Will of Steel

by Lynn Landes

  “Why not now?” he demands.

  Jordan glares at him, “No, as I said earlier, Mark is meeting me at our office Monday morning with my attorney.”

  A breeze blows in and he frowns, “Where’s the fresh air coming from?” he rushes past her into the sitting room and notes the open door. “I thought you were alone?” he snarls.

  “I am! I was working in the garden before you barged into my home. What are you looking for exactly?” she demands.

  “I’m merely making sure that you are safe,” Orson steps outside and her stomach drops, please don’t let him see Tony.

  “How about some tea?” she asks softly, and Orson looks over at her in surprise.

  “Tea?” he replies.

  “Yes, you know something hot to sip on while we discuss why you’re here,” she quips and picks up her basket full of weeds. His eyes drop to the basket, and he looks at her dirt covered hands.

  “I’d like that,” he says and follows her inside. Jordan drops her basket on the table and guides him into the sitting room, near the fire.

  “Wait here,” she suggests.

  She looks worriedly around the house as she makes her way to the kitchen to get the teapot and wash her hands. Tony must be hiding she prays and loads a few cookies on a tray and teacups before returning to Orson.

  Orson admires the way the sun sets off the dark color of her hair. He smiles at her, and she places the tray in front of him. “This is better, isn’t it? Us getting along, having a civil discussion.” Jordan doesn’t reply as she pours his tea.

  “I’m sorry about your family, Jordan,” he says as he accepts the teacup from her. Her hands tremble, and blue eyes jump to his.

  “Thank you,” she whispers and sits back to pour her own cup. “Why are you here, Orson? I thought Mark arranged our meeting for later in the week.”

  “He did, but I was worried you’d change your mind. Why don’t we agree to sign them now, and you give me the design? Let’s put the past behind us and move on with our lives, Jordan. I want to help you.”

  Jordan prays for the right words to reject him. Her husband’s warning plays through her mind. She senses that it wouldn’t be a good idea to anger him, instead she allows tears to fill her eyes and the cup to tremble. It doesn’t take much. Just thinking of him killing her husband and possibly her family? He wouldn’t…

  “Forgive me, I didn’t mean to upset you,” Orson takes the cup from her hands and places it on the tray. He rubs her cold hands and wipes a smudge of dirt from her face. “I didn’t know you liked to garden. Tell me about that.”

  “Gardening?” she smiles and pulls her hands back from his and draws a handkerchief from her pocket to blot her eyes. “It makes me happy. The colors, the scents, the blossoms…”

  “After we are married, I’ll take you to the gardens in France. They are sculpted, nothing like you’ve ever seen!” he smiles at her and watches her for a reaction.

  “I’ve heard about them,” she whispers and closes her eyes for a second, rubbing her forehead.

  “Jordan, surely you can be reasonable. Marry me, and we can put this behind us. You’ll never have to worry again,” he presses a warm kiss to her hand, and she stares at him, pretending to consider his offer.

  “I can only handle one thing at a time, Orson. I’m not ready yet, but I will consider your offer.” She allows a tear to slip free, “Please, understand. Monday, I will…”

  “Shh,” he wipes her tear and smiles. “I understand. That will be fine, but I’d like to see the design now.”

  Jordan frowns, pretending confusion, “Oh, I don’t have it. The attorney said he would bring it on Monday. In fact, he has all the documents. He needed time to review everything, that’s why we pushed for a middle of the week meeting. I think I need to rest now.”

  Orson nods, “I see. I have a meeting at Sunshine Orphanage about a donation. You rest and I’ll see you on Monday. Perhaps we could go to dinner after?” Jordan walks him to the door to see him out and when he leans to kiss her, she turns her head, gifting him her cheek.

  He presses a wet, warm kiss to her face, and she shudders in revulsion. “Dinner sounds nice,” she whispers.

  Orson is smiling as he leaves, and she closes the door and locks it firmly behind her and sags. She scrubs at her face and jumps, when a small voice says, “Is he gone?”

  “Yes, come out,” she calls and Tony steps into the dark hallway.

  They stare at each other for a second and she walks him into the sitting room, shutting the door to the garden and locking it behind her. “Tell me what’s going on?” she sits heavily on the chair and waits for him to speak.

  Tony pulls something from his pocket and walks over. He hands it to her, and she looks down. It's wrapped in a cloth, and his hand is trembling as she takes it.

  Jordan unwraps it and stares in shock at the Crescent Moon pin she gave to her sister Erin the night before the fire. “OH!” she gasps. “Where did you get this?” she demands and glares at him. “Did you steal it from Erin?”

  “No, Miss Jordy, Erin gave it to me,” he whispers, and his eyes are wide with fear.

  “What? She wouldn’t give this to you! It was a gift from my mother. I gave it to her, and she promised not to take it off before she died.” He places a hand over hers, covering the pin.

  “Erin gave it to me yesterday, Miss Jordy,” he explains.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Erin’s alive and that man had her!” Tony points to the door where Orson just left.

  Chapter 18

  Jordan’s ears are ringing, and she starts to tremble. “I don’t feel well,” she drops her head into her hands and fights to not pass out.

  “Erin said to give this to you, and you’d believe me,” he quietly says.

  She traces a finger over the charred pin and tears start. “Is this some kind of sick joke?”

  “NO! He’s took her from the house before it collapsed. Erin’s alive!”

  Jordan stares into his eyes and sees the panic and fear, but not dishonesty.

  “Where is she?”

  “We have to go, Miss Jordy, before he finds me!” Tony backs away from her in terror. She grips his upper arms, “I will keep you safe, Tony. Take me to Erin!”

  “I can’t, she’s gone,” he says.

  “What does that mean? Tony!” She shakes him a little. “Tell me everything!”

  “I was supposed to get on the orphan train on Friday, but I heard them talking about Mr. Barnaby and the job. Mrs. Brown said that he was paying them ten thousand dollars to keep something in the attic.”

  “Ten thousand dollars!” she gasps and releases him.

  “I didn’t know, Miss Jordy,” he starts crying and rubbing his arms.

  “Didn’t know what, Tony?” she asks.

  “I didn’t know it was Erin!” he sobs.

  “Erin? How is that possible? They said my family died in the fire!” she hisses.

  “I did something bad, Miss Jordy,” he sobs and covers his face.

  “It’s okay,” she gathers him next to her and offers him a cloth to wipe his eyes. “Take a deep breath.” Tony struggles to calm down.

  “Now what did you do that was bad?” she whispers.

  “I was going to take the stuff you know that was worth money.” Shame has him dropping his head. “I stole the key and broke into the room, but I didn’t know Erin was in the room, and she was hurt.”

  “Hurt how?” she asks, afraid to hear the answers but desperate to understand.

  “At first, she didn’t recognize me, but when she heard my voice she started crying and her leg was burned. I told her she had to run, but she said she had nowhere to go. She thought you died in the fire too.”

  “Why would she think that?”

  “Mr. Orson told her you died trying to save her. He put her in a hospital until she was better, and then they moved her to the orphanage. We have to go now, before they find out!”

  “Find o
ut what?” Jordan demands.

  “I stole Erin away from them.” He leans forward, “I dressed her like a boy and let her take my place on the orphan train.”

  “What?” she shouts. “Why would you do that?”

  “He was coming to take her, and I heard them say that you wouldn’t say no once he had Erin,” he sniffs.

  “He’s lost his mind,” she shouts. Rage and joy are warring inside of her. “Erin is alive, and he was going to use her to force my hand.” Ten thousand dollars! Her husband’s design is worth more than she knows. Orson is responsible for the death of her husband and now her parents!

  “She’s gone, Miss Jordy, but I told her I’d bring this to you. Now you can go get her,” he sniffs and looks at her.

  Jordan drops to her knees in front of him and hugs him tightly to her chest. “You saved her life, Tony. Where is she now?”

  “I don’t know. Mrs. Brown comes back today, and she will have the papers with her.”

  “What papers?” she demands.

  “The papers with the name of who adopted the kids.” Tony yawns, and she walks him inside the kitchen to make him a cup of soup and biscuits.

  He eats ravenously while she packs a quick bag. She checks for the paperwork and tucks the design documents in her corset before rushing back to the kitchen.

  “How will I get those papers?”

  Tony grins and looks at her, “I can tell you how, but we need to go now.”

  Chapter 19

  Sunshine Orphanage

  Sunday

  “You lost a child!” Orson snarls.

  “Not exactly, she escaped. She couldn’t have gone very far. We can…” Martha tries to say.

  “You’ve done enough. How long has she been gone?”

  “A half a day at the most.”

  “I’ll handle the rest. Don’t expect full payment!” he snarls at Agnes.

  Jordan and Tony are squatting beneath the window and watches as Orson leaves angrily. He didn’t look happy to leave empty-handed. She had to stifle a laugh at the look of rage on his face.

  “Now, Miss Jordy,” Tony points and she nods. They obviously don’t know that Erin took Tony’s place.

  Jordan tamps back her nerves and knocks on the front door. She will distract the ladies while he sneaks inside and gets the adoption papers.

  The house next door to the orphanage is empty. It sits in disrepair, but Tony insists that if you go to the third-floor window on the back of the house, you can climb to the tree and across to go in through the attic window. Jordan takes a deep breath and walks around to knock on the door.

  “May I help you,” the older woman asks answering the door with a confused look on her face.

  “Yes, my name is Felecia, I’d like to speak to you about a job.” She smiles at the woman who frowns.

  “We aren’t hiring,” she sniffs.

  “Oh, Mr. Barnaby told me to speak to you about an upcoming position.”

  “I see,” Mrs. Brown steps back and sighs, “Right this way,” she shuts the door and guides her into a dusty sitting room. “We’re getting ready for lunch. We need to make this quick. When did he tell you about this position?” Mrs. Brown demands just as a young woman enters.

  “Martha, did you know anything about this?” She quickly recounts what Jordan said while Martha listens. Her eyes narrow on Jordan as jealousy rears its head.

  “Give us a moment,” she steps from the room and Jordan runs to the door to listen.

  “First, he promised me that I’d be his wife, now I find out he’s offering this Felecia woman a job,” she snaps. “How many woman does he have!”

  “I don’t know, but he only paid us half the money. It’s in the office drawer. I say it’s time for us to disappear. Now that the child is missing, he’s starting to lose it,” Agnes says.

  “There’s no way I’m leaving him now. He’s close to asking for my hand. I just need to remind him how much he needs me. Get rid of her, Agnes!” Martha insists. “I’ll start the rounds and make sure all the kids are in their rooms.”

  “Fine.” Agnes enters, and Jordan smiles and starts talking before the woman does.

  “I’ve heard so much about the Orphan trains and the work you have done. Pastor Greigh is working hard to raise money for you at church. I’d love to be part of the outreach program. Other states are taking notice of your work. How do you keep track of who adopts the children?”

  “Oh,” Agnes smiles and moves to the desk. “I had no idea. Other states, you say?”

  “Yes, he had a meeting with the Mayor about raising more money for your work, but I think Papa’s concerned about the paperwork.”

  “Papa? You’re the Mayor’s daughter?”

  “Yes, he thought it would be good for me to help in the community.”

  “I see. Well, we keep excellent paperwork.” Agnes grabs the last batch and walks over to show it to her. “If you look them over, you will notice the name of each child and signature plus address of the new guardians. After one month, we visit to make sure the arrangement is working. Then the adoption becomes final.”

  “May I look at them,” Jordan accepts the papers, just as a scream and thunderous noise erupts above them. Agnes jumps to her feet and rushes to the door, ripping it open she watches in horror as a stream of rats come running down the stairs.

  “Rats! Excuse me,” she shouts and slams the door, leaving Jordan alone inside the office. She quickly scans the papers and finds Tony’s name. “Dr. Donovan Foster, Clearfield, Pennsylvania.” Laughing, she jumps to her feet and stuffs the papers into her bag.

  ***

  Tony listened outside the window and grins when he hears about the money in the office. He runs to the house next door and finds his pets where he left them. He tosses a piece of biscuit from Miss Jordy’s house inside a canvas bag and opens it on the end, smacking the box. Scurrying is heard, and he jerks the bag up and carries it upstairs.

  It only takes a minute to climb through the window, to the tree, and into the third-floor window. ‘Time to get to work’, he thinks.

  Miss Martha is yelling at some kids about staying up past hours and she locks the door, taking their lantern with her. Grumbling, she stomps to her room, and Tony waits until she’s inside to tie a rope around her doorknob to the doorknob across the hallway. Once she’s securely locked inside, he knocks and grabs a friend.

  “I want you to count to one hundred…”

  “One hundred!” the kid grumbles until Tony presses a five-dollar bill into his hand. “One hundred,” he grins.

  “Then release my pets,” he points to the squirming bag.

  “Okay,” he shrugs and takes the cookie Tony offers.

  “Thanks!” Tony calls and runs down the steps to the office and slips inside. “They need to learn to lock drawers!” he giggles as he rips open the drawer and finds a bag with the cash. He climbs out of the window and returns to the wagon two streets over.

  Jordan returns at a run, flushed and excited. “I got it! You’re a genius, Anthony,” she whispers, and he jerks in surprise.

  “Tony, just Tony,” he grumbles as she starts to drive.

  “They’ll be cleaning up rats for a while,” she nudges him with a laugh. “We need to get home before dark.”

  “No! You need to go to the train station, now.” Tony waits for her to look at him.

  “I can’t just leave you,” she tries to say, but he’s adamant.

  “They will be looking for you now, Miss Jordy, you have to leave town!”

  Jordan thinks about her husband, and now her parents. If he had Erin, that can only mean one thing. He was willing to kill for this new steel process. “I think you're right, but I don’t have any money, Tony. The banks aren’t open until Monday.”

  “I can help,” Tony lifts a banded wad of cash and she shouts in surprise.

  “Where did you get that?” she demands.

  “They took money from that man, and hurt Erin,” he says grimly, “so I too
k it back!”

  ‘Orson won’t like that’, she thinks.

  “We’ll talk about your habit of stealing later. Right now we need to get out of town, and you’re going with me. Let’s go buy some train tickets.”

  Tony jerks in surprise and slides the money back into his bag. “All right. They will be looking for a little girl anyway, not a boy and his mother.” He grins as she laughs.

  ***

  “Exactly how does a child escape the city, and no one sees or knows anything?” Orson demands hours later. “Have you checked the hospitals?”

  “That’s the first place we checked,” David states.

  “I don’t care if you have to go door to door, find her!” Spending time with Jordan this morning has him excited for the future with her. It occurred to him that to destroy the independent streak in her, all he had to do was take away everyone she loved. First her husband, then her friends, they turned easily with some promise of money. Next was her family. Little Erin wasn’t supposed to survive the fire, but she managed to get out before the building collapsed completely. She was injured during her escape, which required a hospital stay for nine days.

  Arranging care for at the orphanage seemed like the perfect idea. The child was heartbroken when he told her that her sister was killed during the fire, trying to rescue her. It was necessary to keep her quiet. Orphans live in orphanages. Little Erin thought all orphans slept in attics. He grins at the absurdity of it. Now she’s escaped and put a kink in his plans.

  “Someone watch Jordan Regents house and her friends, the Seaborns. I want men to search the warehouse as well. Place men at the train station and the livery. Leave her no way to escape,” he snarls.

  “We are talking about a six-year-old little girl, right?” Lawrence is stupid enough to say.

  Orson whirls on him, “This child could ruin everything! She knows that you started the fire that killed fifteen people, Lawrence.”