by Ilena Holder
“Ouch!”
Now she stood hopping on one foot. Royce caught his breath and hauled himself off the floor. There was no way she could flee now.
“I knew it! A person wouldn’t run ‘less they were guilty! You’ve probably robbed a lady in town and stole her clothes!” He grabbed her wrist. “You’re not going anywhere now!”
“You don’t understand!” Donna started to plead. “It’s not what you think!”
“I just bet it’s not! I think it might be best to lock you in one of the horse stalls until I get the constable here in the morning!”
Donna leaned against the feed bags and pried Royce’s hand off her wrist.
“Hey, I could ask the same of you, buddy. How do I know you are who you really say you are?” She bent down to rub her ankle. “Besides, I’m here for the party. I’m a guest this weekend.”
Royce rubbed his stomach.
“Party? Why didn’t you say so? The Brandentons have guests all the time.”
Donna stared at Royce. Perhaps he was one of the Holtzclaw’s other guests, somebody from town she hadn’t met yet. And she had to admire his period costume, even with a sexy leather eye patch; it was pure late eighteen hundreds. And why was he talking about the Brandentons anyway?
“How did you get here? The last train from Chicago ran at four p.m. today because I picked up the guests who rode it. So how did you come to be here?” He had a puzzled look on his face.
“Train? Oh yes, the train.” Donna was beginning to get the feeling that something was very amiss. “No, I—wait, yes, I came by train! The train! It was really full of people. I barely got a seat.” She thought it best to play along until she could figure out…what? Perhaps the Holtzclaws were playing a little game on her. Something that was straight out of the last century. Wouldn’t that be funny? She’d play along until she figured out what the next step was. Now Royce seemed to have a new attitude towards her. At least he let go of her wrist.
“See here, now I want the truth.” Royce became stern again. “I am still not sure who you are and what you are doing here.”
Donna felt a little chill at this statement. She thought he had softened up a bit.
“Exactly how did you get here, in this tack room, from the train station? It’s too far for a lady to walk.”
“I came by rental…car.” Donna gulped and decided to tell the truth just to see what happened.
“Did you say rental cart?” Now that makes more sense!” Royce’s face crinkled into a grin.
“That happens all the time around here. Somebody misses a connection, either the mail stage run, or the train schedule gets amiss for a cow on the tracks or bad weather. People need to get back to Chicago fast, so they’ll pay a farm boy to run them to the nearest drop off point.”
Donna was glad for the misunderstanding of the word. Car, cart, they were so similar.
“So, Miss, you didn’t say what your name was.”
“Bradenton. Donna Bradenton.” Donna thought it best to give a disarming little smile. Smiling always seemed to smooth things over with just about any faux pas, especially with men.
“All right, Miss Bradenton.” Royce looked around the room. “Where is your luggage, your traveling satchel, or trunks?”
“Lost. Yes, all things were lost between Chicago and Saint Joe.”
“Here, Miss. I have an idea. It’s already night time and you need to get up to the big house and I need to get back to my cottage. Your hosts are probably expecting you and are worried. Stay here for a second, I have an idea.”
Royce left Donna alone in the darkness, as he took off with the lantern. Obviously it never occurred to him that she might be frightened. She was, but just a little bit. It wasn’t so much the darkness, but the location. What on earth had happened? Why had it happened? She hugged herself, not so much to get some feeling in her, but to see if she actually felt anything physically. Surely she wasn’t dreaming, or was she? Why would he want to take her to the big house as he called it? Wouldn’t he want to take her to the Holtzclaws?
As she pondered about her predicament, she realized Royce didn’t understand she was scared. He was used to using a lantern and probably thought this was commonplace to her also. She pinched her arm a little and felt pain, so she knew she wasn’t sleeping. It would be fun to play along with the Hotlzclaw’s Halloween fun. After all, they might be doing it to get her mind off the dreariness that always accompanies sadness and death in any family. It was fun in a way, and now she was beginning to enjoy the prank. It would be just like them to invite some hunky male guest to encourage a little matchmaking between them. It also wouldn’t be the first time they had pulled this trick.
As she heard Royce go out into the stable, she limped slowly back to the tack room. Certainly, she could feel her way a few feet in the darkness to the light switch. She’d just flip it on for a second while he was gone. Then she’d get her bearings and flip it off. It was strange to be in the room that she knew every nook and cranny yet to be in darkness. She listened to hear if his footsteps were coming back, but she heard only the sound of horses stirring and whinnying in their stalls. She realized they probably recognized the presence of Royce. He must be another person the Holtzclaws had hired to help out their son. Anyways, who had put horses back in their stalls? They had been sold when Gran died.
She stretched her hands out in front of her, reaching the far wall and feeling with her fingers towards the door. She felt the cool fall draft coming in through the cracks of the door. Just another foot and she’d feel the light switch! Fumbling cautiously at first, then frantically, she felt nothing – only the boards. Where could it be?
Suddenly, Royce reentered the room, his lantern casting a yellow glow.
“What are you doing, Miss? You should be careful in the dark. I came back as quickly as I could.”
“I was looking for the switch,” Donna said.
“The switch? You mean the switches, crops and buggy whips? They’re on the other wall. You won’t need them anyways, what would you want with a switch?”
“I thought I heard a mouse. It scared me.”
“Oh now, Miss, that makes sense. You know there are always mice around a stable. That’s why we have cats. You’ll be alright. Now if it’s a big fat rat, that’s another story. Here, I’ve brought one of the feed carts. I’ll take you up to the big house. We could walk, but it’s faster for me to load you in the cart and take you. That way you won’t have to limp.”
“Did you say a feed cart? Is it clean?”
“As clean as dry straw can be. If you mean is it a manure cart, of course not!”
“No, no—I didn’t mean that. I just never rode in a feed cart before.”
“I’ve never taken a woman for a ride in one either but I think it’s the fastest and easiest way to get you to the house. Let’s go out the back door. I’ve already taken the cart there.”
Royce crossed the room and opened the door for Donna. She wished she could run her hand down the wall again to find that blasted light switch.
Royce had the cart out front as promised.
“How do you want me to sit?” Suddenly, her long skirts seemed awkward.
“Here, take my hand, I will help you in. I think it best if you sit feet first towards the front. When I lift up the handles you will tip forward a bit. If not it’ll seem as though your head is tipping backwards and I don’t think you’ll find that too comfortable.”
Donna hoisted her skirts, took his large hand and gingerly sat on the edge of the cart. Dusty clover smells filled her nose and made her want to sneeze.
“Thank you for the blanket.”
Royce had carefully folded a large horse blanket for her to sit on.
“Yes, I thought it might cushion you. Now, if you were a plumper lass it might be a different story.”
Donna laughed.
“Here, you’ll have to hold the lantern while I take the handles. There’s no other way. Be careful.”
With
this, Donna took the lantern and Royce slowly and gently lifted the handles of the cart as if she weighed no more than a marshmallow. This man was seriously strong! He pushed the wheel out of its spot in the gravel and they were on their way. Normally she would never have gone off with a strange man in Chicago, but this was an unusual circumstance. Besides, he was on the same property and knew all the people she knew.
“How far is it?” Donna asked, though she well knew. Royce didn’t know she had been back and forth between the stable and big house all her life.
“Oh, just a few minutes push, miss.”
As they rounded the corner of the stable, Donna craned her neck to try to catch a glimpse of her Cadillac. But the lantern didn’t throw much light and anyway she knew exactly where it was. She would come back and fetch it later. She snuck a look at Royce as he navigated their path. He was ruggedly handsome and now that they had gotten over their awkward introduction, he was undoubtedly gentlemanly. All in all, she would have told her girlfriends back in Chicago that he was probably a pretty good catch.
Royce took her in a northerly direction, not on the main drive as she thought he would.
“Why are we going this way?” she asked him while they bumped along.
“The shorter path past the pear orchard is smoother since it’s on grass.”
“I hope I’m not too heavy,” she said.
“Oh no, light as a feather.”
Royce wouldn’t have told her anything else, it would have been ungentlemanly and besides he was only a few inches from the back of her hair which smelt heavenly. If it wasn’t for the late hour and his limp, he would have loved to have pushed her about in this manner for hours.
Chapter Three
Ten minutes later, Royce pushed the cart up to the back entrance of the house. Gran always said in the old days it was the servant’s entrance, but now the family used it constantly since it was easier to take off their riding boots in the mud room. Formal guests still used the big entrance as they always called it, circling around the sunken goldfish pond and turning right into the huge wooden doors with the horse head doorknocker.
“Stay put,” Royce said. “I’ll knock for the maids.”
Donna just wanted to jump out of the cart and go through the door, but she stayed. It made it more fun. Being delivered by Royce also was fun. In fact, she sort of felt like Cinderella in the pumpkin coach. This whole evening was starting out to be memorable and even a bit romantic. She wondered who would come to the door. Would it be Mrs. Holtzclaw in a long formal costume dress? Or would she be dressed in a silly costume for Halloween? She couldn’t wait. This was really such a hoot. Or maybe their son might open it a crack and yell “surprise”. Perhaps her parents were playing a trick on her and had doubled back from their Chicago trip to pull a good one. She knew when they threw the door open the lights would blaze out, and the warmth from the oil furnace would envelop her. The annoying bumpy ride in the cart would have been worth it and they would all have a good long laugh. She had to admit the night air was getting a little chilly and she was looking forward to a well deserved hot shower. She turned to see who would open the door. It finally creaked open and she saw a strange middle aged woman with a white cloth cap on her head, wearing a black dress and a white lacey apron. She wore high top black shoes from what Donna saw. Her hair was pulled back behind her head with a clasp in it. She first smiled at Royce and then looked past him at Donna. Donna knew the maid, or whoever she was pretending to be a maid, could not see her clearly. But Donna saw her, since she was backlit by the soft candle lights of the house and the taper she was holding. She wished she could get a better look at her, perhaps to ascertain exactly who she was. Since Donna did not live around the area, she knew the Holtzclaws could have gotten anyone to play the part of a maid, a personal friend or party-goer. Of course! That would have made it even more believable, to get someone who was a stranger to Donna! While she sat there, proud to have figured this part of the trickery, a large mixed-breed dog suddenly burst of the house, bumping into the maid and almost bowling over Royce. He didn’t seem bothered by Royce, but headed directly to the cart.
Donna was scared – everything happened so fast. Since she was still in the cart, she had no defense against the dog. So in the few seconds that she had before the dog reached her, she didn’t know which way to turn. If Royce had been closer he could have struck at the dog, but he was up by the house. The snarling dog bounded closer to her and then he was so close, Donna saw his teeth.
Royce jumped off the stoop towards her and gave out a loud yell. Then, just as suddenly as the dog had lunged out of the house, he pulled up short.
“Rex!” Royce shouted. “Stop!”
Donna cringed back in the cart, but Rex now simply hung his tongue out and began wagging his tail.
“Thank heavens!” the maid cried out. “He hates strangers – just doesn’t tolerate them at all. It’s obvious you’re family! If not old Rex would have taken a chunk outta your leg!”
The maid laughed heartily. Donna didn't find it amusing, but she managed to laugh a little.
“Anyway, all’s well that ends well,” she said.
Royce took her hand and helped her out of the cart. She supposed he had whispered something to the maid at the door that she didn’t hear. No matter, it would soon all be cleared up and everyone would have a good laugh over it. It troubled her about the dog, though. Where had he come from? The Holtzlaws didn’t have any dogs the last time she visited. Strange. Royce walked her up to the door, with his lantern guiding her steps. With the maid holding the door open she stepped inside. Gran's mudroom entrance was always plain and Spartan. But while Donna looked around she saw everything seemed altered. The slate floor was gone; replaced by oak planks. The coat hooks that were immediately to the left were nonexistent and the wallpaper was simply a painted stucco wall. As the maid motioned her to come in farther so she could shut the door Donna felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. This was Fallow Field Farms…but yet it wasn't.
Surely she wasn't losing her mind? What on earth was wrong? Somehow she felt something was amiss and it wasn't just the surroundings. Royce and the maid were flesh and blood but their clothing and the surroundings seemed old fashioned for a reason. They acted comfortable in their clothes. Was it because she had somehow gone back in time? Could that be possible? She hadn't seen her car outside the stable, was it gone? Had something happened when she pricked her finger? Suddenly she felt faint and leaned against the wall.
Holy moly. What have I gotten myself into?
Royce and the maid were exchanging a bit of gossip while the woman closed the door. They noticed Donna's predicament and came over to her.
“Miss, is something wrong?” the maid asked with concern.
“Yes. I'm just…hungry.”
“I fear she hasn't eaten since the train ride, Mother,” Royce said. “Come on, let's fix her a plate in the kitchen before we take her any farther. Some of your good food and drink will make her feel better.”
“Yes, thank you. I think that's it. Just a touch of hunger,” Donna said.
“Here, I didn't tell you who I was. I'm Lilly, the cook and seamstress. I’m also Royce’s mother.”
“Pleased to meet you. I'm Donna Bradenton.”
“She's come in on the Chicago train,” Royce added. “I found her in the tack room all alone, lying on a pile of horse blankets.”
“Do tell?” Lilly said. “It's not safe for a woman to travel alone nowadays without an escort. You look so pale. I think a nice plate of roast and vegetables will heat you up quick.”
“Yes, Lilly's a fine cook,” Royce added.
Donna had to admit the smells from the kitchen were heavenly. She was seated on a wooden chair pulled up next to a marble-topped pastry table. She ran her hands over it, admiring the veining in thick milky stone. It was cool and smooth to the touch.
“Now, Royce, you stay too and have a bite. I know how hard you work.” She smiled at Royce.
“Mother, you’re a fine cook. The Bradentons are lucky to have you.”
Lilly smiled.
“Truthfully, I've had my supper a few hours ago. But I would enjoy a good cup of hot tea and some of that rich pound cake if you could spare it. I was boiling a pot of water for my last cup of tea when I had to go and fetch Miss Bradenton.”
Soon, Donna had a plate full of hot beef, gravy, fried potatoes and boiled cabbage in front of her. The food was plain but hearty and it seemed a feast to her. She thought it best to concentrate on the food while she puzzled over her situation. Thankfully, Lilly and Royce were preoccupied with their own gossip, preparing loose tea and slicing cake to notice her. Royce came over to the table with his large slice of cake and pulled up a chair while the kettle was put on to boil. The wood stove was stoked with chunks of wood; Donna saw them when Lilly opened the door to throw another piece in.
Donna looked around the room. They’re cooking with wood and use candles for lighting, Girlfriend, what’s wrong with this picture?
“Here—while the water’s boiling, I'll go tell Missus Bradenton that another guest has arrived. I don't know if it’ll make a difference, the party’s been in full swing for two hours now and the liquors been uncorked the same amount of time.”
With this, Lilly rolled her eyes at Royce and he nodded. Apparently it was a shared confidence. She walked through the swinging doors with a whoosh of skirts.
“Missus Bradenton hired Lilly away from a family in town. They were fixing to move to Boston anyways, so it worked out for everyone involved. She was an excellent cook and Missus Bradenton just had to have her at any price. So, she provided her husband a job also in the deal. He’s my step-father. He keeps the cow shed and helps the maids with the milking and cheese making. It worked out well for both of them.”
Donna nodded her head. She finished mopping up the last of her gravy with a biscuit she found in a basket by the stove. As the two of them sat quietly eating, Lilly reentered the kitchen.
