Free A Changed Agent by Tracey J. Lyons

shell—”
    Amy interrupted. “They sound like they tasted heavenly.”
    “The oysters were dressed with a spicy bit of red sauce, like nothing I’ve ever tasted before. But it’s the usual fare for them on a Friday evening.”
    “This sounds so glamorous compared to Heartston.”
    “Don’t get all dreamy-eyed, Amy. Too much rich food is not good for the digestion, I’m afraid.” Elsie left it to Amy’s imagination. “City life is so different from ours here in the country. The air is quite dirty from all the factories. I missed the trees and I missed all of my students.”
    “They were all right here where you left them. I’m sensing something happened while you were at this dinner.”
    “Yes.” She moved to the edge of her chair, leaning toward Amy. She lowered her voice, saying, “We were right in the middle of our oysters when Virgil Jensen showed up at our table.”
    Coughing on the tea she’d just swallowed, Amy drew in a breath and sputtered, “ The Virgil Jensen? Your former betrothed?”
    “Yes. The very same. He was the last person I expected to see while on holiday.”
    “How did he look?”
    “He looked horrible. A shell of the man he once was.”
    A small gasp escaped Amy.
    Elsie nodded, still feeling much the same shock at his condition. “He is rail thin, with long, unkempt hair. Remember how he always prided himself on his appearance? I don’t think he’d bathed in weeks. Frankly, I’m not even certain how he was allowed into the establishment.”
    Amy wrinkled her nose. “What did he say to you?”
    “He asked how I was faring and if I still taught school.” She reached for another lemon cookie before continuing. “Then he asked if he could call on me at my aunt and uncle’s house.”
    “I hope you told him no. I for one haven’t forgotten how he just up and left you after proposing, leaving you so heartbroken.”
    Waving a hand in the air, Elsie tried to appear indifferent to Amy’s comment. The truth was she had been shattered when Virgil left her. She’d thought she’d found the man of her dreams, one who would take care of her, provide a nice home, and give her children. But that hadn’t happened. Virgil Jensen had been her betrothed one day, and the very next day he was gone.
    She hated remembering how it had been to pick up the pieces of her heart, to be forced to carry on, going about her teaching job and being in public when everyone in Heartston knew how she’d been deceived. But she’d carried her head high and persevered, somehow surviving the embarrassment and the hurt of his betrayal.
    “Elsie? Did you see him again?”
    She nodded, eliciting another gasp from Amy. “He came by the very next day. I couldn’t just turn him away.” She paused, deciding to voice her concerns. “Amy, I fear there is something dark going on inside of him. He’s not the same man I knew. The look he gave me when he asked me to carry a packet back to Heartston for him, it was as if he were battling some sort of demons.” A shiver went through her as she remembered. “I know this sounds ridiculous, but I felt I had to help him. I told him I’d bring the packet here and put it in safekeeping for him. Now I’m not sure I did the right thing.”
    “You did what you thought you had to do. Elsie, I’ve never known you to turn away a person in need. Tell me, what was inside the packet?”
    “I never looked.”
    “What do you think is in it?”
    “I don’t know. I can only imagine something important. Otherwise, Virgil wouldn’t have given it to me.”
    “Where is it now?”
    “I left it at my parents’ house.”
    “Do you think he’ll come back for it?”
    Elsie sighed. “I don’t know.”
    “About your living arrangements with Mr. Benton and the children,” Amy said. “Elsie, are you certain this is what you want to be doing?”
    “I am. From the first time I saw them standing on the platform at the train station in Albany, I could tell something wasn’t