“What if we tell them I married a Catholic boy a few weeks ago, who’s on a merchant ship headin’ for China, and won’t be back ’til Christmas?”
Annie looked at Dolly in amazement.
“I thought it up on the ship home,” Dolly said.
“Right, then …” Annie agreed with an astonished look. “They’ll not be interested in anymore of the story. It’ll be good enough.”
Dolly added, “I’ll do my best to steer clear of them, especially the Missus in my daily duties, as I have been doin’ all along.”
By the time the Dadys returned from France, Annie and Dolly had resettled into their work routines. Dolly had not quite made it back to the independence she gained before the wedding, however. Annie told her she was a bit more clingy and broody.
~~~
It was late August and hot. Dolly could make it through a day, but by the time evening came, all she could manage was to write to Liam. She wouldn’t offer to help with mending as she'd always done, or read her America book. She would just tuck herself in her bed, roll toward the wall, and fall asleep. The next morning, she would need to be coaxed out of bed.
“Ye know, darlin’, I’ve been noticin’ ye’ve not been yerself since ye got back from Edinburgh,” Annie said one morning at breakfast. “Are ye feelin’ ill?”
“Oh, no Annie, I just miss Liam somethin’ fierce,” Dolly said. Annie was studying her face. “I … just … miss Liam.” Dolly’s voice trailed off and tears welled. Now that Annie had brought it up, she did feel slow and had no spunk, but she had been keeping it to herself. She didn’t want Annie to worry, because Annie would just write to Liam.
“Ye’ll be fine, child,” Annie said firmly yet kindly. “It’ll be Saturday in two days,” she said cheerfully. ”There will be letters from Liam for ye to read all weekend. That should cheer ye up.” She smiled at Dolly, now eating a bowl of oatmeal porridge dowsed heavily with cream and honey. Dolly’s view of her world brightened at the reminder.
~~~
Mid-September came and the elder Mrs. Dady was all a flutter with dinner plans. The Tisdales were coming on Friday night. There were to be a few other guests. The Pirries were on the list.
“Did Liam write ye, Annie, that we ran into Lord Pirrie at Portobello?” Dolly asked.
“Christ, no!” It was rare that Annie took the Lord’s name in vain. “What happened?” Annie’s concern mirrored Dolly’s. They were peeling potatoes, carrots, and onions to roast in the pan with the beef filet.
“Liam asked him to stay mum about us, and he agreed, as long as … well, he … was with a woman … not his wife.” Dolly tried not to sound gossipy.
“I see,” Annie murmured. A worried crease developed between her brows. “Do ye think ye can trust him?”
“Oh, aye. I traveled with him on the boat. He’s very nice. He really likes Liam and thinks Liam’s father is a bad one.”
“Well, he’s got that right,” Annie murmured. She grabbed some thick, woolen potholders and pulled the apple tart from the oven and put it in the pie safe to cool.
“There’s one other thing. Lord Pirrie made a pass at me on the boat home.”
“He what!?” Annie hissed so as not to be heard outside the kitchen.
“I told him to stop, that I wasn’t interested, and that he should not give Liam a reason to lose his admiration and respect for him.”
“Holy God, Dolly.” Now Annie really looked astonished.
“I don’t want Liam to know. He likes it that Pirrie is a friend. Besides, I took care of it,” Dolly concluded with newfound authority.
“I believe ye have, darlin’.”
Dolly sniffed the piping hot, fragrant apple tart. “That smells heavenly,” she said. She gave Annie a look of confidence. “I hope there’s a piece of that tart left at the end of the night.”
Annie seemed to abandon her shock at Lord Pirrie’s pass at Dolly. “Let’s get that roast in the oven,” she said. “Are the vegetables in? Don’t forget those onions.” Annie liked to stay on schedule. “And don’t worry about the tart. That’s the second one.”
This made Dolly smile.
“Ye’re gettin’ to be like Liam,” Annie quipped. “He can’t ever get enough food in his pie hole either.” They laughed.
~~~
At the dinner table, as she served the guests meat and potatoes and filled the water glasses, Dolly could not help but notice Mary Tisdale’s fierce blue eyes boring into her. Why could she possibly be starin’ at me? Dolly decided she must finish her serving, avoid eye contact, and get back into the kitchen as soon as she could. Just as she thought it was safe to go in, Dolly heard a voice come from the table.
“Oh, Girl. It’s Dolly, isn’t it? How quaint. Can you bring me more water?” It was Mary Tisdale.
Dolly felt her face burn with anger—and fear. She knew that she must not show either.
“Yes, Miss,” Dolly said with confidence. As she took the pitcher of water from the side board and turned to approach Mary, she saw Lord Pirrie out of the corner of her eye. He was sitting next to Mary at the table. Dolly stood behind Mary and poured water into her nearly-full water glass.
“My, that’s a very pretty topaz ring,” Mary said. “May I look at it?”
Suddenly a water glass tipped over at the next plate setting, its entire contents spilling all over the table and onto Mary’s plate. Everyone was startled.
“Oh! How terribly clumsy of me,” Lord Pirrie said, quite loudly. He tried to stop the water from rolling towards Mary’s blue silk gown with his own napkin.
Mary stood up in a huff, nearly knocking over her chair in the process.
Dolly glanced at Annie, who flicked her head in the direction of the kitchen door, signaling Dolly to head in there. Annie grabbed some towels from the side board drawers to sop up the water spill and get a new plate for Mary. Dolly’s rings were immediately forgotten—thanks to the Chairman of Harland and Wolff.
As Dolly left the dining room, she could see the hosts were positively embarrassed. Their mouths were agape. Once in the kitchen, she could hear Mr. Dady from the door.
“Thank you, Annie,” he said. “That was a good save.”
“Yes, Mr. Dady,” Annie said. She entered the kitchen with the wet napkins, towels, and a water-soaked plate full of food. After waiting for the kitchen door to swing shut, Annie exhaled through her mouth. “I’m sweatin’ like an over-ridden horse,” she said.
~~~
After brandy and cigars and minor chit-chat, Lord Pirrie waited until the Tisdales had gone for the night. Once they had departed, he slipped into the kitchen under the pretense of personally thanking the cook.
He closed the door behind him and whispered to a relieved and grateful Dolly and Annie. “How was that?” he asked. He appeared to be enjoying his part in the subterfuge. “What a delicious meal, ladies,” Pirrie said out loud. He added quietly, “She’s onto something, that Mary, but I think she has no solid idea.”
“I think she’s much smarter than you believe she is, Lord Pirrie,” Annie said.
“You may be right, Mrs. MacDonald.”
Lord Pirrie walked up to Dolly. “Do you mind if I take on the role of a protective big brother?” he asked her. “I assume you may have told Annie of my faux pas on the crossing from Scotland.” He reached out his arms to hug Dolly.
“Yes, I did tell Annie, and I don’t mind a big brother.”
Lord Pirrie shook Annie’s hand. As he walked out the swinging kitchen door, he winked at the two of them and formally said out loud, “Thank you again, Mrs. MacDonald. Goodnight.” He left the door to swing back and forth to a stop on its own.
~~~
On Saturday after breakfast, Annie and Dolly went together to the post office to collect their mail.
It was sunny and warm and the air had the fragrance of fall, with leaves crisp on the ground as the sun dried the night’s cool dewfall from them. Dolly felt particularly animated.
On the way home, A
nnie broached the subject. Very gently she asked Dolly, “Sweetheart, when’s the last time ye had yer monthly?”
Dolly stopped in her tracks and looked at Annie with trepidation. “Last end of May.”
“Oh, dear …” Annie’s murmur trailed off. She put her arm around Dolly and the two walked the short way to the kitchen door in the back of the mansion. Annie spoke quietly to Dolly.
“I’ve been noticin’ ye’ve been so dreamy at times and then ye cry at the drop of a hat, and God, ye’ve been eatin’ like Liam. I can barely drag ye out of bed in the mornin’. The only thing that hasn’t shown up is the mornin’ sickness.”
“Do ye think I’m with child, Annie?”
In the kitchen, Annie walked to the swinging door to peek through the crack for anyone nearby. With a look of satisfaction that they were alone, she walked back to Dolly.
“If your monthly was at the end of May, that means you were nothin’ but fertile on yer honeymoon.” Annie busied herself putting a kettle on to make a cup of tea for the two of them. She went to the pie safe and pulled out some raisin scones. Dolly went to the ice box for the whipped cream.
“At least ye’re married now,” Annie said. “That’s a relief. I don’t know how yez avoided it since ye got here.”
“Should I be ashamed, Annie?” Dolly sat at the kitchen table and reached for a scone and the cream. She didn't know which way her emotions should go—happy she was carrying Liam’s child, or afraid the Dadys would find out. She decided to save Liam’s letters for later.
“Not at all, ye’ve done nothin’ wrong,” Annie said. “Well, except for the beddin’ out of wedlock, but I’m sure ye’ve confessed and done yer penance. In the eyes of God, ye’re another one of His angels, and that’s what counts here. Ye stick to that thought and ye’ll be fine. We still have yer story of the marriage to the sailor headin’ for China. That should hold us for a while.”
Annie and Dolly sat in the cozy, warm kitchen and ate scones, Dolly more industriously than Annie. Dolly could feel Annie watching her and looked up.
Annie snickered. “It certainly explains why ye’ve been eatin’ so much.”
“It’s odd, though,” Dolly said as they washed their dishes some time later. “I thought women were supposed to be sick in the mornings. I haven’t been.”
“Either yer goin’ to be lucky, or it hasn’t started yet.”
“There’s somethin’ else, Annie,” Dolly said. She put a clean, dry cup on the shelf. “Liam tried to make me tell him I would write immediately if I got with child. He’d come home right away, sayin’ he’d figure out somethin’ else for our lives. But I said to him he should just finish and be home in December. It’d be foolish for him to stop so close to the end. I’m not goin’ to tell him, Annie. I want him to finish and receive his degree.”
“Dolly, I don’t know…”
“Please. He wants to be a doctor. Ye know how he feels about it.” Dolly was adamant and wanted Annie to stay mum. “It’s less than three months now.”
“Fine,” Annie said. “But I’ll go only so far. If ye become sick, or the Dadys give ye the boot, I’m writin’. It’s Liam’s baby, too.” Annie looked Dolly straight in the eye. “Are we in agreement?”
Dolly understood, but still sighed in relief. “Yes, Annie. Thank you.”
“And,” Annie added a last thought, “I think from tonight on, ye’d better sleep with a bucket by yer bed. I don’t think ye’ll want to be cleanin’ the floor when ye start pukin’ yer guts up in the mornin’.”
As the sun rose that next morning, the bucket came in very handy. For about twenty minutes, Dolly was in the throes of full-fledged morning sickness. Annie gave her a bland piece of hard tack and eventually the nausea subsided. Dolly was able to eat a substantial breakfast and get on with her morning. As usual, she avoided Mrs. Dady. And for the most part, things went on as usual, much to Dolly’s relief.
~~~
One day in November, Dolly, five months pregnant, went into the parlor after dinner to dust and sweep. She had no idea Mrs. Dady was sitting there, working on her needlepoint.
Dolly stopped short as she walked in. “I’m sorry, mum,” she said. “I’ll come back later.”
“Oh,” Mrs. Dady said dismissively. “It’s just you. You’re fine. Just come on in. I was about to leave anyway.”
Dolly kept her face as non-expressive as possible and began to use the feather duster on the far end of the room. There had been only one other time that Mrs. Dady addressed Dolly when she was in the same room.
“What was all the fuss about rings and Miss Tisdale?”
“I’m not quite sure I remember?” Dolly tried to stall.
“When the Lord Mayor knocked his water over at dinner a while ago.”
Dolly began to panic. Her throat dried up and she felt faint. “I was about to show Miss Tisdale when the water went over,” she said. “It’s from my … new husband. We were married when you were away in France. He’s a Catholic boy.”
“Well, where is he now?” Mrs. Dady blurted.
“He’s on a merchant ship in China. He works on a freighter. He’ll be back at Christmas.” Dolly knew Mrs. Dady would get bored in no time. She was right.
“Hmm. . .” Mrs. Dady ended the conversation by getting up and leaving.
As she listened to the clicking heels fading into the hall, Dolly huffed two times in relief. She heard the door to the library close. Thank God, I’ve already cleaned the library. Dolly stood for a moment trying to regain her composure, her breathing short and uneven, her hands shaking along with her knees. Finally, she resumed her dusting.
Chapter 28
The Mattsons and the rest of the ocean liner passengers were awakened early on the last day of the Atlantic crossing to prepare for disembarking. Eva listened sleepily while Victor explained they would disembark from the White Star Line’s Teutonic at a pier on the Island of Manhattan. From there, they would be shuttled by ferry to Ellis Island. First and second-class passengers were exempt from the rigors of Ellis Island, but Victor was only able to afford a third-class cabin.
The November dawn was cloudy, damp, and cold as the Teutonic entered New York Harbor. Eva thought the sky was threatening rain or sleet. Standing on the deck of the ship with many other sons and daughters of Europe, she felt in awe of the Statue of Liberty, bidding welcome to the new arrivals. She’d heard that the statue had been standing tall and strong for nearly a decade already. For millions of immigrants, it symbolized the promise of a better life. She turned from Lady Liberty to look behind her at the narrow, building-stuffed strip of land the ship seemed to be heading to. Victor, look!” She took his forearm as he turned to look.
“I think that is New York City,” he said.
Breathless, she said, “I have never seen such a sight. It’s so huge. All those buildings—I wonder if they are all filled with people right now.”
“I read there are over a million people living there.”
“I don’t know what that means, Victor.”
“It means more than we could count in a month. I’ve never imagined what it would be like to live there. I don’t know if I would want to. I want space in the country, like—” he looked at her as though he wished he hadn’t said anything to remind her of home.
“Home?” she finished what he didn’t say. She tried to say something else, but couldn't.
Victor shifted Ellen to one arm and held Eva with the other. They stood that way, Eva holding onto him for dear life, until the steamer chugged its way to the dock on the east side of the Hudson River. As the passengers watched, tugboats helped to maneuver the big ship into the dock. Looking at many faces, Eva guessed that each one probably felt the same overwhelming excitement, mixed with fear and trepidation …perhaps heartache, as they viewed their first sight of America. Hers was a crushing sense of loss and the accompanying emptiness.
~~~
Now ashore on Ellis Island, Eva followed behind Victor, Ellen in her Pappa’s arms,
as the passengers were all escorted to a big dining hall and seated at long tables. Here, breakfast was served. For many of the poorer immigrants, Eva noticed, the meal was like manna from Heaven. She heard one of the wives of a fellow Finn that Victor had talked to say that the bread tasted like sweet cake.
When the meal was finished, the women and young children were separated from the older boys and men, and both groups were escorted to the hospital building.
“Eva, don’t worry,” Victor said as they parted. “We are to be seen by a doctor now, and we’ll meet up later.”
She felt some comfort from his words but was still on edge, not knowing what was happening. She glanced around at the other faces. They all looked like she felt.
~~~
Everyone was to go through a rigorous physical examination. All newcomers had to strip to their undergarments, then line up to see a doctor. Eva, like the other women, was upset at this blatant lack of respect for their dignity as human beings. She felt awful and exposed. They had to wait their turn for the military doctor to peer into and prod each frightened woman and child. Most of the women were unable to communicate in English. There were some foreign-speaking helpers for the non-English speakers. Eva noticed there wasn’t a Finn. At least there were benches to sit on. Eva sat with Ellen, who was frightened and clung to Eva’s neck. The room was unventilated and hot. Eva was beginning to feel nauseous from the body odor of unwashed women, children, and unchanged diapers. She looked at a few faces again and felt the humiliation of everyone in the room with her.
She was on the verge of tears waiting for her turn, but managed to hold herself, conveying cold strength and a defiance of the military doctor as she approached him. Ellen was still clinging to Eva’s clammy neck.
At the beginning of the examination, Eva gave the doctor one of her bold blue stares. This elicited a faint smile of reassurance from the uniformed, thickly browed doctor. His smile caused her to relax a little. He pointed to Ellen and motioned that he wanted to exam her first.
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