Nick nodded. "Much easier than trying to check on them separately and deliver food to their houses and keep their fires going. Brilliant, Father Michael. Katie, let's get you to safety. Now."
She picked up the cloak she'd laid over the top of the chair, and he took it from her, wrapping her inside it. The urge to complain was strong, but she stifled it and let him escort her outside.
The gale-force wind and snow was so like it had been in Cooksville on the way home from college. When she glanced up toward Nick, she knew he was thinking the same. He held her closely to him and managed to get her into the carriage.
"Stay here, sweetheart. We don't have far to go."
"Yes, sir." She knew he was right. The Andrews' house was just down at the end of the street.
Nick closed the door, and Katie shivered, watching out the window at the blizzard-like conditions. She watched Nick as he struggled against the wind, passing the window on the right side of the carriage toward the horses. Gleason was on the left. Each of them led the horses down the now-empty street and to the stables behind the Andrews' house.
Once they arrived, Gleason took care of putting the horses inside while Nick pulled Katie quite close to him and brought her to the back of the house under his arm.
The door opened.
"Oh! Nick! Katie, come in, please. Henson was here a few minutes ago and said we might have visitors, but he didn't say it would be you. We have things to figure out. Take a seat in the dining room and we'll get you some hot tea or coffee."
Nick brought Katie in and set her down. "Gleason is with us, ma'am. He's putting the horses in the barn. We couldn't make it home. And I can't stay. Your husband needs my help. Katie, stay here until I get back. I suspect the sheriff is making sure the ropes at the buildings are being secured.
Mrs. Andrews nodded. "Yes. Nick, please be careful? The town provided the ropes during the last one we had and made ways to secure them. Tell Henson we're waiting on you all with hot food and hot coffee." Mrs. Andrews shoved a mug into his hand as she spoke, and he drank it down quickly before handing it back, thanking her as he did so. Then, he gave Katie a quick kiss on the forehead and was gone.
She watched him go and drank the tea that Betsy Williams had brought into the dining room for her. Following her back into the kitchen, she found herself pacing. "Someone, please tell me what to do? I'll go crazy if you don't."
Cinderella Andrews approached her with a hug. "Help us plan what to do when the men have done what they can, Katie. I'm sure you remember where the girls' bedroom is upstairs. Polly is staying with Cicely this week, so she isn't here. If you'd run up and bring some of the extra quilts from the wardrobe, we can use those. Just toss them down at the bottom of the stairs. You won't be able to carry them all. The pillows, too. And bring the pillows off the beds."
"That, I can do." Katie nodded emphatically. She went to the hallway and began to ascend the steps, passing the first floor and turning in the landing, toward the second. The next level up was the room Polly and Cicely had shared, before Ciss and Able got married. Slowly, she opened the door and went inside. It was eerily quiet up here alone.
Moving over to the window, she gasped, shivering. She scanned the street up and down, trying to see what was happening. Shadowy figures moved about outside, from house to house. She supposed they were tying the ropes from one house to the next. She couldn't recognize anyone. The lanterns were barely visible in the windows at St. Mary's. Father Michael must have done that to provide light for those looking for shelter. She thought of her grandparents next door and wondered if she could run over to their property and get them.
Mrs. Andrews was right; the wardrobe was full of quilts and blankets. She made several trips to the top edge of the stairs, throwing down armloads of blankets and pillows, before hurrying down the stairs and repeating the process.
When she reached the ground floor, her grandparents were downstairs. Katie heaved a loud sigh of relief and ran to hug them.
Marilyn Thatcher hugged her back. "Nicholas came and got us, sweets. He brought us over one at a time, and we brought blankets and pillows from home. He said he knew you'd be worried." Her grandparents began to help by moving the bedding from the bottom of the stairs and stacking them next to the front door. They would be easier to load that way.
"Come and sit down. Cinderella and I have been plotting."
Katie grinned. "Plotting?"
"Oh, yes," Grandfather Otho winked at her, grinning. "Your grandmother is always plotting about something."
Katie grinned toward her grandfather. "And are you all right with this?"
He laughed. "One thing I learned a long time ago, Katie, was never to try to interfere with her plots and plans, once she makes them."
Katie's eyes grew wide. "I wish you'd share that with Nick," she declared.
Cinderella chuckled. "And Henson."
"Hush now," Marilyn Thatcher laughed. "And listen."
Betsy brought in a tray of scones and tea and passed them around while Marilyn shared her ideas.
"When the war was over," she said quietly. "We stored many of the cots in our attic. Gracie and William Becker did, too, and so did Cinderella and Henson. So, we figured we have approximately fifty cots between us. There might also be some stored in the basement at St. Mary's. We might need to borrow some more blankets from town, if anyone has them to spare. I know there will be some at the church in the benevolence cabinet; if necessary, we could use those. It's not far to St. Mary's from here. Gracie and William likely have the furthest to go, but we think perhaps we could get the men in town to cart them over when the wind calms a bit."
"Yes, ma'am. But until then, we won't be able to do much of anything," Nick said from the doorway. "My main worry is some of these little ladies wouldn't survive getting out in this. They'd freeze to death."
Henson came in the door behind him, and Cinderella passed a cup of hot tea to each of them. Katie watched Nick as he sat down for just a moment, next to her. She reached forward, under the table, and squeezed his hand, and he put an arm around her. "We can't stay long. We've been checking on the ladies and bringing in some wood for them. They have enough to keep them warm through tonight, but not tomorrow. Let's pray this stops by tomorrow morning."
Henson nodded. "He's right. Cinderella, can you make a list for us?"
Mrs. Andrews jumped to her feet and ran to the study, coming back with a pencil and paper.
"The Wilder sisters. Mrs. Billings."
"Yes." She scribbled furiously.
"Mrs. Harper. The Martins, Amelia and Jacob."
More writing.
Nick added, "Mrs. Hawkins. Mrs. Baxter, though I suspect she'll be all right."
"The ladies on the block behind both sides of King Street."
"Louisa Graham and the girls from the dormitory."
Katie glanced up at him, thinking of Phebe.
"We'll need to move the men into the dormitory," he explained. "There are less of them. So, the ladies will have to come to the church."
"We'll start cooking tonight." Cinderella looked up at her husband. "The larder is full. We have plenty to share."
Katie watched as Henson's face softened with love for his wife. "Thank you, sweetheart. Add things to the list that you might need to cook at the church's kitchen and gather them together. We'll take them over in the morning."
As soon as they finished their plans, Nick was up and reaching for Katie's hand. She rose, putting her hand in his as he led her toward the front of the house.
"Hello, Edward." He nodded toward the butler.
"Anything I can do to help, sir, please ask."
"I'm sure there will be plenty to do tomorrow, Edward, thank you. What's it doing out there?"
"It looks dreadful, sir. But you can likely see better from the drawing room."
Nick turned toward the front room and pulled Katie in with him. Together, they moved toward the window. All they could see was white. He realized she was shivering and
wrapped his arms around her tightly from behind, bringing his lips down to her ear. "I love you, Kaitlynne." His voice was a husky growl.
"I love you, too. Nick, please tell me you won't have to go back out again tonight?" she whispered.
"I expect Henson and I will need to do a final check on our little ladies out there before we give it up for the night. Especially if it's still doing this. But, Katie, we have enlisted the help of other men, including the men in the sheriff's department. They helped the last time. I wasn't even here then, because I was bringing you home from school. We haven't had a winter this bad in several years."
Katie reveled in his embrace, but when her grandmother came in to join them, they separated quickly. Henson came in a moment later, and he and Nick put on warm clothes and left again with a bucket of hot stew to deliver to the elderly ladies in town.
The last thing Nick saw as he left was Katie, staring out the window with worried eyes. The snow was getting deeper now and it was difficult to navigate. He half feared he would spill the soup before he made it to his destination. If he didn't, he wondered if it would freeze in the bucket.
He stopped at the Wilder sisters' place first. Eleanor, the tall one, eagerly invited him in as Audra, the short, round one, closed the door behind him. He half expected them to question him about where Katie was, but instead, they were gracious and thankful.
"When do you want us to move to the church?" Eleanor asked.
"Not before morning. How is your wood supply?" He looked toward the hearth. They had plenty for the night. "And it depends on how much deeper it gets. We'll check on you again before bedtime and make sure you have enough food for the night. Have you water?"
"Plenty." She pointed to a few gallon jugs near the hearth. "Mr. Wellington, you don't need to worry about our food supply. We have plenty. We do appreciate you checking on us, though. It makes us each feel more secure. Take the soup with you. Someone else may need it more than we do."
Nick smiled at each of them. "All right, then. I'll be back tonight, if at all possible. But do not, under any circumstances, try to get out in this until we come for you, all right?" When Nick peeked out the door, the weather looked worse. He opened the door just enough to bring in another armful of wood.
"Thank you, Mr. Wellington. We'll be ready in the morning with blankets and some warm clothes to bring to St. Mary's, in case some of the ladies don't have enough."
This time, a genuine warmth showed in the faces of the two sisters, and Nick returned it.
Next, was quiet Mrs. Billings. She took out just a tiny bit of the soup, and Nick had to encourage her to take more.
"I don't eat much, Nicholas," she told him.
"Perhaps not, ma'am, but the snow may be deeper later on, and it may take a while to dig out. Let's leave you some extra, just in case, please?"
When she agreed, he brought in more wood, in smaller pieces, so she wouldn't be tempted to skimp on keeping the fire going, and left for the next house.
He was chilled to the bone by the time he got back to the Andrews' house. But he'd kept going until he was out of soup. Zeke, from the sheriff's office, had been on his way to meet him and waved to tell him he'd take over.
Katie met him at the door.
"Nick, you're freezing!" She tugged him inside and into the drawing room as Edward opened the door for him. Running to the kitchen, she brought him a hot mug of coffee, pressing it into his hand. "How deep is the snow? We can't tell from in here."
He leaned his head back onto the back of the chair. "Over two and a half feet. We're not going to be able to get the ladies to the church until we can dig out a path, and who knows when that'll be?" His face looked dismayed. "The buildings partly shelter the walks in front of the houses."
Katie rubbed his hands in hers, remembering the two occasions when he had done that for her. When she glanced up into his face, he was giving her a lop-sided smile. He reached one hand around her neck to pull her to him, and she squealed at the coldness of his hand.
"Come here, short stuff," he rasped. He tucked her head under his chin.
Her arms were around his neck in an instant, and she raised her head to kiss him before she even thought about what she was doing.
Heavy footfalls entered the room, and she looked up to see Henson. His face was drawn, his shoulders drooping. "It doesn't appear to be slacking any."
"No. It doesn't."
Henson began pacing back and forth. "I'm worried that the little elderly ladies—"
"Might not make it through the night?" Nick interrupted.
Henson stopped pacing and stared. "Yes."
"Then what do you think we should do?" As Katie leaned back, Nick rose to his feet. "The places I went this afternoon had plenty of water and enough food to last twenty-four hours and plenty of wood to keep the fire going. I want to say they should be all right. But for some reason, it doesn't make me feel a damn sight better." He glanced down at Katie. "Sorry, Katie."
She only shook her head.
Henson was running his fingers through his hair, distressed. "The horses might not survive if we took them out in this."
"Henson, the ladies might not survive, either."
"That's true."
It was Gleason who spoke next, from the doorway. "I'll take care of the horses if you can get the elderly ladies in and out of the carriage."
They all three stood there, in the midst of the silence.
"Let's do it." Henson spoke first.
Nick nodded. "Let's."
Katie gasped. "Then we need to come to the church to make sure they're fed and keep the fire going there."
She expected Nick to object strongly, when he turned toward her.
"She's right," Cinderella and Marilyn both joined in, from behind Gleason. "Between the four of us—Katie, Betsy, Marilyn, and me, we can keep them fed and warm once they get there."
Henson looked out the window. "I can see the church from here right now. Let's go before it gets heavy again."
Gleason reached for his heavy coat and gloves, and Nick pulled the gloves out of his pockets and put them back on. Henson disappeared for a moment, before returning with a long coat and throwing it to Nick.
"Put this on. I have another one."
Nick shook his head. "It's too long. It'll be in my way."
Henson glared. "Whatever you wish, but I'm telling you, you'll need it."
Katie held up the coat to Nick and set her mouth in a straight line. "Put it on, Nick."
His expression appeared patient, as he glared down at her. "Sassy lass, aren't you?"
Gleason followed Henson up to the attic and came down with load after load of cots and set them in the foyer just inside the front door. The blankets and pillows were loaded inside the coach and then the ladies, with the food and provisions.
When they began to gather the four ladies inside the carriage, Gleason had already cleared a path out into the street and across to the walk that lead to the church.
"You load the cots. I'll shovel." His gruff voice sounded final.
Katie watched the groomsman her father had kept in his employ all the years she could remember. He wasn't even breathing hard.
Within a half hour, the cots were in the basement of the church, a folded quilt and blanket on each one. The high windows in the basement were all under the snow today and it was impossible to see anything through them. The steps that led upward from it were buried from the outside. But inside, the lanterns were lit and the fire in the hearth blazed, making it look cheerful and cozy.
Katie looked around at the cots. There weren't enough pillows for each one, but hopefully some of the ladies could bring their own.
"Here. Take these and wrap the little ladies in them while you transport them." Katie shoved a handful of blankets into Nick's arms, and he nodded.
"Thanks, sweetheart. Good idea."
Five seconds later, they were gone.
Her grandmother and Betsy busied themselves in the kitchen downstair
s, while Cinderella and Katie made up the cots. She longed to go up and look out through the windows in the sanctuary. Father Michael was keeping watch for them and came halfway down the steps every few moments to call out a report.
"I can barely see across the street, but it looks as if they're at Mrs. Billings' right now getting her into the coach. Gleason has the way shoveled clear enough for the horses."
A rumble of footfalls could be heard upstairs. Katie looked up with alarm. Father Michael hurried back upward as fast as he could. Katie couldn't help herself. She followed.
It was ten or so men from the town, each with a shovel in his hand. "We saw activity over here, and we thought we'd offer to help."
"God bless you! You could help with the shoveling so the horses can get back and forth across the street easier. I'm sure Gleason would appreciate it."
In a flash, they were gone.
Good Samaritans
Katie couldn't believe how smoothly the operation went. She stayed above after the cots were prepared and watched the horses Gleason was pulling back and forth across the street. She greeted the little widow ladies as they were carried in. Those who could maneuver the steps, she guided down and made comfortable and warm. Those who couldn't, the men brought in and carried down while she followed. Stopping by to check on Mrs. Billings, she began to worry. The little woman looked pale, and her lips were almost blue. Katie ran to the kitchen to have a cup of hot tea made for her and grabbed another blanket to cover her with, topping it with a cotton sheet for insulation. A moment later, Cinderella brought a pan of hot water and placed it on the floor under the cot, low enough so that the warmth would come through without being too hot.
"Lorraine," Katie's grandmother spoke softly. "What can we get for you to help?"
The little woman smiled. "I'm warmer now than I was at home. These bones have ninety-two years on them. It's hard to keep them warm anymore."
Katie's Maverick (Strasburg: The New Generation Book 2) Page 13