Looking To The Future (#11 in the Bregdan Chronicles Historical Fiction Romance Series)

by Ginny Dye

  “Do?” Alice asked with a hopeless laugh. “There is nothing you can do,” she whispered. “I just have to try to survive until I get out of here.”

  Carrie knew it wasn’t necessary to point out Alice wasn’t doing so well with that at the moment. “Where do they keep you?”

  “In one of the wards. I am in a room with five other women. It’s tight, but at least we have beds. I’ve seen many women sleeping on the floors because there isn’t room for everyone.”

  Carrie nodded. Her brief time in the asylum had revealed it was horribly crowded. She had no idea how far past capacity they must be, but there were far too many people here to be adequately cared for. She thought about what she had learned from Mrs. Packard’s books. “How many of the women in your ward seem to be truly insane?”

  “Most of them,” Alice replied, “but I doubt many of them started that way. There are others, like a woman who was brought in last night, who are as sane as I am.” She frowned. “At least for the moment.”

  Carrie was sickened by the pain and terror etched on her friend’s face. “Most people think the insane receive kind treatment in the asylum.”

  Alice seemed to gather strength from somewhere as she straightened her shoulders. “That’s not true,” she said firmly. “I have been humiliated and beaten. When I first arrived, I was quite adamant to prove I was not insane, believing they would release me. One of the attendants, Mrs. Bartle, is brought in to handle what they call the tough cases. Like me.” Her face twisted with painful memories. “On my second night, when I was still trying desperately to convince her I was quite sane, she grabbed me by the hair and yanked me across the room. I was so shocked, and it hurt so badly, that I went with her…”

  Carrie closed her eyes as Alice’s voice trailed off. “She took you to the screening room,” Carrie finished.

  Alice stared at her. “How do you know about that?”

  Carrie shook her head. “I’ll explain later. What happened?” she pressed. She was certain she already knew, but she had to hear it from Alice’s mouth if they were to effectively use it.

  Alice hung her head. “Mrs. Bartle is quite strong. She picked me up, fully clothed, and plunged me into a tub of icy cold water. I was quite shocked. Before I could struggle to free myself, she pushed my head under water and held it there.”

  Carrie bit back her cry, but did not try to stop the tears coursing down her cheeks. “Oh, Alice…” she murmured.

  “When I thought I would surely pass out,” Alice continued, “Mrs. Bartle pulled my head up by my hair and demanded I admit my insanity.” She lifted her head proudly. “I would not,” she said. “I told her I was quite sane, and that nothing she did could get me to say differently.” Alice sagged again. “I don’t know how long it went on before I passed out. When I came to, I was lying on the floor of the screening room, shivering.”

  Carrie moaned. “Has that happened again?”

  “No,” Alice replied. “She seems content to mostly let me be right now. I think she is confident my roommates will kill me at some point because she knows I won’t fight back.”

  Carrie shivered at the matter-of-fact tone in her voice, desperate to find a way to relieve Alice’s plight until she could get her freed. “Alice, we’re going to get you out of here.”

  Alice managed a tight smile. “I want to believe you, but I’m told no one who comes here ever leaves.”

  “Yes, well they don’t know the people working to make this happen,” Carrie snapped. “You have very good friends who will not rest until you are free.” She paused a moment. “Alice, do you still love Sherman?” She was relieved when Alice stared at her as if she were quite mad herself. She smiled. “I had to ask, because part of our plan is to make Sherman agree to a divorce.”

  Alice gasped, her mouth a circle of wonder. “I want that more than anything. I could never go back to a man such as Sherman. My great hope is that I will never have to lay eyes on him again.” Her head lowered in shame. “I should never have married him,” she murmured.

  “Did you ever see this side of him?” Carrie asked.

  “Never!” Alice cried. “He doted on me, and told me many times how proud he was that his wife was going to be a doctor.” She shook her head. “He changed so quickly. I never saw it coming.”

  “It’s not your fault,” Carrie said. “There are people who live off controlling others. They will do anything to get them under their dominion. Once they have them there, they reveal who they really are because they believe you have no recourse.”

  “Like Janie?” Alice asked softly.

  “Like Janie,” Carrie agreed. “When she married Clifford Saunders, she didn’t understand who he truly was.” She smiled reassuringly. “But Janie got divorced, is very happily married to Matthew Justin now, and is about to have a baby.” She decided Alice could use some good news.

  “That’s wonderful!” Alice cried, but her eyes filled with tears almost immediately. She took a deep breath and raised her head. “I’m happy for her.”

  “I know you are,” Carrie said gently. “Janie would be here with me now, but her baby is due quite soon.” She prayed silently that Janie’s child would wait for her to get back to Philadelphia before it was born.

  “What now?” Alice asked. “What happens next?”

  Carrie knew Alice needed something to hold onto, but before she could say anything else, she heard the key in the lock. She was standing when Dr. Tillerson entered the room.

  “I believe you’ve had quite enough time with this patient,” he said coldly.

  “I believe I have,” Carrie replied pleasantly. “Now I find I need to have a conversation with you.”

  Dr. Tillerson shook his head. “I am quite a busy man, and I don’t believe you have anything of interest to say to me,” he said dismissively, and then turned to leave the room. “I will call an attendant to have you escorted out.”

  Carrie reached into her pocket and pulled out another letter. “I don’t think so,” she snapped, barely biting back a smile when Dr. Tillerson turned to look at her in amazement. She was quite certain not many dared to contradict the man who held their future in his hands.

  “Excuse me?” Dr. Tillerson asked with tight lips and blazing eyes.

  Carrie held the envelope up. “I have a letter here from John Hoffman,” she said. “I believe you will recognize him as the Governor of New York. He was elected in November of last year. He is also quite fond of Mrs. Archer.”

  “I’m aware of who he is,” Dr. Tillerson responded, his eyes taking on a trapped look.

  “I’m so glad,” Carrie continued in a pleasant voice. “I also have a letter here from David McNeil, the new Inspector of State Prisons. He’s quite concerned over Mrs. Archer’s situation. I’m suppose you’re not aware of how well known your patient is, Dr. Tillerson. I thought it best you should know.”

  Dr. Tillerson froze. His eyes blazed with a desperate fury, but somehow he managed to keep his voice under control. “What is it that you want, Mrs. Borden?” He made no attempt to reach for either letter.

  “I’m so glad you asked,” Carrie replied. “I have discovered that Mrs. Archer’s situation here is quite untenable. It is necessary for it to change immediately.” Her mind raced as she thought of all she had learned in Mrs. Packard’s book. “I demand this patient be transferred immediately to a private room in another ward. You know as well as I do that she is quite sane, and merely put here by a vindictive husband.” She paused. “A husband who I’m sure is paying you well to keep her here.” She knew no such thing, but the mere threat of such an accusation reaching Governor Hoffman would surely make the doctor nervous. The look on his face confirmed her suspicions.

  “A private room is quite difficult,” Dr. Tillerson said in a clipped voice.

  “But not so difficult for you, Dr. Tillerson,” Carrie said smoothly. “You are a powerful man here. I realize the asylum is grotesquely overcrowded…” She let her voice trail off, allowing it to re
lay the possibility that this reality would be included in any communications she wrote. Then she smiled brightly. “Which will make it all the more appreciated that my friend will not ever again step foot in the ward where she is being held. She is to be taken directly to her room.” She paused. “I will wait while that is done.”

  Dr. Tillerson stared at her, but didn’t argue.

  Carrie kept herself from smiling again, enjoying herself despite the gravity of the situation. “In fact, while you get that arranged, I’m going out to my carriage to gather my medical bag. My friend is quite in need of treatment.”

  Dr. Tillerson met her eyes, his look that of an enraged animal. “You are a doctor?”

  “I am,” Carrie assured him. She saw no reason to mention she would be getting her medical diploma in a few weeks’ time. “I would appreciate it if you would address me as Doctor Borden from now on.” She paused, holding his eyes. “Do not move Alice from this room.” She dropped all pretense of pleasantry. “If she is not sitting right here when I return, your name will be prominently displayed in every newspaper in America. You see, one of Alice’s closest friends is the renowned journalist, Matthew Justin. I already know he is working on a series of articles about insane asylums. How you handle Alice until we secure her freedom will likely mandate how you are portrayed in his articles.”

  “Is that a threat?” Dr. Tillerson demanded.

  “Why, no,” Carrie assured him. “It is a promise. One I would rather enjoy keeping.” She turned to leave the room. “I will not need assistance. I know my way out, and I will return in a few minutes. Before I leave, I expect to accompany Alice to her room. I will return tomorrow with more clothes and blankets for her.”

  Dr. Tillerson dropped his hands in defeat. He straightened, his eyes fastened on Carrie with glittering hatred.

  Carrie controlled her shudder. She hoped her confidence in the letters within her possession would provide Alice with the protection she believed they would. If not, she may have just turned her friend’s life into even more of a living hell. Either way, she knew they had to get Alice released soon.

  Dr. Tillerson turned to Alice. “Wait here. I will return for you.”

  When Carrie turned back to Alice, her friend was staring at her with amazement.

  “How did you get those letters?” Alice took a breath. “I don’t know either of those men.”

  “You do now,” Carrie assured her. “I have my ways,” she added cheerfully. She put her hand on the doorknob. “I shall be back in a few minutes with arnica and some other treatments that will help you heal. I suspect whatever food you receive here will be abysmal, even in a private room, but hopefully it will be enough to keep you from losing any more weight. You have to promise me to eat whatever you can force down.”

  Carrie rushed down the halls to the carriage, trying to block her ears to the screams and moans she heard coming from the complex of buildings on the facility grounds. The asylum was housed on close to twenty acres, but it was easy to tell the buildings were overcrowded. The stench in the air spoke of unsanitary conditions. The whole situation made her furious, but right now, her focus had to be on Alice.

  Anthony stepped out of the carriage as she drew close. “Did you see her?”

  Carrie nodded as she reached into the carriage for her medical bag. “I’ll tell you all about it, but first I have to go treat Alice.”

  Anthony’s mouth dropped open. “They are going to let you take your medical bag inside?”

  “I didn’t give them much of a choice,” Carrie said.

  Anthony grabbed her hands. “Are you all right?”

  His tender question nearly snapped Carrie’s rigid control, but she took a deep breath as she straightened her shoulders. “I will be,” she said. “I’m having them put Alice in a private room.” She raised a hand when Anthony opened his mouth to ask more questions. “I promise to explain everything,” she said hastily. “Right now, I have to go before anyone changes their mind.”

  Anthony stepped back. “I’ll be waiting.”

  Carrie gazed into his eyes, gathering strength to step back into the asylum, and then spun on her heel.

  *****

  When Carrie left the asylum, every cell of her body was fatigued. She refused to acknowledge it, thought, knowing that whatever she was feeling was nothing compared to Alice’s daily ordeal.

  Anthony was waiting for her as she neared the carriage. She could tell by the expression on his face that he was concerned, but he remained silent as he helped her step into the carriage. He tucked blankets around her securely before climbing into the driver’s seat and heading for the wharf. Carrie sagged back against the seat, grateful for the wind that had chased the morning clouds away. Bright sunlight shone down on her. She basked in it for a moment, and then shivered as she wondered how long it would be before Alice would feel it again.

  Anthony tucked her against his side as they stood on the wharf and waited for the boat to arrive, but he remained silent. Carrie knew he was giving her time to come to grips with what she had experienced. She leaned into him, grateful for his solid strength that blocked her from the cold wind blowing in off the river. She closed her eyes, remembering the forlorn look on Alice’s face when she had left. Her friend was now in a private room. It was not a protection from screams and moans in the night, but she had to believe the threats, and the letters she had given Dr. Tillerson, would guarantee Alice protection until they could get her out.

  Thank you, Alice had whispered when Carrie embraced her one last time.

  I’ll get you out of here, Carrie had whispered back.

  Please hurry, Carrie. Oh…please hurry.

  Carrie shuddered as she pressed in closer to Anthony. She could feel him gazing down at her, but all he did was pull her in even more tightly.

  It wasn’t until they were halfway across the river, the New York skyline beckoning them onward, that she finally found the strength to speak. “It’s a terrible place,” she said.

  Anthony nodded. “I’m sorry.”

  Carrie could feel the questions pounding in his mind, but she knew he would allow her to tell the story in her own way. Haltingly, fighting tears with every revelation, she told him what she had experienced.

  Anthony leaned back to watch her when she got to the part about the letters from Governor Hoffman and David McNeil, the Inspector of State Prisons. “You had letters from those men?” he asked in astonishment. “When did you secure them?”

  Carrie flushed. “Last night.”

  Anthony raised a brow. “I’m afraid I don’t understand. Will you enlighten me?”

  There was something in Anthony’s eyes that said he already suspected the answer, but she knew he would wait for her to speak. “Well…” She hesitated, and then blurted out defiantly, “I’m sure they would have written letters if given the opportunity!”

  Anthony’s lips twitched. “You faked the letters?”

  Carrie shrugged. “I realize it was a risk,” she admitted. “I decided only to use them if necessary.” She scowled. “Anthony, if you could have seen her, you would have done anything to help her. Last night, I decided only the threat to their position would force any of the doctors at the asylum to take interest in Alice’s care. When I saw her, and heard what they had done to her already, I knew I needed to take drastic action. She simply could not go back to that ward.”

  Anthony eyed her. “How did you know they had private rooms?”

  “I didn’t,” Carrie confessed, “but the asylum where Mrs. Packard was held has them, so I decided to go with the assumption they did.”

  “And if they didn’t?”

  Carrie shrugged. “I don’t know, but it doesn’t matter, because Alice is now in one,” she finished, allowing a triumphant grin to replace her scowl. She sobered quickly. “It’s still horrible, but at least she isn’t housed with women who will attack her in the night.” She peered into Anthony’s eyes, trying to read his expression. “Are you disappointed in me?�
��

  Anthony chuckled. “What if I were to say yes?”

  “I would be sorry for that, but I wouldn’t have changed my course of action,” Carrie replied honestly.

  Anthony smiled. “Exactly. My opinion doesn’t matter, but just in case you’re wondering, I find myself in awe of you, Mrs. Carrie Borden. If I had been the one in there, I would have gotten so furious I would have beaten the doctor, and probably found myself confined as a patient. You, however, went in with a well-executed plan to secure Alice’s protection.” He removed his hat and bowed to her with a grand flourish. “You are an amazing woman, Carrie.”

  Carrie blushed at the look of love glowing in his eyes. She also felt the burden drop away from her heart. She was not accustomed to deception, but she had decided there were times it was called for. “It was rather entertaining to see the look on his face when he saw the letters,” she admitted.

  Anthony continued to watch her. “And if he checks their validity?”

  Carrie shook her head. “I believe he’s far too much of a coward to risk questioning them,” she responded, “but we have to do everything possible to get her out of there.”

  “Agreed,” Anthony said. “Did you find out anything about Sherman?”

  “I did,” Carrie said eagerly. “I forgot to tell you. Sherman Archer seems to be rather high up in the management of the Pennsylvania Railroad.”

  Anthony nodded, his eyes gleaming. “That could work to our favor,” he murmured, and then answered the question in her eyes. “The Pennsylvania Railroad is very concerned about public opinion, especially after the rash of accidents they have had.”

  “Like Matthew and Janie’s train!”

  “Precisely. They are working hard to turn public opinion in a positive direction. I doubt they would relish a scandal from one of their top people. If it were to hit the papers, it could be a nightmare that wouldn’t go away for a long time.”

  “With Matthew on our side, it should be relatively easy to convince Sherman his life will become a nightmare if he doesn’t set Alice free and give her a divorce,” Carrie stated, her excitement growing.