“That’s nice of you to say, Ethan. Don’t worry about it. I understand perfectly.”
“It’s lonesome being in a town and not knowing anyone.”
“You’ll get acquainted quickly enough when it’s known you work in the newspaper office. There’s nothing the ladies like more than seeing their name in print.”
“Ladies like Mrs. Harper?”
“You’ve met the town’s socialite?”
“She has a musician visiting from North Carolina. Actually he’s from Asheville, but she said to say North Carolina because it sounded farther away. I think he plays the piccolo or something. Maybe I’ll make a mistake and say he plays the Jew’s harp or a harmonica.”
Jesse laughed. “You wouldn’t dare! You’d lose your job.”
“Maybe not. Mr. Marsh was happy when she left.” Ethan stopped. “We’re here already. That just proves what fascinating company you are, Miss Jesse.”
“Mr. Bredlow, you are a flatterer of the first degree.”
“Ethan. And thank you. I have always wanted to be something of the first degree.”
Jesse laughed. “Good-bye, Ethan.”
“Good-bye, Miss Jesse.”
Ethan watched Jesse proceed on down the brick walk. She was a woman a man could be proud of. He wished he were free to present his real self to her. Well, so much for daydreaming. He was here to do a job and he was satisfied with the day’s progress.
Wade Simmer rode his horse down the main street of Harpersville. A few people nodded a greeting; others with solemn, disapproving faces stopped and stared. He passed close by two men unloading a wagon. One spit contemptuously.
“Somethin’ ort to be done ’bout that bird,” he said.
“What’s he done?” The other man cut a chew from a plug of tobacco and shoved it into his mouth before he lifted a heavy grain sack to his shoulder. They both watched as Wade turned his horse into the alley beside the marshal’s office.
“If you ain’t knowing’ that, yo’re dumb as a stump.”
“Guess I’m dumb then.”
“I’d betcha my bottom dollar he’s in town spottin’ the next woman he’ll strip ‘n’ scare the shit outta.”
“Ya think it’s him doin’ that?”
“ ’Course it’s him. He ort to be hung… like his pa was.”
Wade saw the men eyeing him and ignored them. In the alley next to the marshal’s office he alighted and tied his horse to an iron ring set in the stone wall. He patted the animal’s rump as he went around him and walked back down the alley to the Main Street entrance of the office rather than entering through the back door.
Marshal Wright was seated behind a desk, his booted feet on the cluttered top. A thick mug was clutched in his hand.
“Howdy, Dusty.”
“Howdy, Wade. Help yourself to the coffee.”
“Thanks.” Wade wrapped the rag Dusty used as a pot-holder around the handle of a blackened coffee pot and filled a cracked mug. He took a sip and grimaced. “How long have you been boiling these coffee grounds, Dusty?”
Dusty grinned. The handlebar mustache on his upper lip lifted. “What day is this?”
“Friday.”
“Four days.”
“Tastes like it’s been a month or more.” Wade placed the mug on the desk and dropped down in a chair.
“We operate on a tight budget. “How’s things up around Mill Springs?”
“The same. How’s things here in Harpersville?”
Dusty took his feet off the desk and leaned on it with his elbows. “Shitty.”
“I hear that folks think I’m the man that’s doing the looking at naked women.”
“Yeah, some think that.”
“The Harpers?”
“Yeah.”
“And you, Dusty?”
“Hell, Wade. I’ve got no evidence it’s you or anyone else for that matter.” The marshal picked up a pencil and jabbed at a paper on his desk. “Whoever it is, I’ve got to catch the bastard before he rapes some poor woman. I can’t think he’ll go on looking for much longer.”
“No, I suppose not.”
“Why’er you here, Wade?”
“Visiting an old friend,” Wade said with a grin. “You don’t come up to the high ground anymore, Dusty.”
“I’ve not had enough reason to. ’Course, I could come up there and bust up Merfeld’s still or go over to Jensons’ and try to settle the feud between them and the Maxwells. Wouldn’t do any good. They’d be right back at it as soon as I left.”
“Yeah. You’re right about that. They’ve been at it for a hundred years.”
“At least the killing has stopped. All they do now is harass each other.”
Dusty sat back in his chair, propped his feet on the desk and clasped his hands over his stomach. He had known Wade since he was a stripling, had followed behind him and his granny when they came to town for Alvin’s body after he was hanged. He wasn’t the marshal then, and he thanked God for it. Wade would tell him the purpose of the visit in his own good time. All he had to do was wait.
“I hear Jody thumbed his nose at you as he ran down the middle of the street.” Wade tried hard to keep his lips from twitching.
“Yeah. The brassy little bugger. Boyd thought I should’ve arrested him.”
“On what charge?”
“Being uppity.” Dusty laughed and Wade laughed with him.
“Doc Forbes wants Jody to do some work around his place this summer.”
“Yeah? Is he a good worker?”
“Like any other kid… when he’s pushed. I want him to be around white folk and know how to live with their attitude toward Negroes. He needs to know that he’s got a tough row to hoe and that he’ll have to fight twice as hard as a white boy for everything he gets out of life.”
“What do your neighbors think about you taking in a darkie?”
Wade snorted. “They’re more narrow-minded than townfolk. I made it plain it was none of their business, so they ignore him.”
“What do you want me to do about it?”
“Keep an eye out. Jody won’t cause trouble unless someone jumps him; then he’ll fight. I don’t want him beating the hell out of some white kid and getting sent to a work camp.”
“That law Boyd got the city council to pass forbidding darkies in town after sundown wouldn’t stick if taken to court, but Boyd would see to it that it caused a stink and stirred up folks against you and the boy.”
“Jody’ll come home at night. I wouldn’t want him to sully the Harpers’ lily-white town.” Bitterness crept into Wade’s voice. “Another thing, Dusty. For the past few months I’ve been coming to town on Wednesdays and Fridays to work with Ike Spangler on a motor.”
“I know that. Not much goes on that I don’t hear about.”
“How do those dates coincide with what’s been going on in town?”
“I’ve heard of one that was on a Wednesday. No telling how many women this low-life skunk has messed with in this town and other towns. The women are so embarrassed they won’t come forward. One begged me not to tell her husband because he would think it was her fault, that she’d seen this bird on the street and encouraged him.”
“If there’s anything I can do, let me know.”
“It’s best you stay out of it, Wade.”
“Well, thanks for the coffee if that’s what you call it.” Wade went to the door. Before he opened it, he turned back. “If you catch the bastard they’re calling The Looker, I’d like a few minutes alone with him before you throw him in jail.”
Dusty raised his brows. “You’ll have to stand in line behind me.”
Wade nodded and went out. He liked Dusty Wright. He was a fair man—always had been. He’d do the best he could for Jody, but he was in a tough spot if he wanted to keep his job. The damn Harpers owned the town council.
He mounted his horse and rode down Main Street. Edsel Harper was standing in front of the bank. Wade followed the direction of his gaze and saw a t
all, slim woman walking beside a man in a derby. He didn’t have to see the chestnut hair beneath the straw hat to know the woman was Jesse.
A pang of jealousy hit him in the gut like a baseball bat. He turned his horse in the middle of the street lest he overtake them and with a lonely, vacant feeling in his chest, rode through the alley behind the stores and on down toward Ike’s garage.
CHAPTER
* 10 *
The family was at breakfast on Monday morning when Mrs. Klein arrived to do the wash. Jesse knew immediately there was going to be trouble when Louella Lindstrom began giving orders about how the starch should be made and how Doctor Forbes’ shirts should be washed.
“I been makin’ this here starch for six years. Doctor ain’t had no complaint.”
“He’s too nice a man to complain. He realizes how badly you need the job. However, from now on I will make the starch and I’ll add the bluing to it. After washing the first two loads of clothes, I want you to change both the wash and rinse waters. And—”
“—Doctor don’t like scratchy collars.” Mrs. Klein’s voice quivered.
“I’m well aware of that. Doctor also doesn’t like his collars starched with lumpy starch. I suggest you get started with your work. The doctor is paying you wages to wash, not to stand around arguing. If this arrangement is not satisfactory, you know what you can do.”
Mrs. Klein let the back door slam as she left the kitchen.
“How dare you talk to Mrs. Klein like that!” Jesse came into the room as Mrs. Klein left it. She rudely brushed the housekeeper aside and went out the door.
The washhouse was only a few steps from the back porch. Mrs. Klein was inside, her eyes wet with tears.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Klein. I’m so sorry. I never dreamed that woman would have the gall to say such things to you.”
“Ain’t I been doin’ good work, Miss Jess?”
“You certainly have. We couldn’t have managed without you.”
“I ain’t never scorched but one of doctor’s shirts.”
“—And it wasn’t so bad he couldn’t wear it. Don’t worry about Mrs. Lindstrom. I’ll speak to her.
“I ain’t wantin’ to cause no trouble for doctor. He’s been so good—”
“What’s old Ghost-face done to Mrs. Klein?” Susan burst through the door, went straight to the crying woman and put her arms around her. “That gal-dammed old biddy!”
“Stop yore swearin’, girl, or I’ll spank yore behind,” Mrs. Klein said between sniffs.
Susan turned to Jesse, her eyes blazing. “I hate that old poot! When’s Papa going to get rid of her? Does he know what she said to Mrs. Klein?”
“Papa is out on a call.”
“She just makes me so mad—”
“You better get moving,” Jesse said. “I heard the first school bell.”
“I’ll see you at noon, Mrs. Klein.” Susan kissed the woman’s wet cheek. Jesse had never been prouder of her little sister.
That afternoon when Jesse complained to her father about the housekeeper’s treatment of Mrs. Klein, she was concerned about how readily he jumped to the woman’s defense.
“It was a misunderstanding. Louella said she didn’t mean to hurt the woman’s feelings, and she’s sorry she upset you and Susan. You must realize, Jess, she’s not used to the way we do things here in this small town.”
“I’m beginning to feel as if I’m a guest in my own home, Papa. It’s difficult for me to stand by and see our way of life changing right before my eyes.”
The doctor looked at his daughter affectionately. “You’ve run the house very well. You’ve done your duty to the family, but it’s time you turned loose and stopped finding fault with Louella. She’s good at running things. She’s quiet, capable, obviously self-possessed, and I find her a truly charming person, interested in people. I surprised myself by being chatty when I’m around her… and she’s a pleasant-looking woman too.”
Jesse felt an odd ache within her. She wanted to dismiss her reaction to her father’s words as jealousy, but she felt sick—sick at heart and sick in her legs. They could hardly carry her out of the room.
She had thought her father too smart not to see through the woman.
While she was busy in the surgery, and her brother and sister were in school, it was easy for Jesse to ignore Mrs. Lindstrom. However, the evenings, which she had always enjoyed with her father, brother and sister were severely strained.
The evening Mrs. Lindstrom announced she would serve after-dinner coffee in the parlor, then seated herself behind the service and proceeded to pour three cups, Jesse realized the woman was going to horn in on the private time she spent with her father. She left the parlor and went to the dining room, where her brother and sister had started clearing the table.
“How about a game of hide and seek?” Her mouth was smiling, her eyes twinkling mischievously.
“Y-You m-mean it?”
“Now?” Susan asked.
“What better time?”
“Glory! Old Ghost-face will have a fit.”
“Good,” Jesse muttered as Susan ran through the kitchen and out the door.
“You’re it, Todd. Hide your eyes and count to ten.”
Louella almost choked on her anger when she went into the dining room and saw the dinner dishes still on the table. The doctor had retired to his study, and she could think of no tactful way to bring his children’s neglect of their chores to his attention tonight.
Quietly and efficiently she carried the dinner dishes to the kitchen and began the cleanup. She was making progress here and was determined not to let anything or anyone keep her from her goal. She had not realized the golden opportunity before her when she had first arrived. It had fallen right in her lap. The only obstacle was Jesse, who should have been married and out of the house long ago.
Mrs. Harper had hinted, more than hinted, that she would like a match between the doctor’s daughter and her son. Louella decided that she would have to give it some thought. Surely there was something she could do to help bring that about. A marriage between the two would remove Jesse and put her in solidly with the town’s leading family.
She had her arms in dishwater up to her elbows when the laughing trio came in the back door.
“Wash up, Todd, and get ready for bed.” Jesse gave her brother a gentle push toward the door. “We’ll have time to put the hem in your new skirt if we hurry, Susan.” Her eyes met those of the housekeeper and held them until her brother and sister were out of the room. “Good night, Mrs. Lindstrom.” She waited. The housekeeper turned her back and Jesse left the room.
Later in the week when Louella learned that Pauline Anthony would be staying with them for the summer, she was not happy about it but was careful not to let Doctor Forbes know of her displeasure. Around him she was efficiency personified, with a double dose of sweetness and refinement thrown in.
Todd was delighted that the storage room would be made into a room for him.
“Us… m-men will be d-down here,” he said in his halting speech.
“And us women will be up there.” Jesse hugged his head to her breast. She loved this little brother of hers fiercely.
“I’ll need help carrying all this to the barn,” Louella declared.
“We’ll help, won’t we, Todd?” Jesse turned cool eyes on the housekeeper. “We’ll do it tonight after school and tomorrow you can clean the room.”
Pauline moved into Todd’s room as soon as school was out for the summer. While Jesse worked in the surgery, Pauline spent time with Susan and Todd. Mrs. Lindstrom was barely civil to her when they were alone. This amused Pauline more than it angered her.
Jesse had delayed her trip to the hills until Pauline could go with her. She persuaded her father to allow Todd and Susan to go with them. Because her brother had not had scarlet fever, he would stay with Mrs. Frony at Mill Springs or with Granny Lester while Jesse called on her former patients.
With Molly hitched to the bu
ggy, a huge picnic basket and Todd sitting on the platform in back, they crossed the bridge spanning the creek and headed up the hill road.
The June morning was warm and soft. The air was filled with the sweet aroma of thousands of blossoms. Long fingers of sunlight meshed through the tree branches and made lacy patterns on the road. Birds fluttered from tree to bush to waving grasses. When Jesse heard the song of a lark, it brought back vividly the memory of being beside the stream with Wade, his smiling green eyes, and the way they had lingered on her face.
She acknowledged the budding excitement in the pit of her stomach at the possibility of seeing him again. She had debated with herself about her hair and what to wear today. One part of her wanted Wade to see her in something other than the nurse’s uniform; the other part didn’t want to see him at all. She had chosen to wear a pale-green-and-white-striped calico dress with a small neat ruffle edging the yoke. Her chestnut hair, freshly washed in rainwater, was so soft and shiny it could hardly hold the hairpins that held the knot at the nape of her neck. She was glad now that she had let Susan talk her into cutting a thin layer of hair around her face. In the slight breeze it caressed her forehead and cheeks.
Susan and Pauline were chatting like a couple of magpies.
“I don’t know how Jess ever persuaded Papa to let us come.” Susan was so excited that she could hardly contain herself. She had been to Mill Springs but not up into what was called the high country.
“I cried.” Jesse looked past her sister to Pauline and winked. “It worked too.”
“You did not! You never cry.”
“I told him I needed you to help Pauline push this buggy up the hill in case Molly gives out.”
“Old Ghost-face will be glad we’re gone. She’ll have Papa all to herself today.”
“He’s taking the morning train to Frederick and the evening train back home.”
“Goody, goody, goody,” Susan chortled. “That’ll throw a kink in the rope she’s using to reel Papa in.”
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