Julia's Last Hope (10 page)

The Adams family was next on the list, so the committee decided they would get the guests staying for the more certain period of time. Julia was given the genteel couple.

“Will you need help getting ready?” Julia asked Ruth Adams.

“Thank you, but I’m as good as ready right now. After all, I’ve been waiting all summer.”

“Is there anything you need?” asked Julia. “Vegetables? Linens?”

“I could use some new potatoes—and perhaps a few carrots,” the woman admitted.

“I’ll send the girls over with some,” promised Julia.

Next Julia asked for a report from the craft shop.

Matilda Pendleton shook her head. “We haven’t had much business this summer. One couple bought three or four things to take home to family, and some men from the train looked in. One bought a lace collar for his wife. That’s all.”

It was a discouraging report but Julia tried to make the best of it.

“Well, that’s a start. We’re getting a good stock of summer jams and jellies now. Once word gets around, the train crews might do a lot more purchasing.”

The other women didn’t look too hopeful.

Julia sensed their discouragement and brought the meeting to an end. “Hettie, I think we could all use some tea,” Julia prompted. As the ladies gathered around the serving table with cups of steaming tea and lemon tarts, their spirits were lifted in friendly chatter.

“Do you think it will be like the last time?” asked Felicity when the family gathered for family worship in the evening.

“Impossible!” John answered. “The world couldn’t contain two such families.” He rolled his eyes and put a horror-stricken look on his face to entertain his daughters.

Felicity laughed and Jennifer smiled at John’s antics.

Julia hoped John was right but she feared that two such families just might exist. She breathed a quick prayer that she might not be called upon to endure them both in one summer.

“This will be a new family,” John reminded them. “They may be ‘different’—but that’s what makes this venture exciting. We never are quite sure what kind of folk we will be entertaining.”

“I hope they don’t have a boy!” exclaimed Jennifer, remembering the last one.

“If they do, we’ll need to tie down the flower pots,” put in Felicity.

“And chain down the swing,” added Jennifer. “And—”

“They don’t have a boy,” said Julia. “The next guests are just a couple.”

“Old?” asked Felicity.

“I don’t know. The letter just said ‘genteel.’ ”

“What’s genteel?” asked Jennifer.

“Well, that means they have good manners—good breeding. They are used to fine things,” Julia explained.

Felicity rolled her eyes at her sister. “Oh-oh,” she said. “The children-should-be-seen-and-not-heard kind.”

John and Julia laughed.

“Well, it could be that you will need to keep down your chatter for a few days,” Julia admitted, “but that shouldn’t be too hard.”

“I keep forgetting,” said Felicity. “When I am serving in the dining room or putting fresh towels in the bath, I keep forgetting that I am not to talk—just serve.”

“I know,” Julia smiled. “It’s difficult to shift roles, isn’t it?”

John fidgeted. He hated to see his family become servants in their own home. His girls were hardly more than children and they were serving the table, doing dishes, cleaning bathrooms, and making beds. Julia had tried to assure him that the experience was good for them, but John would rather have had them learn their duties under different circumstances.

“Enough chatter for now. We all have things to do if we are to be ready for tomorrow,” Julia went on. “Let’s be quiet while Papa reads the Scriptures.”

The girls settled themselves to listen to the scripture lesson that John had chosen for the evening reading. Then each one prayed, asking God to keep them within His will. Felicity went a step further. “Dear God,” she prayed, “bring us good guests—not like the last time. Thank you that they don’t have wild boys or grumpy girls. Help us to do our best to care for them and might they pay good money for all of us to live on. Amen.”

The buggy did not carry many suitcases when Tom arrived with the guests the next afternoon. Each visitor had one small piece. Tom looked pleased as he carried the two cases to the second floor bedrooms.

“Do come in,” Julia greeted the couple. “You must be weary after your long train ride. Hettie will show you your rooms and the hall bath where you may refresh yourselves. We will have tea in the main parlor in fifteen minutes.”

The gentleman nodded, giving Julia a kind smile, and took his wife’s arm to follow Hettie. The woman climbed the stairs with hesitation, causing Julia a moment’s concern. But she completed the climb with no apparent ill effects. Julia put aside her worry and went back to the kitchen.

In fifteen minutes, just as Julia had arranged, the couple entered the parlor. They made no demands. Mr. Williams led his wife to a chair and helped her be seated. He pulled another chair up close to hers and seated himself.

“Cream and sugar?” Julia asked.

“Just sugar for me,” replied the woman, “but Mr. Williams will have a bit of both.”

Julia served the tea and passed the dainty sandwiches.

“My, you have a lovely home. So pretty. Not—not stark and cold like—like some places,” the woman observed as she helped herself to a sandwich.

“Thank you,” responded Julia. She enjoyed having her home receive proper respect.

“I love the pictures,” the woman went on. “That one in the hall, of the stream and the children. I could almost taste the water the boy is offering to the girl.”

Julia enjoyed the compliment. The picture was one of her favorites.

“Who is the artist?” the woman asked.

“He was an acquaintance of my father,” Julia stated. “The picture was a wedding gift.”

“Then I don’t suppose you want to sell it?” the woman asked, her brows arched over her lifted teacup.

“No,” said Julia, shaking her head. “I think not.”

Julia passed the cupcakes. Mr. Williams accepted one, but Mrs. Williams politely turned down the sweets.

“I would like another cup of that lovely tea, though,” she murmured. “Quite the nicest cup of tea I have had for some time.”

Julia smiled. “I suspect that our cold, clear spring water has something to do with that.”

“Yes,” agreed the woman. “Yes, I suspect so.” Then she turned to her husband. “Do you suppose we could get our water from the spring?” she asked him.

“We will drink nothing but spring water while we are here,” he promised.

“I mean for our tea.”

“Yes, dear. For our tea.”

“But shouldn’t we pay them if we are going to use their water?” she asked.

“My dear, we will pay them,” he tried to assure her.

“But I didn’t see you pay.”

“We pay when we leave,” he tried to reason.

“Are we leaving already? Goodness! It seems that we just got here,” she said, rising to her feet.

Julia could not understand the strange exchange. She wondered if she should leave the room and give the man an opportunity to calm his disoriented wife.

The man stood also. “No, dear, we are not leaving yet.” He eased her back into her seat. “And you are quite right,” he hurried on. “We do owe this lady for her fine tea, made of fresh spring water. Here. I will pay her. See! Right now.” He reached into his pocket and drew out a bill, which he handed to Julia. His wink told Julia to take the money without comment.

Julia accepted the bill with a trembling hand. “Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Williams,” she managed.

Mrs. Williams settled back in her chair.

“That’s better,” Julia heard her say.

Mr. Williams set aside his cup. “I do think my wife needs some rest,” he explained. “If you will excuse us, I will take her to her room.”

Julia nodded. “Dinner will be served in the dining room at seven,” she said.

Mrs. Williams allowed her husband to take her arm, help her out of her seat, and steer her toward the staircase.

“Wait!” Julia heard her say when they reached the hall. “I want to see the picture.”

After several moments Julia heard the footsteps continue on.

Julia wasn’t sure how to plan for dinner. Would the couple like company? Should the family join them? Or would they prefer the serenity of being alone?

During the Hammonds’ visit, the twins had eaten in the kitchen and Julia and John had taken their meal in the dining room after the guests finished. But the Hammonds had been a family of five. They had almost filled the table themselves. Mr. and Mrs. Williams would not do so. Should the Harrigans join them? Julia pondered the question. She finally decided that the guests, at least for their first meal, should be served alone.

Mr. and Mrs. Williams appeared at the dining room door promptly at seven. Jennifer was given the task of serving the table. Julia oversaw the meal from the kitchen, and Felicity began clean-up at the big kitchen sink.

“She sure doesn’t eat much,” Jennifer said on a trip to the kitchen.

“I noticed that,” replied Julia.

“Do you think she doesn’t like our food?” asked Felicity.

“She keeps saying ‘this is so good’ and ‘that is delicious,’ ” said Jennifer, “but she doesn’t even eat it. Just takes a bite or two and lets the rest sit on her plate.”

“Perhaps she doesn’t have a very big appetite,” Julia commented. “She does seem rather frail. Maybe she has been ill.”

“He eats well,” said Jennifer. “He had two helpings of everything.”

“Good,” Julia responded. “He is very thin. He needs to put on some weight.”

Jennifer disappeared to clear the table and returned a moment later with a frown on her face.

“What’s wrong?” asked Julia.

“She asked how long I have been working here. When I told her I live here, she said ‘poor child’ and patted my arm. Then she said she did hope it wouldn’t be too long until I’d be able to leave. What did she mean, Mama?”

“I have no idea,” said Julia.

“Did her husband know what she meant?” asked Felicity.

“I—I don’t know. I had the feeling he was trying to—to hurry her. He suggested a walk in the garden for some fresh air. He asked me for permission. When I told him to go right ahead, she patted my arm again and said, ‘Such a nice, sweet girl. I’ll talk to the people in charge.’ And he hurried her away.”

“That’s strange,” said Felicity.

Julia agreed, but she said nothing to the girls.

“If they have finished eating, clear the table and reset it,” she instructed Jennifer. “Felicity, go call your papa from the garden. We will have our dinner now.”

Chapter Twelve

Strangers

The next morning when Julia came down the stairs, Mrs. Williams was sitting in the hall studying the painting of the quiet stream and the children.

“It is so peaceful,” she murmured with a sweet smile flickering on her lips.

“Yes,” agreed Julia. “Yes, it is.” Julia’s eyes shifted to the hall clock. “My, you are up early,” she continued. “Were you unable to sleep?”

“Sleep?” asked the woman. “Oh no, I don’t sleep. James sleeps. He sleeps for both of us. I don’t sleep now.”

“I see,” said Julia. “Would you like a cup of tea or coffee while you wait for your breakfast?”

The elderly woman took on the look of a child being offered a forbidden treat. “Oh, could I?” she whispered, glancing around as if expecting someone to spoil their plan.

“Certainly,” said Julia. “It will take just a few minutes. Would you like me to bring it to the parlor or into the dining room?”

“I thought you meant with you,” the frail woman said with some disappointment.

Julia recovered quickly from her surprise. “If you’d like to come to the kitchen, that would be fine,” she offered.

“I just love kitchens,” she giggled like a schoolgirl. “So—so cozy with the fire burning.”

Julia offered an arm.

“They’ll never know, will they?” the elderly woman chuckled. She took Julia’s arm eagerly and tottered along to the kitchen.

She is frail,
Julia observed.
And confused. She must have been very ill. I must speak to the girls. We will all need to be patient and kind with her.

Julia seated her guest in a kitchen chair at the gingham-covered table and hastened to start the morning tasks. She had just added wood to the fire when the back door opened and Hettie entered. Her eyes widened for an instant at the sight of their guest. Then she smiled and set to work on breakfast muffins.