Wildfire Love

by Rue Allyn

  “I would have supported you against her attempts to insult you, but I only just arrived. You seem to have withstood the onslaught with only minor damage.”

  “James.” Mae turned and smiled up at him. “Thank you for attending my little reception.”

  “My pleasure. How go your organizing efforts?”

  “I have thinly veiled insults from a few guests, polite interest from most of them and tentative commitments from Mr. Cabot and Mr. Lodge. I’m to send papers and information in the next two days. The gentlemen promise to respond within a week of receiving my letters. However, my greatest supporters are Lalie, Hugh, Cressida Damato and her brother Vincent.”

  Mae blinked. Why does James suddenly look as if he swallowed something vile?

  • • •

  Damato again. James mentally ground his teeth. He was still waiting for Pinkerton’s complete report on the man. All that was known so far was that he was involved in a number of financial enterprises of a type that James considered risky, but other investors did not. To date, no record had been found of any business or property either Damato sibling or Vincent Damato’s dead wife owned. Nor did a record exist of where they resided before coming to Boston. Despite their claim of a home in Virginia, the pair seemed to have sprung from the earth full-grown, without relatives or antecedents of any kind.

  “Come with me.”

  James gave his head a slight shake. “I’m sorry. Come where?”

  “Now that Mrs. Lyttle-Bowen has moved on, I must speak with Mrs. Cabot and attempt to counter whatever spite is being spread.”

  “By all means. Perhaps we should enlist Lalie’s aid. I believe she is well-acquainted with Mrs. Cabot.” His gaze searched the crowd.

  “Let’s not disturb Lalie. She’s in the formal parlor with Dr. Kerry. He’s speaking to a number of interested guests on the benefits of dispensaries in the workplace.”

  He shuddered. “Not exactly the most entertaining of topics.”

  Mae smiled. “No. However, Lalie seems to be enthralled and her enthusiasm has infected a few guests who could prove to be very generous donors.”

  “Do tell. Then let us brave Mrs. Cabot on our own.” He didn’t mind at all that Lalie spent time with Kerry. If she was finally emerging from her grief, all well and good. She could do much worse than Hugh Kerry, and of course if Kerry were pursuing Lalie, he wouldn’t be pursuing Mae. That was excellent news. James smiled as he stepped up to greet the wife of a highly desirable client.

  Later as Mae bid farewell to her guests, he paused, waiting for the last one to move far enough away that he would not be overheard.

  “Disapproval of your pending employment was rife among your guests. Please reconsider accepting the mill manager’s post,” he said. “If need be, I will supervise the cloth works myself rather than risk your reputation and safety.”

  “I understand your concerns, but I cannot lose this chance to help the workers, even for a short while. Mrs. Cabot and Mrs. Lyttle-Bowen were quite strong in their disapproval, and I doubt I will get any support from either of them or their friends. However, Mrs. Lodge was most empathetic, and when Cressida Damato described her experiences helping in the dispensary, several others volunteered as well. I know she isn’t the social exemplar that Mrs. Cabot is, but among the younger set Cressida seems to be highly regarded. A number of the sons and daughters present promised to do what they could to encourage their fathers to contribute to the school’s support.”

  “The school would benefit more if you step back from active employment and get the support of all of the Brahmins and barons.”

  “Possibly. However their support isn’t guaranteed, even under that condition, and the workers’ children aren’t the only ones who need help. Their parents need the means to provide better lives for themselves, too.”

  “Mae, you can’t solve the problems of every worker in Boston. Today’s reactions make me sorry I gave you the job even temporarily. I’m sure you don’t comprehend the damage working at the mill will do to your social standing. Please give up this insanity.”

  “Grandfather has ensured I will have no social standing and made my reputation irrelevant. You cannot know how many fortune hunters have sought my hand, since I did not accept your offer to screen proposals for me. Despite the disapproval of the matrons, I received and rejected still more proposals today. Mr. Damato rescued me from being compromised twice.”

  What was Damato’s game? He’d already proposed to Mae and been refused, yet he continued to act as her close friend. James wished she had shared the details of that offer and all the others with him, but she seemed to believe she must handle all problems herself and saw reliance on others—himself, mainly—as a weakness.

  Without more concrete information, James had little on which to base his worries regarding Damato. Weren’t they in the same situation—standing as Mae’s friend despite her rejection of their offers? James tried to tell himself that his motives, unlike Damato’s, were without question. Yet like the younger man, James wished to prevent other suitors from proposing to Mae. That James might be no better than Damato rankled almost as much as Mae’s naiveté and good intentions—the very things that attracted him to her—frustrated him. She thought she understood the dangers surrounding her, but James knew she had not the least clue.

  “Do you imagine hearing that you are being importuned makes me think better of having you manage the mill? You will have no one, save Alvin and Jenks, to protect you there.”

  She straightened and pressed her lips together. “I will point out that, since I will have bodyguards with me at all times as you insist, I will no doubt be safer at the mill than in my own home. I have spent too many years avoiding confrontations and backing down from challenges due to fear of the consequences. I will not continue to live the life of a coward. I want autonomy more than any fortune.”

  How could he admire and want to strangle her at the same time? “I see I cannot persuade you to be sensible. Had I not promised you the job, I would lock you up and throw away the key. I pray you do not come to regret your decisions. Contact Harry if you have need of me. He will relay any messages. Good day.”

  He jammed his hat onto his head and stomped down the walk.

  • • •

  Mae brooded throughout the remainder of the weekend. She did not understand James. He hired her to manage Alden Cloth Works, then did all in his power to convince her not to accept the position. He liked her enough to make love to her but did not respect her enough to take care of herself. His inconsistencies maddened and disappointed her. She could have wept, but surprisingly, she did not fear James would change his mind and forbid her the chance to manage the mill.

  However, her decisions had driven him away as nothing else could. Hadn’t she wanted this—to be less under his thumb, to make her way independently, solve her problems on her own? If she finally had what she wanted, why did she feel so empty, so sad?

  By midmorning on Monday, Mae sat at a new, more modest desk in the manager’s office of Alden Cloth Works. She’d had the old desk auctioned for a huge sum and given the money to Hugh to keep the dispensary operating. Miss Damato had been at the dispensary that morning to assist him with the bookkeeping, so Hugh could focus on his patients. Mae wished she could like Miss Damato more, but the woman’s obvious interest in Hugh was hurting Lalie, who felt the doctor’s neglect, even though she might refuse to admit her feelings. It was a good thing the school was open today. Lalie would have too much to do to worry about any lures Miss Damato cast..

  Mae shook her head, she had too much to do to worry about her friends’ social problems. She must hire her two assistants immediately, then speak with all of the employees about policies and procedures, go over existing and pending cloth orders, review the books to set right the depredations of her predecessor, begin a more thorough inspection of the manufactory and decide which improvements would be needed first and which could wait.

  James was right; she could not beg
gar the mill with immediate raises, new equipment purchases and more employees on payroll. She would be busy from dawn to well past dusk for several weeks and most likely be replaced before she could make more than the smallest improvements. Sighing, she refused to be downcast. She would accomplish as much as possible in the time she had. Walking to the door of her office, she opened it to find one bodyguard looking out the windows of the outer office, and the other studying a newspaper.

  “Mr. Alvin, please go to the stretching room and find Mrs. MacKenzie. Ask her to have someone take over her tasks, then attend me here. After that, please do the same with the foreman of the engine house.”

  “I’m not supposed to leave you alone, Miss Alden.”

  “I won’t be alone. Mr. Jenks will be with me. However, if you are uncomfortable following my instructions, then please find someone who can carry them out for you. When I meet next with Mr. Collins, I will speak to him about allowing one of you to leave me long enough to carry a message for me when I am in a safe place.” James had spoken in anger after the reception, and she’d decided to ignore his instruction to communicate with him through his clerk.

  “Yes, miss. I’ll find someone to carry the message.” Alvin tugged on his forelock, then left.

  Not long after, Mrs. MacKenzie entered Mae’s office.

  “Ye wished to see me, Miss Alden?”

  “Yes, Mrs. MacKenzie, please have a seat.”

  The woman sat on the edge of the upholstered chair Mae had kept for guests.

  “You’ve no doubt heard I will be managing the mill until a replacement can be found for Mr. Carver.”

  Mrs. MacKenzie opened her mouth, seemed to think better of saying anything, then shut her mouth and nodded vigorously.

  “We will be losing Mr. Fitzwalter as well next week, so I will need a new assistant.”

  The Scots woman’s eyes went round. “Are ye askin’ me t’ recommend someone, miss?”

  Mae smiled. “No. I’m asking if you’ll take the position.”

  This time the woman’s jaw dropped. “M…m…me?”

  “Yes, you. I know from giving you lessons at the parsonage you can read and write fairly well. I also admire the initiative you’ve taken to lead your fellow workers. Coming to the manse as you did could not have been easy. Nonetheless, you saw a problem, identified a possible solution and acted to put that solution in to action. That’s leadership. Those qualities are essential for an assistant manager.”

  Mrs. MacKenzie listened, recovering her composure while Mae talked. By the time Mae finished explaining her plans for the mill, the woman’s back was ramrod straight, and her eyes shone. “Will I be havin’ responsibility for all of that?”

  “Well, actually I’d like you to share the position. I’m hiring two people to replace Mr. Fitzwalter. I want a woman with experience in the entire manufacturing process to assist me by supervising the production and quality of our cloth. I’ll be asking the engineering room foreman to take the job of supervising power, machine maintenance and repair, as well as all shipping. You will, of course, work closely with him to coordinate areas where your responsibilities may overlap.”

  “Will there be more pay with this position?”

  “Certainly. Your responsibilities increase significantly, so your compensation must as well.”

  “I don’t know anythin’ of compenses, but I won’t take less than one dollar more every week.”

  Mae smiled and almost teased the woman by refusing the dollar. However, she did not wish to be unkind or mocking. Instead she wrote a figure on a slip of paper. “I think you’ll find this number satisfactory.”

  “Glory be.” Mrs. Mackenzie’s eyes nearly popped from her head. She stared at the paper for a long time and inhaled a deep breath before placing the paper back on the desk. “’Tis too much, miss.”

  “You’ll earn every penny and work longer hours than you have in the past. My assistants and I will be on the premises before any worker gets here in the morning, and we will not leave until the last worker departs for the day. Also, business may call me away for short periods. I count on my assistants to be here and act in my stead. Can your family stand to spare you for an extra two hours a day?”

  The Scots woman swallowed and nodded. “Me sister couldn’t find a job, so she cares for her children and mine while I work.”

  “Are all the children attending the mill school?”

  Mae’s prospective assistant nodded.

  “Then your sister will be able to work while the children are in school, yes?”

  MacKenzie nodded once more.

  “Send her here to apply for a position. We’ll be starting a second shift and will need workers to fill the daytime positions that are emptied when some employees move to the later shift.”

  “I, I don’t know what to say, Miss Alden.”

  “Say you’ll accept the position.”

  “Oh, I will that.”

  “Excellent, you’ll start tomorrow morning. Be here at 5:30 a.m. sharp. Also, please don’t say anything about this change until tomorrow. I want to speak with the engine room foreman before we make anything official.”

  Mr. Weintraub, the engine room foreman, entered the office as Mrs. MacKenzie left. That interview did not go as well. The minute he heard Mae’s plans he leaped from his seat, slammed his hat on her desk and began pacing about the room, shouting at the top of his voice.

  When her bodyguards rushed in, she signaled them out and waited patiently for the foreman’s ire to die down.

  The man did not care how much money he was paid, he refused to work with a woman as his professional equal, and he wouldn’t work for a manager in skirts, either. “You’d best think quick how to power all them machines, miss, for the minute I leave this office I’ll be gathering every man in the mill and leading them out the gate.”

  He punctuated his ultimatum by thumping his fist on her desk, then grabbed his hat and turned to go.

  Startled, she forced herself to remain calm. She’d expected resistance, but not such a violent display of temper. Nor had she expected him to refuse her offer outright. She needed his expertise and his help gaining the cooperation of the other men. Would he respect a plea for reason? He was a man, more like her grandfather than James. She’d seen James handle workers and gain their respect. He had not done so by placating them. All the same she was not James, so she compromised on a pacifying tone and an implied threat. “I would think you’d have more interest in keeping your job than losing it.”

  He halted with his hand on the doorknob, then pivoted slowly. “Are you saying you’ll fire me, if I don’t take the job?”

  “Not precisely. I’d like you to give the offer a little more consideration before you reject it simply because I’m a woman. Please sit down and hear me out.” She gestured to the chair he’d just left.

  He took a step back toward her desk. “Why should I work for you, or any woman?”

  “I cannot speak for every woman, but I will only be the manager of this manufactory for a short time. Also, I think you would want the opportunity to prove to any man who takes this position after me that you make so valuable a contribution to the company, he would not dare dismiss you as an assistant manager and send you back to working as the engine room foreman—or perhaps let you go completely.”

  The foreman’s gaze narrowed. “What will keep a new manager from clearing out all the assistants put in place by the manager before him? That’s what Mr. Collins did. He fired Mr. Carver and is getting rid of Fitzwalter as well.”

  “Mr. Carver was stealing from the company, and Mr. Fitzwalter has taken a different job. Would you keep a thief working for you or deny a man a chance to better himself?”

  The foreman shook his head. “No, miss. I would not.”

  “Then you’ll understand there was no clearing out our manager or assistant.”

  “I guess not.”

  Mae outlined the responsibilities of the position and made certain Weintraub comprehen
ded what he was being asked to do and for what compensation. “Will you accept the position as assistant manager under the terms I’ve described?”

  “Aye. I will. However, I suggest you not announce any changes until I’ve had time to talk to the men working here. Most of them won’t be happy to work for a woman or to have a woman promoted over them.”

  Mae smiled, anticipating the note she would send to James reporting her victories and informing him of her actions today. “I have faith in your leadership abilities, Mr. Weintraub. You have the rest of the day to persuade the men to try this arrangement for as long as I hold the manager’s job. We’ll make formal announcements tomorrow.”

  • • •

  Glowing with the success of her first week as mill manager, Mae entered James’s office late the following Monday afternoon to find him scowling out his office window at the building next door.

  “James?”

  He turned to look in her direction but did not smile. “I didn’t hear Harry announce you.”

  “I told him not to. He was busy training the new clerks.”

  “So now you’re giving orders in my office. Alden Cloth Works isn’t enough for you.”

  If he’d slapped her, she could not have been more surprised or hurt. “I apologize if I’ve overstepped and will speak with you another time.” She whipped about and headed for the door.

  His hand on her arm halted her just as she crossed the threshold. “Wait.”

  She stared hard at his restraining hand.

  He lifted it. “Please. I’m sorry.”

  In the outer office, Harry and his new assistants stared.

  “Mae, come back,” James urged. “Harry, it’s time for you and your trainees to go home.”

  She took James’s hand.

  He escorted Mae to the settee near his desk, closing the door on the way. “Tell me what you came to say.”

  “I’d prefer you explain that outburst.” She sat.

  He thrust a hand through his hair then seated himself beside her. “I’ve received disturbing correspondence about Alden Cloth Works … and you.”

  “Me? How disturbing?”