The locomotive rounded a bend, and Letta led her brothers from their hiding spot. Lesley’s mouth stretched into a wide yawn. He grabbed Letta’s hand and pulled. “Do we gotta keep goin’? My feet’re tired. I wanna rest.”
“Muh-muh-me, too,” Lank said.
Letta hooked the bucket handle over her arm and scowled as fierce as she could even though she wanted to sit and rest awhile as much as they did. “We gotta get to Wichita.”
“What’s in Wichita?”
“Our new home, that’s what! But we won’t ever get there if we keep stoppin’ to rest.”
Lesley poked out his lips. “We ain’t stopped but this one time.”
“I know, but like I said, we gotta keep movin’.” She dropped her grumpy act and tried another tack. “C’mere, Lank. Let’s you an’ me play hopscotch on the ties. You find a rock to toss ahead. Betcha we can hop farther’n Lesley.”
Lesley folded his arms over his chest. “I don’t care if you can hop farther. My feet’re tired, an’ I wanna rest.”
Letta stifled a groan. He was getting too smart to fall for her tricks. She grabbed his arm and yanked him onto the tracks. “Walk or hop—I don’t care. But just keep goin’. We gotta get to Wichita so I can find us a place to stay. Out here in the middle of the fields, there ain’t no hotels where we can sleep tonight.”
Lank turned a curious look in her direction. “Huh-huh-hotels cost muh-muh-money.”
“Yeah,” Lesley said, wrinkling his nose. “How you gonna pay for a hotel, Letta? You got money?”
She did. Two five-dollar pieces and some smaller coins. It had stung her something fierce to take that money from Mr. Noble’s coin purse when he was busy trimming his beard that morning. But how else would she take care of her brothers until she found a job? Someday, when she’d managed to work enough to set some money aside, she’d pay Mr. Noble back. Thinking of the money as a loan helped ease her conscience. Even so, she wouldn’t admit what she’d done.
“Why don’t you stop askin’ questions an’ just walk?” She double-stepped, putting herself several strides ahead of the boys. Flicking a glance over her shoulder, she taunted, “You two’re just a couple o’ slowpokes. Can’t even keep up with a girl.”
This time her challenge worked. They galloped past her and kept a brisk pace, occasionally throwing triumphant grins over their shoulders. Letta pretended to be put out with them, but inwardly she smiled. If the boys kept their feet moving that fast, they’d reach Wichita in no time.
Lesley’s question echoed in her mind—“What’s in Wichita?” She wished she could have said, “Somebody who wants us.” But wishing didn’t change anything. Nobody waited for them in Wichita. Because nobody’d ever wanted them, and nobody ever would. But she’d spend her last breath making sure neither Lank nor Lesley ever figured out she was the only one who wanted them around. Somehow she’d make sure she was more than enough.
Caroline
Someone banged on Caroline’s door. She awoke with a start and blinked into the sunlit room. Her gaze fell on the alarm clock on the little table beside her bed. Two forty-five. She didn’t need to get up for another forty-five minutes in order to collect Letta, Lank, and Lesley from school. She pulled the pillow over her head, determined to ignore whoever stood in the hallway.
Bang, bang, bang! “Carrie? Carrie, are you in there?”
Caroline groaned. The boarding hotel’s manager must need something important to be so persistent. Muttering under her breath, she traipsed to the door and flung it open. The woman offered an apologetic look.
“I tried to tell the fellow you were sleeping, but he insisted he needed to talk to you.”
Caroline scowled. “What fellow?”
“The one who’s on the telephone. Called himself Mr. Dempsey.”
Caroline thanked the woman and rushed down the flights of stairs and then ran breathlessly into the little telephone cubby. She pressed the receiver against her head and gasped into the horn, “Noble? Is everything all right?”
“I’m sorry to have awakened you, Caroline, but the children’s aunt is here. She arrived on the two o’clock train and came to the hotel. I thought you might want to walk her to the school and introduce her to the children. I’d go, but Annamarie isn’t up to an outing, and I don’t want to leave her alone.”
Noble’s consideration toward his wife knew no bounds. Caroline, although still tired, couldn’t help but smile at the concern in his voice. “Of course I’ll come. Let me run a comb through my hair and wash my face. I’ll catch the trolley and should be there in fifteen minutes or so.”
“Just come right on in. The door will be unlocked.”
Caroline disconnected the call, raced up the stairs to freshen up, then raced back down to meet the trolley. As promised, she was entering the door to Noble and Annamarie’s suite in a little more than fifteen minutes, which would allow her a bit of get-acquainted time with the children’s aunt before they went to the school.
Noble rose when Caroline entered, gesturing toward a sober-faced woman with graying hair and a gaping patched coat seated next to Annamarie on the sofa. “Caroline, please meet Mrs. Gertrude O’Malley, who’s come from Baldwin City.”
The woman remained rooted on the sofa, forcing Caroline to bend down and shake her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. O’Malley. I’m so thankful you’ve come.”
Mrs. O’Malley pursed her lips. “Don’t know that I had much choice but to leave my man tendin’ the farm by himself an’ come, seein’ as how you folks wouldn’t send the young uns to me any other way.”
Noble cleared his throat. “I’m sorry your trip is inconvenient for you, Mrs. O’Malley, but I’m sure you understand the necessity of accompanying the children on such a lengthy journey. Besides, the train ride together will give you a little time to become acquainted with them before you reach your home.”
Mrs. O’Malley harrumphed.
Caroline slipped into a chair to keep from towering over the woman. “I believe you’ll be happy to meet Letta, Lank, and Lesley. They’ve just started school, but their teacher says they’re making excellent progress. Letta’s already reading from the third-year primer, and Lank is able to add two-digit sums in his head. They’re fine children—very polite and smart.” Pride in their accomplishments squared her shoulders, and she smiled, expecting Mrs. O’Malley to express amazement or approval.
Smoothing her hand over straggly wisps escaping her bun, the children’s aunt sniffed. “Don’t know how anything spawned by that lazy, no-good brother o’ mine could be called polite or smart, but I reckon I can hold my judgment ’til I see ’em.” She offered a speculative look. “How old are those youngsters by now?”
Apprehension niggled at Caroline. “Letta is nearly fourteen, Lank is ten, and Lesley is eight.”
Mrs. O’Malley snorted. “Eight … That’n won’t be much help.”
Startled, Caroline glanced at Noble, who gazed at Mrs. O’Malley with a worried frown on his face.
The woman continued as if she’d forgotten anyone else was in the room. “But if the two older ones are willin’ to make up for his lack, I suppose I can take all three of them.” She heaved a huge sigh and turned to Annamarie. “Wouldn’t’ve come for ’em at all if my man hadn’t convinced me of it. Raised my own already. Had no desire to raise another set. Ya see, me an’ my brother we was twelve years apart in age. I married young, an’ he married late, so our young uns were even more years apart. Now that all o’ mine are outta the house, me an’ my man been workin’ the farm our own selves. Gettin’ to be a bit much, seein’ as how we’re up in years. So my man says, ‘Gert, if those kids’ve got strong arms, get ’em. Better’n payin’ for hired help.’ ” She flipped her hands outward. “So I came.”
Annamarie covered her lips with her fingers and stared at Mrs. O’Malley, clearly aghast. Caroline understood Annamarie’s reaction. She wanted to leap across the floor and shake the woman until she developed a bit of compassion. Curling her h
ands over the armrests of the chair, she looked at Noble, beseeching him with her eyes to say something.
Noble cleared his throat. “Mrs. O’Malley, you do plan to allow the children to attend school, do you not?”
She blinked. “How they gonna work the farm if they’re sittin’ in a schoolhouse?”
Caroline stood. “Mrs. O’Malley, you—”
Noble stepped forward. “Schooling is important, Mrs. O’Malley. Learning to read, write, and figure sums will benefit the children as they grow into adulthood.”
Mrs. O’Malley scowled in reply.
Caroline asked, “Did you attend school?”
“Enough to learn readin’, writin’, an’ such. I get by just fine.”
“Did you send your children?”
“My boys weren’t interested in goin’.” Defensiveness colored the woman’s words. “An’ my man said they was needed at home. Those seeds don’t jump in the ground on their own, ya know.” She sent a scathing look at the other three adults in the room. “Why’re you all on me about school, anyway? When you sent me that message, you just told me to come get these kids ’cause they was my responsibility. Well, if they’re my responsibility, then I’ll tend ’em the way I see fit.”
Caroline sucked in a sharp breath, and Noble put his arm around her shoulders. She appreciated his comforting presence, but she needed something more. “Mrs. O’Malley, if the children want to attend school, will you allow them to go?” She held her breath.
Mrs. O’Malley struggled to her feet. She balled one fist on her hip and gave Caroline a disgusted look. “Have you got rocks in your ears that keep you from hearin’? My man sent me after those kids so we’ll have some help runnin’ our farm. The kids can’t be workin’ the farm if they’re in school. But”—she lifted her bony shoulders in a shrug—“durin’ the winter months, when things’re slow, I reckon they can go.”
Caroline’s heart gave a hopeful skip.
“If they can get themselves there. Can’t imagine my man hitchin’ the team durin’ the cold months to tote ’em. But if they’ve a mind to walk to school, I won’t tell ’em no.”
Caroline’s hopes immediately plummeted. Those children wouldn’t walk through snow to school—not without encouragement. And clearly this woman and her “man” had no intention of offering encouragement. Mr. and Mrs. O’Malley were no better than her own parents had been, seeing children as workhorses. Why had she been so determined to send Letta, Lank, and Lesley to their only relative? They’d be better off in the county orphanage or on a poor farm. At least then they’d receive an education.
Mrs. O’Malley began buttoning her threadbare coat. “You gonna take me to get the young uns now? Ticket master told me I can leave on the eight o’clock tonight. Figure the sooner I get them kids to Baldwin City, the sooner we can all settle in together.” She shook her head, sighing. “Sure hate goin’ out in that brisk wind again. Near cuts through me. Would rather have another cup o’ tea.” She gazed pointedly at the cup sitting on the table at the end of the sofa.
Annamarie, ever gracious, said, “If your train doesn’t leave until eight, there’s no need for you to rush off to the school.” She sent a look filled with meaning to Caroline. “Why don’t you retrieve the children and bring them back here? I’ll pour Mrs. O’Malley another cup of tea, and she and I will chat while you’re gone.”
Noble gave Caroline a few pats on the shoulder, nodding at his wife. “Yes, that’s a fine idea. Perhaps I’ll go along—stretch my legs a bit.”
Mrs. O’Malley tossed her coat aside and sank back on the sofa. “Sure won’t argue about another cup o’ tea. I’d take extra cream an’ sugar in this cup, too.”
Caroline
Caroline nodded her thanks to the doorman for opening the door, then paused while Noble gave the man a penny for his service. The moment they stepped from beneath the hotel’s green canopy, Caroline turned to Noble. “I don’t like her. I don’t like her at all.”
Noble slipped his gloved hand through Caroline’s elbow, tempering his strides to match hers. “Nor do I, dear one.”
“Then let’s put her on the train and send her back to Baldwin City. Alone.”
They paused at the corner and allowed two wagons and a fine carriage to pass, the horses’ hoofs and wooden wheels clattering against the damp cobblestones. Noble’s fingers gently tightened on her arm. “I understand how you feel, but, truthfully, we haven’t any choice but to send the children with her. By their own admission, they have no other relatives. She’s obligated, both morally and legally, to provide for them.”
Helplessness brought a sting of tears. Caroline’s chin quivered. “So there’s no way to keep them here now that she’s come?”
Releasing her elbow, Noble put his arm around her shoulders and tugged her tight against his sturdy side. “I’m afraid not, Caroline.”
She slipped away from Noble’s arm and hugged herself, her steps slowing as they approached the broad stairway leading to the double doors of the huge brick schoolhouse. “Why can’t the laws better protect children, Noble? She openly admitted she only wants them to work her farm. She even dared to complain about little Lesley’s age, claiming he’s too young to be of any use.”
Without warning, her mind whirled backward in time, and she envisioned herself as an eight-year-old being led by the hand from her parents’ house to a waiting carriage. She’d been so excited when Mr. Remington lifted her into the fancy rig pulled by prancing, majestic horses. Shivers of delight had danced through her as she’d wondered, in little-girl whimsy, if she would now live like a princess in a castle.
But no princess tower had awaited her.
She stopped at the base of the stairs and choked back a sob. “We can’t send them, Noble. We can’t. Isn’t there some way to prevent her from taking them?”
“You know the laws as well as I do. We have no legal standing.” He paused, his thick white brows crunching together. “If she refused to take them, they could become wards of the state, but …”
“That would be better than being hauled off to serve as her unpaid help. Why, they’ll be no better than … than slaves!” Caroline swallowed a lump of bitter regret. “I shouldn’t have contacted her. When Letta told me her pa and aunt were in conflict with each other, I should have simply contacted local authorities and had the children placed in the county orphans’ home.”
He cupped his hands over her shoulders and gave her a gentle shake. “Caroline, Caroline, you’re letting your emotions overcome good sense. The orphans’ home would offer no more than this aunt is offering. In both places the children would receive food, shelter, rudimentary education … and little else.” Noble clicked his tongue on his teeth. “My dear, the children found their way into your affections. They’ve also won the hearts of Kesia and Ollie Moore. Don’t you believe, if given an opportunity, they’ll do the same with their aunt and uncle?”
She gazed into his tender face, seeing once again the gallant knight who’d rescued her from her dungeon of despair. She grasped his wrists and clung to them. “Do you think so, Noble?”
A smile crinkled his eyes. “Having had only a few days with them myself, I don’t know how their aunt and uncle will be able to resist falling in love with them. They might take the children to serve as workers. But I believe, given time, they will grow to love Letta, Lank, and Lesley.”
“Oh, I hope so …”
Noble tugged Caroline into a fatherly embrace. “Do more than hope, dear one. Pray.”
Caroline nodded against the scratchy wool coat. “I will, Noble. I promise.”
The bell clanged, the doors flew open, and children spilled down the stairs in an excited throng. Caroline and Noble stood to the side, watching the faces flood past. The stream changed from a steady flow to a trickle, and finally silence reigned. But the Holcomb children hadn’t emerged.
Caroline flicked a frown at Noble. “I wonder if the teacher is keeping them late for some additional tutoring.”
> “Let’s go find out.” Noble escorted her up the stairs and into the building. All three children attended the first-year class, and the door to their classroom stood open in invitation. Noble peeked inside, then pulled back. “No one is in there.”
Caroline looked into the room, noting the rows of empty desks. She crossed to the one shared by Lank and Lesley, Noble trailing after her, and touched the scarred top with her fingertips. Where could they be?
Footsteps approached, and the children’s teacher, Miss Key, breezed through the door, flipping through a stack of papers in her hands. Noble cleared his throat, and the woman looked up. “Oh! Excuse me, I didn’t realize anyone was here.” She smiled at Caroline. “Miss Lang, correct?” Caroline nodded. “Yes.”
Miss Key moved toward her desk. “I’m glad to see you. I had written a note to send with Lank, letting you know how much better he is doing now that I allow him to write his responses rather than recite them. Let me get it for you.” She began shifting items on the desk’s cluttered top. “Ah, here it is.” She turned, holding a folded piece of paper aloft.
Caroline stepped past Noble and took the note, an idea floating in the back of her mind. “Miss Key, did Lank know you’d written me a note?”
“No. Why do you ask?”
Sighing, Caroline turned to Noble. “If he knew a note was being sent home, he might surmise it was a criticism.”
Noble nodded in understanding. “Which would make him want to sneak away rather than bring the note home. A typical schoolboy reaction. And of course Letta and Lesley would go with him.”
Miss Key looked from Caroline to Noble and to Caroline again, confusion on her face. “Sneak away?”
Caroline nodded. “Yes. Is there another way for the children to leave the schoolhouse?” She inched toward the door, eager to pursue them.
“No. The teachers monitor the hall and ensure that all the children leave through the front doors. We don’t want to accidentally leave a child behind when the building is locked at night.”
Echoes of Mercy: A Novel Page 23