“Then why did school funds pay for repairs to your warehouse?”
Silence.
Grayson looked toward the carpenter.
The man stared at the floor.
Grayson’s composure cracked.
Only slightly.
Then he smiled.
“You are very interested in appearances tonight, Mrs. Cole.”
Eliza felt danger.
Nathan sat straighter.
Grayson reached inside his coat.
Removed folded paper.
Eliza recognized it immediately.
The marriage contract.
Her stomach dropped.
How?
Grayson held it up.
“Perhaps we should discuss your own honesty.”
The room erupted in whispers.
Nathan stood.
Eliza looked at him.
Stay.
He stopped.
Grayson continued.
“This so-called marriage was arranged specifically to deceive this board.”
Eliza’s mind raced.
Only four people knew about the contract.
She.
Nathan.
Reverend Pritchard.
Mrs. Pritchard?
Thomas Reed had not seen it.
How did Grayson get a copy?
Then she understood.
Her boardinghouse.
She had left a draft there.
In the desk.
Before moving.
Someone entered.
Grayson read aloud:
“Six months.”
“Separate rooms.”
“No expectation of affection.”
Whispers grew.
He smiled.
“You ask us to trust your accusations while you entered a fraudulent marriage to preserve your employment.”
Eliza’s face burned.
Not shame exactly.
Violation.
The private terms of her marriage displayed before children’s parents.
Nathan’s voice came from the front.
“You stole that document.”
Grayson looked at him.
“Can you prove it?”
Nathan stepped forward.
Eliza spoke.
“Stop.”
Everyone looked.
She approached the front.
Held out her hand.
“Give it to me.”
Grayson smiled.
“It is evidence.”
“Of?”
“That your marriage is a sham.”
Eliza looked around the room.
Then back.
“Yes.”
The room gasped.
Nathan’s expression changed.
Eliza continued before fear could stop her.
“It began as an arrangement.”
More whispers.
“I asked Nathan Cole to marry me because this board threatened my position after rumors were spread about my private conduct.”
Grayson smiled wider.
Eliza raised her voice.
“I am not ashamed of surviving an injustice.”
Silence returned.
“The shame belongs to whoever created the injustice.”
Grayson’s smile weakened.
Eliza continued.
“But there is something more important.”
She turned toward the board table.
“There is no rule requiring a teacher to be married.”
Harlan looked up.
Grayson’s face changed.
Eliza placed another document down.
The original Willow Creek school charter.
Nathan had found it the previous week among county filings.
“The charter permits dismissal for neglect, abuse, criminal conduct, incompetence, or documented moral misconduct.”
“Being unmarried is not listed.”
She looked toward Grayson.
“Neither is refusing supper.”
The room went very still.
Grayson said:
“The board retains discretion.”
“Not unlimited discretion.”
Eliza held up the county superintendent’s response.
“I asked.”
Grayson stared.