Hannah felt her mouth drop when she saw her new home. The house wasn’t Victorian; it was new and modern-looking. It wasn’t grander than her family’s home in Chicago, but it looked finer in comparison because of the rustic setting. Most of the homes they’d passed on the way had been simple one-floor homes. This house had three stories, painted white with black shutters, and it looked majestic in this bucolic setting. It had a large front porch with rocking chairs set out just waiting for someone to sit on them. Hannah was pleased.
Mr. Simmons helped her gather her things, and he walked her up to the front door. He lifted the knocker, banged it twice, and walked in, letting her go ahead of him.
A woman rushed into the large foyer to meet them. “Welcome home, Mrs. Hart,” she said. “I’m Bessie, your housekeeper. Let me show you to your room.”
Hannah felt a chill run through her, which she tried to hide. Was she being led to the master bedroom and expected to...? The thought was too frightening to even think about.
She gave Bessie a nervous smile and followed her up the stairs. Mr. Simmons carried her trunk right behind them.
The stairway had a landing before it continued to the second floor. It reminded her of their home in Chicago, given the landing’s little window overlooking the backyard. How could she not feel at home there?
She heard children's voices as Bessie led her down the hall. Hannah loved children, and she couldn’t wait to meet them. Finally, Bessie opened a door at the far end of the hallway. “This is your room. The room next door is the master bedroom, and there’s a door,” she pointed, “which connects to it. There’s a lock on both sides so you can both have privacy when you want it.”
Hannah slowly and silently let out the breath she’d been holding. Her parents had had a similar setup.
Mr. Simmons set her luggage down. “I have to get back to the office, but I’m sure we’ll see a lot of each other, Mrs. Hart.”
“Hannah, please,” she said with a smile. “Thank you for welcoming me to Hunter’s Grove.”
Once Simmons and Bessie had left, she started unpacking. She felt someone's eyes on her as she hung her clothes in the wardrobe, and she spun around in time to see four eyes staring at her from the crack in the partially open door. Hannah started to greet the pairs of eyes, but they were gone in a flash, before she could get a good look at them. She shrugged and finished putting her clothes away.
Bessie soon reappeared with a large, oblong, metal tub. “I suspect you’d welcome a bath after the long and dusty ride.”
Hannah smiled at her. “You guessed right. I’d love a bath.”
Bessie appeared to be in her early fifties. Her hair had streaks of white mixed in with the brown. She was neither fat or slim but full-bodied and strong-looking. Hannah thought she had to be strong to have carried the buckets of hot water upstairs—four pails, two each trip.
After her bath, Hannah felt invigorated. She shook the wrinkles from her white blouse and put on a clean blue skirt. The house's floor plan was similar to her family's home in Chicago, too, so she had no trouble navigating.
As she started toward the stairs, the sound of children laughing caught her attention, and she followed the sound to the room across the hall from hers. In her family home, it would have been her bedroom.
She knocked lightly, opened the door, and two children jumped to attention from their frolicking on the floor, their toys strewn all about. They stared at her. The boy grabbed his sister’s dress and sucked his thumb, while the girl stared defiantly back at her.
Hannah gave them her best smile. “Hello. I’m your new mother.”
The girl whispered something to the little boy who loosened his hold on her dress. The girl stood. “I’m Annabelle, and this is Georgie.”
Still smiling, Hannah knelt down to their level. “I’m so pleased to meet you both. I know we’ll get along amazingly. I love children, you know. I’m a schoolteacher... well, I was before I came here to Hunter’s Grove. Do you go to school?”
Annabelle glanced out the window. “Oh, here comes Father. He likes us to greet him at the door.” She grabbed Georgie’s hand and pulled him out of the room.
Hannah stood. She thought it strange that Annabelle didn’t want to talk about her schooling. She shrugged. Maybe she was too young for school yet, although she did seem bright.
She followed the children down the stairs, but she did so slowly. She was nervous about meeting her husband under such unusual circumstances. Finally, she reached the bottom of the stairs and stood there, watching Cameron give each child a greeting. Instead of hugging them, he patted each of them on the head. Then he glanced up, saw her, froze, and Hannah realized that he was as unprepared for them to meet as she was.
Cameron took several steps toward her and smiled. “At last, my bride has arrived.” He came closer, hugged her lightly, and kissed her cheek. “Have you settled in?”
She nodded. “Yes. Bessie took good care of me.”
“Have you met my... um... our children?”
“I have,” Hannah said, smiling at Annabelle and Georgie. “They are delightful children and well-mannered, too.”
Cameron patted the children's shoulders. “Run upstairs and play until dinner is served. Your mother and I need to have a chat.”
The children scampered up the stairs, leaving an uneasy silence between the couple. Cameron looked fairly close to the image in his photograph. His hair was dark brown, almost black, and he wore the same
