Looking To The Future (#11 in the Bregdan Chronicles Historical Fiction Romance Series)

by Ginny Dye

  Carrie smiled as the memories swarmed her mind. “You and I were always so different about education.”

  Rose cocked her head and looked thoughtful. “What would have made it better for you?”

  “Arithmetic?” Carrie asked. “Letting me handle the books for the stables,” she said promptly. “If I could have seen a practical application for what I was learning, I believe I would have seen it as more than just a waste of my valuable time.”

  Rose stared at her for a long moment. “So, I should tell Frances that if she does well in her arithmetic, she can help Susan with the books?”

  “Yes. Frances is smart, but she’s not like you and Felicia. She doesn’t care about learning just for the joy of learning. She will want to learn when she discovers there is a reason for learning.” Carrie continued to think. “I learned my lessons because if I didn’t, my mother wouldn’t let me ride, but I didn’t learn to love knowledge. It wasn’t until I started medical school that I loved learning because every single thing I learned meant I could help someone. I couldn’t learn things fast enough then. Frances has a lot of catching up to do since her parents never had her in school, but she’s working hard.”

  Rose grinned, her eyes bright with excitement. “Thank you!”

  Carrie stared at her. “Thank you? For what?”

  “For showing me how important it is to teach different students in different ways. You’ve given me a lot to think about.”

  Carrie shrugged. “You’re already an amazing teacher, Rose.”

  “Yes,” Rose agreed, “but it’s when I think I know it all and quit learning that I’ll quit being an amazing teacher.”

  “I’m happy to let my daughter challenge you,” Carrie said with a smirk. “I suspect she’ll be good at that for the rest of her life.”

  “Like mother, like daughter,” Rose agreed.

  Carrie laughed, and then looked back as a carriage rattled up behind them. “Anthony!” she called. Then she froze. Where was her father? They were supposed to be together. As the carriage drew closer, she saw the strained expression on Anthony’s face.

  “Carrie!” Anthony called, relief evident in his eyes. “Your father is ill!”

  Carrie and Granite covered the remaining yards to the carriage in seconds. She gasped when she looked down at her father, lying prostrate on the seat. His eyes were barely open, and she could see he was feverish. “What happened to him?” she asked, alarmed by his battered face. “Were you attacked on the way here?”

  “No,” Anthony assured her. “I’ll tell you the whole story, but we have to get him inside. He seemed to be fine when we started from Richmond, but then he started feeling very badly about an hour ago.”

  Carrie’s thoughts whirled as she tried to decide whether they should go home or return to the clinic. “Tell me what happened,” she commanded. “I need more information!”

  Anthony hesitated, and then told her quickly about the attack on the factory.

  “He was shot? Two days ago? And he’s in this carriage?” She stared at Anthony in disbelief. She would have to process the information about the factory later. Right now, she had to focus on her father.

  “I know. I tried to talk him into not coming, but he wouldn’t listen. He just said he would be better on the plantation, and that you would take care of him.”

  “Stubborn fool,” Carrie said with a sigh. She couldn’t be angry, though, because she would have done the same thing. She looked at Rose. “Go back to the plantation and get Abby and Polly,” she ordered. “I’m taking Father back to the clinic. If his leg has gotten infected I’ll need my supplies there to help him.” She didn’t mention her fear that the doctor who treated him hadn’t gotten all the bullet fragments. “I’m going ahead to get things ready,” she told Anthony, feeling a surge of compassion for him. “He’ll be okay,” she whispered.

  Then she turned and galloped back in the direction she had come, praying she hadn’t just told a lie.

  *****

  Carrie was exhausted when she walked out into the clinic waiting room, vaguely registering that it was now dark outside.

  Abby sprang to her feet, and Anthony spun away from the window. “How is he?” Abby asked, her voice strained and shaken.

  Carrie smiled in an attempt to alleviate her fears. “Father is going to be all right,” she said firmly, “but I’m not moving him from the clinic for a couple of days. I’m sure the doctor who treated him at the hospital did the best he could, but he didn’t get all the bullet fragments out of his leg. Infection set in before he and Anthony could make it here.”

  She gazed at Anthony sympathetically. “You couldn’t have known,” Carrie assured him, “and neither could Father. If the wound had been clean, the trip out here would have been grueling, but he would have been fine.”

  “And now?” Abby asked anxiously.

  “He’s still going to be fine,” Carrie said soothingly. “It’s just going to take a little longer.”

  Abby stared at her. “I want the whole truth, Carrie. Don’t hide anything.”

  “I wouldn’t dare,” Carrie replied with a smile. “I truly believe he’s going to be fine, but it will take a couple of days for his fever to come down. I won’t move him from the clinic until that has happened.”

  “I’m staying here with him,” Abby declared.

  “Polly is making up the extra bed for you now. I knew you wouldn’t leave him,” Carrie replied. “I’ll be sleeping in the other room so I can keep an eye on him, but I don’t expect any more problems. He just needs time to heal.” She met Abby’s eyes squarely, relieved when she saw Abby begin to relax.

  “Can I go in now?” Abby asked.

  “Yes. I don’t expect he’ll regain consciousness for a few hours or more. He’ll be happy to have you there when he wakes up.”

  Abby rushed forward to engulf her in a hug. “Thank you,” she whispered, and then hurried into the room.

  Only then did Carrie turn to Anthony. She smiled when he opened his arms, and walked straight into them, sighing with pleasure when they wrapped around her.

  “You’re really something, Dr. Borden,” Anthony murmured.

  Carrie rested her head on his solid chest for several minutes before pushing back to look into his face. “And so are you, Anthony Wallington. Father was conscious for a few minutes before I performed the surgery. He told me you carried him out of the burning factory.” Her throat clogged with tears. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “I wasn’t the only one,” Anthony said modestly.

  “Eddie told my father the truth,” Carrie replied. “That you ran all the way from the house. That you got there firs,t and burst into the factory through the flames to get to him.”

  “I love your father,” Anthony replied. He tilted her chin up. “And I love you, Carrie.”

  “I love you, too,” Carrie said with a sigh, burying her head back into his chest. She had been terrified by the image of her father’s waxen face staring at her from the carriage. His leg had already been angry with infection when she got him to the clinic. She had fought fear of him dying while she had worked to save him. The dual battle had exhausted her.

  Carrie looked around. “Where is Rose?”

  “She returned to the house to get food. She should be back any minute.”

  The mention of food made Carrie realize she was starving. “Good!”

  “And he’ll really be all right?” Anthony pressed.

  “I promise,” Carrie replied, grateful beyond words that she was certain this time.

  *****

  Abby was watching Thomas when his eyes blinked open. “Welcome back,” she said softly.

  Thomas turned his head toward her, blinking several more times. “Abby?” he asked hoarsely.

  “Yes, my dear.” Abby lifted a glass of water to his chapped lips. “Drink this. It will help.”

  Thomas sipped the liquid, and then made a face. “What’s in that?”

  Abby smiled. “Some of
Carrie’s magical remedies,” she said lightly. “She warned me you wouldn’t like the taste, but she said to show you no mercy.”

  Thomas managed a chuckle. “That sounds like my daughter.”

  “Who also just happened to save your life,” Abby informed him. She knew Thomas couldn’t have known there were still bullet fragments in his leg when he decided to ride out to the plantation, but she still wasn’t over her terror.

  “I’m sorry,” Thomas said. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

  Abby sighed. “I know, Thomas. The only thing that’s important now is that you’re going to be just fine. You have to stay here in the clinic because Dr. Borden refuses to release you, but you’ll be home in our bed soon.”

  Thomas held her eyes. “There is nothing more I want in the world besides that,” he said.

  Abby closed her eyes for a moment, feeling the truth of the statement engulf her. They were both home on the plantation, right where they wanted to be.

  “We need to talk about the factory,” Thomas said groggily.

  “Not now,” Abby replied. “It can wait.”

  “I want to,” Thomas insisted.

  Abby eyed him. “Only if you drink the rest of Carrie’s magic remedy.”

  Thomas reached for it. “Give it to me,” he grunted.

  Abby watched to make sure he drained every drop before taking the glass back. “You may talk now.”

  Thomas stared at her for several moments before he spoke, pain etched into his face. “The factory is gone, Abby.”

  “I know,” Abby replied. “Anthony told me what happened.”

  “I don’t believe it makes sense to rebuild,” Thomas said slowly, watching for her reaction.

  The long night had given Abby plenty of time to think. “I quite agree with you, my dear. I regret so many people losing their jobs, but we’ve done our part. It’s time for us to be finished. We’ve already talked about this. We weren’t planning on the fire, but what’s done is done.”

  “Do you really mean that?”

  “With all my heart,” Abby said firmly. “We have our fire insurance to recoup a large part of the loss, but I believe that part of our life is over.”

  Thomas continued to watch her. “You’ve been on the plantation for two weeks. Do you really think you can be happy here?”

  Abby laughed lightly. “I’ve never been happier,” she assured him. “The only thing it will take to make it perfect is for you to be here with me all the time.”

  “I believe you mean that,” Thomas said with relief.

  “Completely,” Abby assured him. “I love every minute I spend with Carrie, and Frances is a complete joy. Annie taught me how to make strawberry pie yesterday, and I went riding into the tobacco fields on my own a few days ago. I’m becoming quite good friends with many of the plantation workers. I’m discovering I quite enjoy being the plantation matriarch,” she said with a grin.

  Thomas laughed, and then grimaced.

  “Enough talk, my dear. Carrie warned me you would try to overdo it.” She laid a hand on his forehead. “Your fever is better, but it’s not gone. I’m not saying another word until you have had some more sleep.” She smiled. “When you wake up, there will be some more special water for you.”

  “Joy,” Thomas muttered, and then closed his eyes. Moments later he was sound asleep, his features relaxed, and his breathing even.

  Abby leaned over to kiss him, and then laid down on her cot. Thomas would sleep for several hours. She breathed a prayer of gratitude before she drifted into a deep slumber.

  *****

  Carrie was waiting in the kitchen when Frances came barreling downstairs the next morning, Felicia on her heels.

  “How is Opa?” Frances demanded. “Miss Rose wouldn’t tell us hardly anything last night because she didn’t know much. She said he was going to be all right, but I couldn’t sleep all night.”

  “Me either,” Felicia proclaimed, her eyes wide with distress. “How is Thomas?”

  Carrie smiled. She loved hearing Frances call her father Opa. Abby had assured the little girl that he would love it. She also knew how much Felicia loved her father. He had taken a special interest in her from the day she arrived, wide-eyed and frightened, from Memphis.

  “I promise you he is going to be fine,” she said. “That’s why I came back to the house this morning. I knew you would be worried.”

  “What happened to him?” Felicia asked.

  Carrie sighed. She was not eager to explain this part of it, but she was determined to get it out of the way before her father came back to the house. She didn’t want the two girls pestering him with questions. She opened her mouth to begin, but was interrupted by the door swinging open.

  “Mr. Anthony!” Felicia cried. She jumped up to give him a hug.

  Carrie smiled at him warmly, and then turned to Frances, who was watching with wide eyes. “Frances, I would like you to meet Anthony Wallington.”

  Anthony smiled and walked over to take one of Frances’ hands. “Hello, Frances. You’re as beautiful as Carrie told me you were. I’m so glad you’re here. You’ve made Carrie a very happy woman.”

  Carrie bit back a smile as she watched her strong-willed daughter melt beneath Anthony’s charm. Rose had been right; like mother, like daughter.

  “Hello, Mr. Anthony,” Frances said shyly, gazing up at him. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

  “Now that Mr. Anthony is here, will you tell us what happened to Thomas?” Felicia pressed.

  Carrie nodded and took a deep breath. She had debated all night how much to tell them, ultimately deciding the truth was the best thing. Attempting to shelter them from the realities of life would do nothing to help them prepare for living with them. “The manager at Cromwell Factory was a bad man,” she began. “He was not who everybody thought he was.”

  Felicia nodded wisely. “Like the policemen in Memphis who murdered my parents.”

  “Yes,” Carrie agreed solemnly. “He talked some of the workers into setting fire to the factory.”

  “Why would they do that?” Frances asked with astonishment. “Weren’t they burning the place they work?”

  Carrie nodded. “They were,” she agreed. “People don’t always think through the consequences of their actions,” she said sadly.

  “But how did Thomas get hurt?” Felicia asked. Then she gasped. “Was he at the factory?”

  Carrie exchanged a look with Anthony. “He was,” she confirmed. “He was there much later than usual, so no one expected him to be there. He had a fight with his manager.” She took another deep breath. “He was shot.”

  “Shot?” Frances echoed, her eyes filled with horror.

  “Shot?” Felicia cried angrily.

  Carrie understood when Felicia’s anger faded quickly, only to be replaced by fear. Felicia would never forget watching both her parents be gunned down. “He’s going to be fine, Felicia. I promise.” She waited until the fear began to fade from the young girl’s eyes before she continued. “We all have Anthony to thank for saving his life.”

  Both of the girls spun to face Anthony.

  “You saved Opa?” Frances cried. “Thank you!”

  Felicia rushed forward to give him another hug. “Thank you, Mr. Anthony.”

  “I had help,” Anthony replied modestly. “But, you’re welcome.”

  Frances looked back to Carrie with a question in her eyes.

  “Anthony saved him,” Carrie repeated firmly. “He was the only one who knew Father was in the factory. He ran all the way from Father’s house, and then raced into the burning building to pull him out. He carried him out of the factory, and went to the hospital with him.” Her heart swelled with gratitude once again as she envisioned the scene.

  Frances eyed Anthony for a few moments, and then rushed forward to wrap her arms around him. “Thank you, Mr. Anthony,” she murmured. “I hardly know my Opa at all. If you hadn’t saved him, I wouldn’t get to know him better.”

 
; Anthony returned the embrace, his eyes latched on Carrie.

  Carrie knew from the expression on his face that he was already falling in love with Frances. She wasn’t surprised, but the knowledge did something odd to her heart.

  *****

  Thomas was sitting up in bed when Carrie arrived at the clinic after breakfast with a basket full of ham biscuits and preserves. Abby had already made coffee.

  “Well, look at you,” Carrie said cheerfully, putting down the basket and placing a hand on his forehead. “Your fever isn’t gone quite yet, but it’s better than I expected.”

  “My fever doesn’t stand a chance against whatever is in the water Abby keeps making me drink,” Thomas complained. “I sure could use a cup of coffee.” He eyed the pot simmering on the stove hopefully.

  “You’re talking to the wrong person for pity,” Carrie retorted. “If you hadn’t been so set on being here on the plantation, and had stayed in the hospital an extra day as recommended, you wouldn’t have gotten so sick.”

  Thomas sobered, but shook his head. “I disagree. Abby told me you had to perform another surgery on me. I believe I fared far better right here than I would have in Richmond.” His eyes glowed with love as he looked at her. “Thank you, Dr. Borden.”

  Carrie leaned over to hug him. “I would appreciate it if you never scare me like that again,” she scolded.

  Thomas chuckled. “So says the young woman who has made me old before my time with some of the decisions you have made.”

  Carrie couldn’t help laughing. “You may have a point,” she conceded. “The important thing is that you are going to be fine.” She looked toward the waiting room. “Do you feel like a little company? I won’t let them stay long, but you have two young ladies who will probably not give me any peace until they have seen with their own eyes that you’re going to be all right. I also pity Rose and Lillian if I send the girls on to school without their getting proof.”