by Danni Roan
Melissa grabbed Mae’s arm and bustled across the room, biting her lip to suppress the mirth that rose like a fountain in her each time she nodded and smiled at the other guests.
A moment later they were racing up the stairs. They dashed down the hall and threw open the bedroom door.
“Miss Mae!” Ginny jumped to her feet from where she’d been reading a book. “Whatever is the matter?”
“Nothing, Ginny,” Mae said, rushing to the window and throwing it open. A moment later Sean slid through the window and handed his burden to Mae.
Melissa Middleton grabbed the young maid pinching her hard. “Not a sound,” she said glaring. “Not one peep.”
Ginny stared at the young man who seemed to have appeared from nowhere, and sighed.
“Ginny, this is my cousin, Sean,” Mae spoke, indicating the young man with the black hair and deep forest green eyes. “He’s brought me a present, see?” She held the possum in outstretched hands.
“Good Lord,” the girl tried to pull away, but Mel held her still.
“Don’t worry, he’s harmless.” Sean’s smooth voice, with a hint of the Irish in it, drifted across the room and seemed to calm the maid.
“He’s my new pet,” Mae beamed. “You’ll have to help me with him, and most importantly, you must help me keep Aunt Jemma from finding out.”
Ginny looked around at the three others in the room, their eyes bright and serious. She swallowed her doubts as she studied the strong, even features of the young man before her.
“I’ll, I’ll, do my best,” she finally said, then gasped as Mae hugged her tight.
“I knew I could count on you, Ginny.”
“Quickly, now,” Melissa said. “Sean, out you go. Ginny, find us a box or something that this... thing can rest in. Mae, we must get back.”
“Ginny, go to the kitchens and ask for some bread and milk. Tell them I’ll want it for when the party is over. You can put it in a bowl for this little fella.” Impulsively she leaned over and kissed the girl’s cheek before turning and running out of the room.
As the girls gained the bottom of the stairs, still arm in arm, they pulled each other to a more appropriate gait. Melissa smoothed her green gown, touching at her hair to see that it wasn’t too mussed.
“How do I look?” Mae asked, giving her long white dress a little shake.
“You look fine. How about me?” the golden-haired girl tittered, smiling brightly.
“Good,” Mae replied, grinning and taking her friend’s arm again as they swept back into the room that was being used for dancing.
Reese had been watching for Melissa and sighed with relief when he saw her enter the room. He’d been forced to dance two waltzes with Mrs. Johnson and although she danced very well, she was poor company.
Mrs. Johnson had grilled him about his family and his connections, her eyes lighting up when he told her his father had the second largest import company in Boston.
As the last strains of the music faded, he thanked the older woman for the dance, then hastened to Melissa and Mae.
“All done?” he asked conspiratorially.
“All done,” Mae replied with a smile and a wink before rejoining the festivities.
Chapter 5
Boston, Massachusetts October 1890
Reese sat stiff and straight in the seat of his high-wheeled buggy as he expertly maneuvered the horse through the busy streets of Boston and waited for his sister’s comment. He knew she would have plenty to say about him staying for tea with the lovely Miss James.
Patiently he flexed his hands, stopping the horse at an intersection and letting a trolley roll by.
“I know father imports it Reese, but I didn’t know you’d taken up drinking tea with the ladies,” Melissa’s voice dripped sarcasm.
Reese raised an eyebrow and cast a glance at his little sister. He’d watched the miniscule minx grow up and knew she wasn’t done yet.
Calmly flicking the reins, he moved smoothly into the everyday hubbub of Boston traffic.
“Of course the tea cakes and sandwiches were exceptionally good at Mrs. Johnson’s, I must admit.”
“Can we just get this over with?” Reese finally groused, tiring of her game.
“Whatever are you talking about, dear brother?” Melissa stated innocently, but the gleam in her green eyes burned bright.
“Would you please tell me what you learned already?” he pleaded. “It’s not every day one sees his sister rescued from the clutches of death by a girl no bigger than half a minute.”
Melissa Middleton couldn’t control it any longer as she threw back her head and laughed.
“Why Reese, if I didn’t know better I’d think you were smitten,” she chortled, covering her bright smile with a gloved hand.
“I am not smitten,” Reese barked, eyes flashing. “I’m simply intrigued.” He slapped the reins and the small cart gained speed.
Melissa looked at her brother, seeing the irritation in his face, and laid her hand on his arm. He was too often frustrated, annoyed, or plain bored. “I’m sorry for teasing you,” she offered.
Reese pulled the horse to a more sedate trot but did not relinquish his scowl.
“Ms. James is from Wyoming,” Melissa began. “Her father owns some sort of cattle ranch and has sent Mae to Boston to become a lady.”
“To become a lady?” Reese queried, “How does one become a lady? I thought they were born that way.”
Melissa slapped his arm. “She didn’t say she came to Boston to become a lady but I pieced it together. You know the outer territories are rather uncivilized.”
“Wyoming is not a territory anymore. It became a state in July.” Reese’s flat statement surprised her. Apparently he paid more attention to current events than father gave him credit for.
“She will also be attending the university later, though I’m not sure what she will study.”
“Why haven’t we seen her around town, then?” Reese’s voice was peevish, the way it got when he was puzzling over something.
“As near as I can tell, she only arrived in August. If I had to guess, her aunt is polishing her up a bit before introducing her to polite society.”
“You make the girl sound like some sort of ornament.”
“I dare say she’d look lovely dangling from your arm.” Melissa’s infuriating giggle echoed through the quieter street as they turned toward home.
“At least we have something interesting to talk about at dinner,” the young man grumbled, turning the horse up their beech tree lined drive.
“Perhaps Mother and Father will let me invite Mae to dinner later this week,” Melissa spoke as if to herself. “She seemed very lonely and not a little stifled in that gloomy house.”
“I didn’t think the house was gloomy.” Reese blinked at his sister, wondering what she had seen that he hadn’t. It was often the case that she would see things that never registered with others.
“Oh, the house is lovely and very modern, but everything is so precise. All of the right furniture, all of the right decorations. There was nothing homey about it, nothing was chosen for the enjoyment of the occupants. It’s like some sort of shrine to fashion instead of a home.”
“Whoa,” Reese called, pulling the carthorse to a halt before his home. He barely registered the tall three story red brick house or its wide porch. “I think it would be splendid if you had Miss James over. I’m sure she’d enjoy having a new friend here in Boston.”
A young man of about fifteen stepped up to the horse’s head and grasped its bridle. “Afternoon, sir,” he called cheerfully. “Miss.”
“Hello, Michaels.” Reese called, springing down from the cart. “Give him a good rub-down today won’t you? He’s earned it.”
“Yes, sir,” the young hostler replied with a grin.
“Good man,” Reese said, mussing the boy’s straw-colored hair as he walked around to the other side of the carriage to help his sister down.
“He’s not
a boy anymore, Reese,” she hissed under her breath. “You’ll have to stop doing that.”
“Who? Young Mic?” Reese asked “What are you talking about?”
“Young Mic, as you call him, is sixteen and in all likelihood will be taking over as head groom when his father retires.”
“I hadn’t realized,” Reese said, absently offering her his arm and starting toward the house.
“I fear there are a great many things you haven’t noticed lately,” Melissa whispered under her breath.
***
Mae snuggled under the covers in the large four-poster bed and listened to the fire crackle merrily in the hearth. The door creaked open and Melissa Middleton sprang onto the bed.
“It’s getting down right chilly, isn’t it?” she crooned, nestling her feet under the covers.
Over the past few weeks, they had visited each other regularly. This was the second time that Mae had come to stay with her new friend. She had been so nervous meeting Mel’s parents. The house was huge and magnificent, yet warm and somehow cozy.
To her great surprise, the Middletons were far less stuffy than she had expected them to be. Aunt Jemma had gone on and on the first time Melissa had invited her to dinner. She had been convinced she would make a mess of everything, but instead she’d felt quite at home.
Although completely different, dinner with the family had felt familiar. They discussed their day, talked about what they would do tomorrow and generally acted like a real family.
Mae was sick to death of the fancy suppers her aunt had with her friends who seemed to spend the whole night measuring Mae’s worth.
“Are you having a good time?” Mel asked, “I’m so glad you could stay again.” She furrowed her brows, looking serious for a minute. “I was afraid Aunt Jemma wouldn’t let you come; she’s seems to think you need to be so perfect to have friends.”
Mae groaned, pulling the blankets over her head.
Melissa laughed, her voice filling the room as she pulled the blankets back down. “I’m so happy I met you,” she added, her eyes shining. “It’s like you’re the sister I never had.”
“Oh, don’t say that,” Mae chided, sitting up. “I have enough sisters already, but I’ve never really had a friend of my own.”
“Aren’t your sisters your friends?” Melissa Middleton blinked in surprise.
“I suppose they are.” Mae tapped a finger on her lips for moment thinking. “I’m just not as close to them as they are to each other, I think. I’ve always been the odd ball.”
“Are they all much older than you?”
“No, Katie is the oldest. She’ll be twenty-six this year. Then there’s Meg, she’s twenty-four and Fiona who’s…” she paused a moment, thinking. “Fiona will be twenty-two.”
“Do they all look like you with all that long black hair?” Melissa could not imagine so many girls in one house.
“No, not at all,” Mae said, suddenly realizing Mel didn’t know about her family. “Katie, Meg, and Fiona are all from Pa’s first marriage. Their mother Bridgette was Irish. Katie has hair the color of wild honey in sunlight.” Mae’s words were spoken as if by rote.
“Why ever would you say it like that?”
Mae laughed. “It’s what her husband Will says all the time.”
“What’s Meg like?”
“Pa says Meg’s lively. She’s tall like Katie and has coppery streaks in her dark hair. I’ve always thought she was the prettiest, and she sings.”
“Where does she sing?” Mel asked, waiting for the answer.
“No, not like that.” Mae swatted at her friend’s hand, “I mean she has a beautiful singing voice. As far as I know, only the family and animals have heard her sing. The horses never seemed to mind,” she finished, her dark eyes full of mischief.
“I know Clay likes to hear her sing. That’s her husband. When they first met I thought they hated each other.” She shook her head. “My family is confusing.”
“When you told me you had five older sisters I imagined it would be like Little Women” Mel shook her head, “but it doesn’t sound anything like that. Didn’t you all get along?”
“Oh, we got along fine, but we all had our own ideas and things we liked to do. Sometimes I think because I’m the baby of the family…” she rolled her eyes dramatically at the term baby, “they all thought I had to be looked after. Fiona wasn’t so bad, she’s sweet and the twins were mostly fun.”
“Twins? You never said you had twin sisters.”
“Isabella and Alexis. They’re nearly three years older than me.”
“Are they identical? Do you look like them?”
“Yes, they are identical.” Mae sat up straighter in the bed. “But we didn’t have the same mother either. Cammy was Italian. She came to the ranch later when Pa was still farming. Her parents live on the ranch. I can’t imagine the Broken J without Nona and Grands Isadoro.” The girl grew quiet for a moment, as if running through the information in her head.
“You know I only now realized something.”
“What’s that?”
“Last summer my father hired two brothers to work growing wheat on the ranch. Isabella married one of them in just over a month.”
“My goodness. Is that normal?”
“I don’t know but everyone seemed to think it was alright. What I just realized however, was that even though Bella and Lexi are identical, Taylor, that’s Bella’s husband, always seemed to be able to tell them apart.”
For several moments the only sound in the room was the popping of burning logs in the fireplace.
“That sounds very romantic,” Mel said softly into the room.
“I guess.”
“What do you mean, you guess?”
“I don’t know. It seems that every time men are involved things get all mixed up. They always change things.”
“Isn’t life largely about change?” Mel looked at her friend. “Nothing stays the same forever.”
Mae turned sad dark eyes toward her companion. “No, I guess not, but it is very hard.”
“I didn’t mean to make you homesick,” Melissa said, squeezing Mae’s hand. “I only wanted to know about your family. I always wanted a sister.”
Mae smiled. “You have something better; you have a brother.”
A wicked glint entered Mel’s green gaze. “I have been lucky, haven’t I? I have a wonderful brother, even if he does fuss and worry too much about me.”
Mae laughed. “If you’re so interested in my family, I promise to read you the next letter I get from home.”
“I’d like that,” Mel said. “What about your mother?” she finally asked.
Mae was quiet for so long Melissa wondered if she wouldn’t answer. She seemed to be puzzling over exactly what to say.
“My mother and great-grandfather arrived later. Isabella and Lexi were almost two, the house had been built and she and Ye… Grandfather Lou, were looking for a new home. Pa said my mother took his breath away and could dance circles around him with her energy.”
Melissa Middleton laid her hand over Mae’s.
“I look like her,” Mae’s voice was almost a whisper.
“You must miss her terribly,” Mel said, sympathetically. “Perhaps she’ll come to visit you sometime.”
A tear slid out of the corner of Mae’s eye and trickled down her soft cheek. “Mother died when I was five,” she said, “and I do miss her.”
For long minutes the girls sat there holding hands, each wrapped in their own thoughts.
Melissa’s head was reeling with the number of names and descriptions of the James family. The thought of one man having had three different wives seemed almost farfetched in her mind, but she knew many widows remarried, so why not men.
“I didn’t mean to make you sad,” Melissa finally said.
“It’s alright.” Mae wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand. “Friends get to know who you really are, and that’s all part of my story.”
“Tomorrow we’ll make Reese take us riding in the park. What do you say?”
“That would be lovely, but please don’t let your horse get away from you this time.” Mae’s laugh softened the joke.
“Good-night, Mae,” Melissa said, walking to the door.
“Good-night, Mel.”
Chapter 6
“Don’t you girls look lovely,” Mrs. Middleton commented as Mae and Melissa walked in to breakfast.
“They look like double trouble to me,” Reese complained from the other side of the table, where he sat scooping eggs onto his toast.
“Reese, why would you say such a thing?”
“Because Mel has that look in her eye.”
Mrs. Middleton studied her daughter. “Is that true, dear?” she asked.
“Not at all mother. Reese was obviously out too late again with his friends and is grumpy.”
Both women laughed, turning to look at the offending man. Their eyes were so similar, and although Mrs. Middleton’s hair was bright with gray, it still held some of the same gold as her daughter’s.
“You could pass as sisters’” Mae commented before thinking, then blushed at her slip.
“That’s the sweetest thing anyone has said to me in ages’” the older woman beamed. “Now what are you girls planning today?” she asked.
“I was hoping that Reese would be a doll and take us riding in the park,” Melissa said “I mean Papa always says that when one has a difficult experience they should face it straight on as soon as possible.”
“Hm, huh?” Mr. Middleton came out from behind his paper to gaze at his family. “Yes, yes, you’re quite right Mellie. Reese, you should take your sister and her friend riding. It will do them good.”
Reese shot a glare at his sister, silently mouthing, “Well played” as he refilled his plate from the buffet. “Of course, father,” he said out loud. “I’d love nothing better.”
He eyed his sister again as she and Mae filled their plates. He had, in fact, been out with some of his friends from the college the night before and was feeling the effects of it at this early hour. He hoped a good breakfast would calm his spinning head.
