Chapter 11 - Excitement and Scandal

The next day was Sunday.

Elizabeth was excited to show off her handsome new sons; although she had to admit that while Tom looked strong and handsome, she was a little less excited about Han. He had that underfed, scrawny appearance and seemed to find it impossible to stay tidy for more than five minutes.

When they got to the church, Tom helped her down from the wagon as all eyes watched them. She beamed with pride and began to greet their neighbors, while David and Han followed behind.

As her friends gathered around her, Elizabeth proudly introduced Tom. She could see their admiration of the boy and felt warmed by it. They introduced their children to Tom, although some of them had already met him when he was out with the Curry children. His good looks and easy manner made him instantly popular, and Elizabeth guessed that most of the girls were already in love with him.

She got a little carried away with their praise, and spent so much time showing off Tom that she almost forgot to introduce Han. He was standing patiently back with David, not seeing anything amiss in her behavior.

When she did pull him forward to introduce him, she was surprised to see a decided coolness in their greetings and wondered why.

She saw one of her acquaintances, a woman with a boy of Han's age. "Susan, how lovely to see you! May I introduce Tom and Han? Han is the same age as George. Perhaps they could play together."

Susan gave her an odd look and drew her a little away. In a voice a shade too loud, she said, "Really Elizabeth, I don't think it would be appropriate, do you? A child like that would hardly be a suitable companion in a respectable household. Tom will, of course, be welcome at any time, but the other child… I'm sorry Elizabeth, but a line must be drawn somewhere."

Susan turned and walked away, leaving Elizabeth behind, her cheeks flaming red. She looked around her. It seemed that everybody had heard, and she saw a few heads nodding in agreement.

Maggie appeared at her side with a face like thunder. "Are you alright?"

"I suppose so. Do you know what that was about?"

"It seems everybody's heard about Han's parentage and has decided the worst." Maggie could see the boy was listening to their every word, but it was useless to try and hide it. "I'm sorry, Han. Jed told me and Caleb, but I know he didn't tell anyone else and neither did we. I don't know how they found out."

Tom looked up. "I told some people. I didn't know it was a secret."

For a moment, even Elizabeth looked at him in exasperation.

David groaned. "Who did you tell?"

"Just Adam, Joe and Leah. Oh, and we got talkin' to some other kids while we were out in the woods." At their look, he went on to explain, "Bill, Dan, Thomas and Charlotte."

In fact, thought David, the children of the biggest gossips in the town.

Elizabeth stared at him in horror. "Tom, that really wasn't…" she paused as she tried to find the right words. Even now, she found it hard to discipline her perfect son, "it wasn't very wise. I'm afraid it might make things a little uncomfortable for your brother."

She heard Maggie mutter, "To put it mildly."

The minister, John Elliot, approached them. "Hello everyone. There seems to be some murmuring and more than a few glances thrown your way. Is there anything I should know?"

Elizabeth faltered. John Elliot was a friend, but he was also a man of the cloth; who knew what he would think of their current predicament? "We just adopted a couple of boys. This is Tom."

The minister held out his hand in greeting. "Very pleased to meet you, Tom."

"And... this is Han."

She bit her lip as David gently pushed Han forward. Han stepped forward reluctantly. He hadn't had good experiences with ministers so far in his life. These people weren't the only ones that believed him to be steeped in sin.

Maggie had a lot more faith in their friend, and explained to the minister, "Han's appearance in our community seems to be causing a bit of a stir." She liked John and was happy to confide in him. "Han's mother was an actress and his father never made an appearance. It seems that everyone has heard about it and has been drawing their own conclusions."

The minister looked at the boy. His cheeks were flaming and he looked thoroughly miserable.

In a loud, carrying voice, the reverend said, "Young Mr. Heyes, I'm afraid I must apologize for my congregation. It seems that they've completely forgotten everything I've been trying to teach them about Christian charity and tolerance. I hope you won't let it put you off attending our church. I have some excellent sermons, even if I do say so myself! I'm planning a very good one for next week, something along the lines of 'judge not, that ye be not judged'. What do you think?"

The boy looked up in surprise and his face broke into a smile. Maggie and David exchanged a look of relief.

David put an arm around Han. "Thank you, John!"

They looked around to see that everyone was now pointedly trying not to look as if they were listening.

Edwin Miller, the owner of the pharmacy and another good friend of Maggie's, pulled his wife over to the group. "Mr. Heyes, Mrs. Heyes, won't you introduce us to your boys?"

Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief, and was pleased to see that Tom and Han both remembered their manners as they greeted them.

After that, a few others came over to be introduced to Han. There were still a large number of people that didn't - and no-one introduced their children to him - but at least they felt that some people would accept him.