"Thanks for listening."
Mary smiled. "You're welcome," she whispered.
* * *
Chapter Fifteen
"You must be Miz Gray's sister-in-law."
The sound of a woman's voice startled Mary, who stood at the worktable with her back to the door, daydreaming about Lee—the naked Lee—the one she'd just seen striding across the bedroom floor. Mary whirled around, nearly upending the pan of biscuits she had just made to go with the beans, to find a middle-aged woman wearing a black dress, black bonnet, and a black crocheted shawl standing in the doorway. "I beg your pardon?"
The woman stood just inside the kitchen door and Mary saw that she had a wicker hamper over one arm. "I said, you must be Tabitha's sister-in-law."
"I…"
She didn't give Mary a chance to reply, but walked farther into the room and set the hamper on the kitchen table beside the stove. The woman held out her hand. "I'm Louisa Shockley, but my friends call me Lou."
Mary shook hands. "Mary Alexan… Mary Kincaid. I'm pleased to meet you."
Lou took off her bonnet and shawl and draped them over the back of a chair. "I'll bet you're wondering what I'm doing here."
"Yes, I am," Mary admitted.
"I help out around this place," Lou told her. "It's way too big for one woman to manage alone, so Tabitha hired some of us women to help cook and clean and wash. I do most of the cooking for everybody. Nan and Birdie clean, and Katrina comes on Mondays to do the washing and ironing." She glanced at the wet garments hanging in the scullery. "I see you've been doing a little laundry yourself."
Mary managed a smile of relief. "Madeline had an accident when we arrived."
Lou walked into the scullery and examined the laundry. "Looks like you did a pretty good job of it." She turned to Mary. "It's a good thing, too, because Katrina is real touchy about the wash. She takes real pride in having the whitest linens this side of the Mississippi."
"I noticed that the house was dusted and that the beds had fresh clean sheets and the water closet had fresh towels. I thought everything looked as if someone was expecting us," Mary said.
"We've been expecting you," Louisa told her. "Tabitha said she'd made arrangements for her brother, Lee, and his wife to come take care of little Maddy and poor old Mr. Crane within the month. We've been keeping the house ready and keeping a lookout for you and your husband, but since we weren't exactly sure when you'd get here, I didn't stock any perishables. When I heard you all had come in on the morning train, I decided to give you a while to rest up from your trip before I came by. I bought some eggs, milk, and butter from Sherman's General Store and I stopped by the smokehouse and cut down a ham before I came in." She nodded toward the hamper.
"That was very kind of you," Mary told her. "Let me get my purse and I'll be happy to reimburse you for expenses."
"Oh no, ma'am." Lou stopped her. "Ain't no need for that. I put the groceries on Tabitha's bill just like I always do. You can settle up with Mr. Buford later."
"Thank you," Mary said. "I can't tell you how relieved I am to know I won't have to tackle this huge house all by myself. When I saw it. I wasn't sure how I was going to manage."
"Yeah," Lou agreed. "It does kinda take your breath away, don't it?"
"Yes, it does," Mary admitted. "It's so big and empty." She shivered involuntarily. "I'm used to a smaller house and having lots of people around me most of the time. Do you or any of the other women live in?"
It took Lou a moment to understand what Mary meant. "You mean here in the castle?"
Mary nodded.
"No, ma'am. We live just outside Utopia closer to the mine. We have children and houses of our own to look after."
"Oh."
Louisa unbuttoned her cuffs, rolled her sleeves up to her elbows, and began to unpack the hamper. "Now, don't you worry about being lonely. Come morning, you'll have plenty of people around you."
"What happens tomorrow morning?" Mary asked.
Lou chuckled. "Breakfast."
"But there's only four of us. Five, counting you."
"Honey, come breakfast time, that big trestle table in the room next door will be slam full of people."
"Who?"
"Just about everybody left in Utopia. Hand me an apron from that drawer over there," Lou directed. "And that butcher knife," she pointed.
Mary did as Lou asked, handing her first the apron and then the knife. "Are we running a boardinghouse?" Mary asked.
Lou laughed. "If we were, we'd go broke." She stopped slicing ham long enough to look at Mary. "We don't have any paying customers."
"I don't understand."
"Well, Tabitha probably didn't put everything in the letter she wrote to her brother. Or if she did, maybe he forgot to tell you."
"Tell me what?"
"Tabitha Gray's been practically feeding the whole population of Utopia ever since the mine shut down."
"The mine is shut down?" Mary felt like a parrot and an ignorant parrot at that. It seems Tabitha Gray had left a great deal out of her letter to her "brother." Or, as Lou suggested, "Brother" Lee had conveniently forgotten to tell his wife.
"The mine's been shut down for close to a year now," Lou told her. "And most of the miners—nearly all our menfolk—have been gone almost as long."
"You're all living by yourselves?"
"Yes, ma'am." Lou laughed again. "With the exception of a handful of men—three crippled miners, Carl Baker and Ned Sampson, who work in the Depot, Mike Kinter at the livery, Hugh Morton at the Ajax Saloon, Jed Buford at Sherman's General Store, old Mr. Crane, and your husband—what we have here is a town chock-full of women and children."
Mary bit her bottom lip in concentration. How was she going to afford the upkeep of Ettinger House and food for an entire town on her monthly allowance and Lee's Pinkerton salary?
Lou wiped her hands on her apron, then reached over and patted Mary on the hand. "Now, don't fret about things. We're not going to descend on you like locusts at supper tonight. We decided it was best to give you and your husband a little time to get used to the idea of having us around at mealtimes in case you didn't know anything about it."
"I… we… didn't."
Lou nodded. "I figured as much." She patted Mary's hand once again. "Well, don't worry, we'll work something out if you… that is… if you and your husband decide to continue to exchange our services for meals."
Mary heard the question in Louisa's voice and recognized the tension behind the older woman's casually spoken words. "Of course, we plan to continue to exchange services." She smiled at Louisa. "Like you said, this house is much too big for one woman to handle alone, especially a woman trying to look after a two-and-a-half-year-old little girl and an elderly gentleman."
Louisa immediately relaxed and continued her supper preparations. "Tabitha didn't mention whether or not you had children of your own," Lou said as she bent to pull a cast-iron frying pan from the bottom cabinet beside the stove.
"We don't have any," Mary said.
"Hmmm. Something smells good." Lee entered the kitchen wearing a charcoal-colored shirt and a pair of buckskin britches. His hair was damp and neatly combed into place and his face, except for his mustache, was freshly shaven. He looked wonderful as he walked over to the worktable and peeked over Mary's shoulder, watching as she carefully rolled out a pie crust. "Who are you talking to? And what don't we have?"
Mary moved away from the worktable as Lou pulled herself up from her bent-over position so Lee could see they that they had a visitor. "Lee, this is Louisa Shockley." Mary made the introductions. "Lou, this is my husband, Lee Kincaid. Tabitha's brother." Mary stressed the last word as she raised an eyebrow at Lee. "Lou was asking if we had children of our own."
"Mrs. Shockley." He extended his hand in greeting.
Louisa automatically reached out to shake hands with Lee, then stopped when she realized she was still holding the cast-iron frying pan in her right hand. "Call me Lou," she told him. "
All my friends do."
"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Lou," Lee said.
"Same here," Louisa answered, studying Lee closely. She set the frying pan down on the stove and began to pile the ham slices in it. "There ain't much of a family resemblance between brother and sister, is there?" Lou asked, turning to Mary.
"I'm sorry to say I never met Tabitha," Mary told her. "I've only seen a photograph of her."
Louisa turned to Lee. "Then shame on you for never bringing your wife to meet your sister while she was alive."
"Tabitha and I were never really close," Lee answered. "We had different fathers. I grew to favor my father and I believe Tabitha resembled hers."
Louisa nodded. "That explains it then, and probably explains why Tabitha never mentioned having a brother or a sister-in-law at all until she got sick." She sighed. "Well, we all have our family secrets and our family squabbles." Lou turned her attention back to Mary. "Anyway, like I was saying, Tabitha had a different look about her. She wasn't a blond-haired blue-eyed beauty, but she had the most beautiful skin, masses of dark hair, and big brown eyes—like you." Lou smiled at Mary. "You could have been related."
"I doubt it," Mary answered honestly. "I'm Cherokee Indian with a dash of Scots blood thrown in." Mary saw the look in Louisa's eyes at the mention of her Indian blood and waited for the moment when the older woman would turn her back on her and walk away in disgust. She didn't even realize she had gone into a rigid defensive posture until she felt Lee give her shoulder a gentle squeeze.
Louisa took a deep breath, then smiled at Mary. "I'm originally from the Carolinas, myself," she said. "And I daresay there's probably more than a dash of Cherokee blood in my family tree. I certainly won't be holding your bloodlines against you."
Mary relaxed. "Thank you."
Louisa wiped her hands on apron. "If I'm gonna be working here with you, we might as well come to an understanding. I won't hold your Indian blood against you as long as you don't hold my backwoods upbringing against me."
"It's a deal," Mary agreed. "By the way," she said to Lee, "Louisa is going to be working here."
Lee turned his roguish smile on Mary. "Then I guess she ought to know why we don't have any children of our own." He put his arm around Mary's shoulders and squeezed affectionately. "Yet," he added.
Mary gasped.
"My wife and I are newlyweds," Lee said. "In fact, Mary and I are still on our honeymoon."
Louisa glanced from Mary to Lee and back again. "In that case," she said to Mary, "you shouldn't be slaving in the kitchen. Not on your honeymoon. Get out of that apron. I'll finish up here."
"But my pie…"
"Go on now. Don't worry about your pie. I'll make it. You go spend some time with your husband," Louisa shooed them out of the kitchen. "Check out that bedroom upstairs with the big brass bed. Get a start on those children you're wanting."
Mary blushed.
But Louisa replied matter-of-factly, "It's what I'd be doing if my man were at home. Run along. I'll call you when supper's ready."
"Now what do we do?" Mary asked as soon as she and Lee left the kitchen.
Lee glanced over his shoulder to see if Louisa Shockley was watching them. She waved at him, then walked to the doorway and motioned him toward the stairs. "Since she's standing in the doorway watching, I guess we go upstairs." He rested his hand at the small of Mary's back and guided her through the hall way to the central staircase. "Where in the hel… devil… did you find such a nosy, talkative woman?" he asked, once they were out of Louisa's hearing.
"I didn't find her," Mary told him, whispering furiously as they climbed the stairs side by side. "She found me. She worked for Tabitha and she dropped by this afternoon to make sure she still had a job. It seems she's been expecting us—expecting me. Your partner"—Mary stressed the word—"told Louisa that her brother and his wife"—she emphasized that word as well—"would be arriving in Utopia within thirty days to take over the house and to take care of Maddy."
"What?"
"You heard me," Mary said. "Louisa is our new cook."
"Damn it all to hell," Lee muttered beneath his breath. He didn't think there would be any way to keep anything secret from Louisa Shockley—especially his and Mary's sleeping arrangement. "Does she live in?"
"No."
"Thank God!"
"But that's not all," Mary continued. "Nan and Birdie help clean the house and Katrina comes every Monday to do the washing and ironing."
Lee breathed a heartfelt sigh of relief as they reached the landing at the top of the stairs. "This morning you said you needed help with the house," he reminded Mary. "Now you've got it."
"We've got more than help with the house, Lee. We've got major problems." Mary hurried down the hall and opened the door to Lee's bedroom.
He followed her inside, closed the door behind him, and leaned against it. "I'm sure it's nothing we can't handle." He was already trying to figure out a way to appear to be a loving couple without really being a loving couple. Lee sighed. The idea hadn't worked the last time he'd tried it—with Tabitha—and Lee was afraid it didn't have a snowball's chance in hell with Mary, either. Especially since he and Mary were, in fact, a legally married couple. Lee raked his fingers through his hair, then stroked the corner of his mustache. Hell, he'd think of something. He had to.
"Are you listening to me?" Mary asked.
"Huh?" Lee made an effort to follow Mary's conversation.
"Lee, how are we going to afford this house and all these people?" Mary asked.
"We'll manage, Mary." Lee tried to set her mind at rest.
"How?" She demanded. "I know what Pinkerton operatives earn."
"Two-shot, I assure you I make enough money to support a family, a cook, two housecleaners, and a weekly laundress."
"If that's all we had to worry about," Mary said. "I could pay Louisa and the others a salary from my monthly allowance."
"No!"
"Lee, be reasonable…" Mary began.
"I'll support you, Mary. I don't want you to use your money on Maddy or Judah, the house, or to pay the help. Your money was meant for you to spend on yourself." Lee didn't understand why it was so important for him to support their household, but it was. He didn't want Mary using her share of the Jordan-Alexander fortune on the upkeep of Ettinger House. Besides, she might need it later…
"Lee, the money I inherited from Reese's father belongs to both of us now," Mary insisted.
"No, it doesn't. It belongs to you. Mary Alexander."
"I'm not Mary Alexander any longer," Mary reminded him. "I'm Mary Kincaid. We took vows, remember? For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer."
"Nevertheless," Lee insisted stubbornly, "I'll support the household."
Mary threw her arms out in exasperation. "With what?"
"With the income from the silver mine," Lee answered. "The mine doesn't bring in a whole lot of money, but I'm sure it will provide enough to support us."
"No, it won't," Mary stalked over to the bed and sat down on the edge of it. "The mine is closed."
"What?"
"According to Louisa, the mine's been shut down for over a year and all the miners have gone to other mining towns looking for work. Utopia is practically deserted. There's only a handful of men left in town—including Judah and yourself. The rest of the population is women and children."
"But Tabby's letter…" Lee thought back, trying to remember everything Tabitha had written.
"That's another thing we have to talk about," Mary got to her feet and began to pace the room. "Tabitha's letter."
"What about it?" Lee was immediately defensive.
"I don't know what it says, but it's apparent that she didn't see fit to mention that the mine was closed."
"Christ, Mary, Tabby was on her deathbed!" Lee burst out. "Her concern was for Madeline. She wanted to make sure that Maddy was provided for. The rest of her responsibilities, the mine and the house, Tabby left to me."
"Tabitha left you more responsibility than you thought. Did she mention that Judah was one of those responsibilities? Did she tell you in her letter that Judah Crane lives in Ettinger House?" Mary studied Lee's stunned expression. "No? Well, she didn't tell you about the mine closing either, or make mention of Louisa, Nan, Birdie, or Katrina. So you can't possibly know that the reason we now have a cook, two maids, and a laundress is because Tabitha made a deal with them. She agreed to provide meals in exchange for services."
"What's wrong with that?" Lee demanded.
"There's nothing wrong with exchanging meals for services," Mary said. "I think it's a wonderful idea. I'm impressed by Tabitha's ingenuity."
"It won't break us to feed Judah or Louisa, Nan, Birdie, or Katrina and their families, Mary. If they're going without, it's the very least we can do, especially when they're going to be working with us." Lee answered.
"I agree."
"Then where's the problem? Why are you so upset?" Lee moved away from the door, crossed the room and halted Mary in mid-stride by placing his hands on her shoulders.
"I'm upset because Tabitha didn't give you a choice. This arrangement involves more than just Maddy or Judah or even Louisa, Nan, Birdie, and Katrina. It involves the entire mining town population. Come morning we'll be sitting down to breakfast with nearly every man, woman, and child in Utopia. We provide the food, and not just for breakfast, but for dinner and supper, too."
"What?" Lee was beginning to get the picture and he didn't like what he saw. Oh, it wasn't that he minded feeding the town of Utopia. He didn't. And he was certain Mary felt the same way. What he objected to, and what he realized Mary objected to, was Tabitha's manipulation of him. Of them.
"But don't worry, Lee," Mary was saying, "because Tabitha thought of you," she said quietly. "Tabitha provided you with a helpmate. In fact, I'll bet she demanded you have one, and worded her will in such a way that you couldn't possibly refuse. It was either take Madeline or have her grow up in a foundling home. I'm upset because Tabitha manipulated you, Lee. It was for a good reason—the best of reasons. I know she did it out of love for her daughter, but still, she arranged your life and mine. Because Tabitha didn't leave all these responsibilities to you alone. She left them to you and your wife, didn't she, Lee?"