Christmas in Clover Springs, page 1
part #8 of Clover Springs Mail Order Brides Series
Christmas In Clover Springs
Rachel Wesson
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Epilogue
Also by Rachel Wesson
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Chapter 1
Train to Clover Springs, December 1886
Alicia Carstairs pushed a blonde hair back from her face as she looked out the train window. The whole landscape was covered in snow. There were no houses or towns for miles, never mind a city. How different it was from Boston, the city of her birth and up till recently her home.
A loud slap followed by a scream broke into her thoughts. She turned away from the window, to see a young boy with the mark of a hand clearly outlined on his face being dragged along the car by a shabbily dressed woman. Furious, she stood up. "Stop."
Surprised, the lady came to a standstill the boy slamming into her legs.
"How dare you hit this child? What did he do to deserve it?" Alicia said, realizing, from the woman’s facial expression, her clothes and cultured accent was having an effect.
"What business is it of yours?" the woman replied. However, her eyes were darting left to right as if hoping someone would come to her aid.
"Child cruelty is everyone's business. Why would any mother treat her son so cruelly?"
The woman laughed, a coarse sound. "He's not my son. Him and the rest of the brats are on their way to Leadville."
"Why?"
"They are going to work there. Why do you think?"
"Work, but he's a child?" Alicia looked closer at the boy who had stopped crying. His big blue eyes were focused on her. "He is only about seven or eight. What sort of job would he do?"
"The mines need children."
Horrified, Alicia opened and closed her mouth a couple of times. "The mines? You cannot mean that this child is going to be working underground. It’s too dangerous."
“It’s none of your business.” The male voice made the hairs on the back of her neck rise. She hadn’t noticed the rough looking man moving toward them. “Go back to your seat and leave us alone."
She turned to go back to her seat but a glance at the boy stopped her. He wasn’t making a sound but his eyes were pleading for help.
"I will not. I demand to know by whose authority you are taking this child to Leadville. Where are his parents?" Alicia was glad her voice wasn’t shaking despite the trembling in her legs.
"Listen, miss, he's an orphan. He ain’t got no parents. The orphanage signed him and the others into my care. So stay out of it." The man’s tone combined with his menacing glare should have been enough to make Alicia sit back down. Instead it had the opposite effect. She guessed he was acting so belligerently because he had something to hide. She wasn’t about to leave the boy with him until she was satisfied the child would be alright.
"Others. You mean there are more?" Alicia addressed the man, but seeing his face close in anger, she decided he’d probably realized he had said enough.
Alicia bent down and spoke directly to the child. "Why are you traveling with these people? Tell me please. I want to help you."
The little boy looked at her for a couple of seconds before saying,
"Matron said they were taking us to new homes. We would get a new ma and pa. All of us. I think she was lying. She said we would get food on the train and we ain’t had nothing to eat for days," the boy hiccuped. "I went looking for some food when she wasn’t looking. Didn’t get far enough. She caught me."
"Oh you poor child." Alicia reached into the basket she had brought with her. She took out her breakfast, a sandwich, and hurriedly wrapped it up in a napkin before giving it to the boy. "Here, take this."
"Thank you, ma'am. Hey, you’re not looking for two children are you? I have a younger brother, he can’t talk. I’d work hard enough to keep both of us and we’d both go to school." The expression on his face at the mention of school amused her although she didn’t show it. She didn’t get a chance to answer.
“A lady like her ain’t interested in a brat like you.”
Alicia had to move out of the way quickly as the woman pushed past her, dragging the boy behind her. The man followed, giving Alicia a dirty look.
Sitting down, she couldn’t relax. Just how many children were on their way to Leadville? What would happen to them once they got there? Why would anyone trust a pair like that with one child never mind more? It's not your concern. You have enough problems of your own. Yes, but if someone had come to help me, I wouldn’t be sitting here. Alone.
Chapter 2
Closing her eyes, Alicia tried to distract herself by thinking of her own perilous situation. She’d never been a governess before. Would she meet Mr. Oaks expectations? Robert seemed to think so. Alicia opened her eyes. Robert was the last person she wanted to think about.
Why are you sitting here when a child or children could be in trouble? You could easily check on the boy. All you have to do is walk into the next car. There can’t be that many children traveling to Leadville. Maybe she could take the boy and his brother and bring them to meet Mr. Oaks. He may be able to help them avoid the mines. He was a father himself.
Alicia gave up arguing with herself. She couldn’t just sit there. She had to go find out how many children there were and why. Taking her carpetbag, she moved down the car following in the direction of the woman. She hadn't gone that far when she spotted a priest. Maybe he would help her. Wouldn’t hurt to have him accompany her. She wasn’t a coward but the rough looking man who had told her to mind her own business looked dangerous.
"Excuse me, Father, but I wondered if I might have a word?"
"Of course, please sit down."
Alicia sat and took a minute to arrange her skirts.
“My name is Father Molloy.” The priest smiled as he extended his hand.
“Alicia Carstairs, Father,” she replied, shaking his hand.
“Are you traveling alone, Miss Carstairs?”
Alicia nodded but before the priest started asking personal questions, she asked, "Father, did you notice a woman and a child coming through the car a little while ago?"
"No, I can’t say I did. I might have been in the dining car though. These three boys get mighty hungry. He pointed at the children sitting on the seats on the other side of the carriage. Alicia hadn’t noticed them. They looked a little like the boy she had spoken to only their clothes were cleaner. Was the priest involved in taking the children to Leadville too? Surely not. But maybe it had been a mistake to stop to speak to him.
"Sorry, Father, I didn’t mean to disturb you. I will let you get back to your reading."
"Miss, please tell me what is troubling you. I can see you are distressed."
Alicia stared into his eyes. He looked kind. She sensed she could trust him.
"I met a child a while ago. A woman had just hit him across the face. She says he's an orphan on his way to work in Leadville, in the mines."
The priest straightened in his seat. "The mines? Children?"
"Yes, Father. This boy was only about seven or eight. I gave him a sandwich but from what he says, none of the children with him have had anything to eat for some time. I can’t think of what type of people would allow children to travel with the adults I met.”
"Unfortunately, it is becoming more and more common. We simply cannot cope with the number of orphans in the cities. The authorities made arrangements for them to be sent west where there should be more opportunities.”
“Opportunities for what? To be treated like animals and left to die. I won’t stand for that. It is not right.” Alicia’s indignation raised her tone causing people around them to look up. She flushed. She wasn’t used to being the center of attention.
“It certainly isn’t. Why don’t you sit here and mind my boys while I go and see what the situation is?”
“Sorry, Father, but I can’t let you go alone.” The man was nasty enough to strike an old man even if he was a priest.
His eyebrows rose as he looked to her for an explanation.
"Sorry, Father, I don’t mean to be rude, but you haven’t seen these people. The man, well he looks dangerous. I think its best if we both go."
"Perhaps we should also bring the conductor. If they do make trouble, he may be able to help us."
As it turned out, the conductor wasn’t around. Alicia followed the priest down the car and into the next one. She couldn’t
believe her eyes. There were at least thirty children of all ages sitting in the carriage. Some were openly crying, others looked shocked into silence. None were laughing or joking as you would expect children that young to behave. Miserable and scared, they didn’t even look up but stared at the ground or out the window. The woman she had seen earlier was sitting down eating a sandwich. She recognized the napkin. That’s my breakfast.
Without thinking Alicia marched up to the woman, snatching the sandwich from her hand. "I gave my breakfast to the child. Not to you."
The woman started coughing as the food went down the wrong way.
"We told you to leave it alone. Go back to your seat if you know what’s good for you.” The man was so close to her, his spittle landed on her face. Disgusted, she removed it with her hanky.
"I do not take orders from the likes of you. I want to see the documents you hold giving you the authority to take these children to Leadville." Alicia smiled to herself as she saw the fear flare in his eyes. Being the daughter of a lawyer had its advantages.
"Documents?" The man said looking at her blankly.
"Legal documents." Alicia looked down her nose at him. "The papers the judge gave you so you could take the children across state lines."
"P—paperwork. I don’t have any. But these kids are mine and are staying with me." His aggressive tone didn’t frighten her. Instead, she was more convinced she had to get the children away from him.
“We shall have to disagree about that. Section five of the Children’s Act states that all minor children traveling with someone other than a parent, across state lines, must hold the correct documentation." Alicia hoped the man would think her cheeks were flushed with temper rather than guilt for telling lies.
"As is required by law, every one of these children must be able to show they are part of your group. Otherwise...sir, you can and will be charged with kidnapping."
The man's eyes bulged out of his head.
"Kidnapping is a serious offense in this part of the country," the priest added. Only Alicia saw the wink he gave her.
"I don’t know nothing about papers. I was told to take these brats to Leadville and leave them there. I ain’t going to prison for no-one." The woman's voice trembled with a combination of fear and temper.
"You would be lucky if the penalty wasn’t more severe than prison," Alicia murmured.
The woman put a hand to her neck before turning on the rough looking man. "You never said nothing about landing in jail. I ain’t going to swing for anyone. I'm through. I'm not having anything to do with these kids. Not for any number of dollars.” The woman gathered her meager possessions together putting them into a carpet bag.
"Shut up, May. Can’t you see she’s bluffing you?"
May used the bag she was packing to hit the man.
"You don’t tell me to shut up. You don’t know nothing about the law. Look at her. Look at the way she's dressed. She's rich and educated. She wouldn’t say something unless it were true."
With that, the woman moved out of the car.
Alicia held the man's gaze. She was glad her dress was covering her shaking legs. She couldn’t let this man sense weakness. Not now.
"I would like to see your papers too, sir." The priest echoed.
"I told you. I ain't got no papers. I was just told to take these bra... children to Leadville. I was acting out of the goodness of my heart, them being too young to travel alone. I couldn’t afford to feed them. I ain’t eaten myself for days." The man ignored Alicia, instead choosing to appeal to the priest.
Alicia hardened her stare.
"Look, why don’t you take them. You're a priest. You’ll know what to do with them. I can head back to my own place without feeling guilty at leaving these poor kids alone."
"I think that's an excellent solution. As a member of the clergy, Father..." Alicia bit her lip. She couldn’t remember his name.
"Molloy," the priest murmured.
"Thank you. As I was saying, as a member of the clergy, Father Molloy doesn’t require paperwork. The courts have made allowances for the church to move children in their care. They know the church aims to find proper homes for the orphans." Alicia crossed her fingers.
"See it all worked out in the end. Such a relief to get rid of them. Good day, Father. Miss." The man would have doffed his cap if he was wearing one before following hastily in the footsteps of his friend May.
Chapter 3
Alicia sat down with a bump. Her whole body was shaking. She couldn’t believe she had fooled the man.
"Miss Carstairs, if I hadn’t seen it for myself, I would never have believed a young girl like you could behave with such arrogance.” Father Molloy beamed. “Could you stay here for a couple of minutes? I want to get my other charges and bring them up here. I don't like leaving them alone for long."
Alicia wasn’t capable of speech so nodded.
"I won’t be long." With that, the priest left. She was alone with the children.
Alicia sat on the seat taking deep breaths to try to stop the shaking. She wanted to cry but that wouldn’t do. She would only scare her audience who now all seemed to be staring at her.
"Excuse me, miss, but are they really gone?"
The boy she had helped earlier asked as he made his way over to where she sat. He jumped up onto the seat beside her, taking her hand and rubbing it. A flood of feelings overwhelmed her. The child was trying to comfort her.
"Thank you. I don't know for certain but I hope so."
"You some sort of lawyer? You used a lot of big words."
Alicia smiled at an older girl who asked the question. Before she could answer, the boy sitting beside her said, "She ain’t a lawyer. She's an angel. My ma told me, I had a guardian angel who would look after me. She said it just before she died so it was true."
"Don’t be stupid, Harry, angels don’t exist."
"Yes they do." Harry looked up at Alicia, adoration in his face.
"Sorry, Harry, I am not an angel." Far from it.
She was saved from doing any more talking by the return of Father Molloy. The conductor followed him. Father Molloy must have told him the story as he was carrying some food and water. Alicia moved to help him. There wasn’t enough to give everyone a big meal but at least all the children got to eat something.
Alicia excused herself to return to her seat and collect the rest of her belongings consisting of a coat and a book. She returned to find the children playing games and laughing. The change in them was quite astonishing.
Father Molloy walked toward her, a big smile on his face. “Amazing what a little bit of kindness does for children, isn’t it?”
Alicia smiled, although the sight of the children playing brought a lump to her throat.
"Quite a resourceful young lady, aren’t you?” The priest’s tone was kind but his eyes were inquisitive.
She didn’t know what to say to that so let him continue.
"Personally, I have never heard of the Children’s Act." Father Molloy’s eyes twinkled.
"Sorry, Father, I shouldn’t have lied, but I had to do something. I couldn’t let these children go with that pair."
"I think in the circumstances your actions were appropriate." Father Molloy, seeing her confusion, continued. "I do not agree with lying, but given the alternatives, I think God would understand. Now, my dear, let's sit down and try and work out what we are going to do with all of these children."
"We, Father?"
"Well, I was hoping you would be able to help. Unless of course you have pressing business in Denver."
Alicia looked at her hands. She should say no and continue on her journey to Leadville to meet Mr. Oaks. But she didn’t want to go to Leadville. She knew nobody there. She had been praying for a miracle. Maybe this was it? Not a miracle but at the very least a way of delaying traveling on alone.
She looked into the priest’s face wondering if he would want her if he knew her background. He seemed to sense her indecision as he continued speaking in a more persuasive tone.
"It would only be for a couple of days. I have somewhere to take the children. I can do it myself but the journey would be much more pleasant if you came along too. Then you could continue your trip if my plan doesn’t inconvenience you too much.”
