Stones gave her a new name."

Amelia wiped her eyes, recalling that moment she had gone into the yard of the boarding house to talk to Gracie. The cute little five-year-old had been sitting on the back step, playing with one of her dolls. The older girls in school were inside in their classes.

"When I saw Gracie, I introduced myself to her. I asked her questions about her doll and about her friends at the school. Then I asked her if she was hungry because I knew a great shop that made cinnamon sticky buns. She jumped up and grabbed my hand, looking at me with so much trust in her eyes." Amelia cleared her throat. "When we walked down the street to the store, I'd called her Gracie. She didn't correct me." She touched a hand to his chest. "Duke, if her name wasn't Gracie, why would she let me call her that?"

"Had you already told her about her parents?"

Amelia shook her head. "It wasn't until we were in the wagon with Mr. and Mrs. Stone, and they were the ones who told Gracie about her parents dying."

Duke blew out a frustrated breath and pushed his fingers through his hair. "Oh, Amelia. I'm so confused. I don't know why the mayor would lie to me." He motioned his hand toward the hotel. "The mayor described his daughter to me, and Gracie fits that description, and then he had your name as the woman who'd taken her."

"I think," she said slowly as her mind tried to piece things together, "that we need to talk to Gracie herself. If she had a father, she would tell us." She paused as another idea hit her. "Did the mayor's wife work as a maid or in a hotel cleaning rooms?"

"No. The mayor was wealthy. His wife stayed home with their three children."

Amelia nodded. "There's another question we can ask Gracie – if she had brothers or sisters."

"Yes, that's a good idea." He grasped her shoulders gently. "Amelia, I promise we'll figure this out. I won't let anything happen to you."

Tears threatened her eyes again, and she blinked to stop them. Duke's heartfelt promise was genuine, and it relieved her that he didn't want to arrest her. "Thank you. I'm glad you believe me."

He cupped the side of her face as the pad of his thumb dried her moist skin. "Please forgive me for making you cry. When your brother told me what the Stones tried to make him do – and he saw them do that with the other older children – I'd wondered if they had forced you to do that as well."

"Yes. Mr. and Mrs. Stone are not very good people at all. In fact... as much as this might make me sound bad, I now wish I had been the one to kill Mr. Stone for everything he'd done to me."

"No." He loosely circled his arms around her waist. "Although you're very upset right now, you don't have it in your do murder someone."

"You're right," she whispered brokenly. "But in my mind, I'm torturing him and his wife over and over again."

Duke chuckled. "And I'm right beside you doing it."

She pulled away and wiped her eyes again. She glanced out of the barn. From where they stood, not many people passing by would have seen them, which was good. Being new in town, she didn't need to give people a reason to gossip. "I suppose we should go back to the hotel."