Jeremy gave her a card with his name and address printed on it. “Come by and see me Monday morning. A bank draft will be perfect.”
Harriett was ready to dance with excitement. She couldn’t wait to find Higgins and tell him what she’d done.
*****
Higgins sat looking at Harriett in her small parlor, wondering why she’d sent for him. Did she already have someone she needed him to investigate for her?
“How may I help you, Mrs. Farmer?” he asked politely. He was surprised at how much he resented being dragged away from his new family.
Harriett’s eyes danced as they met Higgins’s. “I’ve done something, and I haven’t even told Max about it yet.”
Higgins raised an eyebrow, surprised. “What did you do?”
“I bought a huge house two streets over. There are eight bedrooms.” She looked at him as if she expected him to understand exactly what her words meant.
He stared at her with confusion for a moment before asking, “For the women? The abused women?”
She nodded. “Would you and your new wife be willing to be caretakers of the house? You can have two of the rooms, so her son can stay there with you.” Her eyes pleaded with him to say yes. “I can’t imagine she wants to stay in the house where she was treated so badly.”
Higgins thought about it for a moment. “I’ll talk to Mildred, but I think she’d like to help other women in the same situation she was in.” He smiled, his eyes lighting up with excitement. “We could take in as many as six women at a time as long as they didn’t have more than one or two children each.”
“I know! I was thinking if she doesn’t mind, your Mildred could cook for them, and you could take care of anything that needs to be done.” She sighed. “There wouldn’t be a lot of money for paying you, but I’d make sure you got all your food and your lodging free.”
Higgins shook his head. “I wouldn’t accept payment for my time. Helping women get away from men who abuse them is my passion as well as yours.” He frowned. “How will you fund the house?”
Harriett shrugged. “I have purchased the house outright with money from the sale of my parents’ home. Max doesn’t want me to use any of my money anymore, so this is something I can do with it. When the money I have runs out, we’ll do fundraisers to make ends meet. We’ll do whatever it takes to get battered women away from their abusers.”
“We’ll call it ‘The Seattle Home for Battered Women.’”
Harriett smiled. “I like that.” She looked up as Max stepped into the room. She’d purposefully left the door open, so if he arrived home from work and she was sitting there with Higgins, he would know he was welcome. “Please join us, Max.”
Max walked in and sat beside her on the sofa, taking her hand in his and kissing her cheek. “What are you doing here today, Higgins? How is married life?”
“Married life is very good, sir. I came over today, because Mrs. Farmer had something she wished to discuss with me.”
Max’s eyes went to Harriett. “Something important?” His eyes met hers questioningly.
Harriett bit her lip. She’d agreed to purchase the house on Thursday afternoon, and here it was Monday evening, and she had yet to tell Max what she’d done. She wasn’t deliberately hiding things from him, but she didn’t think to tell him every little detail either. She knew she needed to work on doing that. “I bought a house this morning.”
Max shook his head in disbelief. “You don’t like this one?”
“I love this house, Max.” Her free hand covered his. “I purchased a house for women who have been abused and have nowhere to go. Higgins and Mildred are going to run the house for me.”
“When did you decide to do this?”
She sighed. “Thursday afternoon. I should have told you. I wasn’t trying to hide it from you, but I was trying to make sure I had everything worked out for it, so I could tell you what we were going to do.” She paused, staring up at him, her eyes pleading with him to understand. “Higgins and Mildred will live there rent free and they’ll take care of the women who come in. There will be room for up to six women and their children. Meals will be provided and they’ll be helped until they can get back on their feet and support themselves.”
“I wish you’d told me sooner, but I can’t complain that you’re helping people. I wish there had been someone to help you when you were in a bad situation.” His eyes looked sad as he said the words, and she knew she had a lot to make up for.
Higgins excused himself and left, promising to come back the following morning after talking to Mildred and Alex. He strode for the door with a slight smile on his lips, and Harriett thought for a moment that it was good to see him happy. She turned to Max more fully.
“I bought the house without even really knowing I was looking for one. I had the idea of starting a home where women could go to be taken care of after an abusive marriage when Higgins said he was going to marry Mildred. I went for a walk after you went to work on Thursday, because I was feeling useless with nothing to do. You don’t want me to work, but you’d said I could do volunteer work for a charity, and I was walking along thinking about what charity I would help, because I need something to do.” She paused looking up at him for understanding. “I saw the house for sale, and suddenly something clicked in my mind. I went up and looked in a window, and the solicitor left in charge of selling the house saw me there. He showed me around and we negotiated a price.”
Max nodded slowly. “So now this is the charity you’ll be helping with?”
She laughed. “You and I both know I’ll be running this charity with Higgins’s help. And the new Mrs. Higgins, of course.” She shrugged. “I have to do this, Max. I’m sorry that I wasn’t more honest with you about my plans, but I have a burning need inside me to help the women who have been abused. I have to make this work. Can you understand that?”
Max gathered her into his arms. “I think starting this charity is a very good idea. I think you’ll do an excellent job and help a lot of women.” He pulled back and looked down into her eyes. “I just wish you would tell me these things before you tell your butler!”
“I know and for that I’m truly sorry. I’ve gone to Higgins first about so many things over the years that I don’t even realize I’m doing it anymore. He’s been my father, closest friend, and confidante for all of my adult life. It’s hard to remember that you need to know things before he does, because it’s just so natural for me to go to him. I promise I’ll try.”
He sighed. “I just don’t want to walk in on a conversation and hear you tell him he’s going to be a grandfather, before you even tell me I’ll be a father.”
Harriett’s tinkling laugh filled the room. “I promise you’ll be the first to know when I’m expecting.” She pressed a kiss against his lips. “Every single time I’m expecting.”
He kissed her soft lips, content for the time being. “I hope so, because I don’t want to have to hurt the man for knowing about my child before I do.”
Harriett grinned. “There’s no need to worry about that.”
*****
For the next month, Harriett worked night and day to get the house ready and open to the public. Higgins and his new family moved into the house and began preparing it for others. When Mildred saw Harriett again, she dissolved into tears, walking into the other woman’s arms.
“I’m so sorry I refused to tell you anything that day. I should have known there was more behind you than there seemed to be.”
Harriett hugged the woman tightly. “I’m just happy you accepted Higgins’s help and you’re in a better situation now.”
Mildred blushed. “John is wonderful. Thank you for sending him to me.”
Harriett was startled at the woman’s use of Higgins’s first name. She was sure she’d known what it was somewhere in her mind, but she couldn’t have told anyone his name without thinking about it first. She was happy Higgins had found someone who obviously cared about him, though. He was a man w
ho deserved all the happiness in the world.
“Are the rooms okay? Did you pick the best rooms for you and your son?”
Mildred nodded. “Higgins said you’d insist we take the biggest bedroom for our own, but I feel bad doing it.”
Harriett shook her head adamantly. “Don’t. This is your permanent home. The others are guests here, some of them long-term guests, but guests just the same.” The two women walked to the kitchen together. “How would you feel about throwing a dinner party here for the upper-class in Seattle? I’d love to be able to raise some money right here in the house before it’s put to use for its intended purpose.” She’d been thinking about a dinner party for a while, and it made sense to do it in the home the women would be living in.
“I think that’s a good idea.” Mildred seemed to think about it for a minute. “When do you think we should hold the party?”
“In two weeks on a Saturday night. Can you cook for fifty or so people or should I have my cook come over and help you?” She eyed Mildred with a smile. “I’ll be sending my maids over to help serve, of course.”
Mildred looked startled at the number. “I’ve never entertained more than five or six people in my home.”
“I’ll send our cook over as well as the maids then. We want everything to be perfect.” She looked over at the ballroom which was closed off from the rest of the house. “I think we should have a huge party with dancing in the ballroom and everything. The guests I’m thinking about inviting will expect that.” She pulled a piece of paper and pencil from her purse. “I’ll look into hiring a band. Can you handle the menu, or do you want to go over that together?”
Mildred looked at Harriett with wide eyes. “I’m just a poor farmer’s daughter who was married to a man who chopped down trees for a living. I’m not used to big, lavish parties.” Her eyes showed the fear she felt at this new role she was being thrust into.
Harriett smiled, patting her shoulder. “You’ll get used to them. Higgins says you’re a wonderful cook. It’s a good way to help other women like us.”
Mildred nodded gravely. “John told me about what happened to you.”
“I thought he had. Now you understand why I feel so strongly about helping women who are in the situation we were both in. I think we’ll work well together.” She looked around the lower floor. “I’d rather not go upstairs if I don’t need to, but are all the rooms ready? Are there beds and dressers and everything a woman will need in each room?”
“Yes, I made certain of that. The only thing I think we should add is a cradle or two for the women who come in with young babies.”
Harriett scribbled a note to herself. “I’ll take care of that.” She looked up as Higgins entered the room and went straight to his wife, kissing her cheek. “Or rather, I’ll tell Higgins to take care of it.” She grinned up at Higgins thankful that even though he was no longer her butler, they were still able to see one another as often as they did. “Your wife thinks we need cradles for the women who may come here with young babies.”
Higgins nodded. “I’ll take care of it right away.” He looked down at Mildred. “Can you think of anything else we need?”
Mildred shook her head. “I think everything is as it should be.”
Harriett smiled at the byplay between the two. Higgins really was happy. “I’m going to have some business cards printed up with the address here for all of us to carry. I’d like us to each give them out to the pastors in town who may know of women who need to come here, and we’ll each carry them so we can give them to women who are in need.”
“That’s a great idea, Mrs. Farmer. I’d love to be able to help another woman like you helped me.”
Harriett shook her head. “I never helped you. Higgins did. I just set the ball in motion.” She headed for the door. “I’ll go take care of the things on my list, and we’ll get together in a couple of days. Everything will be planned perfectly. You’ll see.”
Once she was gone, Mildred looked at Higgins. “She seems very happy.”
“She is. Finally. She’s married to a good man who is slowly easing her fears. He’s exactly what she’s needed all this time.”
Mildred hugged her husband tightly. “I can see that. And you’re exactly what I’ve needed all my life.”
Alex walked into the kitchen then, his hand reaching into the cookie jar to take out a cookie. He grinned at his mother and new step-father. “Take it upstairs.” He didn’t say another word as he headed to the table to do his homework. Someday, when he was a lawyer, he’d come back here and help the women who lived here find their voices. He was glad his mother had found hers again.
Chapter Ten
With Max and Mary’s help, they raised enough money to keep the home for battered women open for a long time.
Harriett sat in Mary’s parlor quietly sipping tea with her while the girls were at school. “I’m at a loss for what to do about Rose. I’ve talked to her about waiting to find a husband until she’s eighteen, but she just won’t listen to me.”
“I wouldn’t have listened at sixteen either. I met the man of my dreams.” She eyed her sister-in-law for a moment and decided it was time for her not to be so shy about her past. “He started beating me on our wedding night. He finally pushed me down a flight of stairs and killed the child I was carrying. My leg will never be the same.” No one was around, and despite how improper she knew she was being, she lifted the skirt of her dress and showed the scars from her surgery. “It was broken so badly, they didn’t think I’d ever walk again. A surgeon was able to put the pieces back together, but he said he’d be surprised if it worked.” She pulled her dress back down and looked at the shocked look on Mary’s face.
“Your parents didn’t try to stop you from marrying him?”
Harriett shook her head. “No, and I doubt I’d have listened to them. Arthur had been beating his maids for years. If they’d investigated, they’d have heard at least one of the rumors and stopped me.” She shrugged. “Even after his death, people were certain he was the most wonderful man who had ever lived. He made fools out of everyone.”
“How did he die?”
“My butler shot him. He could see he was going to kill me.” Harriett sighed. “Please let me talk to Rose. I won’t tell her my story if you don’t want me to, but she needs to understand there’s a reason for waiting until you’re a little bit older before marrying and for investigating every man thoroughly.”
Mary seemed to consider it for a moment. “Tell her as much as you need to in order to convince her, but as little as possible.”
Harriett nodded. She was no longer ashamed of what had happened to her. She felt like women needed to know that there were men out there who would hurt them if they were given a chance, and she was going to shout her story from the rooftops if she had to. “I’ll talk to her.”
“Thank you.” She looked into her tea cup for a moment before asking, “Would you still be willing to investigate potential suitors for her when she turns eighteen? For all the girls? I want to give them choices of husbands, but I don’t want them to make a stupid mistake. When I married, there was only one man, but I’d known him all his life and my parents had known his parents. It’s different here. There are so many men for each woman and they’re all clamoring around my daughters, because we’re obviously rich. I don’t care if one of my daughters marries the poorest man in town as long as he’ll love her and he’s a good man.”
Harriett nodded. “Higgins and I will help you all you need, but I don’t approve of marriage before the age of eighteen, and I won’t be the one to find them a husband before then.”
“I understand. How old were you when you married?”
“I was sixteen when I married and a widow on my seventeenth birthday.” She shook her head. “I was too young to marry and already a widow. I don’t want that for your girls. I don’t want that for anyone.”
“I don’t either.” Mary stood and went to the maid who was hovering outside the
door ready to help them. “Would you bring Rose down here?” The maid nodded and hurried off to find Rose.
“Do you want me to talk to her privately or with you here?” Harriett asked. She wasn’t averse to either one, but felt she could make more of an impact one on one.
“I’d like to stay if you don’t mind.”
“That’s fine.” Harriett thought it would be good if Mary knew what she said to Rose.
Rose walked into the room, her hair done perfectly. “I was about to go for a walk. What is it, Mother?” She was scowling as she asked the question, obviously still angry that Mary had made her stop having boys over all the time.
“I have something I’d like to talk to you about, Rose,” Harriett said, patting the sofa beside her. “Can you spare your new auntie a minute of your time?” She watched the young girl carefully, hoping she was open to what she was about to share with her.
Rose looked at Harriett, startled, but nodded. “What do you want to talk to me about?”
Harriett sat back against the back of the sofa and studied Rose, wondering the best way to start. “Do you think you’re old enough to marry?” she began carefully.
“Of course, I am! I’m sixteen!” Rose stuck her nose up in the air as if she knew that being sixteen meant she was the queen.
“You are sixteen, and a very beautiful sixteen. Let me ask you this. Do you think you know more about life than Iris?” Harriett had spent the time while waiting for Rose thinking about the best way to broach the topic with her.
Rose made a face. “Of course, I do. Iris is just a baby. She’s five.”
Harriett nodded. “She’s eleven years younger than you, so you have a great deal of life experience that she could benefit from, don’t you?”
Rose nodded. “Yes, I do.”
“Do you know how old I am, Rose?” Harriett kept her voice soft and sweet. She definitely wanted Rose to think she was an ally and not the enemy.
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