Authors: Ellen Gable
“I was just. . .”
“Leave off, sir.
Are you a fool? This young lady is in mourning.” His sharp tone demonstrated
that he meant what he said.
The dark-haired
man stroked his mustache. “I. . .thought that I. . .was acquainted with her. I
must be mistaken. My apologies, Miss.” Caroline exhaled as he retreated to
the back of the train, then she made eye contact with the blond gentleman.
“Thank you, sir.”
The man smiled.
“It was my pleasure.”
“I have no idea
what has come over my chaperone. She sleeps so soundly. May I know your name?”
“Liam O’Donovan.”
“I’m Caroline
Martin.”
“I am most pleased
to make your acquaintance, Miss Martin.
“You’re Mr.
Martin’s niece, are you not?”
“Do you know my
uncle?”
He lives next
door. And I am very sorry for the loss of your father.”
“Thank you.”
“Your uncle is
quite delighted about your impending arrival. It is the only topic he’s been
talking about for weeks.”
Has Uncle told
them that I’m lower class?
Caroline glanced at her
hands and was grateful that Mrs. Shepherd insisted she wear gloves.
“So,” he
continued, “I suppose that we shall be neighbors. Again, I am very pleased to
make your acquaintance.”
Caroline allowed
herself to smile. “Thank you, Mr. O’Donovan. You have been so kind.”
“It was my
pleasure, Miss Martin.” He nodded towards her, then moved across the aisle.
The train was not
fully occupied, perhaps a quarter full. If Mr. O’Donovan had not stepped up to
her rescue, who would have helped her in that most troublesome situation?
Certainly, her chaperone was in no position to assist her. She cringed when
she thought of the alternative.
Caroline made an
effort to relax against the hardness of the train seat, but her heart was still
pounding. Despite the rigid corset, she managed to take a few deep breaths.
“
Carrie, I want
you to start reading the Bible to me every day.”
“The Bible is
dull,” 14-year-old Caroline responded.
“It is on my
dresser.”
Caroline
lifted up the small black book and brought it next to the bed.
“What do you
want me to read, Papa?”
“Start at the beginning.”
Caroline’s
eyes narrowed. “There are a lot of pages in here. It will take a long time.”
“It will, but
now that I’m confined to my bed, it will give me peace to hear you recite it to
me.”
Caroline
studied her father. Lying in bed, his now lean body and thinning gray hair
made him appear much older than 50 years. His eyes were always bright and
interested despite his gaunt face.
His expression
was so loving and tender that she crawled into his bed beside him, embracing
his already thin body. Although he was ill, she still felt safe in his arms.
Caroline sat
up and reached for the Bible.
“First Book of
Moses, called Genesis, Chapter 1. In the beginning, God created the heavens
and the earth. And the earth was without form and void and a darkness was upon
the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters
.”
The halting and
whistle blowing of the train forced Caroline to sit upright. She turned to her
chaperone. “Mrs. Shepherd, we have arrived in Philadelphia.” Seeing no
obvious response, Caroline shook her shoulders. “Mrs. Shepherd, please wake
up.” Caroline’s hands now began to tremble. She leaned in close and whispered
urgently into the woman’s face, “Mrs. Shepherd, please!”
When there was
still no response, she inspected the elderly woman’s pale face. It was
frightfully still. “Oh, no!” As her eyes darted around the train, Liam
O’Donovan jumped up.
“She’s not
breathing! Please help her.” Caroline, her heart pounding, stared at the
woman’s unmoving face. She forced herself to exhale. Mr. O’Donovan bent down
close to Mrs. Shepherd’s face and studied her motionless body. He
straightened.
“Miss Martin, I
do not wish to be the bearer of bad news, but I think that your chaperone has.
. .uh. . .passed away.”
“Good gracious!
How could this happen? She was fine a short while ago.” She again shook the
elderly woman’s still shoulder. Caroline was finding it hard to catch her
breath and her hands were shaking. “What shall we do?”
“I’m not sure,”
he said, stroking his beard. “I suppose I ought to alert the conductor. You
remain seated beside your chaperone.”
Oh, no, he’s
not going to leave me here alone, is he?
Her panicked
expression caused him to stop. “I shall only be a moment,” he said reassuringly.
She nodded. He
walked away and Caroline attempted the simple task of taking a breath, then
letting it out.
“Miss, are you
having some trouble with your chaperone?” she heard a man say.
“I . . .” She
tentatively looked up and saw the dark-haired man walking towards her. A small
group of passengers had gathered behind him, a faceless crowd that surrounded
Caroline like a claustrophobic wall.
“Is your
chaperone ill?” the man said.
“She’s. . .passed
away.”
“She what?”
Avoiding eye contact, Caroline now kept her gaze directed toward the front of
the train for Mr. O’Donovan. When she saw him rushing back, she breathed a
sigh of relief.
Her eyes shot him
a pleading expression, then she glanced at the man beside her and the crowd
beyond him.
Mr. O’Donovan
spoke up. “Sir, I would thank you to leave this young lady alone. She’s just
endured a terrible ordeal.”
“And who are you,
sir? Her protector? Her chaperone?”
“You could say
that I’m protecting her from the likes of you, sir. Now, move along, all of
you, or shall I call the conductor or a police officer to assist me?”
“I thought
perhaps I might be of some assistance,” the dark-haired man said. “If that is
not necessary, I intend to leave. Good day, Miss.”
As the man walked
away, Caroline whispered, “Thank you.”
“My pleasure.
The conductor will be along shortly to stay with her body until the doctor
arrives. I would be glad to accompany you to meet your uncle.” He checked his
pocket watch. “We’re already twenty minutes late.”
“Perhaps I ought
to stay with her, Mr. O’Donovan.”
“Then I shall
remain with you until the conductor arrives.”
“Yes, that would
be most welcomed.” As she stood up, she felt light-headed and her body fell
awkwardly against Mr. O’Donovan.
“Excuse me.”
“It’s fine.
Please do be seated,” he said, as he nudged her into his own seat across the
aisle.
“She. . .was
breathing just a few moments ago. How could that happen?” she asked, wiping
her eyes with her handkerchief.
“I don’t know,
Miss Martin.” He paused. “Is she a relative?”
Caroline shook
her head. “I only met her yesterday.”
“I see.”
“We must notify
her relatives.”
“Yes, of course.”
A short while
later, the conductor, a portly middle-aged man arrived. “I will take care of
this, sir,” he said to Liam. “If you and your sister would like to leave, then
it would be. . .”
“We’re
neighbors,” Liam offered, smiling.
“Yes, yes, we’re
neighbors,” Caroline responded, and once again grateful that Mr. O’Donovan had
been present.
“What about the
funeral arrangements?” Caroline asked. “What about her family? They will need
to be notified.”
“Yes, Miss
Martin,” Mr. O’Donovan offered. “It would be helpful to have her address and
other information.”
Caroline
attempted to lift up Mrs. Shepherd’s purse from her lap. As she tugged on it,
she found that something was keeping her from lifting it up. She looked more
carefully and noticed that Mrs. Shepherd’s hand was still clutching the bag.
Caroline shuddered, then took a deep breath. “Allow me,” she heard then watched
as Mr. O’Donovan pried the woman’s fingers from the purse. He handed it to
Caroline.
“Thank you.” She
opened the bag and lifted out some papers. “I believe this is what will be
necessary.”
Liam checked his
watch again. “Come, Miss Martin.” He offered his arm and as Caroline held on to
it, she noticed that he was quite a bit taller than her five foot three frame,
perhaps just under six foot or so, and in spite of his short beard and deep
voice, his facial features were almost delicate.
As they stepped
off the train, Liam commented, “My brother is supposed to be here.” He assisted
her off the train and into the station. “But it would be prudent to search for
your uncle first.” His voice sounded reassuring and kind.
“Of course.”
The weather was partly
sunny and warm. The Germantown station area was small in comparison to the
downtown Boston train terminal and was swarming with people. They walked by a
wooden building with a covered porch where people were waiting to board the
train.
Liam walked to a
pile of bags next to the train.
“Ah, our
luggage.”
“There’s my
trunk, Mr. O’Donovan,” she offered. “And I believe that is Mrs. Shepherd’s
suitcase as well,” she said, pointing to the bag beside her own.
“Yes, and,” he
said, as he dragged the trunk closer to them, “this is my bag on top.”
Caroline waited as he lifted the suitcase off of the stack. She pulled her
bonnet down to shade her eyes from the sun.
“I don’t see your
uncle, Miss Martin.” He looked about fifty feet away at a man and a woman
standing at the side building of the train station. The man, who had dark
curly hair, wore no hat or coat, only a shirt and breeches and appeared to be
leaning against the woman in a most inappropriate manner.
All of a sudden,
the man looked up, then waved at Liam.
Liam cleared his
throat, then sighed.
The man kissed
the girl quickly, almost roughly, then picked up his coat and hat from the
ground. He tossed his coat over his shoulder, threw his hat on his head, then
ran toward them.
“This is my
brother, David O’Donovan. David, this is Mr. Martin’s niece, Miss Caroline
Martin.”
Caroline put her
hand forward as David’s eyes became fixed on her. He had a smirk on his face
which made her feel uneasy and his stare seemed too familiar, as if he had some
intimate connection with her. As she studied him, however, she found it
difficult to believe that these two young men were brothers. Liam was taller
and slight in build with a longish facial structure. The dark-haired brother,
David, was several inches shorter, swarthy, with a day’s growth of hair on his
face.
David ignored
Liam and directed his comments to Caroline as he took hold of her outstretched
gloved hand and kissed the back of it. “Well, Miss Martin, if I had known you
were this pretty, I would have gone all the way to Boston to fetch you myself.”
Though the brothers looked dissimilar, their voices sounded identical.
Up until now,
Caroline had had little interaction with any young men and she was unsure how
to respond. “Thank you, Mr. O’Donovan.” She pulled her hand away from him.
David paused,
then turned his attention to Liam.
“Lee, Mr. Martin
had an emergency meeting and was unable to be here so he asked us to bring his
niece and her chaperone home.”
“Well. . .” Liam
shifted from side to side. “Miss Martin’s chaperone passed away on the train
ride.”
David’s mouth
opened. For a moment, it appeared as if he were going to smile, then he pulled
his lips together and lowered his head.
Caroline was now
having a hard time catching her breath. Her father’s passing, Mrs. Shepherd’s
untimely death, the fact that Uncle Edward was not present, the vexatious
corset, it all overwhelmed her. She blinked back the tears. “Would it be
possible to sit down?”
“Yes, yes, of
course, Miss Martin,” Liam said. As he put his hands on his hips and scanned
the area, Caroline plopped down on her trunk and wiped her eyes.
David’s eyes
lowered as Liam spoke. “Miss Martin, it would not be appropriate for us to be
escorting you to Mr. Martin’s without someone to chaperone.”
“I’m not sure what
to do.”
The brothers
stepped back and Liam spoke privately, whispering, but Caroline could hear
them. “I don’t see any other alternative than to drive her to her uncle’s.
Besides, we can’t leave her here with men such as him,” he said, pointing to
the dark-haired man who was now walking away from the train platform. David
glanced at her and winked. Caroline looked away awkwardly. Liam stepped
forward.