Читать книгу For The Sake Of The Children - Danica Favorite - Страница 13

Chapter Four

Rose cradled Matthew against her as she helped Milly finish dressing.

“Won’t it be nice to see your grandparents again?” Motioning for the little girl to turn around, she tied the sash at the back of Milly’s new pink dress into a pretty bow.

No one could fault Rose for having a poorly dressed child in her charge, but as Rose gave Milly a final once-over, she made sure that every detail was as it should be. Most days, Milly’s appearance wasn’t so tidy, not after playing in the yard and spending time with the children from the church. But tonight, with the Garretts coming to dinner, she wanted Milly to look her best.

“There now, aren’t you as pretty as a princess?” Rose smiled at Milly, who scowled.

“I pway wif da kids.”

Rose stood and held out her hand for Milly. “Tomorrow. Emma Jane has promised to bring over Moses and baby David, and if Mary is feeling up to it, she’s coming over with Nugget.”

“I yike Nugget.” Milly’s eyes shone. “And Moses. Him’s baby yike Ma-few, but him’s more fun. I teach him to walk.”

Rose couldn’t help the warmth that filled her as Milly continued chattering about the many attributes of Moses Jackson. Barely a year old, Moses was still very much a baby, but he could keep a two-year-old better entertained than little Matthew. Emma Jane had privately teased Rose that perhaps Moses and Milly would end up married. Wouldn’t that be something to tell the Garretts? The supposed impossibility of finding Milly a decent husband under Rose’s care had already been solved.

Rose smiled again. But of course, both women had agreed that the children should be free to choose their own spouses. Emma Jane had been forced to marry Jasper, her husband, to prevent scandal, and though the couple was now deeply in love, the Jacksons had already promised that their children could marry whomever they wanted.

Which was why, as Rose looked down at the little boy sleeping in her arms, she felt no unhappiness at her unmarried state. Several men had offered, with there being so few unmarried women in Leadville who weren’t occupied in the world’s oldest profession, but Rose couldn’t see herself saddled to a man who merely wanted a wife. Men up here were lonely and desperate, and she wasn’t lonely or desperate enough to take advantage of that fact.

Even Silas’s proposal hadn’t been tempting. Not when she’d seen the deep love shared by the couples among her close friends and family. Perhaps it was wishful thinking to hope that Rose could someday have it for herself, especially with all the mistakes she’d made. But having made those mistakes, Rose was no longer willing to settle for anything less than an honorable man who loved her with his whole heart and would love and court her the proper way.

“Come, now,” Rose said, holding out her hand to Milly. “Let’s go downstairs to wait for your grandparents.”

Milly took her hand, and they made their way downstairs, Milly skipping as best a two-year-old could. She’d seen the older children at the mission and had begun mimicking their actions. The somber little girl who’d come into their household now seemed to radiate joy.

As they reached the bottom step, Milly caught sight of Silas and ran toward him. “Papa!”

He picked her up and swung her in his arms, then held her tight as he kissed the top of her head. Though she’d watched this scene play out between them at least once a day, it still never failed to melt Rose’s heart.

How could anyone think that not having Milly with her father was the best thing?

A noise came from the parlor, and Rose turned to see the Garretts standing there, with matching sour expressions covering their faces.

“Such a ruckus,” Mrs. Garrett said. “Surely you don’t let her run so wild all the time.”

“Ah, but what is a home without laughter?” Uncle Frank gave a pleasant smile as Silas stiffened.

Rose hated seeing the expression on Silas’s face. He’d said that they constantly criticized them, but until now, she’d wondered if he’d been exaggerating. Their comments about Milly running wild made it clear that, if anything, Silas had been generous in his descriptions of life with the Garretts.

He set Milly down. “Say hello to your grandparents, Milly.”

The smile disappeared from Milly’s face, then she turned and ran to Rose, burying herself in Rose’s skirts.

“I’m sorry,” Rose said, patting Milly’s head. “She’s usually not so shy. I can’t imagine what’s gotten into her.”

“He’s already poisoned her against us.” Rose recoiled at Mrs. Garrett’s harsh tone.

“I’m sure that’s not it at all,” Rose said as she knelt in front of Milly.

Focusing her attention on Milly, she said softly, “What’s wrong, my sweet? Your grandparents are here. You want to have a nice visit, don’t you?”

Tears filled Milly’s eyes. “I want to pway.”

Rose hugged Milly close, careful not to disturb Matthew in her arms. So far, he’d been quietly watching everything around him, but she wasn’t going to risk making him fuss. “Tomorrow.”

Then she smiled at the Garretts. “She’s sad because the Jacksons invited us to stay for supper, and we obviously couldn’t. She adores little Moses Jackson, so it’s disappointing for her not to get to stay and play.”

“Do you dine with the Jacksons regularly?” Mrs. Garrett’s question reflected her snobbery, as though she didn’t believe the close friendship Rose had mentioned.

Uncle Frank laughed. “Sometimes I don’t know who is eating where. Our families have become so close that it seems like either one of us is at the Jackson mansion, or one of them is over here.”

Then he turned to Silas. “Which reminds me. Henry gave me some papers for you to look over for Joseph. Don’t let me forget.”

With another chuckle, he brought his attention back to the Garretts. “My apologies for bringing up work during a social call. With Joseph out of town, Silas is handling a good deal of the mining business on his behalf. We’ve been very impressed with Silas’s skills. I’m sure you’re pleased with how well he’ll be able to provide for Milly.”

Rose was fairly certain Silas already knew about the papers Emma Jane’s father-in-law had asked Uncle Frank to deliver, but it gave him the opening to subtly let the Garretts know that one of their main arguments against Silas raising Milly had been defeated. However, the scowls they wore said they wouldn’t be giving up so easily.

“Yes, but at what cost?” Mrs. Garrett said, her voice sounding deceptively pleasant. “Millicent, come, let me take a look at you.”

Carefully balancing Matthew, Rose gave Milly a tiny push in her grandmother’s direction. “Go on now, give her a nice big hug.”

Milly obediently walked forward, holding out her arms, but Mrs. Garrett turned aside. “You may kiss me on the cheek.”

Rose’s heart hurt as Milly did as she was bidden. All the joy that she’d gotten used to seeing in the little girl’s eyes seemed to have disappeared. Rose would admit that her dislike of Annie Garrett had largely been because of Silas, but even before that, she’d always thought Annie cold and unfeeling. Now, though, watching Milly methodically kiss her grandparents on the cheek with no warmth and no hugs, Rose felt a little more sympathy toward the other woman. Perhaps the unfriendliness Rose had always sensed was more about Annie’s discomfort than about her disdain for others.

For all the things Rose could find fault with in how she was raised, the one thing she was most grateful for was how, at least until her mother became ill, their home was filled with laughter, hugs and affection. And now that they were here in Leadville, that love had seemed to grow stronger as their family grew. Part of why she didn’t regret not having a father for Matthew was that between her brother, Uncle Frank, and all the other men they considered family there was always a man in the house holding his arms out to her boy.

For Milly, a little girl who’d lost her mother, there were half a dozen women with warm laps and plenty of room to cuddle her.

But somehow, Rose knew that these arguments were not likely to sway the Garretts. Rather, they would find fault in the generous hearts Rose was grateful to call family. Some were her blood, but others were friends they loved as such, and she knew she could count on them all, no matter what. She pressed a kiss to the top of Matthew’s head. After all, without them, there was no way she’d have been able to raise her son and walk through town with her head held high.

Maddie entered the room, an expression of long-suffering firmly planted on her face. “Supper is ready.”

* * *

Silas held out his hand for Milly. “Come now, let’s eat.”

At least the Garretts were prepared for this break in their tradition since Frank had already explained to them that they ate as a family.

As they were seated at the table, Mrs. Garrett paused, looking pointedly at Maddie. “You let the help eat with you?”

“Maddie is the housekeeper, yes, but we also consider her family,” Frank said calmly, taking his seat.

“And the baby?” Mrs. Garrett looked over at Rose.

“Of course.” Frank held out his arms for Rose to give him the baby. “We take turns holding him, so Rose has a chance to enjoy her food. As I mentioned this afternoon, this is important family time, and we take it very seriously. Now, let’s bless the meal so we can enjoy Maddie’s fine cooking.”

Silas bit back a grin at the expression on Mrs. Garrett’s face. She looked like she’d just been told they were going to eat live toads. And for her, the struggle of sharing a table with people she considered beneath her was probably just as real.

Frank gave the blessing, and it warmed Silas’s heart to hear Milly’s emphatic, “Amen!” at the end. She loved to “pway” as she called it, and the way she used the same word for praying and playing made Silas smile every time. In the few short weeks they’d been here, Milly had grown to love the Lord in a way he hadn’t experienced until adulthood.

The Garretts, of course, did not look impressed at Milly’s cheerful ending to the prayer. They didn’t see what a gift it was for her to so joyfully live out her faith. All they cared about was her obedience. He’d asked Annie about it once, how she saw her faith, and her answer had made him wonder if she knew Jesus at all.

He looked over at Rose, who was patiently cutting Milly’s chicken for her. It wasn’t fair to compare the two women, but he couldn’t help wonder if Milly would know the Lord as deeply without Rose’s influence. Rose’s daily reliance on the Lord inspired him in ways he hadn’t expected. He’d been crazy to think that they could so easily pick up where they’d left off in Ohio. Especially now that he knew there was so much more to Rose than he’d ever thought.

“Now, tell us, Mr. and Mrs. Garrett, how are you enjoying our fine city? Have you had time to take in any of our exciting entertainments?” Frank smiled at them before stabbing a piece of meat.

“I can’t imagine there’d be anything we’d find amusing in this lawless place,” Mrs. Garrett declared, frowning at her plate. “Gunshots at all hours, drunkards in the streets—why, even at your supposedly finest hotel, the Rafferty, do you know that there was a woman of the night right in the front lobby?”

Mr. Garrett patted his wife’s hand. “There, now, it will be all right. We shan’t be here long, just long enough to convince Silas of his folly in bringing our precious girl to this horrible place.”

And there it was. Another reminder that as reasonable as the Garretts tried to sound, underneath, the only thing that would satisfy them would be to get their own way. Which meant taking Milly back to Ohio with them.

“I’m sorry to hear you have such a poor impression of our fine city,” Frank said, patting his lips with a napkin. “The Tabor Opera House is famous for its entertainments. I can’t say that I ever saw finer productions, even when we were living on the East Coast.”

Then he turned to Rose. “And your involvement with the women’s charities. I understand you have a good number of teas, socials and even balls, do you not?”

Rose smiled. “Indeed we do. Mrs. Garrett, I think you’d be pleasantly surprised at how similar our society is to what you’re used to back in Ohio. In fact, I daresay you’ll find things here to be even more advanced in some ways. Some of the homes are getting electricity, and you may have heard of Alexander Graham Bell’s fantastic invention, the telephone. The Jacksons, of whom you’ve heard us speak, recently installed one themselves.”

Then she turned to Silas, shaking her head. “And don’t you go encouraging Joseph about getting one. I heard you and Jasper conspiring, but Emma Jane says it’s an awful nuisance, ringing at all hours.”

Silas couldn’t help his grin. Jasper had told him that both his mother and Emma Jane objected to the device, but he could see where it would be quite useful communicating with the mine without having to go back and forth continually. The mine was nearly an hour’s ride away, and that was just for a man on horseback. With a wagon or buggy, it took even longer.

“A telephone, you say.” Mr. Garrett’s eyes twinkled. “I was just reading about it on the train ride here. I noticed many homes have gaslights, and I will admit that the bathing rooms at the Rafferty are the finest I’ve ever seen.”

“But the lawlessness!” Mrs. Garrett set her fork down. Not that she appeared to have taken a bite. She’d spent the entire conversation disdainfully pushing around her food with her fork.

Frank gave a wry smile. “I will admit that there is still much work to be done in that area. But the numbers in our church are growing, and our Mary is married to the finest deputy I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing. I’m confident that soon, you won’t find a safer place to live than Leadville.”

Mrs. Garrett gave a snort. Whether it was out of genuine disbelief at the state of the town, or a refusal to consider that Leadville wasn’t as bad as she wanted to believe, he didn’t know, but it was a good reminder that she would be ill-inclined to see anything positive when it meant not getting her own way.

The conversation came to a lull, with the only sound the clinking of forks and knives on plates. Maddie had outdone herself, high praise considering her meals were always delicious. The tender chicken hardly needed a knife to cut it, and the flaky biscuits melted in Silas’s mouth.

The front door opened, and Evelyn, Rose’s younger sister, entered, followed by the rest of the Stone children, Helen, Daniel, Bess and Nugget.

Evelyn paused when she noticed the family at dinner. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you had company.”

“It’s all right, Evelyn, come in.” Frank gave a welcoming smile. “What brings you all here?”

“Could I speak with Maddie in the kitchen, please?” Evelyn said, twisting her hands as she spoke.

Nugget pushed in front of her. “Mary’s baby is coming!”

“Nugget!” Milly jumped out of her seat and ran toward the other girl, wrapping her arms around her. “You come to pway wif me?”

Milly’s words seemed to be all the encouragement the rest of the Stone children needed to incite chaos in the otherwise calm dining room. Everyone began talking at once, and when Silas glanced over at Mrs. Garrett, her face was turning redder than the cherries in the pie Maddie had waiting on the sideboard.