The Potter's Lady

by Judith Miller

  “I can’t speak for others, but I don’t think many will agree to the change.”

  Rose sighed. Perhaps the men wouldn’t immediately consent, but she was sure the mothers would find in her favor. She’d begin with them. What woman didn’t want her child educated? She’d appeal to the women regarding the cleanliness, as well. Women didn’t want to work surrounded by layers of dust and dirt. Yes, that was her answer. She would win favor with the ladies, and the men would follow.

  Chapter 12

  August 1872

  While Rose had believed it would be easy to convince the women their children needed schooling, Rylan understood it would take far more effort than she anticipated. He advised Rose that the mothers wouldn’t be easily convinced, but she disagreed. He still wasn’t certain if she ignored him because she thought she was right, or if her efforts to win the women to her side had been exacted to prove him wrong. Though he took no pleasure in being right, his advice had been sound. Despite Rose’s impassioned pleas, the women refused the offer of schooling for their children unless the journeymen who hired them agreed.

  Rylan admired her determination, even if her efforts at change chafed, so he’d met with the skilled workers who employed children as their helpers. Without Rose’s knowledge, he’d asked them to give the idea of school a try. If it didn’t work, they could always voice their complaints and have it shut down, but he suggested they cooperate with Miss McKay on this issue. He ended each talk with the same question. “We owe it to the young’uns to give them a better chance than we ever had, don’t we?”

  Although they’d been less than enthusiastic, the men had agreed, except for Robert Wilson, who had been the lone holdout.

  After a grueling day working on bids and preparing proposals for Ewan’s review, Rylan trekked through the pottery. All the other workers had departed, and in the quietude of the pottery, he recalled the look on Rose’s face the day the school had opened. She’d taken precious time away from decorating to welcome each of the children by name and promised them that education would open a world of possibilities for them. Though he still wasn’t sure Rose should get their hopes up, he had no doubt her intent was pure.

  A light coming from beneath the door of the decorating room caught his eye. Concern creased his brow. Had someone not extinguished their lamp?

  He paused at the door when he heard singing—a lone female voice. Though Ewan was still in the office, what was Rose doing here so late in the evening?

  He nudged the door and, finding it unlatched, pushed it open until he could see her. She was seated on a high stool with a large vase in front of her. After a few minutes, she tucked the wooden end of the paintbrush between her lips and tilted the vase to the side and examined her work. She smiled and her dimples appeared.

  He’d not seen them much lately. Probably because they’d not been able to see eye to eye on much of anything. Maybe this was the opportunity he’d been praying for to ease the tension between them.

  He gave the door a soft knock.

  She jumped and nearly toppled the vase. “Rylan, you almost caused me to ruin a half-day’s work!”

  His gaze swept the shop and saw stacks of other bisque pieces waiting to be decorated. Had she truly spent half a day on this one piece?

  “I apologize. I didn’t mean to startle you. I saw the lamp and feared someone forgot it.” He stepped close enough to get a good look at her vase. He sucked in his breath. What talent she had. A mass of autumn-colored roses trailed down its length and rested on the moss green base color. When this piece was fired, the glazes she’d chosen would make the flowers spring to life. “It’s beautiful, Rose.”

  “Thank you, but it’s not quite done.” She closed her eyes, then added a swirl of amber.

  “Do you see the completed design in your mind?”

  “Hmm.” She tapped the end of the paintbrush against her lips. “I guess I do. Don’t you?”

  He chuckled. “No. When it comes to decorating, I prefer working with the whiteware.”

  “Why?”

  “Knowing I’ve successfully re-created the same design gives me satisfaction. I enjoy the sameness.”

  She set down her brush. “The repetitive work would be tedious to me.”

  “Maybe, but I enjoyed it. There was a lot of satisfaction in completing all of the pieces alike.”

  She swiveled on the chair toward him and seemed to bite back a comment. “I’m glad you’re here. I wanted to ask you to speak with Robert about giving his young workers permission to attend school.”

  “Me?”

  “You know Robert well, and he doesn’t like me. I don’t want the children he’s hired to suffer because of it.”

  “I’ll talk to him, but I don’t know if it will do any good.” Little did she know that he’d already met with the man every day for the last two weeks. All to no avail.

  “I’d truly appreciate it.” She scooted off the stool and picked up the vase. When she took a step, her heel caught on a loose floorboard. Clutching the vase, she stumbled forward.

  Rylan caught her about the waist. “Are you all right? Did you twist your ankle?”

  Her cheeks bloomed with color. “No, I’m fine. I should have remembered about that board.”

  “I’ll take care of that.”

  “You can let go of me now.”

  “Yes, you can,” Ewan barked as he stepped into the room. “Rylan, would you care to tell me what is going on in here? When you gave me the proposals to review and left the office, I thought you said you were going home.”

  Rylan yanked his hands away from Rose and turned to see a glowering Ewan.

  Rose moved between them. “Ewan, stop frowning. Rylan saw a light on and came to check to see if someone left a lamp burning. Instead, he found me still working. When I stood up, I tripped. Thank goodness he caught me, or I’d have dropped this vase.”

  “I seem to owe you an apology, Rylan.” He grinned. “Thank you for saving my sister, and more importantly, the vase.”

  She swatted her brother’s arm. “Now, are you here to take me home or not? I skipped lunch to work on the vase, so I’m famished.”

  “You skipped lunch? You shouldn’t do that. You might get ill.” Rylan frowned, then cleared his throat when he saw Ewan hike an eyebrow in his direction. “You’re needed here.”

  “Indeed, she is.” Ewan offered her his arm. “As are you, Rylan.”

  As the trio left the pottery, Rose turned to Rylan with expectant blue eyes. “You won’t forget what I asked you to do, will you?”

  “No. I’ll do it first thing in the morning.” He rubbed his chin. “But don’t get your hopes up.”

  “Why not? Sometimes hope is all we have.”

  Robert glanced up from his mold as Rylan drew near. “What brings you out here, Rylan? Same thing as yesterday?” He bent his head and swiped the perspiration from his forehead on his shirt.

  “You can keep working. If you don’t make fifty dozen today, I don’t want you saying my visit with you was the cause.”

  The workman guffawed as he lifted the handle of his mold and removed a plate. “I wouldn’t do that.”

  Rylan arched his eyebrows. He wasn’t so sure the blame wouldn’t land on his doorstep if Robert fell behind. “All the same, go ahead and keep working. You’re right about why I’m here. I’m hoping you’ve had a change of heart about letting these young fellows attend school over in the shed.”

  Robert sighed. “They’re all three wantin’ to go, but I got my doubts about how it’s gonna work out. You know I need my helpers.” He cocked an eyebrow. “How come you’re pushing so hard about this? You always said you liked keeping things they way they was. Now you’re all for this school. You trying to catch that gal’s eye by getting all of us to agree?”

  The comment caught Rylan off guard. “This is about the helpers getting some schooling, nothing else.”

  Robert squinted his left eye in an exaggerated wink. “If you say so, but just ’cau
se you say it, don’t mean I believe ya. You was always the first one dragging your feet whenever anything got changed around this place. Course maybe this particular change don’t matter ’cause it won’t make a difference to you over in that office of yours.”

  The words stung, and Rylan wanted to fling them back in Robert’s face. He wished he could tell Robert he was wrong. But he couldn’t. All of it was true. He did long for Rose to think of him as someone other than her brother’s assistant, as more than an employee who would do her bidding when she met with defeat among the workers, but that wouldn’t happen. Rose had a beau. One who had money and owned a business, a man willing to travel from Fairmont to Grafton to court her. Rylan could never compete with the likes of Joshua Harkness.

  Though Rylan disliked admitting it, Robert was right about the school, too. Having the helpers attend classes didn’t change anything for him, so he’d willingly taken up Rose’s cause. She wanted more changes, and he was saving his objections for the ones he didn’t want to accept—the ones that would affect him. Humiliation settled in his belly like a lead weight, but it wasn’t heavy enough for him to admit the truth to Robert.

  “Robert.” He drew in a long breath. “This isn’t about what’s best for me or Miss McKay. It’s about what’s best for your boys.”

  “I guess if you can tell me how I’m gonna keep my numbers up with my helpers over in the shed learning how to read, I might give ’em my go-ahead to attend.”

  “Thank you, Robert. I’ll tell Miss McKay, and she’ll come down and give you a schedule you can use. I think she planned for the boys to come to one of their classes while you’re at lunch, and they’ll trade off for the other class. She’ll let them eat their lunch in the classroom.”

  “Don’t know how much they’ll learn during lunchtime, and I’m telling you now that if one of the boys is out sick, then none of them can go to the classes. I got to have at least two of ’em here working all through my stint. Understood?”

  Rylan nodded. “Like I said, I’ll have Miss McKay come down and go over the schedule. Make sure you tell her about your need to always have two helpers working—and tell the boys, too. Don’t want them being disappointed.”

  “Back when I was a kid, I was glad I didn’t have to go to school. I don’t understand how these young’uns think nowadays.” Robert shook his head. “If this slows down how many plates I make each day, I’ll yank them boys out of Miss McKay’s school faster than she can swish her petticoats.”

  “Talk to me first, Robert. Don’t want you to do anything you’ll regret.” Rylan waved his hand and strode off before Robert could question him about his final remark. The man might be a fine jiggerman, but Rose McKay had made up her mind. Every child in this pottery would be enrolled in classes, or they wouldn’t be permitted to work.

  Robert had no idea Rose had set a deadline for enrollment at the end of the week. She believed Robert’s helpers had already missed important lessons, and they’d become discouraged if they fell too far behind. Rylan had been careful not to mention the deadline. He knew Robert. The man would have met her challenge and quit his own job to prove a point. And whether Rose agreed or not, they needed Robert Wilson.

  Rylan shoved his hands into his pockets as he strode out of the clay shop. Miss McKay had won this battle, but she’d had her share of help, both from him and from her family. While she continued working with Frank Wheeler and the other decorators Ewan had recently hired, Rose’s twin sisters had cleaned the shed and set up the classroom.

  He’d discovered Rose’s sisters hard at work when he walked past the old building last month. The two of them had chattered at him like two magpies, each one more eager than the other to tell everything they’d accomplished. He’d sat down on one of the wooden benches, enthralled as Adaira told him how Rose had enlisted their help. Their older sister had recruited their support, and they’d accepted the challenge. In turn, they’d enlisted the help of Ewan’s mother-in-law, who had secured donations from a charitable group as well as from some of her wealthy friends. With the funds, the girls had purchased books, pencils, paper, slates, a portable chalkboard, ink, and pens. They’d also been pleased to announce they had sufficient funds to pay the teacher for the year and a promise of additional funds if the school proved successful. He was amazed by their tenacity. The trait seemed to run in the family.

  Though he’d not spoken to either of the twins since that day, one of the helpers told him both girls were providing tutoring to students who needed extra help. No doubt the twins would be assigned all three of the fellows working for Robert.

  They were a little older than the youngsters working as spongers and handlers or those working alongside their mothers in one of the warehouses brushing dirt and dust from the ware or in the glazing rooms. Rylan hoped they wouldn’t give the girls any trouble. Maybe he’d stop by the classroom later and tell the teacher the boys would begin tomorrow and mention she should send word if there were any problems.

  Right now, he wanted to tell Rose he’d met with success. Truth be told, he felt as though he’d accomplished the impossible. As he entered the workroom, the strong odor from the gilding the decorators brushed onto specialty pieces hit him afresh. The smell was one he neither liked nor disliked, but each time he left the shop, his eyes watered and his nose burned, though Mr. Wheeler said it was merely his imagination at work.

  Mr. Stinson, one of the decorators who’d been rehired, waved his brush in the air. “What can we do for you this fine day?”

  Rylan glanced around the room. “I was hoping to speak with Miss McKay.”

  The decorator ran the tip of his brush around the edge of a pale blue decorative urn. “She had a gentleman come looking for her earlier, and she went back to the office.” He winked and lowered his voice. “Mr. Wheeler says he’s Miss McKay’s beau.”

  Rylan’s chest tightened, but he forced a smile. “Thank you. I’ll look for her at the office.”

  Since the minute he’d gained Robert’s approval, Rylan had anticipated Rose’s reaction to the news. He’d been eager to see the look in her eyes when she learned all the children were now enrolled in school, but upon hearing Joshua was in town, the news didn’t seem as important.

  Instead of returning to the office, he stopped at the makeshift school to inform the twins and Miss Spangler, the teacher, that they’d have three more students come tomorrow.

  He stood in the classroom doorway for a moment. Along with several other workers, he’d helped carry and arrange long wooden tables and benches in the room, but he’d not visited since classes had begun. Several young girls and boys sat at one table and a group of older children at another. Miss Spangler stood beside a portable blackboard instructing the older children, while Ainslee and Adaira helped the younger students.

  He gestured when Adaira looked up. She smiled and hurried toward him. “Welcome to our classroom, Rylan. I’m glad you’ve come to pay a visit.”

  “I won’t stay long. I know you’re busy, but I wanted to let you know that Robert Wilson has agreed to send his three helpers to classes. That means all of the children are now enrolled.”

  “That’s wonderful news.” She beamed and waved to the teacher. “We will have full enrollment beginning tomorrow, Miss Spangler. The three remaining students in the clay shop will attend.”

  “Excellent. Perhaps you could go and obtain their names and discuss their schedules with their supervisor so we can be prepared for them.”

  Adaira nodded her agreement as Rylan motioned toward the front of the classroom. “I expected to see more students than these few. Are they not appearing as promised?”

  “They’re all attending, but we must adapt to their work schedules. That means they appear at different times on different days throughout the week. We’ve become used to it. They’re all eager to learn, so it makes helping them a pleasure.” She looked toward the blackboard and gave a slight nod toward the teacher. “I don’t know what Miss Spangler will do once Ainslee and
I return to school, but we’re doing fine for now.”

  “I’m glad to hear it. Perhaps one of the ladies who does volunteer work for the charity groups would be interested in helping. Mrs. Woodfield has joined several societies here in Grafton, and she may be able to give you some names by the end of the summer.”

  Adaira nodded. “I do hope so, but most of the women in those groups are more interested in doing handwork or raising funds than in donating their time, especially if it means they must actually associate with the folks they’re raising money to help.”

  “You may be right, but I think some of those ladies don’t know where help is needed, and you or Rose can point them in the right direction.”

  “Maybe I am being too harsh.” She giggled and nodded toward the door. “I’ll do my best, but Rose won’t be much help. The school was her idea, but she hasn’t had time to help. She’s worried about gaining new customers with her designs, so she’s either working on those at home or over at the decorator shop.”

  “Then you may need to rely upon Grandmother Woodfield and the good Lord to send another helper once you return to school.” As they prepared to part ways, he nodded toward the clay shop. “The new boys are older than most of the others. I don’t think they’ve had much schooling. All three of them said they want to attend classes, but if there’s any trouble, let me know.”

  “I don’t think we’ll have any problems with them, but thank you for the offer.” She glanced over her shoulder as she walked away. “If they become rowdy, one of us will send word to you.”

  Rylan remained outside the shed for a few moments, then headed back toward the office. Surely by now Rose and Joshua would be gone. Adaira might believe her sister didn’t have time for anything other than the decorator’s shop and creating designs at home, but it seemed that every time Joshua arrived in town, she was able to make time for him.

  He inhaled a deep breath and held it as he approached the office door. Once inside, he blew out the air. Neither Rose nor Joshua was in the office. Relief washed over him as he dropped into his chair.