~ * ~
Katie did her best to hide her apprehension as she walked home. She decided she’d wait until she received a letter before she would worry. It would be harder to hide her feelings about her guardian’s romance scheme. Could it work? They deserved love as much if not more than others since they gave their futures to the girls in their charge. This could be the answer for both Miss Edie and Miss Ethel, but it was a huge responsibility. What if she and Ella Grace chose the wrong men? Her mind bounced back to her own problem? What if she chose the wrong man? What about Benjamin? Could Michael be right? Would they suit? She shook her head. Too many questions. She’d take one day at a time and see what happened. She nodded to herself and hoped she could stop her mind from racing with different worries about her future.
~ * ~
While Katie worried about the future, Ella Grace busied herself with supper preparations. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and fresh biscuits were on her mind while she hummed and moved around the kitchen. A knock at the door stopped her humming and supper plans.
A broad smile crossed her face when she opened the door to find Clara standing on her porch valise in hand. She noticed Riley, the night clerk from the Inn, waiting on the street with Clara’s trunk on the cart the Inn used to move luggage to and from the train station. She invited Clara in and waved at Riley to bring the trunk inside.
Riley carried the trunk into the room off the kitchen and quickly excused himself saying he wanted to eat something before starting work. Clara and Ella Grace thanked him and waved as he left heading back to work.
Clara looked around the room Ella Grace offered her. “This is three times the size of the room I stay in at the Inn. Are you sure you want me to stay here?”
“Of course, this is meant to be a maid’s room,” Ella Grace explained, “but although you will be here to help me keep the house and cook, you are first and foremost my friend. If it wasn’t for you, Malcolm Wooster might have killed me, and I never would have been able to take care of the Inn after the quakes without your help. I’m so happy you are here.”
“I am, too. I was surprised when Mr. Karson asked me to work here.” Clara answered and looked around the kitchen. “This is such a lovely home.”
Ella Grace smiled. “You must consider this your home, too and it won’t do for you to call me Ella Grace and then call Michael Mr. Karson. I’m sure he’ll want you to call him Michael, too.”
“Oh, my, I couldn’t do that. Mr. Karson is my employer, and he might let me go.”
“Nonsense,” Ella Grace insisted. “I insisted he hire you. We have an agreement. He can’t let you go unless he wants to upset me. You can stay here as long as you wish.”
Clara smiled. “Thank you. I think I will like working here better than at the Inn. It looks as if you were starting supper. Let me do it, it’s why I’m here after all.”
“You should unpack first.”
Clara shrugged. “I only have a few uniforms, two day dresses, and my Sunday dress. I can unpack later.”
“We’ll have to change that. Michael ordered a sewing machine for me. It should arrive next week. It was another one of his ideas to keep me at home thinking I could sit all day and sew dresses for my little sisters. He said he also ordered several bolts of fabric to keep me busy. You can learn along with me and make a few new dresses quickly.”
Clara was busy rolling the chicken in flour and looked over her shoulder, “I would enjoy that. I think I’m going to be happy here.”
“I know you will, but there is one thing I have to tell you. Since you’ll be here every day, I can’t hide the secret from you.” Ella Grace continued to share the secret of future husbands for Miss Edie and Miss Ethel.
Clara giggled as she rolled another piece of chicken in the flour mixture. “I’m sure I’ll be happy here.”
Chapter Five
Katie was both nervous and excited when Monday morning’s sun peeked through the curtains in her bedroom. She rolled over tugging the quilt up to her neck and tried to push her thoughts away and drift back to sleep for a few moments when she heard the babies stir. They slept in her room to keep them from disturbing her sisters and to be honest she felt a bit lonely in the room since Ella Grace married Michael. Maybe soon she would have a husband to share a room with. She felt her face blush and threw off the quilt. Enough of those thoughts, she had a busy day ahead.
Sophie and Josie were good babies. Katie stared down at the two sweet faces that changed her life. If they hadn’t come into her life, she wouldn’t be in Silverpines. Their father died in the mine collapse, and their mother passed away shortly after giving birth. The kindly couple that took in their mother when she had nowhere to go brought the girls to Howard House first before asking the marshal for help since they could not care for the infants themselves. One look at the tiny faces and Katie knew Howard House would be her future not just her home. Two quiet knocks on the door let her know that Ivy and Rosie were there
