by Delia Parr
“I don’t want the two dollars. I was hopin’ we could make a trade instead.”
She set the saddle on the ground and turned to him. “A trade?”
“You get your horse back, and I get my spyglass back. And Mr. Dillon gets to keep his two dollars. Simple as that,” he suggested and grinned. “You don’t need no spyglass, but you sure do need a horse.” He wrinkled his nose. “That old thing you got there don’t look like she’s good for much anymore, but Bella’s real young and kinda pretty, if you like horses,” he added.
“Which you don’t, I know.” She folded the saddle blanket and set it on top of the saddle before she tossed Will a brush. She had completely forgotten about the boy’s spyglass, which was safely stored in the trunk at the foot of her cot. “For your information, this old horse is a reliable sweetheart, while that beauty over there with you can be especially disagreeable. Fortunately you haven’t discovered that, because she has a particular dislike she reserves for girls, which means I’m not all that interested in getting her back. Give this one a good brushing while I get her some oats. When we’re done, we’ll talk about that reward.”
To her surprise, Will took the brush without argument. Apparently he wanted his reward more than he disliked horses, but when he held back and looked at her with a quizzical expression on his face, she sighed. “Have you ever brushed a horse before?”
He shrugged. “Nope.”
After showing him what to do, she stepped away to give him some space and left just long enough to get a feed bag and fill it with oats. She found Will standing next to the horse with a grin on his face and the brush in his hand when she returned and slipped the straps for the feed bag over the horse’s head and into place. “Can I get my spyglass now?” he asked.
“I haven’t agreed to the trade, have I?”
His grin widened. “No, but you will.”
“And what makes you so all-fired sure of yourself?”
“I’m not, but Mr. Samuel says you will and—”
“And Samuel’s never wrong, at least in your eyes,” she teased, still amazed by the incredible bond shared by the blind seaman and the orphaned boy that God had brought together. “You can go right back to Samuel and tell him that while he’s not often wrong, in this particular case, he is. I have no interest in giving you that spyglass in exchange for a horse that I don’t particularly like and don’t intend to keep. As far as I’m concerned, you’re not getting that spyglass until I see your grades for this term. Unless you brought them with you,” she added.
“Left ’em behind, but I can get ’em right quick.”
She blocked him with her arm when he attempted to charge off. “It’s too late in the day for that, and I won’t be home by the time you get back anyway. Why don’t you come see me tomorrow morning? That should give you time to think about how you’re going to convince me you won’t use the spyglass for anything more than hunting with Fancy.”
He shrugged, but his eyes were twinkling. “If you don’t wanna do the trade, I guess I could always let the horse go again. Or maybe I should talk to Mr. Dillon tomorrow, instead of talkin’ to you.”
She looked down at him sternly. “Mr. Dillon doesn’t own Bella. As unfortunate as it may be, I do, and I’m the one who will decide what happens to her. And since I’m having supper with Mr. Dillon tonight, I’ll be sure to tell him not to give you a reward of any kind. Now scoot back home before I decide to go along with you and talk to Samuel about this myself.”
She double-checked the bar again on Bella’s stall to make sure it was properly in place before she followed Will out of the stable. She made sure he was headed toward home before she hurried her way back to the confectionery, said another prayer for Charlotte, and took solace in the fact that she still had three more women left on her list of possible replacements.
Hoping she would have enough time to wash up and dress properly for the occasion, she was halfway down the hallway when Victoria came rushing out of the new sitting room, where the rest of the household was apparently gathered. The girl’s cheeks were flushed a deeper shade of pink than Martha had ever seen.
“Thank goodness you’re finally home,” she gushed. “Jane’s put fresh water upstairs in your room, and she pressed your gown for you. It’s lying on your bed, along with a clean petticoat. And don’t bother about the brooch. I’ve already pinned it to your gown. Now please hurry! If we don’t leave in half an hour, we’re going to be late.”
Martha put her arm around her daughter and hugged her close. “And if we’re late, even though I’ll do my best to rush, I’ll apologize and take all the blame. In the meantime, while I’m getting ready, I want you to try to calm yourself. Your cheeks are so flushed, folks tonight might think you painted them,” she teased. “Take a few moments to relax, and it wouldn’t hurt to put a cool cloth rinsed with rose water on your cheeks while you do. Come upstairs with me. I have a bottle of rose water in my room you can have.”
Victoria groaned. “I was so worried you wouldn’t be back in time. It’s only the most important night of my entire life!”
“Up to this point, perhaps,” Martha said. Once she sent Victoria off with a promise that she would do her best to hurry, she managed to wash up, change, and fix her hair in far less time than she expected.
Even so, they were still going to be a little late to supper. She did not think Eleanor or Thomas would mind overmuch, but if his sister was there, Anne would certainly make a point of it.
When Martha reached the bottom of the staircase, Jane was in the kitchen rinsing a cloth at the sink. She turned to look over her shoulder and smiled. “Since you’re ready, Victoria won’t be needing another fresh cloth, although I was only getting her one to keep her calm. This is a big moment for you, too, isn’t it?”
“Indeed it is,” Martha replied. Mindful that in all likelihood, Cassie would never marry and Jane would never have a night to share with her daughter like the one Martha would have tonight with Victoria, she said, “I wanted to thank you for helping to get everything ready for me so I could dress much more quickly than if I’d had to do that myself when I got home.”
“Since you were called away overnight with poor Mrs. Goodfellow and were gone most of the day, I thought you might need some help in that regard. I didn’t get to ask you this morning, but were you able to help Mrs. Goodfellow, I hope?”
“Not entirely,” Martha admitted. While she wrapped her cape around her shoulders, she described the rather amazing work that Dr. McMillan had done. “He truly saved that woman’s life and reminded me how fortunate I am to be able to work with him here in Trinity. From all I’ve heard, that wouldn’t happen back East, where midwives have had little future for some time now. I think you’re from the city originally, aren’t you? Am I correct?”
Looking a bit pale, Jane lowered her eyes. “Yes, I believe you are. I-I shouldn’t keep you any longer. Victoria’s anxious to leave. I’ll let her know you’re ready,” she said quickly, sidestepping Martha’s question, and hurried off.
Martha put her bonnet in place and headed toward the sitting room. Anticipating the joy and excitement that awaited both her and Victoria tonight, she tucked away the secret plans she and Thomas were making and set aside any concerns she had about finding a woman to replace her as midwife.
Just for tonight.
16
Martha and Victoria were standing side by side, waiting for someone to answer their knock on Thomas’s front door. Martha was not surprised when her daughter asked her the same question for the third time, and she chuckled when she gave her the same answer for the third time.
“Yes, I’m going to announce your betrothal tonight, as long as Dr. McMillan is here, too. And if Anne Sweet found out we were all coming to supper, I suspect she wrangled an invitation for herself and her husband from her brother—which means half the town will know about your betrothal by noon tomorrow.”
Victoria giggled. “And the other half will know by the time the sun
sets,” she whispered, fingering the brooch Martha had added to the underside of her pale blue collar.
If all went according to plan, once Martha announced her daughter’s betrothal to Dr. McMillan, he would move the brooch to the top side of Victoria’s collar and do the same for Martha, which would give him the opportunity to explain the family significance of the twin brooches. If he were not present because he had been summoned away, however, the brooches were safely out of sight, and the announcement would simply be delayed.
“I hope they’re all as excited as everyone back at the confectionery,” Victoria said, but before Martha could reassure her daughter that everyone here would be pleased indeed, Thomas opened the door and urged them inside.
“‘And the last shall be first,’” he teased as he helped them both to remove their capes and bonnets and store them away on the massive hall tree that filled the formal foyer. “Everyone else is here, but before we join them, I should probably warn you that—”
“Martha! Victoria! Don’t let that brother of mine keep you dawdling out here in the hall now that you’re finally here,” his sister said and rushed toward them with a genteel smile on her face.
“I’m so sorry we’re late. I was summoned out of town last night and barely got back to town in time to get here,” Martha ventured, noting both the pleased look on her daughter’s face and the frown on Thomas’s.
Anne waved away Martha’s apology, took Martha’s arm, and urged her toward the staircase just beyond the sitting room, leaving Thomas no choice but to escort Victoria. “Dr. McMillan has been entertaining us with any number of tales while we were all waiting for you. Eleanor is upstairs feeding that darling little son of hers, so supper was delayed anyway. She said to send you up the moment you arrived.” Anne then lowered her voice to a whisper. “Maybe you could tell her that her guests are all quite hungry, so she can speed things up a bit.”
Martha was tempted to remind Anne that trying to hurry a suckling babe was a bit like trying to coax a fire from wet firewood, but instead she promised to bring Eleanor downstairs as quickly as she could.
She glanced back at Thomas, noted the flush on his cheeks, and smiled. There was only one woman who frustrated that man more than Martha did, and that was his one and only sister. “We’ll be down as soon as we can,” she repeated and mounted the stairs.
She went directly to the room where she had helped to bring little Jacob into this world only a few months ago. After knocking very gently, she entered the room when Eleanor called out for her to come in.
She found Thomas’s daughter sitting in the rocking chair where she had been rocked as a babe. Despite a very difficult pregnancy, Eleanor was the picture of health again. With her pale ringlets and blue eyes, she was the image of her mother, Sally, whose death two years ago still burdened her daughter’s heart.
Little Jacob, named for his great-grandfather, the founder of Trinity, lay propped against her shoulder. “I was hoping you’d get here before he fell asleep,” she said, nodding toward the chair. “He still needs a good burping. If you wouldn’t mind holding him, I can freshen up a bit before we go downstairs,” she suggested and handed the babe over to Martha.
Thrilled by Eleanor’s offer, she sat down in the chair, nestled that pudgy little bundle of heaven against her shoulder, and made sure he was on the opposite side of the brooch she wore on the underside of her collar. She leaned her head to the side until she felt his forehead and his breath on her neck. “There’s nothing on this earth quite like having a baby to cuddle,” she whispered as she started to rock and pat his back.
Eleanor chuckled. “Nothing at all, unless it’s the third time you’ve been up during the night and there are still hours to go until morning. Not that I’m complaining. Losing a few hours of sleep is a small price to pay for the privilege of finally having a little one to call my own,” she added as she sat down at the dressing table to redress her hair.
Martha noted the shadow that crossed Eleanor’s face and knew the young woman was remembering the other babes she had lost in the early months of pregnancy before finally giving birth to Jacob. “I can see for myself that he’s growing and gaining weight just fine,” she noted, “but babies seem to have a few days once in a while where they just can’t seem to get enough of mama’s milk. If it lasts more than another few days, let me know, and I’ll bring you something to help him settle that little belly of his down a bit.”
“Did Aunt Anne tell you to remind me that I was keeping our guests waiting?”
“In a manner, but Victoria and I were late and kept everyone waiting, so it’s more our fault that supper is delayed than yours,” Martha replied. Her words were followed by such a loud burp that Martha laughed out loud. “My goodness, I don’t think a grown man could burp any louder than that!” she exclaimed, completely disregarding the fact that little Jacob had also dribbled a good bit of milk down the side of her neck and, in turn, drenched the collar of her gown.
“You haven’t heard my husband,” Eleanor commented before retrieving her son. “This little one will drop right off to sleep if I get him into his cradle,” she whispered, then noted the stain on Martha’s collar and frowned. “I’m so sorry. I’ll help you take care of that in just a minute,” she promised. She settled little Jacob down and returned to Martha with a cloth she had dampened with water.
Martha took the cloth, wiped her neck, and blotted the collar of her gown. “It’s nothing but a little milk. It’s not the first time a little one decided to share a bit of milk with me, and it certainly won’t be the last,” she insisted, handing the cloth back to Eleanor. “There. All done.”
Eleanor took the cloth and furrowed her brow. “Not quite.” She pressed the cloth down again on a spot Martha had apparently missed, even as her eyes searched for more. She leaned forward and squinted a bit before setting the cloth aside. “You really must have been rushed to get here tonight. You’ve pinned your brooch on the wrong side of your collar,” she said and quickly switched the brooch to the other side before Martha quite realized what was happening.
“That’s such a lovely brooch. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you wear anything quite as lovely.”
“I don’t usually wear what little jewelry I have, but I couldn’t resist wearing this tonight. Why don’t we head downstairs before your aunt comes up here looking for us,” Martha suggested and led Eleanor out of the room, confident that no one would notice the brooch she wore before she announced her daughter’s betrothal, which she planned to do the very moment they rejoined the others.
The moment she entered the sitting room, just ahead of Eleanor, she felt oddly uncomfortable. To her mind, walking into this room was entering a world totally uncommon to her life.
She looked around and could not decide whether it was the ornate furniture, the abundance of silver lined up on the mantel above the hearth, or the candlelight tickling the striped French wallpaper that left her feeling more uncomfortable and longing for the far simpler surroundings of home. The small group of people who were gathered in the sitting room, however, was far more welcoming, and all conversation ceased the moment she and Eleanor appeared in the doorway of the elaborately staged room.
In addition to Eleanor’s husband, Micah, who was standing by the hearth with Thomas, Anne and her husband, George, the current mayor of Trinity, sat in identical upholstered chairs angled toward the sofa. Victoria and Dr. McMillan sat together a very proper distance apart, but it was Thomas’s gaze that drew her into the room. Her heart was beating faster with every step she took as she prepared to make an announcement that would no doubt delay supper a bit longer, but she stood and waited until Eleanor had joined her husband before attempting to make her announcement.
Anne, however, rose immediately and motioned for Martha to come inside and take her seat. “Finally. I’ll let them know in the kitchen that we’re ready to dine,” she said, but Martha held up her hand to keep the woman from scurrying out of the room.
“I k
now you’re all anxious for supper, but there’s something very important that I’d like to announce first.” Martha took a deep breath and squared her shoulders.
Victoria blushed, and so did Dr. McMillan, but Anne rushed right over to Martha, took one look at the gold-and-pearl brooch pinned to her collar, and spun around to face her brother. “Congratulations, Thomas! The brooch suits her well. It’s about time you finally had the courage to ask this woman to marry you,” she gushed before turning back to Martha. “To my mind, you two should have married years and years ago, but I’m so happy you set things right now. And you’ll never have to worry about being homeless again or rushing out at all hours of the day and night, will you, dear Martha? At your age, it must be getting quite difficult for you.”
Martha was appalled that Anne would leap to such a conclusion simply because Martha was wearing a piece of jewelry. She did not know if she was merely insulted or annoyed that Anne had ruined Victoria’s special moment, when Thomas stepped to her side and faced his sister.
“Once again, I’m afraid you’ve jumped to a conclusion that’s blatantly false. I’ve never seen that brooch before tonight, and I daresay that I’ll be the one to make the announcement, if and when I ever decide to remarry.”
“What I intended to say,” Martha interjected before Anne could respond, “is that Dr. McMillan has asked for my permission to marry my daughter, and I’ve granted it.”
Anne blinked hard, again and again, looking from Thomas to Martha before she faced the newly betrothed couple. By the time she did, Dr. McMillan was already on his feet and helping Victoria to stand beside him. Just as they had agreed, he pinned her brooch for all to see and took her hand. “Indeed, I’m honored to say that Miss Victoria Cade has agreed to become my wife, and we’re both grateful for her mother’s blessing,” he said proudly. He then quickly explained the significance of the two brooches the women wore.
Completely avoiding the issue of her obvious blunder, Anne sped over to the young couple, and Thomas led Martha to the hallway just outside the sitting room. “I’m so sorry,” he said. “I wish I could say this would be the last time Anne stepped into our lives to ruin something, but—”
