Authors: Ellen Gable
“Yes, of course,”
he leaned down to kiss her cheek. Elizabeth followed behind and walked beside
Caroline through the hallway. “So what is your impression of the O’Donovan
brothers?”
“I only met them
today, although I must say that Mr. Liam O’Donovan seems a very kind man.”
“And handsome, do
you not think so?”
Caroline
hesitated before replying. Yes, she found him to be a very handsome man, but
was unsure whether she ought to share that with Elizabeth, who seemed eager to
forge a close sisterly friendship.
“Yes, I do agree
with you, Lizzie.”
“Oh, how
wonderful! You are so beautiful, Carrie. I’m certain he feels the same way
about you.”
“Don’t forget
that I am still in mourning and it will be some months before I should even
consider courting someone.”
“But five months
have passed since your father’s death.”
Caroline lowered
her head.
“I’m so sorry. I
didn’t mean to upset you. I will agree with whatever you wish to do.”
“Do not worry
yourself over it, Lizzie. I shall be fine. I do need to rest, however.”
“Good night,
dearest sister.” Elizabeth leaned in to kiss Caroline on the cheek, then she
whispered, “You cannot know how delighted I am that you are here.”
“Thank you. Good
night.”
Elizabeth turned
and returned to her father’s study.
Caroline began to
climb the stairs and held onto the banister, its polished surface smooth under
her hand. She stopped halfway up and turned around to survey the high ceilings
and elaborate furnishings of the foyer area. This morning, she left a humble
row home in Boston, one which had dull and peeling walls, flattened out carpets
and a broken banister. Now, she was surrounded by fine art, plush carpet and
crystal gasoliers.
Caroline returned
to her room, closed the door and crouched down in front of her trunk. One by
one, she lifted out her dresses and laid them neatly on the bed. Caroline
squinted as orange and pink light streamed in. She crossed the room and peered
out the window at the back yard area of the Martin property. The sun was just
setting. A stable, barn and small, older henhouse occupied the area to the
right. A larger, modern-looking henhouse and a small field were to the left.
Just under her window were a coal shed and a clothesline with a few shirts
flapping in the wind.
“Miss Caroline?”
said a loud voice in the hallway.
“Yes, yes, I’m
coming.” She crossed the room and opened the door. In front of her stood the
older, heavyset servant. Her salt and pepper hair was pulled back under her
mobcap.
“Will ye be
needin’ some help to dressin’, Miss?”
“My dressing?”
“I can help ye, if
ye like,” she said, offering a gap-toothed smile.
“Oh, yes, thank
you. What’s your name?”
“Me name’ll be
Patsie, Miss.”
“Patsie, I
appreciate the. . .”
“Well, now then,
the master himself, Himself being Mr. Edward, he says to me, Patsie, he says,
ye go and ye help Miss Caroline now and that’s an order.”
“I do appreciate
it.”
“Will ye be after
havin’ me ta help ye choose a nightgown fer yerself, Miss?”
“That would be
fine.” Caroline paused. “Are you from Ireland?”
“I’m from Dublin, Miss. Came over with some relations durin’ the Potato Famine. A shame, that.”
“Well, I am very
pleased to meet you, Patsie.”
“The pleasure’s
all mine, Miss. Ye seem to be a sweet young colleen.”
Caroline smiled as
the servant lifted the dress over her head. The woman smelled of roast
chicken, sage and some other herbs.
“Here, Miss, let
me be undoin’ this corset fer ye now.”
“Thank heavens
this awful contraption is finally coming off.”
Caroline held it
in place while the servant unlaced it.
“Ye can be takin’
that off now.”
“Well, yes, I. .
.” Caroline wished that she had the privacy of a dressing screen.
“Come now, Miss
Caroline. I’ll take yer corset.”
She dropped the
corset on the floor. The only garment left was her shift. Caroline’s face was
flushed. “Would you mind turning your head, Patsie?”
Patsie’s eyes
widened. “Well now, yer a sweet young thing. Certainly, I’ll turn me head
while ye be takin’ that off and slippin’ inta yer nightgown.”
Caroline removed
her slip then pulled on her nightgown. She breathed deeply. “Oh, Patsie, I
hate that wretched garment. I wish never to wear it again!”
“Miss Caroline,
sure an’ all young ladies’ll be after wearin’ a corset.”
“I think I shall
start a new trend. No corsets. That is pure torture!”
When Caroline
glanced at Patsie, she was frowning.
The servant
walked to the window and lifted it up higher. “Well now, Miss, sure ye’ll be after
needin’ lots of fresh air too.”
Passing the
bedside table, she picked up one of the books. “What’s this here, Miss
Caroline?”
“That’s a novel
that I’ve read called ‘Little Women.’”
“So what’ll that
be ‘bout, Miss, some wee ladies or some’n’?”
“No. It’s about
four sisters. Would you like to borrow it?”
“I’ll not be
knowin’ how to read or write, Miss.”
“That’s too bad,
Patsie.”
“Ah, well, never
ye be mindin’ that. I’ll not be havin’ time for that anyhow.”
Caroline felt
sorry for Patsie. Everyone in the world should be taught to read. Books,
especially novels by Jane Austen with their engaging stories and rich language,
allowed Caroline valuable escape time, especially when she was caring for her
father. Now, it afforded her an opportunity to be someone else, to forget that
her father was gone and that she was in an unfamiliar home.
Chapter 3
The sound of
horses whinnying woke Caroline from a deep sleep. She sat up in her bed and
stretched her arms over her head in mid yawn. She pulled her night-cap off and
ran her fingers through her hair. A soft breeze blew in through the open
window. Caroline inhaled, relishing the sweet spring air. Hearing voices, she
walked to the window and stared at the scene below. Liam O’Donovan was speaking
to one of the servants at the stable below her window.
“Is Mr. Martin in
his office, Ben?”
“He’s been up
since eight, Mr. Liam.”
As if on cue,
Liam glanced up toward Caroline’s window. Seeing her, he smiled. Awkwardly,
she stepped away.
After a few seconds
had passed, she again peeked at the scene below. Liam’s eyes remained fixed on
her window and when he saw that she had returned, he gave her a wide grin.
This time, she offered a shy, coy smile.
“Miss Caroline,
y’awake?”
“Yes, Patsie,
what is it?” she said, turning toward the door.
“I’m here to help
ye with yer dressing.”
“Thank you. But I
shall not be needing any assistance.” Caroline opened the door. Patsie’s eyes
narrowed and she was shaking her head.
“You need not give
me that look.”
“How’ll ye be
goin’ to get yer corset on by yerself?”
“I’m not putting
it on, Patsie.”
“Now then, ye
can’t be goin’ about with just yer slip on, t’aint fittin’ fer a young lady.”
“I’m not going
anywhere, am I?”
“But Mr. Liam’s
here and sure an’ he might be seein’ ye.”
“Oh.”
“Sure an’ ye need
to be wearin’ yer corset. How will ye hold yer. . .well, yer. . .” She leaned
close to Caroline’s ear and whispered, “Bosom up?”
Caroline’s face
reddened. She hadn’t thought about that.
“Well, it’s not
as if I am all that heavily endowed anyway, Patsie. This shift will do just
fine.”
Patsie regarded
her with raised eyebrows. “Yes, Miss.” The exasperated servant walked away,
shaking her head and mumbling to herself.
Caroline finished
buttoning the front of her dress as she walked to the window. She looked out
to find that Mr. O’Donovan was no longer in the back yard area. Her thoughts
turned deliberately to her new neighbor.
Mr. O’Donovan was
certainly a handsome, if not intriguing, young man. She wondered what kinds of
foods he ate and what he liked to do with his spare time. She found herself
daydreaming about what it would be like if he asked to court her. However, she
brushed the thought aside. A girl in mourning ought not to be thinking of
those sorts of frivolities.
She picked up a
novel from her bedside table and quickly made her way to the hallway, then to
the top of the grand staircase. She hoped that Mr. O’Donovan was still in her
uncle’s study.
At the bottom of
the steps, she nearly ran into the younger, pretty servant girl, Selly, her
dark eyes lowered in apology.
“Excuse me,
Miss.” She watched as Selly ran along the grand staircase. Curiously,
Caroline’s eyes followed the young girl as she bolted through the doorway to
the downstairs kitchen area.
The door to
Uncle’s office opened and Liam O’Donovan moved into the hallway, Uncle
following behind.
“Well, my dear, I
see that you are awake.”
Caroline nodded,
and quickly glanced at Mr. O’Donovan’s face. He was grinning at her. She
returned the smile.
He placed his
bowler hat on his head, tipped it and said, “It is good to see you again, Miss
Martin.”
“As it is to see
you, Mr. O’Donovan.”
He shook Uncle’s
hand and tipped his hat again.
“I hope you have
a good day, Miss Martin.”
“And you as well, Mr.
O'Donovan." He turned and walked through the door with a stride so
confident that Caroline felt a small pang of regret that he was leaving, not
only because she enjoyed his company and felt grateful to him, but because she
was feeling particularly lonely in this huge, unfamiliar house.
“So how are you
this morning, my dear?”
“I’m fine.” Had
Uncle said anything to Mr. O’Donovan about her being lower class? She lowered
her head.
“Are you all
right, my dear?”
“I. . .”
“Now, see here,
if you have a problem, I want to hear about it, Caroline. If you’re not happy.
. .”
“No, no, Uncle.
Does anyone know that I’m not from wealth?”
“Only Elizabeth
and myself know of your humble beginnings, and it is of no concern that anyone
else possess that information. Besides, you are no longer ‘not from wealth,’
as you call it, but now a part of my immediate family.” He pulled her to a
warm embrace. “Well, my dear, what does Elizabeth have planned for you today?”
“I’m not sure. I
haven’t yet seen her this morning. She may still be asleep.”
“She is a night
person. I have seen her walking the halls at two o’clock in the morning.
Trying to wake her is like rousing the dead!”
“Well, I’m
normally the opposite.”
“As Ben Franklin
said, ‘Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.’ Of
course, you’re now already wealthy. If we can just get you eating some of
Patsie’s fine cooking, you’ll look healthy as well. As for wise, it’s really
not all that important for a woman to be so wise, right, dear? After all, for
a young girl like yourself, meeting a fine gentleman and getting married to
someone who can take care of you is what’s important in life, now, isn’t it?”
Caroline forced a
smile, inwardly, cringing. She disliked Uncle’s patronizing tone, as if all
women were dolts and possessed no intelligence whatsoever. However, Uncle
meant no harm. She admitted that part of his comment was true, it was her
desire to meet a nice young man, someone with whom she could fall in love and
get married. Besides, Uncle was overly generous and appeared to be trying to
treat Caroline with great respect and charity, despite the fact that she did
not truly belong in the upper class.
“Uncle, would it
be permissible for me to explore the grounds? I do so relish the early morning
and it is a beautiful spring day. I should like to find a spot where I can
read my book.”
“Of course, my
dear, but don’t stray too far. Our property extends to and includes the wooded
area just beyond the stable. Much of the forest on the other side belongs to
the O’Donovans. And although I’m certain they would not mind your exploring
there, it would be prudent for you to remain on our property.”
“Yes, Uncle, of
course.”
She walked
outside and lingered in the front yard. The sweet fragrance of spring flowers
and the sounds of a few birds singing high up in the trees caused her lonely
heart to rejoice. Despite her grief, she felt an overwhelming gratitude that
she was alive and enjoying this day. A group of maple trees seemed inviting and
she settled herself against one of the trunks and began to read.