Chapter Forty - Elliot - A Race for Redemption

As usual, my feelings were see-sawing. Only a moment ago I had felt no greater than a discarded melon rine and now I was striding along like an aristocrat inspecting his gardens. And all because of Nora. It was always because of Nora. All it took was a smile, a grip of my arm, a dance, or a squeeze of my hand and I was a completely new man.

I laughed at myself. At my raw luck. To think she'd actually come to me this time, after everything. And it was only to comfort, not to knock me in the head with her suitcase as she ought.

"Well," I pulled my cap out of my pocket and onto my head with a grin, "I must've done something right."

Moving on along the dirt path that led from the hill, I turned my thoughts back to my seedling of a plan. The gears in my mind were turning madly, now that they had the proper fuel to get them working. Now that someone sincerely believed in me and refused to watch me give up. Now that I had something to fight for.

 The plan thus far actually came from a short conversation I'd had clear back at our engagement ball. Nathaniel had asked what I would do once my cover was blown and I'd basically told him I'd yank his cover off in my fall. Empty threats at the time, but now that such was really the case and now that he was trying to push himself onto someone like Nora I decided it was the only way to stop him.

And his intentions to rob Mr. Harrington remained as deep as ever. Though I knew mine had as well only a week ago, I wanted to do all that I could to change that. I didn't want the estate, I simply wanted to finally prove myself. The original goal of this whole charade, deep down. And if I could keep the slippery Mr. Scott from tearing apart any more families in the process, then great.

But...how? The now-pointless auction was this morning. I mean I could obviously charge into the square and jab and accusing finger at him, shouting crimes all the way, but they wouldn't believe me. Not a word that came out of my mouth. I needed some sort of ground or proof. Nathaniel had left none and my reputation had left even less. If I could only get someone who'd stand with me on it, like a witness. I wasn't about to ask Nora. She'd done more than enough as it was and I was still trying to protect her reputation.

Blowing out my breath, I looked up to see how far from town I was. Before me was the home I had come to learn belonged to the Hodges family. From there, town was a short walk away.

I didn't want to go back quite yet and would rather avoid... My eyes focused back on the house. A slow smile grew on my face as it dawned on me. If I wasn't going to get the assistance from the person who's help I least deserved, why not try for the person who's help I second-to-least deserved?

***

 

"Hodges!" I banged on the door, "Hodges! Hodges I--"

 

It swung open and I had to stop my urgent knocking before I hit the parisher in the nose.

"Oh," I grinned, "You're here!"

 

"Yes," he said slowly, his deep eyes full of suspicion and confusion, "I'm...normally here. To help my mother."

 

"Well I just didn't know if you'd be at the..." I realized I was already losing his interest and cleared my throat instead, leaning up against the doorframe, "Listen. I need your help with something."

 

Slam! Right on my fingertips.

 

"Ow!" I yelped, yanking them free. I laughed and knocked again with the other hand, "Wait! Bertram!"

No response. I composed myself and tried a different tactic by clearing my throat and taking on a more serious tone, "Mr. Clergyman, sir?"

Silence.

"...Lord of the Harvest?"

 

It opened a few exasperated inches, "What do you want, Elliot?"

 

I gave a self-concious chuckle, uneasy at his tone, "First off, I suppose I should apologize."

 

His frown told me that was obvious.

 

"I...well I didn't mean to hurt you or Nora. I was foolish and acted rashly. I had no idea of the concequences it would bring. Well, I suppose I had some idea, but nothing like this.  I will admit, no matter what image I put up, you hit the nail on the head with your sermon and I've been tripping over myself ever since."

 

I intended to end it there but a flood of emotion suddenly filled me, which was completely unplanned for and totally inconvenient. It was one thing to pour out my heart to Nora, the woman who possessed it. But to Hodges? Such wasn't the normal conversation topic between two men. Especially two men on the unspoken terms as we were.

 

Still, I suppose, dignity wise, I really had nothing else to lose.

 

"Heavens, you're a clergyman, Hodges," I muttered, "I...I need to set things right. My only problem is..." I sighed and shrugged my shoulders, "Everytime I try, I only make it worse. You were right; I've completely lost myself in this mess. I know you have every right to turn me down but..."

 

He sighed and stepped out, shutting the door behind him, "What do you need, Elliot?"

 

I gave a sad smile, "Now that I think about it, you won't be so willing once you hear."

"Well you got me outside."

 

True. It was indeed a milestone. I took a breath and began my whole backstory. My foolishness, Nathaniel's deceptions, the present state of my family. If I thought I was opening up before, now was even worse. By the end of it, I was completely vulnerable to this man I'd first taken to be less imposing. He knew my history, my doubts, my enemies. And he had every reason for revenge against me. I had torn him from his closest friend only to hurt her when she was no longer in his protection.

 

And his first response: "Nathaniel needs to be stopped."

 

I was tempted to clean out my ears; Bertram Hodges was agreeing with me? I thought I'd have to put the same amount into convincing him of my plan as I had in convincing him of me.

 

"When's the auction?" I asked.

"In a quater of an hour I think."
I frowned and reached for the pocket watch that was no longer there, "Well that doesn't give us much time at all. Do you have a stagecoach?"
"No," he shook his head, "We sold ours awhile back. We should be able to make it on foot though. What's your big plan?"
"I'm going to reveal Mr. Scott for who he really is," I began, "And then, with no competition in the way, hopefully earn myself a part of the fortune. That's my only chance at it."
He sneered, "You sound real repentent."
I realized my mistake and shook my head, "It's not for me."

"Oh," he sounded a little surprised. He studied me over for a moment and the slightest hint of a smile appeared on his lips. Without another word, he opened the door again, said something to his mother, and grabbed his hat before stepping back out.

I smiled with relief and we hurried down the walkway to the corner of his street.
"You know they're not going to believe you," he pointed out as we waited for a chance to cross.
That long-lost smirk somehow found its way back to my face, "That's where you come in."

He shook his head and we both crossed the busy street onto the next walkway. From there we kept up a rather quick pace as we zigzagged through the crowds. That alone drew attention, to say nothing of the fact that the town's newest parisher was walking shoulder to shoulder with the town's newest criminal. This was why I'd been hoping for a stagecoach.

"So," I took my eyes off a gawking group of gossiping women and looked back down at this stalwart man, "You know why I'm doing this. I'd like to know why you are."
"Believe me," he smirked, "If I didn't despise you a pinch less than Nathaniel Scott, I wouldn't be."

I laughed and continued to follow him. He took out his pocket watch--an older type with the face slightly cracked--and frowned. Turning to me, he cocked an eyebrow.

"How experienced of a runner are you, Mr. Snyder?"

 

Chapter Thirty-Nine - Nora - A sprout of Hope

The carriage came to a complete stop, and I stuck my head out the window. Same old town, same old landscape. Even though I feared the worst, it seemed nothing had changed, well visibly. That was a good sign; at least no one was running Elliot out of town-yet.

I paid the horseman and took my bags, feeling unsure what to expect, or where to go. Sure, I could go to my family, but I'd only get the lecture of how right I was to walk away from Elliot when I had the chance, and I certainly didn't want to hear that.

I knew I wanted to find Elliot, if only for an explanation, only I had no clue where he would be. I thought for a fleeting moment to go and find Charles, maybe ask him where Elliot might be, but that meant risking running into his family, which could get a little complicated.

I tried to think of friends Elliot could have gone to, but none came to mind. Frowning, I realized Elliot was about as friendless and desperate as a man got. Unfortuately, my new found sympathy for him helped me in no way in the search to find him.

Sighing, I clutched my suitcases even closer to me as I began my walk into town. No doubt today was going to be a long day.

*

"I don't know, the lazy lout. I fink I mig't of sawn 'im 'eaded that way." The gruff shop owner pointed, interestingly enough towards my house, causing me to perk my eyebrow in surprise.

"Are you sure it was him?" I asked, keeping my voice down to a conspiratoral whisper.

"Of course it was 'im! He's all this town 'as been talking about the last few days!" The man growled, getting a little defensive I questioned his testimony.

"Well thank you." I gave a small curtsey and headed the way he pointed, only hoping this lead wasn't as false as the rest.

I had no idea what to do, or why I was so intent on finding Elliot. Perhaps it was something about his letter. Certainly he hadn't seemed to earn my forgiveness yet, although being hated by everyone in town was somewhat of a start. And yet, here I was, searching half the town over in hopes of finding the man.

Just as I begun to mutter to myself how utterly hopeless all of this was, I heard a russling to my left, and I turned my head on impulse. And there he was, frozen in his seat underneath the tree Hodges' and I called our own. He looked utterly horrified, and in such a state of disarray, I was almost unsure whether to approach him as I had in mind, or keep on walking, if only for the sake of his mental health. 

It took me no more than a second to realize I had to talk to him, and so I set my suitcases down and walked over to him, my hands already on my hips, as I felt a lecture coming on.

"I'm sorry Nora. I can't tell you how sorry I am. I'm just-"

"Sorry, I know." I surpressed the lecture, knowing it would do more harm then help. Instead, I took a seat next to him, as his inqusitive face spoke volumes about his wonder and amazement. "The letter kind of took care of that."

"Oh." And for the first time in Elliot's life, he had nothing more to say. I would have laughed had the conditions been right. Unfortunately, we were both in difficult positions, and the time for joking was past.

"I came looking for you, but not to tell you off, or to tell you how angry and betrayed I feel or felt. I came to ask how you are. How you're dealing with all of this." I looked him over, realizing he wasn't doing to good without him even having to answer.

"Well on the one hand, the whole town hates my guts. And on the other, I've ruined all chances of ever cleaning my name financially. And that's not even touching on the subject of how I came close to soiling your name and reputation. Odds aren't in my favor, and the outcome isn't looking to grand from where I'm sitting." He slouched, defeated and overwhelmed.

"Elliot, you can't give up that easily." I frowned, wondering why it was that I felt the urgency to comfort him. Perhaps it was that I was his one true friend right now, and he had no one else to turn to. "The Elliot I was engaged to wasn't a quiter, and most certainly didn't hide from his problems either. He would have found another way, taken action to fix everything."

Elliot shook his head, not even daring to look in my eyes. "Don't you see Nora? That's the problem. I'm not that Elliot. That Elliot was a sham, nothing but charm and fancy clothing. It was all a lie."

I paused, thinking hard. "What if that's not true? What if that Elliot and the Elliot sitting in front of me are the same person? They both look the same, sound the same, and who's to say they don't act the same?" Without thinking, I moved my hand until it was over his, and I squeezed his hand, hoping to give him some kind of encouragement. 

I could tell the gears in his head were turning, trying to figure something out, or maybe just processing what I said. Suddenly, he lept up, and I stood up too, in alarm.

"I'm going to make everything right Nora, just you wait and see." He gave me no time to move, but leaned in and kissed me softly on my cheek, before taking off towards the parsonage "You won't be sorry you said those things. I'm going to prove you right!" He yelled, excitement laced through his words. He gave a final wave before he took off in a run, cap and all.

This time I did laugh out loud, letting a smile of amusement light my face. I knew Elliot would have something up his sleeve, and it would only be a matter of time until I found out what.