New York Bound

by Rachel Wesson

  “What’s wrong with her Doc?”

  “I think it is hypothermia, in English, it means her body is closing down due to being so cold.”

  “But we can warm her up?” he hated how desperate he sounded but he couldn't consider the alternative.

  “Yes, Robbie we can. But we need to do it slowly and carefully. Even then....well there aren't any guarantees.”

  “Just tell me what to do.”

  Doc Erin smiled at him. “You need to keep busy. The next forty-eight hours will probably be the longest of your life.”

  “I'll do whatever you need Doc but I’m not leaving Nora alone. She hates being alone.”

  “I think you may have someone to keep you company.” Doc Erin beckoned to someone standing behind him. Callum came forward.

  “Your missus saved my life. She didn't have to dig me out of the snow. I would like to stay near her if you don't mind.”

  All choked up Robbie could barely speak coherently. So instead he nodded and held out his hand for the boy. They stood in silence for a couple of minutes.

  “You take my place. I am just going to go out and get some wood for the fires. Doc Erin says Nora and the other patients need to be kept warm. But don't go leaving her alone you hear?”

  “No Sir, I won't. I’ll stay right here until you get back.”

  Robbie gave Nora a quick kiss, his lips lingering on hers for a couple of seconds. “Nora darling, come back to me, please come back.” He whispered for her ears only.

  Chapter 39

  Erin watched Lily working. There was no job, big or small, she seemed to be incapable of doing. She was firm but calm. The other staff responded to her orders very quickly. Erin guessed they saw she was genuine in her efforts to help. She was especially amused by the interactions between Lily and Mr. Floyd. The more aggressive he became, the calmer she was, which infuriated him. At one point, his anger suggested he may physically strike Lily. Her response to him was brilliant. She had moved closer and whispered something in his ear. He’d blanched, blustered about something and then disappeared. Erin had asked her later what she’d said.

  “I told him Out West, all ladies carry knives in their underthings. If he insisted on coming nearer, I may just have to use it.”

  Erin laughed so much she got a bad coughing fit. Hearing the sound, Mick came to check on her.

  “Erin, you have to stop working so hard. You must have caught a chill.”

  “Stop fussing, Mick, I’m coughing because I was laughing so hard.”

  “What was so funny?” Mick looked relieved and bewildered at the same time.

  “Tell him, Lily, please. I can’t as I will only laugh again.”

  So Lily told the story once more, but Mick didn’t find it amusing.

  “That sanctimonious rattlesnake. Just wait till I get my hands on him.” He barged out the door before the ladies could stop him.

  “I wouldn’t fancy being in Mr. Floyd’s shoes now.”

  “No, Lily, neither would I. Mick has a temper and doesn’t respond well to anyone threatening those he cares about.”

  Lily looked down at the ground.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “It must be nice to have someone who cares about you that much,” Lily whispered before she moved away, smoothing her hands down the side of her dress.

  “Lily, Mick has gone to see Mr. Floyd over his treatment of you, not me.”

  At the wariness on the other girl’s face, Erin moved closer to her and pulled her down to sit beside her on the sofa. “Lily, Mick doesn’t love you like a man loves a woman, but he does care for you. We all do. You’re a lovely person. You can’t let your past dictate the rest of your life. I know some lucky man will discover what a diamond you are. In the meantime, keep doing what you do best.”

  “What’s that?” Lily asked.

  “Don’t you see how the staff respond to you? You seem to have a knack for knowing how to organize things, even in the middle of chaos. You are very good with people, Lily. Especially those who most would consider difficult.”

  “I guess I got a lot of practice dealing with all sorts.”

  “Yes, you did. Nobody needs to know how. Just go out there, keep your head up and continue doing what you have been doing since this storm broke. Something good will happen for you, Lily.”

  “Thank you, Erin, I best get back.”

  Erin sat waiting for her husband to return. While she disliked the manager intensely, she hoped Mick didn’t hurt him. Not too badly anyway. Then she turned her mind to Lily. There had to be something she could do to help her. It wasn’t Lily’s fault she’d been abducted at such a young age and forced to work in a house of ill-repute. How anyone could blame a nineteen-year-old girl for what had happened when she was a child was beyond Erin’s comprehension.

  Chapter 40

  “Erin, where are you?”

  “Over here, stop shouting. What’s wrong?” Erin asked her husband but he didn’t look worried. He looked excited.

  “Nothing’s wrong. Aaron and I are taking the boys down to Grand Central. They said they’re going to bring the trains in today. A big snow plow has been brought down to clear the lines. I thought the boys might enjoy it.”

  “What about Michelle?” Erin asked.

  “Alicia has her. She offered,” Mick said.

  “Make sure you dress up warm and keep the boys dry. We don’t need anyone else coming down with chills.”

  “Yes, sir.” Mick saluted, making Erin giggle as his antics drew stares from other guests.

  “Permission to embrace?”

  “Mick, stop it. People are looking.”

  “Let them.” He pulled her into his arms and brushed his lips across hers. “Be careful and don’t work too hard.”

  “Yes, boss.” She promised.

  “You and your husband make a fine team, Doctor.”

  “Thank you, Sadie. How are you feeling? How’s your leg?”

  “Better I think, Doc. Do you want to try that test again?’

  Erin nodded. She busied herself looking after Sadie and the rest of her patients but it didn’t do much to stop her worrying about Nora and Carmel. The last she had heard of her old friend was she was stuck in bed with a chill and that was before the blizzard. Erin just hoped Carmel had the sense to stay where she was.

  Chapter 41

  “Afternoon, Doc Erin. Seems we’re responsible for shifting the snow outside the hotel.” Tommy Carpenter had taken his hat off and stood holding it in his hands.

  “What do you mean? Surely the city will send workers to do it?”

  “They might but not for some time. There’s talk of large numbers of Italian laborers shoveling snow from Battery North to Union Square. In places, it’s so deep they have to fill wagons and drive it down to the river to dump it. The fire crews, ambulances, and food trucks aren’t able to get through. The cook was just up here complaining her stocks are running low and she wasn’t prepared for all these people in the first place.”

  Erin looked around the lobby. It wasn’t quite as full as it had been the evening before, but there were still lots more people than you would expect. People from all walks of life sharing space together.

  “Well, if we have to clear it we will,” she said.

  Erin stood up on a vacant chair and clapped her hands to be heard above the din of conversation. Silence fell as they recognized the woman to whom many owed their lives.

  “Seems we have a bit of a problem. The city will not clear the snow outside the hotel, which means the delivery wagons cannot get through the street.”

  “There are some shovels in the sheds out back. If someone can come with me to the store, I have money to buy more.” Aaron said patting his pocket to double check his money clip was there.

  Tommy Carpenter and a couple of the guests went to the sheds. They returned carrying shovels and anything else they could use to move the snow. It took Aaron and his group longer to get back but they picked up some volunteers on t
he way.

  “You must work in shifts. Nobody can afford to get too cold. I don’t want any more patients,” Erin said, smiling as she gave them instructions on how to keep as warm as possible. Nobody was allowed work unless they had decent shoes on their feet, warm gloves and a hat. The snowfall wasn’t heavy any longer, but it was still extremely cold.

  “How do we clear the sidewalks? Those that are clearing the streets are heaping even more snow on them,” a man asked.

  “Light a few fires.” When the man looked at him funny, Tommy showed him. “Dig a tunnel like you have been doing and then set a small fire. The heat from the fire will melt the snow. Do a few of them and it will clear it fairly quickly.”

  The man grinned. “That should work, thanks.”

  Tommy smiled back before picking up his shovel and going to work.

  “Mr. Robbie, you got to come quick. Missus is asking for you,” Callum half ran, half slid up to where Robbie was helping with the snow clearance. Robbie dropped his shovel, picked up the child and got back to the hotel in record time.

  “Where’s the fire?” Erin asked Robbie but she was smiling.

  “Callum said Nora is asking for me.”

  “Yes she is, but go easy. If you go running up to her like that, she may think she’s dying.”

  It took all of Robbie’s will to follow Doc Erin’s advice. He walked slowly to Nora’s bed, half afraid this was all a dream. But Nora was awake and what’s more, she was smiling.

  “Hello beautiful, you look gorgeous today.”

  Nora pinked up at his praise.

  “How do you feel?”

  “Like I’ve been on a bit of an adventure. Callum told me you saved my life.”

  “I don’t know about that. Callum was the one who stayed with you.”

  “Yes, and he’s a brave lad, but someone said you came back for us.”

  Robbie played with his fingers. Now she was better and talking and all, he was less sure of himself. Would she consider courting a guy with no parents, no religion and possibly no job? Not that he would lose his job with Mr. Prentice but if she was set on going to Clover Springs, he didn’t know what type of work would be available for him. Would she even want him to go with her?

  He stayed so silent her smile was replaced by a worried frown.

  “Robbie, is something wrong? You are very quiet. Are you angry?”

  “Angry? With who?”

  “Me. I know you said not to let go of the chain but when Callum fell I couldn’t just leave him. I had to help.”

  He sat down close to the bed and took one of her hand to kiss it. “Of course I’m not angry. You did what you had to do. Few would put themselves at risk for a stranger though.”

  “He was just a child…” Nora protested

  “I get the impression Miss Doherty, you would do exactly the same thing if it had been a man in that snow drift.”

  Nora didn’t deny it and her cheeks turned a becoming shade of pink.

  “Robbie, why does Callum call me Missus?”

  “Because he thinks you are my wife.”

  The look of shock in her eyes was plain to see. Hurt, Robbie pulled his hand away. “I best get back to work. You should rest.”

  “I will but…well I think that’s nice.”

  He swung his eyes up to meet hers. She was smiling but the look in her eyes was cautious. “What part?”

  “Robbie! Don’t make me spell it out for you. I’m a girl.”

  “I didn’t hit my head. I know that,” he joked back at her, sitting down once more.

  This time she took his hand. “Thank you for saving me and…”

  “And?” he prompted

  “And for not correcting Callum. I like it when he calls me Missus.”

  “I thought you never wanted to be tied down, Miss Doherty.”

  “Well I don’t, I mean I didn’t oh you… you’re teasing me aren’t you?”

  “Yes, just a little. Now go back to sleep and we’ll talk more when you get some rest.”

  She closed her eyes but opened them quickly. “Did someone tell my family I was okay?”

  “Charlie did.”

  “Charlie? My brother was here?”

  “Yes he just left. He had to check in with his boss but he’s hoping to get a few more days off. He said he would be back later.”

  Nora closed her eyes. He could see she was exhausted and the effort of talking had sapped all her strength. He leaned over the bed to kiss her and was quite surprised when she kissed him right back, before smiling and turning her head to sleep.

  He went back to shoveling snow, whistling the whole way.

  Chapter 42

  Doc Erin wouldn’t hear of Nora stepping foot outside, despite the fact that she seemed to have recovered. “You can’t afford to have a relapse. The temperatures outside are too cold and that apartment of yours is too draughty. You need to stay here where I can keep an eye on you.”

  “And I thought Gran was the bossy one.”

  “Less of that sass, young lady,” Doc Erin said grinning at Nora.

  “I have to do something though. I can’t lie in bed all day. I’m going out of my mind.”

  “I thought you had plenty to keep you busy. You seem to be enjoying a lot of cozy little chats with a certain young man.”

  “Callum has to get back to his own family and school now,” Nora replied, deliberately misunderstanding Erin. She didn’t want to talk about Robbie. She knew now she loved him but the thought of being tied down to a man still scared her. Even one as wonderful as him. Plus he hadn’t even spoken about their future, only dropping hints she could easily have misinterpreted.

  “If you really want to do something, you can help Cook feed the starving masses. Robbie is on his way down there now, aren’t you Robbie?”

  Robbie came to a standstill as Erin spoke to him. His face colored as he looked at her but other than saying hello, he didn’t say anything else.

  “Robbie, Nora wants to help so I have suggested she help cook. She is not to get over tired or spend any time outside.”

  “Yes Doc Erin.” Robbie answered.

  “I can look after myself,” Nora protested, but neither of them seemed to hear her. Erin wandered off towards the front of the hotel leaving Robbie and Nora alone.

  “Feeling better I see.”

  “Yes, thank you,” she replied, her voice a little shaky. Why was he being so formal? It was like nothing had happened between them. But then nothing had, not really. He had only kissed her a couple of times while she was recovering. He hadn’t declared his undying love or anything else. Whatever feelings she thought he had must have been in her imagination. Silently she followed him into the kitchen.

  “Another pair of hands for you Mrs. Murphy. Erin asked Nora to help you.”

  “Thank the lord. Although how I am supposed to feed all them poor beggars waiting out there is beyond me,” Mrs. Murphy rubbed her flour covered hands on her not too clean apron.

  “Where are they all coming from?” Nora asked.

  “The prices have risen so high, it pushed them over the edge. Those that could afford to scrape by last week, are now starving,” Mrs. Murphy spoke.

  “Hardly surprising when a dozen eggs is now forty cents. They were twenty-five last week. I don’t know what we can do but we came to help,” Robbie said.

  The cook looked relieved. “We can use all the hands we can get. If you go up to the top, the women will show you what to do missus. Your husband can follow me.”

  Robbie gave Nora a saucy wink as he followed the cook. She stood staring. That was the third or fourth time someone had assumed Robbie was her husband and he hadn’t corrected them. It gave her a warm feeling inside. Then she reminded herself that she wasn’t going to be of any help standing around. She walked up to the other end of the kitchen and was soon involved in peeling potatoes and other vegetables. A familiar face caught her eye.

  “Lily? What are you doing down here?”

  Lil
y looked half scared to death at being recognized but the fear in her eyes receded when she recognized her. “Nora, how good to see you. I came to see if I could help. Alicia wasn’t feeling too well so she’s resting upstairs and looking after Michelle.” Lily looked her up and down. “Are you feeling better? You still look pale. You gave Doc Erin quite a scare.”

  “I’m fine. Doc Erin won’t let me outside but she said it was alright for me to help out here. I’m glad you’re here too. Chatting will make this job go so much faster. Doc Erin looked tired, she should take her own advice and rest.” Nora picked up a knife and deftly peeled the potato in her hand as she talked.

  The glow on Lily’s face left. “She’s exhausted but she won’t stop. Says there is too much for her to do. I tried to help but there’s little I can do now. The worst cases have been taken to the hospital. I tried to get Doc Erin to go for a rest but she wouldn’t. She’s real stubborn.”

  “That’s true, I thought my gran was bad but Erin is worse.”

  “Have you given some thought to Doc Erin’s offer?” Lily asked.

  “To go to Clover Springs? I don’t know. New York is my home but I…” Nora stopped talking, conscious her dreams may sound silly.

  “But what?” Lily prompted.

  “I’ve always wondered if there was a better life out there somewhere. You know, where you don’t have to constantly worry about where the next meal is coming from. Or whether your kids will get sick,” Nora stopped, realizing the life she described was what most of the people in the room were living.

  “I think Clover Springs is the best place on earth. I wouldn’t leave if I didn’t have to.” Lily’s remark covered the silence.

  “Why do you have to leave?”

  This time it was Lily who flushed. Nora was sorry she asked.

  “You don’t have to tell me, I shouldn’t have asked.”

  “No, you will find out soon enough if you go live there. I ran away from home when I was young,” Lily took a deep breath.