Читать книгу Instant Frontier Family - Regina Scott - Страница 12

Chapter Four

Maddie sat at the table, watching Michael, Ciara and Aiden tuck into the ham steaks, fricasseed potatoes and biscuits she’d prepared. She’d wanted to do more, but she’d barely finished her work in the bakery before changing to go meet them. Still, by the pace they lifted their forks, they were running a race and expected the loser to face a firing squad.

“Were they so stingy with the meals aboard ship?” she asked, fingers toying with a biscuit.

Aiden wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “It was terrible! They only let us eat twice a day, and nothing but biscuits, biscuits, biscuits.” He made a face and dived back into his potatoes.

Ciara wrinkled her nose. “Hard biscuits too. Nothing like these.” She lifted the remaining half of her biscuit daintily, rubbed it in the blackberry preserves Catherine had helped Maddie put up and stuffed it into her mouth.

Maddie tried not to cringe. She’d have to work on their manners, if they’d allow her to teach them anything.

Michael had been silent much of the meal, though he’d eaten plenty, as Maddie had expected. Now he sighed almost longingly as he laid down his fork. “I’ve dined at a few restaurants in New York. None of them ever served biscuits as good as these.”

Maddie’s face warmed. “It does my heart good to hear my work appreciated.” She winked at Aiden. “Now, let’s just hope the fine citizens of Seattle agree with you.”

“If they don’t agree, they’re stupid,” Aiden said, shoving back his empty plate. He glanced up at Maddie. “When do we get sweets?”

Michael gazed at the wall, but he wasn’t fooling her. She’d seen the light in those blue eyes when her brother mentioned sweets. Like the loggers and miners around Seattle, he must have a craving for sugary things. That also boded well for business.

She rose and went to the sideboard for the tin she’d filled earlier that day. “I’ll have cinnamon rolls ready when you wake tomorrow,” she promised Aiden. “For now, you’ll have to make do with gingersnaps.”

She brought a dozen to the table, and Aiden grabbed a handful before slipping from his chair.

“I’ll just take these to my room for safekeeping,” he said.

Ciara shook her head as he scurried from the table. “The rats will get them before you do, silly.”

“There will be no rats in my establishment,” Maddie called after him, “and I’ll be thanking the Lord for that.” She fought a shudder at the memory of the beady eyes and pointy snouts she’d seen on occasion in New York.

Ciara reached down and brushed her fingers against a gray tail that was peeking out from under the table. “Amelia Batterby would not stand for it,” she said with great surety.

Maddie met Michael’s gaze across the table and caught him smiling.

Ciara climbed from her seat. “I’m going to my room. You may call me when breakfast is ready tomorrow.”

There went Her Highness again. Michael must not have liked the stance any better, for he spoke up, with a look at Maddie. “What about school? Don’t Ciara and Aiden need to attend?”

Ciara turned to stare at him, and Aiden shot out of his room.

“They have a school here?” he asked, wide-eyed.

“Indeed we do,” Maddie told them, feeling a tug of pride at her adopted city. “In the Territorial University no less.”

She waited for Ciara to protest the unorthodox arrangement, but her sister seemed to fold in on herself. “I don’t want to go to a university.”

“I do,” Aiden announced, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “I’ll get to play with bigger boys.”

“It’s not like that,” Maddie explained. “There aren’t enough students of an age to be studying at the university, so the president opened a grammar school.” She was only glad the president was no longer Asa Mercer, for she hadn’t been impressed with him and his grasping ways when he’d brought her and her traveling companions out to Seattle earlier that year. She rose to gather up the dishes.

“Let me,” Michael said, rising as well. He took the dishes and carried them to the sideboard. It was a gentlemanly gesture, but she thought he was merely trying to keep himself too busy to jump into the middle of the conversation.

“I still don’t want to go,” Ciara insisted. “They’re probably mean. Isn’t there an Irish school?”

So that was the problem. Back home, because of the violence, many of the Irish children had learned at their parents’ knees or in groups in a crowded flat.

“No Irish school,” Maddie told her. “No German school either. Here everyone learns together.”

Ciara’s scowl said she didn’t much like that idea.

“It’s a new world we’ve come to,” Michael said. He opened his mouth as if to say more, than clamped it shut again and resolutely turned his face toward the sideboard.

“Indeed it is,” Maddie said. She moved to his side, pointing to the bucket of water waiting for the dishes and then the kettle steaming on the stove. With a nod, he set to work.

Now there was a rare man. Maddie couldn’t help the thought as she returned to her seat and gestured her siblings toward the chairs on each side of her. Da had been good about helping with the children, but her stepmother had been the one to labor over the stove, the dishes and the laundry, even though she worked cleaning houses for the wealthy folks uptown during the day.

Now Ciara returned to the table reluctantly, Aiden with unabashed curiosity.

“Perhaps we should be deciding on some rules,” Maddie said as they took their seats. “We already agreed there’d be no playing on the skid road.”

“You said that,” Ciara grumbled.

Maddie ignored her. Impossible to ignore was the way Michael looked to Maddie with a nod as if encouraging her to continue, or the sight of his muscles as he took off his coat and rolled up his sleeves for the washing.

“I expect you to attend school, do your best,” she told Ciara and Aiden, trying not to think about the man standing behind her with his arms up to the elbows in water. “The quarter started in September, but I’ve made arrangements for you to join the class on Monday.”

Both her siblings paled at that. Maddie pushed on.

“I expect you to be helping around here as well. Aiden, I’ll show you how to pump the water and bring it in. I want a filled bucket in the kitchen and up here. I’ve friends who keep the woodpile stocked, but you’ll need to bring the logs and kindling up here for the stove.”

Aiden grinned. “I can do that.”

Maddie only hoped her sister would be as accepting. “Ciara, your job will be to make the beds in the morning, sweep the floor, watch your brother and help me with the cooking.”

Ciara humphed and crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s servant work. Servants should be paid.”

“You aren’t servants,” Maddie said, meeting their gazes in turn. “You’re members of this household. We all work together and we all share the rewards.”

Aiden perked up. “Like cakes.”

Maddie nodded. “Like cakes and the other goods from the bakery. But we cannot be eating all our wares or we’ll have nothing to sell and no money to buy what we need.”

They both sobered at that, nodding their agreement. Like Maddie, they must remember the times when Da and their mum had been out of work, and food had been hard to come by.

“I expect you to be kind to each other and me,” Maddie finished. “And under no circumstances will you allow Amelia Batterby out of doors. She’ll run off or be eaten by one of the fearsome creatures in the woods, bears and cougars and wolves. Neither of you is to go into the forest alone. Take an adult who knows the area with you.”

She couldn’t help glancing at Michael. He had stopped washing at some point and was listening to her, his head cocked so that a lock of black hair fell over his forehead. Why did her fingers itch to tuck it back?

Now he nodded agreement but did not offer commentary. She’d asked him to stay out of her business, but his silence somehow felt worse than his interference.

She turned back to her siblings. Aiden was already fidgeting in his chair, gaze toward his bedroom door, where Amelia Batterby was giving herself a bath. Ciara was watching Maddie with a smug smile, as if she knew Maddie was having trouble keeping a dark-haired Irishman out of her thoughts.

“Off to bed with you, then,” Maddie told them. “I’ll come hear your prayers shortly.”

They seemed to accept that, for they rose and left her for their rooms. She turned to Michael. “Well, Mr. Haggerty? Have you nothing to say about the matter?”

He shrugged, hands splashing in the water. “Not my place to say, as you pointed out. But if you want my opinion, I think you handled that well.”

She wasn’t sure why that warmed her so. She didn’t need his approval. She didn’t need his help. She certainly didn’t need his distracting presence.

“Thank you,” she said, determined to be no more than polite. She eyed him a moment. He’d rubbed soap on her dishrag, and the bubbles were dripping from his fingers. Long, strong fingers they were also meant for far more than washing her dishes or eating her biscuits.

Maddie drew in a breath, preparing herself to take up the next difficult subject. “And then, Mr. Haggerty,” she said, “there’s the matter of what I’m supposed to do with you.”

* * *

So she’d come to a decision. Michael could tell by the way she raised her chin. Though he stood taller in response, he couldn’t match her for seriousness.

“I’m a bit old to go to school like Ciara and Aiden,” he offered, trying not to smile.

“You’re never too old to learn,” she countered. “And I imagine the university president would be over the moon to have a second student old enough to graduate. But going to school won’t be paying your debt, which is what you said you wanted.”

More than anything. But to pay his debt to her, he needed work, either at her bakery or at some other business in Seattle.

“So what, then?” he asked.

She nodded toward the floor. “You can sleep near the stove, and I’ll provide you food until you can provide for yourself. I haven’t a blanket to spare right now with the children arriving. Did you bring bedclothes with you?”

“Sylvie sent a blanket with me for the boat,” he said. “I can use that.”

“Good. Sure-n it won’t be a soft bed, but I’ve had worse.”

Had she? He knew she and the children had lived in the tenements of Five Points, most of which were furnished with beds. It was the number of people sharing those beds, as entire families crowded into a single room, that made life difficult.

“After I’ve finished the morning baking,” she continued, “I’ll show you the doing of the laundry.”

That ought to be less than amusing. Him, Irishtown’s finest, doing laundry. But he was determined to pay her back, so he merely nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

She made a face, nose scrunching and mouth tightening into a bow. “And you can stop calling me ‘ma’am,’” she told him. “You make me feel as old as a granny.”

He couldn’t help his grin at that. No granny he’d ever known had looked half so fetching with her eyes snapping fire.

“Yes, Miss O’Rourke,” he agreed.

She blew out a breath. “Would it be killing you to call me Maddie?”

“No trouble at all, Maddie,” he assured her, liking the feel of the name on his tongue. “And you might try calling me Michael. It’s a mite easier to say than Mr. Haggerty.”

She gave him a nod, but didn’t come out and say his first name. “Very well. Then there’s the matter of the rules.”

“I heard them,” Michael said. “And I’ll honor them. Since I don’t know the area, I won’t be taking the children on any outings among the trees.”

“You’ll not be taking the children on outings anywhere,” she informed him. “I told you—you may sleep here and eat here, and it goes without saying that you’ll be doing the laundry here until you find a job. I can see the effort you’re making not to come between me and Ciara and Aiden, and I thank you for it. But the sooner you find work and a place of your own, the better it will be for all of us.”

He knew she was right, yet still a part of him balked. He’d spent nearly three months watching over Ciara and Aiden, rejoicing with them when they excelled, encouraging them when they feared, admonishing them when they strayed. She couldn’t ask him to simply turn off those feelings, leave the children behind like unwanted baggage.

But tonight might not be the best moment to argue his case. The better approach would be to bide his time, show her how helpful he could be. Then maybe she’d let him remain a part of Ciara’s and Aiden’s lives. He’d had to leave everyone else he loved back in New York. They were his last ties to his old life.

“I’ll start looking for work tomorrow,” he promised. “As soon as I finish the little tasks you have for me.”

Her smile curved up. “You might not be calling my laundry little once you’ve seen the piles awaiting you, Michael Haggerty. Finish the dishes if you’ve the will. I’ll be back shortly.” She turned and swept toward Aiden’s room.

She was going to make him earn every penny of that ticket money. He found he didn’t mind. His gaze followed her into the bedchamber, where Aiden knelt beside his bed with bowed head. Maddie gathered up her skirts and knelt beside him, listening as the boy murmured prayers for friends and family.

Michael rubbed at the plates in the cooling water, his own mind turning upward. Prayer comes easily for him, Father. There have been times it didn’t come so easily for me. Thank You for new opportunities. Help me to make the most of them.

Aiden climbed into bed, and Maddie pulled the covers up around him. As if granting Aiden’s earlier request, Amelia Batterby leaped up and curled onto the foot. Bending, Maddie pressed a kiss against her brother’s forehead. Michael felt as if her lips touched his skin instead, gentle, sweet.

What was wrong with him? So what if she was as pretty as Katie? He wasn’t going to let a woman, particularly one he wasn’t so sure about, into his confidence again.

He still remembered the first time he’d seen Katie, the way she’d smiled, the sunlight on her golden hair. He’d felt top of the world when she’d singled him out of all her suitors. He’d thought them both in love, but she’d had her eyes on a brighter future, one that involved fame won at the misfortune of others. He couldn’t be that man.

He tried to focus on his work, rinsing off the dishes in a bowl of water one at a time, then drying them, but the simple task could not take his mind off what was happening in the other room. Now Ciara was saying her prayers with Maddie, hands clasped and face lifted up. Sylvie used to kneel at his side when he was Ciara’s age, encouraging him, guiding him. Good for Maddie for wanting to take that role with her siblings.

“And bless the Dead Rabbits and all those who work to protect us,” Ciara said.

Michael stiffened. He could see Maddie raise her head as well. The gang had cost more than one of Sylvie’s children a parent, forced Michael out of his home and job. Why would Ciara want to bless them?

“Sure-n it’s a fine thing to bless your enemies,” he heard Maddie say. “Perhaps we should ask the Lord to change their hearts instead, help them use their influence to the good.”

“They already do,” Ciara protested, but Maddie must have given her a look, for she humphed and raised her eyes again. “And help the Dead Rabbits do more good things. And make Katie O’Doul sorry she ever hurt Michael.”

Michael nearly dropped the plate. He shouldn’t be surprised Ciara knew about Katie’s defection. He and his aunt had talked about the matter often enough in the evenings when they thought the children were asleep. But Sylvie’s flat was small and cramped; nothing remained a secret for long. And much as a part of him would once have considered asking the Lord for vengeance, he knew it was wrong. Katie had made her choice just as he had, and they each must live with the consequences.

“Are you sure that’s how you want to be ending your prayers?” Maddie prompted her sister.

Ciara humphed again. “Fine.” She cleared her throat. “And I suppose You should help Katie O’Doul do Your will as well. Amen.” She dropped her hands. “Now will you leave me be?”

Maddie leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Only after I’ve wished you sweet dreams, me darling girl. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Well, of course,” Ciara said, but her cheeks were a pleased pink as Maddie took the lamp and left the room.

He thought she might turn in for the night as well, but she joined him at the sideboard and plucked the towel from his shoulder as if intending to help him finish his task. Her sigh told him she was none too sure about her siblings.

“They’re settling in already,” he told her. “It will only get easier from here.”

“I hope you’re right,” Maddie said, taking the dishes he’d already dried and stacking them on the shelves above the sideboard. “It would be nice if something was easy.”

“That was a long boat ride coming out here,” he said, offering her a smile.

She chuckled. “Try it with sixty-odd females all determined to find a mate before they even reach shore.”

He decided not to tell her about the stories in the newspaper. “You arrived unscathed.”

“Unscathed and unwed and thankful for both,” she assured him. She accepted the last plate from him, and their fingers brushed. Her touch was warmer than the water.

He shook the suds off his hands, feeling as if he needed to shake off the feelings she raised in him as well. “I thought Asa Mercer brought all you ladies just to wed.”

Her face was reddening. “Sure-n and he didn’t tell us that he had the husbands all picked out until we were almost here! He even accepted bride prices for us. Well, I wanted no part of that. I came here for one reason—to make a home for Ciara and Aiden, and forget all about New York.”

They had that in common, the need to start over. “Sylvie said you lost your father and stepmother in the tenement fire last year,” Michael murmured. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“’Twas a sad, sad time,” she answered, setting the plate on the shelf. “I just wanted to hold Ciara and Aiden close, never let go. Leaving them behind was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, for all I knew it was the only way. I had to go somewhere I could be more, so I could be enough for them.” She glanced toward him. “I suppose that makes no sense to you.”

“More than you might think,” he said, remembering his reasons for leaving New York. “What should I do with this water?”

“Leave it by the door to the stairs. I’ll take it down with me in the morning and use it to scrub the floors.”

She stepped away from the shelf with a nod as if satisfied with their work and turned for her room. Though she left the lamp on the table, he felt as if some of the light went with her.

She’d taken only a couple of steps, however, before she turned to face him. “Thank you for your help, Michael Haggerty. Now if you’ll be so good as to answer a question or two for me.”

Michael toweled off his hands. “What do you want to know?”

She gazed up at him, the light shining in her dark brown eyes. “Are you involved with the Dead Rabbits?”

Had Sylvie written to her? But no, Maddie had been surprised to see him on the pier. It must have been Ciara’s prayer that had raised the question in Maddie’s mind.

“I’ll have no truck with gangs,” Michael promised her.

She seemed to accept that, and he relaxed.

Her next question, however, drove all thought from his mind.

“So, who is Katie O’Doul?” Maddie asked, watching him. “And why would Ciara wish her to regret how she hurt you?”