The day my brother heard I'd placed first in the civil-service hiring, he wanted to come straight home. He had a few workers to sort out first, so it dragged until this morning.
Ulysses dropped his bag, swept his eyes fast across the whole scene, and finally settled on my swollen, battered face.
Chairman James stepped up at once, his voice thick with grief.
"Ulysses, thank God you're back. Ferris, that boy, he's really lost his head."
And with that, he told my brother what had happened.
Ulysses walked in one step at a time, pulled me up off the ground, looked me dead in the eye, and said only one thing.
"Ferris, don't be afraid. I've got you."
In that moment, something in my chest warmed, and my eyes stung.
I let him haul me to my feet, steadied myself, and forced out through a raw throat,
"Ulysses, I really didn't do it. I have proof."
The second Abigail saw my brother believed me, she grabbed his arm and put on a look of pure injury.
"Ulysses, how can you stand there and listen to your brother's excuses? He violated my sister. That's a fact."
"You're the older brother. You won't stand up for your own sister-in-law, you won't set things right, and now you want to shield him? What is that, if not bullying the Lamberts because you think we're pushovers?"
Evelyn went one better, eyes brimming, swaying on her feet as she looked at my brother.
"Ulysses, it really was Ferris who did this to me. If you won't stand up for me, then I've got nothing left but to take this baby and die. And it's a James child."
She turned toward the officials from the background-review team standing in the doorway, sobbing until her voice broke.
"You have to stand up for me, please…"
One of the review officials stepped forward, his tone hard.
"Ferris James, you need to explain this incident, and fast. If there's genuine criminal conduct here, we'll report you and strike you from the roster."
Chairman James yanked me over to the corner and dropped his voice.
"Ferris, don't be a fool. Just say it's a young couple's spat, agree to the marriage, and little Evelyn will change her story. But if she really pursues a rape charge, your whole future is finished."
The villagers crowded around now, all chiming in to talk me down.
"Ulysses, go on, talk some sense into your brother. The James family's been more than reasonable. Agree to the match and everybody's happy, isn't that better?"
"And listen, Evie's story is airtight. She said the white shirt, and Ferris really was wearing red underwear. Then there's the scratches on your brother's arm."
Seeing everyone take her side, Abigail's voice climbed.
"You keep refusing, and I'll have Evie and the review officials lay it all out. Then you can sit and wait to be reported and expelled."
My brother's face went dark as he planted himself in front of me.
"Abigail Lambert, my brother would never do something so stupid. Stop slandering him."
He turned to Evelyn.
"Evie, you're certain it was in the cornfield? You're certain you got a clear look and it was Ferris?"
Evelyn's eyes darted away, then she steeled herself and nodded, her voice catching in a sob.
"I did see clearly. It was Ferris."
"When he came home a month ago, I only suspected. But last night I made a point of scratching him, and I looked hard. It was him."
My brother let out a cold laugh.
"Last night the wind was howling something fierce. And you're telling me Ferris walked you home and dragged you off into the cornfield? If that's what he wanted, couldn't he have done it at home?"
"And that cornfield is right by the crossroads. He wasn't afraid you'd scream? Wasn't afraid of being caught?"
The color drained from Evelyn's face in a rush. She panicked and stammered,
"How, how would I know? All I know is Ferris did this to me."
That was when Chairman James stepped in.
"Enough, Ulysses. Stop grilling a young girl. This is victimizing her twice over."
"She's a grown girl. You think she'd gamble with her own name?"
"I'm making the call. Since there's already a baby, Ferris, you marry Evie. Two families joined even closer, that's a good thing. Don't turn this into a public spectacle."
"Officers, it's just a lovers' quarrel. There's nothing illegal here. The two of them couldn't settle the marriage terms, that's all. Sorry to trouble you."
Chairman James pulled out cigarettes, playing the peacemaker, working an angle with the review officials.
Every pair of eyes landed on me, waiting for me to bang the gavel and take this marriage.
But I'd spent fifteen years in school, finished graduate studies at a top-tier university, and just tested into a state-level government agency. If I could be cornered this easily by a girl fresh out of middle school, I wasn't worthy of any of it.
I stopped my brother before he could argue more, and gave a strange little smile.
"Fine. Since you're all singing the same tune, calling me a rapist, then let's have the police come dig out the truth."
And with that, under everyone's stunned stares, I calmly dialed the police.
"Hello, is this 911? I want to report a crime. Someone in Jamestown has raped an unmarried woman multiple times."
