Orphan Train Trials

by Rachel Wesson

  “Kathleen, will you leave when Bridget comes back?”

  Kathleen put her sewing to one side, facing Bella with complete concentration. “Bridget wants me to go to Riverside Springs. Why don’t you come too?”

  “Leave the sanctuary?” Bella asked, sounding surprised. “No, I couldn’t do that.”

  “Yes, you could,” Kathleen reassured her. “You’ll have to one day. You know Lily would love to provide you with a home forever, but that’s not possible. There isn’t enough money even with the deal we did with Mr. Hershel.”

  “I can’t go on an orphan train again, Kathleen.”

  The whispered words screamed pain. Kathleen prayed for the right words to reassure her friend.

  “It won’t be like your first experience. First, you wouldn’t be alone, and you’re not six years old. We are old enough to get married and have our own families.”

  “That’s all right for you. But nobody out there will want me,” Bella said.

  Kathleen wished she could wipe the fear and mistrust from Bella’s eyes, but her friend had been kicked so often, she just couldn’t expect people not to be mean.

  “That’s not true. You are very pretty and when you let people get to know you, you have a lovely heart. You just pretend to be horrible, so people can’t hurt you,” Kathleen said.

  “Ha! Most of the women here wouldn’t agree with you. Patricia says—”

  “I don’t care what Patricia says,” Kathleen interrupted. “Or anyone else for that matter. I know you. The real you.”

  Bella didn’t respond. She picked up her sewing and started working at it again.

  Kathleen took her lead and set about threading the machine once more.

  “Kathleen?”

  “Yeah.” Kathleen tried to speak with the thread in her mouth.

  Bella stopped working to look at her.

  “Do you really think I could find a nice man and have a family?”

  Kathleen nodded as she tried to untangle the threads blocking the machine. She stopped as Maura and Patricia walked into the sewing room, wincing at the malicious expression on Patricia’s face.

  “Ha, you have as much chance of finding a decent man as I have of winning the hand of the Prince of England. Did you hear that, Maura? Our Bella thinks she can marry a fine man and your sister is egging her on.”

  Kathleen looked to Maura, waiting for her older sister to tell Patricia to shut up, but she said nothing. Instead, she looked at Bella as if she was something nasty she had walked on. Kathleen felt her temper rising. Something that seemed to happen with increasing regularity around Maura.

  “Patricia Martin, if you can’t say anything nice, just stay quiet will you,” Kathleen retorted, raising her voice.

  Patricia opened her mouth to respond but Lily got there first.

  “Ladies, please.”

  The women jumped, not having seen Lily walk into the room.

  “Patricia, I have already spoken to you about being kind to others. One of the rules of the sanctuary is to treat everyone with respect. You should apologize to Bella.”

  Lily looked at Patricia who simply stared back at her. Kathleen’s gaze flickered from one to the other, wondering who would give in first. After a few tense seconds, Patricia flung a halfhearted apology in Bella’s direction.

  “I apologize for shouting,” Kathleen added, eager to smooth things over. She didn’t want Lily to be upset, not in her condition.

  Lily smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes. She cast a worried look at Patricia and Maura before turning her attention back to Kathleen.

  “Bridget and Carl are due on the one o’clock train. I came in to see if you would like to meet them at the station or wait for them to call here. They’ll be staying at my house while they are in New York, since it wouldn’t be suitable for Carl to reside at the sanctuary.”

  Kathleen felt like a child at Christmas. She would have probably jumped up and down if it had only been herself and Lily in the room. Instead, she restrained herself.

  “I would love to meet them at the station. Are you coming, Maura?” Kathleen asked, her excitement making her forget about her sister’s unkindness.

  “No. I have work to do.” Maura’s tone suggested she couldn’t be less interested in seeing Bridget. Tempted to rebuke her, Kathleen decided to stay quiet. Her reunion with Bridget would be better if Maura wasn’t there to ruin things.

  “Mike will collect you at noon, Kathleen. Good day, ladies.”

  Lily swept out of the room but not before Kathleen saw her expression. She didn’t appear to be angry as Kathleen expected, given Maura’s attitude. But she looked incredibly sad.

  Chapter 11

  New York

  Kathleen stood at the railing waiting for the passengers to disembark. As soon as she saw Bridget, she picked up her skirts and flew across the platform. It wasn’t ladylike, but she didn’t care.

  “Bridget, oh how I have missed you,” she said, throwing herself into Bridget’s arms.

  Her sister hugged her close. Then, smiling at her, she turned to the man at her side and said. “This is Kathleen, my younger sister. Kathleen, you remember Carl?”

  Suddenly feeling shy, Kathleen doubted the man would remember her from their brief meeting at the sanctuary when he had come to talk to Lizzie and Jacob about traveling on the orphan train and what it involved.

  “Nice to meet you again, Kathleen. I have heard so much about you from Liam and Annie. And Bridget, of course.”

  “Nice to meet you too. How are the children? They sound so happy in their letters.”

  Bridget took Kathleen’s arm, leaving her husband to take care of their bags. “Happy? I think that is an understatement. You should see the house they live in. Their new parents, Geoff Rees and his wife, Carolyn, are wonderful. You will get to meet them when you come to Riverside Springs.” Bridget looked around her. “I can’t believe I forgot how busy this station gets. Thank you for coming to collect us. Where is Lily?”

  “Waiting impatiently in the buggy. She wanted to come to the platform, but we decided it was better for her to wait.”

  “We?” Bridget asked.

  Kathleen laughed. “I suggested it would be better and Mini Mike agreed. He’s taking his promise to Charlie very seriously. But with Charlie away in Washington, who else will stop Lily from overdoing things? The doctor says she must be careful.”

  Bridget hugged her close again making Kathleen glad her sister was here, she’d missed her. Also, she might be able to do something about Maura. As if she read her mind, Bridget asked how their elder sister was.

  “I missed you so much, Kathleen. Maura too. How is she?” Bridget asked.

  Kathleen couldn’t look at Bridget. She didn’t feel right talking badly about Maura. But was it fair not to prepare Bridget for what lay ahead?

  “Kathleen? Is she ill? What aren’t you telling me?”

  “She is fit and healthy,” Kathleen said. “She just… well, you will see for yourself soon enough. Look, there’s Lily. She’ll jump out of that buggy if you don’t get over to her quickly.”

  Bridget gave her a look which told her that the subject of Maura hadn’t been abandoned.

  “You go and speak to Lily. I’ll wait here to make sure Carl finds us. Go on.”

  Bridget walked quickly over to see Lily. Kathleen watched her sister and friend greet each other like long-lost siblings. That was how it should be between Maura and Bridget, but that wasn’t going to happen. She hoped Maura would at least keep a civil tongue in her head.

  Chapter 12

  New York

  Kathleen looked up from the dinner table, smiling at the people around her. She couldn’t remember the last time she was so happy. Bridget and Carl were a great match, and it was obvious to everyone they were happy together. They had shared news of Annie and Liam’s new home. Riverside Springs sounded like an amazing place to live.

  “That was a wonderful meal, thank you, Lily,” Father Nelson said as he led
their little group into Lily’s sitting room.

  “It was indeed, thank you, Mrs. Doherty, for looking after us so well and for inviting us to stay in your fine home.”

  “Carl, please don’t call me Mrs. Doherty. That’s the name of Charlie’s mother. My name is Lily and I consider you one of the family now.” Lily took a seat before she continued, “Don’t thank me for dinner, Father. It was all Cook’s doing. She is intent on feeding me up with Charlie being away. I will be the size of a house when he comes back.”

  “You will be big soon even if she doesn’t feed you up. I am so happy about the baby, Lily. Have you thought about a name?” Bridget asked.

  “A few. Charlie is quite sure he wants to call her Erin if she is a girl but as yet we haven’t agreed on a boy’s name.”

  Lily leaned back into her chair. The poor woman looked exhausted, as though pregnancy was draining her of all her strength. Kathleen hoped she was being as careful as the doctor had suggested.

  “Where is Charlie?” Bridget asked. “Is he away with work?”

  Kathleen was intrigued by the guilty expression on Lily’s face. What was going on?

  “I hoped he would be back before Bridget and Carl got back,” Lily said, looking at Bridget and her husband before turning to glance at Kathleen. Then she continued, her gaze focused on Carl.

  “Kathleen told me about how your baby sister disappeared after going on the Orphan Train years back, Carl. I discussed it with Charlie, who you might know works as an investigator for a law firm. Anyway, we thought he might be able to find her.”

  Carl moved forward in his chair, his hopeful expression making his face light up. Kathleen couldn’t believe her ears, she hadn’t expected Lily to do anything. But knowing the couple like she did, she should have known they would try to help.

  “And?” Carl asked.

  “I’m sorry, but as of yet, Charlie has been unsuccessful. There have been a few leads but, given her age at the time and how long ago it was, well, I guess I shouldn’t have said anything.” Lily looked to be on the verge of tears.

  “It was my fault. I encouraged Lily by telling her about Hope in the first place,” Kathleen admitted quickly. “I thought it was such a sad story, and it would be lovely to have a happy ending.”

  Lily shook her head. “I take full responsibility. Kathleen didn’t know Charlie had gone looking for Hope. She just told us about her.”

  Father Nelson intervened. “I am responsible too. I provided some leads for Charlie. I only wish I had been able to help more, but the record keeping back then wasn’t always as good as it could be.”

  “Is there no chance of finding her?” Carl asked.

  Kathleen noticed as Bridget took Carl’s hand, giving him her support. They were a good couple, she decided.

  Lily and Father Nelson exchanged a look as they shifted in their seats. Kathleen saw both hoped to avoid that question.

  “Father Nelson was told the records were closed and nobody could have access to them. We did some digging anyway and followed up on some leads, but nothing has come of them. But we will continue trying. Charlie has made some contacts in Illinois and they will continue the search,” Lily explained. “I am so sorry. The last thing we wanted was to cause you more hurt.”

  “Illinois?” Carl repeated.

  “Yes, it would seem that’s where the orphan train carrying Hope was sent. But a lot of the families who adopted children, particularly the younger ones, changed their names.”

  “Yes, we know. It happened with one of the babies we brought with us. But they kept her real name as her second name,” Bridget said, still holding Carl’s hand.

  “Thank you, Father Nelson, and you, Lily, for trying to help. I admit I have also tried to find Hope a few times but without success,” Carl said, before adding, “Maybe it’s just better for us to leave things as they are.”

  Kathleen couldn’t agree. She knew if it were Liam or Annie who had gone missing, she would have searched the country. As it was, she was determined to find out where Shane and Michael were. She assumed Bridget felt the same but now was not the time to discuss their brothers.

  Silence lingered so she decided to change the subject.

  “I can’t believe you enjoy working as an outplacement agent, Bridget. I mean, I know you enjoy helping others,” Kathleen said. “But I thought you would find it too painful to leave the children behind.”

  Bridget exchanged a rueful look with her husband. She had written about some of their disagreements over how the children were handled, but Kathleen knew both had the best interests of their charges at heart.

  “At times it is horrible. I find it hard saying goodbye to the children but…” Bridget took a breath, “Sometimes it is wonderful to place children in homes. For example, when Jacob was adopted, I cried with happiness.”

  “Jacob?” Kathleen queried. “You mean the boy who lived in the sanctuary for a while with his sister Lizzie?”

  “Yes, that’s the one. He gave up his chance for adoption in order for Lizzie to find a wonderful home. His actions made the people adopting his sister realize he was a special boy. So, they took him too. I cried with joy,” Bridget said.

  “She nearly drowned us all,” Carl joked, looking at his wife with so much love in his expression.

  Bridget returned Carl’s gaze and he gave her a slight nod. “Carl and I have some ideas on how to make the orphan trains work better. We found quite a few of the representatives acting on behalf of the outplacement agency never checked up on the children. We want to make sure that every child is visited at least once a year, preferably more often.”

  “That is what was agreed,” Father Nelson replied, his expression suggesting they were complicating matters.

  “It was, but it isn’t happening, at least not in every case,” Bridget said softly. “But we hope we can change that. We can also change the process. At the moment, anyone who wants a child gets one.”

  “And the problem with that is?” The priest obviously didn’t like the process being questioned. Kathleen remembered that the founder of their organization, Charles Brace, was known to Father Nelson. She hoped her sister and brother-in-law continued to be diplomatic, or it would turn into a very uncomfortable evening. She hated conflict.

  Carl shifted in his seat, exchanging a look with Bridget before he answered the priest. “Father, rather than go into a delicate subject, let’s just say that some of the homes were not the type to say prayers at bedtime.”

  Kathleen watched the priest turn red then go pale. She wasn’t sure what type of home Carl was talking about, but it was obvious it wasn’t a good one. She sensed the discussion might be more open if she made herself scarce.

  “I think it’s time I went home. And Lily, you need to go to bed. You don’t want to get overtired.”

  Lily looked like she was about to stamp her foot. “Oh, my word, I am not the first woman to ever have a baby. There is no reason to fuss so much.”

  “There is every reason, Lily. Kathleen is right.” Bridget took her sister’s hands and walked her to the door where Mini Mike waited to escort Kathleen back to the sanctuary.

  “I take it Maura is not cooking up a feast in honor of my homecoming?” Bridget whispered as soon as they left the others behind them.

  Her eyes searched Kathleen’s face, making it difficult for her to tell Bridget anything but the truth.

  “She missed you, you’re her sister,” Kathleen said, but her voice lacked conviction. She couldn’t lie.

  “If she missed me that much, she would have been at dinner this evening,” Bridget retorted before she immediately apologized. “Sorry, Kathleen, you don’t deserve me snapping at you. Thank you for trying to protect my feelings but I know what Maura is like. I will see you tomorrow morning. I missed you dreadfully, Kathleen. I can’t wait to catch up properly.”

  Kathleen hugged her sister close.

  “I missed you too and am so glad you are back.”

  Chapter 13
r />   New York

  Bella read the twins another story, they were rather unsettled this evening as she tucked them into bed. Or were they picking up on her mood? She loved the fact Bridget was back in New York. Kathleen was so excited and happy to see her sister. But what would the visit mean for Bella? Would Bridget agree with Kathleen’s idea for Bella to travel with them to Riverside Springs?

  She went downstairs to get a drink for Megan.

  “What are you doing?” she asked as she spotted Maura and Patricia in Lily’s office, the door open.

  “Mind your own business,” Patricia snarled as she tried to push the door closed.

  Over her shoulder, Bella saw the safe was open. Sarah was handing the contents to Maura who was putting the cash into a bag. She couldn’t believe her eyes. Sarah, who was only thirteen, had been working at the sanctuary for over two years. She didn’t live in, but Bella knew Lily had found her family a decent home and helped her to put her life back together. Sarah’s mother had been working the streets. Sarah had been at risk of following her mam’s footsteps until Lily gave them both a job at the sanctuary. Sarah’s mam hadn’t worked for a while due to illness, but Lily kept her on the payroll. She sent food parcels too. The girl and her mother owed Lily everything.

  “Sarah, you can’t do this to Lily. Not after everything she did for you.”

  Sarah gave her an ugly look. “She didn’t do nothin’ but take our money. She pays us a pittance while she lives in her brownstone. I’ve been a mug. Patricia showed me the truth. I should have been paid more and now I’m takin’ what’s mine. In my new life, I am going to earn more money than I know how to spend.”

  “Me too.” Patricia glared at Bella.

  “That’s not yours. Some of that is the money Kathleen and I got from Mr. Hershel. Lily needs that to pay the bills.” She turned to Maura. At least Kathleen’s sister had the grace to look guilty, she didn’t meet her eyes. “Maura, you know how much Lily does for us all. Not just us but the children on the streets. She helps people like Mrs. Fleming and others who can help more in the community. You can’t steal from her.”