New York Bound

by Rachel Wesson

“Are you being a snob, my darling wife?”

  She threw a scarf at him in reply.

  “I don’t know Robbie’s background, apart from the fact he used to be in the police force. That’s how he met Mr. Prentice,” Mick said.

  “How?”

  “Someone burgled Prentice’s house but one of his servants disturbed him. The intruder shot her dead. A young girl, barely fifteen. Anyway, Robbie arrived with the other police. His colleagues weren’t too interested in the girl. She was just another poor Irish servant, after all. But Robbie thought they were wrong and investigated what happened on his own time. The killer was found and convicted but Robbie was disheartened. He felt people were too interested in dealing with rich crimes than those involving the poor, including murder. Mr. Prentice, who it seems had been rather fond of the girl and her family, offered him a position on the spot.”

  “So what does he do for him?” Erin asked.

  “A little bit of this and that. Robbie didn’t specify, but I got the impression he uses his police skills in numerous ways. I feel better knowing he’s here to protect you gals.”

  “Just us? What about you and Aaron?”

  “We can protect ourselves against anyone or anything.”

  “Really, dear husband, do you believe that?” As Erin was talking, she inched her gown up showing quite a bit of leg. “I beg to differ.”

  “I didn’t mean from my minx of a wife. I don’t want protecting from you. Come back to bed, Mrs. Quinn, and stop teasing me.”

  Erin blew her husband a playful kiss before she continued unpacking.

  “Alicia said Mr. Prentice is hosting a dinner party for us in two days’ time. I’m really looking forward to meeting him,” Mick said.

  “Oh no, I don’t have anything suitable to wear,” Erin said looking at her wardrobe.

  Mick didn’t even look up. He was no help on the fashion front. He usually told her she’d look good in anything. So she was a bit surprised at his suggestion.

  “You best go shopping with Alicia then. She’s dying to see what the stores have to offer, or so Aaron says.”

  “How is Aaron? This is a far cry from a ranch and then there was the upset with Robbie.”

  “It’ll take him a while to shake off the prairie dust. I don’t imagine he will ever be comfortable in a big city but he won’t say a word. You know he would do just about anything for Alicia.”

  “And she for him. Funny how well they get on given their respective backgrounds.”

  “Just as I would do anything for you, sweet Erin, especially if you come over here and check how comfortable this bed is.”

  “Mick Quinn, it’s the middle of the afternoon.”

  “Yes, Doc, but we are on our honeymoon. Lily has Michelle in her room, so we might as well make the most of our privacy.”

  “Well, when you put it like that…” Erin giggled as she locked the door to their bedroom before joining her husband. His kiss, although soft and gentle, sent a tingle through her body.

  “I love you, Mick Quinn.”

  “Not as much as I love you. Now stop talking and kiss me, woman.”

  Chapter 10

  “Your table is ready, ladies and gentlemen,” Mr. Floyd greeted the group as they entered the foyer. They were all exhausted from their trip, so they’d decided to eat in the hotel restaurant that evening rather than exploring New York. That could wait till the next day. “Oh, I thought you would leave the children upstairs with your maid.”

  Erin looked behind and around her as if looking for someone. “Maid? Did you supply us with a nanny, Mr. Floyd?”

  “No,” he blustered, his gaze lighting on Lily but Erin took no notice.

  “I am rather confused then. I thought you said the children ought to be looked after by our maid. Seeing as we didn’t bring one and the hotel didn’t supply one, are you offering to mind the children?” Erin asked sweetly.

  Mr. Floyd’s purple complexion didn’t suit him at all. The veins on his rather large nose became more pronounced.

  “Mrs. Quinn, I am the manager of this establishment. I do not mind children.”

  “That’s wonderful. I love people who don’t mind children. It makes the world such a more pleasant place, don’t you think?” Erin deliberately twisted his words.

  Erin caught her husband’s eye as he turned away to laugh. Aaron, Lily, and Alicia were all smiling too. Mr. Floyd, perhaps knowing he was beaten, hurried off shouting at some unfortunate staff member on his way.

  “He is an odious little man,” Alicia said as she linked arms with Erin. “I don’t believe he is a fan of yours, my dear.”

  “Thankfully, I agree. But I do wish he would stop calling me Mrs. Quinn.”

  “We will work on that later. Let’s eat now, I am starving.” Alicia set to work organizing where everyone would sit, except for baby Michelle who was fast asleep in her stroller.

  They had an enjoyable meal, although the food quality wasn’t as good as Mrs. H, Aaron’s mother, prepared for them back in Clover Springs.

  “Looks like Mr. Prentice should get his beef from Davy Sullivan. I don’t know what he’s paying for these steaks,” Aaron complained.

  “Aaron, dear, be quiet and eat. Little ears are listening.”

  Alicia nodded to their children who were almost asleep in their dinners. Erin was about to offer to take them upstairs when Lily stood up. “I am finished, shall I take the boys upstairs, Miss Alicia?”

  “Lily Green, since when have you called me that?” Alicia asked sharply.

  Lily flushed. “Well, I thought, I mean, as I am here to mind the children…” Lily’s voice trailed off as Alicia stood and gave her a big hug.

  “You are my friend and my equal. You are here because we love you and enjoy your company, and you are wonderful with the children. You are not a servant, Lily.”

  “But Mr. Floyd…”

  “Is an obnoxious toad. Actually, that is rather unfair…to the toads. Ignore him. But if you would like to take the children upstairs, I would be grateful. They get very cranky when they don’t get enough sleep,” Alicia said.

  “Ah, ma, it’s our first day on vacation. Can’t we stay up late?”

  “Hush, Harry, and listen to your ma.” Aaron’s firm tone had the desired effect; both Harry and Steven moved to join Lily.

  “Yes, Pa. Goodnight.”

  “Goodnight, boys, see you in the morning,” Aaron said.

  The adults watched as the boys followed Lily to the elevator. They smiled at the girl’s look of consternation when the doors opened and the boys ran inside.

  “Poor girl, she really hates that contraption yet the boys love it,” Alicia said.

  “I will personally feed Mr. Floyd to the pigs if he upsets Lily once more. How dare he insinuate that she’s our maid,” Aaron said fiercely.

  Alicia took a seat beside Aaron. “Don’t mind him, he is a typical bully. He fawns all over those he thinks are rich and treats his own staff so badly. From the little I have seen so far, he doesn’t seem to know how to talk. He screams at everyone.”

  Mick picked up the menu looking at the list of desserts. “I think Mr. Floyd will be getting an education over the next two weeks. I reckon between our wives they’ll have him sorted out in no time at all.”

  Aaron nodded as Erin and Alicia exchanged amused glances.

  Erin loved the fact that both men appreciated their wives, were well educated and held strong opinions. She knew they would both vote in favor of women’s suffrage if the opportunity arose. Mick had already told her their daughter, Michelle, could pursue any career she wanted. Though, given she was less than a year old, Michelle had plenty of time to make a decision about that.

  A pleasant young waiter came back to take their order. Erin listened in amusement as both men ordered two desserts each.

  “Don’t look at me like that, Alicia. If the desserts are the same portion size as the dinners, I need two of them. I’m starving,” Aaron said.

  “So I see
,” Alicia replied, her gaze lingering on her husband’s muscular form. He blushed, making everyone laugh once more.

  Mick took Erin’s hand under the cover of the tablecloth and brushed it gently. She knew it was his way of reminding her, that no matter what happened in New York, he loved her. Now and forever.

  Chapter 11

  After a day resting, Erin decided it was time to meet her old friends.

  “Lily, would you like to accompany Alicia and I today? We’re going to see Mrs. Doherty, my old housekeeper. I wrote to her saying I was coming to New York, but I didn’t say when. I would like to surprise her.”

  “No thank you, Erin. I’ll stay here and look after Michelle and the boys. I think Aaron and Mick have plans with Robbie.” Despite Aaron’s initial dislike of Robbie, the three men now got on very well. Robbie did protest occasionally that his job was to mind the ladies, but Mick and Aaron ignored his protests. Alicia was happy he kept the men entertained; otherwise, they would be very bored. Mick hated shopping almost as much as Aaron, which was saying something.

  Erin and Alicia took a cab, Erin reading the driver the address from the letter Mrs. Doherty had sent her. She didn’t recognize the address but, although her work had taken her into less well-off areas of New York, Anthony and his father had prohibited her from visiting the poorer tenements.

  “Are you sure you ladies want to go there?” the cabbie asked them, his expression suggesting they didn’t.

  “Yes, please. My friend lives there,” Erin explained.

  “You got a friend living down there? Don’t you have a husband who could accompany you? Or a brother?”

  Erin saw by Alicia’s facial expression she was thinking the same thing. Should they have asked Robbie to accompany them? The driver seemed to be a nice chap, his horse looked well fed and nicely groomed. Was he simply being snobbish or was he genuinely concerned?

  “Driver, I assure you we are both capable of looking after ourselves. Now, would you mind taking us or should we get another cab?”

  The cab driver doffed his hat at Erin’s firm tone but he muttered something that sounded like “this I got to see,” as he was getting back into his seat.

  Alicia squeezed Erin’s hand but to give her reassurance or to seek comfort, she wasn’t sure. Erin closed her eyes, her thoughts on her old housekeeper. She’d known it might be difficult for the woman to secure a new position given her age and the scandal surrounding her employer. Had it been worse than she thought?

  “Erin, stop it. You are not to blame for anything that happened. You were not responsible for the gossip. You didn’t murder your husband. The only thing you did wrong was to fight to become a doctor. If people can’t accept that, it’s their problem,” Alicia said, as though having read her friend’s thoughts.

  “Yes, but my actions didn’t just affect me. You saw the driver’s face. What is this place Mrs. Doherty now lives in?”

  “I have no idea but from what I can see, this area looks quite nice. Look at those houses over there. They are well cared for and respectable. Mrs. Doherty’s home will be just like them.”

  Erin hoped she was right but her instincts told her different.

  Alicia held her gloved hand delicately over her mouth and nose as they walked gingerly toward the tenement building the cab driver had pointed to. The stench was eye watering, but whether it was coming from the outhouse or the building itself, was anyone’s guess. Erin put her arm around Alicia’s waist, sensing she had never seen anything as bad as this. Erin had once or twice, but from a distance rather than up close. Where she had lived with her parents wasn’t luxurious but it was a thousand times better than this dump.

  Erin looked around in horror, her stomach heaving at the litter on the ground, both human and animal. How on earth did anyone live here, never mind her old housekeeper? Mrs. Doherty had kept Erin’s home neat as a pin and now look where she was living. She impatiently brushed aside the tears in her eyes. There had to be something she could do, if not for all the children of New York, then surely for Mrs. Doherty and her extended family.

  “Have you ever seen such misery?” Alicia whispered, conscious of their audience as inhabitants of the building moved around them.

  Erin knew these people worked hard day and night to keep a roof over their heads and food in their bellies. They may not have any material goods but they had their pride. “It’s disgusting. How can any government or city official let this happen? No wonder disease spreads like wildfire around here. I knew it was bad, but I never imagined anything on this scale.”

  “But you lived and worked here in the city,” Alicia said.

  “I did, and I thought the people we dealt with were poor. But they were rich compared to this,” Erin said. “Come on, Alicia, there has to be something we can do to help. If they do live here, I want Mrs. Doherty and her family out of here today.”

  Erin gingerly pushed open the entrance door to allow herself and Alicia access to the interior. It was almost completely dark, a little light coming in from holes in the walls. The smell of boiled cabbage competed with the other odors.

  “What’s that scratching sound?” Alicia asked.

  It was the rats but Erin wasn’t about to tell her friend that. “Let’s find out if Mrs. Doherty actually lives here. I’m sure there is some mistake.” As they walked farther into the building, the light dimmed and the sounds of occupation increased. Alicia moved closer to Erin who wished over and over she had asked Mick and Aaron to come with them. She wasn’t easily frightened but anything could happen to them in here and nobody would hear their screams over the current din.

  Chapter 12

  They finally found number six. Knocking on the flimsy door carefully for fear she’d put a hole in it, Erin kept her fingers crossed hoping against hope it was still a mistake. She couldn’t imagine her neat and tidy housekeeper living in this squalor. The door opened a fraction as the woman of the house asked fearfully.

  “Who is it?”

  “I am looking for Mrs. Doherty, please,” Erin answered politely. The door opened wider.

  “You found her. What do you…Mrs. Cooper, is it really you?”

  Erin tried hard to hide her dismay. “Yes, Ruth, how are you? Sorry to arrive uninvited but I was so excited to see Carmel again, I just couldn’t wait.”

  “What am I doing? Leaving you standing on the doorstep, come in, please.” Ruth held the door back.

  “This is my good friend Alicia Higgins.”

  “Nice to meet you, ma’am,” Ruth said.

  Mortified, Erin didn’t know where to look, given the shame on Ruth’s face. The room was a hovel. There was barely any light, never mind furniture. A small fire glowed in the grate but it wasn’t throwing out much heat.

  “Take a seat, I’ll just go and fetch mother.”

  Erin and Alicia sat at the very edge of the offered seats, not because they were dirty but they looked so flimsy they thought they may break under them. Erin knew Ruth didn’t need to go and find Mrs. Doherty, the rooms were hardly big enough to lose anyone, never mind a grown woman. She guessed the woman needed to regain her composure. She cursed herself silently for embarrassing the Doherty family. She should have waited and met them at a place of their choosing.

  “Mrs. Cooper, you’re here. Oh, how well you look, a sight for sore eyes.” Her former housekeeper greeted her.

  Erin couldn’t speak. Her throat was all caught up as she looked at her former housekeeper. Mrs. Doherty looked old and scared, the skin on her face drawn tightly over the bones. Was she starving? Her eyes had shrunk back into their sockets. She looked and smelled as if she hadn’t had a proper bath for some time. But it wasn’t just the physical difference. This couldn’t be the same person who had arrived every morning at her old house looking like she’d ironed herself along with her clothes.

  Erin moved forward and took the lady in her arms. “I am so sorry. So sorry.” She kept mumbling. Mrs. Doherty, ever her comforter, rubbed her on the back.

>   “It’s not your fault, dear, none of this is of your making,” Carmel cooed.

  “Would you like some tea?” Ruth offered but Erin and Alicia both declined. Erin caught the look of relief on Ruth’s face before it was masked.

  “Where is Joe? I was so sorry to hear about his accident,” Erin asked. She’d only met Joe a few times. He was a pleasant man, always smiling despite working hard to provide for his family.

  “He’s in bed. He gets very tired. He will be sorry to have missed you,” Ruth answered.

  Erin caught the look the Doherty women exchanged, but pretended not to.

  “Where are the children?” Erin asked, changing the subject.

  “Katie and Stevie are outside playing. Young Charlie is off working on the trains and my Nora just popped out to the store. She won’t be long. She’s looking forward to meeting you. Mother reads us your letters. Clover Springs sounds wonderful,” Ruth spoke at speed, something Erin remembered she did when she was nervous.

  “It is. You must meet my husband and my daughter,” Erin said.

  “You have a child? But you only got married a month ago.” Carmel Doherty’s outraged tone spoke volumes.

  “Mother!” Ruth admonished.

  Erin smiled at Mrs. Doherty. Her physical appearance had changed, but inside she was still the same. “Don’t look so shocked, Mrs. D. Michelle is my adopted daughter.”

  Just at that moment Nora came in the door. Erin was pleased to see the young girl didn’t look as starved as her mother and grandmother, but suspected this might be due to the older women giving her their share of food. “Nora, darlin’, this here is Doctor Erin Cooper and her friend Alicia Higgins,” Carmel introduced the visitors to her granddaughter.

  “Pleased to meet you both.” The girl bobbed an almost curtsy in their direction.

  Erin stepped forward. “It is so nice to meet you, Nora, your grandmother has told me a lot about you.”

  “Likewise, Mrs. Cooper.”