The Proper Thing To Do

He then whispered something in Mary's ear that made her smile droop a little. The smile quickly returned and she asked Elizabeth if she would like a cup of coffee.

"David always likes a second cup at mid-day and I have just started a new pot. It will be done in a few minutes. In the meantime, we can get to know each other."

Their conversation was much the same except that Mary wanted to know how Elizabeth came to be in Leland. Elizabeth explained how she'd been forced to become a teacher after her husband was killed during the war, and then about reading the advertisement in the St. Louis newspaper.

"I wanted to stop being a burden on my mother and father, and teaching in a new school seemed to be a way to do that as well as to strike out on my own. I hope I have not made a mistake, but sometimes if seems as if I have."

Mary nodded.

"David said as much. Let me get our coffee and then I'll try to explain what David was too embarrassed to say."

After Mary sat two cups of steaming coffee on the table, she sat down, put her hands together and frowned.

"Where to begin? I suppose it would be wise to do as John 8:32 says -- 'And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free'.

"Elizabeth, the problem is not you. It is your relationship with Mayor Ellington.

"The people of Leland are for the most part all God-fearing people who are proud of what they do and try hard to not cast doubts on another. Mayor Ellington is a man who has proven by what he has done since coming to Leland to not be a man one can trust, much less a man who is a good Christian."

Elizabeth wrinkled her brow.

"I thought the people would like everything Mayor Ellington has done. He built the hotel and the general store, and he started the bank so people have a place to keep their money and to get loans when they need them. He also built this school."

Mary nodded.

"Yes, he did all those things and at first the people of Leland thought he was working to make Leland a better place to live. That's why he was elected to be the Mayor.

"As soon as the general store opened for business, the people of Leland got a taste of what his true reasons were. There is a town about fifteen miles from Leland called Little Creek, and it has a general store. That's where people went to buy their supplies before Mayor Ellington built the one here. The people were happy they wouldn't have to make the long drive to Little Creek until they saw the prices the new store charged. Everything was at least two times the cost of the same thing in Little Creek.

"It was the same with the bank. Instead of keeping all your money at home, you could put it in the bank and Mayor Ellington said he would pay interest on that money so it would grow. What he didn't say is that he would charge you a fee for what he called "record keeping" that wiped away all the interest you had earned plus a little bit more.

"What the people of Leland now know is that everything Mayor Ellington did, he did to help himself. The people of Leland do not trust him with anything but they can't do anything about it because of the town council. Mayor Ellington didn't pick a town council from the people who live and work in Leland or the surrounding area. He brought in others from the East. The Marshall is from New Jersey. The undertaker used to live in Pennsylvania.

The man who runs the general store grew up in Leland, but when the bank lent money to his father, Mayor Ellington told Mister Jackson that if he didn't do what he said, he'd take his father's farm and leave his parents with no place to live.

"He pays them all to do what he wants, and what they've done is make laws that benefit them and Mayor Ellington. For instance, at the first town council meeting, they passed a law that requires their approval for anyone running for Mayor. Of course, Mayor Ellington is the only one who gets their approval.

Another law they passed says if you can't make a payment on a loan from the bank, the Marshall will come out and tell you that you've forfeited all rights to the property and it is now owned by the bank.

"If you die in Leland, you have to be buried in a casket made by the undertaker or pay a fine of a hundred dollars.

Mary chuckled then.

"David preaches a funeral for nothing out of respect for the deceased and the family. Albert Miles, the undertaker charges ten dollars for a casket that costs him a dollar to make. David was going to make caskets for the dead until Mayor Ellington stopped by and told him it would be a shame if something happened to the church. He didn't need to say anything more.

"The town council also made a law that if you want to start a business in Leland, you have to get permission from the town council. To get permission, you have to agree to pay the town of Leland fifty dollars a year for the permit. The only new business to start up in Leland since Mayor Ellington was elected is the way station for the stagecoach. They had no problem paying for the permit because they make a lot of money.

"Thankfully, the blacksmith and the barber shop were here before Mayor Ellington. He can't do much about them so he hasn't tried, but we all think he will soon."

Elizabeth sipped her coffee and then frowned.

"I understand some now, but what does all that have to do with me?"

Mary smiled.

"When Mayor Ellington first came to town, several of our young women tried to attract his attention in hopes of becoming his wife. He soon put them in their place by telling them they weren't educated and sophisticated enough for him.

"Elizabeth, the hotel desk clerk told everybody that you live in a room that connects to Mayor Ellington's rooms. They think that means you're his mistress. People in Leland do not hold with such immoral conduct."

Elizabeth voice showed she was angry.

"I did not come to Leland for any purpose other than to teach school. I would never do anything like they think. Isn't there some way I can change their minds?"

Mary shook her head.

"The only way would be for you to move out of the hotel, but now that he has you there, I doubt if Mayor Ellington will let you do that. I don't know where you would go either. No one in town would give you a room for fear Mayor Ellington would do something to them. Unfortunately, that includes David and me. It is all the congregation can do to make the payments on the loan we got from the bank to build the church. If something happened to it, he'd just take the land and we'd have to go somewhere else."

Elizabeth thought for a few moments, then smiled.

"There's at least one man who isn't afraid of Mayor Ellington. He was in the hotel dining room this morning and he was mad. He's a very big man, bigger than most. Mayor Ellington called him Samuel."

Mary nodded.

"That'd be Samuel Horn and you're right. He isn't afraid of Mayor Ellington because he doesn't have to be. The Horn family has owned a ranch here since before the time Texas became a Territory. That's why Leland is named Leland. Mister Horn's father's name was Leland Horn.

"First, Leland built a sawmill and started sawing lumber. Then, he built the blacksmith shop so farmers in the area would have a man to shoe their horses and mules and to repair their farming equipment. After that came the barbershop and the general store. Mayor Ellington didn't build the first general store, by the way. Samuel's father did and then sold it to Hyram Wynn. Hyram ran the general store until it burned to the ground one night. They found Hyram inside. Mayor Ellington said he took pity on Hyram's wife and bought the burned out building from her. Then he built the new store and put Mister Jackson in charge of it.

"All the lumber used to build the buildings in Leland came from Samuel's sawmill. The beef served in the hotel dining room comes from Samuel's stock. He has over three hundred men working for him and without him, Leland wouldn't be a town anymore. Mayor Ellington knows that and it makes him mad. What he would like to do is figure out some way to take the Horn ranch for himself, but he hasn't so far."

Elizabeth asked Mary if Mister Horn might help her. Mary shrugged.

"I don't know, Elizabeth. He seems to be a bit on the odd side about women. He's always polite to women, but he's a young man, only twenty-five from what I hear, and you'd think he'd be looking for a wife, but he doesn't seem to be. I think that may be because he had a wife before he went off to war. She was with child at the time, but she took sick with the grippe and passed on while Samuel was away. David preached her funeral and she's buried in our cemetery. Since he came back, he doesn't seem to be interested in women any more."

Elizabeth frowned.

"I'm not looking for a husband. I'm just looking for a way for the people of Leland to accept me as their schoolteacher and nothing else. How would I go about meeting Mister Horn?"

Elizabeth hadn't heard Pastor Branson come in until she heard his voice.

"Samuel doesn't come to church on Sunday morning, but he always visits his wife's grave on Sunday afternoon. You come to church tomorrow morning and stay for dinner. When Samuel gets here, I'll introduce you."

That night, Elizabeth had dinner with Mayor Ellington again. He asked what she thought of the school. Elizabeth had smiled a fake smile.

"It's wonderful. I can hardly wait to begin teaching my students. I also met Pastor Branson and his wife. They both said they were happy to finally have a school and a schoolteacher."

Elizabeth noticed the momentary frown that crossed Mayor Ellington's face. It quickly change to a smile, but she knew she'd cause him some discomfort.

"Well, I wouldn't put much stock in what the Pastor and his wife say. Religious people are always talking about how things could be and ignoring how things really are. I suppose their support might help you get some students though."

He sighed then.

"I had hoped that one day my own children would attend that school. A man needs someone to pass along his fortune to. Without a wife to bear those children, I fear that may not be the case. Perhaps one of these days I can convince an educated woman like yourself to become my wife and make that dream come true."

Elizabeth didn't need to see the gleam in Mayor Ellington's eyes to understand that he wanted that woman to be her. She hadn't been impressed by Mayor Ellington before. After talking with Pastor Branson and his wife, she found the suggestion to cause a chill to run down her spine.

Elizabeth knew she didn't dare show that distaste. Instead, she smiled.

"Mayor Ellington, I am certain that given enough time, you will convince that woman that being your wife would be a life she had only dreamed about.

"Now, I hate to leave you, but my excitement over the school has fairly drained me. I will go to my bed and leave you to your evening brandy. Oh, and I will be having my breakfast early tomorrow morning. I promised Pastor Branson I would hear his sermon tomorrow and I also accepted his wife's invitation to share their noon meal. I intend to ask him to tell his congregation that school will begin on the first of September."

Elizabeth didn't give Mayor Ellington time to reply. She just pushed out her chair, stood up, and walked away.

As Elizabeth quickly undressed, she kept looking at the keyhole in the door that connected her room to Mayor Ellington's. She was just pulling the sheet and blankets up to her neck when she saw the pinpoint of light appear from the keyhole. The light stayed there for a few seconds and then went away. She knew that was Mayor Ellington looking through the keyhole. She smiled to herself knowing that he hadn't seen her.

When Elizabeth went to the dining room at eight the next morning, she didn't sit at Mayor Ellington's table. It was a small thing, but she hoped someone would see her at another table and realize her relationship with Mayor Ellington wasn't what they thought. She sat at another table and ordered oatmeal and a cup of coffee. Once she finished, she went back to her room and changed into her best dress, then walked to the church. The actual service wouldn't begin until ten, but Elizabeth didn't want to have to speak with Mayor Ellington if she could help it.

She waited inside the school building until she saw other people begin arriving at the church. At a little before ten, Elizabeth locked the school door behind her and then walked the short distance to the church. As she stepped inside, Mary was waiting there and smiled.

"Let's go to where I always sit. That way, the people will know you're here and if you're with me, they'll think maybe you're not what they thought."

Elizabeth saw people staring at her as she followed Mary up the center aisle to the first bench. Once she sat down, she didn't look back, but she could almost feel the eyes looking at her.

Elizabeth found the service to be much like Reverend Thomas had preached back in St. Louis. Pastor Branson was a little louder and used his arms a lot, but the message was very clear.

The subject of his sermon was acceptance and understanding, and seemed to Elizabeth to be aimed at the congregation's apparent judgement of her even before they knew her. Pastor Branson spoke about how all would experience their own day of judgement when they met God, and that they should conduct themselves in a manner that would result in that judgement being admission into Heaven. He gave several examples from the Bible, and ended his sermon with a warning from the Bible.

"My friends, the word of God tells us that God alone may be the judge of our lives. Until that day when we stand before God, we must not give in to the temptation to spread untruths about others no matter how things appear lest we be judging them. As Luke wrote in Luke 6:37, 'Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven'. Now, let us pray."

Once Pastor Branson said, "Amen", to end the prayer, the congregation began filing out of the church. Mary touched Elizabeth on the hand and said, "We'll wait until they all leave. David gave them something to think about and they need to talk amongst themselves."

Mary smiled then.

"I have a chicken in the oven and it should be about done. Mister Horn will be along about one, so we have plenty of time."

At a little after one, Pastor Branson pointed out the window of the parsonage.

"Mister Horn is here, right on schedule."

Elizabeth looked out the window and watched as a man on a black horse rode up to the church, tied the reins to one of the hitching rails, and then walked to the cemetery. He looked like the same man who had stopped his wagon so she could cross the street, and the same man who had threatened Mayor Ellington.

When she looked at Pastor Branson, he smiled.

"Samuel will be here for maybe fifteen minutes. When he starts to leave I'll introduce you."

The man stood there with his hat in his hand and looked down at the ground for about ten minutes. Then he pulled a few pieces of grass from around the simple headstone, put his hat back on, and started back to his horse.

Pastor Branson stepped out of the parsonage door then.

"Mister Horn, might I have a word with you?"

The man stopped, turned and walked toward the parsonage. When he was halfway to the door, Pastor led Elizabeth out of the parsonage. The man stopped as soon as he saw her, but he didn't say anything until Pastor Branson and Elizabeth stopped in front of him. Then, he touched his hat and said, "Afternoon Ma'am."

Pastor Branson smiled and offered his right hand.

"It's good to see you, Mister Horn. The reason I stopped you is this woman here, Elizabeth, wants to talk to you if you have the time."

As Samuel shook Pastor Branson's hand, he was wondering why this woman wanted to talk to him. He'd seen her twice before, once when he'd stopped his wagon so she could cross the street and once when he was leaving after warning Ellington. He'd seen her sit down at Ellington's table through the window, and had decided Ellington had brought a whore to Leland.

He wasn't especially upset that the woman was probably a whore. He'd met many as he fought his way across the South. Most had been women with no other way to support themselves because of the war and he couldn't fault them for just trying to stay alive. Everyone he knew during the war had been trying to just stay alive until the damned war ended. He'd carried out the orders he'd been given by the generals above him, but his primary goal had been to keep himself and as many as possible of the men under him alive.

The woman didn't really look like a whore though. She looked like most of the women in Leland. He knew that looks could be deceiving though. Maybe she wasn't a whore. Maybe she'd been hired by Ellington to find out information about the operations of the Horn Ranch. Both sides had used women for that purpose during the war. He decided the only way to find out was to listen to what she had to say.

"It's good to see you too, Pastor Branson, and I have some time."

He smiled at Elizabeth then.

"What's on your mind, Ma'am?"

Elizabeth knew Samuel was a big man, but until she was standing in front of him, she didn't realize just how big he really was. She had to look up to see his face. Everything else about him was big, from his wide shoulders to his barrel chest to his big hands. A name flashed into her mind then, another secret name like she gave other people she didn't know. That name was "Big Sam".

"Well, Mister Horn, I'm the new schoolteacher and I thought people would welcome me. According to Mary, that would be the case except for Mayor Ellington. He hired me and told me there would be a boarding house in Leland for me to live in. When I got here, I found out that he intended for me to live in the hotel where he lives.

"Mary says the people think he brought me to Leland to be his mistress, but I assure you that's not true. I need to move out of the hotel but Mary say's there is no place for me to go. I was wondering if you might be able to help me."

Samuel was smiling but he'd changed his mind about Elizabeth. Ellington might have thought she'd be his whore once he got her in Leland. That was something Ellington would do. He'd promise her one thing and then when he had some control over her, he'd force her to do what he wanted. Samuel didn't believe Elizabeth wanted any part of that arrangement, and the way she'd frowned and the tone of her voice told him Ellington would have a difficult time convincing her.

That she wanted away from Ellington impressed Samuel. The other thing that impressed his is she didn't try to talk her way into what she wanted from him. She'd just come right out and asked. He didn't know of any other woman who would be so direct. Even his Barbara hadn't been that way. She'd always have to lead up to what she wanted from him.

"Well, Ma'am, you already know I have no liking for Ellington so I'd like to help you out. The problem is the only place I could put you up is on my ranch. If I did that, people would still think the same thing but they'd be thinking it about me instead of Ellington. That wouldn't do you any good that I can see. You'd also be an hour away by wagon from the school. That's a far piece to ride every day. What about the church? Ellington doesn't own the church, not yet anyway."

Elizabeth frowned.

"I think Pastor Branson and Mary would be willing but they're afraid of what Mayor Ellington might do to them."

Samuel nodded.

"Yes, he'd probably figure out some way to run them off just like he has a dozen or so others. Pastor Branson and his wife took care of my Barbara when she passed so I owe them a debt. Maybe I can pay them back a little and help you at the same. Let's go talk to Pastor Branson."