The summer slipped by with only passing knowledge of the conflict. Little was heard of the local people involved, and the news which came brought calls for more men to enlist. William spent his days studying and riding. He made up his mind that fighting was a game he had no wish to play.
It was early September and the sun was warm as William cantered across the ridge and back towards home. Bounty was in fine form and as he sighted the house William pressed her to gallop and then go even faster until the breeze in his face was full of exhilaration. Even that wasn’t enough and he pressed Bounty harder and harder until finally, just before home, she cleared the fence and landed awkwardly but still upright, letting out a whinny of pain as she struggled to finish the walk to the stables.
William looked around and was thankful to see no one in view as he led the hobbling horse to her stable. He had been told not to jump that fence with the width of the ditch beside it, but he hadn’t wanted to hear that. He washed her off, made her as comfortable as he could and then carefully hung up the tack as he had found it, before slipping into the house unnoticed.
By the time dinner was called he was out of his riding breeches and wearing clean clothes, all evidence of his afternoon activity put aside.
Towards the end of dinner, and before he could be excused, there was a knock at the dining room door and Briggs entered. “Excuse me, sir. I’m dreadfully sorry to disturb you, but I thought you should know that Bounty is awful lame.”
Pa stood from the table, wiping his mouth with his napkin. “What happened to her?”
“I don’t know, sir. I found her that way.”
“God dammit, man, I pay you to look after her. What do you mean you don’t know?”
“I’ve been up in the top field this last few hours, sir, and she was like it when I came back.”
“I’ll be out to her directly, Briggs.”
“Very good, sir.” Briggs withdrew, leaving the family to finish dinner.
Pa pushed his plate away. “Excuse me, dear, I think I should go out to Bounty.” He got up to leave, but before going he turned to Will. “Son, when did you last ride Bounty?”
“That was three days ago, sir.”
“And was she all right then?”
“Yes, sir. Very fine indeed, sir.”
“And you’re not aware of anything happening to her since?”
William shuffled his feet and hesitated.
“Whatever it is, out with it, lad.”
“I thought… but I could be wrong… I thought I saw her with Briggs in the top field, sir.”
“Well, did you now?” Pa stormed from the room.
“Can I go too, Ma? I want to see how Bounty is.”
“Very well, but keep out of Pa’s way. He’s a little overwrought at the moment and he’ll need to talk to Briggs.”
William shot out after Pa and hurried to the stables. He didn’t go inside, but hung back listening.
“Confound it, man, riding the horse I can forgive, but lying to me…”
“Excuse me, sir, I think you may be mistaken.”
“Are you calling my son a liar? He saw you with his own eyes in the top field with Bounty. It’s you has made her lame, isn’t it?”
William caught sight of movement through the doorway and realised that Briggs had spotted him. His heart raced as he wondered if Briggs had the courage to call him out. He wondered what Pa would say if he knew the truth. It had already dawned on him that whilst he might have been forgiven for riding Bounty and jumping the ditch, the lies he’d now told would be far harder to explain. He closed his eyes, breathing deeply as he waited for what was to happen next.
Briggs turned away from the doorway back to Bounty’s stall. In a low voice he said, “I’m sorry, sir. It won’t happen again.”
William let out the breath he had been holding and leaned back against the wall of the stables.
“I think, sir, with rest she will be fine. I’ve put a cold compress on the leg and I’ll sit up with her through the night to change it.”
“That’s the least you can do, man. And let me tell you, if this happens again I shall have no choice but to give you notice. I know you’ve been with us for years, Briggs, but this kind of behaviour is unacceptable, d’you hear?”
“Yes, sir.”
As William heard Pa’s footsteps coming towards the door of the barn, he quietly moved around the corner to wait for him to pass. He swallowed hard and then, once the coast was clear, he made to go back across the yard towards the house.
Briggs called after him. “Excuse me, Master William.”
William missed a step, but then made to continue.
This time Briggs spoke with more force to his voice. “Excuse me, Master William. I’d like a word if I may.”
As he turned to go back, William could feel his cheeks colouring and he stood as tall as he could. “What is it, Briggs?” He spoke in as haughty a tone as he could muster.
“I know your game, Master William, and I won’t forget.” Briggs turned to go back to the barn.
William, feeling a little disconcerted, turned back toward the house. What trouble could Briggs give him that really mattered? Of course his Pa believed him, why shouldn’t he? He’d had little cause to doubt the perfect son that William pretended to be. If it came to a showdown, then surely Pa would believe him over Briggs, there was no question, but his palms were sweating nonetheless and he felt a little uneasy about the day’s activities. The most immediate problem was that he wouldn’t be able to ride Bounty, but maybe Pa would buy him another horse to fill the time until Bounty was fit.
Recovering some of his spirit, he smiled to himself. After all, why should he suffer for Briggs’ wrongful behaviour?
Chapter 13
“Oh, please can we, Miss Ellie, please?” Molly had even let herself start thinking about what she might wear to the dance if Miss Ellie said ‘yes’. Sarah’s dress was already finished in the hope they could go and now they needed to work on Molly’s, but their needlework was good and there was still time enough.
Ellie smiled. “I can remember my own first dance in town. I’d have been fifteen myself then, though that was a few years ago now. How could I say ‘no’ to two such fine young ladies when I’m thinking of going myself? It’s only harvest once a year and it will be nice to turn out as a family. Besides, what was the point in my teaching you girls to dance if you’re never going to have an opportunity?”
Sarah hugged Miss Ellie and Molly followed suit as soon as Sarah had let go.
“How will we get there?” Sarah asked, a note of worry in her voice.
“Why, we’ll take the cart, of course.”
Molly looked at the concern etched on Sarah’s face.
Miss Ellie laughed. “I’ve been young myself. I think I know what’s troubling you, girl. We can clean it out first, silly. Your dresses will be fine. There’ll be no mud on those beautiful lace trimmings when my girls arrive at the dance.”
Molly and Sarah broke into joyous laughter. “Do you think the Masters Spencer will be there?” Sarah asked Ellie, with a serious look on her face.
“And why’s that, Sarah – are you sweet on one of those boys?” Molly gave her friend a rueful smile. “I reckon they will be, if their daddy lets them.”
Sarah blushed. “Oh, Miss Ellie, that Joseph is awful nice, don’t you think?”
Ellie smiled. “I sure do. What about you, Molly?”
Molly gently shook her head, and for a moment she felt a hint of sadness cross her face. “I’m not ready for all that just yet.” Her hand inadvertently reached down to where the rosary still sat in an inside pocket of her dress. She thought of Mammy and how she’d been left with two young children when their pa had gone off to work the railways. She wondered where he’d ended up; if he were still alive. Then she thought sadly of Daniel and wondered where he might be now. She took a deep breath. It would take a lot of certainty before Molly would give up her life and independence to any man. Sarah, how
ever, had seemed to fall in love with a new boy every week, until she’d seen Joseph Spencer working in his daddy’s store. Since then, whenever they weren’t working or at school, she would beg Molly to go with her to the store for every imagined need.
The next few days passed in a whirl of excitement, with Molly focussing on making Sarah look as presentable as any farm girl could. She was still a slight figure and with her hair brushed out and neatly dressed she looked pretty enough to turn a few heads, or so Molly thought. For her own part, Molly struggled to tame her rather wayward curly hair and was a more buxom and muscled figure when compared to her friend. She had no pretence of being elegant, and no great wish to be so either, but what she lacked in beauty she made up for in spirit and good humour and she was well enough liked.
By the Saturday of the dance, Molly’s dress was complete and, whilst not the height of fashion, it was acceptable and even she thought it didn’t look too bad.
“Well, my, what do we have here?” Miss Ellie stood back to take a good look at her charges. “Now don’t you just look lovely, girls?” She sighed. “It reminds me of when I was fifteen, but that’s enough of that.”
For a moment Molly saw her eyes glisten and wondered if there’d been a young man she’d never told them about. Now wasn’t the time to ask, but she did wonder at Miss Ellie’s being alone all these years.
The cart had been cleaned as promised. When they went to climb up, Molly found that Miss Ellie had laid rugs across the seats and floor to make sure they got as little mud and muck as possible on their finery. There were some spare rugs to wrap around them, as the nights were getting colder, but thankfully the day was dry and the road was clear. Once they were in the cart, Ellie geed up the horses and they trotted into town.
“Now, don’t you girls mind me. If any young men ask you to dance you’re to say ‘yes’… as long as you want to, and not to fuss about leaving me on my own. I’ll be right as anything, enjoying seeing you dance the night away.”
“And will you dance too, Miss Ellie?” Sarah asked.
“I sure will, if some nice gentleman invites me to. You don’t come to a dance just to spectate. Though there’s some as do.”
“Then I hope there’s a nice gentleman there who does ask you,” Molly said, and slipped her hand under Miss Ellie’s arm. Miss Ellie squeezed it gently before getting back to concentrating on the horses.
The hall was busy with folk from all the surrounding farms as well as the town. Molly felt overawed by all the people and hoped she might see others she knew, to make her feel easier. Miss Ellie led them to the far side of the room and they found seats together where they could watch what was going on while they waited for the dancing to begin.
It wasn’t long before Miss Ellie was talking to friends her own age and the girls were left to look out for each other.
“Do you think anyone will want to dance with us?” Sarah asked, fidgeting with her skirt.
“I dare say there’ll be someone without a partner who’ll come to ask you, but I’m just as happy to watch.”
“Oh, Molly, how can you say that? Don’t you think anyone will choose to dance with us? What if we were the last ones with no partners?”
“Oh, I don’t know, Sarah. You know what it’s like being a farm girl and how the local boys never seem to forget where we came from. I’d just as soon watch everyone else as take part. I don’t want to get my hopes up.”
The music began and talking became more difficult. Molly could hear the giggling of the other girls above the noise and felt a little awkward in the stiff fabric of the dress she was wearing. She looked across the room, only to see Joseph Spencer making a bee-line straight for Sarah. She smiled to herself; perhaps being a farm girl wasn’t so bad after all. Maybe much was in her imagining. She gently squeezed Sarah’s arm and felt it shaking very slightly.
Joe made a slight bow as he approached and offered his hand for Sarah to join him. She looked across at Molly as she got up, the colour rising high in her cheeks.
Molly shooed them off towards the dance floor, then watched them in the reel that moved around the room. Although they had started together they were soon separated, as partners were swapped and moved on from set to set. She noticed Joe kept looking to see where Sarah had got to and she reckoned he was feeling much the same as Sarah seemed to be. She lost sight of the two when Miss Ellie sat beside her and pressed a glass of lemonade into her hands.
“She could do worse,” Miss Ellie said.
“But…”
“How do I know about things like that?” Ellie laughed. “Because I was young myself once, though you might find it hard to believe now. I had my fair share of courting days. I know what to look for. And as for you, Molly Reilly…” Ellie gave a meaningful glance in the direction of Joe’s older brother Henry. “… I think you might be up and dancing yourself before much longer.”
Molly felt herself colouring. “I can’t… I…” she stammered, but before she could say anything further Henry was in front of her and inviting her to join him in the next dance.
By the time Molly and Sarah sat down next, much of the night had passed. They had from time to time been in the same sets on the dance floor, but at no point had any chance to speak to each other.
“He’s asked if he can see me again,” Sarah rushed to tell her friend.
“Do you think Miss Ellie will allow it?” Molly wasn’t really sure how these things worked, but she was aware there were certain things which were not done, and hadn’t they been told in Sunday School they shouldn’t be alone with a boy?
“I don’t see why not. It’s not like we’re really her children, is it? Besides, why can’t you chaperone me?”
“Me? Isn’t it supposed to be an adult?”
“Maybe I could ask him back to tea. Perhaps Miss Ellie would like him being around.”
“Oh, I don’t know.” Molly had not heard Miss Ellie come up behind her.
“What’s that you don’t know?” she asked.
Molly looked at Sarah and thought it better to let her do the answering.
“Joe’s asked if he might see me again,” she said, looking wistful. “I was wondering…”
Ellie smiled. “Go on. You were wondering if I might invite him over to have supper with us.”
“Oh, would you, Miss Ellie, would you?” Sarah flung her arms around Miss Ellie’s neck and planted a kiss on her cheek.
“Now, less of that, girl. You’ll have everyone wanting to know what’s going on. I’ll talk to his father and see if something can be arranged.”
As the months wore on, Joe became a regular visitor to the farm. He could often be found on a Saturday, after the store had closed, helping Sarah with whatever chores she still had to finish, before they all sat down to supper together. Even by the time of the dance the following year, the two were still keeping company.
It was on one such Saturday in the spring of 1863 that Joe arrived rather more flustered than was usual. He said nothing about what was bothering him as they worked the afternoon and Molly couldn’t help but wonder if he was waiting for time alone with Sarah. It became clear that Sarah was thinking much the same when she ran into the dairy behind Molly.
“Do you think he’s going to ask me to marry him?”
“I don’t know. There’s certainly something he’s thinking about. Maybe he’s waiting to talk to Miss Ellie about it. What would you say if he asked you?”
Sarah threw her head back and laughed. “Why, ‘yes’, of course. It’s the first time in my life I’ve had someone love me for who I am and I’m not about to go throwing that away in a hurry.”
“I suppose not,” said Molly, smiling to her friend. “Don’t you think we’re still a little young for all that?”
“You speak for yourself, Molly Reilly. If I’m old enough to work for my living then I’m old enough to come home to my own house of an evening.”
“Oh, but, Sarah, what would you do? You couldn’t stay on at the farm.”
“Why ever not? If Miss Ellie could pay me as she pays the other workers, I could still do a good day’s work.”
Molly was hesitant to ask her next question. There were times that Sarah still seemed very slow to understand how things might be. “But wouldn’t you have children of your own to look after before long?”
Sarah stopped what she was doing and stood looking at Molly, her mouth open. Slowly she put her hand to her mouth and sat down on a churn. “Oh, Molly, I couldn’t. What if they grew up orphans as I did? What if I died giving birth to them?” The colour had quite drained from her face. “I don’t often think about those days in New York, but every now and then I remember and a shudder runs through me. What will I do, Molly?”
“He hasn’t asked you yet.” Molly was holding a butter churn in her left hand, but instinctively her right one reached down and patted the rosary. She often thought of those days and longed for news of Daniel and Tom.
“But what should I do?”
Molly gave a start and looked at her friend. She forced a smile. “You’ll be fine, you just see if you’re not.”
When they went in to supper Molly was anxiously watching her friend. Sarah was fidgeting and clearly in a state of some excitement.
As they all sat down, Joe looked as though he was about to burst. “Now we’re all here, I must tell you our news.”
Sarah looked on eagerly, but Molly realised that Joe wasn’t smiling.
“It’s Henry. He’s received his draft papers. He’s to go to fight with Mr Lincoln’s men. Pa doesn’t know what he shall do without him and Ma is in such a state. I don’t know that I shall be able to come over quite as regular as I do now. I’ll be needed at home more.”
New York Orphan (Tales of Flynn and Reilly Book 1) Page 12
