by Leah Atwood
Whiter Than Snow
A Brides of Weatherton Christmas Novella
Leah Atwood
Copyright © 2015 by Leah Atwood
Cover Design © Covers by Ramona
Cover Image © PeriodImages.com
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the HCSB®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. HCSB® is a federally registered trademark of Holman Bible Publishers.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Epilogue
Letter from the Author
Other Titles from Leah Atwood
Come to Me Joyful Excerpt
Chapter 1
Cheyenne- September 1894
The ornate details of the Pullman sleeping car blurred into a single, unfocused image. Tallie Duncan stuck out her arm and felt around until she made contact with a wooden object that could support her until she balanced her uneven stance. Everything around her spun—the richly upholstered seats, the train platform visible through the windows, the entire Cohen family.
She shuffled her feet until she stood in front of a seat. Lowering her body into the chair, she averted her gaze from the disdained scowl of Mrs. Cohen. The stern lady had warned Tallie that if these spells continued, her position as a nanny would be compromised. Would this be the final time?
Tallie bowed her head and drew in three long, consecutive breaths. Why did these spells keep happening to her? They’d started not long after Gil had died and had continued intermittently, striking her without warning. The first few, she had dismissed as grief, but five months later they continued. The dizziness passed after several minutes, and when she lifted her head, Georgie, her youngest charge, tore from his mother and leaped to her side.
“Are you sick, Miss Duncan?” The three-year-old looked at her with large brown eyes. His face still was round and plump, the last vestige of his infancy as he entered childhood.
Her lips curved to smile. “I’m fine, Georgie.”
For all she knew, that could have been a lie, but she didn’t have the money to visit a doctor and find out for certain. Pooling all her strength, she stood to her feet. A little wobbly, but steady enough.
“We’re behind schedule.” Mrs. Cohen’s brows knitted to a severe line. “Mr. Cohen and Alistair have gone on to secure a carriage. It would be rude of us to keep them waiting.”
“I’m sorry for any inconvenience I’ve caused.” Tallie doubted that the few minutes she sat until steady would negatively impact Mr. Cohen. However, she needed this job so did her best to appease her boss, and while Mr. Cohen was the person who paid her, Mrs. Cohen undeniably was the person in charge.
“Once we settle in our hotel, we will discuss this matter further.” Mrs. Cohen’s skirts swished as she swept down the aisle of the train car, her nose in the air. She didn’t once look to see if her son or Tallie followed. Of course she wouldn’t. The matriarch of the family couldn’t be bothered with her son or hired help.
It was what gave Tallie hope that she wouldn’t be dismissed from the Cohen’s employment because of her episodes, as Mrs. Cohen called them. Georgie and Alistair’s mother didn’t have innate maternal instincts like most mothers possessed. She saw her sons as a nuisance and couldn’t handle five minutes alone with them, thus providing a measure of employment security for Tallie as long as she performed her duties.
Tallie’s heart ached for Alistair and Georgie. The two boys were darling, even if they did have some rapscallion tendencies. After accepting the position as their nanny, she discovered she was the first caretaker they hadn’t scared off within a week. To the boys’ dismay, it would take more than snakes and mud to make her leave. Once the boys had realized that, they’d settled down. After a month of being under her care, they’d given up their battles and decided to allow her into their secret world of make-believe.
Alistair and Georgie had vivid imaginations to complement their keen intelligence. Between their school lessons, they’d had marvelous times of hunting down hidden treasures and chasing animals in exotic places she’d only read about in the books at the orphanage where she’d grown up. Tallie only wished they didn’t understand their mother’s aloofness toward them.
When the Cohens had approached her last month to inquire if she’d be willing to move west with them, she’d eagerly accepted, for the boys’ sake and hers. She cared for them deeply, almost as though they were her own children. They filled the void, the hole in her heart, left by Gil’s sudden death.
She cut off her thoughts before she traveled too far to Gil. He was gone, and that was that. There was no bringing him back, no happy, long life together. All she had left of him were her memories.
From the corner of her eye, Tallie caught a glimpse of Mrs. Cohen standing outside the train, arms crossed. “Oh no.” Grabbing Georgie’s hand, she whisked him down the aisle and off the train.
Mrs. Cohen’s chest heaved with a dramatic huff. “Woolgathering again, Miss Duncan?”
“I was admiring the finery of the train car one final time before departing.” It was not a complete fabrication—she had taken note of it as she pulled Georgie behind her. “You certainly do have the finest of tastes.”
“It’s a gift handed to me from my dear grandmother.” Apparently placated, Mrs. Cohen patted a proud palm to her chest. “We must hurry now.”
Later that evening, Tallie sat in her temporary bedroom, on the second floor of one of Cheyenne’s finest homes. The house belonged to Mr. Cohen’s elderly uncle, with whom they would be residing until spring when they’d continue on to Oregon where Mr. Cohen would open a new mercantile. Though the house was spacious, her room was small. The only furnishings were a bed, desk, and chair.
Still, it was a vast improvement from the other places at which she’d resided—the room she’d shared with nine other girls at the orphanage, the cramped train quarters. The closed in space of this bedroom was even better than the room Gil had rented, which would have been their home had he not been killed.
Yes, it would suffice just fine. If I’m not dismissed. Mrs. Cohen had not brought up the matter of the earlier episode as promised, but Tallie knew it was only a matter of time. She relied heavily on the knowledge that the boys loved her, and Mrs. Cohen knew it as well. Would she risk dismissing her and not being able to find a replacement in a strange city? Tallie didn’t believe she would.
She prayed her instinct was correct. There was nowhere else for her to go. She had no family, and her only friends were those from the orphanage. Boston held nothing for her except sad and lonely memories. Her plan was to go west with the Cohens, continue working for them until the boys were older. Maybe even until she found a husband. Gil would have wanted her to be happy and not spend her life alone.
A whimper sounded from the next room. Tallie left the be
d and walked to the door that adjoined two rooms. Turning the brass knob, she opened the door to the boys’ room. She tiptoed to Georgie, asleep in bed. He tossed and turned in the throes of a bad dream. Sitting on the bed’s edge, she patted his back and whispered soothing words in his ear until he calmed. In minutes, his breathing returned to normal and his body stilled.
The only sound to be heard was that of a tree branch brushing against the window every time a gust blew. Tallie swept the hair from Georgie’s face and dusted a kiss on his forehead. Across the room, Alistair slept peacefully. She went to him, gave him a kiss also, before returning to her own room.
Sadness enveloped her as she sat at the desk. Although her own parents had died when she was only seven, she vividly remembered how much they loved her. It was something she could cling to when life was too hard. Would Georgie and Alistair find that same comfort? Why couldn’t Mrs. Cohen see what a treasure her young sons were?
Someone rapped on her door, and Mrs. Cohen burst through a second later, not waiting for an invitation.
Tallie stood and smoothed her skirt. “How may I help you?”
Crossing her hands in front of her midsection, Mrs. Cohen peered at her with condescension. “I’ve come to discuss your employment and the signs of illness you’ve displayed.”
“I apologize again for the inconvenience.” Knots tightened the muscles of Tallie’s stomach.
“Illness does happen, but these episodes have occurred frequently enough to cause distress.” Mrs. Cohen looked down her nose with obvious false compassion. “Now, understand that my primary concern is that my children remain safe and well-cared for.”
If Tallie weren’t so concerned about the nature of the conversation, she’d have snorted. Her employer’s primary concern was the possibility of having to take care of her children by herself. “I would never put your sons in harm. I care for them deeply.”
“Nonetheless, I need assurance your medical issue will not interfere with my sons’ care.” A glimpse of true sympathy flickered in Mrs. Cohen’s eyes for a mere second. “Because my sons have shown affection for you that they’ve not granted any other nanny, I’m willing to make a concession.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Cohen.” Relief surged through Tallie.
Mrs. Cohen raised her hand. “The future of your employment will be determined by the results of a doctor’s examination. I have already called upon a local physician who is waiting in the parlor. Upon his assurance that you are well enough to care adequately for my children, your employment will be continued.”
“An examination?” Surprise stuttered her words and her feelings were mixed about the concession. She couldn’t afford to see a doctor on her own, but what if he uncovered a serious malady to jeopardize her employment? Or what if he couldn’t explain her illness and the lack of diagnosis prompted Mrs. Cohen to terminate her employment?
“I believe this to be a fair compromise.” Mrs. Cohen tilted her head, an expectant gaze on her face. “Are you willing to be seen by the doctor?”
Tallie gulped. “Yes.”
“Very well. I’ll return shortly with him.”
She still stood in the same spot when Mrs. Cohen returned with the doctor, an older man with silver hair and round spectacles.
He extended a hand and introduced himself as Dr. Ritter. “Would you prefer Mrs. Cohen to remain in the room while we perform your examination?”
“Stay please.” Despite their differences, sometimes, a woman just needed the presence of another woman.
Mrs. Cohen gave an approving nod.
“Very well.” Dr. Ritter gestured toward the bed. “Have a seat and we’ll begin.”
The temperature of the room seemed to increase without warning. Apprehensive, Tallie followed instructions and answered all the questions the doctor asked, even those which she found embarrassing.
“What is wrong with me?” she asked the doctor at the exam’s culmination. “Do you know what’s causing my spells?”
Dr. Ritter smiled at her. “Miss Duncan, the intermittent swooning you’ve experienced is not uncommon to women who are expecting a child.”
She gulped. “What did you say?”
“Women who are with child often feel lightheaded, especially in the beginning and endings of their expectancy.”
“Are you telling us that Tallie is with child?” Deep crimson circles marked Mrs. Cohen’s puffed out cheeks.
Rubbing his temple, Dr. Ritter shifted his gaze from Mrs. Cohen to Tallie. “I… I presumed you both already knew. By my guess, she is near her sixth month.”
The blood drained from Tallie’s face. It couldn’t be true. She and Gil had been together only once. Renewed shame filled her. She’d known it was wrong, but Gil had convinced her there was no harm since they’d be married soon. Neither had expected him to be killed on the docks three days later.
Tallie had convinced herself that Gil’s death was a punishment for their indiscretion. Drowning in guilt, the only way she could continue on was to block what happened from her memory, pretend it never happened. She’d left the orphanage where she’d remained even after she’d come of age, but had stayed as an employee. That’s where she’d met Gil, and its walls held too many memories. No one there questioned her decision, as none of them knew of her error in judgment. Tallie allowed them to believe her departure was due to mourning. Within a week she’d found employment with the Cohens and had been happily caring for Georgie and Alistair since then.
“Are you positive?” Gulping, she rested her hands on her stomach.
She’d gained weight in recent months, but had explained it as her diet with the Cohens. After years of eating mush at the orphanage, her body wasn’t accustomed to substantial meals. It only made sense that she’d gain a little weight. And she’d felt flutters in her abdomen, but had thought those was nerves. She’d been through so many changes in the last six months, it seemed likely her body would react in odd ways.
“Yes, ma’am.” Dr. Ritter shook his head. “I’m sorry to deliver the news since I see it’s a shock. I’ll see myself out, but call me if you need any assistance or when the baby’s time comes.”
“My husband will pay you on your way out.” Mrs. Cohen’s icy tone sent shivers down Tallie’s spine. “Thank you for coming on short notice.”
When the doctor left, Mrs. Cohen shut the door with unnecessary force, and Tallie winced. “I don’t appreciate being lied to, Miss Duncan. When you were hired, it was with the understanding you’ve never been married.”
“That was the truth. I’ve never been married.” How easy it would have been to lie and claim she’d been a widow, but she couldn’t.
Regardless of the horrible mistake she’d made with Gil, she couldn’t throw away the rest of her moral code. She looked down, concentrating on a torn fingernail, unable to face the judgment she’d surely see on Mrs. Cohen’s face.
“Then you’re telling me this child was conceived out of wedlock?” Venom wrapped around Mrs. Cohens words.
Gathering courage, Tallie stood and made eye contact with her employer. “Yes. I made a very foolish decision, but I never lied to you ma’am.”
Mrs. Cohen sucked in her chest and huffed. “You led me to believe you were a woman of high moral character. That was obviously a false impression.”
“Please, Mrs. Cohen.” Crossing her hands, Tallie pleaded her case. “Everything you know about me is true. I need this position and Georgie and Alistair need me.”
“My children need someone who is more than a common harlot.” The woman’s stiff posture matched the harshness of her words. “You are dismissed, Miss Duncan. Gather your belongings.”
“But I have nowhere to go.” Her eyes blinked rapidly, holding back a wall of tears.
“That is not my problem.” Pivoting in a curt motion, Mrs. Cohen walked to the door and stopped, turning her head back. “I’ll expect you in the parlor in fifteen minutes. Mr. Cohen will have your final pay.”
The door slammed shut be
hind her.
Tallie lowered her trembling body onto the horsehair mattress. Overwhelmed by the news she was with child, and daunted by fear for her future, she took several minutes to collect herself. What was she going to do? She didn’t have enough money to support herself, let alone a baby.
Her sin had followed her and now she was in a dire circumstance. She left the bed and packed her bag that she’d emptied only a short time ago. Taking a deep breath, she went to tell the boys goodbye, even if they wouldn’t hear her in their sleep. If she regretted one thing, it was that precious Georgie and Alistair would suffer for her mistake. She prayed their new nanny would be understanding and loving.
Lingering at the door, she blew them each a final kiss. She squared her shoulders and marched down the steps.
Humiliated. Ashamed. Determined.
Life hadn’t been kind to her, but she’d always survived. This was one more thing she had to get through, and she would, no matter what it took. Another life was counting on her.
Chapter 2
Cheyenne, December 1894
“I’m sorry, but I believe you misunderstood the service I offer.”
Tired of sitting for so long, Jeremiah leaned against the wall of Lucinda Rohrer’s office. “You match men with brides, correct?”
“Yes, but not locally. I bring all the women from out of town, not Cheyenne.” The diminutive woman shrunk in her chair.
Jeremiah thought she appeared much too frail to survive in the west, but that was not his issue. Once she agreed to find him a bride and accomplished that goal, he’d not have reason to worry about her. He arched an eyebrow. “But wouldn’t it be easier and less time consuming to find someone from Cheyenne? Surely in a city that’s growing every day, you can find one suitable woman.”
Miss Rohrer leaned forward, resting her clasped hands on her desk. “What is your rush, Mr. Scott? If you want a wife so badly why didn’t you marry before coming west?”
The chiming of a clock echoed in the room that had meager furnishings and decorations. An oil painting of a pine forest hung behind a desk, the only regard to imagination. Everything else—the desk, the chairs, the bookcase—was crafted for simplicity and functionality.