Author's Note: The description of Sarah's wedding is copied from the wedding of Lady Rose on Downtown Abbey. She married in a civil ceremony because her husband was Jewish. Sarah's dress is an 1883 version of what Lady Rose wore; both carry white roses in their bouquet.
Author's Second Note: The San Francisco City Hall that exists today was rebuilt and opened in 1915, following the 1906 earthquake. There was not a City Hall until 1899 when one opened after 27 years of planning. The City Hall in the article below is for the benefit of the story.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Heath was walking down the stairs into the front hall when Jarrod arrived back from town. He had gone in to drop off some paperwork and pick up the mail.
"Just the man I was looking for." Jarrod announced, as he greeted Heath before handing him an envelope. "This was waiting for you." The envelope was heavy cream vellum paper, with Heath's name and address written in a feminine hand.
"It doesn't have a return address." Heath regarded the envelope carefully, as he noted a merry gleam in his brother's eyes.
"Maybe you have a secret admirer." The comment was delivered with big smile.
"Heath has a secret admirer?" Nick and Priscilla came down the stairs and looked at him expectantly. "You are a very eligible bachelor after all." Nick's laughter filled the hall, and Jarrod laughed in agreement.
"Stop it right now. It is probably a business matter, and a secretary addressed the envelope." Priscilla admonished them and went over to stand next to Heath. She was dressed in white watered silk, with ivy embroidery, lots of dark green ribbon trim, and silver lace. Her hair was put up with silver ribbon, and Heath noticed her choker necklace of diamonds and emeralds that matched the earrings.
"Your necklace is very beautiful Priscilla, is it new?" Heath asked, both out of interest and hoping to change the subject. He put the envelope in his inside vest pocket, to read later when he was in the privacy of his own room.
"Nick presented it to me after Ducky was born." Priscilla beamed at Nick, who smiled with satisfaction at his wife. Heath knew his brother was very generous, especially to those he loved. He recalled now that Nick had gifted Priscilla other jewelry when Thomas Henry and Alden were born, as well as at Christmas and her birthday. His sister-in-law had quite the collection by now, he was sure.
"Heath's letter is none of our business. Let us go into the parlor and get something to drink. I would like a glass of sherry." Priscilla took Heath's arm and led him into the room.
Once drinks were served Victoria and the Folsom's joined them. Heath heard how Maud and Olaf had taken Simon into town for lunch, shopping, the park, and then ice cream down by the river. They had eaten at the Sunnyside Café, which made Heath think of Sharon. Tobias had left to go home to Ohio for Christmas, before relocating to Los Angeles. Heath had not heard any announcement about the couple, which made him more curious than he wanted to be.
It sounded like Simon had had a good time with his grandparents, and Heath made a note to ask him about it tomorrow. The rest of the evening passed pleasantly enough, but he decided to retire to bed earlier than usual. Victoria had been talking to Maud and Olaf about Sweden, and their glowing responses made him sad. He could see the handwriting on the wall – Simon would be going with his grandparents.
Upstairs he laid the letter on the bed and went to get undressed. Coming back from the washroom he put his pajamas on and climbed into bed. He adjusted the light on the table to be able to read the letter; Heath hoped it would take his mind off Simon going to Sweden. He opened the envelope and was surprised when all it contained was a newspaper article. There was no note, and he unfolded the paper carefully.
Sarah Marie Rose and Adam David Cohen were married at the San Francisco City Hall today. The civil ceremony took place in the Veritas Room, which had been decorated for the event. Floral arrangements offset the carved wood paneling; gilt chairs had been set up for the guests. The ceremony was conducted by Judge Edward Parmlee.
The bride wore a pale blue peau de soire dress with inset panels of white point d'Alencon lace. Pink roses were embroidered on the collar, sleeves, and hem of the dress. A hat of white chiffon with satin ribbon and white roses matched the bouquet. Her jewelry included her large three stone diamond engagement ring, pearl earrings and a diamond brooch in the shape of a fleur de lis. A source told this reporter that it is a family piece from Mr. Cohen's family who are of French heritage.
The couple, who are very active in the San Francisco business community, were honored afterwards at the rooftop garden restaurant of the Golden Plaza hotel. The luncheon was attended by over a hundred well-wishers and included a six-course meal and fine French wines. The hotel opened a year ago and has become known as one of the top dining spots in the city.
The couple will be spending the next several months in Europe on their honeymoon. We wish Mr. & Mrs. Cohen happiness in their married life.
Heath realized he had been holding his breath as he had read the article, and he exhaled heavily. He felt like there was a vise around his throat, and a knot in his stomach, as he gasped for air. Carefully he read the article again, as its significance hit home.
Sarah and Adam had wasted no time in getting married. The papers for the divorce had been filed in October, but was not finalized until late November. Heath did the math, after looking at the date of the newspaper article, which was yesterday. He did not know a great deal about planning a wedding, but arranging for the room at city hall, and the restaurant, would be hard to do in three weeks.
The couple had probably been planning this event since the papers were filed, or maybe even before. Heath recalled what Jarrod had said, about the Pinkerton man who had not found any evidence of adultery. That statement was not in-line with what Heath inferred from the newspaper article. He looked in the envelope, wondering if there was a small note he had missed. There was no note; the person who sent this to him must have done it out of spite.
Sarah's mother Penny came to mind; he had no doubt she would enjoy rubbing Sarah's wedding in his face. For a third time he re-read the article and could not help comparing this wedding to the one he and Sarah had had.
They had married in a small ceremony at the church in Stockton. Sarah had worn a pretty, but simple white dress with only her wedding pearls for jewelry. Heath recalled now that Sarah had wanted to elope, and only agreed to the wedding to make the families happy. In reading about her wedding to Adam it came across as elaborate.
The description of the jewelry irked him, because when Sarah had been married to him, she had not cared for jewelry. He would have been happy to give her jewelry; what had changed with her? Heath's mouth tightened into a hard line as he thought because it was Adam giving her the jewelry, she liked it.
Since Sarah had announced that she was leaving him he had been at various times shocked, sad, and mad towards her. Heath had really felt like, in the last couple of weeks, he had reconciled himself to what had happened. His talk with Victoria had helped him immensely, and he had felt like he was finally putting the divorce behind him.
Now though the anger he had felt, when he had read Sarah's demands, came back to him with a vengeance. Heath threw the covers back and marched over to the cabinet in the corner, where he kept a bottle of bourbon. He took a glass and filled it with the amber liquid, which he drank quickly. Heath thought about having another glass but did not want to pour alcohol on the fire of his emotions.
Instead he went back to bed, but spent the night tossing and turning, as he saw Sarah and Adam together in his mind. Sarah laughing and toasting Adam with champagne in Denver – she had never toasted him like that. He could picture her at the wedding, all dressed up and looking beautiful – she had only done it grudgingly for him.
The next morning, he was out in the barn early, after having come up with an idea to get his questions answered. When he was not seeing Sarah and Adam, he was hearing Jarrod's words, about how there was no evidence of adultery. At the time he had not questioned it, but in retrospect he wished he had had.
Jarrod's story about how he had bluffed Sarah had surprised him at the time, but he knew that his brother was very good with legal matters. Now he wondered if Jarrod had not told him the whole story; he could see his older brother trying to protect him. Heath did not want to be protected though; he wanted the truth.
An hour later, after breakfast he cornered Jarrod in the library, where he was working on some contracts. His brother looked surprised to see him, which Heath hoped he could use to his advantage.
"Have you seen this?" He passed the folded newspaper article to Jarrod, who opened it. "It is from the other day's San Francisco paper." Heath glared balefully as his brother read the article.
"Sarah has every right to marry whom she wants. Your divorce has been final for almost a month." Jarrod sighed, as he handed the clipping back to Heath.
"Our divorce has been final for three weeks and five days!" Heath raised his voice as he made the statement. Before Jarrod could reply there was an interruption.
"Do you have that contract for Winters ready? I want to take it into town and mail it off." Nick strode into the room but stopped suddenly when he saw his brothers.
"Excuse me, I should have knocked. I can come back later." Nick announced, having noticed the way Heath was standing. Something told him he did not want any part of the conversation.
"No, please stay Nick. You can listen to Jarrod lying to me." Heath spat the words, and Nick rocked back on his heels. He looked over at Jarrod, who had his court face on, as the family called the bland look he was so good at.
"Heath, I think you two need to work this out yourselves." Nick knew that several years ago he would have jumped into the matter without a second's hesitation, getting angry at Heath's statement about Jarrod. However, thanks to time and marriage he had matured, much to his mother's delight.
"Here, read this." Heath shoved the newspaper clipping at Nick, who looked over at Jarrod with puzzlement. His older brother shrugged his shoulders, which Nick took to be acquiescent at him staying. He wished his brother had invoked legal privacy and had asked him to leave.
Nick read the article and had an idea of what was bothering Heath. The divorce had not been final for that long – it was clearly a hasty marriage. However, in the end it was Sarah's business, and he said as much to Heath. Privately Nick would have thought his brother would be glad to have Sarah out of his life.
"This shows that Sarah and Adam have been involved for a long time." Heath grabbed the article from his brother. "Jarrod told me that there was no evidence of an affair. That Sarah only signed off because he had bluffed her that he did have evidence." The accusations were hurled at Jarrod.
"Maybe there was no affair until the divorce – have you thought of that? Look at it this way, she is out of your life completely." Nick asked, regretting coming into the study. Heath had the Barkley stubbornness, as Nick knew all too well.
"Nick makes a valid point Heath. I told you the truth, about what the Pinkerton agent had found, or rather what he'd not found." Jarrod raised his hands, palms upwards, as he made the statement. "I will happily give you the agent's name and a letter stating that he is free to talk to you about the investigation." He reached for a piece of paper and started writing quickly.
"Here, take it and go to San Francisco! I never said there wasn't an affair, I just said the agent found no evidence." Jarrod huffed. "He did hear a great deal of gossip, which is what I used to get Sarah to think I had proof."
"Heath, does it really matter?" Nick watched Heath slowly take the paper from Jarrod. Heath was still upset about Sarah and the divorce. "It is in the past brother. You need to look to the future. As long as you are spun up about Sarah and Adam you will never find happiness."
"Brother Nick speaks words of wisdom, and I hope on the train ride to the city you think long and hard about what he said." Jarrod's voice carried dismissal, as he opened one of the law books on his desk. "Nick, I will have the Winter's contract done in an hour, provided there are no more interruptions." He had looked up as he said it and indicated the door with his head.
Once outside of the room, Nick pulled the door shut tightly and looked over Heath. His brother looked dazed and was staring off into space. He was worried and wondered if he should go to San Francisco with Heath. Evidently the man was not himself; over the last month his behavior had alternated between calm stoicism and flares of anger.
"No, you don't need to come with me Nick, but thank you." Heath replied to Nick's offer in a cool tone. He had not cared for the comment about not finding happiness; for Heath he needed the truth to be happy. "I'll plan on going up in three days if you can spare me. I know we have a great deal to do before Christmas."
"If it helps you, go now." Nick clapped him on the back. "We all want only the best for you, please know that." He turned and walked away leaving Heath standing in the hall, still holding the newspaper article.
In the study Jarrod breathed a sigh of relief after his brothers had left the room; the feeling did not stay with him though. Jarrod had thought Heath was doing well, but clearly that was not the case based on his reaction to the wedding. It surprised him that Sarah had married so quickly, because of the talk it would cause. He did concede that with the length of time the affair had been going on, the couple undoubtedly wanted to legalize their relationship.
The guilt he had felt, about not telling Heath the truth came back to him, and inwardly he tried to reassure himself he had done the right thing. Nick's comment about it really mattering made Jarrod feel slightly better. There was the fact that he had promised Phoebe confidentially about what she had shared with him.
Another worry came to him, that Heath in going to San Francisco, might try to confront Sarah and Adam. Jarrod could see Heath lying in wait for the couple; an ugly public scene played out in his mind. He worried too, about how Heath would be with Ron Passen, the Pinkerton agent. Ron was the top agent in the San Francisco bureau, and Jarrod did not want to lose access to his services.
The only bright spot he could find, out of the whole mess, was that Sarah would not have any reason to bother Heath or the Barkley's again. Jarrod recalled what he had learned about her and pondered for a moment if Adam really knew the type of woman he had married.
