Luke's eyes became as round as saucers. "Horses?" he spoke for the first time and Richard smiled at the awestruck boy.
"Yes Luke, you and Samuel will each have your own horses. Cora caught some horses but she is still training them to work on the farm. However, there are two gentle mares that you will use for the time being."
This was too much for Samuel and he wanted to dance. He would have a horse of his own, he would be a cowboy. For a moment he could not explain the feeling that overcame him. Richard saw that the older boy was quite overwhelmed and smiled to himself.
"We will work very hard sir," Samuel said at last, and he meant it. He had seen how much trouble his brothers had caused their mother and how they never contributed to the family's budget but expected to be fed and clothed. Farm work was hard, he understood that, but he was determined that he would learn and also help Luke to learn more.
This was a new life for all of them and he would not mess it up, lest Mr. West got angry and sent them back to Boston. He shook his head slightly. He could not imagine going back to Boston after experiencing the beauty of the open country, even if it had only been for a short time.
He would make his mama proud and perhaps the sadness would fade from her eyes. He was the big man of the family now and he would look after mama and the rest. He gave Richard an unwavering look. "Sir, we are ready to work very hard and whatever you teach us we will learn," he said earnestly and sincerely.
"I know that," Richard nodded. "Now, we have to go and have the first lesson for the day. Since you are very tired after the long journey it will be a short one, but today I will teach you how to milk a cow."
~#~#~#~
Rita stared in fascination and outright awe as Cora and Annie took her to the new house which would be her home from this moment on. She had caught a glimpse of it as they rode to the Wests' farm but now that it was up close she could not believe her eyes.
It was a beautiful one storied house with a short cobbled path that led right up to the porch. Someone had attempted to begin a garden and she promised to beautify the grounds around the house.
"This is the parlor and sitting room mama," Cora opened the door and led her mother inside. The house was furnished with simple but beautiful furniture. There were some pretty cushions on the couch and smaller seats and she knew it must be Mrs. West who had made them because her own Cora, hardworking as she was, had never been one who took to needlework. The floor had wooden planks which shone and there was a faint smell of paint which told Rita the house had not long been finished.
"The kitchen is right through here," Cora led the way and Rita gasped. She had only seen such a lovely kitchen when she went to wash and clean her clients' houses, yet here she was with one of her own. This would be her kitchen. There were a number of cabinets lining all sides of the four walls, a large stone sink on one side and a hand pump. She walked up to it, quite fascinated and raised the pump. Fresh cool water gashed out.
"Oh, she turned glowing eyes to her daughter.
"There is a well at the back of the house and I will show it to you later. Richard installed the hydraulic pump himself because he says it is good for you to have plenty of water in the house. Their house and our house also have good plumbing." She paused for a moment to allow Rita to take in the new wonders around her.
"Unfortunately you will have to carry water to your rooms for washing." Rita's eyes grew wider and wider as she looked at the wonders of technology that were present in her new house and which she had never used before.
The rooms almost blew Rita's mind away. She had her own bedroom which had a large bed with a soft mattress and pillows. The room also had a washing closet which was hidden by a thick curtain and a small closet where she could put her clothes. This was too much for her and she almost broke down. Annie and Cora saw Rita's emotional state and silently watched as she took it all in.
The girls' and boys' bedrooms were not as large as hers, but each of the children had their own beds. Never would they share crowded beds again.
Back at Annie's house they found the two girls still playing with Alex who now had on a small cowboy hat and boots. He was carrying a small whip in his hand.
"They found his cowboy clothes," Cora explained to her mother, grinning at her godson. "This boy is really in a hurry to grow up."
"That is for sure," Annie agreed. "He thinks he is a cowboy and has become quite a handful. My poor chickens are always being terrorized when he goes into the barn so I try to avoid taking him out there as much as possible." She turned to Rita. "Mrs. O'Malley, I know that Marie and Joanna are still young but I wanted your permission for them to help me with Alex and a few chores. There is a lady who comes by a few days a week and does the heavier chores but I still need help around the house."
"That will be fine." Rita smiled as she looked at her daughters. "My girls know what hard work is and they love children, so Alex will be fine with them."
"They will be paid of course," at Rita's protest Annie raised her hand. "When you have been here a few days you will notice that even the simplest chores on a farm are quite taxing, especially when there is a child involved. My husband and I will be glad of the help. At the same time, I will also teach them how to become seamstresses so they can make clothes and other fine things for the house if they want to. I used to be a seamstress myself and still am when I have the time for it. When Richard I first married I used to make clothes and sell them on commission in the store in town."
The women decided to sit out on the porch for a while before going in to prepare the evening meal and it became apparent to Rita that Annie had put in her own years of hard work to become the woman she was now. She again silently thanked God for sending Cora and now herself, such a wonderful, caring friend.
Alex was in his element, having two fawning females at his beck and call and Annie knew her son was in good hands. They started in with different chores to make supper, with Annie preparing the two chickens that she had brought from the barn earlier, while Rita sat down to peel the potatoes. Cora looked quite uncomfortable but offered to help with the chickens and Annie beamed at her. It was quite an achievement having Cora helping out in the kitchen.
"That man at the mercantile," Rita asked hesitatingly. "Why is he so sad?"
"Mama is asking about Robin," Cora explained and Annie nodded.
"Mrs. O'Malley, that man's name is Robin Watson. His wife died just about six months ago and he has not stopped grieving for her. He is totally unable to cope and is so defeated and run down that I fear for his future. They were devoted to each other and he is simply lost without his Sarah."
"I noticed that the store is in a terrible state, perhaps I might walk to town sometime tomorrow and see if he needs a helping hand with cleaning and keeping the place tidy. It's a good store if an effort was put into getting the place in shape. I wonder why none of the women in this community have offered to lend a hand... there must be quite a number of them."
"Of course there are mama," Cora passed a sharp knife to Annie. "The only trouble is that Robin doesn't like having women about his store. He says they disturb him too much with all their chatting." She grinned. "He can't stand me either and just puts up with me out of politeness but I always see the look of dismay that comes over him whenever I appear at the shop, however much he tries to hide it."
"Poor man," Rita said, bending down to her task and missed the swift look that the younger women exchanged.
"Do you know something Annie, Robin allowed mama to measure and cut the yard goods at the store, something I have never seen him allow anyone else to do since Sarah passed. It's one of the jobs she used to do, and he didn't seem to mind at all."
"It seems that Mrs. O'Malley is good for Robin and you should definitely go and visit him at the store," Annie teased. She was only half teasing because it was the first indication that Robin was perhaps willing to lift the curtain on his grief. Even just a tiny bit was a good thing.
&nb
sp; "A romance might just break out between the two of you, who knows?" Cora said cheekily and got a stern look from her mother, but to the girl's delight her mother was blushing like a young girl.
~#~#~#~
Chapter Five
Rita woke up with a start and for a few moments was quite disorientated. Her muddled brain could not understand what was going on, and then she realized what it was. The peaceful silence of the early morning, the birds calling out to one another, the sound of a mooing cow in the distance and the gentle wind blowing through the trees quickly brought it home to her that she was no longer in Boston.
It reminded her of her years as a young girl back on her parents' farm in Connacht, Ireland. Then there was also the fact that she was alone in this big soft sweet smelling bed, no loud drunken snores, no disgusting stale beer smells and most of all, no rough handling or beatings for the rest of her life.
It was like a dream but she knew it wasn't because the familiar feeling of dread at what the day might bring had been replaced by a feeling of wonder, a feeling she thought she'd lost half a lifetime ago.
She smiled and sat up slowly, looking around the large room which was bright with sunlight, even though the curtains were still drawn. This was the first time in her whole life that she had ever had a bed to herself, one that was clean and comfortable and she felt guilty at the pleasure and joy that flooded her heart.
From childhood she had shared a bed with her siblings and then with her husband, always hard and lumpy mattresses that were riddled with bedbugs and the rooms always had rats which feasted on the mattresses and pillows.
One of the constant nightmares she'd lived with all her married life was that a rat would give up on eating the bedding and start in on one of her precious babes. Never in her wildest imagination had she ever thought that she would sleep contentedly, but because her eldest daughter had refused to conform to the norm of poor Irish slum life, restful sleeping was now possible.
Wondering how her four children had fared during the night, she smiled and walked down the corridor towards the kitchen as she went to prepare their breakfast. She could hear them chattering excitedly, exchanging their dreams but most of all just enjoying their new life.
Over breakfast they shared the same sentiments. It was wonderful to finally be able to stretch one's legs and arms as far as one could go, knowing that there would be no groans or pinches or kicks due to overcrowding in the bed.
"I feel guilty," Marie said, her pretty face lit from within. Rita smiled, it had only been a day since they got here but already her children looked so happy and healthy. "There's so much food to eat, such a beautiful house to live in and mama did you see the dresses that Mrs. West gave us?" Rita nodded. "We have never had such beautiful things before mama. Do you think God will be angry at us for enjoying them so much?" Four pairs of eyes looked at their mother uneasily.
"No children, these are the blessings that the Lord has brought us, but even while we enjoy them let's not become proud and vain, okay?"
"Yes mama," they chorused.
Rita had not made an elaborate breakfast for her family because she did not yet know how to operate the new oven range. Cora had bought it for them and Annie had promised that she would stop by some time to show Rita how to use it.
Meanwhile, they would take all their meals with the Wests since the girls would be helping her around the house and also learning how to sew, while the boys would be working with Richard.
In fact, the boys had already started with the morning milking before coming in for breakfast which was the only meal they would share alone. Even then, Annie had already sent over pies and cakes and a large jug of warm milk.
Once breakfast was over they all went back to their rooms to clean and straighten them up. "We will make sure that we do not allow any bedbugs and rats to breed in our lovely house," Rita told her brood. "Everyone is responsible for cleaning their bedrooms and ensuring that the rest of the house is clean as well."
This was a beautiful place even though the wind tended to blow dust in every few minutes. That could easily be solved by keeping the windows shut, especially when they were out of the house.
"Yes mama," her children were happy to do her bidding and soon they were all ready to leave for their day's chores. Rita had taught her children that prayer before one left the house to begin their day was important and they all stood in the parlor as she gave thanks for the new day and for all the blessings they had received.
"I will be back early," she told her children. "I am going to the mercantile to see if Mr. Robin needs some help."
~#~#~#~
The boys were intent on learning as much as possible, and as quickly as possible and Richard couldn't help but wonder if both boys were cut out for farm work. It was obvious that Samuel was in his element and he learned quickly. Milking had come naturally to him and by the end of milking this morning, his proficiency had increased so that it was almost equal to Richard's.
He'd made a point of telling the boy so and already he was asking to be excused from school on the basis he could read and write well enough. He didn't want to go to college and wanted to know why he couldn't just get on with working because that's what he wanted to do most of all.
On the other hand, the younger boy was proficient, yet slower than his older brother. Richard was convinced this was the boy who would benefit most from continuing on with school so made a decision to encourage him in that direction and fit in some chores when he could.
In some ways, it was a good idea because both boys had obviously had a rough time of it so far and their respective egos were perhaps too fragile at the moment for either of them to feel as though they were competing with each other for Richard's praise.
No, Richard knew he was right in letting the boys feel their way and it would be great for both of them to feel they were each good at something without competing. Besides, not everyone was destined to be a scholar and where would the Wests be if there weren't enough boys and young men to work on the land. Being a farmer and a landholder was no small undertaking and he could attest to that himself.
So after breakfast Luke went with his mother into town while Samuel and Richard headed into the barn to see about taking the cows out to the range for some grazing. He'd thought twice about allowing the boy on a horse, but Samuel proved right away that his experience with milking wasn't a one hit wonder.
He was a natural on a horse as well and really, he should have known it because his big sister Cora was too. They'd work out the kinks as they went along and Richard knew he had another O'Malley he could rely on to help him with his farm.
~#~#~#~
Luke held his mother's hand as they set out for town, she to visit the mercantile and he to his first day at the new school.
"Mama."
"Yes son."
"Thanks for walking with me, it's kinda nice."
"I don't think I've ever been on a walk with just you and me and yes, it's very nice. We can do it every day if you want."
They walked in silence for a few minutes.
"Do you mind very much that Samuel isn't going to school with me?"
"Well, I did at first but he's got his heart set on working and he does seem to have the knack for doing what's needed on the farm. If it comes naturally to him, then maybe it's best if he follows through with what he's good at. He can read, write and figure well enough, and if he needs more, I guess there's plenty of folks around here to help him out."
"I hope you don't think I'm slacking off work by wanting to go to school, 'cause you know I'll do lots of chores and help you after school."
"I know you will Luke. It takes a special kind of purpose to go to school and work at doing farm chores as well. I'm proud of you for what you're taking on."
"I won't let you and Mr. Richard down." Luke walked tall, still holding onto Rita's hand and she gave it a squeeze and they walked along the track, each lost in their own thoughts and comfortable with
the silence between them.
As Rita walked along, she was surprised to see that there were so many people around, even though it was still very early in the morning. They met one or two loaded carts, farmers no doubt taking their produce to the town to sell to the local stores, perhaps to the mercantile, so the townspeople who didn't have farms could buy what they needed rather than grow it themselves.
She waved at a number of people and was glad that even though they waved back and smiled, none of them stopped to speak to her. She needed this time alone to gather her thoughts and reflect on the new experiences that sometimes threatened to overwhelm her. It was important to her that she strengthen her resolve, face the future head on and without fear, for her own good and that of her beloved children.
She was free of the tyranny that had been her life for the past twenty three years and she smiled to herself, wondering why she felt nothing but relief. Her husband had been dead for less than two months but there was no grief in her heart, unlike Robin Watson the mercantile owner. Cora and Annie had told her that his wife had been dead for six months but the man still grieved as though the woman had just died yesterday.
He must have loved her dearly to be grieving so deeply. She wondered whether Tom would have spared her a thought if she had been the one who had died first. But she knew he would likely have simply brought his mistress home to take her place. She knew it was wrong but couldn't feel anything but bitterness for the man, having brought her so much grief.
Really, she had been a good wife, prepared to work hard side by side with her husband but he let her down by not holding up his side of their marriage vows. Then she repented of her ill thoughts and moved on to think about more pleasant things, like her children and the lives they were going to be living from now on.
Rita and Luke arrived in town and the one roomed schoolhouse was the first building they came to. Luke removed his hand from his mother's, immediately missing the comfort that contact with her brought him, but he didn't want to be labeled a sissy on his first day.
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