Phebe's Promise (The Alphabet Mail-Order Brides Book 16)

by Cathryn Chandler

  She glanced out the window as she wiggled into her skirt. Judging by the position of the sun, the children would be waiting for her soon.

  She’d just finished buttoning her blouse, and was searching about for one of her shoes, when she suddenly straightened up and took a deep sniff of the air. The faint smell of coffee drifted in from the gap between the closed door and the wooden planks in the floor. Having spied her other shoe, she snatched it up and carried it with her as she left the small bedchamber in her stockinged feet.

  The minute she stepped into the outer room, she saw Henry. Her husband was juggling a pot of coffee and a mug in one hand, and a cloth-covered plate in the other. When he saw her, his face broke out into a wide smile. Hastily setting the food, coffeepot, and mug on the table, Henry stepped over to where she was standing and gave her a kiss, lingering over it for a few moments until Phebe let out a sigh of contentment.

  He lifted his head, and his eyes twinkled at her from behind the lenses of his glasses. “Good morning.”

  Remembering what they had done together the night before, Phebe was struck with a sudden bout of shyness and lowered her eyes.

  “Good morning,” she whispered back, startled when he put a finger under her chin and lifted her face to his.

  “It’s a beautiful morning, and you’re the reason for it.” He grinned when she simply stared at him in shock. “I brought you some breakfast.”

  Not knowing what to say, Phebe nodded. “Thank you.”

  Henry reached down and took one of her hands, then led her over to the table and pulled out a chair. “Sit and put those shoes on.”

  Phebe frowned. “Shoes?”

  “The ones you’re holding.” Henry chuckled when she looked at her hands. “Yes. Those shoes. I brought you something to eat while I keep my promise and start the lesson.”

  “Start the lesson?” Phebe bent over to pull her shoes on, her mind racing. She vaguely recalled something about Henry offering to teach a science class or two, but couldn’t remember anything else specific about it for the life of her.

  “Yes, we agreed I would give the children their first class this morning.”

  That had her looking at him as if he’d lost his mind. Because she wasn’t entirely sure he hadn’t. “You’re going to teach the children?”

  “Yes,” Henry said. “You thought it was a grand idea last night.”

  “I did?”

  “You also said you’d like to help me with some of my experiments.”

  Phebe frowned. “I did?”

  “Uh-huh.” Henry smiled. “And that we should sneak away early this afternoon and take a bath together in the lake.”

  Her eyes narrowed at the innocent expression on her husband’s face. “Now that’s a big fib and you know it, Henry Frommer.”

  Henry laughed and leaned over to give her a quick kiss. “It might be. But I will be giving the children their first lesson this morning while you sit and enjoy your breakfast.”

  Phebe tried her best to give him a shaming look but failed miserably when he simply grinned at her. She wasn’t sure if she liked him teasing her, but she certainly loved how happy and relaxed he looked.

  She blinked at her silent choice of words. She did love seeing him happy. And the way he made her feel content whenever he was around. For some reason, the absentminded inventor, who was the opposite of her very practical self, had captured her heart.

  She was sure of it.

  Just as Madam Wigg had hoped would happen, somewhere in all the madness of the last few weeks, Phebe had fallen in love with her husband. And if the warmth in his eyes was any indication, she was sure Henry felt the same way about her. Hoping he’d tell her the words soon, Phebe smiled back at him.

  “All right. You can give the children their first lesson if you’d like, but I haven’t had a chance to unpack their science primers yet.”

  “I can do that,” Henry volunteered. “Um. Where are they?”

  “In a crate in the corner of the classroom.” Phebe laughed. “Where else would they be?”

  Her husband adjusted his glasses. “I don’t have the faintest idea,” he finally admitted. “But I’m sure I can find them easily enough.”

  An hour later—having eaten her breakfast, swept out the cabin, and wiped down the table—Phebe took the empty coffeepot and plate over to the wagon where all the food and cooking supplies were kept. She quickly washed her dishes in the basin of water set out beside one of the wagon’s wheels. After carefully putting the cookware and utensils away, she made her way over to the old mill, mentally going over her lesson plan for reading and writing as she walked along. She was sure Henry would be eager to get back to his own work by now, and she was looking forward to getting to know her new students better.

  As she neared the building, she was surprised at how quiet it was. Thinking Henry must have them working on their slates, she stepped into the large room and stopped dead. There wasn’t a soul around. A pile of books was stacked next to the stool she usually sat on, and nine slates were lined up along the top of the benches. Phebe slowly counted them out. Yes, there were nine, so the children must have been here at some point, but where were they now? And where was her husband?

  Phebe headed for the site where Henry intended to build his laboratory, asking everyone she passed if he’d seen Henry or the children. Frustrated when she kept getting the same negative head shake in answer to her question, Phebe searched the field for Jake, finally spotting him near a tall pile of cut logs.

  The stocky foreman stopped and mopped his brow with a faded handkerchief as she made her way toward him.

  “Mornin’, Miz Phebe. Class let out early today?”

  “Not that I was planning on, Jake.” Phebe looked around, still not seeing her husband or a child anywhere nearby. “Have you seen Henry?”

  “No, ma’am. Kind of expected him sooner than this.” Jake followed the direction of her gaze. “He hasn’t gone and gotten himself lost, has he?”

  “If he has, he’s taken all the children with him.” Phebe put her hands on her hips and frowned. “I thought he might have brought them to see where his laboratory was going to be built.”

  Jake shook his head. “He hasn’t been out this way, but Martha’s in the barn. Maybe he took ’em there.”

  Phebe gave him a relieved smile. Why hadn’t she thought of that? Henry probably wanted Martha’s help to keep the children focused on their lesson. Nodding her thanks, Phebe made a straight line for the barn, sure she’d find everyone busy in there. But when she stepped inside, Martha was the lone occupant. She was sitting on a wide tree stump, weaving long strands of grass together into what was going to be a basket.

  “Have you seen Henry or the children?”

  Martha looked up from her task and shook her head. “I thought the children were in school with you, and I ain’t seen Henry this morning.”

  Exasperated, Phebe peered into the dark interior despite what Martha had said. “I can’t find him. Or the children. He’s supposed to be giving them their science lesson this morning.”

  Her friend’s eyebrows winged upward. “You ain’t teachin’ ’em today?”

  Phebe shook her head. “Not the first lesson. Henry wanted me to sleep a bit longer and then take my time eating breakfast.”

  “I guess you had that talk with him then,” Martha chuckled. She set her basket-weaving aside and stood up. “He can’t have taken that passel of kids too far. I’ll help you look.”

  Thirty minutes later, the two women had to admit defeat. Neither Henry nor the children were anywhere to be found.

  “Think he mighta taken ’em down to the lake fer a swim?” Martha asked.

  Phebe looked toward the patch of blue water and tapped a finger against her chin. Henry had mentioned the lake at breakfast. It could be he had done just that. And it certainly would be like him to forget to tell anyone where they were all going. She smiled. “Let’s take a look.”

  Stopping to pick up Martha�
�s gun, the two women headed into the trees. They’d only walked for ten minutes before Phebe heard the sound of children laughing. Closing her eyes in a quick prayer of thanks, she exchanged a knowing look with Martha before veering off the path to the lake and following the bursts of high-pitched giggles through the forest. It wasn’t long before she spotted a flash of movement ahead. She and Martha stopped at the edge of a small clearing surrounded by tall trees. Henry was holding something in his hands out to the children, who were crowded around him, staring at it.

  “They not only help keep the trees alive but have many other uses as well.”

  Phebe smiled when she spotted the small pile of pine needles Henry was holding in his hands. She listened quietly as he went on to explain how the simple needle was used to create dyes and help gardens grow.

  “No better place to teach than out here in the open,” Martha whispered.

  “I agree,” Phebe said in a normal tone, immediately drawing the attention of Henry’s small audience.

  “Miz Phebe, Miz Phebe!” Mite’s shrill screech had Lil’ Dan slapping his hands over his ears.

  Henry looked over at her and smiled. “Hello, Mrs. Phebe. Have you come to join our class?”

  Remembering that she really should be irked with him, Phebe raised an eyebrow at her husband. “I came to find my class.”

  Dropping the pine needles to the ground, Henry rubbed his hands on his pants. They left a distinct brown streak in their wake. Realizing he also had a smudge of dirt on his cheek, as did most of the children, Phebe let out a loud sigh and shook her head.

  “It seems all of you will need a bath again.” She gave Henry a pointed look. “Including the teacher.”

  “Getting dirty is a necessary consequence in the pursuit of science,” Henry said.

  “Did you read that in a book somewhere, husband?” Phebe thought it was very likely he’d made it up, but wasn’t surprised when Henry gave a solemn nod.

  “Of course.” He clasped his hands behind his back and grinned at her.

  He looked so adorable, standing all rumpled in the middle of a group of equally rumpled children, that Phebe had to laugh even while she continued to shake her head at him.

  “Well now,” Martha’s voice boomed out. “We’d best be gettin’ you all back to the ranch and then a quick march down to the lake. You can wash out them clothes while you take another bath.” She glanced at Phebe. “I’ll git them some clean things out of that barrel Jake set in the barn.

  “Thank you, Martha. I’ll be along shortly to help.”

  “No need, Miz Phebe. You take yer time.”

  As the children followed Martha out of the woods, Henry came up and put an arm around Phebe’s shoulders. She immediately squirmed away and frowned at him.

  “Henry! You need a bath.”

  He only smiled and shrugged. “I desperately need a kiss from my wife.”

  “Not until you’ve had a bath,” Phebe insisted. “And why did you bring the children out here without telling anyone where you were going?”

  Completely oblivious to the worry he’d caused, Henry took off his glasses and rubbed the lenses against the sleeve of his shirt. “Jonah asked a question about a mushroom he’d seen, and I thought it would be easier to show him how to tell mushrooms apart than try to explain it.”

  “A mushroom?” Phebe asked, trying to recall which of the four boys Old Ben had brought was Jonah. At least it was easy to pick out Sarah. She’d been the only girl traveling in the wagon with the old miner.

  “That one.” Henry pointed to a cluster of mushrooms growing on a fallen log. “It’s commonly called a jack-o’-lantern because of its color.”

  Phebe looked at the orange plant, which had a green tinge underneath its wide cap. “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a mushroom in that particular color.”

  Henry grinned. “If you’ve only seen mushrooms in the markets in the city, I doubt if you’ve ever seen this one. But Jonah didn’t care about the color as much as the fact he’d seen it light up in the dark.”

  “It does?” Phebe started to move closer when Henry reached out a hand and held her back.

  “It does, but since it isn’t dark, there isn’t any reason to get closer to it.” He inclined his head toward the lake. “If I promise to take a bath, will you promise to at least go for a walk down to the lake after supper?”

  “It will be getting dark by then,” Phebe said, not sure how good an idea that was.

  “We’ll bring a lantern. It will be fine, I promise,” Henry assured her. “I thought all women liked to take romantic walks in the moonlight.”

  Phebe slipped her hand through his arm as they started off through the trees, side by side. “And did you read that in a book as well?”

  Henry patted her hand. “As a matter of fact, I did.”

  Chapter 16

  The next few days passed easily, as everyone at the new orphans’ ranch and school fell into a comfortable routine of construction, classes, and chores. The old mill’s walls had been repaired, and the loft floor reinforced with beams that would be strong enough to hold rows of bookshelves. A place for a sturdy iron stove had been prepared in one corner since Henry had declared it would be a safer way to heat the classroom than the open fireplace.

  With lessons finished for the day, and the sun rapidly making its downward journey toward the horizon, Phebe and Martha were enjoying a cup of coffee while the children played nearby. Both women laughed at the impromptu sword fight going on between Squealer and Jonah.

  The two young boys, who had become fast friends, were dueling it out with long thin branches as Micah and the other boys stood to the side, cheering them on. Phebe glanced across the fire to the cabin, where Henry was overseeing the setup of their new bed.

  Reb had pulled his wagon into the open yard barely an hour before. Phebe had stood and watched, half-embarrassed and half-amused, as Henry made a show of having the new mattress unloaded. He’d also pointed to a trunk that Reb had found waiting at the train station. It was filled with skirts, blouses, and practical boots, courtesy of Caroline and Christa. Finally, Reb had also rolled out a large barrel bursting with wooden toys and cloth dolls, many of which were now spread out on the grass where the children were gathered. Indeed, the wagon had been a virtual treasure trove of items sent from San Francisco, ranging from cookware to a heavy crate of Henry’s books.

  “I’d best help Jake get the supper started.” Martha stood up. She’d been sitting on the ground next to the log Phebe was perched on. “I’m goin’ to make my special cornbread fer Mister Henry tonight as a thankee for having Reb bring back those new britches and shirts fer me.”

  Phebe had been deeply touched at Henry’s thoughtfulness toward Martha. She really did love that man, and had made up her mind to tell him so tonight. Even if he hadn’t said the words yet himself.

  “Miz Phebe?”

  Phebe looked down at Mite, who was tugging on her skirt.

  “Sarah says I don’t have a real name. Not like hers.”

  When the little girl’s bottom lip started to tremble, Phebe reached down and patted her gently on top of her brown curls. “There are all kinds of names, Mite. Sarah is a formal kind of name, and yours is more like a nickname.” Phebe sank to her knees so the two of them would be eye to eye. “Would you like a formal name too? You can have both, if you’d like.”

  Mite nodded, and the threatened tears in her eyes turned to bright sparkles when she smiled.

  Squealer dropped his makeshift sword to the ground and trotted over, a frown on his face. “How do you git one of them formal names?”

  “Those formal names,” Phebe corrected. “Someone picks one out for you.”

  “My ma and pa gave me mine,” Sarah declared as the rest of the children gathered around.

  “I guess Ma picked out a name for me,” Micah said with a shrug. “I don’t remember.”

  Smiling at that, Phebe winked at the boy. “I expect you got your name the day you were b
orn.”

  Jonah stepped up and slung an arm around Squealer’s shoulders. “What if you don’t have a ma or pa anymore to pick out a name for you? Does that mean you can’t have one of them formal names?”

  “Those formal names,” Phebe said again before she stood up. “And it doesn’t have to be your mother or father. The headmistress of the orphanage where I grew up gave me my name.”

  Several little mouths dropped wide open.

  “You grew up in an orphanage?” Micah looked at Phebe as if he expected her to deny it.

  She slowly nodded, her gaze moving from one child to another. “Yes, I did. I went there shortly after I was born, and Madam Wigg gave me my name.”

  “Wig?” Squealer’s nose wrinkled. “You mean like one of them . . . I mean, one of those things that some people wear on their heads?”

  Phebe laughed. “I guess so.”

  Mite tugged on her skirt again. “Can you give me a formal name?”

  “Me too,” Squealer piped in as Jonah nodded.

  “We can pick them out together.” Phebe braced herself against the sudden whoops and hollers, smiling as Sarah and Mite locked hands and began to dance around in a circle.

  “What’s all the commotion about?”

  Phebe looked over her shoulder as Henry came up beside her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. Phebe leaned into her husband as the children raced off to tell Martha what they were planning to do.

  “Squealer and Mite want to pick out formal names for themselves.”

  “Ah.” Henry leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on Phebe’s cheek. “Another excellent idea, Mrs. Frommer.”

  She smiled up at him. “Thank you.”

  “Supper won’t be ready for a while yet,” Henry said as he led his wife away from the celebrating group of children. “Martha mentioned something about cornbread.”

  Phebe stepped away from him and frowned. “I hope you aren’t thinking of trying out that new bed right now, Henry Frommer. The children are still wandering about.”