I had my mouth open to answer, but Oma stood in front of Vater, blocking my answer. “You still owe this young woman an apology for last night. Make it right and sincere this time.”
Vater looked clearly at my eyes. “I am sorry for what I said last night, Rika. Please forgive me.” He sounded like the Vater I knew before Texas.
“Yes, Vater, I forgive you.”
“Last night taught me something. I have become a different person in Texas, one who is hard and unemotional, as if all the music is gone from life. This is a harsh land, and we have all had to do hard things to survive.” Vater bowed his head as if embarrassed by speaking his discovery.
I nodded. “That’s exactly what Aunt Mathilde told me.”
“And she is?” Vater wanted to know.
“She is Dillman Mantz’s aunt in Victoria who is caring for Mutter.”
“Tell me about it as we walk home. Sophie will be awake soon, and I need to be there.”
“You left her alone?” I was surprised.
“No. Lux came early to shore up the animal shed for your impossible horse. You will be glad to see him, I suppose.”
After Vater and I started talking to each other, slowly my home life changed. Although there wasn’t much variety in food, with the help of a neighbor I improved my cooking and learned to make watermelon preserves. Marie Kessler visited with me on Saturdays, often bringing milk or butter. Now, more than ever, Marie said, their cow, Wilma, had become the most valuable member of the Kessler family.
Sophie was still a pest but seemed to enjoy the German mottos it was my job to teach her. Because of her speech stutter, she learned them by chanting in a sing-song voice, finding that she spoke plainly, which made her proud and me as the teacher look good. One morning as I swept the hard dirt floor of our house, it dawned on me that except for not being a fat Housefrau as Karl had suggested, I had become exactly what Karl said I would: the three ks of German womanhood: Kuche, Kirche, and Kinder (kitchen, church, children). My hopes and dreams were only dashed, not gone, yet Karl’s prophesy had come true. What had become of him? Why had there been no word from the scouting party? I longed for the excitement of him, the fun of being with him, and the tingling feeling of his touch.
Our family’s new beginning spurred me to renew my dream of becoming a musician, and in my precious moments of spare time I took music from the big trunk and fingered it, using my imagination to hear the piano notes. I kept hearing notes in my head that wouldn’t go away until I wrote them down, so I used all the paper we had and margins of other music to write down the chords and melodies. This became my new form of amusement as I did the mathematical and musical notations in my head. Vater even took one of my compositions to band practice after he spent precious money for paper to arrange parts for different instruments. The piece was applauded at rehearsals, and I looked forward to hearing it sometime at a band concert.
My new beginning even seemed to affect Baya, who settled into routine feeding and watering without nipping me with his teeth. I wondered how an animal could know the difference in my attitude, but laid it to his extra attention from Lux, who was almost finished making the shed secure against the coming winter.
I asked myself if this strange horse could know Lux worked hard for him. Don’t be ridiculous, I answered myself. But then I remembered how Baya liked for me to sing and had made his wishes known on the trip.
When Lux came to work every morning, we discussed philosophy and geology, cooking and economics, the weather, and anything else we could think of. The German proverb, “Ignorance is great darkness” took on new meaning when I realized that exchanging remarks and learning from Lux made me feel like the sun shone on me.
The most fun, though, was the gossip he brought from some of his other jobs and from the saloon on Market Square. Built on wooden pillars, the saloon had a broad gallery where men gathered to drink. The men, he said, were having difficulty finding drinks that suited both their pocket change and the climate. Whiskey made from distilled corn was not only the cheapest drink, but it loosened tongues. The gallery, he said, was blessed with many stories. He told about a spotted jaguar at the edge of town and about Reverend Ervendberg, who wanted to build an orphanage for the twenty or so orphans now housed in tents. He said the men argued about the fairness of the required two years of service in civic jobs as well as the conscription of men in the militia.
“What do you think of conscription, Rika? Is it fair?” Lux asked.
“Someone has to keep us all safe.” I answered quickly, glad that someone wanted my opinion.
“Right. But there are exceptions to who has to serve. Judges, ferrymen, officials, notaries, postmasters, mail carriers, owners of public mills, and teachers are exempt. Is that fair?”
“No,” I answered. “Wait a minute! It sounds unfair, but business would be disrupted if they had to leave.”
Lux stopped pounding and looked at me. “Now you know why the men argue about it. There are several ways to look at it.”
I frowned. “When Karl comes back, will he have to serve in the militia?”
Lux started hammering again, this time very hard and showing his anger. “Him again? Rika, you should write him off. That expedition hasn’t been heard from for over two months, say men at the gallery.”
A cold web closed around my heart. Write off the only man I ever kissed? Forget the person who made it possible for us to have a wagon and team? “I can’t do that, Lux. I can’t believe he is dead. That would be dreadful. Your gallery news is morose.” I turned to go back in the house.
“Wait. I apologize. Of course you should hope your friend is all right. Besides, there is good news!” Lux followed me a few steps.
“What is it?”
“There’s to be a dance, and it will be on a wooden floor. Will you go with me?”
I tried to remain demure as a lady should, but I couldn’t seem to help myself. “Yes! Yes! Yes!”
“Had to talk you into that, did I?” He laughed. “Is it the dancing company that excites you or just the chance to wear the secret satin shoes?”
“Who told you about the shoes? Kurt or Sophie?”
“Neither. It was Oma Gunkel. She told me how you carried them all this way hidden in the bottom of that ridiculous reticule. They must be very important to you.”
“At first it was just the shoes and the idea of a secret that Mutter didn’t know about, but I think now it’s not the shoes. It’s the idea that somewhere in this awful place people are civilized enough to dance on a real wooden floor. In Gonzales, Kurt and I danced on a dirt floor to a comb and funnel band.”
“This time it will be wood. Lucas Beck has hired me to make a smooth wooden floor, and he will pay me well. I’ll make it very smooth,” said Lux as he fastened a peg into the door hinge.
“Lucas Beck?” I shouted.
“Yes.” Lux nodded.
“Don’t trust him, Lux. He is trouble!”
“Seems nice enough,” insisted Lux. “Why don’t you like him? I have noticed that before.”
“I can’t tell you, but please don’t get involved with his money. You could get into trouble.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“Yes, what kind of trouble?” Vater, coming out of the house, overheard me.
Dare I put myself in danger by telling them? And what about the threats against Sophie? I waited for an answer from myself. None came. But I had started this, so I had to go on. “There’s counterfeit money everywhere. You’ve heard about it.”
Vater looked squarely at my eyes. “What does that have to do with Lucas Beck?”
I stayed silent.
Lux encouraged me. “You might as well tell us, Rika, so we can understand.”
“Sit down on the ground and come close so no one can hear.” After they sat, I leaned toward them, speaking softly. “I overheard Otto and Lucas onboard ship. They robbed a bank in Oldenberg and smuggled the money to Galveston, where Otto exchanged it for American dollars
. They know I know.” I talked faster and faster. “They threatened to throw me overboard if I told.”
“Oh, no!” Lux and Vater said at the same time.
“They keep threatening me and telling me they will hurt Sophie if I tell.”
Quickly Lux got up. “I’ll go take care of them right now.”
“Wait! There’s more. A lot of counterfeit money is circulating right now, both Texan and Mexican. I believe Otto and Lucas were cheated in Galveston and are exchanging fake money without even knowing it.”
“How do you know this? Any proof?” asked Lux.
“I think it’s in the mandolin and guitar cases they carried on ship. When they came to the Musikfest, they didn’t bring the instruments they had been so careful about on the trip.”
“Anything else?” asked Vater.
I laughed. “Yes. Part of their threat was to watch me like a hawk all the way to New Braunfels. In spite of my protests, they watered and fed Baya and the oxen every night, hitched them every morning, and even bribed me with delicious white bread in Gonzales. At first, I was scared to death until Gustav told me to use them every day and to be sure to protest. It worked. You can’t imagine how much help they were.”
“And Gustav is?” asked Vater.
“Gustav is…er…” I waited. Did I dare tell him this secret? Would he, like Emil, think Oma crazy?
“Well?” Vater became impatient.
The time for secrets is past, I told myself. “Gustav was Oma Gunkel’s long dead and departed husband.”
Vater was shocked. “You’ve been keeping company with a ghost?”
Lux laughed. “Rika, you are the most amazing, unbelievable woman I ever met. In spite of a despicable Spanish-hearing horse, two threatening bank robbers, and a ghost that gave advice, you made it to New Braunfels. My hat is off to you.” Lux took the round cap from his head and placed it on mine. “I crown you either courageous or foolish woman of the day. Take your choice.”
Vater was not impressed. “You know we do not believe in ghosts. That belief is evil. You traveled with a strange, evil woman. What about her? She must believe in ghosts. What a foolish woman!”
“Not foolish, Vater. When Oma pretended that Gustav was still with her, the unbearable trip became bearable. You can’t imagine how impossible it was for a woman traveling alone. Gustav’s gone now. Not needed. We all knew he was imaginary, but Oma’s memory of him was wise as well as entertaining. And, Vater, in choosing to travel with Oma Gunkel, I used something Aunt Mathilde, the one I told you is taking care of Mutter, told me. She said, ‘Which consequences are most promising?’ The consequence of not traveling with what you call a foolish woman, Oma Gunkel, was to stay at the McCoy Creek Encampment for weeks waiting for the next wagon train. Remember, I was alone with no money. It was more promising to travel with a crazy lady and the ghost of her dear but not departed husband than to go hungry waiting for another wagon train.”
“You made the only right choice. Desperate situations call for desperate decisions,” declared Lux.
“Lux!” I fairly shouted at him. “That is exactly what Aunt Mathilde said.”
Lux looked quizzical. “Was she German?”
“Yes, Dillman took me to her because she spoke German, and I could make her understand about Mutter.”
“It’s a German saying. They do come in handy.”
“One other thing about Gustav,” I said. “He was rich. That’s how Oma helped me, and how she has a house with floors and coffee with sugar and cream. That’s how she hired Kurt Kessler to help with her wagon on the trail.”
“Is she rich enough to pay for a wooden dance floor?” asked Lux.
The question was innocent enough, but it got me in a heap of trouble when Lux told Lucas that Oma would pay him more to build the dance floor than their agreed price. It made Lucas so mad he came to our house pounding on the door so loud our neighbor heard it and stuck her head out the door.
I let Lucas inside, and he started yelling at me. “I know you are the cause of this disgrace. Everyone knew I was the donor for the dance floor. Now everyone wants to know why someone else is doing it. You told, didn’t you?” He drew back his hand to hit me. “Admit it. You told! I warned you. Otto warned you!”
I stumbled backward to escape his arm, but he moved forward into striking range. A loud voice from behind me yelled, “Stop, or I will shoot you!”
Lucas dropped his arm.
“Now, come to the table and sit down,” said the loud voice.
Lucas didn’t move. I stared incredulously at my Vater, then at the gun he held in his hand. Never had I seen my father with a gun.
“I said move to the table and sit,” Vater shouted again.
Lucas moved to the table and sat on a bench.
Frightened, Sophie had taken refuge under the table. Now she came out crying. I hugged her, told her everything was all right, and told her to go outside while Vater bravely took care of the trouble. Glad for escape, she fled, slamming the door behind her. I sat at the opposite end of the table, safely away from Lucas.
“Rika kept your secret until last week. You did a good job of threatening her, but you have made your last threat. If you ever strike or even threaten Rika or anyone in my family, I will find you and shoot you in both legs. I shall do the same for Otto. Do you understand?” Vater waved the gun toward Lucas’s knees.
Lucas nodded.
Vater shouted, “Say it. Say, ‘I understand’!”
My heart beat faster and faster as Lucas crouched above the bench, and I feared he intended to snatch the gun from Vater. Then the fight went out of him and he slumped back on to the bench. “I understand,” he mumbled.
Vater waved the gun again. “What did you say?”
“Yes, I understand,” Lucas shouted.
Vater dismissed me by using my full name. “Frederika, will you make us some coffee? Lucas and I have some business to transact.”
While I measured the dried ground beans into boiling water, I listened to every word. Vater had obviously spent the last days deciding how he would handle a confrontation and had determined the right approach. After telling Lucas not to interrupt, he explained the freedom enjoyed by everyone in Texas, showing how easy it is to start over in a new country. With that freedom, Vater said, comes responsibility for our neighbors, not only to help them if they are in trouble, but to treat them fairly, being careful not to cheat them. Honesty is required. Passing counterfeit money is cheating everyone because the fraud is passed on and on and on.
At that point, Lucas, who had been fidgeting since he first sat at the table, could contain himself no longer. “Wait, Sebastian. You have it all wrong. I didn’t know I was passing fake money. I gave honest money for the counterfeit I was given in Galveston.”
“How do you mean honest money?” Vater asked. “You stole that money in Oldenberg from people who had worked hard for it.”
Defeated, Lucas sat back down. “True. What are you going to do about it? I don’t want to go to jail.”
From the cookstove in the corner, I shouted, “You deserve to go to jail!”
“Rika, this man may not get what he deserves. Here is my plan. Lucas, burn what’s left of the fake money. Tell no one. You can never go back and collect what is in circulation.”
“I didn’t know it was counterfeit when I started spending it,” said Lucas.
“Part of your punishment will be to watch your friends struggle with their money. It is an evil thing you have done, but what’s done can’t be undone. You will stop it in its tracks. I will see that you burn the money. I mean, I want to watch the flames to make sure you do it. As to the bank in Oldenberg, German state law cannot touch you in Texas, but I am your watchdog, your sheriff, your constable looking over your shoulder. In New Braunfels, you will be honest with your neighbors. One false step and I let your secrets be known.”
I took cups of the bean-smelling drink that served as coffee to the table.
Vater held up his
hands. “Hold it. Before we drink, are we agreed on what to do?”
Lucas’s curled lips betrayed his true feelings. “Do I have any choice?”
Vater narrowed his eyes. “Absolutely not.”
“Then I agree.” Lucas reached to shake hands with Vater, who pulled his back.
“This is a three-way agreement,” said Vater. “Rika, you must put your hand on ours in agreement. You are the one who has suffered most.”
Lucas looked at me in denial. “I never laid a hand on you.”
“You have kept her in fear for months and terrorized her over your threats against Sophie. She has to agree to let you stay free, or the agreement is dead.”
I put out my hand. “I agree. You must start over.”
The three of us shook hands.
Vater stood. “Leave my house. You are not welcome here, nor will you ever be welcome. My daughter needs to be free of you.”
Silently, Lucas left, closing the door quietly behind him.
I was too stunned to speak. My mild-mannered piano teacher Vater had just pointed a gun at the bad man and struck a hard bargain. In sticking up for me he had appointed himself my watchdog, constable, and sheriff.
Vater came around the table and took me in his arms. “I meant what I said to him, Rika. He will never be allowed to bother you again.” Then he laughed nervously and sank onto the bench. “Let’s not waste terrible coffee. Get Sophie in here, and we will drink up.”
Sophie was full of questions and babbling about the gun on the table.
“Where did you get the gun?” I asked.
“Bought it the day after I found out about that pair of crooks.” Vater lifted Sophie onto his knee and placed the gun squarely in front of her. “This gun is like fire that you are not old enough to touch. We have explained that fire could hurt you or burn our home. You are never, never, never to touch this gun. Guns kill or maim. When you are old enough, I will teach you to use it, but for now, it is my gun to be touched only by me. Do you understand?”
Sophie’s eyes never strayed from the gun. “Y-yes, Vater.”
“Promise me you will never touch it.”
The Long Road Home Romance Collection Page 53
