Ben chuckled. “Probably needs some servicing.”
“Most likely.” Mrs. Heaton tapped a few more keys and then got up from her desk. “Maybe I’ll learn how to do more than hunt and peck, too. Thank you for picking this up for me, Ben, and for getting me a good discount. We’d better get out of here before Rebecca finds out what we’re up to. I need to check on dinner, anyway. We’ll surprise her afterward.”
They had barely made it out of the study before Ben heard Jenny’s voice. “Hurry, Mama. I’m hungry!”
“I’m coming, but we can’t eat until we’re called to dinner, you know.”
“Can’t I go to the kitchen and find out what Gretchen is cooking? Do you think she’ll give me a taste?”
“She might.”
They reached the bottom of the stairs just as Ben and Mrs. Heaton did.
“Come with me, Jenny, and we’ll see how dinner is coming along.” Mrs. Heaton held out her hand.
“May I, Mama?” Jenny smiled up at her mother.
“You may. Aren’t you going to say hello to Mr. Ben, first?”
Jenny waved to him, her smile a little shy. “Hello.”
“Hello, Jenny. Have you had a nice day?” Ben asked.
She nodded. “And I didn’t try to fly down the banister today.”
“That’s good. I’m sure your mama is happy about that.”
The little girl giggled and nodded before turning to her grandmother. “Come on, Granma. Let’s hurry things up.”
“Let’s go.” Mrs. Heaton gave a little wave and they hurried off, leaving Ben and Rebecca in the foyer.
“Sounds as if you had a pretty good day since Jenny didn’t try to repeat yesterday.” Ben grinned at her.
“That child...” Rebecca smiled at him. “Yes, it’s been a nice day. I worked on the assignments you gave me and I think I did all right.”
“I’m sure you did. I’ll check them over this evening, if that works for you?”
“Whenever is convenient for you is fine with me. You’re helping me, remember?”
“I am. But I don’t have a child to take into consideration. If you need to wait until you put her down for the night, I don’t mind. It’ll give us more time anyway. I will be going to the YWCA around seven-thirty to teach for about an hour or so.”
“Oh, that will work out well for me, Ben. By the time you get back, Jenny should be asleep and I’ll be able to concentrate a little better.”
“Good. Where shall we meet?”
“I’ll be in the small parlor.”
She smiled and Ben’s chest tightened. Something about Rebecca had him not only wanting to help her but to get to know her. He told himself it was because she was his landlady’s daughter who’d had a hard time, and if he knew more about her, he’d know how to help her better.
Yes, he’d always had a soft spot for women who raised children by themselves—but he wasn’t totally sure that was all there was to it. Those women didn’t make him feel quite like this...he couldn’t name it, didn’t have any idea what to call it. He only knew he’d never felt quite this way before.
Mrs. Heaton appeared just then, with Jenny in tow, and announced dinner was ready. Other boarders hurried out of the big parlor or down the stairs to the dining room.
Ben held out both arms, thinking Mrs. Heaton would take one and Rebecca would take the other. His landlady did take an arm, but when Rebecca hesitated, Jenny rushed forward and placed her small hand inside the crook of his arm. She smiled up at him and in that moment Ben realized the little girl had claimed a very special place in his heart.
* * *
After putting Jenny to bed, Rebecca checked her hair, pinned up a few stray curls and then gathered her math book and started downstairs as the clock in the foyer chimed the half-hour.
She hurried down the hall and was surprised when both Ben and her mother came out of her study. “Rebecca! We’ve been waiting for you. Please come here for a moment before you and Ben get started on your lessons,” her mother said.
“Of course. What’s happened, Mama?”
“Well, we have a surprise for you.”
“A surprise?” Rebecca looked from her mother to Ben and they both grinned at her. She followed them back inside, where her mother pointed at her desk. In the center of it sat a gleaming black typewriter.
“Mama! You bought one already?” The typewriter was beautiful, big and black with gold lettering proclaiming it an Underwood.
“I did. Ben recommended this brand and said he could get one at a discount for us. It was delivered this afternoon.”
“That was very nice of you, Ben.” Rebecca turned to him. His smile seemed to be contagious and she found herself grinning back at him.
“You’re both very welcome. Now you can start those practice lessons.”
“Speaking of lessons, I’ll let the two of you get to them.”
“Thank you, Mama.” She hugged the mother, who kept showing her, in every way she could, how very happy she was to have her back in her life. “I’m going to learn quickly so we can put it to good use.”
“I’m sure you will, dear.” Her mother hugged her back. “I’ll check on Jenny and send some tea in when I get back down.”
“I’ll probably need a cup,” Rebecca said as her mother left the room.
“Well, are you going to try it out?” Ben asked.
“I suppose I should.” Rebecca sat down at the desk. There was a fresh sheet of paper in the machine and she put her hands on the keys. They were laid out exactly as the picture showed in the manual Ben had given her the night before.
She looked ahead and began to hit the keys in the order of the alphabet as she tried to remember each one’s placement on the keyboard. Once she’d hit what she hoped were all the right keys, she glanced down.
“Oh, no! It appears I’m going to need a lot of practice.”
Ben came up behind her and began to chuckle as he examined the paper.
“I don’t think it’s very funny,” Rebecca said, but she couldn’t help but join in. She’d been wrong on each and every key.
“I have an idea what the problem is. You had your hands on the wrong keys to begin with.”
“What do you mean?”
“Here, let me show you. I’m going to place your hands in the right position.” He stood behind her and leaned over one shoulder.
Rebecca wondered if he heard her quick intake of breath at his nearness. She could smell his aftershave and feel the warmth in his hands as they took hold of hers.
“Keep your thumbs free and place your fingers on the four keys on either side of the g and the h keys.”
“Like this?” Rebecca’s voice sounded breathless to her own ears as she turned to him and found his face so close to hers she saw tiny flecks of gold in his blue eyes, giving them a blue-green tint. Her heart began to beat erratically and she quickly returned her attention to the keyboard.
“Exactly like that.” Ben cleared his throat and backed away.
Rebecca could tell because some of the warmth that had been surrounding her suddenly disappeared.
“Now try again,” Ben said. “But be sure to keep your fingers on those keys when you aren’t using them.”
Rebecca took a deep breath and began to tap out each letter as she had before, only a little slower than before. She smiled when she finished. This time, she’d only missed a few letters.
“Very good,” Ben said. “You’ll get better with practice. Did you bring your math with you?”
“I did. It’s right here.” She picked up the book and the notebook she’d done her problems in from the corner of the desk and handed them to him.
“I’ll check them over while you practice and then we’ll go over your problems together.”
&nb
sp; “All right.” Rebecca was happy trying again. Learning to master this machine had quickly become a goal and she wouldn’t settle until she had accomplished that.
She began again, trying to keep from looking over at Ben sitting in one of the chairs flanking the fireplace. It wasn’t easy to do and her next set of letters showed she’d better get her mind off the man and on to concentrating on typing. This time she looked at the fire in the grate and not Ben. And she had only two mistakes.
She smiled and tried again. And again. After about three more tries she looked over to see if Ben was still going over her math, only to find him looking at her with a smile on his face. When she thought to smile back, she realized she already was.
“You must’ve done very well, you look quite pleased with yourself,” Ben said as he got up and came over to inspect her typing.
Gretchen came in with a pot of tea for her and Ben and several cookies. “Your timing is great, Gretchen. Rebecca just finished her practice and I must say she deserves a treat. She’s had a great practice run.”
Gretchen chuckled. “That’s good. Mrs. Heaton said you might be ready for some refreshment about now.” She set the tray down, poured two cups, handed them out and made her exit.
Rebecca reached for a cookie, took her tea and went to sit in one of the chairs flanking the fireplace. Ben followed with a cookie and his cup and returned to the seat he’d vacated.
“You really did great. What did you do? Memorize the keys?”
“I worked at it today.” Rebecca sipped her tea.
“Your memory must be excellent.”
“What makes you think so?”
“You remembered your high school math quite well, too. You’re a very intelligent woman, Rebecca. You’ll have no problems at all with your courses.”
Rebecca flushed at his compliment. “Thank you. I always liked school—but I was impatient to graduate and be an adult.”
“That’s the way a lot of us were.”
“Yes, and I thought I was ready for what the world held. I had a lot of lessons to learn.” She caught her breath at her own words. What was she doing talking to him like this? She didn’t share those kinds of thoughts with anyone.
“Some lessons are difficult for us.”
She wanted to ask if he’d had to learn anything the hard way, but that would be much too nosy. She only nodded and changed the subject instead. “Do you have new assignments for me?”
“I do.” He handed her a sheet of paper. “I’ll check this tomorrow and see what progress you’re making on your typing.” He gave her a booklet. “Work on your letters tomorrow and then when you think you’re ready, this will get you started on the first real typing lesson, sentences and all. I think you’ll be ready to start your math classes at the Y next week.”
“So soon?” Rebecca asked. “Oh, I’m not sure, I—”
“You’ll do fine, I’m sure of it. You can keep doing your typing here. You’ll get more practice in working from home. As for your math, maybe next term, you might consider taking a more advanced business accounting class at the Y.”
“I—if you think I’ll be ready.”
“I do.” Ben said.
They both seemed to finish their tea and cookies at the same time. Ben stood and stretched. “I guess I’ll look in and see what’s going on in the front parlor. Are you coming in?”
She shook her head and placed their cups on the tray. “No. I’m going to take these to the kitchen and call it a day. Good night, Ben, and thank you for all your help.”
“You’re very welcome. Good night, Rebecca.”
She put her lesson books under one arm and took the tray to the kitchen, where Gretchen was kneading dough for sweet rolls the next morning.
Rebecca went down the hall to the foyer. In the front parlor, Julia was playing the piano while the others sang along. Rebecca headed up the stairs. For a moment she thought of going back and joining them. The few times she had, she’d enjoyed singing with everyone.
But she was tired. Jenny had been active all day, talking of little else than how Ben had caught her from flying off the banister the day before. Rebecca had no doubt Benjamin Roth had become her daughter’s hero in that instant.
Truth be told, he might have become Rebecca’s, too—if she didn’t know all too well how quickly a hero could turn into a villain. Sadness welled up inside. She prayed her daughter never had to learn that lesson.
Chapter Three
Over the next few days Rebecca’s typing improved greatly and by the weekend her papers showed few mistakes but little speed.
“You will get faster, I promise,” Ben said as they waited to be called to dinner on Friday. “That’s what all the practice is about. You haven’t been at it even a week yet. Give yourself a break. You’re doing really well with your math assignments.”
“Thank you. You’re right. I suppose I am being impatient. I’m taking a break tonight. I promised Jenny I’d take her over to Michael and Violet’s to see baby Marcus.”
“That’s a good idea. It will do you both good to get out. I’ll be glad to escort you over and come and get you.”
“Thank you. I’ll accept your offer.” She lowered her voice. “I’m not used to living under my mother’s rules again, but I understand why she put them in place and I certainly can’t go against them now I’m making my home here.”
Mrs. Heaton had a hard-and-fast rule that young women living at Heaton House did not go out and about alone after dark. They had to be in a group or one of the male boarders had to escort them. “I’m sure she appreciates your attitude.”
“It’s the least I can do. Besides, I wouldn’t put Mama through that kind of worry again.”
Ben wanted to ask more, to know what exactly she’d done that she felt so bad about. Oh, he knew she’d left home and never gone back until Kathleen and Luke had found her last year. And he’d worked with many young women living on their own. Their stories were sad, most regretted whatever they had done that had brought them to the place they were—having to learn a skill to provide for themselves and their child, or in the case of some, their children.
But they volunteered the information on their own, and Rebecca’s past wasn’t something he thought he should ask about no matter how badly he wanted to. It was none of his business and he didn’t want to bring her more pain by having to dredge up what she’d been through. In the meantime, he sensed she needed a friend and he could be that for her. “What time do you want to leave?”
“Soon as we finish dinner. Violet said she wouldn’t put little Marcus down until about eight-thirty, so we won’t be there long. I hate for you to take us, come back, and then have to turn around and come get us, though. Why don’t you stay and visit, too?”
“I will. I haven’t visited with them in a while.”
* * *
Mrs. Heaton called everyone to dinner and once they were all seated, she asked Ben to say the blessing.
As always, dinner was very good and tonight the conversation centered on the building Matt was working on. It was one of the tallest in the city and his tales of working his way into the sky kept the interest of everyone at the table.
“I can’t imagine working up so high.” Rebecca waved her hand toward the ceiling.
Millicent dipped her spoon into her soup. “Neither can I. I’d love to get photographs from up there, but I—” She broke off and shivered.
“I’d sure like to see the city from up high.” Ben turned to Matt. “It must be some view.”
“It’s something, that’s for sure.” Matt nodded. “I think that’s why I love working on these buildings. The view is breathtaking.”
“If you don’t fall off the scaffolding!” Millicent said.
“Believe me, I don’t intend to.”
The subject of heights and the danger of Matt’s profession always seemed to be a sore spot between the two, and Ben often wondered if they had feelings for each other.
Once dinner was finished, Rebecca turned to Jenny. “Run up and wash your hands, so we can go visit Aunt Violet and Uncle Michael, and baby Marcus, of course. We need to get going.”
“I’ll hurry, Mama,” Jenny said, slipping out of her chair and running out of the room.
Rebecca turned to her mother. “Ben has offered to escort us there and back, Mama.”
“How nice of you, Ben,” her mother said, giving him a smile before turning back to her daughter. “The outing will be good for you, dear. Cuddle baby Marcus for me.”
“I will. I’d better go freshen up a bit myself. We’ll be back down in a few minutes, Ben.”
“I’ll be here.”
Once they left the room, Mrs. Heaton turned to Ben. “Thank you for offering to escort them, Ben. Rebecca has been on her own for a long time, having to do things by herself. But I do so appreciate her trying to live by the rules I’ve set for the other women at Heaton House.”
“You’re welcome. And I’m sure Rebecca wouldn’t want to undermine your rules for the others.”
“No. She wouldn’t.” Mrs. Heaton nodded. “I do hope she’ll start joining you all on your outings and leave Jenny with me before too long. Rebecca needs to have a little fun in her life.”
“I’m sure we’ll be able to talk her into some outings, Mrs. Heaton. We’ll do our best.” He certainly would.
“Thank you, Ben. I think being around you all is exactly what my daughter needs right now.”
She didn’t elaborate and Ben didn’t press.
“We’re here!” Jenny bounded back into the dining room. “Are you ready, Mr. Ben?”
Ben jumped up and grinned at the child. “I am, Miss Jenny. But where’s your mama? Isn’t she going with us?”
Jenny giggled. “Of course she is, but she’s not as fast as I am.”
“She’s right, I’m not.” Rebecca said, entering the room. “I must be getting old.”
“You’re not old, Mama,” Jenny said. “Even Granma isn’t old yet.”
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