A Promise to Love by Serena B. Miller

the poor girl a job himself. It would be wonderful to have someone who would come and cook for the children every day.
    Polly squirmed on his lap.
    â€œPlease be good, Polly,” he whispered.
    The little girl stuck her thumb in her mouth and settled back against his chest.
    â€œCan I go outside, Pa?” Trudy asked. “Ellie’s still out there and it’s getting hot in here.” She ran a finger around the collar of her dress for emphasis.
    Even though it was nice outside, the makeshift courthouse was filling up, and it was already getting stuffy.
    â€œGo ahead,” he said. “But please try to keep your dress clean.”
    â€œI will, Pa.”
    After ruining that one little dress, he had been up half the night trying to get their clothes ready without scorching anything else. His own shirt and pants were easy compared to the girls’ little things.
    â€œIs Joshua Hunter present?” Judge Carver said.
    â€œI am, sir.”
    â€œI’ll take your testimony now.”
    He handed Polly off to Agnes. He hoped she wouldn’t be too much for her big sister to handle. This was not a good time for his children to misbehave. As he made his way forward, there was a slight murmuring among the people who had wedged themselves into the small space. He saw that the windows had been opened so that the people outside could watch and hear.
    The judge nodded to A.J. “Swear him in.”
    Hand on the leather-bound Bible, Joshua promised to tell the truth.
    â€œWere you the husband of the deceased, Diantha Hunter?” the judge asked.
    â€œI was.”
    â€œPlease have a seat, Mr. Hunter,” Carver said. “And tell the court what happened the day your wife died.”
    Joshua took the seat they offered. “Where do you want me to start?”
    â€œThis is an inquest, not a trial, Mr. Hunter,” the judge said. “Just start with that morning and tell us anything you consider important.”
    He cleared his throat. “My wife fixed breakfast about six o’clock that morning. Then she took a walk in the woods while the children and I ate. Afterwards, she sat and drank a cup of tea with me while we made our plans for the day. She then took the children down to her mother’s to help her with some spring cleaning. About two hours later, she started complaining of a bad headache. She died about twelve-thirty, about two hours after the headache started.”
    â€œHad she complained about any symptoms or pains prior to that morning?”
    â€œNo, sir.”
    â€œWas she given to walks in the woods in the morning?”
    â€œSometimes. She said it calmed her nerves.”
    â€œDid your wife have trouble with her nerves?”
    â€œOccasionally.”
    As the judge wrote something on his papers, Agnes spoke up from where she sat with Polly on her lap.
    â€œMama said me and my little sisters got on her nerves a lot, sir.”
    Soft laughter rippled through the courtroom.
    â€œI can imagine that she did,” Carver said kindly. “But I’m asking your father questions right now.”
    â€œSorry.” Agnes’s face had turned red from the laughter.
    â€œPlease continue, Mr. Hunter.”
    â€œLater that morning, Agnes came running to the barn where I was working and said that her mother had fallen. I ran down to the Youngs’ farm, thinking Diantha had hurt herself, but when I got there, she came walking out to the gate. I asked her if she was sick. She laughed a little and said she had just gotten a little dizzy-headed, and then she went back into the house.”
    â€œAnd what happened then?” the judge asked.
    â€œI helped my father-in-law load some lumber, then went to check on Diantha to see if she’d had any more dizzy spells. I found her out in the backyard drawing water from the well to start dinner. She said she felt fine. While Diantha and Virgie cooked, I went inside and visited with Richard for a while.