Tears filled her eyes as she continued, “He was drunk. He snickered, finished off his drink and then laughed. He made me follow him into the main room. It had poker tables, a faro table, a roulette wheel, and a long bar where drinks were being served. There was a mirror the whole length of the bar and in the corner was a piano. It smelled of stale cigar smoke, unwashed bodies, and cheap perfume. I followed him upstairs. Thomas opened a door that led to a room at the farthest end of the building.” Hannah wiped her tears away. “I wouldn’t go in. When I asked him what this was all about, he grabbed my arm and pulled me inside then shut the door behind us and leaned against it. He told me I was one of the most gullible of all the…the whores he’d ever picked up.”
A string of colorful words from the staircase caught both Maddie and Hannah’s attention. Samuel stood there, his face a mask of fury.
Hannah stood up quickly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were there.”
“Did you report that son...,” Samuel stopped and composed himself, “that man to the authorities?”
Hannah’s gaze fell to the floor. “No. I don’t think it would have done much good, besides,” she stood as tall as she could, stuck her chin in the air and looked Samuel in the eye, “after what I did the authorities would probably have thrown me in jail.”
Chapter EIGHTEEN
Nobody moved until Samuel went to grab his jacket from a peg. “I’ll be in the barn. I surely didn’t mean to interrupt and I’m sorry for buttin’ in.”
“Please wait, Mr. Morrison.” Hannah sat back down. “I would like for you to hear the rest of this.”
Hanging his coat back up, he sat down next to his wife. “Mr. Morrison is my pa. My name is Sam or Samuel.”
She nodded, smiling slightly. “When I told Thomas I wouldn’t stay, he told me to go. I was shocked. I asked where my things were and he said I had no things, that they were gone. He had taken my bags and stolen the money I had saved. I have nothing.” Hannah rubbed her temples.
“Do you want to finish this later?” Maddie asked.
Hannah shook her head. “He told me there were dresses in the wooden wardrobe and that the next day, I would be expected to be dressed in one of them and my job was to be nice and get drinks for the customers, for the men.” Hannah cleared her throat. “So that’s what I did.”
Maddie put her hand over Hannah’s. “There’s nothing illegal about that, Hannah. Sometimes women just have no choice.”
Hannah continued as if Maddie hadn’t spoken. “The first night, Thomas didn’t like the way I was dealing with the customers so he showed me how displeased he was.
When I came to—”
Maddie gasped. “He hit you?”
Hannah nodded. “There was a girl that worked there. Her name was Annie and her eye socket was crushed in and her eye color was a bleary white. When I woke up she was tending to me. She told me that Thomas had brought her here also and when she told him she wouldn’t do as he’d bid he hit her so hard she lost her eye. She couldn’t work in the gaming house because of the way she looked so she was now cleaning and laundering the girls’ clothes. She warned me never to cross him because he wouldn’t think twice about doing to me what he did to her.”
“There’s no need to talk about this anymore, Hannah,” Samuel said. “We understand what you’ve been through.”
“Please let me finish. You both need to hear it all. I was so afraid that I did what he told me to do but down deep, I thought I deserved it all. I was naïve enough to think some man could just fall in love with me after chatting on the train and naïve enough to blindly follow him anywhere.” Hannah stood and paced. “On the top floor were the rooms where some of the girls would…they would…some girls got paid for doing certain favors for men.”
“What kind of favors?” Maddie asked, confused.
Hannah looked to Samuel and he took over for her. “Sweet, the girls would have sexual intimacy for a certain amount of time with any man who could pay.”
At first Maddie looked perplexed, then her eyes grew wide and her face burned. Maddie bolted to her feet. “Oh no. Did he make you…?”
“Please, Maddie, let me just get this out while I’ve got the courage.” Hannah’s expression was pleading.
Samuel pulled Maddie back down into her seat. “Go ahead, Hannah.”
“I stayed to myself for the most part, but Annie and I did become friends. Thomas didn’t bother me too much but he always watched every move I made. I learned early if I smiled and was nice, the men would give me extra money. I learned how to watch to see if the men were winning or losing. Using that information, I approached them with sympathy or excitement. My intentions were to do what I had to do to save enough money to get out of New Orleans but I would never do what the girls upstairs did.”
“About a week ago one of the customers grabbed my arm and pulled me onto his lap. He was an old man who came in all the time. His name was Pete. He was usually a sweet old guy who treated me with respect, but this particular night he had too much to drink. Thomas came over and pulled me away from him, then beat that old man senseless.”
A tear ran down Hannah’s cheek. “Pete was almost like the grandfather I never had. He said I shouldn’t be working there. He would tell me to find a nice man and get married and have babies. I screamed for Thomas to stop, but he backhanded me and told me to shut up and get back to work.” Hannah wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “I don’t know what happened to him.”
Hannah picked up her cup but her hand shook so badly she had to steady it with both hands. “Thomas kept watching me and throwing down drinks. Jack, who was the man behind the bar in the evenings, told him maybe he should layoff the liquor for a while. Thomas grabbed him by the collar and told him to mind his own business and if he didn’t like it, then he should find another job. Thomas is an evil man. Everybody’s afraid of him. I’m so embarrassed that I was stupid enough to fall for his smooth words.”
“I went to my room and made my mind up that I was leaving. I had a little money saved and I would go as far as it would take me. Then Thomas pounded on my door. I told him to go away. The lock broke and the door crashed open when he kicked it. ‘You don’t tell me what to do. But since you want to act like a whore, you might as well be one and start making me more money.’”
Hannah clenched her fists. “I knew what he meant. He staggered toward me and said he would have to make sure I knew exactly how to do my new job and lunged at me. I was able to side-step him because he was so drunk. I grabbed a pitcher full of water and bashed his head with it. He went down, blood gushing. Annie must have heard the noise because she came running in. She saw Thomason the ground and looked at me. I told her what he did. Annie took a knife from her boot and…,” the blood drained from Hannah’s face, “and slit his throat.”
Hannah held her hand up gesturing for a few seconds to compose herself, then continued. “Annie turned him over and searched his pockets. He had a roll of bills. She counted it out and stuffed some into my hands. She told me to stay put and ran out of the room. It felt as if she was gone an eternity. When she returned she was with Jack and was holding this dress that I’m wearing right now, in her arms. She gave it to me and told me to change into it, which I did without question.”
“Annie told me to go wait at the train depot till it opened. She said the money she gave me should take me anywhere I wanted to go and would help me get settled.”
“What about him I had asked, gesturing to Thomas. She took me by the shoulders and shook me. Annie put her face right up to mine and told me to git. She and Jack would take care of it.”
“That’s just what I did. For all I know they may have told the marshal I did it and I’m wanted by the law, but I swear to God above that’s exactly what happened.”
Chapter NINETEEN
Maddie’s heart broke for Hannah. It was because of this woman, standing here, baring her soul, that she and Samuel were so happy. “I believe you Hannah. I am so sorry you wen
t through all that.”
“I can make some inquiries,” Samuel said, “and see if your name comes up.”
“Hannah,” Maddie asked hesitantly, “why did you…I mean what made you—”
“Why did I come here?” Hannah supplied.
Maddie nodded.
“I was afraid to go back to my home in Massachusetts. That’s the first place they’d look for me if I was wanted for murder. Besides, I had nobody there. My hope was things would have worked out well for you and in turn you might help me find a job, or something. I haven’t many friends in my life, but I liked you and hoped maybe you liked me a little, too.”
Maddie hugged Hannah. “Samuel and I owe you a great deal. We will do all we can to help you get settled.”
“Could I get a ride into town later this morning?” Hannah’s eyes widened a bit. “There is a motel of some sort in West Liberty, isn’t there?”
“The Hise Brothers Hotel. We can go after breakfast.” Maddie crossed her arms and looked at Samuel. “Now if my lazy husband would get us some milk we can get breakfast started.”
Samuel jumped to his feet and held up his hands in surrender. “I hear you, wife. I’m moving.” He put his jacket on and went outside.
Maddie got a pan out to make eggs. She also had leftover ham and biscuits from the previous day’s feast. A cry from upstairs told her Lizzy was awake. “You go get your daughter and I’ll make breakfast for you.”
“Oh no. You’re our guest.”
Hannah turned to Maddie. “No, I’m not. I was forced upon you with my presence. Let me do this small thing simply to thank you for helping me.”
Maddie smiled and went upstairs. When she came down, the smell of eggs frying and ham sizzling filled the room. Hannah laughed when she saw the little girl in Maddie’s arms. Her blonde curls stood out in every direction. “Good morning, little princess,” Hannah said. “Are you ready for breakfast?”
Lizzy giggled and nodded her head quickly, making both Maddie and Hannah laugh. “Do you know this is the first time I’ve actually laughed in so long. You are a lucky woman, Maddie, and I’m so glad I had something to do with that.”
There was a moment when an understanding passed between the two women. Samuel walked in with a bucket of milk and anything that was going to be said was lost. Hannah squeezed her friend’s hand and went to finish their breakfast.
When the meal was over, Maddie instructed Samuel to bring in the tub. Hannah needed to bathe and wash her hair. Maddie also lent Hannah one of her dresses until hers could be washed. Buckets of water were heated and when the tub was full, Samuel, Maddie and Lizzy made themselves scarce and went outside into the clear, cold day.
“I’m going to saddle one of the horses and Lizzy and I will go check on the cows. Leave you girls to…well do whatever it is ya’ll do when men aren’t around.” Samuel blushed.
Maddie laughed and gave him a long slow kiss. He took her hand and started to pull her toward the barn. “Maybe we have time to…”
“Oh no, we don’t. You and Lizzy just be on your way.” She smiled lovingly as the two people she loved most in the whole world rode out of the yard, with Mr. Wiggles running after them.
The sound of a door opening caught her attention. Hannah stood there, her wet, long blonde hair starting to curl as it dried. She wore wearing the navy, long-sleeved dress Maddie had loaned her with arms folded and shivering from the cold.
“You are going to catch your death standing out here with wet hair.” Maddie hurried her back inside. “I’ll empty the tub while you brush your hair dry and if you’d like, when that’s done, I’ll show you around our farm.”
* * * *
The women walked for a long time while Maddie showed off her home. They came around from behind the barn and saw Samuel talking with Charles. “Do you remember Charles, Hannah?” Samuel asked. “He’s our doctor and he was here yesterday.”
“Yes, I do,” Hannah smiled. “I’m very thankful for your help yesterday.”
A beaming smile lit up his face. “You certainly look much better today, but you don’t want to overdo it,” Charles cautioned.
“Hannah, I hope you won’t be upset with me but I took the liberty of telling Charles about your plight.”
Her face burned red.
“Please don’t be embarrassed, Hannah. I can’t even begin to imagine what kind of hell you went through. I wish I could get my hands on that…well anyway, I am friends with a doctor in New Orleans. I can find out if you have anything to worry about.”
“Thank you so much, Doctor...”
“It’s doctor Page, but I’d be pleased if you’d call me Charles.” His smile was disarming and the pink in her cheeks was not from embarrassment this time.
Though the good doctor offered to drive Hannah into town, Maddie wouldn’t hear of it. “I want to make sure she’s settled in the hotel. I intend to introduce her around town and possibly help find her some sort of employment.”
Charles started to say something but clamped his mouth shut. He said his goodbyes and went back to town.
The sun turned the afternoon unusually warm, making a wonderful outing for their ride into town. Maddie got Hannah a room at The Hise Brothers Hotel. Timothy Hise was a bit taken back when Maddie questioned the safety of his establishment when it came to single women.
“I can assure you, Mrs. Morrison that any woman, single or not, would be quite safe in my hotel!” he blustered. “I do not allow men of questionable looks or attitudes to stay in my establishment!”
The room, though small, was quite nice. It was furnished with a bed, a side table, and an armoire, with two drawers on the bottom. The bed was covered by a quilt of colorful squares. Yellow curtains hung over the window.
There was also a small dining area where Hannah would be able to have her meals. Maddie introduced Hannah to Mr. Swain at the grocery store, Carolyn Peaks at the creamery, and Amos Jones at the poultry shop, telling all of them Hannah was looking for work. They also ran into Elsie Thompson who worked in the office of the West Liberty Grade School. “Come into the office, day after tomorrow.” Elsie said. “Mr. Beachum will be in then. He may be able to find something for you.”
Hannah was excited with the few prospects that had come up. “Thank you so much, Maddie. I was truly lost and didn’t know what I was going to do.”
“Will you be okay here by yourself?” Maddie asked, getting up onto the buckboard.
“She’s not by herself,” Charles said walking up. “I’m here to help her if she needs anything. As a matter of fact, I was wondering if you might want to have supper with me. We can eat right there at Hise’s place.”
Maddie felt a weight lift off her shoulders as she watched the two walk away. Snapping the reins, she headed for home.
Chapter TWENTY
The shattering of a bedroom window and a scream from Lizzy’s room made Maddie sit straight up, out of a sound sleep. She reached for Samuel, but he wasn’t there.
Maddie ran to Lizzy’s room. The wind was blowing so hard the wooden shutter had hit the window, shattering it. Lizzy was in a fetal position on the floor, screaming. Rain and wind blew in through the broken window. Maddie scooped up her daughter and ran back to her room with her. She tried to put Lizzy down on her bed, but the terrified little girl wouldn’t let go of her neck.
“Samuel!” She called but there was no answer. The wind howled and the whole house seemed to moan. Maddie slipped on her shoes and grabbed the blankets off her bed. Wrapping them around herself and Lizzy, she hurried down the steps.
Halfway down, Maddie saw Samuel burst through the front door.
“Get to the root cellar. Now!” he commanded.
“What’s going on?” Maddie yelled back. She could hardly hear herself over the sound of the ferocious storm.
Samuel answered but she couldn’t hear him. He pushed them outside. There was no light to guide them. An inky blackness sat like a heavy veil over their farm yet in the distance, Maddie saw a gr
ay, bubbling matter in the sky. It seemed to be alive and it was headed their way.
“What is that?” Maddie screamed, trying to be heard above the roar. One of the blankets Maddie was holding was ripped out of her hands, while the other flapped so hard it was stung her like the lash of a whip. Maddie tried to walk but the wind pushed her backwards. Samuel took Lizzy from her and grabbed Maddie’s hand, pulling her toward the root cellar. Every step forward was a chore. He gave Lizzy back to Maddie and used all the strength he had left to pull the door open.
Once inside, all of them were drenched and cold. Samuel was able to light the lantern, casting an eerie shadow in the small area. The door to the root cellar rattled so hard, Mattie was sure it was going to snap off the hinges. Lizzy wouldn’t stop crying and refused to be put down. They huddled in the corner trying to keep warm.
Maddie put her mouth right next to Samuel’s ear and yelled. “What was that thing I saw in the sky?”
“A tornado,” he yelled back. “Rare this time of year. Must have been ‘cause it was so warm yesterday.”
“What about the animals?”
“I let them all lose,” Samuel said.
She and Lizzy huddled in as close as they could as the storm raged outside. It wasn’t much longer until the roar was gone. Samuel slowly got up and opened the door just a tad. It was still raining but the tornado had passed. He looked around before calling Maddie to come up. The house stood, with only a few windows broken and part of the porch cover had broken off.
Except for a part of the roof, the barn had weathered the storm unscathed. Maddie ran into the house with the child so they could get out of the cold. She put Lizzy in her and Samuel’s bed and waited until she fell asleep, then went down to find Samuel. Her nightgown was already spattered with mud so she just put on a coat and opened the door. She saw Samuel running from the barn.
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