A Home at Trail's End (31 page)

“Brady's cabin.”

His eyes lit up. “Ah-ha.”

“Is that all right with you?”

“It's perfectly fine with me. But you know you'll have to keep it a secret from everyone else.”

“Even from the children?”

He shrugged. “I don't know, Elizabeth. Is that too much to expect of them? To keep a secret like that from their friends at school, their cousins, their teacher?”

“They know that they're not to speak of Brady in town.”

“That's true.”

“What is one more secret?” She smiled as she handed him a plate of smoked salmon, two slices of buttered bread, and one of the apple fritters she'd made last night.

“I'll leave that to your discretion.”

She picked up the plate she'd made for Mara and Rose to share and carried it outside. “Here.” She smiled as she handed it to Mara.

“Thank you,” Mara muttered.

“You are most welcome.” Elizabeth patted Rose on the head.

When she went back into the house, Eli handed her plate to her. “Why don't we go out and eat with them? It's a nice day today.”

She grinned. “Good idea.”

So it was that the four of them ate their picnic dinner out on the porch. And when Mara and Rose's plate was empty, Elizabeth went back inside and got them more food. After a while, Eli excused himself to return to work. “I'll take the wagon, and if you don't make it back out there to help me, I'll understand.” He winked at her then tipped his hat to the porch. “Goodbye, ladies.”

“Goodbye, Eli,” Mara said politely.

“Goodbye, Eli,” Rose said, imitating her mother.

Satisfied that Mara and Rose had eaten enough, Elizabeth took their plate, but once again she invited them to come inside her house. “You are my friends,” she told Mara. “You can come in my house.”

Mara looked uncertain. “Charles say no. I no talk to white man. I no go in white man house.”

“I am a white
woman
,” Elizabeth told her. “You can come into my house. Besides, I think I may have a dress for Rose.”

“Dress for Rose?” Mara's eyes lit up.

“A dress that belonged to my little girl, Ruth.” Elizabeth tipped her head toward the door. “Please, come inside.”

“Yes.” With a determined expression, Mara took Rose by the hand and cautiously followed Elizabeth into the house.

Elizabeth set the dirty dishes on the dry sink and then went to her bedroom and opened the trunk, where she had stored all the clothes that were too small or too big or only for special occasions. She dug until she found the blue-and-gray gingham dress that Ruth had nearly worn out on the Oregon Trail. It was patched and mended in places, but it was clean. She carried it out to where Mara and Rose were standing by the door waiting. She held the dress up to Rose. “It's too big now,” she said to Mara, “but I can make it smaller so that it fits.” She opened her sewing basket.

“I can sew,” Mara declared.

“You can?”

Mara held up her hands in a helpless gesture. “No needle. No thread. No cloth.”

Elizabeth took a spool of thread, slid a needle down into the side of it, and then wrapped it into the dress and handed it to Mara. “Yes. You can sew.”

Mara held the dress to her chest. “Thank you.”

“Now I want to get some food for you to take with you,” Elizabeth told Mara. While Rose followed Flax to his favorite spot by the fireplace, Elizabeth went into the kitchen and began to fill a basket. Uncertain of Mara's cooking abilities, she put in smoked venison and fish and apples and bread. She also put in two drinking cups and a few other basic household items. Just enough to get them started. She had no idea whether Mara would even accept her offer. But she suspected by their soiled clothes that they'd been camping along the creek. She could imagine how miserable that would be in the rain.

She turned to Mara. “Let's go now.”

Mara just nodded, still clutching Ruth's old dress to her chest. She called out to Rose to come—this time in broken English.

Elizabeth went outside with them, and still holding the basket of goods, she nodded in the direction of Brady's cabin. “I have a house for you to use,” she told Mara.

“House?”

“Yes. You and Rose can stay there until Charles comes back for you.”

“House?” Mara said again.

Elizabeth patted Mara on the back. “A very small house.”

As they walked, Elizabeth tried to explain that her friend Brady was going to live in the small house but that he changed his mind.

“The dark man?” Mara asked.

“Yes. That is Brady. He lives with my mother and father now.” She pointed in their direction.

Mara nodded as if she understood.

“Did Charles teach you English?” Elizabeth asked as they walked through the meadow.

“I learn some from Charles. I learn some at mission.”

“What mission?”

“When I girl, many people die from white man sickness. My father die. Mission take village children. Girls learn to sew. Learn to cook white man food.”

“Oh?”

“I go school. Learn English. Learn read and write.”

“You can read and write?” Elizabeth tried not to sound too shocked.

“Some. Then school no more. Troubles start.”

Although Elizabeth hadn't actually seen Brady's cabin, she knew exactly where it was because she was the one who had originally picked the spot as a good place for him to live out his final years. It was near the creek so that water would be handy, but not so low that it would flood. Set in a grove of fir trees, it was somewhat protected from the elements. Most of all, it was private. Walking up to the tiny cabin encased by tall evergreens, she was reminded of a fairy tale—as if she expected gnomes and fairies to emerge from the shelter.

She opened the door, which was barely her height, and peered inside. Like her house, it smelled of recently cut wood. But unlike her house, it had a packed dirt floor and no glass windows or new cookstove. It didn't even have a fireplace. Indeed, there would be no room for a fire in here. However, she had noticed the campfire area outside where she assumed Brady must have done his cooking during the short time he'd lived here. The cabin's interior, which was about the size of the bedroom she and Eli shared, was bare except for a shelf, a couple of clothes pegs, and a wooden bed that was attached to the wall.

“This is it,” Elizabeth waved her hand. “If you want, you are welcome to make yourself at home.”

“Home.” Mara's dark eyes glistened as she looked around the tiny space.

“It is very small,” Elizabeth said apologetically.

“Thank you,” Mara said earnestly. “Thank you, thank you.”

“Thank you,” echoed Rose happily.

Elizabeth smiled in relief. “Do you still have the blankets I gave you?”

“Yes. I hang in sun. Dry.”

“Good.” Elizabeth looked around, wondering what more she could bring to make them more comfortable here. Perhaps another blanket. Maybe a pot to cook in. A bucket for fetching water. And yet she didn't want to interfere too much or overwhelm them with too many things. She suspected that Mara was accustomed to taking care of herself.

“We had house,” Mara said quietly.

“You and Charles?”

“Yes. White men burned. Big fire.”

“White men burned your house?”

Mara nodded sadly.

“I am so sorry.” Elizabeth put her hand on her bony shoulder. “I think you are safe here. I will not tell anyone about you.” Of course, this reminded her that her children would soon be home. And for the time being she had no intention of telling them either. Not only could it put Mara and Rose in danger, it might endanger her family as well. Hearing that white men had burned Mara's home was disturbing to say the least.

Elizabeth excused herself, promising to come back and visit in a day or two. Mara thanked her again, and then Elizabeth hurried away. As she walked back to her house, she experienced a mixture of conflicting emotions. On one hand, she was greatly relieved that Mara and Rose had accepted her offer of help and were now safely settled into Brady's little house. That in itself felt like a godsend. But on the other hand, she was greatly grieved to learn that white men had burned down Mara's house. How could supposedly civilized people be so thoughtless and selfish and cruel?

However, she wasn't only torn over Mara's situation. Now Elizabeth felt somewhat conflicted about returning to her own beloved home. As grateful as she was for her delightful cabin, it was unsettling to think that what she considered her land had probably belonged to Mara's people first. Suddenly home sweet home felt more like stolen treats.

Chapter Twenty-Four

O
n Thursday morning, Elizabeth wished she were more excited about Malinda's visit. Originally she had planned to make this visit into a memorable occasion. She'd planned to get out the tea set and silver spoons and linens and make Malinda feel like Queen Victoria. As it turned out, right after the children left for school, Elizabeth ran around the house gathering up items she felt would be useful to Mara and Rose. Loaded with a water pail, a cooking pan, two tin plates, some utensils, a tin bowl, another blanket, and more food, she was nearly out the door when she remembered Mara and Rose's bare feet.

Elizabeth knew that even the shoes Ruth had outgrown would be too large for Rose. But she could take her a pair of Ruth's stockings to keep her warm in the house. But what for Mara? That was when Elizabeth spied her moccasins by the fireplace. As much as she loved those, she knew that Mara needed them more.

Knowing that Malinda could very well arrive before she finished this errand, Elizabeth hurried as quickly as she could over to the little cabin. When she got there, she didn't see Mara or Rose around, so she knocked on the door. “It's me,” she called out. “Elizabeth. I have some things for you. I'll just set them out here.”

The door opened, and Mara smiled. “Come in my house,” she told Elizabeth.

As much as Elizabeth wanted to make her excuses to get back home, she knew she needed to honor Mara by going inside. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she could see the blankets on the bed. She smiled. “I brought you some things.” She set some of the supplies on a corner of the floor and then looked at Rose. She was wearing Ruth's old dress, and Mara, true to her word, had made some alterations. Certainly, they weren't the way that Elizabeth would have done it, but the child was clothed. “You look very pretty.”

She pulled out the black stockings and handed them to Rose. “These are to keep you warm in the house.” Rose stared at the stockings as if she didn't know what to do with them. “For your feet and legs.” Elizabeth pulled up her skirt to show Rose her own stockings.

Now she handed the moccasins to Mara. “These are for you.”

Mara stared down at the moccasins and then back up at Elizabeth. Her dark eyes grew misty. “Thank you,” she said.

“I need to go back to my house,” Elizabeth told them. “But I will come back again.”

“Thank you,” Mara said once more. “Thank you,
friend
.”

“You are welcome, dear friend.”

As Elizabeth hurried back to her house, she wondered what Malinda would think if she knew what her best friend and sister-in-law was up to this morning. Not that she had any intention of telling her. In fact, she had made up her mind that no one, besides her and Eli, would be in the know as far as Mara and Rose went. It just wasn't safe. However, she wouldn't mind having Will's legal counsel in this matter—as long as it could be done with confidentiality. She remembered how Will had offered her some advice in regard to Brady's emigration to Oregon. Of course, she hadn't appreciated all the answers or the narrowness of the new laws. But she did appreciate his legal knowledge.

To Elizabeth's relief, she managed to get her morning housekeeping chores finished and to set up what seemed a very respectable tea party before Malinda arrived. The table was covered in her best lace-trimmed tablecloth and set with her new china tea set and the silver teaspoons. A small plate of molasses cookies that Ruth had made yesterday graced the center. A cheerful fire glowed in the fireplace, and Elizabeth had just hung up her apron when she heard a knock at the door.

“Your little cabin is charming,” Malinda said as she came into the house.

“Thank you.” Elizabeth closed the door. “And welcome.”

Malinda untied her bonnet, handing it to Elizabeth. “And I noticed you have quite a large glass window.” She frowned. “But it seems oddly placed, over there by the kitchen.”

“Eli thought we would enjoy it more there. As it turned out, he was right. I love looking out while I'm working in the kitchen. Or when we're eating.”

“I'm surprised you have wood floors.” Malinda tapped her toe on the solid floor. “Most newcomers must settle for packed dirt the first few years.” She made a funny laugh as she removed her coat. “Perhaps that's why we call them
settlers
.”