A Life Worth Living (8 page)

eight

Dora watched for the mail every day, not expecting Allen to write but hoping that he would. She was determined not to be the first one to make contact, but after a few months she missed him so much that she decided to do something about it. She bought a thinking-of-you card. It was a rural setting, which reminded her of North Carolina. The ground was covered with snow, and a red barn was featured in the background. The message read,
“To wish you health and happiness
.
”
As Dora prepared the card to mail it, she wondered if she was making a mistake. She almost wished that she could change the word
health
to
wealth
, for she was convinced that her wealth and his lack of it was what kept Allen from seeking a closer relationship with her. She wrote a note on the card wishing him well for the coming year.

To her surprise, he answered her note. He misspelled a few words, which made her wonder if his lack of education as well as his few worldly possessions kept him from declaring his love for her. Frustrated because of the seeming impossibility of any serious relationship between them, Dora slept with the letter under her pillow for a week. When she received the annual report of the financial status of the Fairfield Textile Mill, she was amazed to find that instead of making a profit, the mill had actually lost money. She also noted the annual bonus gift to the workers had not been paid. Why hadn’t she listened to Allen?

She knew that her father would hear about it because, until she proved that she could operate the mill, he was to receive copies of the same financial reports she did. Two days later he stormed into the apartment, waving the mill report. It was a stormy session, which ended when he said, “Missy, you have another six months to put the business on a paying status, or I’m taking control.”

Six months ago she would have shouted at him and told him to keep the mill. Instead, she said, “Very well! Six months it is, but during that time, I won’t tolerate any interference from you. I can’t make decisions if I feel as if you’re looking over my shoulder all the time. I didn’t want that mill, but you forced it upon me. If I’ve made a failure of operating the business, it’s your fault as well as mine. However, I’m going back to Asheville to prove to you that I have as much business acumen as you have. If at the end of a year, I haven’t made a success of the business, I’ll return it to you gladly.”

To her surprise, he agreed not to interfere, and Dora started making plans to move to North Carolina. Maude agreed to go with her, but not wanting to burn all of her bridges behind her, Dora sublet the apartment to a cousin who wanted to move to the city. If she couldn’t make a profit on the mill, she would have a home to return to.

She debated a long time wondering if she should notify Allen and Ted Morgan that she was returning. She finally decided she would have a better opportunity to catch Morgan in his theft if no one knew she was coming. Maude wasn’t happy about moving away from New York, but she’d been Dora’s companion for years and neither one of them knew what she’d do without the other.

So when she and Maude stepped off the train in Fairfield in October, her arrival was unexpected. She left Maude at the train station with the luggage and walked down the street toward the textile mill. Several people saw her and gave her friendly greetings, but she didn’t stop to talk to anyone until she met Allen coming out of the post office.

The expression of surprise, as well as pleasure, on his face encouraged her, and she believed that she had made the right decision to plant her roots in North Carolina. As unlikely as it seemed, she believed that she would never be completely happy unless this man was her husband. The few letters she’d had from him had left her dissatisfied with the separation. Allen might not fall in love with her even if she lived in North Carolina, but it was a sure thing that marriage between them wouldn’t be possible if she stayed in New York. At that moment she wasn’t sorry she’d burned her bridges behind her, and she hoped that she never would be.

Speechless, Allen stared at her until she stepped closer and put her hand on his arm. “I’m not a ghost, my dear.” In spite of his surprise, his eyes glowed with affection. Hope swelled inside her that he wasn’t indifferent about seeing her.

“I don’t know what to say. Why didn’t you let me know you were coming?”

“I didn’t want anyone in Fairfield to know I was coming, especially Ted Morgan. Maude is with me, as well as two accountants to check the business records of the mill. We just got off the train, and I came here first of all to confront Morgan so he couldn’t destroy any records. Will you go into his office with me? It won’t be a pleasant encounter.”

“Sure, I’ll go.” He stepped up on the small porch, opened the door for her, then stood aside as Dora entered. He stayed in the small lobby when she walked toward the luxurious office Morgan had created.

The door was open, and a man sat behind a desk. Massively built, but muscular rather than fat, the man had a strong face and bushy brows that jutted over his dark eyes. Dora assumed that he was the mill’s business manager. With a slight knock on the door, she caught his attention and entered the room.

“Mr. Morgan?” she questioned.

He stood. “Yes, ma’am. How can I help you?”

She opened the briefcase she carried and removed several papers, which she laid on the desk. “These papers will identify me. I’m Dora Porter, owner of the Fairfield Textile Mill. After the past six months brought no income whatever to me, I decided it wasn’t good to be an absentee owner. I’m moving to North Carolina and, starting today, I’ll assume my duties as the mill owner. Those documents deal with your dismissal as business manager here, effective immediately. There’s also a court order prohibiting you from removing anything from this office until the auditors have made a thorough investigation.”

“What auditors?” he snarled.

“I brought two of the best qualified auditors in New York City with me. They’re going to examine the mill’s books. One of them will stay here in the office at all times until this examination is completed. I haven’t been pleased with the low income from the mill during the past few months.”

“Then you don’t trust me?” His black eyes blazed with hatred and some other emotion. Was it guilt or fear?

“I don’t know if I
can
trust you, but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt until the audit is completed. Regard-less, as of today, I’m taking over management of the mill, and if I’m mistaken in my suspicions, I’ll give you a recommendation elsewhere.”

“I don’t need your help to find a job,” he said as he jerked his coat off a hall tree. He locked the door to an adjacent room. “That’s my bedroom and living room combined. Nothing in there belongs to you, so stay out of it.”

“I’ll give you a week to remove your possessions. After that, I’ll open the room and store the contents.”

He passed Dora without another look, but stopped when he saw Allen in the other room. “I suppose you had something to do with this?”

Allen shrugged and lifted his arms in a negative gesture.

Dora stepped to the door, noting that the auditors she’d hired were also in the room. To Morgan, she said, “Allen didn’t know I was coming to North Carolina until I met him in front of the post office, so don’t blame him for your dismissal. These men are the New York auditors who found multiple errors in the records you sent to me. When all of these so-called mistakes always seemed to be in your favor, they insisted I should make some management changes.”

One of the men, who’d been her father’s partner in one of his enterprises for years, said, “One of us will stay here in the office all the time just to be sure the records aren’t destroyed or. . .”

Storming out of the building without waiting for the auditor to finish, Morgan slammed the door behind him. She knew she’d made a bitter enemy, another incident to cause her trouble, but what else could she have done?

Dora introduced Allen to the two strangers, saying, “He’s really been a friend and help to me. You won’t mind if they ask you questions, will you?”

Allen shrugged his shapely shoulders. “But I may not have all the answers. I don’t know anything about operating a textile mill. Since I’m my own boss, my schedule is flexible, and I’ll help any way I can.” Turning to the auditors, he said, “My first advice is that, for the time being, someone should be in this office building at all times. There’s a comfortable bedroom behind the office. If you both need to be away and want me to stay here, let me know. But I know nothing about the mill’s financial records, so I can’t help with that.”

“Actually,” one of the auditors said, “we don’t expect to find many records or, at best, they won’t be complete. Dora says she doesn’t intend to press charges against Morgan but, depending on the size of the embezzlement, she may demand that he make restitution. He surely has some of the money stashed away.”

When the auditors left the building to move into the hotel for a few days, Allen turned to Dora. “I’d suggest that you have extra guards at the textile mill at all times, too, for a few weeks. At least until Morgan leaves town or makes a move of some kind.”

“Do you think he would really have the nerve to sabotage the mill?”

“I have no idea,” Allen said. “I’d never met the man until he came here to work.”

“I asked you this before and you turned me down, but will
you
come to work for me? I want to be a success, I suppose to prove to Father that I’m not a spoiled debutante, but I can’t do it without lots of help and advice.”

He smiled and spoke gently. “The last time I refused to work for you was when you intended to stay in New York and only make occasional visits to Fairfield. Your intention to come here to live convinces me that you’re serious about the success of the mill. I’ll work for you. My brother has decided he wants to stay in North Carolina, and he can take care of the farm. Together we can turn this business into the best textile mill in North Carolina.”

nine

Dora didn’t delay her plans to revitalize the local textile mill. Taking Allen with her and Maude as a chaperone, she visited a few successful textile mills in South Carolina. They spent two days touring one mill and asking for advice. Not only did they visit the mill owners, but also the families who worked for them. Since Allen was more knowledgable than she, Dora mostly listened and took notes as he interviewed owners and workers alike.

They visited the home of one textile worker and talked to his wife, whose advice Dora considered invaluable. “My husband worked at a mill farther south for a few years,” the woman explained. “But he likes it much better in this town, and so do I. There are good company stores, and sometimes when work is slack, the owner will give us food rather than require us to run a charge account. We can buy coal for six dollars a ton, although it’s a few dollars more than that in other areas. Each miner’s family has a garden where we can grow our own vegetables, too.”

When Dora complimented the mill owner on his philanthropy, he smiled and said, “I’m not as noble as you think. It’s a good business investment to ensure the comfort and goodwill of our workers. Sick and/or disgruntled workers are not going to give their best efforts. So I recommend this as a good policy to follow. The happier the workers are, the more money I make.”

At another mill, they learned that the owner looked after his employees and their families as if they were members of one big family. He provided small but neat houses, some with lawns decorated with flowers. This owner also had a large farm and made available to the mill workers and their families milk, eggs, chickens, and vegetables at a reasonable price.

Dora didn’t waste any time putting into practice the information they’d learned. She provided paint and wall-paper for each of the tenant houses. She rented Allen’s farmland where Timothy and other men and women tended vegetable gardens, which the textile workers could buy at a reasonable price. Within six months, she’d turned the town of Fairfield into the “Textile Mill Miracle Village,” as it was touted in the local newspaper. Dora framed a portion of the article and hung it in the mill office to keep her reminded of her responsibilities to her employees.

Thanks to the proprietor of the local textile mill, Fairfield is being recognized near and far for its high quality of cotton fabric. If the employees in their spare time will do the labor, Miss Porter has also provided monetary help for the improvement of the company houses. The plant itself has undergone a renovation. More ceiling fans to remove the fabric lint away from the workers have been installed, and the mill is closed two Saturdays each month to allow employees more leisure time with their families. In spite of this, or perhaps because of it, the output of the plant has exceeded all expectations.

Allen and Dora realized that the reason for the increase in production was because the workers were content and enjoyed their work. Dora had drawn heavily on the inheritance from her maternal grandmother for these improvements, which disturbed Allen. He advised her that the textile industry could decline and she might lose her capital, but he admitted Dora knew more about investment than he would ever know, so he didn’t try to persuade her from her decision. Allen faithfully worked alongside her, helping in every way he could.

One afternoon when they were alone in the office, Dora had been checking the mill’s increase in sales during the past six months. Allen was preparing the weekly salaries for the workers when Dora interrupted him. “I’ve got an idea.”

Allen laughed and looked at her fondly, laying his pencil aside. “What now, bright eyes? I wish I had fifty dollars for every time you’ve made that statement since I’ve known you.”

She held up a flyer that had come in the morning’s mail. “This flyer concerns a traveling carnival that will be coming through the southern states this summer. Since the mill has exceeded all previous records for fabric output in the last six months, let’s declare a holiday and arrange for the carnival to come to Fairfield.”

“Sure. Are you going to take care of the financial arrangements?”

“For their own good, the workers need to learn to economize rather than spend all their money as soon as they receive it. Our mill’s salaries are as high as any other mill in the South, so wouldn’t it be fair enough to give them a day off with pay, then they could pay their own way?”

“Absolutely! We don’t want them to take your generosity for granted and start slacking in their work.”

“Here’s what the flyer says about the show. There will be a Ferris wheel, merry-go-round, and a few other smaller rides. Lots of places to buy cotton candy and other treats. It’s not a very large carnival, but certainly enough to interest our people.”

Always willing to listen to Dora, Allen leaned back in his chair. “Sounds like a good idea to me.”

Within a week, Dora received a response from the carnival owner, who said they would be making a tour of North and South Carolina in two weeks and would enjoy spending a day and night at Asheville.

When she saw how happy the mill workers and their families were to have an opportunity for this recreation, Dora knew she’d made a wise choice. And not only mill workers but hundreds of people from the surrounding region converged on Asheville when the carnival arrived. Not wanting to leave the millsite without some supervision, Allen asked Timothy to stay in the office during the day while he went to the carnival, and he would stay in the evening.

Allen and Dora went to the carnival together. Allen had only intended to be a sightseer, but Dora persuaded him to ride the Ferris wheel and merry-go-round with her. His life hadn’t allowed much time for recreation and he hadn’t intended to go, but Dora had persuaded him. He felt pretty stupid straddling a horse on the merry-go-round, but when lots of other adults were riding, he didn’t feel out of place. More and more, he found himself agreeing to do what Dora wanted, except in one very important situation. He couldn’t actually believe that Dora would marry him, although at times he wondered.

❧

During the time Dora was engrossed in improving living and work conditions in Fairfield, her father was on an extended business tour of Europe. When he came home and learned that Dora had spent most of her grandmother’s inheritance, he was so angry that his friends actually feared he would have a stroke or heart attack. Maude’s sister passed the word on, so Dora wasn’t surprised one day when he stormed into the mill office and confronted her. As he ranted and raved about what she’d done, Dora actually feared for his life. His face was red, his eyes piercing, and he was shaking as though he had the ague.

“What have you done! What
have
you done! To think that a daughter of mine would spend a fortune on a run-down textile mill. If you’d invested in some of the ventures I suggested to you, you’d have made a lot more money.”

His words annoyed Dora so much that she clutched a bolt of cotton cloth in her hand, using all of her will-power not to throw it at her father. Drawing a deep breath, she tried to speak calmly. “It was
you
who bought this ‘run-down textile mill’ and foisted it on me. If you remember, I didn’t want the mill in the first place.”

“You shouldn’t have made all the improvements you did. You could have made just as much money by keeping the old equipment. I can’t believe that a child of mine
would waste her inheritance in such a manner!”

Dora grew tired of his recriminations. “Grandmamma willed all of her money to me, so I could use it for what I wanted. She didn’t want me to be completely dependent on you, and she knew very well that if you got your
hands on that money, I wouldn’t have a dime to call
my own.”

“You’ve wasted the money.”

“That’s a matter of opinion. We disagree on that just as we do everything else. I used the money to improve conditions at the mill. It’s recognized now as one of the best-managed mills in the South.”

He snorted angrily. Dora looked helplessly at Allen, and he said, “Mr. Porter, why don’t you take a look at the mill as it is now before you pass judgment on what has been wasted?”

“You keep out of this, Bolden. I have a feeling that you’ve been instrumental in her decisions.”

“Think what you will, but that isn’t true,” Allen said calmly. “I’ve only made suggestions when Dora asked for them. Actually, I’d be happy to take credit for the improvements she’s made. There’s no other textile mill like it in the country. The workers are happy, and contented employees produce more revenue than disgruntled ones. The mill’s output has increased steadily over the past few months. We have people all over the Carolinas applying for jobs here. Experienced businessmen congratulate Dora on the quality of the textiles.”

Laughing, Oliver ignored the plus results and replied, “Why wouldn’t the workers be happy? They’re treated like kings. I couldn’t believe that you’d actually renovated every dwelling, giving this town the reputation of being the ‘gem of company houses.’ What are you going to do when you need more repairs? What if you have to replace equipment when your money is all gone?”

“I carry insurance on the workers and buildings in such event. Besides, satisfied workers are careful workers, and now that they have reliable looms to work with, we seldom have any breakdowns.”

Paying no attention to what Allen said, her father continued his tirade until Allen couldn’t stand it any longer. He prayed silently, asking God to control his temper. Standing, he walked to the door.

“Mr. Bolden, I won’t stand aside and listen to you shout at Dora. This is not your property, so either control your temper or get out. If you don’t go willingly, I’ll put you out.”

“It’s not your property either. What right do you have to tell me how to deal with my daughter? I suppose you intend to gain control of the mill by forcing your attentions on her. I’ve heard that you came to New York to see her.” Smirking at Dora, he said, “You didn’t think I’d find that out, did you?”

“I should have known you’d have spies watching me, but I didn’t make any secret that Allen was visiting me. What’s happened that you’ve turned into such a bitter man? Have you ever considered how Mother would feel if she knew the way you are today? Please go back to New York, and stop meddling in my business.”Allen walked to the door and motioned for the man to leave.

“I don’t have to be ordered out twice. I’m through with you—you’re no longer a daughter of mine.” Swearing, he gave Allen a shove as he left the office.

The woebegone look on Dora’s face pierced Allen to the quick, and he went to her quickly and drew her into a tight embrace. “Dearest, he didn’t mean all of those things. I don’t know what’s wrong with the man. Perhaps he’s mentally ill.”

Dora put her arms around Allen’s waist and sobbed. She was trembling all over, and he was so angry he prayed silently for God to forgive his negative thoughts about Mr. Porter.

“Right now I’m so unhappy—disillusioned or something—that I don’t want to do anything. I don’t care what happens to the mill. I suppose it boils down to the fact that I just want someone to love me. I can’t remember a mother’s love, and obviously my father doesn’t love me.”

Allen held her tenderly. “I know I shouldn’t tell you this because I don’t intend to pursue anything serious between us. But I’ve been in love with you since the day George Vanderbilt threw the big party at Biltmore and you and I spent most of the day together. And in a different sense, your employees love you. You’re loved more than you know.”

Sniffing, she picked up on the words he hadn’t intended to say. “Why
can’t
there be anything between us? If Father carries out his threat to disinherit me and if I’m a failure at operating the textile mill, in a few years you’ll probably have more money than I do.”

He shook his head. “In the first place, I don’t think your father is going to disinherit you. He’s just trying to force your hand. He reminds me of a ten-year-old kid who throws a tantrum when he can’t have his way. If you just ignore him and don’t give in to his bullying, he’ll eventually simmer down and act like a mature human being should. In addition to that, I’m going to see to it that you’re successful as the only woman I know who owns and operates a textile mill. That is, if that’s what you want to do.”

“Let me think about it overnight. My mind is too muddled now to make any serious decisions.”

He kissed her lightly on the lips before he released her. “I’m going out to the farm now to see that all is well with Timothy, then I’m returning to spend the night here in the office. Try to get a good night’s sleep, and we’ll deal with the future tomorrow.”

He kissed her forehead, walked with her to the door, and locked it behind them.

❧

The next day he went home as soon it was daylight, helped Timothy with the chores, and prepared for church. When he walked into the sanctuary, he was amazed to see Dora and Maude seated with Aunt Sallie, the owner of the boardinghouse.

When Dora scooted over in the seat, he took that as an invitation to sit beside her, and with pleasure he joined her. Although Dora had indicated that she’d never attended church, she must have been able to read music because as they shared the same hymnbook, he noticed that she followed the notes easily. During the pastor’s prayer prior to the sermon, Allen prayed without ceasing that God would send enlightenment in this morning’s service to Dora so that she might be convicted of her need to be a follower of the Lord. He could hear Maude quietly praying, and although her words were muted, he was convinced that she was also concerned about Dora’s lack of faith.