Taking her coffee with her, she goes upstairs to inspect the rest of the house. Inside one of the rooms, she finds the family trunks! They made it! Her mother had insisted they be shipped beforehand. One of these would have her father's working journals and the other her clothes! Quickly she jerks the sheets off the trunks and finds hers. “Excellent!”
When she opens her trunk the scents of home overwhelm her. She can smell her mother and hear her sister’s laughter. Summer lifts a dress and smells it, holding back tears. “Thank you, Mother.” The day dress is a dark blue velvet, it would be appropriate for the weather. Clean undergarments and shoes! “Thank you.” She murmurs lifting the clothes up. A loud noise at her feet has her jumping back in shock. “What’s this, then?” A cloth wrapped book tied with a chord. She drops the dress on the trunk and quickly unties the cloth and slips the large book into her hand.
“It can’t be!” Across the first page is written, ‘Protocol 3 –Mutation’ in her father’s hand. She turns the pages one faster than the other. “He started the third protocol!” What she reads has her face paling. They had spoken of the possibility of the virus changing, but she did not know that he had gotten this far with his studies. “I need to get this to the board at Harvard, maybe they can use this to help stall the spread of the disease.”
Summer wraps the book back up and tucks it inside her trunk for now. She turns to work on the contents of the other trunks. The twin's trunks are left untouched but her parents each had a chest of clothing, and her father had two trunks of papers and journals. These need to be protected as well. She pushes her trunk into the hallway and closes the door behind her, then hurries to change into clean clothing.
She bags up the clothes and shoes she wore for the last two weeks and tosses it into the fireplace. Then sits down to write the letter she has been dreading. With tears streaming down her cheeks, she writes Alex and then gathers her bag and heads out to find work. The walk is not far to the local post office. The streets are crowded as people rush about and the morning mist is chilly when she walks into the Western Union office.
After mailing her letter to her brother, she checks the posts for work. “Excuse me, miss.” An older woman with silver hair and kind eyes reaches around Summer to pin an ad on the board for a maid.
“Not at all.” Summer reads the ad for a housemaid and looks back to the woman. “I’m looking for work, can you assist me?”
Bertha Evert looks at Summer and smiles. “It’s your lucky day then. Do you mind hard work?”
“No, ma’am. I’m a hard worker.” Summer promises.
“The job is out of town you will have to live on the premises.” The older woman smiles at her and considers her bearing.
“How soon can I start?” Summer asks.
“I am headed back this afternoon. The job is yours if you have the proper health clearances.”
Summer hands her medical papers to Bertha and waits. “It looks good to me.”
Summer smiles in relief. “Oh, thank you. Ms. Evert. You won’t be sorry.” She promises.
“I hope not. Do you need a ride back to collect your things?”
“Yes, thank you. I have just one trunk.”
After collecting her trunk, she asks the groomsman to help her store her family trunks in the attic space of the brownstone. She covers it with a sheet and sighs in relief. They will be safe until she can retrieve them.
“Are you on the run from the law?” Bertha demands. She knows the area and these brownstone are not cheap.
“No, ma’am. I guess I'm just desperate. My family passed away on the ship from England. I am looking for honest work, that’s all.” Summer’s hands are trembling as she waits for the verdict.
“I'm sorry to hear that. Well, you have found honest work. If you don't mind housework, you will be a lovely addition to our home. Let's get going.”
“Yes, ma'am.” Summer smiles as she leaves, she prays her letter finds Alex, and until then she has found a sanctuary.
Chapter 11
London, England
Alex Denning is preparing a case for court when someone taps on his doorway. The mail is dropped on his desk along with a newspaper. When his father announced the family was moving to Boston, Alex was stunned and proud. He knew how important this job was to his Father. Although he couldn’t leave his law practice, he was happy for his family.
Over tea, he would read the London Times newspaper. He settles down and is laughing with one of his co-workers when he unrolls the paper and reads in bold letters,
BOSTON, THE BEGINNING OF THE END.
‘Deadliest epidemic strikes a steamship coming into the Boston Harbor. The Steamship Kharon was carrying over seven hundred passengers and two hundred have been struck dead during the passage, including the esteemed Dr. Charles Denning and his family. Hundreds more were infected.’
The sound of his cup exploding against the hardwood floors echoes through the building, “NO!” Comes his tortured roar.
“What is it, Alex?” His employer has stepped out of his office and others are gathering around.
“My family, they were on that ship!” He says hoarsely. He doesn’t remember
