“No, I didn’t. Really, I hoped to be able to teach here like I did back home, but there don’t seem to be enough children.” Beatrice longed to teach again, but apparently it would have to wait until she had her own children.
“Oh, there are enough children. It’s just that most of them come from poor families who don’t value education as they should.” Millie shook her head. “I don’t think they realize that by not being educated, they’re ensuring that their children will always be poor as well. I don’t know how to get that through to people.”
“I’m not sure there’s a way. I know it was the same back in Missouri. People wouldn’t send their children to school, claiming they had done fine for themselves without being able to read or write. While that may be true, I think it never hurts to better oneself.” Beatrice wished she had an answer, but she didn’t. Maybe there wasn’t one.
“I think educating the people of Creede would be a good first step to stop the corruption here, but I don’t know if there’s a way to do that. The men care only for their liquor and gambling. The few women are at the mercy of their husbands.” Millie shook her head. “I’d fix all of them if I could.”
After Millie left for the day, Beatrice was still thinking about ways to make Creede a better place to live. She made a huge pot of chicken and dumplings for supper, hoping that she could use some of it for supper the next night as well, as they would be out a good portion of the day for their picnic.
When Arthur came home, she asked him, “Do you think education would solve the problems in Creede?”
He shrugged. “It would solve some of them, because people wouldn’t be required to work in the mines if they could do other things. The one problem it wouldn’t solve is that people don’t think they need to learn. They’re content as they are.”
“But why are they content? Shouldn’t they want better things for their families? For their children?” Beatrice wanted the very best for her future children, and she couldn’t imagine anyone else being different.
“Most of the people here have no families or children. There’s a reason our neighboring town is called Bachelor, and that’s because there are so few families around.” Arthur sighed. “I don’t have an answer for what will fix things, but I know that another woman has disappeared. That’s the first thing we need to fix around here. Not education.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry. I keep thinking of ways I can help the community, and as a trained teacher, I think that should be a way.” She shook her head. “That’s probably not the answer right now.”
“Maybe later, but for now, we just need to figure out why the women are disappearing and why everything in town seems to be so corrupt.” He sat down at the table and looked down at the bowl of chicken and dumplings she’d placed before him. “This was my favorite meal as a boy.”
“It’s always been one of my favorites too. I made enough that we can have it for supper tomorrow too.”
“Good. We’ll be out most of the day at our picnic, anyway.”
“And I have to do my baking in the morning,” she reminded him. “And laundry. It can hang on the line while we’re out.”
“You know we don’t need the money you’re making, right?” He didn’t want her to think that she needed to earn money to help them get by, because it just wasn’t true.
“I know. But I need the work to keep my sanity.” Beatrice frowned, thinking about how hard it was to stay inside. She no longer blamed him for it, but she still hated it.
“It’ll get better,” Arthur told her. “I promise.”
Chapter Nine
A week later, Millie came to visit Beatrice on Friday afternoon. Beatrice had been cooped up inside, wanting to be out and enjoying the fair weather. Every day when Arthur went to work, all she could think about was how he had a view of the street and she didn’t. She didn’t exactly resent him for it, but she was tired of being stuck indoors.
When she saw it was Millie at the door, Beatrice grabbed her friend in a huge hug. “I was needing a visit with you!”
Millie smiled. “I was needing to see you too. I begged Callum to bring me so we could have a few hours together. Are we baking today?”
“You don’t have to help me work! I hate that every time you come here, you end up doing some of my chores.” Beatrice led Millie into the kitchen. “This time, you’re going to sit, and I’m going to make tea for you and feed you cookies.”
“You can’t feed me the cookies that you made for the mercantile!”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. I make cookies for the store and some for home every single day. Arthur has a sweet tooth like I have never seen before. He wants sweets with every meal, between meals, and late at night. I have to keep him supplied.” Beatrice shook her head with a laugh. “I don’t know what he’d do without treats.”
Millie laughed. “Sounds like you have your husband figured out.”
“For the most part, I really think I do.” Beatrice put together a plate full of cookies while the water heated for tea. “How are things in Bachelor?”
“Good. I saw you didn’t make it to church last weekend. I wish I knew how to get you past your fears.”
“I do too. I have no answers, though. My anxieties about that trail overwhelm me.” Beatrice hated that she let her fears keep her from doing the things she wanted to do, but she didn’t know how to get past them.
“I’ve been praying for you to be less afraid.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that very much.” Beatrice set the cookies on the table and poured hot water into the tea pot, setting two cups on the table as well. She sat down across from her friend. “If I could just spend a little time outside, I don’t think I’d be going quite so crazy. When I taught back in Missouri, I often took the children outside to do their studies. Not to help them, but because I hated to be cooped up inside!”
“I know you do. I’m not fond of it either, but thankfully, Callum isn’t quite as strict about the places I go and the things I do as Arthur is.”
“Callum isn’t worried you’ll disappear like the other ladies?” She found it hard to believe.
“I’m sure the thought has crossed his mind, but he’s not one to dwell on that type of thing.”
Beatrice knew the only reason Arthur worried was because he cared about her. It didn’t really make things all that much easier, though. “Someday you’ll marry. I wonder how your husband will be with things like that.”
“I have no idea. I hope he’ll be understanding.” Millie shrugged. “I really haven’t thought a lot about getting married. I enjoy keeping house for Callum and ministering as much as I can to others.”
After their tea, Beatrice went back to baking while Millie stood beside her and talked to her. They chatted about everything under the sun, just happy to be together enjoying their day.
Once the baked goods were finished, they moved into the parlor and Millie and Beatrice each worked on sewing pillows for the parlor. “I meant to have these finished by now, but the baking I’m doing is keeping me busy.”
Millie smiled. “You have time to get this house just the way you want it. And I’m sure it’ll soon be safe for you to go outside whenever you want as well.”
“I hope so.”
There was a knock on the door, and Beatrice rushed to see who it could be. Even with Millie there, she was only allowed to open to Callum, so she hoped it wasn’t someone else. When she looked, there was no one there, but she saw a basket on the front step. She looked at it curiously, wondering who could have left it.
She looked over at Millie. “There’s a basket on the step. I don’t know who put it there, because no one waited at the door.”
Millie frowned, getting to her feet. “Are you going to see what it is?”
“Do you think I should? I don’t want to disobey Arthur by opening the door, but I want to see what it is.” Beatrice was torn, not knowing what to do, but she had a very strong feeling she needed to look.
“Woul
d he be upset with you if you looked?”
Beatrice shrugged. “I’m really not sure.” She bit her lip. “I feel like I should look.”
Millie sighed. “I don’t know what to tell you. I’m right here if you decide to look.”
“If something happens to me, you’ll run and get Arthur?” Beatrice knew she was going to do it, but she needed to make sure she had someone to make sure she was safe.
“Of course I will, but nothing will happen.”
Beatrice unlocked the door and opened it just wide enough to pull the basket inside, with Millie standing just behind her. When she got the object inside, she locked the door quickly. “Well, we’re still alive even though we opened the door during the day,” she told Millie with a laugh.
Millie shook her head. “I never thought you’d die from opening a door!”
“That’s because you haven’t spent enough time talking to Arthur! He’s certain opening doors will be the death of me!” Beatrice looked down at the basket, which was filled with blankets. “Who would have left this on my doorstep?”
“What is it?” Millie asked.
Beatrice leaned down and picked up the top blanket, stopping to stare at the object in shock. “It’s a baby.” She leaned down and picked the baby up, cradling it against her. Who would have left a baby on her doorstep?
Millie frowned. “Why is there a baby on your doorstep?”
“I have no idea!” Beatrice felt slightly panicked at the idea of someone wanting her to raise their baby.
Millie looked down at the basket again, trying to figure out where the baby could have come from. She lifted something from the blankets and held it up for Beatrice to see. “This was in with it.”
Holding out her hand for the object Millie held, Beatrice froze. “It’s my grandmother’s locket.” She turned it over in her hand, seeing that her grandmother’s initials were on the back. “This went into the ravine with my parents.”
“But…how?” Millie looked into the blankets again. She moved them around, looking for something else that would tell them where the baby had come from. She found diapers instead. “There are more than a dozen diapers here.”
“I don’t know how it got there. I have no idea where the baby or the locket came from, but I’m sure glad she came with diapers!” Beatrice frowned at Millie. “I have to go tell Arthur. He needs to know what’s happening.” She dreaded the very idea of telling her husband she’d opened the door. Telling him she was keeping a baby would be nothing in comparison.
Millie nodded. “I’ll go with you.”
Beatrice shook her head. “No, I think he’s going to be angry with me, and I need to face him alone. I’ll be back in a moment.” Arthur needed to feel like he could yell at her freely.
“Aren’t you going to see if the baby is a boy or a girl first?”
Beatrice looked at the child. “It’s only wearing a diaper. I guess I should look.”
“Good idea,” Millie said, watching as Beatrice laid the baby on its back and checked.
“It’s a girl.” Beatrice refastened the diaper and picked the baby up. “Now I need to go show Arthur. I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll pray!” Millie told Beatrice as she rushed through the house.
Once she reached the door to Arthur’s office, she took a deep breath and opened it. Arthur was with a customer, so she waited.
The man who was talking to Arthur nodded toward her. “I heard you married. She’s a pretty thing.”
Arthur spun around and looked at Beatrice standing there, holding a child. “Beatrice, this is Hugh Fontaine. He owns a saloon in Bachelor, and he sends his orders through me when he’s in town. Hugh, this is my wife, Beatrice.” Why was she holding a child? It was odd enough that she was disturbing him at work, because she’d only opened the door to his office once or twice in their three weeks of marriage.
Beatrice nodded at the man. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Fontaine.”
Mr. Fontaine tipped his hat to her. “Ma’am.” Then he nodded to Arthur. “That’s it for today. I’m going to go see if I can sit in on a game at the Nugget Saloon. I feel like Lady Luck is with me today!” With that he was off.
Arthur looked at Beatrice for a long time, sitting silently. “Where did that baby come from?” He’d seen Beatrice just hours before, and she hadn’t had it then.
Beatrice shrugged. “There was a knock on the door, so I looked out the window, and there was a basket on the doorstep. Millie was with me, so I opened the door just a bit, and I pulled the basket in and found this baby inside.” She held up her locket. “I also found this, which was in the basket with the baby. My grandmother gave it to me when I left Missouri, and I was sure I’d never see it again after it went into the ravine with my parents.”
He frowned at her. “You opened the door?”
“How did I know that would be the part of the story you focused on? Yes, I opened the door, but just a little, and Millie was with me. There was a baby!” Only he would ignore the whole story except the fact that she opened the door.
“Whose baby is it?” he asked.
“You know as much as I do. How do we go about finding her parents?”
“It’s a girl?” He frowned at the baby in her arms, wondering what to do next. “I’ll wire the nearby towns and see if there are any missing babies.”
“But even if we find her parents, how do you explain the locket? How would that have ended up in this baby’s basket on our doorstep?” She shook her head, wondering how the baby had ended up with her locket. A baby on her doorstep wasn’t all that unbelievable with the world the way it was, but that baby having her locket in her basket? That really confused her.
“I’ll start wiring the towns closest. We’ll find her parents.”
Beatrice looked down at the baby in her arms and a sense of longing filled her. She didn’t want to ever let her go. “All right.” She turned around to go back into the house, stopping for a moment. “I’m sorry I opened the door. I shouldn’t have, knowing it would upset you.”
Arthur said, “We’ll talk about it later. I need to figure out where the baby came from now.”
Beatrice nodded, going inside. She understood that he was angry with her, and she could deal with that. The baby had to be her first obligation.
When she got back inside, Millie was sitting in the parlor, still sewing. “I finished my pillow, so I started to work on yours.”
“All right.” Beatrice sat down, looking into the face of the sleeping baby. Her cheeks were pink, and she looked to be the picture of health. So what would possess a parent to give up a baby like this? She couldn’t believe the child had been stolen.
There was another knock on the door, and this time, Millie went to check to see who was there. “It’s Callum,” Millie sighed. “I’ll have him ask around to see if anyone knows where she came from.”
Beatrice nodded. “Thank you for coming to see me today.”
“Of course. I’ll be back soon.” Millie left, leaving Beatrice sitting in her parlor, staring down at the child in her arms.
“Where did you come from? Someone has to be looking for you.”
“No one is looking for her. She was cast out, left outside to fend for herself, so I brought her to you.” Gabriella sat across from Beatrice, as calm as if she’d been there every day. “Did you like that I found your locket? I thought that might be important to you.”
“You brought me a baby. Why?”
Gabriella shrugged. “I have more than one charge at a time, you know. This little girl was mine, and if I’d left her there, Death would have come for her, too. Death has taken his share of people from this town lately, so I decided that he couldn’t have her.”
“But…what should I do with her?” Beatrice loved children, but she wasn’t sure she was ready to be a parent today. Maybe after nine months of carrying one inside her, she’d get used to the idea of being a mother.
“The same thing you’d do with a child of your ow
n. Love her.”
The child stirred in her arms then, struggling to sit up. Until that moment, Beatrice hadn’t realized quite how old the baby was, but she was able to sit up on her own, so she must be at least nine months or so. “Arthur is trying to find her parents.”
“He won’t find them. They were lost the same as yours were. Now it’s time for you to decide if you want each other.” Gabriella watched Beatrice carefully. “You do want her, don’t you?”
“I do…but I’m not sure how Arthur feels.”
“You’re not sure how I feel about what?” Arthur asked from the doorway to the kitchen. He glanced over at the chair Gabriella was sitting in, jumping. “Who are you?”
“I know your wife has told you about me. I’m Gabriella. I brought you the baby.”
Arthur frowned. “I have sent telegrams to every city near us, and they will spread the message further. So far, no one knows who the baby is.”
“And no one will.” Gabriella looked at Arthur. “The baby belongs to you. Or it can. It’s up to you if you’ll keep her. Her parents are gone now.”
“But…what will we do with her?”
Gabriella shook her head. “The same thing you would do with a baby of your own, of course. Love her!”
Arthur looked at Beatrice. “Do you want to keep her?”
Now that the baby was awake, she was sitting still, looking around her at the people in the room. She looked so serious, her eyes made Beatrice want to weep. “I do. I can’t imagine giving her up.”
He frowned. “But you’ve only had her for a short while.”
“I know that. But I don’t want to let her go.” She couldn’t explain her need to keep this baby. She wished she could.
Gabriella looked at Arthur. “How did you feel when you first met Beatrice? How long did it take you to realize that you didn’t want to let her go?”
Arthur shrugged. “Not long, but still…”
“Sometimes one soul calls out to another. They realize they belong together. That’s how it is with Beatrice and Sally.”
Beatrice the Bride (Cowboys and Angels Book 1) Page 10