Just Above a Whisper

by Lori Wick

  Reese looked for a moment at the contract he held out to her and then took it. The silence hung over them like a blanket. Reese stared down at the document, saw that it was in fact her papers, and returned her gaze to him.

  “What about Mr. Zantow’s debt?”

  “That is not your problem. The bank will have to take a loss on anything outstanding.”

  Reese was not taking this in. The news was so very unexpected. She looked down at her papers and back at the banker.

  “So what happens to me?”

  “You’re free.”

  Reese’s face cleared. “So I should get work and continue to pay the bank that way?”

  “No,” Troy adamantly shook his head. “You don’t owe anyone. You are certainly free to get a job, but the money is your own. In fact,” Troy continued, picking up a small stack of bank notes, “this bank never should have owned your papers, so these notes are to cover the hours you worked while we held your papers.”

  Reese reached out mechanically to take the money but was utterly speechless. It was becoming clear to her now. She was free. She wasn’t owned by the bank or anyone else. She was free!

  “I should tell you,” Reese remembered, “that Mr. Jenness gave me a stipend. Has that amount been deducted from these notes?”

  “No, and it won’t be. You’ll keep the stipend and the notes I just gave you.”

  Reese nodded slowly and then bit her lip.

  “Are you sure Mr. Jenness approves?”

  “You’re free, Reese,” Troy repeated quietly. “You are no longer an indentured servant.”

  Reese glanced down at the paper and notes again. She was beginning to grasp the news, and when she looked up again, Troy saw that her eyes had widened.

  “I could buy shoes,” she said in wonder. “And put money in the offering plate at the meetinghouse.”

  Troy had to suddenly clear his throat and remind himself that he still had business with this woman.

  “You certainly could do those things, and you could also consider an offer I have for you,” Troy began, finding it easier at that moment to look down at the desk than at Reese. He moved a few papers and then looked up. “Mr. Kingsley and I will be in Tucker Mills for an indefinite period of time, but no less than three months. We would like to hire you to cook and clean house for us.”

  “You’re offering me a job?”

  “Yes.”

  “At the Kingsley house?”

  “That’s right. We’d like you to keep the house up, look after our clothing needs, and prepare breakfast each morning and dinner for us each noon. You will have Sundays off.”

  Reese suddenly stood up, and Troy smiled at how tall she was. He didn’t know why he had missed that when she came in. He watched her walk out of the alcove and heard her speak to Mr. Leffler, who was behind the counter.

  “He set me free and then offered me a job.”

  “You should take it,” Mr. Leffler said, his own emotions giving him trouble.

  “It’s at the Kingsley house.”

  “You love that house,” the teller reminded her.

  “Oh, no,” Reese turned. “I walked out of the office!”

  She rushed back, a hand over her mouth, but Mr. Thaden was smiling.

  “I’m sorry. I had to tell Mr. Leffler.”

  “It’s wise of you to check with someone. Do you want the job?”

  “Yes.” Reese made herself sit down and told herself to breathe. “Do you want me to start today?”

  “In a way, I do. We have very little food in the house. Do you suppose you could shop or arrange to have some things delivered on Monday? You wouldn’t have to come to the house until then, but that would give you something to work with.”

  “Do you have an account with Doyle Shephard?”

  “I don’t think I know Doyle Shephard.”

  “He owns Shephard Store.”

  “That would be a good account to have. Do I need to set that up, or can you?”

  “I can do it,” Reese said simply, and Troy found himself relaxing. She was going to be perfect. Clearly she knew her way around a house and this town, and right now that couldn’t have been a better combination.

  “I think you’ll also want an account with Mr. Veland. He’ll sell meat he’s butchered, and Sammy Fletcher has a dairy herd, so they always have extra cheese and cream,” she said, thinking back to life at Mr. Zantow’s.

  “Can you take care of those?”

  “Certainly,” Reese said, feeling so excited that she could hardly sit still. “Mr. Thaden, is it all right if I take about an hour and see some people? Then I can work on those accounts.”

  “I want you to handle this however you like, Reese. You don’t need to limit yourself to an hour. If there’s dinner on the table at noon on Monday, and you’re looking after the house by that day, then we won’t worry about the details for today.”

  “All right,” Reese agreed, but for a moment she couldn’t move. It was so wonderful, and she had to take a moment to pray and thank God.

  “Are you all right?” Troy asked, watching her face closely.

  “Yes. I’ll get out of your way now.”

  “I’ll see you Monday morning?”

  “Yes. Thank you,” Reese said softly, her voice telling Troy that she was overwhelmed by it all. Reese left the office alcove and almost headed to the door. At the last moment, she realized what she must do. Approaching the empty counter, she spoke to Mr. Leffler.

  “Mr. Leffler, can you help me open a bank account?”

  “It would be my pleasure, Reese,” he told her, his smile as wide as his face.

  Behind the bookshelves, still at the desk, Troy let his head fall back, hearing Reese’s voice at the counter as she asked questions and opened her own account. Troy thought that giving Reese Thackery her freedom might have been the sweetest moment he’d ever known. Coming from a man with two grown daughters and two grandchildren, this was a pretty significant emotion.

  “Doc?” Reese called from inside his front door, but there was no answer. She stood and called for about a minute, but he didn’t seem to be around. Reese was disappointed not to share her news with him, but she realized she had two more stops to make.

  Her walk was a little slower than it had been. She certainly wanted to tell the Muldoons and Mrs. Greenlowe, but Doc had been first on her list. Reese made herself shake off the sadness and went ahead to Mrs. Greenlowe’s.

  To Reese’s utter astonishment, that lady was not around. She was always at home! Reese looked all over the house and yard but came up empty. The Muldoons lived closest to the bank, and Reese was beginning to wish she’d started there. At the same moment that she came to this conclusion, she decided to let the Tucker Mills grapevine spread the word about her freedom and new job. She would simply wait for people to ask her about it, confident that it would happen sooner than later.

  Troy went back to the house about midmorning. He had a stack of papers in his satchel and had told Mr. Leffler that he would be at home if needed. Troy found Conner in the study working over the desk, but the younger man seemed pale and quieter then usual.

  “Any word from Mr. Jenness?” Conner asked, making room on the desk for Troy to work and spread out the papers.

  “No.”

  “I hope he didn’t wander off and collapse somewhere. Even if he’s guilty of something, we don’t want that.”

  “Mr. Leffler had not heard or seen a thing. I did get to speak to Reese, however.”

  “What did she say?”

  “At first she didn’t understand, and then when it sank in, she was overwhelmed.”

  “I can imagine. Did she accept your offer to work here?”

  “In a heartbeat. She’s already planning to set up accounts around town today.”

  Conner’s brows rose in admiration. “You certainly picked the right person, Troy.”

  “According to Leffler, she had no help on this house. And she did it in just over a week. Now, we might fi
nd that she can’t cook a thing, but we’ll take that as it comes.”

  “What’s she like?”

  “Early twenties, I would guess. She’s tall and redheaded. Too thin. Quiet and unassuming. I can tell she’s used to being invisible.”

  Conner nodded, and Troy finally asked about him.

  “I have a headache,” Conner admitted. “I suspect it’s tied to being here again. I’m experiencing more emotions than I’d planned.”

  “Are you sleeping?”

  “I did the first night, but not last night.”

  “Did you go see Douglas Muldoon this morning?”

  “No, I changed my mind about that. I know he has children, and this head pain could mean something else. I decided not to risk spreading a possible illness.”

  These details out of the way, the men went to work. Conner had a mind for numbers that was astounding, whereas Troy liked words. Reports were read, numbers were checked, and a good bit of ground was covered before the two decided it was time to break for dinner.

  Troy had something on his mind while they worked but couldn’t quite recall it. Not until he glanced around the room and noticed the bookshelves did he think to explain to Conner the way Mr. Jenness had set up the alcove.

  “He had the bookshelves blocking the view of the desk, like a wall?” Conner clarified.

  “That’s right.”

  “Did he say why?”

  “We never got to that.”

  Conner only shook his head. If Mr. Jenness was in fact an innocent man, he was going about showing it in all the wrong ways.

  Jace came in from evening chores, his mind distracted with his thoughts. Not until he’d washed up did he realize that tea was ready to go on the table but the house was quiet. Jace thought he would find his wife upstairs, but as soon as he started that way, he spotted her bent over the desk in the corner of the parlor.

  “There you are,” Jace commented.

  Maddie turned to receive his kiss.

  “I’m just finishing a letter to your sister and was absorbed.”

  “Did you seal it?”

  “Not yet.”

  “I’ll add a bit,” Jace offered and took Maddie’s place at the desk. He wrote and told her he wished it was the time of year he could be away from the farm but a visit would have to wait. In the midst of this, he stopped and looked at his wife.

  “Did you tell her about the baby?”

  “No. Why don’t you?”

  While Maddie put their meal on, Jace added more to the letter. He smiled as he wrote the good news to his sister, and watching him from the table in the parlor, Maddie smiled at the sight. She hoped that Jace’s sister would come after the baby was born, but mostly she wanted to see her husband’s face when they finally met this little person.

  “Where have you been today?” Mrs. Greenlowe asked Reese when she came in close to teatime. Reese had been at the Shephard Store around dinner time, and Cathy had insisted on feeding her.

  “I was here earlier and missed you,” Reese began.

  “Well, you’ll never believe what I heard around town,” Mrs. Greenlowe said, clearly in her element. “Seems you’ve been released from your papers and hired at the big house. I told folks it was nonsense. I said I would have known.”

  When Reese didn’t say anything, Mrs. Greenlowe’s eyes got big.

  “Reese Thackery, you tell me right now.”

  “I tried earlier. I stopped by, but you weren’t here.”

  Not even upset that she didn’t know, Mrs. Greenlowe demanded to hear the whole story. Reese was in the midst of it when there was a knock at the door. Reese was closer and went to open it.

  “Is it true?” Doc was standing there, wanting to know.

  “It’s true,” Reese confirmed with a smile.

  The doctor’s heart felt as though it would burst in his chest. He put his arms out, and Reese welcomed his hug.

  “Oh, Reese,” he murmured quietly. “You can’t know how I’ve prayed, how I’ve begged God to rescue you.”

  “Well, He did,” Reese said, looking to find tears in the doctor’s eyes.

  “Get in here and have tea with us,” Mrs. Greenlowe suddenly ordered, and the doctor did not argue.

  “All right, Reese,” Doc MacKay began once the dishes had been passed. “Who did this exactly?”

  “A Mr. Troy Thaden. He works for the Kingsley family, or with them, or something like that.”

  “Where is Mr. Jenness?”

  “I don’t know. Mr. Leffler suggested that I ask Mr. Thaden, but I forgot to do that.”

  “And how did it come about that Mr. Thaden hired you?”

  “I don’t know, but I assume he knows I cleaned the house. I think he and Mr. Leffler have talked some.”

  “You got your orders from Leffler?” Mrs. Greenlowe asked in confusion.

  “No, but he always knew where I was headed for the day.”

  “And what will be your jobs at the big house?” Mrs. Greenlowe needed to know.

  “Dinner every noon, the house, and their clothing. Sundays off.”

  “Do they plan to work you like a dog?”

  “I don’t know,” Reese had to answer honestly, “but at least I’ll be paid for my efforts.”

  “And if she doesn’t like it,” the doc put in gently, “she has a choice about leaving.”

  Mrs. Greenlowe and the doctor fell to talking about something else happening in town, but Reese didn’t join in. She took a long drink of tea, still trying to take in the morning’s news and hoping that the wonder of this time would not wear off very swiftly.

  Troy stood over the boiling kettle in the kitchen early Sunday morning. Not expecting to hear Conner come in behind him, he turned to find the younger man very sober and knew in an instant that his head still hurt.

  “Why don’t you go back to bed? I’ll bring you some tea.”

  “Since when are you stuck with the job of nursemaid?”

  “Whenever needed.”

  Conner stood still, keen disappointment knifing through him. He’d planned to attend services that morning at the meetinghouse. He knew now he would not hear a word of the sermon, and trying to meet people and interact when he felt so lousy would not have been a good idea.

  Conner did take the cup of tea offered to him, but he drank it by the stove, hoping the heat would drive the ache from his head and neck. Troy offered him some breakfast, but he declined. One more cup of tea later, Conner returned to bed.

  Is it true? was the question on everyone’s lips at the meetinghouse. The folks were so happy for Reese that Douglas asked her to come to the front so he could ask some questions of her.

  Alison did very well until Reese smiled at the congregation and admitted to opening her first bank account. The pastor’s wife buried her face in Jeffrey’s little neck and cried. Her husband couldn’t help but notice that many folks were in this condition, and he called for a time of silent prayer in an effort to give everyone some time to regroup.

  When a few minutes had passed, Douglas prayed out loud, thanking God for always taking care of His loved ones. He also asked God to bless and keep Reese as she entered this new phase of her life. The wise pastor asked God to give Reese greater knowledge of His saving love and understanding that no matter what her situation looked like, free or not, her goal was godliness as His child.

  Troy checked on Conner in his bedroom a few hours later. “How are you?”

  “Didn’t you go to services?”

  “No, I didn’t feel comfortable leaving you.”

  “I’m sorry, Troy. I wish I had realized.”

  “So how are you?”

  Conner thought about this. “Hungry, I think. That must be a good sign.”

  “I asked the tavern to bring us something about noon. Will you be all right until then?”

  Before Conner could say that he needed food immediately, both men thought they heard someone knocking on the door. Troy went downstairs to check and found a man he didn’t
know.

  “I’m sorry to bother you,” Douglas Muldoon began and then introduced himself. “I’m looking for Dalton Kingsley. Does he happen to be here?”

  “Please come in, Mr. Muldoon,” Troy invited. “Or should I say Dooner?”

  Douglas laughed. “I can see the family has been talking.”

  “Actually, Conner is here,” Troy explained as they moved further into the hall. “Dalton wanted to come, but his daughter is quite ill right now.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “Dooner?” Conner spoke from behind the men as he came down the stairs and into the wide hallway.

  Douglas did not hear Conner’s voice, only the floor creaking behind him. He turned and smiled at the youngest member of the Kingsley family.

  “Hello, Conner,” Douglas greeted, putting his hand out. “How are you?”

  “I think I’ll live.”

  “Are you not well?”

  “Just a headache. I didn’t come to visit in case it’s more than that.”

  Douglas smiled suddenly, his eyes full of fond memories.

  “I had forgotten that you were even bigger than Dalton.”

  Conner’s eyes twinkled as well. “You mean my little, big brother.”

  Douglas laughed. “Something like that. Oh,” he said, suddenly remembering the basket in his hand. “My wife has been baking and sent some things with me.”

  “Thank you,” Troy acknowledged when the basket was handed to him.

  Conner said, “Just in time. I’m starving.”

  “Please don’t tell me you men don’t have food here.”

  “We’re doing fine,” Troy spoke up, wanting this kind pastor to believe him.

  “And besides,” Conner got in when it was quiet enough to be heard, “Reese Thackery comes tomorrow.”

  “About that,” Douglas tried to begin but couldn’t manage the words. In the wake of this humble man, the younger brother to an old friend of his, he felt overwhelmed.

  “I think before it’s over with, Mr. Muldoon,” Troy spoke up, “we’ll be the ones thanking you.”