“Not that Mr. Decker.” Amanda picked at the lace edging her sleeve. “The other one.”
“Roland?” It came out before she could stop herself.
“Why not? He is so kind and so thoughtful. And handsome.” Amanda giggled. “Don’t you think so? From the moment I first woke from that swoon and saw him bending over me, I couldn’t stop thinking of him. At first I thought you might have fancied him, but then you reminded me that you can’t marry and don’t want to marry. I do. And with Roland Decker, I wouldn’t face any competition.” She spun in a circle like a little girl, her arms held out. “I’m in love!”
Pearl felt ill. She had said all that and the part about not being able to marry was true, but that was almost two weeks ago. So much had changed. That silly painting competition and the way he’d tried to steal a kiss from her, for one. His promise to walk with her on the shore was another. She turned away so Amanda didn’t see her dismay.
“That is all right, isn’t it?” Amanda touched her arm. “You seem upset.”
“No. Not at all. I simply forgot that I, uh, had business. I’d intended to ask at the store when I might expect the primers. Tell Mrs. Calloway I might be a few minutes late for supper.”
Before Amanda could stop her, Pearl took off at a brisk walk.
* * *
Roland headed back to the store after a long walk on the dunes to settle himself from a tense midday encounter with his brother. The whole weekend had been a disaster. The happiness of Sadie’s birthday crumbled when she adored Roland’s tea set and rejected Garrett’s gift of a new rag doll. When Garrett tried to take away her old doll, Sadie had insisted that Miss Amanda would fix it. The pretty new matching dresses only confirmed that the brunette had more than enough skills to complete the task. Garrett had taken out his frustrations on Roland, and Monday hadn’t brought any letup. Roland had to get away to clear his temper before returning to the store.
The walk, and the thought of spotting Pearl again, had done him good.
“Crate from Chicago for you,” Charlie called out as he wheeled the handcart to the rear of the mercantile. “Came in on the mail boat.”
“The mail boat’s here?” Roland darted for the back entrance and the order he needed to send out on that boat. He couldn’t face Pearl’s wrath if her primers didn’t arrive in short order, and the next mail boat wouldn’t arrive for at least a week.
“It’s come and gone.”
Roland halted with his hand on the door handle. Missed the boat again. Pearl would not be pleased, but there wasn’t much he could do about it now. Best get to work. Miffed at himself, he pulled open the door.
“Don’t you wanna look in the crate?” Charlie asked.
Roland blew out his breath. It was probably something he’d ordered ages ago or something Stockton had had shipped up from the emporium, thinking it would sell well here. He headed back and noticed that “Holmes Enterprises” was stenciled on the side of the crate.
What would Holmes have sent him in a crate? Roland was waiting for a letter, not something big enough to require a crate.
“Fetch a crowbar,” he told Charlie. “Let’s find out.”
The boy took off at lightning speed and returned almost as quickly. His eyes sparkled. No doubt he dreamed of baseball bats or some new contraption. Charlie had always been fascinated with machinery. It was a wonder Roland had been able to talk him in to working at the store rather than the mill, but he couldn’t stand the idea of risking the fatherless boy’s life. His ma depended on him. So Roland had made up a position in the store and paid Charlie the same wage he would have gotten at the mill. Stockton wouldn’t like it, but then Stockton wasn’t paying the wage. Roland was.
“Hurry, hurry,” Charlie said, hovering over the crate.
Roland had to put his weight into prying off the lid. At last it came free. Charlie was ready to dive into the straw, but Roland held him back. “Maybe it’s one of those mannequins that ladies use when putting together their dresses.”
As expected, Charlie’s nose wrinkled before he found a reason to counter that speculation. “Nope. It’s too heavy for that. It’s gotta be a machine.”
“A sewing machine, perhaps.”
“It’d better not be.”
Roland had to chuckle at the dismay painted across the lad’s face. “Go ahead. Pull off the straw, and let’s see what we have.”
It didn’t take Charlie long. First he pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to Roland. Then he came up with a book.
“It’s schoolbooks.” The lad tossed the book back in the crate. “Lousy old schoolbooks.”
Roland looked closer. “Primers.” Not sparkling-new but in good condition. “Holmes kept his promise.” That was a good sign if the man decided to invest. He hadn’t given Roland an answer before heading home, saying he needed to check some figures and mull it over. Maybe this sheet of paper was his answer. Or an invoice.
Roland unfolded the paper. It looked like an invoice except the detail noted used primers and the cost was zero. What a relief! He wouldn’t have to spend money he didn’t have, and Pearl could start school with books. At the bottom of the invoice, Holmes had scrawled a note. Roland stared at the illegible handwriting. He turned it this way and that. It couldn’t say what he thought it said. It made no sense. But he couldn’t decipher any other meaning.
If Roland wanted Holmes to invest, he first needed to find a church building in Singapore.
Chapter Eleven
“Why don’t you use that empty worker cabin?” Mrs. Calloway asked someone in the parlor.
Pearl paused outside the room. She didn’t want to eavesdrop, but she couldn’t help but overhear her landlady’s loud voice. Moreover, the question piqued her curiosity. For Mrs. Calloway to entertain a visitor during the breakfast hour, it must be urgent. Based on her suggestion, someone must be coming to town, and it wasn’t a worker. Had that Chicago businessman returned? That made no sense. He had stayed at the hotel last time. Why would he need a cabin now? Unless he’d brought family. Maybe she’d have more students in her classroom tomorrow for the first day of school.
Roland’s voice broke into her thoughts. “Think Stockton will go for it?”
Pearl’s spine tingled. Roland was here? At this hour?
“Can’t see why not,” Ernie Calloway said. “Ain’t usin’ the place for anything.”
Pearl held her breath. It must be a family arriving, someone who intended to stay.
“Psst!” The whisper came from Fiona, who was standing in the hallway opposite Pearl. She motioned for Pearl to follow her into the dining room.
Though Pearl wanted to know who was due to arrive, she couldn’t eavesdrop now that she’d been discovered. She slipped into the dining room, where Amanda and Louise were eating breakfast.
Fiona closed the door. “Did you hear what they’re discussing?”
“Only that they want to use a worker cabin for someone.”
Fiona shook her head. “Not someone. Something. A church.”
Pearl’s heart leaped. Roland had come to the Calloways looking for a place to start a church. Until this moment, she hadn’t been certain if he was a believer or not.
“A church in Singapore,” she breathed.
“An answer to prayer.” Amanda beamed as she buttered a biscuit. “Isn’t it wonderful?”
For a second Pearl wondered if her love-struck friend had convinced Roland to look for a church building, but that was not in Amanda’s nature. She could barely speak to an eligible man. She certainly wouldn’t have demanded anything, and that was exactly what it would have taken based on Pearl’s experiences with Roland.
“About time,” Fiona said. “If I’m going to make my home here, there has to be a church.”
Now, Fiona was one who would have insisted a
man do something for her.
“Did you suggest it?” Pearl queried.
Fiona hemmed and hawed before answering. “I might have said something to Mr. Decker about it not being right holding services in a boardinghouse.”
Then Fiona was behind it. “I’m surprised Roland listened. He doesn’t heed my suggestions.”
“Not that brother,” Fiona scoffed. “Why would I bother with him? I’m after Garrett. He’s the eldest and most suited to my temperament.”
Meaning she could boss him around. Pearl would have figured Fiona to lean toward the suave Roland, but apparently she preferred the strong, silent types. That didn’t bode well for Amanda, though. With Fiona on the attack and Amanda setting her sights on Roland, Pearl would never see her friend properly matched.
She threw up her hands. It was all too much. “I need to go to the school to get ready for tomorrow.”
Amanda looked up at her. “Aren’t you going to eat breakfast?”
“I’m not hungry.” Not with Roland across the hall in the parlor.
“But you will be. I know you. You always eat breakfast.”
With the three ladies watching her, Pearl felt compelled to force something down. She poured a cup of tea and nibbled on a biscuit.
Amanda handed her a pot of strawberry preserves. “They’re delicious, and the butter is freshly churned.”
Pearl assuaged her friend’s concerns by spreading both on the biscuit, but she still wasn’t hungry. After drinking the tea and forcing the biscuit down her throat, she rose and excused herself.
“I will join you when I’m finished,” Amanda said.
“Oh!” Louise looked up from the book she was reading. “Amanda said you need something to read to the students tomorrow. I have Little Women if you would like to borrow it.”
“Thank you. That would do nicely.” Though it would not help her teach them letters. Pearl hoped those primers came in soon.
“And Jane Eyre,” Louise added.
Pearl fought a pang and avoided Amanda’s doubtless stricken look. The heroine’s orphaned beginnings too closely matched their own situation. “Perhaps later.”
She slipped out of the dining room and glanced into the parlor as she passed. The Calloways and Roland were still in deep discussion. None of them noticed her departure. Well, she couldn’t very well interrupt to ask when he expected the primers. She would have to talk to him at the store later.
Her hand was still on the doorknob when Roland’s voice rolled out of the parlor.
“I know exactly who to ask. Her attention to detail and beauty make her the perfect fit. Together we’ll make this church a reality.”
For the briefest moment she hoped he meant her, but no one had ever accused her of paying attention to fine details or creating anything beautiful. He must have meant Amanda, who had created those darling dresses for Sadie and her doll.
She stepped through the door and closed it behind her, trying to ignore the disappointment. Why couldn’t she learn to sew or create beautiful things? Why did every piece of needlework turn into a snarled mess? Her fine hair fell out of its pins constantly. She couldn’t make this old brown dress look like a fancy traveling suit or a ball gown. She couldn’t compare to the other ladies, so why did she think she could ever attract the attention of a man like Roland? Best to give it up and accept the life God had given her.
* * *
Roland saw Pearl walk away from the boardinghouse, but between Ernie and Mabel Calloway’s suggestions, he couldn’t get away until she had passed the big sawmill. Since the howl of the saws made it impossible for her to hear him, he raced after her.
She had a long stride and had reached the river path before he caught up to her.
“A moment, please,” he gasped, out of breath.
She jumped and whirled around. “Oh. Roland. You startled me.”
He braced his hands on his knees until he could catch his breath. “Whew, you set a brisk pace.”
Her lips curved into a smile, and he discovered just how much he liked pleasing her.
“I have something to ask you.” He waved toward town.
Her smile vanished. “I won’t let you out of your promise.”
He had to grin. “Of course not. That’s not what I need to talk to you about, though I have news on that front. But first, I stopped by the boardinghouse this morning to ask the Calloways where we might set up a church building.”
“That would be a blessing for the men.”
And for his project, but she didn’t need to know that. “They suggested the vacant worker’s cabin, but it’ll need some work. I was wondering if you would like to help.”
“Me?” Her surprise seemed out of place.
“You did a wonderful job setting up the school.”
“It was already a school.”
“This is a single-room cabin. I’ll get Garrett and some of the men to remove the bunks and make benches. Do you think that will work?”
She nodded slowly. “Wouldn’t it be easier to use the school?”
He didn’t want to get into the controversy that might start, since the school belonged to three communities, one of which had its own church. “I think it’s best to stay in town, don’t you? Easier for the men and for visitors.”
“You have a point. If we make it too difficult, they might not attend.”
“Precisely. So you will help?”
Her brow furrowed. “I still don’t know why you need me.”
“To figure out how it should be set up and tell me what all is needed.” Since she still hesitated, he added, “You are the fastest painter in town.”
She laughed. “When will I have time? School begins tomorrow.”
“I’m busy in the daytime also. Could you spare an hour in the evening and some time on Saturday?”
Her smile turned teasing. “And what do I receive for this assistance?”
“Why, the joy of starting a church. And that walk along the shore.”
“I’d like that.” She drew in a deep breath, as if pulling herself from a blissful dream. “But at the moment I need to prepare the classroom for tomorrow.”
“That reminds me. I have a surprise for you.”
“What?”
He wanted to see her reaction when she opened the crate. “I’ll bring it up to the schoolhouse later this morning.”
She looked like she was going to insist he tell her what it was, but in the end she laughed and shook her head. “I don’t know why I let you talk me into things.”
“Because I’m utterly charming.”
With a final laugh, she headed off to the school, her back straight and her step sure. Pearl Lawson was an impressive woman, and he was sure glad she’d agreed to work with him on the new church. She would be able to fill in all the details that he would miss, so when Holmes visited he’d be impressed enough to invest in the glassworks.
* * *
Roland was full of surprises. After delivering a crate filled with primers for every grade level and helping her place them in order inside the now-dry cupboards, he asked her to walk with him to the worker cabin that was to become the new church. Since she could do little more until she met her students tomorrow, she agreed, locking the door with the key Mr. Farmingham had given her.
“Do you think someone will steal the primers?” Roland asked with a bit of incredulity.
“Mr. Farmingham thinks it more likely critters would get inside and tear things apart.”
“Such as bears?”
“I should hope not.” The idea of finding a bear in the school made her shiver. “I was thinking more of raccoons.”
“Last I heard, raccoons couldn’t reach high enough to open a door.”
He had a point, but then why had Mr. Farm
ingham insisted she lock the door? “Are there really bears around here?”
“They’ve been seen.”
She didn’t want to admit she feared encountering one. Better to dwell on the project at hand.
“Which cabin is going to become the church?” she asked as they descended the path and turned toward town.
Though the undergrowth was lush after a summer’s growth, they could see around the bend of the river to the sawmill and closest buildings.
“The farthest one from the waterfront.”
“The longest walk, then.” She huffed out her breath, annoyed that this too was impractical. “I’d hoped it would be near the big mill.”
“Why? The men don’t work Sundays except during peak logging. This is closer to the other worker housing.”
She hadn’t considered that. There was a lot Roland knew about Singapore that she didn’t. “You seem to think the town will grow, but other than this stand of young trees near the school, I don’t see much timber.”
He got that dreamy look she’d seen on the Milwaukee. “They’re cutting upriver, but you’re right. Eventually there won’t be enough left to make cutting and floating it downriver worth the cost. They’ll move north. That’s why we need new industry.”
“Like what?”
“Like a glassworks.”
“A glassworks,” she repeated, not quite understanding what he meant. “Why that?”
“What makes up glass?” He picked up a handful of sand from the path and let it trickle through his fingers. “Silica. Sand. Look at it all.” He swept his hands toward the dunes.
“I see what you mean.”
“With the river and the lake, it’s the perfect location. Singapore can change from lumber to glass and continue to grow.”
She couldn’t help but get caught up with his vision. “And a church will become the bedrock of the community.”
He blinked, as if startled by that statement, but then the old grin returned. “And the school. We want educated workers.”
Did he mean that, or was he saying it simply to get on her good side? She wasn’t certain. He had gotten her primers, though.
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